What it’s like serving a mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

This article was written by Hasina F. Rakotondrabeharison from Madagascar who served as a missionary in the DRC Kinshasa mission from 2013-2015 when the mission consisted of 4 countries, DRC, Republic of Congo, Cameroon, and Gabon. Here, he shares his experiences serving in DRC, where he was a missionary in Kinshasa for 4 months.

At the moment, there are are no young European or American missionaries in DRC. I have asked Hasina to write this article to see if white missionaries could be sent to DRC in the future.

Kinshasa

When you think of the church, you will automatically think of Salt Lake City. And talking about DRC is kind of the same. Kinshasa, the capital of this country, is like the Salt Lake City of Africa. The Congolese are so proud of that because you can see church buildings in every three blocks. But what it is like serving a mission over there?

Language

When you receive your mission call, you open and read it, it’s always going to say that you are going to preach in French if you are going to serve in the DRC. I told myself that my mission was going to be easy because I would not have any language barriers but no I was wrong. My friends at the MTC had warned me already that I had to speak Lingala because I was assigned to serve there. After finishing my eleven days of MTC, I landed in the Kinshasa International Airport. I could not understand anybody at the airport, good thing I got help from a guy that the mission sent to help new missionaries. The people at the airport spoke French to me but for some reason I could not catch any words they were saying. Maybe I was not familiar with the accent and their French yet. Also, they use the same French vocabs that I know just in a different way.

After three days of orientation with the president and his assistants, I took a bus with our district leader. That was a long trip because my first area was like eight to twelve hours from Kinshasa depending on how many stops the bus is making on the way there.

I met my trainer who happened to be from Ivory Coast. And again, I said, “well he speaks French, and I will do pretty good in the field.” We planned for the next day and everything went well. The next day we went out. My companion called a taxi, and we went to the chapel to teach because that was the most common way to do it. When my companion talked to that taxi driver, I was totally out because they did not speak French at all. And I thought maybe taxi drivers have a hard time speaking French. But little did I know, everyone where I started my mission, which is called Matadi, have a hard time speaking French. They speak either Kikongo or Lingala. They understand what you say if you speak French to them because their news is sometimes in French and they also watch movies in French but they would always talk to you in Lingala or Kikongo. And you know what, thanks to my companion he made me talk even if I was terrible. I spent almost 4 months there and was able to speak those language. I am more fluent in Lingala than in Kikongo because I rarely used it. I think I only used it with the street vendors.

Culture

The DRC has a diverse culture due to its background. But for the most part all of them share the same culture orientation. They like loud music, party and showing off. I really like their mentality, even if you know that they suck at something they will always tell you that they can do it. They are very optimist in front of foreigners but not so much among themselves.

As many African countries, the DRC is a collectivist country, so they tend to be touchy when they talk, when they do things. That is common from little kids to a grown old mama. When they see you, they would be like: “Hey mundele na biso” which means our white guy. And then sometimes they grab your hand, and sometimes put their hand on your shoulder. I did not mind that because I am from a country where some people are touchy as well, but I compared my experience to what the missionaries who served in my country did. Only little kids could be touchy with them. So, I was a bit scared, but I got used to it.

One thing I noticed on that mission was that if you live with some people you get to share your stuff with them. I did not have a problem with that because I was raised like that as well. But you must understand that they always tend to use your stuff without your permission. They will not likely tell you that they did until you ask. One day, I was in an apartment where I was the minority. Well, I was minority because the people of my kind do not get to be sent there often. And we are always spread out. I wanted to cook my rice, which was very different from what I know, and tried to find it but someone took it and placed it somewhere where I did not know. So obviously, someone used it and forgot to put it back where it was.

Foreigners in DRC

            There are lots of foreigners in the DRC. Most of them are doing business over there. You rarely see them in public because they always drive. The foreigners you can see a lot are the Asians which for some reason they are all Chinese to every Congolese. They are mad at those people because they claim that they are stealing from them.

            If you are a foreigner in DRC, especially if you are white, you better have a good running business. You need to avoid going to certain area otherwise the Kuluna (mob in Lingala) will cut you in half. I was never put in those areas because the president knows that I cannot be put in some areas where these Kuluna are very dangerous.

            One thing that I noticed as well is that if you are not like them, I mean do not have their skin color or body shape like theirs, you will either be called European or Chinese. I was called Chinese a million times when I was there.

            If you are a foreigner in DRC only the best or the worst will happen to you. Either they will admire you, respect you, treat you like a king, or they will treat you like a trash. They might even threaten you. I was on the bus one day. I was the topic in the bus. Everyone wanted to talk to me and wanted to know what I was doing over there and why was I riding the bus. I have not been threatened during my time in the DRC, but I have heard that my friends were.

Missionaries life in DRC

            Most missionaries are natives. But you can see South Africans, Nigerians, Ivorians, Ghanaians, and us the Malagasy (people from Madagascar) serving there. They call us white because we are very different from many African countries.

            The people of DRC know who are as missionaries. They always want to talk to us even if they are not interested. You got a bit of advantages if you are not from the country. They tend to always want to talk to you and want to be around you.

            One thing you must know, if you get to serve over there is that these people know the Bible the back of their hand. You do not want mess with them. They can use some Biblical verses to convince you that their wrong doings are acceptable. In addition, you can expect that every corner of the street has a little chapel from another church. So you will always happen to talk to some random pastors who eagerly wants to challenge your gospel knowledge. You do not want to discuss the gospel when those kind of people approach you because they are prepared to Bible bash you. It’s better to give them an appointment because you will always want to prepare for that.

            Missionary life in the DRC is a bit different. It depends on who ask though. If you ask a Congolese, they will say it is good because they get to have their own room. They get to use fridge which sometimes was not useful where the electricity is not stable. At first I thought I could not handle how our apartments were because I am from a poor family, however, my house was better than the apartment I lived in. But I learned a lot of lessons from living in those apartments. I learned how to be patient when I went one month without running water and electricity.

Food

            The Congolese eat fufu with some sides. For most of the time they make a soup. They do not use folks or spoons. They put the fufu in one bowl and the side in another and everyone grab what they can chew. I really loved fufu when it is well prepared.

            DRC or at least Kinshasa is not a place where you can find anything you want. They only have ShopRite which is a lot smaller than a small Walmart in the USA. And that one is sometimes far away from where you are. That only exist in the rich neighborhoods. So as a missionary, I had to live with what was available. I ate fufu, rice and chicken thigh, and fish all the time. I had no option which I did not mind because I am a guy who can adapt to the circumstances. In addition, the allotment we received was not sufficient for me to go buy stuff from ShopRite.

Are American missionaries safe to get sent to DRC?

            The church has American couples in almost every mission in the DRC. But they are always in a car or in office. They do not go out in public like the young missionaries.

            I cannot really say that American missionaries are or are not safe to serve in the DRC. But I can say that in DRC people of light skin are always targets. On my second week in DRC, Elder Bednar came, and our mission president sent a white kid there to see him because I was about to return home. He was not threatened but many things were stolen from him during the days he spent there.

            Furthermore, I do not think American missionaries will manage to live in the apartment that the DRC missions are offering. They might not have the guts to eat fufu, fish, chicken thigh, and rice every day. They can learn the language and the culture but I am not sure if American kids will be able to handle the life condition in DRC. I do not mean to sound so pessimist but even for natives, serving a mission in DRC needs a lot of sacrifices. I am not saying that American kids cannot their two years in the DRC but the level of security, condition of life in the DRC is out of limit for these missionaries.