Sommers:
Mark, what’s the latest from Central Park?
(Cut to Mark Jacobs - Live feed)
Jacobs:
Leslie, things are not as peaceful today as they were for most of yesterday. Police asked people to leave the park at 1 a.m. when it closed. People formed a line on Park Avenue and waited all night. At 6:00 this morning, when police let them in, they rushed to the barricade for the Church.
There was grumbling that people were not able to keep the same place the had in line when they left last night. One man who was very near the front before being asked to leave by the police is very near the end this morning. As you can imagine, he is very unhappy. One woman was knocked aside in the rush for the barricade. Some people stopped to help her gain her footing, but others rushed past her to get a better place in line. The general sense of camaraderie that seemed to be prevalent yesterday isn’t here this morning. There’s more of a competitive feel.
Mr. Nnkoba took his place just before 9:00. Amazed and happy people started coming out almost immediately. No matter how much they may grumble in line, nobody is upset after Mr. Nnkoba has done his work.
(Cut to split screen, Studio and Live Feed)
Sommers:
Pastor Smith mentioned this morning that the Church is aware of the issue of people losing their places in line. Is there any indication they have a solution.
Jacobs:
Not yet, Leslie. Church members have been here throughout the night visiting with people and offering to pray with them. At one this morning they brought in a box of blankets as the March lows can be pretty cold. It’s clear they’re trying to be sensitive to the needs of the people in line. But it’s difficult to make this large a crowd happy, and it’s only going to get worse as the news of what Mr. Nnkoba can do continues to spread.
Sommers:
How are the police responding?
Jacobs:
Their presence was very low-key all day yesterday. I don’t see that has changed today. I think their desire is to allow this to be a Church activity as much as possible. So far the crowd is allowing the Church to get its act together, but it appears their patience has limits.
Sommers:
Thank you, Mark.
Jacobs:
Mark Jacobs, WNYC Live.
It seems Mtembo Nnkoba is human after all. This morning he was at his post just before 9:00. He took one short break in the morning before stopping to eat. There was a bit of grumbling as he stepped through the back of the barricade and was escorted to a nearby van where, presumably, his lunch was waiting. He rested only 30 minutes and was back at his post. He took one more short break this afternoon. I was beginning to wonder how he could possibly handle all this work when he finally cracked. He stopped and put his hands on his knees. A ripple of concerned talk went through the crowd, but the Church volunteers reacted as if it were an emergency.
Two people rushed to help Nnkoba to a chair and give him some water and some kind of food. After talking with him for a few minutes, they moved the chair back to his normal position so he could continue to do his healing work, but from a seated position. At least two people have been standing with him since then making sure he drinks and eats occasionally to keep up his strength.
One Church member told me that “Brother Mtembo,” as they like to call him, didn’t want to sit because he knew everyone he saw had been standing in line. Pastor Smith has been trying to explain to him that this could go on for many days, and nobody could be expected to stand that whole time. Still, Nnkoba didn’t relent until he was unable to keep going without the chair.
I asked if Nnkoba felt drained after doing his thing. I wondered if any energy was taken from him to do this healing. The Church member stated emphatically that nothing was coming out of Brother Mtembo except the words and laying his hands on people. All of the healing was being done by God, which took no energy from Nnkoba. They say he feels emotionally for everyone he touches, but he is not drained of energy.
The crowd seems to be more on edge than ever since Nnkoba sat down. There’s a sense that this might not go on forever and nobody knows when it will end. Being last in line is somewhat frightening in light of that.
On a positive note, the Church has bought some of those Tyvek wristbands that are used to indicate paid entry at clubs and other venues. They plan to write a date and a number on each band to mark people’s places in line when Nnkoba has to stop tonight. They say they will enforce these numbers tomorrow morning.
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