08: From Disappointment to a Dream: Willy and Lilly Binene and the Saints of Luputa (Episode 08)

With this post, I’m pleased to announce a very significant episode of the Not By Bread Alone (NBBA) film series: the story of Willy and Lilly Binene and the Saints of Luputa, DR Congo.

You’ll notice that the NBBA episode related to this blog post is number 8, even though episodes 5–7 haven’t been finished and released yet. The reason we are releasing Episode 8 now is to synchronize with the 29 October 2024 release of the fourth and final book in the Church’s multi-volume Saints history. The story of the Binenes is a fascinating thread woven throughout this wonderful new book.

I hope that you will not only read the book and experience the wealth of relevant online media being produced to enhance the story of the Binenes at saints.churchofjesuschrist.org, but that you will also enjoy the inspiring thirty-minute NBBA feature film about their experiences that is linked in below.

Church History Training Seminar, Kinshasa Service Center, 14 April 2022. Clockwise from left to right: Norbert Ounleu,[1] Celestin EMBIMEN, Jean Patrice MILEMBOLO,[2] Athanase TSHIKOY, Normand LUKENGE, Asso MWABI, Samuel OSSE, Edouard Mwamba NGINDU, Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Willy Sabwe BINENE.[3]

My first face-to-face encounter with Willy Sabwe Binene was in April 2022 at the church history training seminar in Kinshasa shown above.

Jeffrey M. Bradshaw conducts video oral history interview for Willy Sabwe BINENE, with the help of Rodrigue KABUYA. 14 April 2024, Kinshasa Service Center.[4]

Brother Binene kindly agreed to conduct a very long video oral history interview about his many experiences. From this, I began realized how rich and inspirational his story was. I longed to see it shared more widely.

  

At the same seminar, I also first met Ben Wood, Senior Product Manager at the Church History Department. He has since become a cherished friend. Ben made a remote presentation about the Saints series and included this tantalizing image previewing the volume that featured a small temple on the banks of a large river in the foreground. I couldn’t help but think of the Kinshasa Temple, situated on the banks of the mighty Congo River.

Local Church History staff posing with copies of Saints, 15 April 2024. Front: Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Jean Patrice MILEMBOLO, Normand LUKENGE, Edouard Mwamba NGINDU, Asso MWABI. Back: Samuel OSSE, Celestin EMBIMEN, Athanase TSHIKOY, Norbert Ounleu, Willy Sabwe BINENE.[5]

Afterward, our group posed on the Kinshasa Temple grounds with copies of Saints. Brother Binene is shown on the back row at right. Little did any of us know at the time that Brother Binene (now area seventy Elder Binene) would be one of the principal characters in the next volume of Saints.

Nor did we realize then that through the support of generous friends of the NBBA project we would eventually be privileged to tell his story in strict historical accuracy and painstaking detail as part of our film series.

Refugees from Kolwezi crowded in trains during forced evacuation due to ethnic violence.[6]

As a young man, Elder Binene went through life-threatening experiences as a member of a persecuted minority that was forced to evacuate the region where his family had settled years before. How could we complement Elder Binene’s narration with visual depictions of these scenes? Unexpectedly, rare archival footage was discovered that fit the very scenes I was hoping to illustrate. Working together with the help of film specialists in France, the original 16mm film images were restored and made available to the project.

Leaving the Mbuji-Mayi airport for the long drive to Luputa. Jeff Bradshaw, Elder Binene, James Jordan, and Russ Richins, 11 May 2023.[7]

To document the personal stories of Elder Binene, I traveled by jeep to the remote village of Luputa with him and our friends James Jordan and Russ Richins of RedBrick Film Works. The willingness of James and Russ to participate in what was sometimes a challenging voyage assured a very high quality of production for these and other scenes.

Reenactment of young Willy reading a passage in The Miracle of Forgiveness that changed his life.[8]

A divinely prepared moment where young Willy read a passage in Spencer W. Kimball’s classic work The Miracle of Forgiveness led him to change his mind about going on a mission and, ultimately, changed the course of his life.

 

Elder Binene looks reflectively at his “former self,” 13 May 2022.[9]

It was a tender moment to see Elder Binene look down at his “former self” and hear his gratitude for how the Lord had directed his life at this and other crucial moments in his life.

In a reenactment of one of Elder Binene’s dreams, Lilly offers young Willy a drink of water.[10]

For me, the film’s most touching moments come in the reenactments of a series of dreams that, following young Willy’s fervent prayer, confirmed the choice of Lilly as his future eternal companion. After the many disappointments that preceded the dream, the Lord rewarded his faithfulness. His life took a major turn for the better from then on.

 

After some years of absence from Luputa, Elder Binene enjoys a reunion with cherished friends, 12 May 2022.[11]

As we visited Luputa in the company of Elder Binene, we realized that the most important reason he has remained a revered celebrity in the village after years of absence was not merely his many accomplishments on behalf of Church members and the whole community, but rather the warm and encouraging spirit of friendship he cultivated with everyone he met.

Elder Binene and two Muslim friends pose for a portrait.[12]

Elder Binene makes no distinction between members and non-members in his friendships. He recognized each person he met as a beloved child of God.

Children stand in the neatly kept and neatly swept yard in front of these beautiful thatched-room homes, 12 May 2024.[13]

The story of Willy and Lilly Binene and the Saints of Luputa teaches us of the great love of God for each of His children. It also reminds us of the important opportunity we each have to make a difference in the lives of others through emulating the life and teachings of Jesus Christ in all our ordinary doings. Each one of these precious children is another potential Elder or Sister Binene.