Long Days!

Is it always true that the same type of people interested in serving overseas also care deeply about sustainable design?

Maybe so, maybe not. But I have been excited to hear from other members of my team their ideas for making this village an amazing place that responds to the people, the climate, the community, the neighborhood. I will try to write more about our ideas tomorrow.

I have had two amazing days here in the Congo. It’s hard to even write about what has been happening because there are so many things that have occurred already.

On Friday evening, I went to Heathrow airport to meet most of the EMI team. Colin lives in England so met us that night. There were ten of us on the flight. I sat next to Bumjoo, who is a South Korean student studying civil engineering in Canada. He is an intern with EMI and as part of his internship, is going on this trip.

He was on my right side and to my left was an amazing woman from England who was on her way to see gorillas in Africa. Turns out she had been to the DR Congo on a previous trip and had glowing praise of it. That was so helpful. It seems that everyone else I have mentioned the Congo to has been very hesitant and fearful about what I would face here. She was enthusiastic and open and very excited.

We arrived in Kenya. I got very little sleep on the plane (probably only a half hour). Alvin, Colin, and I wandered the Nairobi airport a little to stay awake as we waited for our next flight to board. Alvin tried to buy a bell for his girlfriend but was quoted the price of $17 dollars American. He decided that he would pass.

When we arrived in Kinshasa, we went through customs, which went smoothly. Cammie, the nonprofit director met us with a “protocol” man. We learned today that they had to grease the fittings in order for us to experience such a smooth passage through customs. Cammie said that her usual protocol man was unable to help and she had to rely on someone new. Thankfully, he was able to get us through for only $50. Apparently, it usually costs about $150 so it was a blessing in disguise!

If is always confusing to go to a new airport and try to find luggage, etc. This one was especially confusing as hardly any of us speak hardly any French. Why, why, why did I take German in school and not French!?

But, once again, it was helpful to have folks that were meeting us at the airport. We waited for a time… and our bags never came. Since there were about 100 people there with the same issue, I didn’t worry too much. There was confusion but in the end, we made a list of our bags, then waited in the car while the protocol man found out what had happened.

As we were waiting, we got to talk with each other and just hang out. It was hot, but not terribly so. When we landed, it was about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Not bad at all. The humidity is pretty high but I don’t have a good grasp on that. Lucy, our volunteer/Math teacher (she’s married to Tom), said that the weather feels similar to South Carolina in the summer. So, not terribly out of the ordinary… if you’re used to the American South!

As we waited, people began to walk by the car and try to sell us food or beg. We ended up buying bottles of soda to drink as we waited. Dave gave his camera to Alvin to take a photo from the back of the van and was stopped by the police. They are fairly serious when it comes to picture taking. Dave almost lost his camera… but we sweet-talked/put the camera away/drove away not long after that. I will need to send you pictures of our van… and our team in it. It’s not very large but our entire team of 11 people, plus Cammie, the driver… and sometimes an extra person, fit into it with little problems. Well, the little problems might include poor air circulation, heat, and slightly uncomfortable seating arrangements, but who’s counting!?

And this is all before we even left the airport parking lot!

Well, we finally left… without our bags. Poto, Elikia Village’s jack-of-all-trades/our driver went back to the airport today while we were at church and picked up 8 of the 11 bags. Tomorrow, we hope and pray that the other three will be there. One of the bags holds all the surveying equipment and would be a big loss if it doesn’t come. Please pray!

Yesterday, we ran around… and waited in the van a LOT! We drove an hour plus from the airport to a Lebanese restaurant where thankfully we got water, water, and more water! I can’t tell you how vital it is to me. After sipping some of the soda at the airport, I was feeling sick and hoped that I wasn’t coming down with something. But after reaching the restaurant and drinking A LOT of water, I felt fantastic! I am trying to remember, not only for myself, but for everyone, to fill the water containers here at the house. The tap water is fairly clean, but we are boiling it for use as drinking water. I have taken it on as my task for the week… which reminds me, I should go boil a new batch right now!

We boil, then cool, then pour in large water jugs with spigots. I’m just hoping we can keep ahead of the water need! There are 12 of us living in two houses relying on this water.

So, we went to the restaurant, then to a market to be “tourists” for the afternoon. Cammie told us she was trying to keep us awake so that we could sleep at night. It worked. We shopped a little, then hung out in the van while she went to see her lawyer about the village property, and finally we went to the compound where we are staying. We are staying in two houses in a compound that houses a seminary. I am staying in one three bedroom home where I get my own room (I am the only single girl on the team). Cammie is in another room, and the married couple (Tom and Lucy) are in the other room. We have a kitchen, TWO bathrooms (with running water and a flush toilet), and a common area. All the guys are staying in the other house. I haven’t looked through it but I believe there are four bedrooms with two men in each room. As their space is larger, we have met over there for meals and meetings.

One of our neighbors cooked dinner for us last night. She made so much, it was lunch for us today, as well. She made delicious, amazing beans, and rice. The rice is much like Jasmine… it probably is Jasmine rice. Same texture, scent, and taste. We had some optional spicy stuff to put on top… which I enjoyed but should probably put on the side next time. I do miss having yogurt with my beans and rice, like I had in India, but I enjoyed the food mightily.

The power went out around 7:30pm last night, at which time everyone decided that getting ready for bed wasn’t a bad thing. I don’t think anyone, including Cammie, stayed up past 8:30pm last night!

Today, I woke up at 6am briefly, checked on my clothes that I had washed the night before, and then went back to sleep. At 7am, I woke to my alarm clock. Although I didn’t have any extra clothes because I hadn’t the forethought to keep them in my carry-on, Cammie was able to loan me something to sleep in, and give me some cloth to wear for church.

Many of the Congolese women wear beautiful, elegant garments. They also can wear cloth just tied around their waist. Often they are bright patterns, etc. I saw woman wearing what seemed to be cloth wound around her waist and tied. People at church tend to expect you to dress up and I was wearing Khaki pants yesterday. So, when Cammie offered the cloth, I accepted. I wrapped the cloth around twice and then tied it. I will have to put pictures up when I can get them. I felt elegant… although I was having difficulties getting into the van, stepping down stairs, or even just walking. I think I need to learn the trick of the Congolese cloth wrap. I’m hoping to get one outfit made while we’re here, but I don’t have high hopes. We have very little time and so much to do. It really has been non-stop. Though at the same time, things take longer to do (like heating lunch up over charcoal) so we have a lot of time spent sitting and waiting.

I guess that’s just part of the trip!

Church was a lot of fun. It was a French service and I didn’t recognize any tunes of the songs. But the pastor got one of the congregation to stand up front and translate the sermon. It was a really wonderful sermon about seeing ourselves the way that God sees us. He read the story of Gideon and how Gideon had said that he was from a poor family and that he was the smallest in his family. And that God used him and told Gideon that he would be a warrior and save his people from the Midianites. God thought more highly of Gideon than Gideon did and was willing to use him to bless his people.

There are mango trees everywhere! And there are fruit on every one of them. They are mostly green but Colin, Alvin, and I found a few under the trees at church, peeled, and ate them. They were not great… I think that they need a little bit more time but hopefully before we leave, I will get some fresh and lovely mango!

After lunch, we briefly went to a Christian radio station. Although Elikia Village is now its own NGO, it started as an off-shoot of the radio station. Cammie still has contacts there and we were able to visit and use their wireless internet. There is something very amusing about seeing all these people bring out their laptops and power up. I had a good blog entry going, complete with pictures, when it erased itself. Since we had such a short time, I was only able to put up a very little entry. As I promised, more later! Ric, Kevin, and Alvin amused me as they poked and prodded at the station’s generator. Cammie had said that electricity was unreliable and she wanted a generator, at least for the medical clinic… so like the engineers they are, they had to investigate. They looked at the water meter, tried to see the kW output of the generator, investigated the wiring, etc.

We visited the site for the first time today. It is an amazingly peaceful site with a powerful story. After coming back to the compound, we heard Cammie tell her story of how she got involved in this and more about her vison for the site.

A film student interning at the radio some months back made a video that I’m hoping to post as soon as I return to the US. It’s much to big to post up using the internet connection we have here. Before 1997 or so, the site was part of the property belonging to Congo’s dictator Mbotu (I’m not sure I’m spelling it correctly and since I’m writing this offline, I can’t check on Google). He was an evil man, and responsible for the deaths of millions. This site came up for sale and through connections, Elikia Village was able to purchase the site and begin to make plans for it. They really feel that through this project, and others like it, they can reclaim and redeem a property once used for evil and use it for something good and life-affirming. This story, and many others she told of the beginnings of Elikia Village, really gave me hope for what God is doing in the Congo. He has really moved hearts of people to serve others. Even the vice president of DR Congo has taken a personal interest in this project as well as other prominent people here, and throughout the world.

Cammie has a real heart for serving the orphans and widows here. And people are beginning to invest not only in this project, but in Kinshasa generally. Several people that she has come across really feel like the time for DR Congo is changing and that good things are on their way for the country. It is amazing and hopeful. I have heard so many sad things about Africa, so it is so wonderful to be part of something that seems part of a greater movement of good things. Maybe not the most eloquent way to phrase that… but I hope you understand.

I have so much to tell you and yet, I should go to sleep. I’m hoping to get out to the wireless internet and send this out… but I don’t know when that will be.