By Pastor Andrew
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
I would say that of the 100 workers in DMI’s fields, Papy Kwabo has the most difficult job of all: he is the Director of DMI’s operations in DR Congo, a field which battles displacement, hunger, theft, murder, looting, burnings, rebel attacks and frequent illness. He literally puts his life on the line every time he goes from one town to another to minister. But that’s nothing out of the ordinary considering what he grew up with.
Papy fell sick when he was six months old and nearly died. He was attended to with questionable traditional remedies: they cut his body and lay him in the river for the bad blood to flow out, then treated him with leaves. It took him a long time to recover from that, but one result of the illness was that he became deaf.
His father rejected him outright and told his mother to throw him away. He wanted nothing to do with his infant son. His father’s family likewise shunned him and blamed his mother for bringing such a damaged child into the world. But Papy’s mother loved him and cared for him and, despite the objections from her in-laws, enrolled him in a school for the Deaf at the age of 5.
Papy was blessed with a keen intellect. After a stint as a carpenter, he graduated from DMI’s Bible school in Uganda, before going on to earn a diploma in pedagogy. He married in 2015, was appointed Director of Deaf Action Congo (DMI’s name in Congo) and was ordained as a pastor in 2019.
With these developments, something never previously thought possible happened: Papy won the respect of his family. The little boy who was considered the runt of the litter and not worth feeding was now the trusted and venerable head of his family. He’s the one they all look up to. He was rejected but now is respected. This transformation reflects that of another better-known figure who sits at the head of our (and every other) Christian ministry.
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
I first meet Papy in Rwanda, years after we had begun corresponding. He is a tall man with a gentle presence and an infectious smile – a smile that covers a multitude of concerns and sorrows. Asking him how things are going is never a matter of small talk or casual conversation. One gets the impression that Papy is in a perpetual state of holding back.
“How are you going, Papy?”
Should I tell them about the bread prices that double each month, my nephew who died of illness last month or the rebels who have hounded me and my family out of my house?
“How is the school in Beni going, Papy?”
Should I tell them about the crops that were stolen, the kids who have to walk barefoot for an hour to get to school, the lack of fencing which puts the kids’ lives at risk or the lack of toilets?
“How is the ministry going, Papy?”
Should I tell them about the lack of musical instruments for praise and worship, the lack of Bibles, the mortal danger in travelling to minister to nearby villages, the surging violence that last month was 30kms away and this month is 15kms away?
He bides his time, wondering, I suspect, how we with our coffee concerns and renovation decisions can possibly fathom the stresses and hardships that he faces on a daily basis.
“I’m very thankful,” he says. “DMI has built us a new secondary school in Beni. We have been able to ordain more Deaf pastors who have baptised new believers and opened new churches. The dignity of the Deaf has increased in the eyes of society because, like my family, they can see the good work that the Deaf are doing with DMI’s help.” Papy has learnt, as I have, that it helps to keep your eyes on what you can do, rather than what you cannot do.
His reports contain a more complete picture. They record the Deaf who have been displaced through war, those dying of hunger, victims of theft and abuse, and the constant, horrific violence that has come to characterise the country. DMI is doing great work in DR Congo, yet even greater work lies ahead.
Papy says that he is blessed to have DMI’s support, and he is. But DMI is also blessed to have someone of Papy’s calibre and character at the helm, a man who was once considered the scum of the earth but is now a shining jewel in the Kingdom of God.
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
If you would like to support Papy and our ministry in DR Congo, please give here: https://deafmin.org/donate/ or click on the red button below.
I will be taking a brief hiatus from writing the blog to focus on other areas of DMI’s work. I hope you have enjoyed these testimonies and found them encouraging. Please continue to share them. My sincere thanks to you for joining me on this journey and for all your support in prayer, finance and service.
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