#10 From Fatherless to Faithful: The Call to Congo with Saviour Kaonga

Saviour Kaonga's journey from a fatherless upbringing to becoming a spiritual leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo is a testament to the power of faith and redemption. This episode explores how God's transformative love turned Saviour's personal challenges into a mission-driven life, impacting communities in Congo with hope and leadership. Growing up without a father, Saviour faced deep questions and a longing for belonging. Through divine encounters, he discovered God's role as a Father, which ignited his passion for missions at 16. Now, in Congo, Saviour not only shares the gospel but also addresses the physical needs of villages, fostering local leadership and sustainable church growth. In this episode, you'll learn:

• How Saviour's personal journey shaped his understanding of divine Fatherhood and mission work.
• Insights on kingdom leadership rooted in identity in Christ, emphasizing humility and service.
• The importance of empowering local missionaries for long-term impact.
• Ways to support missionary efforts from anywhere in the world.
• Heartwarming stories of Saviour's impact on children and families.

Saviour's story is a reminder that every act of love can ignite hope and expand God's kingdom. This episode is a call to action for fathers, leaders, and believers to embody Christ's love in tangible ways. Join us to discover how Jesus transforms rejection into renewal and one life into a movement.

Saviour Kaonga is a Congo-based missionary and the country director for Overland Missions, dedicated to transforming lives through evangelism and discipleship. You can support his missionary work here. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

I grew up without a dad because my mom always told me she got pregnant at school and my dad never wanted to do anything with me. I'm one person that when I look back at my life, I'm like, there's no reason why I should be alive. You know, it's only by his grace. Even when he was saying that, I was like, God, I know you're the one speaking, but I don't know how this is gonna happen. But at the same time, I felt that voice in me that said, just believe it's my word. God is gonna send you into nations, and all I could say was, Lord, if this is you, you're called families.

SPEAKER_03 0:46

Today's guest is someone living out the Great Commission in a powerful way. They're currently serving as a missionary in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where they're involved in sharing the gospel, building relationships, and supporting local communities through ministry and discipleship. We're excited to hear about the work God is doing in the Congo, the challenges and joys of missionary life, and what it looks like to faithfully follow God's call across the world. But before we get there, today's conversation begins with a story many men can relate to. Many men grew up without fathers, carrying questions, wounds, and a deep desire for guidance. Yet the gospel reminds us that God can redeem even the deepest wounds and use our stories for his purpose. Our guest story is a powerful example of that redemption, going from rejection and fatherlessness to serving as a missionary in the Congo. Savior, welcome to the Church Dad Podcast.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_03 1:34

Welcome, Savior. Mark and I have actually really been looking forward to this for a while, ever since I found out about you. My parents were the ones who told me about you and your wife, your children, what you guys were doing in the Congo. And Mark and I had talked about it, and we're like, yeah, we have to have this guy on. And so you're always out there traveling in the bush, you know, out for long periods of time. So we finally were able to get together. So, you know, so the audience knows you're seven hours ahead of us. And with technology, we're hoping the internet connection stays good and we can we can have this full, full uh conversation. So um thank you for joining. We appreciate it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

Yeah, my pleasure.

SPEAKER_03 2:16

So so we'll start with a little bit of an introduction. Um, first, if you could just tell us a little bit about you know yourself, your family, and kind of the ministry that you're involved with in the Congo.

SPEAKER_00 2:29

Yeah, um, so just like you said, my name's my full name's uh Savia Kaonga. Um my wife and I, we we serve as country directors for for the mission organizations that we work with here in Congo, um, which is Overland Missions. And we yeah, we preach the gospel, we teach locals about farming, and we train local pastors in the word of God in leadership, and just in whichever way that we can serve. Um, and yeah, you you asked uh if I could talk a little bit about myself. So I was born in a family of five. I'm the firstborn. Um however, I grew up without a dad uh because my mom uh always told me she got pregnant at school and my dad never wanted to do anything with me. So yeah, I always ask questions of, but but why, you know, like my upbringing was was not easy. Like I at age 12, I had to learn to provide for myself, whether it's doing peace works or you know, just more jobs so that I can find something or earn something and provide for my needs. And yeah, I always asked God a lot of questions. Why did I have to endure so much rejection? Um, I'm basically like asking the question of why am I alive? Um, however, it was in those deep moments where I asked God those deep questions that He basically revealed to me that you do not have to worry, like I've always had a plan for you. You know, Jeremiah 1, verse 5, I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Um, and I set you apart to be my servant to the nations, and I'll send you wherever um I want I want you to go, and you shall speak before whosoever I appoint you to. So basically, God revealed to me in those in those moments that he was the greatest father, he was the father of the fatheress. And part of how he also showed me that he really cared um was raising, I guess I would say raising or bringing along men within the body of Christ that actually acted as fathers. And it was basically I had that revelation of like, oh, God is the father to the fatherless through the through his body, you know, God is spirit, so he's he says he's the father to the fatherless because he wants to work through his through us, his body, to care for the for the fatherless. So basically that's I would say that's that's that's a little bit about about myself. And um when my mom, when I was about five, my mom left me because she went, she got married to another man. So I was raised by my grandparents, um who this guy introduced me to who Jesus was, but not into a relationship. So I grew up knowing that there is a God, there's Jesus somewhere, but not as a God of relationships. So it was about when I was 16, that's when I joined this different church. Um, it's like Pentecostal church, and when I went there, they they described the gospel, they describe Jesus in a different way that I've that I've always heard about him. And I was like, no, I want to make this relationship with him. And ever since it's been it's been a nice ride, it's been a nice journey, um, even to the point where I accepted the call to become a missionary about 10 years ago.

SPEAKER_04 6:35

Yeah, so Xavier, tell me about that. Um, tell me the transition of you know growing up without a father. I know you said you had a lot of different fathers in your life to kind of fill in and you were eventually um, you know, introduced to the ultimate father, right? Um God, our father. But how how did how did that take you from you know from the feeling of you know rejection and fatherless to a call on your heart for missions? Can you tell us a little more about how God called you to the mission field in Congo and how did that look?

SPEAKER_00 7:06

Yeah, definitely. Um so basically, you know, I you know, we serve a God who hears. You know, I'm I'm one person that when I when I look back at my life, I'm like, there's no reason why I should be alive. You know, it's only by his grace. Um, so um there was a time when I actually prayed to God, say, God, prove to me that you answer prayer. Prove to me that you answer prayer. I I had a lot of debt at school um because no one was paying for my school fees. Um, literally, this this day I go I go to school and this unknown person, um, one of the one of the teachers, like we didn't have, we didn't know each other. He just called me into his office. He was like, hey, the Lord told me to pay for all of your school fees. So you don't have to worry about it, you can just study in peace. So it was almost like every time I prayed to God to show me his love, he used somebody who fears him to show me that he loved me, you know. So, anyways, fast forward, it was in 2015 when you know I was done with with my school and I was still looking for a job or just trying to figure out my life. So a friend of mine was like, Hey, uh, I have this organization called Overmissions. Um, maybe they can employ you to work on their bases as a as a as a daily worker. And I was like, Yeah, I don't I don't mind. But to my surprise, when I went there, I was rejected as a as a you know normal worker. Um and I was like, oh, again, rejection. But later on, I was called back because they needed someone who would translate. Um, you know, I speak 12 different languages, um, I mean, six of them being Zambian languages. So they wanted someone who could help translating and writing. So they called me, and this guy it was one thing to another, um, you know, of me this guy following the call God upon my life. And fast forward, there there was there was this night, I remember um our um our vice vice director, our director of operations. Um, he he called me, it was during one of the revival nights, and he called he called me up front and he prayed. Um, I've forgotten the scripture, but it's in Isaiah where you know Isaiah was prophesying about Jesus, where he says, For the spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to preach the gospel. And he prayed that over me. And at that time, because you know, I was just I I developed this inferiority complex, this image, this image of looking down on myself uh because of my past. And even when he was saying that, I was like, God, I know you're the one speaking, but I don't know how this is gonna happen. Um but at the same time, I felt that voice in me that said, just believe it's my word. Um, so he prayed that over me, and you know, he said, God is gonna send you into nations. And all I could say was, Lord, if this is you, you confirm it. And yeah, ever since I've been to different nations preaching the gospel.

SPEAKER_04 10:55

Wow. Wow, that that's incredible. Just the story of you know, starting off your life, you know, I I see it as something like um the devil kind of meant for, you know, to hold you back, but God used that to just kind of expand your um your ministry. Like so growing up without a father, you know, yeah. I mean the Lord really just blessed you and turned that into something where you know you're you're out there telling everybody else about Jesus, right? Um and you're you're showing other. Tell us a little too, Saver. You um talked about the other day about how now you're able to be that father figure for a lot of different kids growing up right now. The the same father figure that you didn't have growing up and how the Lord's kind of showing you how you can bring other kids in and be that father figure that you didn't have. So I just um just just how the Lord turns this into good is just amazing. Um so tell tell us a little bit more about that. And like, you know, a lot of dads listening out there right now, they may realize that the weight of their presence carries a lot in their kids' lives. So you know this from a personal standpoint, the weight of um a father's presence in your life. Now you've seen it from, you know, not having a father, but then you had other father figures come into your life and they pointed you to the ultimate father, right? So can you can you just tell us a little bit how you've done that in other children's lives from a mentor standpoint?

SPEAKER_00 12:23

Yeah, um, maybe first of all, before I share about uh how the Lord has used my life, you know, to play uh the role of a father in in a lot of um young people, and not only young people, but really like just people of different ages. So I wanted to say God had to heal me, you know, so that I can take that testimony to the nation. It would be hard for me to do what I'm doing if God had not healed me. You know, if if I was doing this to please man, it would really be hard. So God had to heal me. In other words, like I say, God brought along people who feared him that actually acted as fathers, even though you know they didn't really call me their son or anything. But it was you know, it it was in everything God proven to me that he cared for me, um, you know, through through through the body of Christ. So, anyways, being you know, like being missionaries and not only missionaries, but you know, the role that my wife and I have um, you know, as country directors, which means we oversee, you know, mission work um for our missions here in Congo, which is a country, like it's not a small country, it's a country with at least a little over 120 million people. And only 2% of the roads are paved. That means you know, like the the the like the country is really like disconnected. You cannot you cannot drive to the capital city, like you have to fly there. Um but but, anyways, ever since being here, the Lord has just opened doors for me to show the love that He first showed me, you know. In other words, you know, the scripture says you can't give what you do not have. It's almost like the Lord wanted me to receive love so that He can prepare me for places like this. Like I'm sure you all have heard about you know, like the civil wars and all the chaos happening in Congo. Like the side of Congo where we are, there is not, you know, like those wars, but it's like the ripple effect of what is happening in the neighboring provinces or in the neighboring places, like the the the situation is tense, you know, it's like survival. Um, and sometimes it's almost like people lose that respect, that dignity for life. You know, it's like you could see someone burning on the side of the road and everyone is just passing, it's like normal, you know. Um, however, how the Lord has helped me, you know, show show love to people of different ages is first of all like through the word of God, you know, like by teaching, bringing hope to those that you're hopeless. Like I'm able to share my testimony to be like, hey, I felt rejected, I was rejected, but the Lord healed that, and the Lord is using that for the better. You know, what the enemy meant for the bad, the Lord is using it for the good. And even right now, we have over 15 kids that we're putting through school, my wife and I. Um, you know, I said no one was, you know, was really willing to pay for my school fees unless the Lord touched their hearts. So I'm also gonna do the same. Um and even the other day, like a quick testimony. I get, I was taking one of the team members uh to the hospital, and I get there, they tell me there's this lady in here who stuck with a 10-year-old girl. She's been sick, they don't have managed to take her to the bigger hospital. And I was like, listen, I told the guy who I took, whom I took there, I was like, You're feeling bad, I'm taking that girl to a better hospital. Um, I I took that girl, I called my doctor friend, I was like, hey, I'm bringing in this girl. Um, I don't know who they are, but I just found them at this hospital. And they were just perplexed. They're like, Who are you like caring for us this much? But I could not withstand, you know, seeing the pain that the girl was in. And you know, it I think what the Lord was telling me was, I've made you a father beyond blood. You know, you're not just a father to your three boys, like you are a father to whosoever I bring your way, because there's a lot of hopelessness out there, there is a lot of people that need to experience my love. And I took that girl, even though unfortunately we lost the girl after so many attempts, like it was like already too late. But the family, like they they called me, they were like, we want to start going to the church that you want to go, that that you you go to because we can see the love of Christ. Like, we don't know who you are, we didn't know, we didn't know who you were, but you the way you cared for our family spoke more than a two-hour someone in front of a pulpit or something like that.

SPEAKER_04 18:13

Wow, that that's awesome. So it's it boils down to Luke, right? And Savior here, because he first loved us, that's why we go and show love to others. What amazing story of how you're being a uh father to others, but not only just showing them how to be, you know, a man or grow up as a woman of Christ, but um you're really showing them um how to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, right? And that's the whole point of what you're doing. You're showing the love that he showed you so you can pour it out on them so then they can see the savior's love within you. And no, no, I mean your your name is perfect for it, right? Savior and savior, right? I just put two or two together. But anyways, that that's what a powerful story.

SPEAKER_03 18:58

Um well Mark, Mark, what I what I love about that story is Savior easily could have you easily just walked over and said, Hey, I'll pray for you. But you went above and beyond just praying. You actually went to try to find a better doctor and actually doing something then because you you hear that a lot. Oh, we'll pray for you, or somebody's in a situation, and then we just kind of disregard their need, but their physical need, but you're you're meeting those needs, and that goes a long way with people.

SPEAKER_00 19:27

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I and I mean like, you know, people, you know, in especially if you understand how people live in Africa, you know, yes, we are we are communal culture, but we prioritize blood, you know, like if you're my blood relative, I'm gonna help. But when you help someone who like I'm a foreigner here, like I'm considered a foreigner here in Congo because I'm from Zambia, like they're like, what are you gonna benefit in here? Like, it's not like you're helping us so that one day we can help you, but uh I'm able to pick it up from there to be like, hey, I'm able to do this because of what Jesus did. And then they are tourists, they're like, I want, I want that Jesus that you preach. You know, I I I want to start going to the church that you go to, you know.

SPEAKER_04 20:20

Right. It doesn't make sense to them, right? It's kind of backwards for him, but that's how that's how Jesus operates, right? Um, I love that. Yeah. So good. Um tell us a little bit, Savior, around um leadership. Um, when we had talked to you before, you had that topic of kingdom leadership and what does that look like to play out? Because kind of what I see um in your story, a lot of cool things growing up and just leadership from a father standpoint. But what does it really mean? Because when we're talking to dads and fathers out there, we're all called to be leaders, right? Leaders in our families, leaders um, and leaders in our community. But what does true kingdom leadership look like? Because I feel like a lot of us chase certain leadership, but it's not really kingdom focused as much. Could you could you expand a little bit on that, what you mean when you say um kingdom leadership?

SPEAKER_00 21:13

Yeah. Um I would say when it comes to leadership, you know, it it all starts with understanding your identity in the Lord. If you know who you are, you will be, you know, it will you will be a good leader. So um when I see someone who is uh struggling in leadership, I see someone who is struggling in their identity. Like, you know who you are, you know how much you have been loved. So um for me personally, from the time I understood the finished work of the cross, what Jesus did on the cross for me, I actually came to understand that true leadership is not by manipulation. but by inspiration, you know. And even talking to fathers, you know, I know, you know, for every man, you know, you want to be your own man, you want to do, you want to do your uh things your own way. But really, what Jesus demonstrated for us, you know, the Bible says him being God, he did not consider that, you know, he can put and put on uh a body like us. Um what I've actually come to understand is that you're only a powerful leader if you are a submissive leader. So in this case we are talking about if you allow Christ to lead you you are going to be a good leader. You know like that's right christ has been the greatest father you know has been has been in this thing for for for long time than every one of us. So if we allow him to lead to lead us then we will lead well and I I I think I come back again like true leadership is not my by manipulation intimidation but it's by inspiration. It's when you can help someone understand who they are in the Lord and actually when you see someone living in a way that is is not pleasing to the Lord you tell them hey you're actually better than that you know I'm not trying to shame you but what I'm bringing good news to you to say you are better than that and um you could do better than that.

SPEAKER_03 23:41

Yeah that's good.

SPEAKER_04 23:42

You should do some corporate talks there uh yeah you should be yeah that's awesome I love it so much. No that's good. Is there any a specific encouragement um Savior that you want to speak to fathers out there right now fathers that might be in a um a similar circumstance um from your past growing up maybe without a father or just fathers that are just kind of struggling to understand or you know looking for the meaning in life um as they lead their families and maybe that maybe they're stuck in a a career they think they're stuck in a career job and they just don't feel like it's very meaningful and they're they're weighing just the balance of fatherhood and providing I I just feel you have such a unique experience that I'm sure there's some folks out there right now listening in that could use a word of encouragement.

SPEAKER_00 24:37

Is there any kind of word of encouragement that you'd you'd leave with them yeah um I would love to say you know to those that feel discouraged to those that feel rejected um I want you to know that God will never reject you God will never forsake you know as he has said in his word that he will never leave us nor forsake us and you know like he he can't give us the responsibility of of being a father or of fatherhood without giving us sufficient grace you know for us to be able to cry the Lord so my my encouragement to those that feel depressed or rejected is that hey God can turn what the enemy has meant for for for bad God can turn it for good you know um that's you know if you allow God God can can can squeeze that lemon into lemonade that is drink that will be drinkable like uh so and and and also just just a reminder that being a father is not a burden it is a blessing and a privilege you know we are we we've been trusted with souls for the kingdom of of God you know like I I tell them I'm leading a team of over 25 missionaries I mean full-time missionaries I tell them guys I I tell them like your kids are your first disciples you know um you are you've been you've been entrusted with those little souls so that you can raise them into the giant spare the giant killers of tomorrow you know you're raising the the the Davids of tomorrow who will stand for the for the truth of the gospel so um and and even like a quick testimony myself I go with my children camping sometime you know it's not the safest place but you know we use wisdom at the same time however I can't tell you how many times my kids tell me daddy is it time to talk to people about Jesus and I tell them yes you know I tell them yes and um the other day one of one of our missionaries um uh Patrick you know I was working with my second born son who is who is almost five and he just ran to him and said uncle I love you and and and and and and that missionary friend was like man the whole of today nobody told me that they love me you are the first one and and my boy answered him is like that's just because that's because Jesus has loved me and I'm also able to keep that love for others you know he's like I'm able to love others because Jesus loves me and I was just like God I all the challenges that I'm facing cannot be compared to what you're showing me right now. If I can raise this boy to in your ways to know who you are and to love people better I think it means more than a while to me you know that's good that that is awesome.

SPEAKER_04 28:12

I mean that I mean you boiled it down to probably one of the simplest terms not always easy but simple is we're here to raise disciples for Christ right we're gonna turn those little guys our sons and daughters into really when you think about it um soldiers in his kingdom right to be able to raise them up to go into the world to share Jesus but also to to push back the darkness right and be armed with um what they need to and like we're as dads we're we're there to lead that spiritual leadership and the the spiritual um discipleship so that's so good that's so good.

SPEAKER_03 28:46

So Savior we uh you have a lot going on over there like you you mentioned before only two percent of the roads are paved and you're looking to potentially you know purchase a motorcycle to get you to different villages remote places you've had invitations to preach so how can church dads how can the listeners how can we we're gonna pray for you that's a that's a that's a given but how can we support the the mission work out there because we want to we want to join arms with you I look at it like this I I feel like you and your wife and your team are kind of like the special forces when it comes to like ministry. And in in in America our special forces get all the good equipment and I I don't think the crit I don't think we have it right in at least in the West this is this is how I feel where we're we're so worried in America like the bigger buildings and this and that church and the programs and then our missionaries out there doing the work don't have the resources that they need to share the gospel and disciple.

SPEAKER_00 30:00

And so we're gonna make a commitment where we are going to support you and we want every listener to pray about it but really where can we find more information where can we you know if somebody wants to donate how can we help you know either try to like raise money for this motorcycle you have so many other needs that that you've shared with me what what can we do to to help you yeah um so part of the vision for Sha and I I mean Shore is my wife um we we don't want to to run alone you know we don't want to do this alone because if if if anything happens we are kept we are kicked out of the country then the ministry you know shutters but what what God has shown us is to raise local missionaries because they can communicate the gospel you know both from a spiritual point of view and from a cultural point of view if they understand their identity they know the language they know the culture they know when someone is getting it and when he's not when he's not getting it so one of the one of those things that the the Lord has really been putting upon our hearts from really from 2018 when we first came here has been to raise local missionaries and we've raised 22 Congolese missionaries who time working with us um sending them in all of all over the place like um we are ministering to over at least 300 people every week and we are ministering to about a thousand kids through our department of you know uh kids ministry um and man we just like you said uh first and foremost you know we really appreciate your prayers uh so that we are not doing this out of out of necessity but that will do this out of love you know because if you're doing it out of necessity I feel like you can be burned out but if you're doing it out of love no one will push you to do it. So yeah first and foremost if you can be praying for us that the love of God will keep will keep burning in our hearts for the souls you know with the whole team and then secondly you know we we are we are raising um money to to buy more motorbikes for the team and even others are now in a place where they are discipling other people uh in the village in the villages where they go so like we are looking eventually we are looking to get the vehicles so that we can we can be all over the place. So and also we are looking to do uh farming conferences where we are teaching locals how to do farming in a proper way where they can find harvest you know we are because we are also for not just giving someone fish but teaching them how to catch fish. Right so so yeah um my my my wife leads this department within our organization called Farming Gods we all sustain where we teach the locals to use local materials and actually improve their youth so we are looking to do more of those seminars but right now our current needs are funding for for the local missionaries and getting of um ministry motorbikes and vehicles um to go out and reach more people I love your approach where you're trying to raise local missionaries train them and disciple them to reach their their own country culture they have all that that knowledge and yeah I love that approach and having sustainability with their own farming and that's great.

SPEAKER_04 34:13

Yeah I mean it definitely makes sense to um can you think about nothing wrong with short-term mission trips but a lot of times in the US you know we send people over for a week or two weeks and then come back all the costs to get over there, right? Thousands and thousands of dollars like you said the cultural differences, the language differences and not that God can't use that and it could be impactful, but I think the real strategy here, like you said, is um teaching and and training those to reach their own in their own area. There's another ministry that my brother and I have worked with in the past called Live School and that was kind of the same you know technique is like how do we train the locals and support them to reach their own and it just spreads a lot more that way. So Savier I know you're a very humble guy but what would you say like we need we need how how does someone you know let's say someone in the United States because we've got about 97% of our um listeners are in North America probably you know a big chunk of that is in the United States but when you when they're sitting here listening to the podcast how how does that tangibly can they go and support you financially is that through a website that you can send us later and we can put in our podcast but I I want to like if I'm able to give money like say someone's light in my heart I want to help you with those motorbikes so you're missionaries can reach those people how would somebody do that yeah yeah definitely um yeah we'll send we'll send our um donation link um that you guys can put on the on the podcast but also you know if someone just goes just goes to all our missions and even if they they call the the the the office to be like hey I want to donate to the team in Congo um it will it will reach us um because everything has to be given everything has to be given through the the main office uh you know for accounting and all of that accountability and all of that so um yeah if you just go to the website of our missions congo um it should be it should be easy but we'll also send the the website I love it yeah we'll get that website for you and guys listening we'll put that on the podcast episode description so you can link to that easily um and savior you know thank you for being on here um just what an encouragement to me um but not you know even the listeners right there's gonna be huge encouragement amongst the dads listening in so we appreciate you um we will be praying for you I mean you you you're an example of boots on the ground the true church on the ground serving people loving people and sharing the truth of the gospel with them and that is what the church is about so you're our brother you're a brother in Christ um we want to support you and we are going to support you we're dedicated to pray for you but we also want to come alongside and any kind of tangible needs as well so we'll rally behind you still um and see if we can get some of that stuff that you need um we'll bring our community together to support you because this is what it's all about guys. It's about um serving, showing Jesus so we can um you know really the Lord will save souls and that's it's all about interning kingdom impact. Luke Luke I think I'm so glad you know this guy. I'm so glad you brought him onto the show um it's been encouragement to me but um man I I think you know you said you know him a little through uh your parents' church right yep and and we we didn't get to a lot of the stories but because savior's a modest guy but he he's they're in a dangerous area like yeah he's he's not a missionary to Hawaii.

SPEAKER_03 37:52

Right so you know that it's a spiritual battle. Like you said we do need to pray. Yeah and first and foremost but let's meet the physical needs and like Mark said you're our brother in Christ and uh I'm really um I don't want to use the word excited again but um I'm really looking forward to just being involved with what you guys have going on in the Congo and supporting you. And um I am excited for that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:21

Amen. Amen. Can I can I can I say one more thing absolutely yeah of course yeah um I again um I just want to say thank you thank you very much to you guys for um giving me this opportunity to share um and I also want to remind everyone of us that you know God is looking upon each and every one of us as someone who's been trusted with the secrets of the kingdom. You know so if you decide to not share this gospel you are sitting on the secrets of the kingdom and God is looking on you to be the one that established the kingdom of God here on earth.

SPEAKER_04 39:08

You know like it's you know many of the times when I'm reminded I'm like Jesus was all powerful he could have raised a million disciples at once and sent them but he he honored he was still wanted to honor the system of multiplication you know multiplication through us you know um we each one of us carried the responsibility of raising a disciple for the kingdom of God so um that that that's that's my challenge and that's my encouragement each and every one of us to say hey just in case you have seen you have not seen miracles get on the field and the mission field is not just in Africa the mission field is everywhere where there is people get out there go share the gospel and the Lord will do the rest wow amen to that brother savior that's some yeah that's some encouragement to me we just want the church mark yeah I'm good actually uh savor I I'm I'm just getting over the flu right now um so I wasn't able to go to church today um but like like Luke said I think you just brought church you brought church this morning you bl you blessed me man you encouraged me you filled me up with the spirit um this is just amazing um we we we love you brother you know I I'm at this my second time speaking with you but the connection in Christ that we have I love you and we'll be praying for you um you're on the ground we'll pray for your safety we'll pray for your needs to be met pray for your family um pray for those 22 missionaries you've you've risen up um and we're we're here man to walk alongside with you so we appreciate you being here um and I think if you're okay with it I would love to have you back on the show at some point to show us some of those stories or walk through some of those stories that Luke was talking about because I'm very intrigued now because um you've probably you've seen some things that I think our male audience um would find entertaining as well um just as the warrior kind of the warrior of Christ going into battle for the the kingdom and it comes with real physical challenges and threats as well. So we just um appreciate what you're doing for the kingdom um there in Congo. So thank you so much for being on. Thank you so we appreciate you so much. For the listeners we're on all the platforms you can find podcasts. So go listen, subscribe please share this to this story that you think um this this episode would touch someone else's life to one either um share Jesus Christ with them for the first time or two just kind of help them motivate encourage them as a as a father as they walk through this life and journey. So we appreciate you thank you savior thank you Luke.

SPEAKER_00 41:44

Thank you. Bye bye