Nsongamadi, Joseph and Baba Naomi
Nsongamadi Joseph and Baba Naomi are names that will always be associated with pioneering, first-generation evangelism and church planting in the Communauté Mennonite au Congo. During his life-long ministry as an evangelist Nsongamadi Joseph took the gospel to three tribal groups other than his own.
Born to Baluba parents, after attending school at the Congo Inland Mission (Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission) station at Djoko Punda, he and his wife Baba Naomi were first placed among the Bashilele people to the west. There they experienced genuine persecution by the suspicious and resistant village folk. Finally, after an attempt was made to poison their children, Joseph and Naomi were moved by the mission to a village of the Lulua people. Later when the mission decided to open a new work among the Baphende people to the southwest, Nsongamadi accompanied the missionaries on an exploratory trip and was later placed near Mukedi village in Kwilu Province to the west. He and Naomi worked alone until resident missionaries were placed there in 1923.
As more Baphende people accepted the gospel, Nsongamadi and his family eventually returned to Djoko where he served as the chaplain at the station hospital until his death. Baba Naomi went to Kananga, the capital of the West Kasai, to serve as a visiting Bible woman lay evangelist) in the large city hospital. In her ministry there she brought cheer and hope to many patients and distributed large quantities of New Testaments and Gospels.
| Author(s) | James E Bertsche |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1987 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Bertsche, James E. "Nsongamadi, Joseph and Baba Naomi." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1987. Web. 23 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Nsongamadi,_Joseph_and_Baba_Naomi&oldid=175059.
APA style
Bertsche, James E. (1987). Nsongamadi, Joseph and Baba Naomi. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 23 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Nsongamadi,_Joseph_and_Baba_Naomi&oldid=175059.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 640. All rights reserved.
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