It’s a tale as old as time. For hundreds of years, the Bantu people have looked down upon the Pygmies because of their short stature. Then one day, a mighty wind blew through the Pygmy village of Lotumbe, DRC. It destroyed the simple church building there, and the pastor was downhearted. Where would he hold services?
A Bible club for children had been meeting inside the church. These started after the Kids Action Network (KAN) team visited the village in 2021 and trained Sunday school teachers how to lead the club.
The children came to the pastor and asked if they could continue holding the club, outside, which brightened his spirits.
The club continued to meet weekly—the kids sang fun songs, recited Bible stories, and asked application questions. They were learning so much! But now that they were outside, the Bantu children stood around watching them and laughing.
While the wind gust took down the church building, it opened the door for the Holy Spirit to do an amazing work in the hearts of the Bantu.
After listening to the Bible stories the Pygmy children were telling, the Bantu children went home and shared the stories with their families. Soon the Bantu mamas became interested and wanted to see the club time and hear the stories for themselves.
The Bantu mamas kept coming and observing, and eventually they started joining the Pygmies in their worship services.
When KAN coordinator Kennedy Fumba paid a third visit to Lotumbe to lead a follow-up teacher training and hear testimonies, he was astonished by the impact the gospel was having.
“It was only the Lord who organized this,” said Kennedy. “I said to myself that a man can’t do it because this situation dates back centuries.”
“The Bantu people consider the Pygmies to be animals … and the Pygmies in turn always consider themselves inferior to the Bantu,” explained Kennedy. “But now a small change is beginning, a small consideration on both sides thanks to the gospel.”
MAF is privileged to partner with Kennedy to help him reach remote villages throughout the DRC. Lotumbe is one of the more difficult places to get to. Find out what Kennedy’s journey is like by reading this earlier FlightWatch story, here: Fruitful Partnerships – Mission Aviation Fellowship (maf.org).
