Transport is a major headache in the diocese of Basankusu, DR Congo. In the absence of any even half-decent passable roads navigating the Lulonga river is the only accessible alternative. But travelling by outboard engine powered dug-out canoe is slow and arduous. It has been a long-standing wish of the small contingent of Mill Hill missionaries in the area to have a more adequate means of transport at their disposal. That wish has now come true thanks to the generosity of donors and benefactors. Fr Patrick Lonkoy MHM, who is the driving force behind this project, is over the moon. He sent this jubilant token of gratitude:
A River of Compassion: The Ambulance Speedboat That Carries Life and Love
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)
There are cries that once echoed unanswered along the rivers of Basankusu, the cries of a mother in distress, a child gasping for breath, a father pleading for his loved one. In these moments, time was cruel, distance was deadly, and silence was often the only reply.
We needed a miracle. And God sent one through you.
Today, across the brown, restless waters of the Congo Basin, a new sound is heard: the hum of an ambulance speedboat, slicing through the current like a river of hope. What was once unthinkable is now a lived reality: patients in Basankusu can now be rushed to Mbandaka, not in days, but in hours. Mothers can reach operating rooms. Children can access specialists. Lives can be saved.
This boat is more than a vessel. It is a floating sanctuary. It is a chapel of mercy where God’s love becomes visible, not in marble or stained glass, but in action. It is where strangers become neighbors, and suffering meets solidarity.
To all who contributed to this project, thank you. You have done what Christ commanded: “I was sick, and you cared for me.” You may not sit in the boat, but you are there in every heartbeat that is saved. You are present in every tear of relief from a mother whose child will live. You are part of every whispered prayer from a patient who sees, in the face of the nurse and the roar of the engine, the tender mercy of God.
As Mill Hill Missionaries in the DRC Mission Area, we are sent not only to preach the Gospel in words, but to make the Gospel flesh, to proclaim Christ and to protect life. In a world where many are forgotten, our mission is clear: to evangelize and to humanize, to preach and to heal, to baptize and to rescue.
This ambulance speedboat is a testimony to that dual mission. It is a sign that the Church is alive not only in its liturgies, but in its compassion. That the Body of Christ moves not only in processions, but across rivers to save lives.
You saw a people isolated, and you built a bridge over water. You heard the cries of the forest, and you responded not with pity, but with love. You gave more than money you gave a future.
And now, every time that boat speeds toward Mbandaka with someone clinging to life, heaven rejoices. Because you didn’t just build a boat you became the hands of Christ in Basankusu.
May the Lord bless every heart that gave, every prayer that rose, every coin offered. Because through you, the Gospel is no longer just preached: it sails.
Patrick Lonkoy Bolengu, mhm
Mill Hill Missionaries, DRC Mission Area
