Bongo: Loves Music, Trusts God

"If You Want to See a Miracle, Look at Me," is what Donald "Bongo" Stackhouse intends to title his autobiography. When he was born on April 8, 1959, in Trenton, New Jersey, the doctor looked at his mother and warned, "You're holding a dying baby."  According to the doctor, his lungs weren't strong enough.  But Donald didn't die.  Instead, he grew up healthy and developed a love for music.  As a kid, he started with the keyboard, then moved onto the violin.  In 1984, when he hit the bongo drum for the first time, he found his true love–and a new name: Bongo.

Donald "Bongo" Stackhouse

He moved around some and eventually migrated to Charlotte.  It was a hard season.

"I was all strung out on drugs, but it got to the point where I couldn't take it any longer.  So I opened up the Bible.  I went right to the part where God told Abraham to leave his homeland."  Bongo took this as a sign to try to kick the drug habit, so he checked himself into Rebound at the Charlotte Rescue Mission, a 90-day recovery program.  Shortly after successfully completing the program, he met his future wife and they were married at Bread of Life Deliverance Church in Charlotte.

But when they made the fateful decision to move to Charleston, SC, his wife's hometown, they fell back into old habits and started using drugs again.  "All hell broke loose," he said, and described how he'd been severely beaten by one of his wife's sons.  Though he was going to press charges, he changed his mind.  "If I show mercy to him, God will show mercy to me."

God's mercy, it seems, includes plenty of hardship.  For Bongo, life has been rough.  In different events, he's had his teeth knocked out by a close family member, had his forehead busted open, spent days in intensive care, been told by physicians that that he'd never walk again, been temporarily paralyzed (for a year), and so on.  Then, there are the deaths.  In the last eight years, ten of his family members have died.  First an aunt, then an uncle, another aunt, then his mom of a heart attack on the eve of that aunt's funeral, then his youngest brother, followed by his favorite uncle and most recently his cousin's son in a house fire.

But through it all, he still sees God's blessing in his life.  Recently returned from Trenton, he has found a place to live, plays in the band at Temple International Church and is saving money to rent an apartment.  He hopes that his wife, who is currently incarcerated, will soon join him when she's released.

Every day, Bongo stations himself in uptown Charlotte, surrounded by a variety of instruments–bells, shakers, drums, his djembe drum–where he plays and sings.  His eyes are lively and steady, his face is frequently lit up by his wide smile.  Many of the passersby great him by name, with an affectionate handshake or by depositing a handful of change into his bag.

What drives Bongo?   "The best place to be in the whole world is in God's will," he says.  For Bongo, that means passionately playing music every day, reading his Bible in the morning and evening, and proclaiming his testimony of God's provision.  Bongo says that he remains faithful to tithing, the practice of giving a percentage of all his income to God's work, regardless of how much is left for himself.  "Be a blessing and God will give it back, be a blessing and God will give it right back," he says with a smile.  "You can't beat God's giving, no matter how hard you try."

Bongo wants to be working.  Doing what?  "I'm born to be a musician," he says. "And I will tell my testimony anywhere in the world."

Bongo asked that his contact information be shared; he can be reached at (704) 430-0357. See more pictures on Flickr.