The Stubborn Husband

Congo
“I can’t stand living with you,” he said. “I would
rather die.” With that, Manu picked up the bottle and
drank the poison he had prepared.
Gasore
The Stubborn Husband
Gasore Bazungu
M
anu and Naomi live in
a small village near
the border between
Rwanda and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. The
couple raise and sell goats to
earn a meager living.
Manu and Naomi attended
some evangelistic meetings in
their area. They liked what they
heard and began studying the
Bible to learn more. Although
the couple did not make a
commitment to Christ during
the meetings, they often talked
about things they had learned.
Three months later an
Adventist pastor announced a
camp meeting near Manu and
Naomi’s village. The couple
decided to go, and they even
talked about being baptized
following the camp meeting.
Every day they walked to the
camp meeting site. Naomi
talked to the pastor about
being baptized.
Surprise Decision
On the Sunday morning of
the baptism Naomi prepared
East-Central Africa Division
some clothes to change into after
her baptism. As she prepared
to leave home, she called to
Manu to hurry. To her surprise,
he said that he was not going
to the baptism. Naomi was
disappointed, and as she hurried
to the river, she wondered why
Manu had changed his mind.
But she was comforted to think
that he would make his decision
the next time a baptism would
be held.
After her baptism Naomi
hurried home, eager to share
the day’s events with her
husband. But when she began
telling him what had happened,
Manu became angry and
turned away. When she kept
talking, he began to beat her.
Stunned by her husband’s
sudden attack, Naomi managed
to escape his blows and flee
to the deacon’s home nearby.
Naomi wept as she told them
what her husband had done.
The deacon told her to stay
with his wife while he went to
find the pastor.
The pastor arrived and
advised Naomi to remain with
the deacon’s family that night,
and he would go talk with Manu
in the morning. Naomi agreed.
That night as she lay on her
sleeping mat, she kept asking
herself, What happened? Why
did Manu treat me this way?
Early the next morning Manu
arrived at the deacon’s door
asking to see his wife. The two
talked for a few minutes, then
Naomi left with her husband.
When the church pastor came
by, the deacon told him that the
couple had worked things out
and Naomi had gone home.
Reconciled?
The pastor and head elder
returned home, glad that the
misunderstanding had been
cleared up. Or so they thought.
But when the pastor went to
Manu and Naomi’s home a few
days later to see how things
were going, he found Naomi
crying. “What is wrong?” the
pastor asked. Naomi replied
that Manu was still angry that
she had been baptized.
25
Naomi watched in horror as her husband turned ashen and began to sweat. Will he
really die? She wondered. She fell to her knees and prayed.
The district leader, who had
come with the pastor, tried
to explain to Manu the good
things that can happen in a
family who give their hearts to
God. “Naomi has given her life
to the Lord,” the leader said.
“Now it is your turn.”
But Manu refused to listen.
He declared, “She cannot stay
here. She must return to her
parents’ home.”
Naomi started crying again.
It was a shame to be sent away
to her parents’ village, and
she refused to leave her young
children, ages 4, 6, and 8. “My
children need me,” she said.
“They are too young to stay
with their father.”
Again the pastor tried to
reason with Manu, but the man
refused to listen.
“Before we go,” the pastor
said, “let us pray with you.” The
small group, including Manu,
knelt to pray. When the others
left, one man stayed behind
to talk with Manu, but the
stubborn husband refused to
change his mind. Naomi was
once more told to leave.
Naomi refused to leave her
home and her children. She
remained in the home in spite
of her husband’s daily beatings.
Manu’s anger only grew more
intense with his wife’s refusal
to leave.
took his poison home and made
it into a drink.
That night Manu announced
to his wife, “I can’t stand to
live with a woman who will not
obey me. I would rather die!”
He held up the bottle of poison,
tipped it toward his mouth, and
drank it down.
Naomi watched in horror
as her husband turned ashen
and began to sweat. Will he
really die? She wondered. She
fell to her knees and prayed.
Weak with fear, Naomi could
not bring herself to leave her
husband to get help, so she
continued praying for Manu.
Manu fell asleep, but all
night he perspired and groaned
as if he would soon die. And
Naomi prayed. Early the next
morning Manu opened his eyes.
Naomi stood beside the bed
bathing his head with water to
bring down his fever. “Are you
still here?”
“You are alive!” Naomi said.
“Now I will go.” Naomi turned
from her husband, packed
her suitcase, picked up her
youngest child, and walked out
the door.
“Wait!” Manu muttered
weakly as he crawled out of bed
and made his way to the door.
“Come back,” he said. “I want to
talk to you.” Naomi turned and
said, “No, I am going.”
“I Would Rather Die”
One day Manu went to the
chemist to buy some poison
that he could take to die.
“I can’t stand to live with a
woman who does not respect
me,” Manu told the chemist. “It
is better to die than to allow my
children to grow up in my home
without respect for me.” Manu
“I’m Convinced”
“Let me tell you one thing,
then you can go,” Manu said
weakly. Naomi walked slowly
back to the house. “Put down
the suitcase,” Manu said
quietly. She set her suitcase
by the door and faced her
husband.
“I have beaten you, and you
26
stayed. I drank poison, and I
did not die. Now I know that
your God is the true God and
is worthy of worship. You are
free to keep your Sabbath. You
can stay in my house. I will not
harm you again.”
Naomi set down her son
and picked up her suitcase.
She carried it to her room and
unpacked. She would stay.
Manu never beat her or
shouted at her again. When he
bought some pork to eat and
realized it was unclean, he did
not make her cook it. He threw
it away and said, “Pork will not
come into our house again.”
A year later the pastor
returned to hold evangelistic
meetings again. He visited
Manu and invited him to the
meetings. When he invited
Manu to accept the Sabbath,
Manu answered, “I have
already accepted the Sabbath,
and I have already decided to
be baptized.”
Soon after the evangelistic
meetings, Manu was baptized
while Naomi looked on. Tears
of joy fell from her eyes because
at last her husband had given
his life to God.
Mission to others includes
praying, sharing our faith,
and giving of our time and our
means so that others, such
as Naomi and Manu, can join
God’s family. ¸
Gasore Bazungu is executive
secretary of the Central Kivu Field
in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Manu and Naomi Kobusinge are
active members of their church in
Nyamilima, Congo.
Fourth Quarter 2006