A mystery solved!

I have discovered why I was stopped by the police on Friday evening! It was actually the first time that I had walked back home from the college. I had walked that route to the college several times and thought that the reverse direction would not be a problem but at one point along the path I walked to the right of a tree which stood in the centre of the path. What I didn’t realise or notice was that the path divided at that point and I had headed on a different path running parallel to my intended route and although I was only about 5 meters off course the two paths are separated by a razor wire barrier hidden in the shrubs. I don’t know why that path is a no go area protected by a police check point though.

Work is progressing slowly. I have partial records of some 330 students on file and I have all the necessary data to be able to print out the student ID cards. It is not easy to grasp the year / class / subject structure used and how to convert that into a database.

After work this evening I was offered a lift back home as one of the college lecturers was going to the Wood’s for a meeting. On the back of his little motor bike!! Good job that I have ridden a bike and could relax on the back. I had to brace myself for the corrugation in the road but the breeze was blissful!! This is my driver and his bike!

Janice’s turn! No, I will not be accepting any motorbike lifts!! I will stick to walking and/or being shaken to bits in the car!!

I received Happy Mothers Day emails from the family yesterday. A lovely surprise; and a comment from Mark said it must be the most unusual place I’ve been in on Mothers Day! He’s right! It was Market day shopping again on Saturday. Sainsbury’s and High street shopping will seem very tame after experiencing Congo markets!

In the evening a number of young Doctors came for a meal followed by a presentation and discussion on ‘Malaria in SubSaharan Africa’. This is a regular opportunity for them to practice their English, and they took turns to read the information projected on the wall. We helped with pronunciations!!

Sunday morning we walked to a Service at a large French speaking church of 1000 plus. If you find Bunia DRC on Google Earth and look at the pictures, you’ll find one of this Church. More greetings for us, and we had to introduce ourselves etc. More fantastic singing from a ladies choir, and also from a superb Male Voice group! I have videoed some singing on my camera.

After lunch we walked to visit a family in what you would think of as a typical remote African village. Caroline and her 3 young daughters and baby son and an orphan relative live in a tiny house with only a charcoal fuelled 1 ring burner outside to cook on! She is a cheerful Christian young Mother, with a very sad history typical of many in the Congo. She fled with her 3 tiny daughters in the 2003 war, but her husband was killed. Nancy found her in a refugee camp and helped get her some temporary domestic work with some missionaries. Then last year she was attacked and raped, resulting in the birth of baby Joshua! Another example of the care that Nancy and Philip have for families, and finding some monetary support for them via their home church in Canada.

We then went on to have an evening meal at the home of the Nursing College’s manager. Walking back home from there [with Nancy and Philip] in the pitch dark plus torches and head lights was another new experience!

We were both at the Nurses College this morning. John is working very hard with his computing.

I think this must be all for this evening. Thank you for keeping up with us via the Blog! We now wait to see if we can get internet connection to send it! I wish we could answer more individual Emails, but, as we’ve said before, it isn’t easy!! We have to grab the moments!

God Bless,

Janice

More News

Some of you have asked about what the weather is like. It is coming towards the end of the rainy season. The dry season starts in May but I am told that like us the seasons are very variable these days. We have had some overcast days with a few showers but no tropical downpours as yet. Thunder storms were forecast for the day we flew in from Entebbe. As we flew we could see the storm clouds building up around us but no storms were in our path or materialised after we had arrived. The temperature is in the mid 20’s on overcast days but on a day like today (Wed.10th) when the sky is clear the temperature reaches 35o C in the shade. Fortunately there is a moderate breeze to help you cool. The 30 minute walk to and from the office works up quite a sweat!! Fortunately the office in which I work (that of the “Directeur General”) is nice and cool with a good breeze coming in through the open windows most of the time. Most of the houses are built so that the sun does not shine directly onto the windows. If there is no balcony there are overhanging shades built onto the wall to keep the sun off the windows.


The sounds are very different too. During daylight hours (6am to 6pm) there is the sound of children playing, cocks crowing, “crows” squawking and the occasional small motor bike unless you are on one of the “main” roads that is where there is an endless stream of these small bikes putt-putting along at about 15-20 mph. There isn’t the background dim of traffic that we are subjected to at home as there is no tarmac on the roads only compressed earth, heavily y rutted which reduces the speed to about 20 mph if you are lucky! At night there is practically no sound at all. With no outside lighting, either street or on the houses no one goes about at night unless absolutely essential and then only by car. If there were street lights (there are a few headless lamp posts around) most of the time there is no electricity to power them!!

There are two predominant smells. Wood burning, either bonfires or for cooking and the smell from the latrines which is not as offensive as one would expect! If you are on the main road occasionally an ancient lorry will pass belching smoke as it attempts to accelerate so there are diesel fumes but nothing like the all pervading traffic fumes of the UK.

Now for some more specific items of news for those with a technical bent. The work is going well and I have managed to design the basic Data Base and import the personnel records for three years worth of students. The main problem is “data integrity”. The data has been held on spread sheets and is inconsistent from one sheet to the other. For instance both date and place of birth were held together in one field and had to be separated! By Monday I hope to be able to automatically produce ID Cards for the September intake of students. At present the cards are produced, 5 to an A4 sheet, with each student’s details having to be typed in separately!

Although I have been offered the use of the car to go to the college, the roads are so bad I have elected to walk, which I quite enjoy. Yesterday evening as I was walking home I was called back by two armed police with whom I found it very difficult to communicate as they have no English and I have no French. They wanted to know where I was going. They had no knowledge of the house we are staying at or the Drs. Wood or the college! Fortunately they knew of the CME Clinic. But for some unknown reason they would not let me pass so I had to go back and take a detour back to the house. Sounds scary but I felt quite comfortable at the time praise the Lord.

Now over to Janice for her contribution!!

Hello again! There is always so much to tell, I hardly know how to prioritise! And I can’t type as fast as I can talk!! It’s still “mind blowing” here in Bunia!

Wed.10th at 7.15am...!!!...I went with Dr. Philip to their Hospital. It was a cross country walk of about 20 minutes. As many staff as possible start the day with a devotional time of prayer; hymns and Bible reading. I then went on ward rounds [70 beds]. Wow! What sights! What they achieve with such love and medical care with such limited space and resources is incredible! UK folk who complain about mixed wards and overcrowding ought to come out here and see what that REALLY means! And no one is complaining! Most patients, many with very serious illnesses or injuries have visitors/family squeezed beside or on the beds; and some bring bed rolls and sleep on the floor under the bed!!

Philip is the only surgeon, and his surgery skills cover absolutely every type of operation! Whatever is needed! Gynaecology, orthopaedic, everything abdominal, burns and skin grafts etc.etc!

There is 1 surgeon, 3 Doctors, 2 Anaesthetists, about 25 nurses, 1 Physiotherapist for 70 beds. Dr. Nancy sees about 50 outpatients every day at her clinic in the town.

First asking if I was OK with blood....!!...I was invited to observe in the operating room!! The details would not be for the squeamish! The young male patient was a gruesome kerosene burns case [back and front body and both arms!].He was sedated while they peeled away the black burnt flesh! Suddenly I was called upon as “theatre assistant” using forceps to pass numerous sterile swabs to the Doctor and nurses! It will sound weird if I say I enjoyed this experience.....but I did!

Walking home through the little farmlands and wooden shack homes, I was often ambushed by little children rushing for a hug, and then asking if they could feel my hair! Which they did; and I then felt every little head of black curly hair or shiny shaved ones!! There was much giggling and shaking hands, which is the usual greeting from little tots to adults! These children and families are very poor, often just growing vegetables to feed themselves, or maybe selling a few sweet potatoes etc on the roadside. But they are all so cheerful, with such a lot of laughter.

My typing time is up now! I am in darkness! But John may be able to get an Internet connection and link in with the solar power before going to bed at about 9pm.

Greetings to all at waterloo Road Church on Sunday, and greetings to all who read the Blog!!

Oh, just time to add to John’s comments about the motor bikes: if you want a taxi you hail a motor bike and ride pillion! And the most we’ve seen on one bike, so far, is a Dad,2 children and a Mum with a baby on her back!! The number of folk packed on top of an old lorry piled high with ‘goods’ is amazing! The hospital gets lots of broken limbs patients this way!

Janice.

The week begins

Tuesday 9th March, 7.30am!


Hello, again! I am having a morning at home while John walks to the Nursing College to continue his computer work. Later he will tell you details of the system for records that he is setting up for them.

When there is a slot [power, time, and internet] later today I will transfer this to computer, and hopefully send it off! The Doctors, who work so hard in their Hospital, Clinic and College, also have much computer work to do at home. Limited Internet supply at home, and none at the college!

My 7.30am Swahili speaking ladies Church choir practice last Saturday was a real joy...and fun! walking there in the gentle rain. It puts our choirs to shame when you see the ladies learning words and harmonies purely by listening to leaders and each other. No word sheets, music or instruments; and all with perfect timing and rhythm, including all the swaying movements which they add! Instruments may accompany them at the Church service [drums, guitars etc.]

7.45am yesterday morning, Dr. Nancy drove us to the College. John has a key to the Director General’s office where he sets up his computer. The DG is a lovely Christian man called Melchizedek! While John was at the office, I joined Rose, the DG’s wife, who would be the main speaker at a special Women’s World Day conference, followed by a parade through the town! Rose was a fantastic, very animated speaker on the subject “The Responsibilities of Wives in the Home and the Country”. The discussions were often hilarious, and I could follow the gist of it, because there were many social and family issues which I could understand in French by reading the points listed on the projected screen.

Sign language comes in handy, because the women wave their hands about, very expressively! The conclusion confirmed that the Bible gives very good responsibilities guidelines for both wives and husbands.

I was interviewed in French with much cheering and applause!! The 2 and half hours ended with cocktails! Which were, in fact, bottles of coke/lemonade etc. And a rather dry bun!!!

If my surgeon could see me negotiating several miles of rutted, pot-holed paths, he would have a fit! Waiting for an arthroscopy on my ankle I am supposed to be careful! I think the offending debris, which causes my ankle to lock painfully, gets so jiggled about that it doesn’t have time to lock!! It’s a daily occurrence at home, but so far it hasn’t happened here!!

Thank you so much for the personal Emails from our family and friends, as well as the Blog messages. It is difficult to Email back to all the personal ones in the same way at the moment. But please keep us in touch, and we will try to answer some personally eventually!

Take a look back at our previous Blogs, because there should now be some photos attached. My camera is working overtime, as you can well imagine! There are so many wonderful sights and people to photograph, including the most adorable babies on their Mother’s backs! My new Panasonic camera is excellent, and we’ve just found that it can play a slide show in camera, plus accompanying music!

God Bless all.......from Janice [in a continual state of excitement and wonder at this incredible country].

Weekend

Hello again. The weekend routine in Congo is much the same as in the UK; shopping on Saturday morning; relaxing for the rest of the day with a DVD film in the evening.


Saturday morning Janice and I accompanied Nancy and a friend’s daughter to Bunia market for the weekly shop. Shops line the road and are barely 12’ x12’ stacked floor to ceiling with merchandise with just room to get inside. We followed Nancy from shop to shop getting things like a broom, salt, and toilet rolls oh, and palm oil. This was outside a shop in a cut down drum and was put into a plastic bottle which was bought at another stall. The oil, which looks a bit like thin, pale tomato sauce is supplied to the shop in big plastic sacks! Nancy bought rice; a 50 kilo sack which was carried to the car for us, for a fee of course. She bought 2 different types of dried beans which are displayed piled on plastic sheets on the ground. They are measured out in a 5 litre tin piled high and running over; true scriptural measure. The market proper consists of row upon row of permanent roofed wooden stalls selling everything from dress material, which Janice bought, to dried fish, which we didn’t. We did however buy fish which came from the nearby Lake Albert; Nile Perch which are huge! All manner of fruit and vegetables which are grown locally; most of which I recognized although “tree tomatoes” and “cassava” were new to me. The weather was overcast and a little humid; about 26 degrees and we coped quite well. We needed a snooze after lunch. In fact the afternoon routine usually includes a snooze!

Sunday morning dawned clear and bright. After breakfast, which every day consists of a portion of pawpaw with lemon juice, and a plate of warm porridge made with corn meal and soya with a sliced banana on it, Philip took us to the WEC founded church for the service which started at 9.30. The church was constructed with mud walls up to about 6 feet with another 2 feet of wooden lattice for ventilation; the roof was pitched corrugated iron with a bamboo ceiling. The service was in Lingala and Swahili so we relied on Philip to give us the gist of what was going on. During the first hour and a half various groups of people came forward to sing in wonderful African harmony, accompanied by two guitars and a drum made from an old oil drum with a skin stretched across the open top. Folk prayed and read scripture. The pastor preached on Hebrews 3:12-14 Sin’s deceitfulness. This was followed by a communion service during which visitors were welcomed. As visitors we were invited to stay for “tea and bread”, literally BREAD, after communion. In all the service lasted some 4 hours during which time people kept coming and going. I suppose there must have been about 100 people in all. The clear sky has meant that the temperature today rose to about 30 degrees and it is still 22 degrees and quite humid at 11.30 pm. So far we have only had two rain showers, one of which was thundery. It is coming to the end of the rainy season here.

God’s blessing on you all.

Getting Started

It is now Friday 5th March and we haven’t had the right combination of TIME, ELECTRICITY, and INTERNET connection to update our Blog! Life is not as we know it in the UK! At the moment I am typing, but will have to wait to send…whenever later today! Maybe soon, maybe not!


Our B.A. flight was good; the 13 hours at Entebbe Airport was ‘interesting’!! And the MAF flight to Bunia was amazing in a VERY small Cessna [1 pilot and 4 passengers!]. And it’s the first time we’ve flown with a pilot who said “I’ll just say a prayer before we take off”….no panic! Then 1 hour 15 minutes over incredible views of lakes, rivers, swamps and forests. Dr. Nancy met us, and helped us get a fairly speedy form filling completed in the immigration office.

The 15 minute drive in their 4x4 Land Cruiser immediately introduced us to DR Congo’s pot-holed dirt/mud roads! Pot-holes? Craters and deep ruts! It’s like being in an unevenly balanced tumble drier! The seat belts barely hold you down! And we were also immediately in the heart of REAL Africa! It is amazing!

The house is like an old colonial style ranch with a verandah, and surrounded by high bamboo fencing. The facilities are basic, but warm and welcoming. Power is very limited, and it is ‘shut down’ around 9 pm, so off to bed! Up at 6am, breakfast at 6.30 and out to the Nursing College, Clinic or Hospital at 7.15am!

Today we were taken to the large Brethren Church at 7.30 for a Nursing Students’ Service [Approx 240 students there]. Prayers, Ministry, and amazing, beautiful and emotional African singing by the congregation and various groups of students. We were also introduced and welcomed with cheering and applause!

We then went to the Nursing College, where Nancy was teaching a class of about 120 students, in a very hot and small classroom [Our U. K. Health and Safety would only allow a quarter of that number!]. We were shown round the whole complex, which is very basic, but in a lovely location! Then John started the process of having discussions to see how he can best assist the staff with their computer systems.

I’ve surprised myself with how much French I can conjure up when necessary! Conversing with the Wood’s 3 very jolly Domestic Staff [cook, cleaner/laundry and gardener] was hilarious when we were left at home to acclimatize ourselves yesterday! The gardener is also chief ironer! You should see the immaculate shirts etc. under his expert hands with the red hot charcoal embers in the open topped iron!

We will be in touch with more news and experiences soon, but bear with us if it isn’t as regular as hoped! Daily can be a problem!

Keep Praying for us, and for all the wonderful and dedicated work we are discovering here with Nancy and Philip and their Medical staff.

Janice.

Here we go!!!

The time for us to leave Uxbridge approaches!!
We had the opportunity to tell our church about our trip on Sunday the 21st. And we were given a good send off yesterday, Sunday 28th. They have a DR Congo flag on display to remind them to pray for us!!
Our cases are packed with the exception of the few items we will need in the morning. We have checked in on line and chosen our seats!! Isn’t technology wonderful when it works? Neighbours have been told, our son Peter, who lives with us, has been briefed and our son, Tim, who lives locally, will be picking us up at about 8.00am tomorrow to take us to Heathrow for our 10.45am flight to Entebbe, Uganda. We arrive there at 8.10 pm local time and will be spending the night in the airport lounge to save the expense of visas/taxi/hotel. We meet up with MAF at 11.00am Wednesday for the flight into Bunia, DRC which I understand arrives there at about 2.00pm.
The last few weeks have been quite stressful. Janice’s car died on her in our one way system. A guardian angel in the form of a biker got her car off the road and out of danger and then the RAC towed her home. She has managed to order a new car, taking advantage of the scrappage scheme, which she will pick up on our return. She needed a new camera and thought that there was not enough time to do the research and get one. But Tim had already done some research and we were able to go out and buy one with time for her to test it at my older brother’s Diamond Wedding celebration on the 27th.
I look forward to reporting from Bunia next time but that will depend on the power supply and the internet connection!!
God Bless and thank you for your interest and prayers.

Visas at last!!

Bunia street scene.

Today I collected our passports from the DRC Embassy, stamped with our Congo visas!! They are highly coloured and very important looking! Our new letter of invitation with a big official looking stamp on it seems to have done the trick. Since starting this process of obtaining visas though, I have found out that people seem to just fly in and get visas at the airport on arrival in Bunia.

Last Friday evening I was in Guildford at a combined choir practice for our London Choir Festival and I had the opportunity to tell them about our trip to DRC, give out leaflets and ask for prayer. I discovered that some of the choir men were from Millmead Baptist Church, in Guildford and know our hosts in DRC, Philip & Nancy Wood. It appears that Millmead is their home church, having been sent out from there as missionaries in 1973! The Festival will actually be while we are in Congo but I need to learn the music as we will be using it in the Uxbridge choir programmes.

All the formalities are now in place, now for the packing!

Every Blessing.

Janice & John