wfn.org | Missionary from Zaire

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3281 notes).

Note 3279 by UMNS on Nov. 11, 1996 at 16:11 Eastern (3630 characters).

SEARCH: Eastern Zaire, United Methodist, Board of Global
Ministries, missionaries, evacuation, refugees, rebels
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT:  Linda Bloom                           565(10-71B) {3279}
          New York (212) 870-3803                    Nov. 11, 1996

Missionary evacuated from Zaire
uncertain of local staff's fate

                 by United Methodist News Service

     As Lydia Templeton, a United Methodist missionary, prepared
to leave Goma, Zaire, on Sept. 25, she tearfully hugged her
interpreter and "knew in my spirit" that she might never return.
     On Nov. 2, after battles among Zairian soldiers, Tutsi rebels
and Rwandan troops, the town of Goma -- close to the Zaire-Rwanda
border -- fell to the rebels.
     Mrs. Templeton, now temporarily based with her husband,
Joseph, at the denomination's Mission Resource Center in Atlanta,
hasn't a clue to the fate of her interpreter or the many other
Zairians who undergirded United Methodist mission work with the
refugees crowded into camps along Zaire's eastern corridor.
     During a Nov. 7 telephone interview, Mrs. Templeton also said
she was troubled that neither she nor United Methodist Board of
Global Ministries officials had heard whether Wanume Kale, a
Ugandan medical doctor who ran a United Methodist clinic in Uvira,
was safe. Uvira fell under rebel control in October.
     The Templetons, both attorneys from Los Angeles, arrived in
Zaire on July 24 for their first assignment as missionaries.
     "We were told it was going to be a difficult, different type
of assignment, but we didn't know exactly what that would mean,"
she said.
     According to Mrs. Templeton, she was left speechless when she
saw "the conditions under which people lived" in eastern Zaire--
both refugees and the local population.
     In the midst of so much need, "you just help as you can and
you keep going," she added.
     Working under the church's Africa Initiative, Mrs. Templeton
served as country manager in Eastern Zaire, responsible for
mission sites in Goma, Uvira and Bukavu. Mr. Templeton was the
site manager for Goma operations, in conjunction with his Zairian
counterpart, Wembo Alexis, M.D.
     The local United Methodist congregation in Goma continued to
grow. When the Templetons arrived last July, construction had not
yet begun on a new church building. "By the time we had to
evacuate, all that was needed was the roof," she reported.
     Tensions in the region, as fighting broke out between the
Tutsi rebels and Zairian Army, prompted the Sept. 25 evacuation of
the Templetons, along with another missionary couple, Nils and
Birgitte French, and a Volunteers for Africa team.
     The Templetons left behind most of their material
possessions, including family photographs and their marriage
certificate. The status of their property and all other United
Methodist property is unknown, but widespread looting has been
reported in the region.
     Although a rebel leader declared a three-week ceasefire on
Nov. 4, the situation in Eastern Zaire remains extremely unstable.
On Nov. 7, French diplomats proposed that the United Nations
Security Council approve an intervention force to aid refugees
there.
     The World Council of Churches also has called for
international action to restore order.
     Mrs. Templeton said she and her husband do not know if they
will return to Zaire, but will let God direct their path.
                             #  #  #  

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