More news from Bunia

Greetings from Bunia:


Wednesday 27th 10.00am

Greetings to you all.

I will take the initiative today and write the first part of the Blog!

I am writing this in the office while the library laptop is being scanned and another antivirus programme is being downloaded (when the power is on)! Who says that men can’t multitask!

I have spent most of my working time at the college so far trying to clean the main desk top computer and the lap top which is destined for the library, of some rather nasty clever viruses. Whatever else they do I don’t know but they take up so much of the computer’s processing power that there is only 1 or 2 % left for real work and they also have the ability to block attempts to remove them. On top of that the power supply has been so intermittent that the desk top machine crashes, sometimes every 2 or 3 minutes, when the voltage drops or goes off altogether. Dr Philip has suggested that we purchase a 12v Car type battery and a charged and a 110volt “inverter” to run the desk top machine. This will act a UPS and stop the computer crashing. For the uninitiated, an inverter takes 12v DC from the battery and converts it into 110V AC and a UPS is an “Uninterruptable Power Supply”. We hope to be able to make this purchase on Saturday morning before we go to the market for the weekly shop. Please pray that all will go to plan.

Back at home we had no mains electricity all day yesterday and suddenly it comes on at about midnight!! The light on the veranda, which had been left switched on, was shining in onto my face. So I got up to switch it off only to find Dr Nancy also up. She was filling two “Thermos” flasks with hot water from a kettle, the kettle having been left on the electric cooker with the switch on just in case we should have power in the night!! This ensures there is hot water for drinks in the morning.

The power was off by the time I got up and so was the water. There was only a rusty sludge coming from the tap as I went for my morning wash! Fortunately there is always a supply in the kitchen in plastic cans mainly to be passed through the filtration system for drinking water but available for other uses if necessary.

Dr. Nancy was at the hospital first thing this morning so arranged for me to be picked up by the college Director General, who sent a driver in his spare car. I think Janice has told you about it. To say that the windscreen is cracked is the biggest understatement of the year! I must try and get a photo of it for you. The car creaks and groans as it “bottoms out” over the ruts in the road and there is a worrying smell of hot oil around the outside!! A definite MOT failure with no hope for a retest!!! Having said that, the young driver was very cautious and careful, picking his way along the road to take the least rutted path irrespective of which side of the road that was!

We arrived at the college in time for morning prayers. I like to sit with them, although not understanding what is read or said. Sometimes they will sing to a tune I recognise and I try to recall the English words. This is a little easier if they sing in French! It is good to know that they are sharing THE WORD and having fellowship together before starting the day’s work. But this morning, as the talk began, I was passed an English Bible opened at 1 Corinthians 15.58. “So then, my dear friends stand firm and steady. Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord's service is ever useless.” This was just the encouragement I needed, as, in my wakeful moments last night I was getting very despondent at achieving none of what I had planned! This morning we also had an encouraging Email from Maud Kells who is a WEC Congo missionary on furlough who has read our Blog. We certainly need your prayers, without which we WILL achieve nothing.

Now for the Englishmen’s favourite topic: the weather. Really it’s hard to imagine that we are only 100 or so miles north of the equator. The daytime temperature is about 26C and the night about 19C. Being the rainy season there is plenty of cloud about during the day which keeps the temperature down as the sun is very powerful. The rainy season is from September to May and we understand that the last two weeks have been as “rainy as it gets”! The rain is not every day and when it does rain it’s pretty heavy as the picture in the last Blog shows. The showers are usually short lived, an hour is about usual. We did have several hours the other day though, which left the roads in a mess.

Friday 29th 10.00am

Friday always starts well as it starts with the Students Service at 7.30am. This morning I was on my own as Janice has a Hospital morning with DR Nancy this morning. I am sure she will have some stories to relate as a result. It is great to part of the students worship once again. The choral singing was very moving and although it seems to be so informal, starting with one person singing in the congregation then others joining in and walking to the front still singing; it was obviously prearranged and rehearsed as those who came forward were dressed similarly!

As Dr Nancy was at the hospital The Dir. General, Mele, was my chauffer this morning driving the MOT failure! On the way from the church to the college I had another new experience; a police road block. The physical block was length of timber with 6” nails sticking out of it placed across the road. Pass at your peril. Apparently they were checking insurance and believe it or not the MOT failure is also uninsured! The result was an additional passenger, a policeman, to the college to ensure their instructions are carried out. Mele has now gone off with the policeman to get insurance cover.



I had almost given up on my old laptop which has now developed the dreaded blue screen but one last attempt just before lunch and we now have a clean machine! Software reinstalled and waiting to update the antivirus from the internet on Monday.

Today was supposed to be the day we were collecting 210 Swahili Bibles from Shalom University. We arrived there at 16.00 as arranged to find that the key holder had gone home early. No one had thought to tell him we were coming. So now 14.00 tomorrow, Saturday, is the time. I hope we succeed as we are going to Nyankunde on Sunday and want to take a box for the Bible College there.

God’s richest blessing on you all.

John.

Greetings and news now from Janice:-

It hardly seems possible that we’ve been here for 2 weeks now.....halfway through our visit!

On Thursday morning Nancy asked if I would do some more labelling of tins and jars in the kitchen store......I clearly labelled a lot for her in March, but this time I had come with a lot of adhesive labels ready for such requests at the home or Hospital. It makes it far easier to pick out a tin when the electricity is off!!. I then went out with Marguerite to do some shopping in 2 local markets. We were out walking for an hour and a half in glorious sunshine 27 degrees plus [ sorry, I know it’s been very much cooler in UK!!]. These markets are much more ‘rustic’ than the main Saturday one. The pathways between the little stalls are almost like ‘mountaineering’, they are on such uneven rough ground! My ankle stood up to it all, amazingly! And of course it was great fun!



Friday morning...today 29th....dawned really hot. At 7.15am I went to the Hospital with Nancy, and accompanied her on her ward rounds. She checked on many sick children and women; some extremely sad cases of Aids and Diabetes, and a young woman who was unconscious after a severe stroke. Mavis Swallow had knitted some cute little teddy bears, and I gave out at least 6 to sick children today....They and their Mums were thrilled, and of course these children rarely have toys of any kind, so they look quite curiously at such gifts! The Maternity wards were full of adorable babies and proud Mothers. Guess what?...I took loads of photos! The Mums are thrilled to have their babies photographed. The Unit didn’t have any prem. babies today, so there were none to wear the gifts of tiny hats and cardigans knitted by Sue Burns and friends of Audrey Watts.

A nasty road accident case was brought in while I was at the Hospital...an 8 year old boy with a very severely fractured leg of both femur and open wound tibia. I watched Dr Philip operating on it... What incredible skill!

MANY thanks to all family and friends who sent Emails and Texts this week. It was great to have news My mobile connection is suddenly playing up today, so I can’t be certain of if and when it works!

The lights have all gone off, so on battery power now.8.30pm. I don’t think this Blog will be sent this evening....who knows! But I will wish you all ‘Good Night and God Bless’....and sign off! Oh, there is light....but like dim candle level!

Janice.