What Is It Like Serving as a Missionary in a War-Torn Country Dubbed the 'Worst Place in the World to Be a Woman?'
PCUSA Missionary Co-Worker: Despite Difficulties There Is 'Immense Joy' Among Empowered Survivors
Boyd: I am encouraged when I see how the women's department of this Federation of Churches is just working with the little or no resources that they have. Many women volunteer their time to serve as a counselor, to welcome these women, to you know blanket them in love. Women who have been abandoned by their husbands, they find care and love through these women of of this Federation of Churches. But what I also have particularly found encouraging in the east of Congo is how women of these different denominations are working together and finding an identity together as women of this Federation of Churches.
The creativity...you know there was described to me kind of an alternate economy almost is set up where eventually the women who have been cared for this way form solidarity groups … [Perhaps] there are some women leaders in this federation of churches that are leading initiatives, they see where they can get ahold of a piece of land or they know someone who gives it to them to use. The women who are survivors of rape and widows whose husbands have been killed etcetera work on this land. By working on that land they have something to eat. They also provide food to the orphans who are also taken care of by this women's federation. Part of the harvest goes to the orphans, part of the harvest goes to these women. Then the women say, "Yeah, but we have never gone to school. We want to have literacy." So they use part of the harvest, they exchange that for a teacher to teach them literacy. Then also some of the older children of these rape survivors and widows, those that are a bit older, they are involved now in a project where they make charcoal … which is the main use (fuel) for cooking etc. Again, some to be used at home and for the rest to be sold and then that way they could pay for their own schooling. So there is this...a lot of love and energy and creativity too, in these dire circumstances...still make it work and bring life. That's you know, you can't do anything if you're alone. You can only do that when you pull together and that's what's happening. That's what's encouraging.
CP: You described that much of your work is kind of assessing the situation locally and then conveying that to the U.S. partners. Can you comment on some of the perceptions locals that you work have about U.S. church or U.S. Christianity? Also, are there any misconceptions maybe that U.S. churches or U.S. Christians seem to have about these foreign cultures?
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Boyd: That's why it is important for us to have this interpretive role, as we say it, as mission workers to convey the realities of what locally is done. Some of those misconceptions on both sides of the ocean are sometimes feeding into each other. There may be the expectation that there is this rich country and you know, the churches and the people are rich and so kind of the old model of missions where resources come from one side of the ocean and would go to the other side of the ocean in countries where the economy is not good. You can understand that there are misconceptions, but history has also made it clear that those are often not the most sustainable responses. It is so easily presumed, both on this side of the ocean as well as in the U.S. What may be in the U.S. situation is the idea that we have knowledge and the money, the distance and the power of money makes it so that we will have the solutions and so you get the quick fixes that often are not sustainable.
Those are challenges that sometimes as mission workers we are caught in between because that has been the old pattern, but it has not proven to be the sustainable pattern and yet it seems to be the easy way to go. That is a challenge, to try and channel the goodwill that definitely is there and the potentials for helping improve situations that are there, the realities that are on the ground and that need a response, a collective response, the challenge to indeed bring all of that together in a way that there will be sustainable responses and also responses that lift up the dignity of people and where dependency is not being continued because dependency is not dignifying.
CP: How often do you get to go back to the U.S.?
Boyd: Officially in our terms it is once every three years. Because my husband and I have regional roles, my husband has had it now for a longer time, he has needed to go back every year for meetings so he has gone back every year. Maybe that I also will join him in that, it depends on how things go with finances too with the church, they are dwindling. Some of these things that could be helpful sometimes are not able to continue. Since about a couple of years or so it probably has been once every year. But in itself, mission co-workers who say are on a regular basis (and) not having a regional role … the terms are now four years and after two years then the mission personnel gets to go to the U.S. for an R&R and medical check up. After another two years, or four years total, they go to the U.S. to visit churches.
CP: Has there been any concerns or talk about Ebola, which is affecting a few countries next door, to the west of Congo?
Boyd: Well actually, there also has been Ebola this year at the same time as in West Africa in Congo. In itself there have been those concerns here. Although we are not personally concerned about it, say if you are talking about our personal concerns, concerns about our personal health.
The Ebola in Congo, Congo has had already for decades. The first Ebola case has been decades ago and there have been several outbreaks since then in Congo and so the Congolese government knows pretty well, has a lot of experience [on] how to contain an outbreak. As such the Ebola outbreak in Congo, I think it was in September, has remained very limited. I believe the number of deaths has remained below 100. But for us personally, we're not concerned about our own health. This is in the first place very far removed from where we are. The Congolese infrastructure is very poor, so for the Ebola to travel is pretty hard, the chance for it to get here is small and there are very particular ways for the transmission of Ebola. I think the scary part of Ebola is that it is so deadly once someone has attracted the virus. But otherwise there are diseases here in Congo that are way more endemic and also deadly. There is a much bigger chance to get the diseases like malaria, there is also cholera. But you don't hear talk about that in the U.S. It is the scare of the deadliness of those who (contract) Ebola that then fatality is so high. So we have not been too concerned about our own health.
Now the question comes up when you get visitors. We have staff that plan on visiting and we also know of other denominations that have staff [that have offered] to come and visit ... Then there are some that decide to cancel the trip because there is Ebola in the country. But the PCUSA has been in touch with us as mission personnel on the ground and we will check in with partners and assess the risks, so in that sense our staff did come and visit fortunately. It is very isolating for partners if there is such a drastic measure of cancelling trips because of Ebola. Given the risk factor, the risk factor is very low on attracting Ebola. The risk factor of contracting malaria is way higher. ... But I also know of other denominations who have cancelled their trip. I also know of conferences that have been canceled. This all has a ripple effect because when will people come and visit again? We had visitors from a Fresno church for the first time, it's a Korean church, they wanted to visit the Presbyterian partners. They were also asked the question of whether they would cancel it, and they said, "No, we're going." It really gives partners a great joy here when U.S. partners don't let themselves get caught up in the hysteria around Ebola. This is not to diminish the enormous, the horrible situation in West Africa but each situation needs to be assessed in its own context. For Congo, those risks are actually very very...are extremely minimal.
CP: Any parting thoughts or anything that you want to convey to our readers or that you want them to know or grasp about your work?
Boyd: I would ask readers when they want to help and get engaged in Christ's mission to pause for a moment and listen to our brothers and sisters in Christ to whom they want to reach out, and listen to their stories and try to understand their context and see how their own mission endeavors can be mutual. Because partners have a lot to give, in the spiritual sense and in the way that..their faith is so strong. … It has been said so often so I don't want to sound like it hasn't already, but despite all these difficult situations, they experience an immense joy also when they contribute themselves as the widow with her penny. As they contribute to God's work, the enormous joy that it gives to them, (for readers) to take that in and see what that means for mission engagement.
