A Voice from the Past

The following letter was written by my father-in-law, Dr. Laban Herbert Smith on July 5, 1947. It was written from Iwungu, the second mission station they ministered at before being invited to come by Chief Kuma Kuma to come evangelize the region where we live. This letter was written by Laban 11 years after they arrived in Congo, and one year after returning from their first furlough which took place after their first term of 7 years. Towards the end, he begins to describe what is happening as he begins to make trips to our area, where they eventually moved to and experienced an incredible moving of the Holy Spirit.

"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord." Zechariah 4:5

"Dear Flossie (who was greatly responsible for Laban's coming to Christ), Alice, Minnie,(sister of Marcella, Laban's wife) and all at Missionary Chapel:

Greetings in Jesus' precious name. . . I got to thinking of those orders I received just before leaving. . . WRITE. . . and checking up I find it is nearly six months, and lest I do as well or worse, I shall write.

I am sure Marcella has been keeping you all well informed. She is supposed to do most of the correspondence. We thank God upon every remembrance of you all and your labors, gifts, and love to us while on furlough. I shall not forget the last minute rush, yet only in answer to prayer, as we had been praying God thrust us out, and when the thrust came, we were not prepared for it only testified to our lack of faith. Suddenly the thrust and how all of you as one man in the fight helped us off with that last minute farewell, not knowing while we were all in the meeting, Marcella speaking in the East and I there (with you) little Gareth took his flights to world unknown above to be with Jesus where suffering and the sting of death is no more. (Gareth was Jim's baby brother, about 14 mos. of age when he died). Oh praise God for the blessed hope. Can it be long before we all hear the shout, the glorious return of our blessed Lord and Savior, and our gathering unto Him? I believe it cannot be long as we see the multitude evils of the day. The days of Noah are here as in the days before the flood and the world mad after this world's gain and swift to shed blood. Since our return we find the natives drinking more than when we left, more unrest, not satisfied to live with ordinary fare but would live in wontonness seeking the pleasures of this world.

Thank God we have the bright side to tell as well. God has been pouring out His Spirit in our midst and souls saved. Nearly every altar call there are those that answer and come forward saying they want to be saved and not go to the dibulu tiya. (Hell)

Listen, the drums are beating, the wailing and the chanting. This we heard only last night, and another passed into a Christless eternity. The laborers are few. We expect to be alone after January 1 unless the Lord sends other workers. The two girls will be leaving to hold down another station we opened, sending Hutchenson to occupy but he feels the Lord is now leading him to Kikwit to open a Bible school, therefore making it necessary to send the two girls to hold the fort. (These two women were both with the same board as the Smiths, and they left Iwungu to go to Kajiji, the first mission station Dr. Laban and Marcella worked at.

I returned from a recent village trip, and the Lord blessed in a most glorious way. I took the little generator set with me showing a few film strips and also colored pictures with the projector Dr. Thompson gave me to bring out here. The natives for the first time to look at such a machine setting off at a distance could push light through that string and cause pictures to be seen on a big white cloth and a Victrola to sing. They exclaimed, 'The wisdom of the white man!' Through those pictures and preaching the Word, over 400 at once stood to their feet with hands stretched heavenward, pleading forgiveness for their sins. They burned idols, brought all their medicines (concocted through witchcraft), confessing how they had killed--some as many as 8--others even more. Coming, arming her way to the front, an old lady cried, 'You see this little antelope horn? I used that with my medicines in it to give me power to throw babies in the river.' Another man came confessing he had killed his own father. In this village now over 400 believers come together to worship. Their offering for 5 weeks was 220 francs, enough to pay the teacher and start building the church and the evangelist's house. This is a self-supporting church at the start. This was in the village of Longo. (This village is 6 miles from our home, and these conversions were what earmarked the beginning of the Bayanzi great awakening from 1947 to 1953, when more than 10,000 responded to the Gospel of Jesus Christ). In the village of Nkara (about 3 miles from us) over 300 came to the Lord in like manner, confessing their killings which they seldom ever confess. I have some movies of these burning their idols and medicines. From this trip, over 1000 entered the Bible schools in the different villages, and 6 supporting churches sprung up.

Since being in Congo, I have not had such an experience.

All glory and praise be to God!"

Laban