Saturday, January 31, 2015
We have spent the week in the Kasai Province visiting Mbuji-Mayi, Mwene Ditu and Luputa. The Thomases, Drapers, and Emmanuel have been traveling with us. Mbidi Ilunga has kept the same schedule traveling separately in his assignment over the self-reliance center and he is in charge of public affairs. The distances between the towns are 3.5 hours from Mbuji-Mayi to Mwene Ditu and another 1.5 hours to Luputa.
Emmanuel has been visiting all of the missionary apartments and when I have been available, I have accompanied him. Most of the apartments are homes and there are 2-4 missionaries in the homes. Just as you would expect, there is a dramatic difference in the care they take of their apartments, often the sisters being the worst. He made all of his visits unannounced while they were attending zone conferences with President Thomas.
We have had some meaningful contacts during the trip. We delivered he ultrasound machine to the Luputa Hospital and met with the Territorial Administrator about the Luputa water system. They have had an audit since our last visit and two of the previous water committee members are now in jail and they have a new chairman who is a member of the Church. His name is Andre Mbuyi and he seems to be doing a much better job. He inherited a bank account that had been drained dry by the previous chairman (now in prison) and has built the balance to $4,000 while adding ten new water stations.
Their biggest problem is they only charge 100 Fc for 20 bidons of water. A single bidon is 20 liters and 100 Fc I s 10 cents. I told him he needed to change the pricing structure or it would bankrupt the system. In Mwene Ditu water costs 50 Fc for one bidon and in Mbuji-Mayi a single bidon costs as much as 400 fc.
We also had meetings in Tshitenge, a small village about 10 kilometers outside of Mbuji-Mayi. We met with 3 contractors to discuss the scope of a water project where we will drill a borehole 70-100 meters in depth and place five water tapes for distribution. Mbidi also arranged for us to talk to the public affairs person in Mbuji-Mayi to review his proposals for a wheelchair project for Kasai Province. All in all a fruitful trip and we have enjoyed the travel companions. Our driver is Godefroid. He is not a member of the church but his family belongs. He has two wives according to Emmanuel. His first wife was barren and she gave permission for him to take a second wife to give him children. Polygamy is a fairly common problem and prevents people from joining the church.
I wanted to contrast this trip and our first trip to Kasai in June of 2014. We were brand new then and everyone had a humanitarian project for us to consider. We actually accomplished much more than I had assumed because the only reason for our return is that our previous work bore fruit. I would never have supposed that we could have been effective the first month of our mission with no language and no knowledge of projects. I keep recording that this is not our work but when you say here I am, send me, you are led by Heavenly Father in ways you never thought possible.
Our first time, we were in awe and overwhelmed due to our newness. This time it almost seems routine because the African lifestyle has become more second nature. If you say you have a 9:00 meeting, as long as you show up by 12:00, you’re considered on time. We’ve learned to schedule both morning and afternoon. One great thing is that people always seem to be available. It may be an indirect benefit of 90% unemployment. You can call a meeting or drop in and almost always be able to make contact.
Traveling in the back of a Toyota Land Cruiser for 10 hours plus on African roads can be both exhausting and exhilarating. You are bouncing the entire time but watching the countryside and especially the people can be intoxicating. I marvel at their resilience, their optimism and friendliness. When we first arrived, Shelley said she saw humanitarian projects everywhere and Sister Clawson said I can’t see a single one. These people are happy and life is hard but good. The absence of potable water and electrical power doesn’t seem to dampen their spirits.
I am usually stationed at the back of the Land Cruiser so I can straighten out my right knee for comfort. I have taken hundreds of pictures out the back window. People almost always wave back and greet you with a smile. (They also often greet you with a hand gesture meaning “money please”) I was frightened of the unknown last time but this time I can’t seem to get enough of seeing the people, their living conditions, their clothing, their hair do’s, their tools, their transportation, their faces. Jewelry is so distinctive against black skin, a white smile lights up a dark face like no other, vibrant fabrics look so good contrasted against black skin. I think for the first couple of months I just saw them all as black without really seeing them. It is a joy to see them differently this time round.
This trip does make us miss our Lubumbashi home. Here we generally have no electrical power except from the generator for a couple of hours in the evening. We have no running water and the luxury is having two buckets instead of one in the hotels that have all porcelain fixtures that are non-operational because of the lack of water. Because of political problems in Kinshasa, the government has also shut down texting and any wireless internet including our hot spots on our telephones. It feels like a hundred year time warp. Being in the country with clean breathable air and open spaces does have its drawbacks.
We also have to change our eating and bathroom habits, both of which are difficult. We usually have a continental type breakfast with bread, maybe a small omelet, and hot water with powdered milk and sugar. We usually skip lunch and make sure we have water to stay hydrated and then for dinner we are fed by the relief society sisters who have been hired to feed the missionaries. Bathroom breaks have to be early or late or not at all. Dinner includes rice, spaghetti, beans, fo-fo, sombee sauce, chicken that has been overcooked to the max and really tough goat meat. Nate lived on rice and beans for two years in Brazil, so we’re pretty much doing the same for a much shorter period. Don’t feel too sorry for us, we manage to slip in a coke and cookies on occasion. It would remind you a Camp Cloud Rim, or diet camp.
Contrasting our June, 2014 and our January, 2015 trips to Kasai, I’d say we still know next to nothing but we’re able to observe so much more. It feels like we have accomplished precious little, but we’re appreciated so much. There are still needs everywhere we look but we realize the problems in Africa will be solved by the African people and not their short-term guests. We’re being changed by these experiences and hope to leave a legacy, not only to the Congolese people but to our own family. We see the creator’s hand all around us and in the work in which we are engaged. We love you and prayer for you daily. No empty chairs.
Love, Dad
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