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Delegation Retraces Footsteps of Dr. Paul Carlson

By Don Meyer

KISANGANI, CONGO (November 19, 2003) - The cell where martyr Dr. Paul Carlson was imprisoned in 1964. The route to the Victoria Hotel where Carlson and others were held prisoner by Congolese rebels. Martyrs Plaza from which the prisoners fled and side streets much like the one where Carlson was shot and killed while trying to scale a wall to freedom.

Those were the sobering scenes encountered by the five-member delegation representing the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) as they retraced the last days and footsteps of Carlson, who served as a Covenant medical missionary in Congo.

"It is one thing to see it in pictures - it is something else completely to see it in person and walk the paths he walked," said ECC President Glenn Palmberg of the experience. "It is an experience of extreme respect for what Paul Carlson went through because of his faith in Christ and his love for the Congolese."

Delegation members began their journey at the prison where Carlson was held following his capture, including the actual cell where Carlson was imprisoned. "Following the prison, we traced his footsteps to the Victoria Hotel where the prisoners were transferred," said Pete Ekstrand, World Mission regional coordinator for Africa who is accompanying the delegation and serving as a special news correspondent for Covenant News Service.

"From the hotel we followed the street to the large plaza, Martyrs Plaza (Martyrs Square), where the prisoners were assembled for a meeting with the rebel leader," Ekstrand continued. (Accompanying photo shows Martyrs Plaza). "It was from this plaza that the prisoners fled when the paratroopers were dropped and the rebels started firing on them. From the plaza we saw several streets much like the one down which Paul fled as well as houses with porches much like he was going over when he was shot."

The group arrived in Kisangani following a two-hour flight from Wasolo, where the group stayed Monday evening. The delegation was warmly welcomed by the Bishop and other leaders of the Communaute Nations du Christ en Afrique - the Nations of Christ Church in Africa (CNCA). Covenant Church of Congo (CEUM) President Gbuda Luyada worked closely with CNCA leaders to arrange the visit to Kisangani.

Following the visit to the prison, hotel and other general areas in the community, the group moved to the town's airport to continue their journey to Loko, a mission station founded to honor Carlson's memory.

"We're really using the technology now," Ekstrand quipped in an emailed update report. "I'm typing this report at 12,500 feet as we return from our visit to Kisangani."

A huge crowd waited to welcome the delegation following the two-hour flight from Kisangani to Loko later in the afternoon. Palmberg and Curt Peterson preached at the Loko Station to an audience estimated at 2,000 people following the reception at the airstrip. Loko, formerly IMELOKO or the Institut Medical Evangelique de Loko (the Evangelical Medical Institute of Loko), was started in memory of Carlson in March 1968.

Today the group is touring the hospital and the agricultural gardens.

The delegation, led by Palmberg, includes Peterson; Jim Sundholm, director of Covenant World Relief; Jerome Nelson, a Central Conference coordinator; and Bob Thornbloom, a Covenant missionary who coordinates technical support in Congo. Traveling with the delegation are Ekstrand; Keith Gustafson, country coordinator for the Democratic Republic of Congo; and CEUM President Luyada.

Purpose of the trip is to visit CEUM ministries and confer with CEUM leaders on the ministry partnership of CEUM and the ECC. The delegation left Chicago Monday, November 10, and is scheduled to return November 22.

To read earlier news coverage of this historic trip, visit the links below:

• Palmberg Leads Delegation.
• Delegation Warmly Received.
• Large Crowd Greets Delegation.
• Drama Depicts Arrival of Gospel.
• Palmberg, Luyada Lay Wreath.
• Six Thousand Join in Worship.
• Faithful Gather in Sweltering Heat.

To read a special greeting Peterson sent to staff members in the World Mission department, visit Peterson Sends Greeting to Staff.

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