Courageous brothers from Brazzaville, including Louis-Noël Motoula, Jean-Marie Lubaki, and Symphorien Bakeba, volunteered to search for missing brothers and to help those still in Brazzaville. This meant defying the strong currents of the mighty Congo River in a small boat to search the islets and the shores. It meant entering the conflict zone in Brazzaville, where atrocities were continuing. It meant risking their lives for their brothers.

Symphorien, who had much experience in crossing the river, made many trips during the civil war. Sometimes he crossed over to provide support for those remaining in Brazzaville. Once, for example, he crossed with ten sacks of rice for some brothers in Brazzaville who were living in relative security. Of course, it was a challenge to cross the river, but it was a far greater challenge to get the rice to its destination without looters taking it. Among his passengers on that trip was a distinguished-looking man who asked Symphorien where he was going with the rice. Symphorien explained what he was doing, taking advantage of the opportunity to share his Bible-based hope. When the boat landed, the man identified himself as a high-ranking official. He called a couple of soldiers over and had them guard the rice until Symphorien was able to get a car to transport the rice to the brothers.

Usually, Symphorien crossed the river to help brothers flee from Brazzaville. There was one crossing that he will never forget. He recalls: “The currents in the Congo River are very strong, but most people with boats know how to navigate them safely without getting swept downriver toward the treacherous rapids. We left Brazzaville with seven brothers and five others on board. Right in the middle of the river, the boat ran out of fuel. We managed to maneuver to a small island that we were able to hang on to. Much to our relief, a small boat came by, and the skipper promised to buy some fuel for us in Kinshasa and return. We waited a very long and anxious one and a half hours until he returned with the fuel.”

[Pictures on page 158]

Louis-Noël Motoula, Jean-Marie Lubaki, and Symphorien Bakeba