Democratic Republic of Congo (MAF) — After carrying a 120-pound
bag of charcoal attached to a strap wrapped around her forehead through
the jungle for 3 miles, the woman held out her hand to receive her
wages, her food for the day: a small square of goat fur. One man worked a
grueling 10-plus hours in exchange for two small minnows.
For the Mbuti Pygmies living deep in the Ituri rain forest of eastern
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), these are real examples of how
they’re being exploited by their “masters,” the Mokpala (non-Pygmy
Congolese). Forced into slavery, the Pygmies farm the very land that
rightfully belongs to them. They are often treated as second-class
citizens, and many in the DRC believe the Pygmies are half animal.
They call themselves the “Forgotten People.” But they’re not forgotten. God is making sure of that.
A champion for the Pygmy people
In the USA, mixed martial artist (MMA) Justin Wren wanted nothing
more than to become an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter. He
won several Texas state championships, was a two-time national champion,
and competed in season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter. But his success in
the ring only masked his depression and addiction.
He hit rock bottom right around the same time a friend invited him to attend a Christian men’s retreat in 2010.
Uncharacteristically, he accepted. It was there that he met Christ…and his life was forever changed.
(Photo courtesy Mission Aviation Fellowship)
Wren went on a short-term mission trip where he encountered the
Pygmies and realized they had no one to help them. He developed a vision
to buy their land back and dig wells in their villages–and ultimately
to set them free.
It was a grand scheme, one that Wren couldn’t accomplish alone.
Fortunately, God brought him together with members of Shalom University
of Bunia. Working together, Wren and Shalom have acquired over 2,400
acres of land in 10 different Pygmy villages and successfully completed
14 wells. The Pygmies are learning how to grow their own food on their
own land–plantains, corn, and beans. They’re also transplanting trees to
bring new growth to the forest, and a coffee project has recently been
started. Being responsible for their own land and food production means
they are no longer under the oppression of the Mokpala.
But the work has not been without setbacks.
In November 2013, Wren contracted a bad case of malaria. After 6 days
of fever, vomiting, and not eating, he had lost 30 pounds and was near
death.
Mission Aviation Fellowship was called to perform an emergency medevac, and on Thanksgiving Day flew Wren to Entebbe, Uganda, to a waiting ambulance.
Doctors discovered he had typhoid fever and malaria; 70% of his
bloodstream contained parasites. Had he waited another day, or even
hours, he could have been in a coma…or worse.
“They said I had blackwater fever, the end stages of malaria. I don’t
know of an airline or any pilot who would just drop everything on
Thanksgiving Day,” Wren said of MAF. “I owe you guys a lot.”
After recuperating, Wren returned to the DRC to continue the work and
found himself in need of MAF once again. While transporting the final
pieces of a well through the jungle in 4×4 vehicles, Wren and his fellow
workers encountered a washed-out bridge. The bridge was the only way to
reach the Pygmy village.
(Photo courtesy Mission Aviation Fellowship)
“We couldn’t get the final pieces to our well drillers that were
completing a well,” said Wren. “And if they wouldn’t have finished it,
the hole could have started collapsing.” Two weeks’ worth of labor would
have been lost.
Redoing the well would have meant paying the well drillers’ wages
again and feeding them for an additional 2 weeks. Fortunately, MAF was
able to help.
“MAF pilots flew us over the broken bridge and into the jungle!” said Wren.
The path to victory
Wren returned to the U.S. in November 2014 but plans to continue
fighting for the Pygmies–both from the States and in the DRC. (He
visited the DRC again this past May.)
Shalom staff and students continue to monitor the work in the
villages and have been handling the day-to-day logistics. They’re also
trying to mobilize local churches to conduct Bible studies in the forest
areas. While all of the above are positive steps, the road to freedom
for the Pygmies will not be an easy one.
Raising and selling their own crops means they’re free to blow their
earnings on things like hemp and alcohol, by which the Pygmies are also
enslaved. For them to truly be free, they need to know the Lord Jesus
Christ. Then they will be free indeed.
And MAF will be in Wren and Shalom’s corner every step of the way, ready to support them in this fight.
Story Courtesy Mission Aviation Fellowship
Source: Mission Network
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