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previously and had not been used could not send any mail or receive
for 25 years. The natives cut a road any. The food that they had brought
to the river so that they could bathe. with them was soon depleted, but the
Christians brought them fruit, eggs,
good night’s sleep was not part local vegetables, and meat (gazelle,
of the Godfreys’ lives. One antelope, and other animals). When
night, they heard a crackling in the J.B. was away preaching, men from
plastic that they had stuffed in the the church would come and guard
crack in the corner of their bedroom. Linda and the children.

J.B. got up with a flashlight and a
he Lord greatly blessed the
machete. Whack! Something fell to
ministry in Zaire. There were
the floor. Linda asked J.B., “What is
it?” He answered, “You don’t want prayer meetings in the church in
to know!” You guessed it. It was a Tshene five mornings a week. The
snake going up the wall. It was hard people helped tear down buildings
for her to go back to sleep after that that could no longer be used and
for a while. Then the Lord reminded repaired others. There were 600
her once more of Psalm 56:3, What students in the schools on the mission
time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. stations. A medical clinic had more
than 50 people come to it each day.

Then, she slept well.

A T
One night the cows were in the
backyard and tore down the outside
wall of the outhouse trying to get
out. Later the pigs were digging up
the backyard with their snouts. Then
a couple of goats kept banging on
the tin door of the washroom on the
front porch. When J.B. went out to
run them off, he almost ran into a
bull on the front porch. What a night!
The Godfreys were completely “cut
off ” from the outside world. They
I n spite of the lootings, killings,
and rioting in other parts of the
country, life seemed to go on as
usual in the jungle village of Tshene.

J.B. led people to the Lord, baptized
new converts, dedicated babies,
and celebrated the Lord’s Supper.

Linda supervised the clinic, taught
the ladies, and homeschooled the
children. She prepared meals with
whatever food she could get, which
was a challenging process. J.B.

said she invented a lot of new and
interesting recipes.

On February 4, 1993, after they had
finished a day in school and their
work was done, they decided to take
a trip to the river to bathe and to
On April 20, 1992, BIMI Africa
Director Ron Bragg wrote, “The
government situation there has not
improved and living conditions
are difficult to say the least. There
is even word that civil war could
break out. Last month while J.B.

was in Kinshasa, soldiers shot down
and killed 12 people coming out
of church. As there is still no mail
service in Zaire, we cannot know
where things stand now.”
Linda Godfrey
. . . the cows were in the
backyard and tore down
the outside wall of the
outhouse trying to get
out. Later the pigs were
digging up the backyard
with their snouts. Then
a couple of goats kept
banging on the tin door of
the washroom . . .

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