Photos by: Julien Harneis Refugee camp
Congo-Kinshasa (MNN) ― There's been a lull in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo fighting. Government forces and rebel forces dug in, as the skin of an uneasy calm threatens to tear.
According to the United Nations, renegade troops loyal to a dissident general engaged as they tried to bypass Kimoka in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. General Laurent Nkunda's forces appeared to be entrenching their control around the border to secure their supply lines.
The latest clashes have driven thousands from their homes across the border into Uganda. Grace Ministries International's Sam Vinton reports: "The United Nation troops along with the Congolese troops have been going north toward the Uganda border and trying to find some of these rebels. Most of the fighting right now is deeper into the areas where the heavy population is not located. It (the fighting) is not affecting any of the ministries of Grace Ministries International."
Vinton says the violence could spread, although the distance between the battles and their projects provides some safety. However, "Anything like this disrupts transportation. The pastor said, 'I was just going to take a trip to do some evangelistic work in the Goma area. The ships that go back and forth on the lake were not traveling today.' So it does hinder transportation. It hinders people going around living their normal lives. And it hinders the Gospel."
International leaders are now calling for peace talks between the army and Nkunda's soldiers before the violence reignites the whole volatile region. Many fear a return to all-out war in eastern Congo, which bore the brunt of a 1998-2003 civil war.
Leaders for GMI's over 500 churches are trained in their fully accredited Theological College, Pastors' School, and 16 Bible institutes. A large medical center with two Congolese doctors is functioning in a Muslim area where there is a focus on planting churches in the surrounding unreached people groups. One teacher training college, 75 high schools, and 145 grade schools are run by the national church.
Pray for men who will be willing to become pastors and church planters. Pray for their safety as they respond to God's call on their lives.
