November 24. Paul Carlson. When the Christian Medical and Dental Society sent out an urgent call for doctors to go to the Congo, Carlson went for a six-month assignment. But even when he was back home, the people of the Congo and their huge need for doctors stayed with him.
So, in 1963, Carlson took a 75 percent pay cut, left cushy Redondo Beach, California, and moved his family to the Congo, to a clearing in the jungle with a yard full of crocodiles, which locals called “The End of the World.” It was a half mile from fresh water.
Carlson worked in a leper colony and an 80-bed hospital, which served 100,000 people. He spent almost all his time trying to heal, which included fixing plumbing or a car or seeing patients in nearby villages.
But the Congo was in political turmoil. Rebels arrested Carlson, accused him of being an American spy, and sentenced him to death. They sent him 300 miles away from his family and tortured him physically and mentally. Simba rebels used Carlson as a bargaining chip to get what they wanted from Belgian and American governments. When the rebels got their concessions, they reneged and kept Carlson alive to use him another day.
On this date in 1964, American and Belgian governments announced the end of this bargaining, and America and Belgium launched a rescue mission. The US sent airplanes, and Belgian paratroopers dropped on the outskirts of town, where Carlson was housed with other hostages. That’s where today’s story starts.
Courage is looking death in the face and trusting that God is God.
It was an early Tuesday morning when airplanes thundered over Stanleyville—a town perched along the Congo River, surrounded by jungle and magnificent waterfalls. Beautiful and busy, it was located directly in the middle of the African continent.
In the center of the city sat a quaint Victorian hotel. And outside, the hotel was surrounded by angry mobs and guards with heavy weapons.
But inside the walls, three men huddled together and cried out for God to move amid the chaos and turmoil. The Congolese government and the rebel groups were in an uproar.
The Congo had just gained independence from Belgium, and with no stable government in place, rebel groups took over. They were holding all white people hostage. The air was thick with hostility. Among the hostages was medical missionary Paul Carlson.
In the middle of the chaos and noise, Carlson grabbed his friends and placed their lives in God’s hands. Carlson knew nothing else could be done. He had known that this moment would come.
The past few months, life had been a whirlwind—he had been captured by the rebel army at his home in the jungle of the Republic of the Congo. That house was where he served as a doctor to many of the locals, providing a skill they needed. He loved them with everything in him.
But at six on Tuesday morning, the US Airforce thundered overhead and woke Carlson. “In days like this we certainly have to leave the future in God’s hands.” Only two options remained: they would be rescued, or the rebels would use them as human shields against their opponents.
The hotel that housed the captives was heavily guarded, and that made escape impossible.
For a moment, everything was still, but then guards rushed in and herded the captives out onto the street. Bullets were flying, and the rebels were shooting every which way. The chaos was frightening, and captives were hit with stray bullets. Many started running for protection as did Carlson and his friend Chuck.
Running from the gunfire, they found a wall with a narrow space to fit through, one person at a time. Carlson ran to Chuck, and said “Go.” Chuck leaped over the wall, and reaching back, he grasped Carlson’s fingers. But it was too late. Bullets hit Carlson’s body, and he fell to the ground. One of Carlson’s friends saw his Bible and removed it from his pocket. These short but powerful words were underlined: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up’” (Daniel 3:16–18 NIV).
Caught between life and death, where does your strength come from? Courage is looking death in the face and trusting that God is God.
Lemarchand, René. “Kisangani.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Published September 30, 2016. https://www.britannica.com/place/Kisangani.
Bridges, Lois Carlson. Monganga Paul: The Congo Ministry and Martyrdom of Paul Carlson, M.D. Chicago: Covenant Publications, 2004, pp. 124, 152–153.
Story read by: Joel Carpenter
Story written by: Abigail Schultz, https://www.instagram.com/abigail_faith65