Lumeya Dhu Maleghi, a member of the legislature of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, spoke February 12 on the main Fresno Pacific University campus. He had earlier represented the D.R.C. at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., February 2-6.
Lumeya represents the city of Kikwit (pop. 600,000) and is vice president of the opposition political party, Dynamics for Democracy, whose mission is to "bring Christian ethics in the political government." He also serves on the defense and security committee, which he calls a challenging place for an Anabaptist Christian during a war. "My faith is telling me I must pray for my enemy, but villages are being burned and five million Congolese have died at the hands of invaders. My conviction is that Jesus Christ will help me find ways to not exacerbate the conflicts of the country," he said.
Lumeya's grandfather Maleghi was among the first Congolese to become a Christian and worked with Aaron and Ernestine Janzen, the first U.S. Mennonite Brethren missionaries to the central African country. Lumeya Dhu Maleghi's father became a pastor and leader in the Congo MB conference.
See more from Christian Leader at usmb.org/congolese-congressman-visits-washington-dc-speaks-at-fpu
(Reporting by Elmer Martens and Kathy Heinrichs Wiest)