When we received our assignments, some Bethelites curiously asked a group of us where we would be going. They commented positively on each assignment until I said: “Congo (Kinshasa).” They paused and only said: “Oh, Congo! May Jehovah be with you!” In those days, Congo (Kinshasa) was big news with war, mercenaries, and assassinations. But I kept in mind the lessons I had learned. Shortly after our graduation in September 1967, Heinrich Dehnbostel, Claude Lindsay, and I set off for Congo’s capital, Kinshasa.

AN EXCELLENT TRAINING GROUND FOR MISSIONARIES

After we arrived in Kinshasa, we studied French for three months. Then we flew to Lubumbashi, formerly Elisabethville, near the border of Zambia in the far south of Congo. We moved into a missionary home in the center of the city.

Since much of Lubumbashi was untouched territory, we were thrilled to be the first ones to share the truth with many of the residents. Before long, we had more Bible studies than we could conduct. We also witnessed to officials who worked for the government or the civil police. Many showed great respect for God’s Word and our preaching work. The people mainly spoke Swahili, so Claude Lindsay and I also learned that language. Soon afterward, we were assigned to a Swahili-speaking congregation.

Although we enjoyed many wonderful experiences, we also faced challenges. We often had to put up with drunken gun-wielding soldiers or troublesome policemen, who made false accusations. Once a whole group of armed policemen stormed into our congregation meeting at the missionary home and took us to the central police station, where they kept us sitting on the ground until about ten o’clock in the evening before they released us.

In 1969, I was assigned to the traveling work. In that circuit, I got a taste of the African bush, with long walks through tall grass on muddy trails. In one village, a hen with her chicks roosted under my bed at night. I will never forget how she gave an enthusiastic start to the day with a loud wake-up call before daybreak. I have fond memories of talking with the brothers about Bible truths while sitting around a campfire in the evenings.

One of the greatest challenges was dealing with false brothers, who supported the Kitawala movement.b Some of them had infiltrated congregations and held positions of responsibility. Many of these ‘hidden rocks’ were exposed by genuine brothers and sisters. (Jude 12) Eventually, Jehovah cleansed the congregations and laid the foundation for phenomenal growth.

In 1971, I was assigned to the branch office in Kinshasa, where I cared for various work assignments, such as correspondence, literature orders, and service matters. At Bethel, I learned to organize the work in a huge country that had a limited infrastructure. Occasionally, our airmail took months to reach congregations. The mail would be unloaded from an airplane onto boats that afterward got stuck for weeks in a thick carpet of water hyacinths. Nevertheless, the work got done despite these and other challenges.

I was amazed to see how the brothers set up large conventions with only limited funds. They carved platforms out of termite hills, used long elephant grass as walls and, in rolled form, as cushions for seating. They turned bamboo into framework for buildings and reed mats into roofs or tables. And they sliced up tree bark to use in place of nails. I could not help but admire these resilient and ingenious brothers and sisters. They became very dear to my heart. How I missed them when I had to leave for a new assignment!