From our partners in World Mission:
There is violence against civilians in the Congo. National elections have been widely criticized as lacking credibility due to massive irregularities, maladministration and fraud. Congolese Christians will march in Kinshasa on Thursday, February 16, seeking peace and calling for a democratic government founded in transparency and justice. We are invited to join our sisters and brothers in spirit and to pray with them for peace, justice and a government committed to the well-being of the people.
The history of the Congo is marked by exploitation of natural resources and the people. In the nineteenth century, in the extraction of rubber, the hands of laborers were cut off of as punishment for failing to meet quotas. The 32-year rule of President Mobutu was violent and oppressive. In the past 15 years of war and civil unrest marauding militias have exploited rare mineral resources, abused and displaced millions of people, leading to over 5,400,000 deaths.
Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) The Congolese have experienced enough stealing, killing and destruction. Following Christ, they long to have life, and to have it to the full.
Let us join together in prayer on Sunday, February 19, 2012, that all Congolese may have life in abundance, and that God may help us to understand that the drive for overabundance in our society may feed the thieves that kill, steal and destroy that operate in other societies. Please join our ancestors in faith, who faithfully shed light to the world about the injustices of the past.