There were very few people attending Mass one recent Sunday in the service down the road from where Christian Peacemaker Teams stays in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo.  In that day’s Scripture,  John 1 speaks of preparing the way of the Lord.  Pere Marcel, a Congolese Salesian Father, invited all to respond to this call.  Preparing the way meant sharing our food with our neighbors, refugees who have come to seek safety in Goma. “We are all called to help those with sad hearts. These hurting people need our care,” he said.

People are fleeing their homes in Sake and other towns in the Masisi district of North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) because of fighting between the DRC armed forces and the army of Laurent Nkunda. Families leading children and carrying babies are streaming east along country roads with bundles of belongings and mattresses on their heads. They are heading to camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) that extend for miles through green banana groves and over volcanic rock.