Compassionate IMPACT
By James Kigamwa, Mercy Inc.
“The danger was so great! Many
people died, and we were about
to close the doors of the church.
But your prayers, financial support
(to purchase the prevention kits), and
training saved our VCP center pastors,
trainers, and church members, as well as the
people around the city of Beni, the epicenter of
the Ebola virus outbreak,” reported Pastor Noah Kyota, a One Mission Society
(OMS) village church planting (VCP) coordinator in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC).
Last summer, the DRC declared an outbreak of Ebola in the North Kivu
province when four people tested positive. During the outbreak, one VCP
church member died. Several more people died in nearby
towns. Pastor Noah recalls that their resolve to get
involved came when they realized that fighting
among rebels and militia groups was making
it difficult for health workers to respond ef-
fectively to the crisis.
Then, after their local church in
Mangango lost two people, Pastor
Noah said they were ready to close
the church in order to deter members
from having physical contact with one
another. But just in time, they received
funds from OMS’ compassionate part-
ner ministry, Mercy, Inc., which enabled
them to keep their church doors open.
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