In Due Time

A Letter from José LaMont Jones, serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Fall 2023

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Dear friends,

In April of 2020, I was given a packet of fresh collard green seeds. I was a newly hired mission co-worker to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and I was not sure if I would be able to get my favorite food, so I was getting prepared. There were enough seeds to plant an acre of greens, so I had plenty to share. Knowing that there were food security issues in the DRC, I was happy to have so many.

El Shadai Masaka, my young neighbor, who cares for my balcony garden (photo credit: Jean Barnabas)

I planted those seeds in Dayton OH, and learned that they were viable, only to leave my plants when I joined my wife in the Dominican Republic, in July 2020, to wait out the rest of the pandemic. Mission co-workers still had not received re-deployment orders to countries of service and it became obvious that it would be a while before we were able to work in person.

I replanted the seeds in Santo Domingo, which has more months of sun in Dayton, OH but this time with less success. Although I had greater environmental control and regular access to watering, the plants just did not grow. Santo Domingo and Kinshasa are both coastal climates at, roughly, equal distances North and South of the equator. Since Kinshasa has less sunlight and hazy skies for so much of the year, I was concerned that my collard green seeds would not be successful in Kinshasa either.

It is funny how timing and the resource mix affect the success of our project outcomes. We can plant a seed, but it is God who, ultimately, gives growth and development. Here in Kinshasa, a year and a half after arriving, I find my experience with my collard green seeds to be a paradigm for mission work as well. It seems that conditions may be right for growth but sometimes it works…and other times it does not.

Institut Scientifique Kasavubu gets a make-over this summer. (photo credit: José LaMont Jones)

Well, as it turns out, the collard green seeds successfully germinated on my balcony here in Kinshasa and grew into plants. Each week, I can harvest leaves for one or two meals. In fact, we have been teaching vertical sack gardening to others and some 30 more people can do the same! We are finding the right mix of interested individuals, available resources, infrastructural support, institutional will and financial inputs to really make a difference. Not only will this be a blessing in terms of having food, but also an opportunity for hands-on learning in botany and ecology, among other areas, of the curriculum.

My little balcony garden has proven to be important to the mix of getting things off the ground in my mission service. We are slowly, but surely, contributing to the transformation of the physical environment of schools by introducing trees, plants and flowers to school campuses. Plants are not only more pleasing to look at than the dusty brown of the sandy soil but also serve as surface area for dust to settle out of the air and as a source of oxygen. Many of the plants are propagated right here on my balcony. My young neighbor El Shadai Masaka keeps that program running. He has learned to give vertical sack presentations, helped with school projects and is my go-to person for germination and flower propagation.

My hope is that École Primaire Presbyterienne (EPP) Masina (see my Spring 2023 Mission Connection Letter) will serve as the hub for decorative plant propagation for the rest of the Église du Christ au Congo – Communauté Presbytérienne de Kinshasa (CPK) Schools. An enclosed planting area will store student plant experiments as well as plants to beautify other campuses. I am praying for support to facilitate this project.

Rev. Mudekereza Nsibula Lamek of CPK Paroise KasaVubu and ISK Prefect Mr. Freddy Siadi Onsi (photo credit: Mr. Mathieu Chico Kajibala)

The Outdoor Lab at Institut Scientifique de KasaVubu (ISK) is also beginning to “flower.” It has been a frustrating journey indeed, characterized by false starts and missed opportunities but it appears that the confluence of needed inputs are bringing this project to fruition. Nearly two years later, the dream of Rev. Mudekereza Nsibula Lamek is becoming a reality. His dream of community-based creation care and ecosystem gardening may prove to be a model for not only KasaVubu but other schools in the CPK and Africa in general. With support from the CPK his gardens are popping up at other churches, schools and the Booth Theological Seminary. The shared vision of raising consciousness and knowledge on climate change and environmental issues is also coming to life.

With new leadership at the school, ISK Prefect, Mr. Freddy Saidi Onsi, is making improvements to the school’s physical plant and solving some serious drainage issues. They have also put a roof on the pre-existing base construction of a teacher prep room and science laboratory space. ISK is transforming itself into a modern learning center.

There is no budget for projects, and it is my job to connect resources and projects to potential support to improve the educational outcomes. There is so much need. Thanks to the good-will and financial support of supporters in the U.S. we have been able to develop some best practices that can help lift-up all the CPK schools. It was important, in this first year of my service, to develop cost-effective pilot projects that can be scaled up and applied to other schools, but we are resource short.

And so it is in mission and in life; things go well sometimes and other times…well, they just take time. We all have a job to which we are assigned; to share the good news of what God is doing, and to add to the successful completion of that work through the offering of our treasure, talents and time. Finally, we must all give thanks to God Almighty who, in due time, makes everything turn out well.

José