The site for this labyrinth was chosen because of its size and proximity to the Jubilee Center at HEAL Africa where a pastors’ seminar on leadership was being held. The labyrinth was introduced as a prayer tool during the week-long ecumenical conference. This parking area was next to a dormitory (the white building with Unicef sign)where 100 women live while waiting for fistula surgeries to repair the physical damage resulting from rape.

I knew I would need help in building the large-scale Chartres-style labyrinth, but I had no idea where it would come from. I prayed that God would send the right people at the right times. As I began to lay out the 50 foot pattern, a young man asked if he could assist me. He was unable to go to his regular job due to blisters on his hand. He helped me all morning until his boss found something for him to do at the construction site where he was employed.

Alain, age 12, (in the red & white shirt) and other children wanted to help too. We laid out the labyrinth’s circles together using a measuring cord and flags.

We divided the labyrinth paths using plastic tape. Putting lava rocks on top helped to secure it. The Nyiragongo volcano covered a third of Goma with lava in 2002. It is expected to erupt again sometime in the next twenty-five years. I wanted to honor the reality of the volcano’s destructive presence as well as its creative potential. To be true to the context in which it was being created, this labyrinth had to embody both suffering and hope.

The paths of the labyrinth were made of crushed lava. Dividers were made from larger pieces of lava. Life in Goma could easily be described as “suffering upon suffering.”

The lingering effects of the civil war from 1998-2003, the ongoing problems of “security” caused by warring militias, the refugee camps for internally displaced persons with all the misery they hold, the lack of governmental infrastructure or help, soaring inflation, widespread poverty, hunger...these problems affect nearly every resident in overwhelming ways.

All day long, medical staff from a nearby hospital, social workers involved in community projects, women waiting for medical care, construction workers, children, and visitors came by to see what was happening. “What is this?” “What does it signify?” “Oh, it’s beautiful!” (my favorite) “Is it a spider’s web?” I tried to greet as many people as I could. When asked, I would explain, “It’s a pathway of prayer. Come back when it’s finished, and pray it!”

By afternoon, spontaneously, people began to walk the labyrinth . Some came from the HEAL Africa dormitory where they are waiting for surgery. After being violently raped, women and girls with fistulas (abnormal openings between organs) are often shunned by their husbands, relatives, and communities. While living at HEAL Africa they learn skills that will help them support themselves and their families when they return to their villages. It made me so happy to introduce the labyrinth them. I hope and pray that God will use it in their lives as a source of both comfort and strength.

Children enjoyed the labyrinth, as they always do! These boys who livend nearby walked and ran it many times. A number of the local children test positive for HIV/AIDS and are receiving antiretroviral medications and food so that the drugs will be effective. Being a part of creating a safe, spiritually supportive environment where they could enjoy themselves and each other was a joy.

One of my helpers, an energetic boy who was about ten years old, told me he wanted to pray the labyrinth. I asked, “What would you like to pray for?” “I want to be a pilot when I grow up,” he explained. “Great!” I replied, wondering if it could ever be possible, but not wanting to discourage him. “Talk to God about it as you pray on the labyrinth.” He walked to the center, and then followed the path back out. After he exited, I asked, “What did God say to you?” He replied, “God told me that I need to stop doing the bad things I’ve been doing, and to walk with Him if I want to get to my goal.” He then handed me back some of the flags he had been keeping in his pocket. “You’ve been shown the way...” I responded, amazed at what had transpired.

The first time they saw the finished labyrinth, during a break (notice the orange sodas they are holding), some of the pastors decided to try it. I worried that without an introduction, they might not understand what an amazing spiritual tool this labyrinth could be. I need not have been concerned. When they were done, these pastors wanted to know more about labyrinth prayer. “If I wanted to have one of these where I pastor, how would I go about it?” Jacob (on the right) asked. Less than a week after the seminar, he emailed with joy, saying he and his family had already built a labyrinth and had used it to introduce 18 parishioners to praying the labyrinth.

This man, a construction worker from a building near the labyrinth, took a personal interest in it. He wanted others to respect the pathway of prayer. He would chase kids away (to my horror) if he thought they were being too rambunctious on it. When others would walk the labyrinth, I would see him watching, as if trying to understand more. Unfortunately, my Swahili limited my ability to learn very much about his experiences and interest but we exchanged big smiles whenever we saw each other walking it.

Women cooked on both sides of the labyrinth. The seminar “kitchen” was on the left. Hospital patients built fires on the right next to their dormitory. I invited one of the cooks for the pastors’ seminar to pray the labyrinth. She said she was too busy with her chores. I suggested that just being near the labyrinth and watching others walk it was a way to experience it. She said she knew what I meant. She really liked the labyrinth, and liked being near it. “It is a good path,” she told me.

Jean Paul, a construction foreman, walked the labyrinth after work. He had no introduction to it. The next morning he introduced himself. “When I prayed the labyrinth, I realized that even though there are many challenges, and different things happen, the important thing in the spiritual life is to keep going. Perseverance is necessary.” He felt stronger to face the challenges in his life. He wanted to know if I could give him a copy of the design so that he could build a permanent labyrinth that would inspire churches, schools, and others to build other prayer labyrinths. He was particularly interested in how labyrinths might be a resource to help youth grow closer to Christ. Later, he asked for more information, including how to draw a labyrinth.

Pastors sometimes used their breaks to pray the labyrinth by themselves.

The center of the labyrinth was a special place for both children and adults! Many people asked me to take their pictures in the center. During this walk, the boys and I sang "Unaenda Kanana" (we are walking to Canaan) all the way in, and repeated "Marche, marche, marche" all the way out.

Although built as a tool for the pastors’ seminar, the labyrinth belonged to the whole community. I prayed it a couple times each day, and often went by to see what was happening there. Sometimes, to my delight, someone would ask me to pray it with her/him. Some needed assurance that they were walking the labyrinth “correctly.” For those who weren’t sure what to do at turns, I walked behind them, and helped with instructions when they were needed. Some people just wanted to share the path. Whether we walked in silence, prayed out loud (quietly), or sang, it was a joy to walk to the center and back out together.

Some of the medical staff from the nearby HEAL Africa Hospital walked the labyrinth on their way to and from work. This man told me, “As I walked, I saw the way was long and very difficult. Then I realized that what needed to change was my attitude. The way was long, but I had the possibility of choosing what I thought about it.”

After walking to the center and back out together, the woman with the red scarf told me, “This is the path of my life. I am walking to God.”

The labyrinth was a shared space, linking the pastors attending their seminar with the rest of the community at HEAL Africa and the neighborhood. One afternoon, I walked out of the Jubilee Center to see a seasoned pastor walking with the children who lived nearby. It was truly a heart-warming sight.

As part of a unit on “Aligning with God’s Purposes in Life and Leadership” the thirty five pastors and other spiritual leaders were formally introduced to the labyrinth on the third day of their Spirit-led Leadership Seminar. Then, they took time to pray it, individually, but in community.

Afterwards, several pastors who were out by the labyrinth drawing a sketch of it, asked, “How do you make this?”. I began to show them. As I outlined the seed pattern and steps to follow, more and more pastors gathered around. That’s when I realized I needed to teach everyone how to draw (and hopefully build) a labyrinth. Many thanked me afterwards, promising to send word when they had built labyrinths in their gardens, at the churche s and schools where they worked, and in their communities.

Later, I observed people drawing out the 3 and 7 circuit labyrinth patterns I had shown them. A Baptist minister and a Catholic sister figured out the seed pattern for the 11 circuit Chartres pattern I had used to build the HEAL Africa labyrinth, and demonstrated how it worked to all who were interested.

Women participants of the ecumenical seminar spoke of how they used the labyrinth for discernment, contemplation, and worship.

Others reflected:

“I experienced the joy of finding myself closer to God when I prayed the labyrinth. As I walked, a song came to me, and I sang it the whole time. I feel its message of love is what is going to be realized in my life. I have been given a new vision for my ministry.”

"My experience was fixed on one objective: I started at the beginning and was focused on going towards an end. When I was on the labyrinth, all distractions disappeared. I was connected to God. My experience was characterized by a connection with God. I also felt that I was one with the others, especially with the others who were with me in the center.”

"As I walked, I sensed that God reveals himself in our weakness. In spite of my weakness, God is inviting me to grow.”

“While I was on the labyrinth a song came to me. ‘You are never alone, no never alone...’ I was singing that song the whole time I was walking.”

“When I was on the labyrinth, I felt like an old pilgrim walking. I was sure that one day I would arrive. It was important to have God as my focus as I walked. I received the assurance that I needed for my life, and for others I care about. I feel that I should construct a labyrinth where I minister. ”

While people prayed the labyrinth, there were often others who watched with interest or curiosity. I introduced the idea of praying for others who were walking the labyrinth in my second presentation to the pastors and other spiritual leaders.

After another communal walk, one participant shared, “After I was done, I noticed how many pilgrims there were still in the labyrinth, and I prayed for them. When I went back into the labyrinth, I saw how many people were on the outside of the labyrinth, supporting me and encouraging me to keep going. We are together in this prayer. Although we walk by ourselves in the labyrinth, there are others there, and we are all close in prayer."

Some of the pastors expressed surprise at how meaningful prayer had been on the labyrinth. “When I first saw the labyrinth, I wondered, ‘What is this strange thing?’ Now, I want build a labyrinth in the garden of our church.”

The last day, some of the pastors wanted me to join them in the center of the labyrinth to have our picture taken together. It was my joy to share the center one last time. Watch the world-wide labyrinth locator
(http://labyrinthlocator.com) for new labyrinths in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Building this prayer labyrinth and sharing it with others was one of the great joys of my life.

I would like to thank:
The Anglican Church of the Democratic Republic of Congo and HEAL Africa for inviting my husband Tim, and me to lead the pastors' seminar,
Christ Presbyterian Church of Edina, Missions Pastor Paul Tshihamba, and CPC members who made special financial contributions to fund the seminar,
Pastors Kambere Bolingo and Desiré Mukanirwa, as well as Bishop Bahiti Bali-Busane Sylvestre, for and all they did to organize the seminar and support us as we led it,
all those whose prayers supported our ministries as we were in the D. R. Congo,
the many people who shared this pathway of prayer and their experiences of it with me,
and Robert Ferré, Marilyn Larsen, and Lisa Moriarty who have graciously mentored me in labyrinth construction.

Of course, I also thank Christ for the opportunity to serve, and the many ways God used the labyrinth inspire, connect, comfort, challenge, strengthen, enlighten, and encourage those who prayed it.

“God, You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore!” Psalm 16:11

Click here to read "Horror and Hope in Africa" (Nov. 8, 2007),Tim's reflections on our experiences.

Feel free to contact Jill with your responses.