Passing of director

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By Dan Breen

KINSHASA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO—The Luke Society is saddened to report the death of one of its directors, Dr. Hyacinthe Tudiabioko Bilombi.

Hyacinthe passed away in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital of Kinshasa on Monday morning as a result of a stroke. He was 57.

Hyacinthe was both a doctor and a pastor. His partnership with the Luke Society began in 2003 and was continuing at the time of his death.

Living as a refugee in the country of Zambia, Hyacinthe felt the call to return to his home country of DR Congo to serve the physical and spiritual needs of his own people. He opened the Hope Clinic in 2003 to serve a vulnerable and impoverished area of Kinshasa.

“Dr. Tudiabioko Bilombi was a great example of a Luke Society director,” said Luke Society executive director Dr. Wrede Vogel. “I first met him in Zambia when Congo was embroiled in a terrible civil war. He expressed a desire and calling to return to his home country of DR Congo. The Zambian doctor who introduced me to Hyacinthe said everyone thought he was crazy for wanting to begin a ministry in Congo when it was so much safer and profitable for him to practice medicine in Zambia. But Hyacinthe — the humble servant that he was —  faithfully followed God’s calling to establish a Christian clinic on the outskirts of Kinshasa.”

“He left the comfort and security of his practice in Zambia for the mission to serve and impact his own for the Lord amidst insecurity and so much impoverishment and needs,” said Luke Society Africa regional coordinator Dr. John Oduro-Boateng. “He served with all his passion and dedication to his last day.”

Tudiabioko Bilombi recently stated how blessed he was that the Lord had chosen to use him.

“This is my calling from the Lord,” he said. “It is a great privilege to be chosen by the Creator.”

Hope Clinic is a 55-bed unit that employees 40 workers. It has the distinction of experiencing more child births than almost any other facility in the Luke Society.

His work as the pastor of Restoration Church also had an impact on many. More recently, he had begun a prison ministry outreach.

At the Luke Society African Regional Conference in 2019, Tudiabioko Bilombi said the presence of the clinic had helped to transform the area.

“They are saved two times,” he said. “They are saved spiritually and they are saved also physically.”

Hyacinthe had previously experienced a stroke in October 2015. While he had mostly recovered, there were some lingering effects in his sciatic nerve which had caused him mobility problems.

Hyacinthe is survived by this wife, Didier, three sons and one daughter.

“Hyacinthe will be deeply missed by us, his family, his ministry and the Christian church in Kinshasa,” Vogel said. “Please pray for his family and friends as they grieve this loss.”

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