Traveling overseers had to sort out those who were really interested in following Bible truths and those who were false Kitawala movement members. This work was not easy.

Traveling overseers particularly have to show great courage and faith in order to visit their brothers with spiritual encouragement. Distances are often long between congregations and there are frequently tsetse-fly-infested areas to cross, forests with wild animals, or raging rivers in flood. It is farther from Kinshasa to the second-largest city, Lubumbashi, than it is from London to Rome.

One circuit overseer recently wrote to the branch the following in apology for his reports arriving late:

“The delay is due to circumstances that I set out below. April 12 was the day the train was to leave Kisangani for Ubundu. The train departs at 8 a.m., but, since seating space is so limited, people have to be there at 3 a.m. in order to get a seat. We were staying on the opposite side of the river and decided it best for my wife and me and our little son, Moza, to cross the river the night before and sleep there.

“It is the middle of the rainy season and the river was at flood stage. At 7:30 p.m. we took a taxi bus to the river with the intention of getting a dugout with a little outboard motor to cross the river. When we got into the boat we quickly saw that there were far too many people. We urged the conductor to have some people get out of the dugout or at least let us get out. But, being money-hungry as he was, he answered back, ‘Likambo te!’​—‘It’s nothing, don’t worry,’ and he started up the little outboard motor. No sooner had we gotten 15 meters [50 feet] or so from the shore than the boat struck a big rock under water, giving it a terrible jolt that almost turned it right over. Into the river went 30 people, yelling, screaming, flailing.

“Imagine, dear brothers, the spectacle in the Zaire River. Into the water went all our baggage, including my files, my forms, the projector and all the slides. I shouted to my wife to keep calm, and to hold tight to the child until I could get to them. Happily my wife and child were the only ones that weren’t knocked out of the dugout, which was now rapidly taking in water and about half submerged. Fortunately, in the end everybody was pulled out of the water safe and sound, except that our baggage was lost, including the projector.”