I first heard about Christian Science in 1989, as I was listening to one of the radio programs of The Herald of Christian Science in French. After studying this Science for several years, I took Primary class instruction with an authorized Christian Science teacher in South Africa. That’s when I first discovered in my heart a great interest in and love for Christian Science nursing. This love grew over the years, and deepened in 2008, during a Christian Science Youth Summit in Kinshasa. What was attracting me to this ministry was the fact that Christian Science nursing allows us to express love for our neighbor in a practical and tangible way, all the while beholding the perfect child of God right where an illness or a problem seems to appear. I felt that God, our Father, was calling me to this ministry.
Many Christian Scientists live in my country, and just the capital city, Kinshasa, has six churches, four societies, and several informal groups. In the other large cities of the Democratic Republic of Congo, like Lubumbashi, Matadi, Muanda, Mbuji-Mayi, Boma, Buvaku, there are also quite a few Christian Scientists.
The practice and teaching of Christian Science are growing in the Congo; however our beautiful country doesn’t have any Christian Science nurses listed in the Journal and Herald. This Christian Science nursing ministry is clearly mentioned in the Church Manual, (Article VIII, sect. 31, p. 49) by Mary Baker Eddy, and goes hand-in-hand with the healing work and ministry of Christian Science practitioners. Christian Science nurses help those who are praying for healing with a Christian Science practitioner, but who also need practical care while facing a physical challenge. So, both practitioners and nurses partake in the Church’s mission to follow our Master, Christ Jesus, in supporting and promoting Christian healing..
