Cultural Superstition

Be warned this is a post of the carefree genre: The Congolese culture focuses a lot on death. The funerals are large affairs and there is much traditional flair that surrounds them. There are rituals, dancing, drinking, and superstitions that no longer have a foundation. This is not to say that there shouldn’t be a mourning process, but it is just in stark contrast to the fact that a birth isn’t as focused or celebrated of an event, and they wait a certain number of days to name the baby. As of late there have been a steady average of deaths, and it was starting to weigh on my heart and those of the team. This week we had a child pass, and the family’s reaction was certainly a grievous one. The father accused the uncle of putting a curse on his child that caused him to die and proceeded to attack the uncle and his family. They attempted to burn down the house and kill his children, but somehow one of the pastors from our hospital heard the commotion, went over to the house, and got one of the children safely out of the house. We assume the other children and the wife escaped, but the husband is in the government hospital, and the found child is staying with the pastor’s family. My apologies for the somber mood of this post, but my purpose is to ask you to pray for both families; for the hope that they focus their beliefs on God rather than superstition, for the grieving family that lost a child, and for the uncle and his family that were attacked. Also for contintued strength, courage, and hope for the missionaries here.