Second Corinthians 4:18 came to be one of my theme verses last summer, as God taught me to fix my eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen – to look past the surface level and allow God to transform my human eyes and ears. As I visited churches, partnered with ministries, and built relationships, what I saw was that the church in DR Congo is alive. It is vibrant and passionate – and God is rising up a generation of people who are going to change the city of Kinshasa, DR Congo, and the world. The Kingdom of God is coming in this war torn country – it is coming among a people that are poor in the eyes of the world; but, as we heard from James, they are the ones who are rich in faith and who will inherit the Kingdom of God. Let me introduce you to a few of those people.

This is Jean-Baptist and his family, our team’s ministry host. He left behind the life of a rebel and the opportunity to become the president of his home country in order to follow God’s call on his life. Like most pastors in DR Congo, he rarely gets paid, and yet somehow he continues to provide for his family and friends. Jean-Baptist is a man of faith; he lives his life with a passion for God and a hunger for righteousness.

This woman is Gorgette. Eight years ago she started a small orphanage; now she has a large house with 54 kids. She doesn’t have much money, but she has her heart set on 100 kids, and hopes to raise chickens, plant more vegetables, and start a school and maybe even a clinic. Gorgette is a woman of vision; she sees with God’s eyes, not her own.

This is a doctor named Delphin. Along with two others, he started a one room medical clinic in one of the poorest areas of Kinshasa even though it meant living without a salary. Last year he worked out of this 4-room house, and today, this is his hospital. Delphin is a man of sacrifice; when asked how he feeds his family, he simply replies “by the grace of God.”

Mama Julian has lost her sight. She runs a school that reaches out to physically handicapped children. When God gave her the idea of this school, she sold her jewelry and her freezer, the only things of value that she owned, to buy the bricks for the first building. Julian is a woman of abandon; she has let go of her life and abandoned herself to God’s call.

Jean-Baptste, Gorgette, Delphin, and Julian – these are some of the names and the faces that I will remember from this trip to the Congo.