Medical staff take the injured people from the Congo train crash to the hospital on June 22, 2010. (China Daily photo/Xinhua)
Congo-Brazzaville (MNN) ― Over six months ago, evangelist Sammy Tippit was planning to travel to the Republic of Congo. However, because of travel difficulties, he was forced to delay his trip until the end of June.
Finally able to make the trip, two days before he arrived, the nation was struck with tragedy when a train crashed on its way to the capital of Brazzaville from Pointe Noire, the country's economic center.
Tippit explained the crash: "There was a derailment of four train cars that went over into a ravine ... Nearly 100 people were killed, and over 700 were injured. It just shook the whole country."
The government declared a weekend of mourning from June 26-28--the same weekend Tippit had evangelistic meetings scheduled in Pointe Noire. Television and radio stations asked him to deliver words of comfort to the grieving nation.
On the first day of mourning, Tippit preached to thousands in an open field: "One of the greatest things that happened was to be there at the right time, at the right place with a message of hope for people whose hearts were hurting so desperately."
And the response was overwhelming. Hundreds of people made decisions for Christ, and Tippit said these responses were not just hasty choices of people looking for quick relief from their pain: "The message, I sense, went deeper. You can tell when you're speaking to large audience ... and you're in the open outdoors, and it's really easy for people to get distracted and to look around. But people didn't move; there was an attentiveness. It was like they were soaking in everything I was saying."
Tippitt continues to rejoice in God's timing: "Jesus always comes to the hungry, the needy, the hurting."
This trip was originally planned at the request of Christians in Angola, where Tippitt has had similar meetings in past years. Prior to his visit, a church-planting seminar took place for the Congolese people.
Now, as hundreds of new believers are in search of spiritual food, these newly-trained church planters can establish churches and begin to minister.
Pray for a solid foundation for these churches and for the growth of the new believers. Pray for the seeds Tippit planted during his message to go deep and take root, sprout and cast seeds into the lives of even more Congolese. Also, pray that this tragedy and God's message of hope will spark a revival across the nation.
To support the work of Sammy Tippit Ministries in the Congo, click here. Or you can join the ministry's prayer team and receive updates about their work worldwide.
