Cal's Impressions From the Congo
Dear Family and Friends,
I am sorry this took so long to get out, but in Africa, one has to assume that if technology can fail, it will. And, one also has to understand that schedules are a rather loose concept ... more of a concept rather than what we would consider a timetable back in the U.S.
We were unable to get Internet access our first two nights in Kinshasha. When we arrived in Gemena, the generators were acting up, so the router could not be powered up. Often, they have internet access through VSAT technology, but their generator system leaves little margin for error on voltages. It seems we can only get on when most of the lights are off, and then the generator output is going more to the VSAT.
Let me start back from the beginning of the trip. There are 17 of us from the U.S. here. Our leader is Kevin Kompelein, the EV Free Church's area director for Africa missions. Former medical missionaries Dr. Tom Cairns and Thelma Landrud are also here and serve as translators both for Lingala and French, as well as "cultural translators." Thelma also is our logistics
person for food, lodging, etc.
Two couples (Gordon and Bear Grover, Steve and Kathy Austvold) from Connect, the EFCA department that works to engage individual congregations in missions, are with us. Mark and Zelda Anderson, missionaries to Tandala in the early '90s, are coming back with their son, Michael. Rachel Bliss, who is over the part of TouchGlobal dealing with widows and orphans, and her daughter are here.
Rachel W., the niece of Rachel Martin (who is already here working with the orphan sponsorship program) is coming to work with her aunt. Then there are Martin (our pastor), Linda McCoy (Women's Minsistries leader) and myself. Finally, Pastor Nils Swanson from the Evangelical Free Church in Pullman, Washington, completes our group.
As many of you know, we left SeaTac early Wednesday morning. At the time I did not actually have a seat on the plane from Paris to Kinshasha. As best we can tell, this was a combination of problems within the Air France ticketing system and perhaps the travel agents on our end. When we arrived in Paris about 17 hours later, we found that another of our 17 members also did not have a ticket to Kinshasha. Needless to say, we felt the prayers of those who knew about this situation and interceeded for us.
At virtually the last minute, the two of us got seats. We took about 8 more hours of air time to reach Kinshasha late in the evening Thursday. The total travel time was about 27 hours, including layovers in Newark and Paris.
On arrival in Kinshasha, the passengers started clapping then praising God in Lingala. As we deboarded the plane onto the runway we were greeted by soldiers. The airports in the Congo also serve as military bases. At first, this was intimidating, but they were polite and a few even spoke English. We did have to stand in line to clear Immgration for quite awhile, but again were treated with kindness and gentleness. Then it was off to the baggage claim.
Imagine any baggage claim in the U.S. ... now triple the number of people per square foot and add a lot of noise resulting from of having no carpets and concrete walls. Thankfully, the Free Church district superindendent, Pastor Cyril Alenge, along with some men from his church,were there to meet us. One of them, Trecent ("300" in French) works in airport security and was a great help. These men got our baggage and helped us get to the cars. The walk from the airport to the cars was "exciting," as there were many asking for money or trying to help us in order to get "tips."
Finally, we loaded into three vehicles and hit the road. Two quick thoughts about riding in Kinshasha. First, Africans have a much lower need for "personal space" -- so we were crowded. Second, driving in Kinshasha is not for the meek. The rules of the road, assuming there are any, are to go as fast as you can, weaving as needed to avoid pedestrians, potholes, and other cars (I am still not sure how we did not exchange paint with other cars).
Another interesting thing is that cars come in all kinds of conditions in Kinshasha. It is amazing that some of them run and it is not unusual to see guys under their cars working just along the road. Also, they use their batteries for lighting their homes at night so they often have to push the cars. And, of course, I cannot forget to mention the people pushing cartloads of various things to sell (some of which would be considered trash in the U.S.) using the roadway.
In all this, there are the following praises. We are thankful that God took care of our ticketing ... that our luggage got through without being stolen ... that despite the stress and strain of traveling some 27+ hours with little sleep prior and little sleep during, I heard no one on the team get testy or impatient. We also want to thank all of those who interceeded for us on the ticket issues and for us getting through Immigration and Customs.
We went to visit the Free Church in Masina (an area of Kinshasha). This was a church plant from the Free Churches in the Ubangi (northwestern Congo). It just got its roof within the past few years. We were WARMLY greeted and seated in the place of honor in the front of the sanctuary. There was much praying and awesome singing by the church choir (a capella but for the conga drums). They even did several songs in English for their guests. We were each introduced, to much applause. I mention that, only in that it is touching to see just how much Africans, at least African Christians, are blessed by our visits. As I have had it explained, they first realize that without the missionaries of the last century, they would not know Jesus. Because of those who went before us doing the Lord's work, we are still sometimes referred to as "the fathers."
Second, and I repeatedly heard this in their prayers, they are so impressed that we would leave our lives of comfort and travel so far to a place that is hard on us physically (due to the change in climate and in foods) and emotionally. I have to say it was a blessing that I got to experience this brotherhood first hand. And, if one tries to speak to them in Lingala, no matter how poorly, they light up with pleasure that we would take the time to communicate with them.
There is much ceremony and protocal in the Congo. What we might accomplish in a short time in terms of introductions and relationships takes them a long time. As one of my brothers explained to me, if you don't take the time to deal with these relational issues, the other party will wonder about how they have offended you. This is a learning experience for me as my career and personality make me very task-oriented, where the Africans are people-oriented.
These Christians also have a passion for sharing the Gospel. I hope to share more on that later.
After all the protocol, we then had a wonderful Congolese meal. We spent the first two nights in CAP, a Protestant missionary complex near the Congo river. Much to my suprise, they had air conditioning and warm showers (though we could not drink the water). I was grateful for both, but particularly for the A/C. While I grew up in Texas and can handle some heat and humidity, the Congo is much more humid than most places I have been. When there was a breeze, that was great. But air conditioning was even better!
My first impression of the Congo is that it is different. I can share in person some time the level of poverty we found, particularly in Kinshasha. There are so many (10 million) people there, and so many are unemployed. However, among the Christians, there is much joy and happiness ("essengo" in Lingala). I have been repeatedly reminded of this and it sure makes some of the things that upset me back in the U.S. seem petty. They seem to have a very real, vibrant faith and passion for Jesus. Again, they are also very touched that we Americans would take the time to visit and be WITH them.
A note on our schedule: We were in Kinshasha July 19-20, then flew to Gemena on the 21st. I will be leaving for Tandala and our denominational hospital by truck (roughly 80 kilometers, a journey of 2-1/2 hours) on the 23rd. Martin and Linda will stay behind for the Pastors' Conference and probably leave for Tandala on July 26. As with all things African, this is subject to change.
While in Tandala, I will not have internet access. I may or may not have cellular access (it worked in Kinshasha, but not in Gemena). We'll all return to Gemena either August 1 or 2. We then leave Gemena for Kinshasha on August 4, leaving for Paris that evening and, God willing, returning to Seattle on August 5.
Please keep me and our team in your prayers. I would have to say that each of us find this an amazing place with amazing people. There are certainly things that are uncomfortable, but those are minor compared to the blessings we are seeing.
In Christ,
Cal
I am sorry this took so long to get out, but in Africa, one has to assume that if technology can fail, it will. And, one also has to understand that schedules are a rather loose concept ... more of a concept rather than what we would consider a timetable back in the U.S.
We were unable to get Internet access our first two nights in Kinshasha. When we arrived in Gemena, the generators were acting up, so the router could not be powered up. Often, they have internet access through VSAT technology, but their generator system leaves little margin for error on voltages. It seems we can only get on when most of the lights are off, and then the generator output is going more to the VSAT.
Let me start back from the beginning of the trip. There are 17 of us from the U.S. here. Our leader is Kevin Kompelein, the EV Free Church's area director for Africa missions. Former medical missionaries Dr. Tom Cairns and Thelma Landrud are also here and serve as translators both for Lingala and French, as well as "cultural translators." Thelma also is our logistics
person for food, lodging, etc.
Two couples (Gordon and Bear Grover, Steve and Kathy Austvold) from Connect, the EFCA department that works to engage individual congregations in missions, are with us. Mark and Zelda Anderson, missionaries to Tandala in the early '90s, are coming back with their son, Michael. Rachel Bliss, who is over the part of TouchGlobal dealing with widows and orphans, and her daughter are here.
Rachel W., the niece of Rachel Martin (who is already here working with the orphan sponsorship program) is coming to work with her aunt. Then there are Martin (our pastor), Linda McCoy (Women's Minsistries leader) and myself. Finally, Pastor Nils Swanson from the Evangelical Free Church in Pullman, Washington, completes our group.
As many of you know, we left SeaTac early Wednesday morning. At the time I did not actually have a seat on the plane from Paris to Kinshasha. As best we can tell, this was a combination of problems within the Air France ticketing system and perhaps the travel agents on our end. When we arrived in Paris about 17 hours later, we found that another of our 17 members also did not have a ticket to Kinshasha. Needless to say, we felt the prayers of those who knew about this situation and interceeded for us.
At virtually the last minute, the two of us got seats. We took about 8 more hours of air time to reach Kinshasha late in the evening Thursday. The total travel time was about 27 hours, including layovers in Newark and Paris.
On arrival in Kinshasha, the passengers started clapping then praising God in Lingala. As we deboarded the plane onto the runway we were greeted by soldiers. The airports in the Congo also serve as military bases. At first, this was intimidating, but they were polite and a few even spoke English. We did have to stand in line to clear Immgration for quite awhile, but again were treated with kindness and gentleness. Then it was off to the baggage claim.
Imagine any baggage claim in the U.S. ... now triple the number of people per square foot and add a lot of noise resulting from of having no carpets and concrete walls. Thankfully, the Free Church district superindendent, Pastor Cyril Alenge, along with some men from his church,were there to meet us. One of them, Trecent ("300" in French) works in airport security and was a great help. These men got our baggage and helped us get to the cars. The walk from the airport to the cars was "exciting," as there were many asking for money or trying to help us in order to get "tips."
Finally, we loaded into three vehicles and hit the road. Two quick thoughts about riding in Kinshasha. First, Africans have a much lower need for "personal space" -- so we were crowded. Second, driving in Kinshasha is not for the meek. The rules of the road, assuming there are any, are to go as fast as you can, weaving as needed to avoid pedestrians, potholes, and other cars (I am still not sure how we did not exchange paint with other cars).
Another interesting thing is that cars come in all kinds of conditions in Kinshasha. It is amazing that some of them run and it is not unusual to see guys under their cars working just along the road. Also, they use their batteries for lighting their homes at night so they often have to push the cars. And, of course, I cannot forget to mention the people pushing cartloads of various things to sell (some of which would be considered trash in the U.S.) using the roadway.
In all this, there are the following praises. We are thankful that God took care of our ticketing ... that our luggage got through without being stolen ... that despite the stress and strain of traveling some 27+ hours with little sleep prior and little sleep during, I heard no one on the team get testy or impatient. We also want to thank all of those who interceeded for us on the ticket issues and for us getting through Immigration and Customs.
We went to visit the Free Church in Masina (an area of Kinshasha). This was a church plant from the Free Churches in the Ubangi (northwestern Congo). It just got its roof within the past few years. We were WARMLY greeted and seated in the place of honor in the front of the sanctuary. There was much praying and awesome singing by the church choir (a capella but for the conga drums). They even did several songs in English for their guests. We were each introduced, to much applause. I mention that, only in that it is touching to see just how much Africans, at least African Christians, are blessed by our visits. As I have had it explained, they first realize that without the missionaries of the last century, they would not know Jesus. Because of those who went before us doing the Lord's work, we are still sometimes referred to as "the fathers."
Second, and I repeatedly heard this in their prayers, they are so impressed that we would leave our lives of comfort and travel so far to a place that is hard on us physically (due to the change in climate and in foods) and emotionally. I have to say it was a blessing that I got to experience this brotherhood first hand. And, if one tries to speak to them in Lingala, no matter how poorly, they light up with pleasure that we would take the time to communicate with them.
There is much ceremony and protocal in the Congo. What we might accomplish in a short time in terms of introductions and relationships takes them a long time. As one of my brothers explained to me, if you don't take the time to deal with these relational issues, the other party will wonder about how they have offended you. This is a learning experience for me as my career and personality make me very task-oriented, where the Africans are people-oriented.
These Christians also have a passion for sharing the Gospel. I hope to share more on that later.
After all the protocol, we then had a wonderful Congolese meal. We spent the first two nights in CAP, a Protestant missionary complex near the Congo river. Much to my suprise, they had air conditioning and warm showers (though we could not drink the water). I was grateful for both, but particularly for the A/C. While I grew up in Texas and can handle some heat and humidity, the Congo is much more humid than most places I have been. When there was a breeze, that was great. But air conditioning was even better!
My first impression of the Congo is that it is different. I can share in person some time the level of poverty we found, particularly in Kinshasha. There are so many (10 million) people there, and so many are unemployed. However, among the Christians, there is much joy and happiness ("essengo" in Lingala). I have been repeatedly reminded of this and it sure makes some of the things that upset me back in the U.S. seem petty. They seem to have a very real, vibrant faith and passion for Jesus. Again, they are also very touched that we Americans would take the time to visit and be WITH them.
A note on our schedule: We were in Kinshasha July 19-20, then flew to Gemena on the 21st. I will be leaving for Tandala and our denominational hospital by truck (roughly 80 kilometers, a journey of 2-1/2 hours) on the 23rd. Martin and Linda will stay behind for the Pastors' Conference and probably leave for Tandala on July 26. As with all things African, this is subject to change.
While in Tandala, I will not have internet access. I may or may not have cellular access (it worked in Kinshasha, but not in Gemena). We'll all return to Gemena either August 1 or 2. We then leave Gemena for Kinshasha on August 4, leaving for Paris that evening and, God willing, returning to Seattle on August 5.
Please keep me and our team in your prayers. I would have to say that each of us find this an amazing place with amazing people. There are certainly things that are uncomfortable, but those are minor compared to the blessings we are seeing.
In Christ,
Cal
posted by Larry Short at 10:25 PM
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