Jerome and Lusia Mathe
Partnering with The Master's Mission since 1995
Adversity is no stranger to the Mathe family. Since 1993, Jerome has trained pastors at the Lake Kivu Christian Center, a type of "Master's Mission" in Goma, located on the shores of Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he now serves as Director. The current fighting in that region is reminiscent of the tragic fighting in that country (then Zaire) in 1993. The unrest that galvanized the call of God in their lives to minister in Goma, no matter the consequence.
The Winter 1997 edition of Missionews recounts the uncertainty of that time in the Mathe's life.
"On the first of November, fighting broke out again in Goma and rebel forces seized the airport. Zairian troops retreated from Goma, looting and ravaging each village they passed through. Items left behind were slashed, hacked to pieces, or destroyed by fire so that could not benefit those who followed. (They) returned to find all their possessions destroyed.
The staff and students of the center fled for their lives, going in different directions. Three of the teachers went fifty miles into the mountains to the west, while one professor went by boat with his family and six trainees across Lake Kivu. Jerome and Lusia and family with the rest of the trainees fled by foot through the Mugunga refugee camp to the west.
He says, 'We carried what we could manage and stopped for the night at the house of the Center's secretary because of a rain storm.' Leaving at 5:00 a.m. the next morning, they joined the mass movement of people being displaced to the west. That night they found shelter in a friend's home. 'At 9:00 that evening, there was a lot of gunfire outside and eight men forced the door open and came into the house. They shot one man and took two others with them. We squatted on the floor expecting to be shot.' The next day they moved further west and stayed in the home of a pastor who was a graduate of the Center. People arrived continuously all through the night.
For the next ten days, they moved to another location and heard gunfire each night. Several in the area were killed by stray bullets. When they had to leave, Jerome reported that many wanted him and his party to go north by truck and even loaded their belongings on one of their trucks. 'God led us to go south instead, so we removed our things. Most of those on the convoy that went north were massacred and the very day we left, the town was looted and many were killed by invading soldiers.' They went by truck to a missions station at Bobandana where they stayed for four nights. By this time Jerome was responsible for forty-six people. Two more moves and the hospitality of two Baptist churches kept them safe for twelve more days until Jerome went by boat back to Goma to check out the situation. Lusia followed the next day with the rest of the group.
Jerome testifies that Psalm 121 was a great encouragement to them in their trials. 'During that time we were in seven different places and saw how God was our strength, protector, and helper. Every evening I brought everybody together to pray, study, and meditate on God's Word. This gave comfort and strength for each day. During this whole time we had very little to eat and we all lost weight, but amazingly none of those in our group became sick. We all are praising God.'
Understanding what few Western Christians do about the dangers involved in faithfulness to God, Jerome and Lusia faced their return home with a desire to serve their people and bring them the Gospel. During their final evaluation time with our training staff in the United States, they shared their concerns about returning amidst such uncertain circumstances. Jerome told us that after much prayer, he was convinced that the Lord would direct them in every aspect of their return.
'If we must die, we want our lives to glorify God. Of course we want to live, and pray for God's protection so that others can find life in Christ.' They departed after graduation not knowing that within the month their lives would be upside down. But even now, we find them serving faithfully and carefully that others may find life in Christ!
At The Master's Mission we are grateful to God for the opportunity to be a part of the preparation of missionaries like Jerome and Lusia Mathe." (excerpt from Winter 2007 Missionews, Zaire: Shaken and Tried)
Please pray for Jerome, Lusia, the family, and the families in training at the center who may soon be displaced by the current fighting in Goma. We will do our best to keep you posted of the current events in the life of the Mathe's through their blog, which may be read by clicking on the link to the right.