Profiles in Christian Courage: Pastor Bernardo

“Courage is grace under fire.”  ~Ernest Hemingway

For 18 months the city of Kuito had been under siege during a brutal civil war in Angola, Africa. Kuito, the capital of Bié Province, was a city of great strategic importance to opposing forces. In 1992 the city was cut in two with government forces controlling one half and the rebels commanding the other.

A group of Christians huddled together in the crawl space of their pastor’s house trying to stay out of the line of fire. The goal was survival, and the challenge was to find enough food and water for the war-weary group.

The battle raged on day after day, night after night, as neither side was able to push their opponents from the city. For 18 months the group listened to the sounds of gunfire as mortars destroyed their once beautiful city.

Over time the anxiety started taking its toll on the believers in the crawl space. Provisions became difficult to secure, so they started eating food from garbage bins. Newspaper accounts compared the Battle of Kuito to the Siege of Leningrad in WWII.

The church pastor was exhausted as he daily rallied the morale of his congregation. The group prayed constantly for God’s protection, His provision of food and water, and His miraculous intervention to bring the battle to an end. And they waited.

Finally, the pastor couldn’t take the strain of leadership any longer. Tired of living underground, the pastor was so stir crazy that he left the bunker. As he walked aimlessly down the street, the cross-hairs of a rifle followed his movement. With one shot, a sniper ended the pastor’s life, another of the more than 500,000 people who died during the 26 year civil war.

Bernardo, an elder in the congregation, left the bunker to recover the pastor’s body. At great risk to himself, Bernardo carried the body back to the bunker and placed it on the dining room table. The member’s mourned the loss of their pastor, held his funeral service, and buried his body in a shallow grave.

The group prayed and sensed that the Holy Spirit was calling Bernardo to be their new pastor. He accepted the call, and prayerfully guided the flock through the remainder of the siege.

When the battle ended, and the armies moved on to fight elsewhere, Bernardo and the others emerged from their hiding spot to a very different city. Kuito was in ruins with every building either completely or partially destroyed. The structures were all strewn with pock marks where 50 caliber machine guns had raked the building’s sides. The streets had so many craters that traveling by car or truck was impossible.

Pastor Bernardo helped lead the effort to rebuild the city. His first task was to oversee the construction of a new church building. The completed structure seats 1,000 people who sit on a mud floor that is tilted slightly forward to allow for rain runoff during thunderstorms.

Bernardo’s family lives in the home that provided safe refuge for many in the congregation during the 18 month battle. His family and guests eat dinner at the table where once lay the body of the former pastor. In 2004 and 2005 I had the great privilege of staying with Pastor Bernardo and his family in their Kuito home. I worshiped at his church and ate meals at that same table.

I can state without reservation that Pastor Bernardo is one of the finest Christian men I have ever known; in fact, he is my hero. I respect him enormously, as do the people throughout Bié Province. Wherever he goes the people, especially children, run to greet him with smiles on their faces and joy in their hearts.

Today, a decade since the civil war ended, Kuito is coming back to life as new buildings are built and damaged roads are repaired. There is still a lot of work to be done, but each day things are improving in this once war-torn city.

Some church members still harbor resentments towards fellow believers for supporting the other side in the war. But Pastor Bernardo preaches a message of reconciliation as he quotes a favorite Bible passage: “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13b-14).

Pastor Bernardo is a Profile in Christian Courage. I trust that his example will encourage you to be courageous yourself as you walk with Christ.

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