By Bruce Smith
Earlier this year Pastor Laura preached a series on finding love in unexpected places. I want to share our experience of one of those places.
Northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, is one of the most troubled areas in Africa. The area is plagued by violence that developed after the Rwanda genocide. Now numerous militias rove the area raping and pillaging as they see fit. Goma is the major city sitting on the southern edge of the fighting. It was also the site of my first African mission trip. Goma has come on hard times. Left with little support from the far away capital of Kinshasa, subject to sporadic raids by marauding militia, experiencing economic hard times and damaged by a nearby volcano, it was a world far different than anything I’d experienced. Poverty was evident everywhere and our group was cautioned to always remain together to avoid possible unpleasantries. As the people repeatedly informed us, “Life is hard here.”
Months before Jeanne and I had been “recruited” by Pastor Levis, a highly spiritual visionary, to help in the continuing efforts to build an orphanage. We’d joined a small group from upstate New York to answer that call. Finally arriving after many hours of travelling, we found our accommodation with a lack of running water and few hours of electricity. We wondered what we had signed up for.
The next day our questioning continued as our battered Toyota crawled over barely passable “roads” to a partially built structure situated on rocky hardened lava with ramshackle houses around. Pastor Levis welcomed us, and we began our work and our experience of a unique expression of love. The work was very basic, clearing rocks, carrying bricks, and pulling weeds to assist a local work crew who, fortunately, were better masons than any of us.
As our time passed, I began to appreciate what was happening there. Pastor Levis and his wife Mimi were already running a mini- orphanage in their cramped, very basic home. In addition to their own children, they were somehow raising 13 orphans! We had the pleasure of getting to know these ragamuffins as we slowly progressed with building. We only completed the walls for the first and part of the second story before departing. At that point, Levis revealed that he was out of money but had plans for doubling the size of the original design. We left with doubts. Those doubts grew when a militia overran the area six months later.
But love has prevailed over the many challenges. The orphanage has been completed. Two wings, each of two stories, now house approximately 30 orphan children in what is probably the nicest structure in the neighborhood. Through his strong faith and the help of others, Pastor Levis has produced a striking demonstration of Christian love. That expression of love and faith exists in one of the last places you’d ever think to find it. Unexpected, you’d better believe it!!