Day 14
The Mind of a Missionary Devotional

Trophies From the Congo Valley
Louise “Lulu” Celia Fleming

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere.” — 2 Corinthians 2:14

Africa’s second-longest river made its giant counterclockwise arc, flowing to the continent’s northwest, west, and southwest before draining into the Atlantic Ocean. The Congo River’s current coursed below a canopy of white clouds, which enveloped the lush, sloping hills in Palabala.

Seventeen hundred feet above sea level, on the sloping plains of the Congo, the final rays of sunlight lit Lulu’s face. A faint smile formed on her lips as she placed a wooden nkisi amulet into her drawer. The Congolese believed the ancestral charm contained the essence of nature spirits, but the lifeless idol lost its power in the missionary’s possession.

It had only been five months since Lulu arrived in Africa, and the young woman was already making inroads among a community of marginalized women. “Two people within the last month have brought their idols and desired to be known as believers in the God of gods,” she wrote on October 10, 1887. “I shall keep them to show to friends in America as the first trophies of my Congo work.”

Barefoot kids scurried on the dusty grounds outside the mission house. The pungent scent of boiled stew wafted from the adjacent village where Congolese mothers toiled over supper. The vast spiritual needs in Central Africa gripped Lulu’s heart as she continued her letter to supporters in America: “We see by faith a host in the towns about us, flocking to inquire, ‘What must I do to be saved?’”

Louise “Lulu” Celia Fleming was born on January 22, 1862, on a plantation in Hibernia, Florida, when the hostile armies North and South fought in the mighty conflict over slavery. Her father joined the Union Army in the fight for liberty when she was just six weeks old, dying shortly afterward without ever seeing his family again. Her mother, a woman without education, was the personal maid to a family of white owners.

Despite the trials common to poor, enslaved children, Lulu’s mother nurtured a hunger for God by bringing her to the local Baptist church along with other slaves and their white owners. At fifteen, Lulu powerfully experienced the love of Christ, saying, “He drew me unto Himself, and after passing through the shadow of doubts, I entered into the blessed light of His love.” From that point onward, she considered herself a missionary for the Gospel.

The bright young African American woman entered Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1881. Shortly before graduating as class Valedictorian, Lulu sensed God calling her to missionary service. On June 27, 1886, the Woman’s Baptist Foreign Missionary Society asked her to be their first representative to the Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). She was elated. Joy peppered the letters she wrote during her arduous journey. “I was truly happy then, and since I have set sail for the benighted country, I am happier,” she wrote. “When I reach the doleful shores, I shall be happiest. What comfort comes to us from doing the perfect will of God concerning us!”

The first African American woman appointed by the society reached Palabala on May 23, 1887. She made language study her first duty and made the most of every missional opportunity. “We have a mission house two miles away, where I work mornings in the capacity of preacher, teacher, and doctor,” she wrote. “I hope to be allowed two years home to study medicine, to better help these suffering people.” However, after laboring hopefully and incessantly for four years, Lulu fell ill and was forced to return to the United States in 1891. But her missionary venture was far from over.

After four years on American soil, she graduated from Women’s Medical College of Philadelphia as the first African American female physician in 1895. Returning to the banks of the Congo River that same year, the medical missionary offered both physical healing and Gospel hope to malnourished babies, men with infected wounds, and children burning with malaria. She also trained dozens of Congolese in basic healthcare, multiplying her impact.

But the years of hard toil took a toll on her body. Before the turn of the millennium, Lulu contracted the dreaded African Sleeping Sickness, forcing her to return to America for the last time. The woman who had overcome slavery, racism, gender barriers, and illness had unearthed countless treasures from the Congo Valley. As she breathed her last breath on June 20, 1899, Lulu Fleming entered the blessed light of God’s Kingdom, presenting her precious African treasures as trophies to Jesus.

– Personal Response –

Passage: But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

Point: A surrendered life becomes a trophy of Christ’s triumph, spreading His fragrance even to the darkest places.

Ponder: Are you allowing Christ’s triumph in your life to overflow into the lives of others, giving testimony of His goodness and grace?

Prayer: Lord, use my life to display Your victory. Let every sacrifice, hardship, and act of obedience shine with Your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Proclamation: I am Christ’s trophy of grace, and I will carry His fragrance wherever He leads.

Practice: Identify one area of your life where God has brought victory and share that story this week with someone who needs hope.

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