Travels to Elikya Center Congo 2009

What a trip! I got to see a lot of the northwest part of the DR Congo and it is a completely different country and culture then I know. I got to see and experience many things; got to see the jungles of the area; women who work very hard (dare I say harder them any of us, they are the beast of burden, carrying their load on their head and often having a child strapped to their back); pottery made the way it has been done for generations as one mother passing it on to their daughter; went into single round mud huts (that were smaller them my living room and had less stuff than my living room); got to experience church service African style (3-3.5 hours long); got to uses an African outhouse (and at night got to see all the cockroaches, if it was not bad enough during the day); got to experience Jeannie meeting one of the Global Fingerprint orphans she sponsors (how net to be able to give someone a hand up); ride on roads so rough that we only average about 10 mph (I can still feel it, will not forget it anytime soon); got to change plans so often you wondered why do I try and plan just react (sort of understand why planning is not one of their strengths); got to see how the dream of the Elikya Center has developed over the last 2.5 years since I was last there and it did not have a single building; beautiful African sunsets; I am sure I am leaving out lots of things I got to see or experience but I know you get the idea, this was an full trip. Even thou this is my second time to this area, I do not understand the culture, it is different. This is not to say that it is worse or better them my western culture, it is just different, we can learn from them and they can learn from us. All we have to do is to allow the Lord work though us to be partner and we will make this world a richer place because of our partnership.

However, with that said the let’s get to the bottom line person in me wants to know was this trip a success. What is success? Some would say that having power is success, others money, others friends, others etc (you get the pictures, man has many different definitions to success). But what would the creator of the universe say success was for a trip like this call success. No where in the Bible do you find go and make chairs or go and teach chair making even thou Jesus was a carpenter as a young man, it tells us to go and produce fruit that last forever. Did I make fruit that will last, I hope so but really don’t know. So how do I process a trip like this and determine whether it was worth the cost of time and money. Well I believe the Lord ask us to be available, available to do what, no just to be available and allow him to work through us and to be his hands and feet to be, not to do. Yes, for a results orientated person in a results orientated society this is not comfortable and I want to get it to an object output base results because it is easier to know the score. So was the trip a success for the team, we went and tried to be available so yes the trip was a success, I followed the nudging of the Lord and went to share my small gift/talent of woodworking with others in hope that this skill would improve their ability to provide materially for themselves and families. But this answer is still partially hollow for me, maybe it should not be but it still is, because the Lord knitted me together to produce and to judge my product. I am sorry, that who I am and I can not get away from it. I think I am getting better at not judging my worth by what I produce but there still is a major part of me that gets my worth from that and to evaluate my investments of time, energy and money (ie., my God given resources) to the results. Yes, I know that a lot of you find yourselves in the same place I am. So what this trip a success?

In one sense, I don’t know and in another sense I know it was. So why do I say I do not know if the trip was a success. Well one of my primary purposes for going on this trip was to train young men on a new method of building chairs that this skill might change their lives for the better, was I successful. I think so, but I may never know for sure if they will take any of the skills I shared with them and use them to improve their woodworking ability and therefore their physical lives. I guess I will have to be satisfied with this non-answer or maybe someday I will see pictures of them using some of the skills. Until them I will have to be satisfied with the knowledge that on Friday they were able to as a group to build their own chair and on Saturday we were able to put woven seats on all three chairs ( the one I took, the one we built together and the one they built on their own). But will I every know if this had any positive impact on their lives, I don’t know. I hope and pray that my going to halfway around the world and sharing with them that this was a positive experience for them, please join me in prayer for these young boys. Even thou I do not know their personal stories it was quite clear that they did not come from the same side of the tracks as I do. They have so little in the way of material things and what those things can provide. This trip once again helped me to understand how God had blessed me and dare I say you also.

Another reason I went was to be an encouragement to the people I encountered at Elikya. I think I was able to through my willingness to allow God to use me to share with them some of the gifts, talents and skills God has given me over my life time. This is one of those areas that is really hard for a person like me that is results motivated, just being there along side does not seem like doing anything. But I am told that is a major and I saw how they appreciated it, it did not make it easier for me. This is an area that others find much easier them me, I say the Congolese have me beat hands down here and I need to learn from them. They see the value of just being along side of someone and are more comfortable with this type of investment than am I. I have a hard time with this and I know I am not alone it this.

From my prospective I saw many positive things that have occurred due to the partnership between the Church in the States with the Church in the Congo. Let me name a few of them, but first let me remind you that health partnership both partners bring things of value to each other and if we do not learn from each other, as the saying goes one of us is not necessary if we don‘t help each other. So I want to show what we have helped the Congolese and we need to make sure we are also learning from the Congolese. No, this is not to say I want 3 to 3.5 hour church services. The Elikya Center did not even have a name, a director or any classes when I was there 2.5 years ago. But now they are training carpenters, masons, tailors, soup making for the widows, gardens for the widows, planting tree orchards, experimenting and training their students in composting (composting is an important need to eliminate the need to continually be moving their gardens). These course are six month long and this term they are impacting directly 36 widows, orphans and unwed mothers (ie., the least of these), in addition this is impacting many more indirectly. This is all happening even though they do not have their training center building built, they are in the process of building it. The masons are in the process of laying the foundation for this building, part of the training is done through building buildings for the center.

It was a great blessing to see the Elikya Center starting to be what the Congolese church wants it to be a place that will allow them to minister to the needs of widows, orphans, unwed mothers and physical handicapped. It was also a real treat to see living archaeology when we went to the village and say the mamas (ladies) building pots the way their mothers taught them and the way their mothers taught them, for as long as they have been making pots (or another way to say it, it was a Geographic moment).

Though the fact of seeing how the Congolese live life on the edge as far as it is concerned for the physical needs of life, it really does remind me how bless we in the United States are from good schools, good homes, plenty of health food, warming clothes, good roads, and the list can go on and on. Lord help me to remember this and thank you daily for these blessings and to not hold on to my things to tightly and allow me the generosity to share with others.

Please be in prayer with me that God will continue to bless the Congo church, the leadership that is leading the Elikya Center, widows, boys and girls getting a chance to improve their lives at the Elikya Center, and all the people who opened up there homes/lives so I might have a glimpse into their lives. That the Lord will take my small offering of time and bless it. I want to thank you for all your prayers for me while I was on this trip. Thanks, Lord for the safety, health and the wonderful people I got to meet and all the blessing you have given me. I also want to encourage you to follow the Lord’s nudging and leave your comfort zone and see how he will bless you.

Thanks,

Gary

Thursday 29^th -

11:00 AM - We have made it to Bangui and have boarding passes with bags checked now all we need is a plane that was late this morning due to fog. So might be leaving late.  We are all a little tired.

Well my watch says it is 1:00AM and my computer says it is 7:00PM, I am ready to get back on the road but need to wait on the team as our plan time is 3:00AM. So I will fill in a couple of holes and thoughts about this trip until I get tired again or the battery runs out. Where do I start? As I have laid here the last hour or so thinking and praying, I have had several thoughts. One of them being how to explain this adventure and blessing to someone who has never experienced it, in one sense I can’t as it has been something my western mind set can not explain. I don’t understand why the roads are so bad and why the living conditions, from my prospective are so bad. But on the other hand the people are so warm and accepting. This is my second trip to the Congo, I was here about 2.5 years ago, and I am still confused and in wonderment as to why things are the way they are. These people live on the edge everyday and it is so much easier for them to see why then need each other and God to make it thru. Where our wealth allows us to be more individualistic, this is by no means saying one way is better, for God knows I would not want to change roles with any of them but at the same time there is something here I/we can learn from. Maybe this is one of the reasons that Jesus said it was easier for a donkey to pass thru the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get to heaven. Maybe we in the Church should be willing to be more dependent upon each other, this will be extremely hard for me as that would mean allowing myself to be vulnerably to others and that could lead to hurt. Not sure I am ready for that step, please pray for me. There is a large part of me that wants to erase the last few sentences and just forget the thought and go one with life as it has been, no one would know.

This culture is so sharing, if they have it and you asked for it they are willing to give it to you. I have been told that this is because they live on the edge and they know that tomorrow they maybe the one that is need and needs help. Yet, I have so much and want to but am so slow to give to those that are in need, maybe this is because in our society, marketing and advertisements have told me for years that it is all about me and I deserve it, what every it is just go an buy it. Lord help me to be more generous and if you are like me and want to be more generous ease one way , is to sponsor an orphan thru Global Fingerprints. As I saw yesterday, it can change a life and really save a child and give them a future and is that not what we are to do. What does the bible say true religion is “to help the least of these, widows and orphans” or something like that. But I am only one person as I have said many times the two stories that keep me going on trips like this are the Bible account of Jesus feeding the 5000 and the “Starfish” story, as God’s math is different them our math, Lord please help me to have a bigger heart and be willing to share it with others. Yes, I guess that means help me be vulnerable to others and share more.

Last Monday I told you we went to a village to see some old mamas (ladies) show us how they have been making pottery for years and years, some would say from the beginning of time. What I did not tell you that we visited their church, well if you can call it that. It was a building and it was falling down, grass roof building last about 4 to 6 years out here. The pastor asked us to help them put on a metal roof as this would allow the building to last a lot longer, here they put up the roof and then put up the walls as this protects the soft bricks from the rain and allows them to last longer, very few bricks are anything more them sun baked. We asked how much it would cost to put on a metal roof and after some figuring and translation it was determined that it would take 3000 dollars. My heart was not into it like some others in the group as I personal wanted to support place like Elikya more, but yesterday I had a slight change of heart. Due to the blocked road we had to drive by the village and its church and what did I see? Due to the storm the roof on their church had collapsed and was a complete loss. Why did this work this way am I to try and get others to help them? My church has a big capital campaign we are trying to raise millions and they would just like 3000 dollars to put on a metal roof for their new building so it will last longer then 6 years. Maybe this is one of the starfish I/we are to pickup and through back into the ocean. How about we using the proceeds from the ebony trinkets I am bring back to the church to help out our brothers and sisters in Africa?

I know this is long but thanks for reading it and now would you be in prayer about these thoughts with me. Thanks, I pray today goes more as planned than yesterday. Well at least more to my plans.

Wednesday 28^th - Travel is not quite the same

Today was a travel day we were to leave Tandala at 3:00AM and get to Bangue, CAR about 130 KM, a 11 hour drive. Last night after a very hot day, it started raining and this was not a gentle rains this was one of those sideway rains and then it let up to a gentle rain well sort of. We did leave at 3:00AM per plan and from their things kind of changed. It was still lightly raining went we loaded up and after we started it started raining harder. At the one hour mark we started passing some big trucks and after we had gotten by seven trucks, with inches to spare on slipper roads think slush as this red Congo dirt is really slippery with some water added., we found out why the other trucks had stopped. Up ahead in a mud hole there was not one but two large trucks stuck and nothing could get by, even and bicycle could not be ridden by the trucks. So now what, but going back the other way there is a mud hole that the team members going back to Gemena yesterday had gotten stuck in and with this rain it would most likely be worse. Well after checking out the road and ditches our driver Edison says he can turn us around and you know what with a little prayer and good driving he was right he turned the truck around. So after two hours we were right back to where we had started, and this trip started out to be a 11 hour “fun“ trip. After another 3.75 hours we were back to Gemena and at the CECU presidents house, our driver had called him when we were back to Tandala and told him we were coming and we were able to rest and have a little breakfast. The rest on the team (ie. Smiths and Ed) appeared after about an hour as they had come to wait for their plane.

By the way what happened at the big mud hole, we all got out and walked across/around the mud hole and what appeared to be the better side we were told by Edison that is where the truck got stuck before and the other side was where we had seen a truck stuck on our way to Tandala. So what to do, the driver’s assistant Roger checked the for the bottom of the hole on the side they were going to go thru and it appeared to be about 12 to 18 inch deep of mud. What happened next and why is not completely clear, Edison went back and got into the truck and gunned it and made a run for it and somehow the truck was able to get across with mud flying everywhere and loose luggage bouncing around. There was joy and relief within the team that we could be on our way to Gemena.

So at about 10:30 AM we were ready to get on the road again and based on the drive two weeks ago it would take us over 11 hours there was no way to get to Zongo before the border closed at five . So the new plan was to stop and the guest house at Bau bible school for the night but there was no way to let them know as there is no cell coverage at Bau. In fact there is no cell coverage for most of the drive. After sliding around and getting out and checking out some bridges (some were just a few logs laid length wise), we finally arrived at Bau at about 4:00PM, which is about half way to Zongo. We were a complete surprise to them, so they quickly sweep out the guest house and we had stopped and bought a pineapple asked they to cut it and we had it and some bread and fixings for dinner. They even rustled up some gas to run their generator for a little while so we could have lights, that is the way here if I have it and you need it, it is yours. This is not our way but it makes sense to them.

One highlight was after Mbari, we stopped at a little village and Jeanie was able to stop and met one of her Global Fingerprint sponsored orphans. This was a very touching moment and the girl was very sweet and shy.

We saw God’s hand upon us at many times today. Current plan for tomorrow is to crash tonight and get up tomorrow at about 3:00AM to get to Zongo at about 8:00 and cross the border and got straight to Air France and check our luggage. As the light is fading here in Bau, we are also fading. We also hope to be able to get internet tomorrow to post these entries and check email. Gee this is “fun” traveling in Congo, I don’t understand why it is not on everyone’s vacation plans as one the top 10 things you should see. I would say that the people are on the top ten people you should see as God has blessed them with skills and gifts that are totally different them mine, as we are different parts of the same body of Christ. Together we can change the world.

It is 6:00PM and it is dark out and we will all soon be in bed, getting ready to a new adventure tomorrow. Who knows what will really happen, we will have to wait and see. Per plan tomorrow we need to make our flight at 11:00PM or else spend another week in Africa. We are all glad we came but we are ready to be home. If this get posted before them chances are good this is happening per plan.

Tuesday - 27^th - Time to Leave

This morning before we saw the Smiths and Ed off to Gemena, we had a tour of the new dentist and eye offices and saw additional parts of the hospital that were closed when we had our tour yesterday. In the afternoon I spent a few hours trying and failing to get their wireless internet working.

Monday -

Today we traveled 40 KM to Kungu, it was a fast trip it only took one hour and 1.25 hours on the trip back. At Kungu, we got a tour of their tree farms and fish ponds. They want to bring this technology to Elikya, so Gill was exploring this with Mowa and the people at Kungu. For me the real treat of the trip was seeing some of the villages along the way. In the whole trip of 80 KM we met 2 motorcycles the only motorized vehicles, it may have been the same one as we met one both ways. Yes, it was pretty remote and we were out in the jungle. As I rode in the back of the pickup truck, I caused quite a stir for the villagers to see a white man standing in the back of the truck. These people were quite poor and there were a few small children without cloths, it really make me stop and count my blessings. For God has blessed me by placing me where I am and with the things I have. He has been so good to me in so many ways. I was asked today what was the top moment of the week, after thinking about it I said it was Wednesday when we really did not have a translator and with God’s help we were able to continue on in our training. I was not always sure we were communicating well but it seems that we were able to communicate.

Sunday -

By the time we got a ride to church we were one hour late to church so church was only about 2.5 hours long. We went back to Elikya and ate and packed up to travel to Tandala. But before we could leave the CECU President want to come out and see what we had accomplished and thank us, true to Africa fashion this took two hours, so it was after 4:00 before we left for Tandala. The president was very appreciative for what we had accomplished and how we had partnered with them in helping bring some new skills to them. It has been a really blessing this past week to be here even through all the hardships and “strange” culture, I am glad I was here. God has blessed me with so much how can I not try and share it with others that need God’s love and help. Is it not what he wants me to do no matter where I am in the world.

Spent most of the day without any translator, I have determined that one of the hardest things in teaching when you don’t understand the language is that you can not test for understanding and are never sure whether they understand what you are trying to across to them. Can not understand what you need to explain more. But all in all I would say we did pretty well at communicating with lost of hand gestures. They clearly understand parts but some of the new concepts it is not always clear they understand. Sharpening tools and proper care of a tool is a challenge. Some of this can be resolved by getting the sewing classes to make tool rolls for the graduate kits. At graduation after six months of training the boys are give what I would call a basic tool kit so they can go back to there village and start to do carpentry and furniture building and make a living. They are also doing some follow up to make sure that thing are working. This basic tool kit is very basic, they need your help in funding and finding these tool.

The ladies who gave us the pottery demo yesterday were brought to Elikya today and will be working with Garrett this week as they try and expand their skills as well and teach Garrett the methods that work here. It is hoped that this work can lead to some pottery training at Elikya.

Leslie worked with a group of orphans on making beads and buttons, and will be making necklaces with them latter in the week.

With me teaching all day I do not see what they are really doing that much. Will need to figure out a time to do that.

Rachael is pulled in multiple directions as we need translations.

So all in all it was a very productive day for everyone except Gill.

Gary

Cutting a tenon

Let it rain

What did we do today and see was quite fascinating and eye opening even though I have see it before, it was a great reminder of what we take for granted. Let me tell you about what we did see and do. We went to a village and watched them make clay pots the traditional way, Garret is going to work with the lady tomorrow at the Elikya Center and try to get a program started to teach some of the orphans methods so they can make clay pots. These pots are used to carry liquid (ie. Water, oil, etc.), boil food in, from their prospective out in the villages these are very functional pots, as they have the clay naturally. We also went for a tour of the village, this village was 18 KM from the Elikya Center and we gave a family their first. That was for them to see themselves in a picture, the lady could not believe and was just amazed that it could happen. This can give you a little prospective of what life is like here. Unless you have experienced it you can not really understand, this is my second time and I still don’t understand and have to control my thoughts and feelings.

We also went to the market to get some supplies. I went looking for what tools were in the market, ie. I was taken to their version of Home Depot. It was about 10 feet by 10 feet, and they did have a brace but no bits, did have a cheap spokeshave, found no drawknives, found no sharpening stones. The tools I bought on eBay and brought over are better then what I say in this stand and I was told this was the best stand to buy tools. So Gemena is a good place for a hardware/tool franchise, any takers?

The Elikya Center is doing very good work and giving the church a way to help these desperately need people but it is just getting started and from my prospective the only way to help them get their feet under them is one person at a time a big government program will not work. We need Elikya to move forward to a sustainable model and replicated it around the needed world addressing both physical, material and spiritual needs.

Below I have stolen/reused Rachael’s description of the team:

Jeanie P, from Liberty Bible Church in Chesterton, IN – A lab technician who was here a couple of years ago. Through the efforts of her church, there is a new lab at the Tandala Hospital and she is going to help them set it up properly and train them in the equipment they have brought. How exciting that will be or the nurses, Doctors and lab technicians as they finally have more modern and extensive lab to diagnose patience.

Thelma L, veteran retired Congo missionary nurse, translator, logistic and cultural director, who is truly a super hero!

Gill S is an arborist, and as such is very interested in applying what he knows about trees to the trees that are being grown at Centre Elikya. Palm trees, and fruit trees, are being examined a year after they were planted. Gill is learning from Mowa, Lisase and others on the land about their practices, and likewise they are eager to learn about his practices.

Leslie S, is textile and bead artist. In here studio back in Vernon Hills, Illinois she makes exquisite glass bead each one of a kind and a small piece of art or sculpture in their own right. She has also learned to make clay and wooden beads, as well as beads made from seeds. It is to these material that she would like to turn her attention so that she can learn what the Congolese make in the are of beads and buttons, and to teach her skill to the students. The goal is to make the projects easily reproducible, and highly marketable.

Garret S, Leslie and Gill’s eldest son, is a potter and clay artist. With his knowledge and seeking the knowledge of people who are experts in a nearby village, he will be trying to teach how to form and throw pottery and how to fire it. Even some beads and buttons can be made from clay.

Rachael B – translator and facilitator of the team that will work at Elikya. She grew up as an MK here in the Congo is now working out of Minneapolis.

Myself, who will be teaching the orphans who are learning carpentry, some specialized skills using simple tools. The goal…. To have each student make a beautiful ladder back chair, and be able to teach another to make the same chair.

Gary

Lady and her pot

There is a chair in there somewhere

Saturday - Getting reacquainted

Today was a slower day then the last few. Started with breakfast of goat, chicken, and bananas. Spent some time journaling and about 11:30 we went to the Elikya Center and met the Smiths and got to see first hand what progress has been made. So much progress has been made in the last two years as you drive into the center besides having a sign at the road the place is landscaped with a total of four building with the foundation for the 5^th building in progress. The 5^th building is the training center which will have four classrooms. In addition they have converted two of the old Habituate homes into dorms one for boys and the other for girls. This allows orphans to come in from other areas versus those right around Gemena. With gardens and Today they had two classes going on there was about 10 girls learning sewing and about 10 boys learning carpentry. In addition they still have soup making classes and craft classes. In the afternoon we had a rain storm, time was spent

Gary

Lab tech in lab at Zongo

 

 

Sewing example at Zongo

Some of the best road

 

Children at Bau

Once reaching the Zongo side we once again are meet by some men who want to be our porters but since we already have our bags in our own hands it is easier to hold them at bay and keep them from taking our bags. Now where iis Madaba who was the man who brought our luggage across the day before and prepared our way to leave Bangui so effortless. He is the son of a pastor who got his doctoral degree at Trinity University in Northbrook, Illinois. He attend high school there so he understand our needs and our language even thou he has been back in the Congo for several years. Now as we walk up the bank, we spot Madaba all is once again good as he leads us across the street to the immigration we office. I glance at my watch it is 8:05. As we approach the Congolese quickly arrange four chairs for us to sit in. As I arrive at that the four chairs there is a conversion going on that I do not understand, Madaba asked us for our passports and .we produce them and give them to him and he takes them inside the small building and hands them to an official and comes back and talks to Thelma and she gets into the money and starts counting out some money. It is hard to know how much she is getting out as they are talking in Lingala the trade language of Congo. She makes the statement that we have to give them 10 dollars US a bag to have the privilege of them to go through our bags and we still have to deal with customs. As we mill around (some of us standing and some sitting and some doing both) we can not really tell if anything is happening, this goes on for about one hour until they bring us back our passport. All appears to be good, however shortly after we have returned our passports to bags Madaba returns saying they need our passports again as they forgot to process them through one office. So we all quick scramble to get our passports out and give them back to him. It turns out that they forgot to check our yellow fever card to make sure our vaccination were current. After a short time about 5 minutes the office comes out and talks to Thelma. Rachael tells us that she is asking about our vaccination system as she was noticing all different vaccination dates. It is explained to the official that our yellow fever vaccination is good for ten years and a document is quickly produced and more conversation. The lady appears to be happy and we are told we are ready to go to the mission. Thelma says one hour to get to this point that is not bad, now lets hope that customs goes well.

Our carry on bags are loaded into the Land rover and we get in and take a short ride about a mile to the CECU (CECU is the name of the Congo church that we have come to help) mission. As we arrive we are greeted, but there is no formal greeting line as we are introduced and hands shaken, he are lead in side where we place our bags and we can see that they have prepared tea and coffee for us. So after we wash our hands we are invited to have tea and coffee with bread. None of us really want it but we dutifully all sit and have a cup, as I don’t really enjoy either I have a cup of tea with is the lesser of the two evils, I add sugar and powdered milk and wait for a spoon to be found so we could stir out drinks and them I wait for the spoon to be passed around the table for my turn to stir my drink. After the bread and drink are consumed, we go back outside to wait. What are we waiting for it is not really clear, after asking it is learned that Madaba has gone to exchange money and get the custom officials, who reviewed our checked bags yesterday but still need to work on them and our bags we just brought today. We wait and talk among ourselves. A lady comes up to Rachael and they talk and they go off to look at something, it turns out the went to see what the ladies are doing with sewing skills they have learned and the material that has been sent over from the US churches. While that is happening see some children gathering and wonder what is happening, but there is no really way of knowing.

After a little while Thelma ask if we would like to see the medical client as Jeannie is a medical lab tech we say yes, and to do anything to pass this time of waiting and wait for what is not really understood. We walk back down toward the road to see the medical client. We are introduced to the nurses as there are no doctors at this client and it is explained that they have no means to keep patients over night but they do C sections. Jeannie and myself are give a tour of the lab and inside they have a microscope and a few medical bottles of medicines. There is purple stains on the unpainted wood shelves and on the floor there is a dishpan of empty glass medicine bottles that are in the process of being cleaned and when need will be filed with medicine for patients. It is clear this is not a place I would want to have to go to get medical help in fact, we Americans would not even take our pets to a place like this to get medical help. But this where these people have to go to get medical help and we stand in the hall talking to the nurses as to what they do I look around and the building is your standard brick building I have seen in the Congo before with the walls going up about 8 feet and then open above that. As I look around the walls have major chips and need a good coat of paint and at the top of the walls where they meet the support that go across there are spider webs and it is clear that up there it has probable not been cleaned since it was built. We thank them for the tour and time and start walking back to where we have been placed our bags and been waiting, we our meet by Rachael you are missing it.

What are we missing now, those children we saw are sponsored Global Fingerprint orphans and they were just getting there backpacks and supplies. So we hurried back to see the children receive their school supplies, that to our children would not have been much, about four books, pair of shoes, school uniform and of course the red backpack and a one gallon zip lock bag that contained, a tooth brush, 2 pens, soap, toothpaste, wash cloth, 2 pencils, notebooks and a few other items. Red backpacks have become the status symbol that I am loved by someone who cares enough about me to give me aid so I get medical aid, schooling, and food. These children were so excited, happy and proud of their new gifts as we watched the children they would look through their new items with wonderment. It was not clear to me what some of this wonderment was from until a little later. This was such a special time for us to see this event of the children getting their supplies.

While the children supplies sere being passed out, Madaba had returned with the custom officials, more discussion and negotiations occurred. Upon the completion of the negotiations on what the fee/tax would be for the items we had brought into the country it was now time to take the officials back to town and pack up the Land Rover for the trip to Gemena. Since all the supplies would not fit into or on were decide to leave two trunks in Zongo until latter they could always be taken when they bring us back in two weeks for our exit. While this was happening we noticed Madaba talking to the orphan children about their new supplies. A completely understandable but strange thing was happening. He was pulling items out the gallon bag and explaining what they were and how to use them. A few examples were the tooth brush and tooth paste as many have never had or knew how to use them, click ball point pens, the pencil sharpener. It was fun to see this, in addition in some free time the girl’s bags had some hair clips and they did not know how to use them so Rachael show a couple of girls how they were used and put them in their hair they were so proud. Can you image being so proud of a couple of hair clips? Kind of puts a new prospective on it does it?

Well the loading of the luggage was final completed and our driver, Edison had eaten so it was time to get on the road to Gemena. Looking a my watch it was now 12:00, yes it had taken 4 hours for us to cross the boarder and this was considered normal, with most of this time spent not understanding or believing anything was really happening. Welcome.

On the road to Gemena was an new and different expertise them I have every had. I could be long winded here put I will try and describe it as quickly as possible. This road or what is called as a road is worse then any farmers lane or anything I have seen anywhere else in the world. Some might have taken the back road to Hana on Maui that is a super highway compared to this road. Take a muddy dirt road add water, take you’re four wheel tracker out and run up and down it, get it stuck a few time put it out, let is dry rock hard and repeat a few times, until you have dips up to a couple of feet high and you are now getting the foundation of the road ready. At first there were open streams running across the road you just drove through them. Later on you got to bridges and some of the bridge did not look bad, well that to say by Congo standards, but some were just logs laid across with dirt pack on them these were some of the better ones. But let me tell you about the one that sticks out the most as we approached it you could see three logs laying across with the middle log being broken. Would the tires hit the log, would Edison be able to get the tires on the logs, after we had successfully crossed it, we all made some comments and Edison told us it was a “piece of cake”. Earlier in the drive Rachael had explained the meaning of this phase to him. We all started laughing. I start out being a gentleman by riding in the back and on the hot side. Gee I don‘t feel well but is just the heat, that feels better we were able to get some of the windows open in back on this side. I don‘t feel bad I will take some more pills and I will be good. Do talk about food, no don‘t talk about food. Jeannie out of the way I need fresh air. So after three hours of riding in the back I had figured out a way to get to the front seat. Gee it is better up here a real seat to sit on and more leg room and I can see better. So for the next 8 hours I got to ride in the front seat.

After I got to feeling better, I got to watching the speed we were going, gee we are flying for a 1/16 of a mile, I look over and we are doing about 55 KM/H (yes, less then 30 miles an hour) I would say our average speed was more like 20 KM/H (~12 MPH) and this went on for 11 hours with check points thrown in where we need to get out our passport and pay a tax. This was bad enough in the day time them it got dark, did it mention that at places this road had grass growing up between the tire lanes. And that it was wide enough for only one car, and yes we met large trucks and you had to find a way to more over. Gee it’s 10:50PM and we just got to Gemena can’t wait to get to bed. But wait they are turning on the generator for us, so we can have lights no they are setting chairs out at the church presidents house. That means we are expect to have a greeting which also means they want to feed us. Yes, so at 11:15 I find my self eating goat, chicken, pondu (cooked green leaves, it is something you need to be raised on to enjoy).

Well I can go to bed now, no first I need to take my shower, well at least a bucket shower. I put in my ear plugs and turn off the light at 12:15, thinking what a day and what an adventure. How do you explain this to someone that has not see or done this? Thanks Lord for the safety and everything else

Gary

Orphans just got their backpacks and supplies in Zongo

Friday - What a day! How do you explain my day to someone that has never experienced it, you can not but I will try and give you a little prospective on it. It started off all well when I woke up after about 5 hours of sleep and knew I needed to get up and would not be able to sleep once I did but I did not need to get up for another hour.Before breakfast Rachael, Thelma and myself walked to the bakery to get some pastries, they were excellent and I eat to many for breakfast, but that turned out to be a good thing. After breakfast the compound guard got us a taxi so we could take our carry on bags and go to the beach to get out canoe to cross the river to the DRC, we were gone by Thelma‘s schedule by 7:30. Just like Chicago taxi drivers he was not sure where we want to go, but after a little time he figured it out. Once getting to the beach, the taxi driver open his hatch and there was a mad rush by want to be porters to help us with our luggage and we did not want there help so we quickly scrambled out of the taxi to pull our luggage away from such helpful men. We need to check out of CAR (my understanding the equivalent of a standard exiting of a country) but there are not signs lines or any clue to what you need to do other than there is a awning on a building with some people in with uniforms on, Thelma went in and can out telling us that due to all the good work done the day before when they took our passports and when and did something, this turned into an non-event, with Thelma saying this has never worked this easy before. So we immediately were able to walk down the 30 degree hill down to the river and get into our dug out canoe. But due to security laws in Africa we were not able to take a single picture of this so you will have to rely on word pictures to understand this. The canoe was hand hewed with metal patches holding out the water, well I hope they hold out the water, it was about 20 feet long and about 30 inch wide. They but four rickety rough sawn lumber chairs into the canoe and that is what we sat one for the 5 to 10 minute peaceful ride across the river from Bangui, CAR to Zongo, DRC.

After the standard passport control screens, it was time for what I called the airport mash pit. Yes if was time to see if we could find our 19 piece of luggage. It was packed in with people jocking for position around the conveyer belt. Can you believe after an hour we had all our luggage and all appeared to get here in good shape. After having them load all our luggage into the van there was no room for all four of us to ride the short ride to the guest home, so we took a taxi. Not the worst car I been in.

Our luggage has already been taken to the border so tomorrow morning when we go across this should accelerate our crossing the board. Tomorrow is to be fun part to the travel, as we start out with the crossing of the river which forms the border between CAR and DRC. This crossing is to be done by water taxi (which is to be a dug out canoe, followed by the slow drive to Gemena. I believe the plan is for Thelma and Jeannie to travel on to Tandala on Saturday and Jeannie is a lab technician and will be working in the new lab at the Tandala hospital.

This afternoon about 1:00 we had a rain it was more like a down pour, there was at least 2 inches of rain running down the street, and if you got caught out in the rain don’t worry you were all wet down to the skin within seconds.  It helps to understand why the roads are are all washed out with cayons in them. 

Gary