Surviving The Shadow Of Death - Kolwezi: A Missionary's Story (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798312552553)

The first crackle of gunfire sliced through the pre-dawn quiet, a distant pop that burrowed into the stillness of our Saturday morning. Six a.m. Silence hung heavy between Harold and me for a heartbeat, two heartbeats, then a longer stretch of nothing but the rising dread in my chest. My hands, suddenly slick with cold, felt like ice. Harold's eyes, wide in the dim light of our bedroom, mirrored my own fear.

At the break of dawn on May 13th, Kolwezi awoke to a shocking and brutal reality as rebel forces stormed the city with terrifying swiftness. What had begun as another ordinary morning quickly disintegrated into chaos and bloodshed. Kolwezi's ill fate had been sealed: it served as the headquarters of the Zairian Army's 14th Brigade-a unit notoriously dismissed by their own command as the weakest component of the entire division. While individual soldiers within the brigade displayed moments of undeniable bravery, their disjointed resistance could not withstand the sheer force of the rebel incursion. In a matter of hours, the 14th Brigade collapsed under the relentless barrage.

Through Harold and Elsie's journey, we glimpse the indomitable resolve that faith instills in the midst of devastation. Their story stands as a vivid reminder that even in the bleakest hours, the steadfast belief in God's guidance and the solace found in prayer can carry us forward. They endured the kind of turmoil that could break many, yet they emerged with their spiritual convictions intact, fully believing that God's hand had safeguarded them.