Is this really happening?
That night was very difficult for all of us. We decided to stay up all night and pray. Edouard had told us that they would try to get the body out by the next morning, which was Saturday. We knew what was ahead of us and we prayed all night. Oh boy, did we pray. We all gathered in one room in the Hotel crying out for the mercy and grace of God to raise the dead. The effects of being in a situation like this, makes it is impossible to accurately explain the emotion involved. It was intense.
The thoughts that ran through my head only solidified my resolve. "It is the Gospel that I brought that caused the attack that killed this baby." Only hours before, we were standing in a crowd of hundreds on people seeing the sick healed and people on their knees giving their hearts and lives to the Lord Jesus. Not only were we preaching the Gospel, we had trained others to preach and heal the sick as well. It is one thing to have a missionary team come through and preach, it is a totally different situation for that team to raise up others from that area that will preach the Gospel everywhere they go after the missionaries are long gone. This is why Hell took action. Luke 10 is the only place in scripture where Satan falls like lightning from heaven and it happened right after Jesus sends seventy people to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom.
We knew there would be a fight but we did not know it would hit so close to home.
The next morning Edouard arrived early at the Hotel. The plan was for Edouard to go to the Hospital and retrieve all the necessary paperwork to have John Wesley delivered to his house for a "funeral service." We took up a quick offering and presented Edouard with about $600 to cover all the expenses. As Edouard left it was evident that his resolve had not changed. "We serve a God that raises the dead. We will give him back to his mother."
I had to fight back the tears. Tears not from the sorrow of loosing John Wesley, but the amazing realization that my friend, my good friend, whom I brought the Gospel too, was not wavering in his faith to hold his first born son again. Because his God raises the dead.
As the day went on we continued to pray. That evening we had a meeting scheduled. Not sure of what was going to transpire we prepared for anything. Edouard had made it clear to his family and to his in-laws that no one was allowed to mourn in his house. The house of God was for worship and praise, not mourning. His brother opened his home to allow the family to mourn there. This was not a popular decision among his family and Edouard was already receiving a lot of flack for taking this stance.
Later in the afternoon, word came from Edouard that it would not be possible to get John Wesley's body from the morgue. It was a Saturday and many of the government offices were closed and he needed their signature to release the body. This is Congo and you need numerous signatures for everything.
As the evening service time fast approached, I wondered what would happen. Would the people be grieved so much that we would have to spend the entire time consoling them? What would Edouard do? There was no way to know. Many of the congregation were not there, but those few present were obviously worn out. Not Edouard. Praise and worship began and we watched something that sticks in our minds to this day. A man of God that just lost his son, his only son, his first born child, began to praise the Lord with such intensity and fervor that it spread to the rest of the congregation. And he did not only worship in front of his seat, but he grabbed the mic and led worship in front of the whole congregation for a brief time. The worship leaders were obviously affected by the loss, but a man who had not subscribed to the idea that his son was truly gone, worshipped the Lord with all his might and it became contagious.
We encouraged the people that circumstances do not change the Word of God; to keep their focus on the Kingdom of God. The basis of our faith is that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. The meeting was incredible and we all began crying out for more of the Lord. The following day, the Sunday morning service was very similar and we knew that soon we would have John Wesley back with us.
After the Sunday morning service, we expressed to Edouard that it was not necessary for us to have any more meetings, but he insisted that we go ahead with our training that was planned for Sunday night. "You are only here for a short while and we need to be equipped to preach the Gospel more effectively." What a strong man of faith. That night we taught on prophetic evangelism, visions, words of knowledge and then prayed for impartation. Many moved in prophesy that had not done so up to that point.
Monday morning
When Monday morning arrived we had left the hotel when we got the call from Edouard. The body was on it's way to his brother's house. We rushed to have everything in order and were soon on our way to the house where the body would be delivered. The house was located on a back road off the main road that runs through the city. After a maze of dirt and sand alleys blocked by mud, trash and sticks we arrived at the house.
The concrete courtyard in front of the house was filled to capacity with family friends and mourners. The hand made cinder block wall and house was typical of Congo and every space was filled with people. Some sitting, some standing, all there to mourn and pay their respects. As we walked into the house Edouard asked everyone in the front room to leave. There would be no mourning here. As the people cleared the room a small wooden coffin was revealed in the center of the room. It is difficult to portray the reality of the situation, but we were there to raise the dead.
The coffin was open and beads of condensation were standing on top of John's cold head. We began to worship with everything we had. We were told that we had an hour but it ended up being much less. Standing over the casket, singing with all our hearts, I could feel the power of God in the room. It was more tangible than anything I had ever felt. I knew any second little John would open his eyes and take a breathe. As we were praying a man entered the room talking loudly in a mixture of French and Lingala. I understood very little but I could see that he was not happy. He was soon ushered out by Edouard's older brother Pierre. We found out later that he was Edouard's brother-in-law and he was not happy about us praying for the child.
We were then told that we had to get the body in the ground in the next 30 minutes or we would be breaking the law. At this point we had only been praying for 20 minutes. The worship and the prayer intensified. Just a few minutes later men began to put the lid back on the casket. "Not yet!" was the thought that was screaming in my head. Edouard then assured us we would have a few more minutes to pray for him on the way to the cemetery. No one had given up yet but we had to start moving in the direction of the cemetery.
A few men carried the casket out of the house and headed for the alley with us right behind them. As we cleared the gate leading into the alley, we loaded the casket into the nearest taxi's back seat. The sound of a large crowd to our left caught all of our attention. There was a fight breaking out in the alley and our first reaction was to walk towards the action to see what was going on. The next thing I saw was a picture I will never forget. A woman with hands lifted up, asking the crowd to stop, was beaten to the ground by a man with a tree limb in his hand as he stepped over her. What was going on? At least a hundred people were headed in our direction and maybe only about 150 feet away. Their intent? Killing us!
I was standing in the doorway of the taxi with one hand on the casket when I realized what was happening. Ryan, Danny and Nathan were in between me and the crowd. The interpreter that was standing with them, with a big goofy grin on his face that he always seemed to have, relayed the following message, "Your lives are in great danger, RUN!!!!"
Edouard loaded me in the first taxi with his son's casket in my lap. Ryan, Danny and Nathan ran past me on their way to the Toyota taxi behind me. The scene was more confusing than even movies can portray; people running in different directions, taxi drivers with their foot on the gas backing up to avoid getting beat. Our team and Congo brothers were scurrying to get in another taxi that was free from the sand and able to move. I remember yelling to Edouard's men to protect my guys; that they did not know the language and could not fend for themselves. Immediately Edouard' men surrounded them like secret service men and ushered them in a different direction. I buried my head in the casket praying in tongues thinking to myself that if they yank me out of this car, this casket is coming with me. My taxi headed down one alley only to be blocked by mud and sticks. Then down another alley this time blocked by people from the mob bent on killing us all. Finally we were out on the open road, flying down the street, dodging men and other vehicles by mere centimeters. I still had my head laying on the casket and praying in tongues.
I found out later from Ryan, that his very full taxi had almost over-turned on a few occasions while trying not to slow down as they were driving for their lives. While we were all on the road, Edouard got a call from his in-laws accusing him of witchcraft and telling him that they would find him and kill him and that they would search for us all and kill us.
As you can probably imagine Congo is full of witchcraft and one of the highest sacrifices is your first born son. This was the accusation being thrown at Edouard. The accusation also came that we, the mondeles (white guys), were the high priests that helped him.
We arrived at the cemetery in record time. It was an unkempt field filled with mounds of dirt, some covered with concrete and tile but most were poorly marked. The small dirt path that we were now on ended abruptly as more graves were being dug where the road had previously continued. As we exited the taxis, nuns and mourners returning to the main road, starred at us with curiosity. "What is a white man doing out here?" We made our way to a small grave on the far side of the road. Still praying in tongues, I asked Edouard one more time to check John to see if he might be alive. Edouard consented to check one more time. He lifted the top from the casket and revealed John's still lifeless body. I broke as the body was lowered into the ground. We were all fighting back extreme sorrow. National and tribal laws force the dead to be buried within a certain time limit. This we were unable to fight. Edouard then took the first shovel full of dirt and placed in on the casket. He handed the shovel off to someone else and said, "It is done, but Jesus is still King." He then began to worship Jesus, saying "John I will see you in heaven." I did not see him shed one tear. He had told us all along that if he buried his son he would cry but not until then, but even now he stayed focused on his God whom he serves with all his heart. "The Devil will pay for this!" were his final words before leaving the grave site.
As we walked out of the cemetery thoughts of John's birth echoed in my head. I remember the day John was born and Edouard was so happy. I talked to John over the phone on many occasions in the last few months. Edouard would put his cell phone up to John's little ear and he would laugh when I spoke to him. I remembered that just a few days ago when I met John face to face how much it was evident that Edouard loved him more than anyone else alive. Now he is buried in the ground. We had lost!!!
Getting out of Congo
With the final goodbye to John Wesley Ngoteni we headed out of the cemetery to the main road. Reality hit us again. We came in two vehicles, a 1980's Toyota corolla and an even older Toyota van that were used by the Congolese as taxis. We were advised by Edouard to find another taxi to help us get back to the Hotel. All four of us in one taxi would not be able to safely evade the mob that was still waiting to kill us. After Edouard found us a new Taxi he advised the driver to take as many back roads as possible instead of driving straight through town. Edouard sent his most trusted men with us to make sure we got back safely.
Our hearts were still racing but there was an eerie numbness because of all the events that had just enfolded. Now here we are again running for our lives.
We made it back to the hotel and Edouard's men waited in the front lobby instructing the front desk to keep our whereabouts a secret. We headed to our rooms, grabbed our things and packed them all into one room, locked and secured the door. Our luggage was set in a way that if we had to leave we could grab it quickly. Thoughts of moving to a different hotel were being tossed around but we only had a few hours before our plane flight. But moving hotels might be a necessity if the mob finds our hotel.
A few hours passed and Edouard came to the Hotel. He told us that he met with his leaders and encouraged them. WAIT!!! Did you just read that?? He encouraged them! This is the man who just lost his son, encouraging his church to not give up. What an incredible man of GOD. He then told us that the mob went to his house and destroyed his church building. We fell on his lap as he sat on the side of the bed praying for him and asking him to pray for us.
Danny pulled out the video camera and Edouard sent a greeting and a plea for prayer for him and his Church. He ended by declaring that he would run with the baton that we had passed to him without failing and that Jesus is King and His Kingdom is on the Earth.
Later that day we said good bye and headed home to the States. The experience we had in Congo was life changing. It was a reality check that forced us to view this Gospel that we preach with more reverent fear. When we arrived back home we told the story more times than we can count. Each time the response was the same from those hearing the stories: "WOW!" Stories like these can do two things to those that have lived through the actual events. One is to live your life telling the past stories of God's wonders and your battles, or two, it can compel you every day to lay your life down again for this Jesus who has so lovingly poured out His life for us. We have all chosen the latter.
Edouard's steadfast heart has inspired us and we will continue to support him not only with our prayers but with finances and more trips in the future to go back and help him strengthen his church.
Through it all Edouard has stayed strong. The days following our departure from the Congo have been just as tough. Edouard has suffered great persecution. He has had numerous attempts on his life, lost his wife to her witchcraft family, and through it all has seen incredible church growth and miracles. He continually stands firm and never wavers from preaching the real Gospel. Have no doubt about it, the persecution has come because he refuses to back down from the Gospel and the Devil hates him for it.
More about Edouard and up coming trips soon!
to be continued...
That night was very difficult for all of us. We decided to stay up all night and pray. Edouard had told us that they would try to get the body out by the next morning, which was Saturday. We knew what was ahead of us and we prayed all night. Oh boy, did we pray. We all gathered in one room in the Hotel crying out for the mercy and grace of God to raise the dead. The effects of being in a situation like this, makes it is impossible to accurately explain the emotion involved. It was intense.
The thoughts that ran through my head only solidified my resolve. "It is the Gospel that I brought that caused the attack that killed this baby." Only hours before, we were standing in a crowd of hundreds on people seeing the sick healed and people on their knees giving their hearts and lives to the Lord Jesus. Not only were we preaching the Gospel, we had trained others to preach and heal the sick as well. It is one thing to have a missionary team come through and preach, it is a totally different situation for that team to raise up others from that area that will preach the Gospel everywhere they go after the missionaries are long gone. This is why Hell took action. Luke 10 is the only place in scripture where Satan falls like lightning from heaven and it happened right after Jesus sends seventy people to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom.
We knew there would be a fight but we did not know it would hit so close to home.
The next morning Edouard arrived early at the Hotel. The plan was for Edouard to go to the Hospital and retrieve all the necessary paperwork to have John Wesley delivered to his house for a "funeral service." We took up a quick offering and presented Edouard with about $600 to cover all the expenses. As Edouard left it was evident that his resolve had not changed. "We serve a God that raises the dead. We will give him back to his mother."
I had to fight back the tears. Tears not from the sorrow of loosing John Wesley, but the amazing realization that my friend, my good friend, whom I brought the Gospel too, was not wavering in his faith to hold his first born son again. Because his God raises the dead.
As the day went on we continued to pray. That evening we had a meeting scheduled. Not sure of what was going to transpire we prepared for anything. Edouard had made it clear to his family and to his in-laws that no one was allowed to mourn in his house. The house of God was for worship and praise, not mourning. His brother opened his home to allow the family to mourn there. This was not a popular decision among his family and Edouard was already receiving a lot of flack for taking this stance.
Later in the afternoon, word came from Edouard that it would not be possible to get John Wesley's body from the morgue. It was a Saturday and many of the government offices were closed and he needed their signature to release the body. This is Congo and you need numerous signatures for everything.
As the evening service time fast approached, I wondered what would happen. Would the people be grieved so much that we would have to spend the entire time consoling them? What would Edouard do? There was no way to know. Many of the congregation were not there, but those few present were obviously worn out. Not Edouard. Praise and worship began and we watched something that sticks in our minds to this day. A man of God that just lost his son, his only son, his first born child, began to praise the Lord with such intensity and fervor that it spread to the rest of the congregation. And he did not only worship in front of his seat, but he grabbed the mic and led worship in front of the whole congregation for a brief time. The worship leaders were obviously affected by the loss, but a man who had not subscribed to the idea that his son was truly gone, worshipped the Lord with all his might and it became contagious.
We encouraged the people that circumstances do not change the Word of God; to keep their focus on the Kingdom of God. The basis of our faith is that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. The meeting was incredible and we all began crying out for more of the Lord. The following day, the Sunday morning service was very similar and we knew that soon we would have John Wesley back with us.
After the Sunday morning service, we expressed to Edouard that it was not necessary for us to have any more meetings, but he insisted that we go ahead with our training that was planned for Sunday night. "You are only here for a short while and we need to be equipped to preach the Gospel more effectively." What a strong man of faith. That night we taught on prophetic evangelism, visions, words of knowledge and then prayed for impartation. Many moved in prophesy that had not done so up to that point.
Monday morning
When Monday morning arrived we had left the hotel when we got the call from Edouard. The body was on it's way to his brother's house. We rushed to have everything in order and were soon on our way to the house where the body would be delivered. The house was located on a back road off the main road that runs through the city. After a maze of dirt and sand alleys blocked by mud, trash and sticks we arrived at the house.
The concrete courtyard in front of the house was filled to capacity with family friends and mourners. The hand made cinder block wall and house was typical of Congo and every space was filled with people. Some sitting, some standing, all there to mourn and pay their respects. As we walked into the house Edouard asked everyone in the front room to leave. There would be no mourning here. As the people cleared the room a small wooden coffin was revealed in the center of the room. It is difficult to portray the reality of the situation, but we were there to raise the dead.
The coffin was open and beads of condensation were standing on top of John's cold head. We began to worship with everything we had. We were told that we had an hour but it ended up being much less. Standing over the casket, singing with all our hearts, I could feel the power of God in the room. It was more tangible than anything I had ever felt. I knew any second little John would open his eyes and take a breathe. As we were praying a man entered the room talking loudly in a mixture of French and Lingala. I understood very little but I could see that he was not happy. He was soon ushered out by Edouard's older brother Pierre. We found out later that he was Edouard's brother-in-law and he was not happy about us praying for the child.
We were then told that we had to get the body in the ground in the next 30 minutes or we would be breaking the law. At this point we had only been praying for 20 minutes. The worship and the prayer intensified. Just a few minutes later men began to put the lid back on the casket. "Not yet!" was the thought that was screaming in my head. Edouard then assured us we would have a few more minutes to pray for him on the way to the cemetery. No one had given up yet but we had to start moving in the direction of the cemetery.
A few men carried the casket out of the house and headed for the alley with us right behind them. As we cleared the gate leading into the alley, we loaded the casket into the nearest taxi's back seat. The sound of a large crowd to our left caught all of our attention. There was a fight breaking out in the alley and our first reaction was to walk towards the action to see what was going on. The next thing I saw was a picture I will never forget. A woman with hands lifted up, asking the crowd to stop, was beaten to the ground by a man with a tree limb in his hand as he stepped over her. What was going on? At least a hundred people were headed in our direction and maybe only about 150 feet away. Their intent? Killing us!
I was standing in the doorway of the taxi with one hand on the casket when I realized what was happening. Ryan, Danny and Nathan were in between me and the crowd. The interpreter that was standing with them, with a big goofy grin on his face that he always seemed to have, relayed the following message, "Your lives are in great danger, RUN!!!!"
Edouard loaded me in the first taxi with his son's casket in my lap. Ryan, Danny and Nathan ran past me on their way to the Toyota taxi behind me. The scene was more confusing than even movies can portray; people running in different directions, taxi drivers with their foot on the gas backing up to avoid getting beat. Our team and Congo brothers were scurrying to get in another taxi that was free from the sand and able to move. I remember yelling to Edouard's men to protect my guys; that they did not know the language and could not fend for themselves. Immediately Edouard' men surrounded them like secret service men and ushered them in a different direction. I buried my head in the casket praying in tongues thinking to myself that if they yank me out of this car, this casket is coming with me. My taxi headed down one alley only to be blocked by mud and sticks. Then down another alley this time blocked by people from the mob bent on killing us all. Finally we were out on the open road, flying down the street, dodging men and other vehicles by mere centimeters. I still had my head laying on the casket and praying in tongues.
I found out later from Ryan, that his very full taxi had almost over-turned on a few occasions while trying not to slow down as they were driving for their lives. While we were all on the road, Edouard got a call from his in-laws accusing him of witchcraft and telling him that they would find him and kill him and that they would search for us all and kill us.
As you can probably imagine Congo is full of witchcraft and one of the highest sacrifices is your first born son. This was the accusation being thrown at Edouard. The accusation also came that we, the mondeles (white guys), were the high priests that helped him.
We arrived at the cemetery in record time. It was an unkempt field filled with mounds of dirt, some covered with concrete and tile but most were poorly marked. The small dirt path that we were now on ended abruptly as more graves were being dug where the road had previously continued. As we exited the taxis, nuns and mourners returning to the main road, starred at us with curiosity. "What is a white man doing out here?" We made our way to a small grave on the far side of the road. Still praying in tongues, I asked Edouard one more time to check John to see if he might be alive. Edouard consented to check one more time. He lifted the top from the casket and revealed John's still lifeless body. I broke as the body was lowered into the ground. We were all fighting back extreme sorrow. National and tribal laws force the dead to be buried within a certain time limit. This we were unable to fight. Edouard then took the first shovel full of dirt and placed in on the casket. He handed the shovel off to someone else and said, "It is done, but Jesus is still King." He then began to worship Jesus, saying "John I will see you in heaven." I did not see him shed one tear. He had told us all along that if he buried his son he would cry but not until then, but even now he stayed focused on his God whom he serves with all his heart. "The Devil will pay for this!" were his final words before leaving the grave site.
As we walked out of the cemetery thoughts of John's birth echoed in my head. I remember the day John was born and Edouard was so happy. I talked to John over the phone on many occasions in the last few months. Edouard would put his cell phone up to John's little ear and he would laugh when I spoke to him. I remembered that just a few days ago when I met John face to face how much it was evident that Edouard loved him more than anyone else alive. Now he is buried in the ground. We had lost!!!
Getting out of Congo
With the final goodbye to John Wesley Ngoteni we headed out of the cemetery to the main road. Reality hit us again. We came in two vehicles, a 1980's Toyota corolla and an even older Toyota van that were used by the Congolese as taxis. We were advised by Edouard to find another taxi to help us get back to the Hotel. All four of us in one taxi would not be able to safely evade the mob that was still waiting to kill us. After Edouard found us a new Taxi he advised the driver to take as many back roads as possible instead of driving straight through town. Edouard sent his most trusted men with us to make sure we got back safely.
Our hearts were still racing but there was an eerie numbness because of all the events that had just enfolded. Now here we are again running for our lives.
We made it back to the hotel and Edouard's men waited in the front lobby instructing the front desk to keep our whereabouts a secret. We headed to our rooms, grabbed our things and packed them all into one room, locked and secured the door. Our luggage was set in a way that if we had to leave we could grab it quickly. Thoughts of moving to a different hotel were being tossed around but we only had a few hours before our plane flight. But moving hotels might be a necessity if the mob finds our hotel.
A few hours passed and Edouard came to the Hotel. He told us that he met with his leaders and encouraged them. WAIT!!! Did you just read that?? He encouraged them! This is the man who just lost his son, encouraging his church to not give up. What an incredible man of GOD. He then told us that the mob went to his house and destroyed his church building. We fell on his lap as he sat on the side of the bed praying for him and asking him to pray for us.
Danny pulled out the video camera and Edouard sent a greeting and a plea for prayer for him and his Church. He ended by declaring that he would run with the baton that we had passed to him without failing and that Jesus is King and His Kingdom is on the Earth.
Later that day we said good bye and headed home to the States. The experience we had in Congo was life changing. It was a reality check that forced us to view this Gospel that we preach with more reverent fear. When we arrived back home we told the story more times than we can count. Each time the response was the same from those hearing the stories: "WOW!" Stories like these can do two things to those that have lived through the actual events. One is to live your life telling the past stories of God's wonders and your battles, or two, it can compel you every day to lay your life down again for this Jesus who has so lovingly poured out His life for us. We have all chosen the latter.
Edouard's steadfast heart has inspired us and we will continue to support him not only with our prayers but with finances and more trips in the future to go back and help him strengthen his church.
Through it all Edouard has stayed strong. The days following our departure from the Congo have been just as tough. Edouard has suffered great persecution. He has had numerous attempts on his life, lost his wife to her witchcraft family, and through it all has seen incredible church growth and miracles. He continually stands firm and never wavers from preaching the real Gospel. Have no doubt about it, the persecution has come because he refuses to back down from the Gospel and the Devil hates him for it.
More about Edouard and up coming trips soon!
to be continued...
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