Home

Gustafson Encouraged by Bangui Repair Work

BANGUI, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC (August 13, 2003) - General conditions at the Evangelical Covenant Church missionary compound in Bangui are described as generally good by Congo country coordinator Keith Gustafson, who arrived in the Central African Republic (CAR) on Sunday morning.

Gustafson's wife, Florence, is scheduled to arrive on Friday along with Africa region coordinator Pete Ekstrand. Ken Satterberg was scheduled to arrive today, Wednesday, with weekend meetings scheduled with various CEUM leaders. Satterberg will return to Yaounde next week and return to the United States August 21. (See earlier story by visiting Congo update

"The situation in Bangui is good," Gustafson reports. "The Central African office staff at the mission office here did a lot to get the buildings repaired after the looting, including getting some furniture back that had been abandoned on the other side of the road." Staff also replaced lights and electrical outlets and switches (all were stripped during the looting several months ago). Plumbing has been repaired and windows have been replaced.

"I walked through downtown today,' Gustafson writes. "Stores seemed well stocked, even several that had been completely looted. Traffic is normal. I stopped by the U.S. Embassy today - it is officially closed with only Central African staff there. They . . . have twice weekly contact with Washington . . . but don't know when the embassy will reopen. For the next two days, I'm the only American they know of in CAR."

The Gustafsons plan on working with Thelma Landrud, an Evangelical Free Church missionary, out of the Bangui office. "We want to get the guest house functioning again and help the CAR staff with the office," Gustafson said. "The Bangui office provides much support for us in northwest Congo, so we want it functioning well. Nancy Jo Hoover leaves in August for three months of French study in Belgium . . . she will be joining us in Bangui in November. The three of us - Nancy Jo, Florence and I - will move to Karawa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in December or January. Nancy Jo will work with us there until summer 2004. She will have time to get to know people, culture and the work in Congo. She will work with existing development projects, talking through ideas for new ones, as well as helping the church to produce proposals and reports for donor agencies."

Keith and Florence will focus on working with local churches and leaders within the CEUM administration in Congo. "By being there, I can be involved in some preaching, evangelism, teaching, committees and conferences. Florence hopes to be involved in AIDS education in addition to the spending time with many friends in Congo. Our presence in Congo will make it more possible for other missionaries and mission teams to come for short visits. We hope that someone else can come to work with us at Karawa around the time that Nancy Jo leaves next summer. If possible, we plan on spending the next three years there.

"Bob and Karen Andrews . . . are hoping to return to Bangui in November or December to work with the Bangui office and ASSOMESCA - the association of all of the Protestant and Catholic medical work in CAR," Gustafson continues. "They jointly order all their medicines - the Congo Covenant Church and the Congo Evangelical Free Church are also able to order their meds through this group. They also plan together for how to meet needs. ASSOMESCA is unique in the world as a group that pulls together both Protestant and Catholic work in an entire country. Participating members include Lutheran, the national work associated with Baptist Mid-Mission, Grace Brethren, Catholic, Swiss Pentecostal, Apostolic, Swedish Baptist and a few independent groups."

The CEUM has been encouraged to know that some missionaries will again be in northwest Congo, according to Gustafson. "People here in CAR have commented about how seeing us here gives hope for their country and the work that we do together."

Although conditions in Bangui appear to have stabilized, the same cannot be said of northern regions of CAR, which means missionaries working in those areas will have to continue to await their return. Western CAR, however, appears to be calm with Roy and Aleta Danforth planning to return in September to resume working with the agricultural, medical and relational projects they have assisted the past three years.

Who We Are · Local Churches & Conferences · Denominational Ministries · Institutional Ministries · Support Ministries · Outreach Ministries · Inicio Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. 5101 N Francisco Ave., Chicago IL 60625. 773-784-3000. Privacy Policy & Terms of Use.