2025 Congo Mission Trip REPORT

I left Los Angeles on Tuesday, September 2nd, flying to Kigali, Rwanda via Amsterdam. Airport to airport, the journey took about 24 hours. I traveled with 200 prosthetic hands and luggage for a six-day mission trip. This was something of a military-style “Jesus-op.” We were renting the United Soccer Stadium in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, and hosting a three-day Freedom Festival.

Our Kigali colleague, Justin Nkundabagenzi, whom I have worked with many times, picked me up at the airport and drove me to his mission base for the night. There I met Dale and Victoria Hermann, close friends and fellow missionaries from Los Angeles, as well as Esther Nyamizi Manghwa, a missionary friend from Tanzania. That night I took Malarone for malaria, forgetting that one of the side effects is insomnia. I did not sleep at all. It is a mission trip. These things happen.

The next morning, Thursday, we had breakfast and left for Goma, Congo, a five-hour drive from Kigali.

I tried to calm the fears of family and friends who were concerned because of the reputation Goma carries. Much of that reputation stems from the January massacre where thousands were killed under the reckless leadership of the Congolese Army. For years there have been rapes, killings, bombings, corruption, drunken soldiers, no electricity or water, banks closed, and civilians armed by the government. All of this was designed to crush and demoralize the Tutsi minority in Eastern Congo. Much of that had recently been disrupted by M23, who stepped in to establish order and dignity.

Despite negative press and false narratives, I felt a strong peace about going. When I asked the Lord whether I should go to Goma, I sensed a clear “Go,” and I was not concerned about our safety.

At dusk, the five of us met several bishops at the Congo border immigration and customs office. Once through, we followed a flatbed truck carrying a massive poster advertising the Freedom Festival. Dancers, music, and a charismatic Pentecostal bishop were featured. It felt surreal. Goma looked like a city that had been through war. Streetlights were dim. Some people danced as we passed by.

We drove to the United Soccer Stadium where preparations were underway for the festival. After praying with a large group, we went to the office of Bishop Jean Marie Oneiga, the former head of M23 and current Minister of Reconciliation between the government, M23, and the people.

His building was guarded by young soldiers in fatigues carrying machine guns and pistols. They had the look of men who had seen death. About a dozen of us crowded into Bishop Jean Marie’s office. He was a former corporate CEO, a former military leader, and yet carried an uncommon gentleness and peace. I quickly realized how uniquely suited he was for reconciliation work in this region.

I explained why we were there and shared that we believed this mission was directed from above and larger than any of us had anticipated. I quoted Isaiah 61, speaking about a double portion of joy replacing shame. I felt a strong sense that God was going to use Goma as a catalyst for transformation in the Congo. He was deeply moved.

Victoria then shared a word from Isaiah 62, which she did not know had already been given to him five times previously. It was a powerful confirmation. None of us yet realized how significant this man truly was or how high his leadership trajectory could go.

The Congo’s suffering stretches back to the Scramble for Africa and the Berlin Conference of 1884, where European powers divided Africa for resource extraction. King Leopold II of Belgium famously declared he would make the Congo his backyard, enforcing quotas through mutilation, including the amputation of hands.

Belgium favored the lighter-skinned Tutsi minority over the Hutu majority, embedding ethnic division that has plagued the region for over a century. Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda all share in this painful history.

Today, Congo may be the most resource-rich land on earth, with mineral wealth estimated at $24 trillion. The soil is extraordinarily fertile, yet the people have never had access to their own abundance. The oppression has been cosmic in scale.

We checked into La Joie Plaza Hotel that night. Water barely flowed. Electricity was dim. By then, I had gone nearly 48 hours without sleep.

The next morning we visited the Governor of North and South Kivu Province. I’ve worked in African nations multiple times but driving through Goma in daylight revealed a bustling city, on the edge of hope — filled with goats shouldered on motorcycles, every kind of street vendor, and women everywhere balancing goods on their heads. The Governor’s grounds stood in stark contrast to the surrounding poverty.

The Governor, a young and impressive leader, had been installed by Bishop Jean Marie. He explained how M23 had restored water, electricity, confiscated tens of thousands of weapons, installed new police, and dramatically reduced violence. Weekly community meetings and citywide cleanups had become the norm.

The leaders asked us to tell the truth about what was happening in Goma. The false narrative carried by international media stood in contrast to what we were witnessing firsthand. 

That afternoon we returned to the United Soccer Stadium for the first night of the Freedom Festival. A couple thousand people attended. The stadium showed signs of deep wear and past violence, yet the worship was outstanding.

During one song, people lifted their chairs and danced with them overhead. African worship carries an uncommon freedom and abandon. I was called to speak and addressed the crowd in Swahili. I shared my testimony and presented the Gospel simply and clearly.

We prayed prayers of repentance, forgiveness, renouncing witchcraft, and prayed for the sick. People were healed, saved, and delivered. Though there were no wheelchairs or blind individuals present that night, the ministry was powerful and deeply personal.

Saturday morning we returned to Bishop Jean Marie’s office with prosthetic hands and demonstrated their use for hospital staff and M23 leadership. We then spoke at a gathering of nearly 500 pastors and their wives, teaching on unity and the power of the Ekklesia.

Each pastor received food supplies, and later that day we returned to the stadium. Worship was intense. Dale and Victoria preached powerfully. During Victoria’s message about family restoration, a man received a call that his son, kidnapped six months earlier, had been returned home.

Sunday morning I visited an orphanage of 75 children who had not eaten in days. Most had lost parents in the war. I prayed for them and gave funds directly to support their care.

I preached at Bishop Mutumba’s church, shifting my message mid-service to speak about hope as an anchor from Hebrews 6. Across the city, the rest of our team ministered in different churches, witnessing deliverance and salvation.

The final night of the Freedom Festival drew the largest crowd. Leaders prayed over the nation. I spoke about Goma’s destiny, reading Isaiah 61 once more. Justin followed with an altar call, and many responded.

We prayed for healing and deliverance. Tumors shrank. (L-cross out)——. Chronic pain and emotional torment disappeared. People were freed from witchcraft and restored in joy. As worship continued, the sun set over Goma, a wounded but hopeful city.

Monday we visited the Catholic Center for the Handicapped and fitted amputees with prosthetic hands. A young girl clapped and jumped with joy when she could write for the first time. Others wrote their names for the first time in years.

We returned to Rwanda, visited the well my wife Jenny had helped fund, now supplying clean water to 100 families daily. Plans are underway to expand access to another community of 1,500 families.

We are currently raising funds for installing 6 water wells to get fresh water to thousands of people. We are meeting with the CEO of a notable American bank regarding banking in Goma. We are meeting with a man who has revolutionized poultry farming in several African nations and is reducing poverty in significant and measurable ways. As the trip concluded, we reflected on next steps. This was not an ending, but a beginning. It is a new day in the Congo.