 “I was a printer by trade,” said Mert Walcott, a missionary to the
Belgian Congo with his wife Jane for nearly forty years. “Now, with
computers, you can do so much you don’t really need typewriters.”
Mert and Jane first entered the Belgian Congo in 1954 to help with a
printing ministry. Mert worked as a line-type operator in Nyankunde, a
city in the north of Congo bordering Tanzania. They remained in Africa
until 1992, and have been able to trek back to the area several times
over the last fifteen years.
Government Instability
The Walcotts left the Belgian Congo after government instability caused a serious insurgence, but were able to return soon afterward. When they reentered the Congo, it had a new government. Joseph Mobutu had seized power in 1965 from previously elected President Kasabubu. Mobutu maintained control of the government with fixed elections until 1996, when he was overthrown by Joseph Kabila. The ushering in of Kabila’s government led to further instability in the country and danger for missionaries.
Pioneering in Aveba
In 1985, the Walcotts left the typesetting work in the hands of trained Congolese believers and began pioneer work in Aveba, a village close to Nyankunde. Mert and Jane helped other missionaries in starting a small school, chapel, and dispensary. The chapel grew, resulting in new churches; the small school developed into a primary school, middle school, high school, and finally even a Bible school. The one room dispensary with a single nurse developed into a full hospital and run by a nurse practitioner. The Walcotts returned from the work in Congo in 1992 to serve with CMML in New Jersey, but have been compelled to return several times over the last 15 years on account of the rise in lawlessness that began in 1996 with the overthrow of Mobutu.
Revolt and Reconciliation
The most substantial act of this lawlessness was in 2002, when the chief in Nyankunde provoked an attack from the people in Aveba. The attack that the people in Aveba instigated was horrific; nearly the entire town of Nyankunde was burned down, it was totally abandoned for a year and a half. Over this period of time, the town was taken by militia after militia. The militias used the city as a base or camp, each militia leaving the city in more ruin than it had been previously. They stripped the city of any redeemable value it had; every building still standing was nothing but a skeleton of framework.
By the year of 2005, the city was actually beginning to be inhabited again; the Congolese people were returning and the militias had left. By 2007, there was true progress. Walcott says, “In 2007, a good measure of safety began to return and people have begun to come back.” Since then, the church has held reconciliation meetings, where many have returned to the faith or have been saved. The assembly in Nyankunde has several hundred believers in attendance now. People often ask, “then why haven’t they hived off new churches?” Walcott always responds, “they have, there are many meetings just within a five mile radius, and they are the same size too.”
Christian Needs for Prayer
Even in lieu of the progress and change, many believe the area to be too dangerous to enter. However, that doesn’t stop some missionaries from coming! A Japanese Baptist missionary, does lab tech work at the hospital. Her safety is a major matter for prayer, along with that of Mr. K., the schoolmaster. Pray also for Mike, the hospital manager. Pray also for the nation’s leaders, for national stability, and for local Christian needs, such as reading glasses and the reprinting of the Swahili Bible.
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