Writer on the Side

The Wegner family spent their first Christmas in the Congo passing out presents to wounded rebel soldiers and other patients at the hospital where Stephen works.

With Christmas coming soon, I knew I wanted to focus on a story that would touch hearts this season. This account comes from Anna Wegner, who is serving as a missionary in the Congo with her husband, Stephen, a physician, and their three children. I didn’t want to mess it up by adding my own words, so here it is just as she wrote it. What a privilege to be connected to this precious family, who has been in Africa since November 2009 after spending four years in Montana. Thank you for lifting the Wegners, their ministry and the African people in prayer.

“There were several really neat things about our first Christmas here.  Our family arrived in Impfondo in mid-November, so we hadn’t been here long at Christmas time.  We didn’t have many things to give the kids, many decorations, and our Christmas was going to be very simple.  I have to admit that I wasn’t very excited about it.
Things were stressful because of the war across the river from us.  We would often hear gunshots, and we had many war wounded- refugees and rebels come into the hospital.  We had to keep our evacuation bags packed and constantly evaluate the situation to know if we would need to be on the next plane out of here.  We were familiar with our evacuation plan, and made sure to take appropriate precautions.
A few weeks before Christmas, we were in a mission staff meeting and one of the visiting doctors, a surgeon, was wanting to buy some food the surgery patients at Christmas.  Stephen and I added that we would like to do something for the pediatric patients.  We ended up coming up with a plan to include all of the patients in the hospital.  The missionaries and the hospital chapel donated money to buy the food.  We had a baton of kwanga (manioc), sardines, cookies, juice mix, and candy for each one.
There were some tense moments in the weeks leading up to Christmas.  We had such an influx of refugees in the town that food was becoming harder to find.  Boats with supplies for the market couldn’t make it up the river because they were being attacked by rebel forces.  Air travel was the only way in or out of town, and at least one plane had to turn back because of an armed threat.
There were patients in the hospital who were angry that there were rebels being treated in the same place.  There were people in town who wanted to take the rebels and dispense their own justice.
One night a few days before Christmas, some rebels were brought in who had been wounded and then spent five days hiding in the jungle. Late in the night the police came to take some of the patients, because they said they were too dangerous.
We approached Christmas very stressed, worried and uncertain of what the next few days would hold.

Stephen and Anna Wegner and their three children are spending their third Christmas in the Congo this year.

Stephen was working on Christmas, but the kids and I were able to help pass out presents to the patients.  We went with two other missionary couples- one from the DRC and one from Belgium and Canada.  In each room, they gave a short speech about the true story of Christmas and the reason we were giving out the gifts.  We sang a song and passed the presents out to each patient and their family.
To see the joy on their faces from such a simple gift was amazing!  We realized how much we have and how little many of the people here have.  In the last room, there were 5 or 6 of the rebels who had been serious wounded.  To be perfectly honest, it made my skin crawl to enter the room with my children.  I knew these men had been involved in many evil deeds.
But I also knew that Jesus loves them, too.  They were laying wounded and broken, and we had a chance to be Christ’s hands and feet and reach out to them.  The short speech was about three times as long in that room!  Most of the men and their family members who were there responded.  It was our last room, so the missionaries were able to spend more time with them, and make sure they understood and had a chance to respond.
We had a chance to watch the men as they healed and recovered.  Not all of them stayed around the area, but one man did.  He now attends the hospital chapel faithfully each Sunday morning.  His presence each week is a reminder to me of the grace of God.
The Christmas gifts to the patients has turned into a tradition now.  Last year we were able to give each of the children who were patients or with a family member a hand made teddy bear or a sock puppet.  This year, thanks to Samaritan’s Purse and generous individuals, we have stuffed, animals, hats, scarves, blankets, and more to give to the patients.  Our whole family is looking forward to passing out the presents this year.”

To learn more about the Wegners, check out their website at http://wegners4theroc.blogspot.com.

Writer’s note: This is the third in a series of articles from the Glendive Alliance Church missions team highlighting people with a heart for missions. Follow my blog to see who’s next!