Three years ago Stuart and Kathryn Broughton came to Jersey to join the team at St. Paul's Church, little thinking they would soon be heading for Africa. As an Anglican Priest, Stuart has spent his life serving the Church with Kathryn at his side. With time spent as a Vicar in Blackburn and Somerset as well as serving as a Missionary in Paraguay, Brazil, Portugal and Corfu, he has also been Chaplain to the Falkland Islands. With such a colourful ministry behind them, their role in Jersey was to be a voluntary one undertaken in Stuart's retirement as they joined the team at St. Paul's to work with the Portuguese and English speaking congregations. After the Archbishop of Congo visited Jersey and made an appeal for clergy to serve in the country and a meeting with a Brazilian Christian who challenged them about their future; Stuart and Kathryn were sure God was calling them to Congo. Although St. Paul's already had links with the the Diocese of Ktanga in south-east Congo and its Bishop Henri Isingoma, Stuart and Kathryn were the first people from the church to go out there to serve when they started work in October 2003. They are based at St. Paul's Centre in Mbuji Mayi, a city of over half a million people in the central south-eastern region of the country. The Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly known as Zaire, has had to endure both civil war and political unrest in the years since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960. This situation continues to make it dangerous for members of St. Paul's to make short-term visits to see Stuart and Kathryn. The Jersey Congo Trust and St. Paul's are supporting Stuart and Kathryn's work in Congo whilst additional funds have come from a recent special recipe book and private donations. As their work continues in Congo, both Stuart and Kathryn have sent letters and reports home describing their plans and some of the situations they have found themselves in. These reports are available to read right here by clicking on the links in the top righthand menu.
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