Pray 4 Congo.

In the midst of an American election, our approaching Christmas, and the busyness of life it is easy to forget that there is a desperate situation in the Congo that needs our prayer! George Boloko, from Northgate CV, is in the Congo (not in the fighting area) as well. Let's pray for the peace process to bring fruit quickly in the Congo.

KIWANJA, Congo — Sporadic gunfire and explosions echoed Wednesday around this town in eastern Congo, as rebels fought pro-government militiamen for a second day, forcing thousands to flee.

A wider cease-fire between the rebels and the government was holding, however, and diplomats scrambled to assemble a regional peace summit Friday in

Kenya.

Associated Press journalists who visited Kiwanja before being turned back by rebels saw several thousand people on the roads, including mothers with babies on their backs, as insurgents loyal to warlord Laurent Nkunda searched houses.

Kiwanja is about 45 miles north of the provincial capital Goma and the clashes between rebels and a militia known as the Mai Mai appear to be taking place on the town's far outskirts or in the hills and fields of coffee and corn beyond.