I'll post pictures in a few days - please check back!
Friday night - June 26th
Arrived back in Kinshasa via Cessna Caravan. Great flight that was low enough to see some of the terrain. We got to fly over Lubondai where several members of the team went to high school or elementary school. Lubondai is around 80 miles south of Kananga. We flew along the river for part of the flight - no hippos or anything sighted but we saw great scenery and small rapids in many places. Making the circle around Lubondai was very special. We got back to MPH around 7 PM and had a late dinner.
Saturday, June 27th
Very cool. I had really hoped to set up a recreation day and we were blessed. We went to a small forest preserve where Bonobos Monkeys live. This species is only found in the Congo - why? They are terrible swimmers so they never crossed the Congo River to the north and only lived in their natural environs of the jungle rainforest. As they wandered far enough south to get out of the forest they would have still been well inside Congo and they stayed in the forest. These guys were hysterical! One tiny orphan kept pretending to fall as he tried to walk up a small slope. It was exactly like kids rolling on the lawn and tumbling down a hill. Another older guy casually strode over to a water trough and leaned down to fill his container. When he withdrew the container and wandered back to start drinking we realized it was a Coca-Cola can! Even the Bonobos apparently prefer Coke! We ate our lunch we brought with us - small bread loaves with cheese and water. It was great! Afterwards we went to a small lake called Lac de ma Vallee (Lake of my Valley). The setting was gorgeous and we were able to enjoy a cold beer and French fries and fried plantains (OK, most of us enjoyed a cold beer - one person stuck with a big orange drink). Interesting side note - we said a blessings and gave thanks for our refreshments. When we said amen a waitress asked why we were in Congo. "Mission trip." She said she had never seen any white people come to that location to this little restaurant and pray before. Wow. Even when you don't think you are witnessing...
Sunday, June 28th
Lilibet headed off to a local church of God about 90 minutes away. They sent someone to get her. She had a wonderful experience. They gave her some goodies - the main gift was a live chicken she walked in carrying in her arms. I told her that 5 minutes after we left the hostel that chicken would be dead and in a pot!
Shruggy headed to a Presbyterian church as the invited guest of people her family had known when she was a child. She too had a great experience. She didn't bring back a chicken.
The rest of us piled in the UPC van and went to the largest Protestante Church in Congo. There were around 900 people there by my best estimate. We wanted to sneak in but the usher at the door would have none of that. He said each first time guest had to stand for an introduction. We stood and when it was announced we represented the Protestant University next door, the President of the University, Dr. Ngoy, who is a friend of mine, stood and immediately called us to the front so he could properly welcome us. So much for stealth. We also met the head of all the Protestant churches in the Congo who was in attendance. During his message, the preacher suddenly in English said, "Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!" Our President is a huge hit in Africa. The message was on hope and restoration and how individuals need restoration and so does the Congo. No doubt he was right on all fronts.
After church we took a route back to the hostel so we could drive alongside the Congo River. The Congo is the world's 2nd largest behind the Amazon. But, the Amazon has a low season and high season based on rainfall. Because the Congo flows from south of the Equator, crosses it and swings far north before turning back south of it again, a part of it is always in rainy season - so, steady flow. The rapids begin on the south edge of Kinshasa and continue for around 100 miles, dropping close to 1,000 feet along that route. If the power could be properly harnessed, it could supply electricity for all Africa. Great fun to get to see it up close and personal.
Monday, June 29th
We went to the Protestant University. I serve on the Board for the North American Liaison Bureau for the University, so we had a real interest. There were the tours and walking through various classrooms, of course, but also we were able to see the early construction on our new medical school building. I had meetings on a variety of issues and with a number of people while part of the group headed off to Kinshasa for some souvenir shopping at a place that supports disable Congolese craftsmen. The University has over 6,000 students and four colleges: Law, Economics, Theology, and Medicine. The day was inspiring. Our motto is Université Protestante au Congo, education to build a nation. I love it!
While we did this, Dr. John Kennedy performed surgery on two patients at the Dikembe Mutombo Hospital out toward the Kinshasa airport. His specialty is breast cancer and, unfortunately they had candidates he needed to work on. When he came in that night he wanted to try to squeeze one more surgery in the next morning before we left.
Tuesday, June 30th – again God is in control and we are reminded of it!
Departure day. Everything is done that we can accomplish - now we just need to get back home safely. Some years, Independence Day is fraught with tensions. I had worried that I inadvertently planned the trip for a 30 June departure. It went so smoothly that I think that is what I will intentionally plan next year!
Most businesses were closed. The drive at 9:10 AM to go downtown to advance check our luggage on Air France should have taken the usual 45 minutes. It took 10. The luggage office was supposed to open at 10 and we got there at 9:20. They had opened early and we were right near the front of the line. The bags were checked and cleared customs with no problems.
We wandered into the adjoining hotel (the nicest one in Congo) and discovered they have a restaurant on the courtyard by their pool (who knew?). Coffee and croissants seemed logical. We hadn't splurged yet, so this was it. Incredible!
The hospital sent a doc to fetch John and off he went. We made plans to pick him up as we drove to the airport. I told him I did not want to face his wife and say I had left john in the Congo so he needed to be ready to handoff the surgery if it got bogged down. He was confident they could step in if needed.
Afterwards, we returned to the hostel and just took it easy before departing again at 3:45 to go to the airport. Even though we took the long route to the airport, it still only took less than an hour even with picking John up on the way. Last year, that trip took 3½ hours and we almost missed our plane!
At the airport, we had been told (only right before we left to go to the airport) about a special lounge to wait in – that "serves food and has comfortable furniture." It cost $15 per person and was worth every penny. We even got to board without all the hassle that usually has accompanied every trip to Congo! The day could not have gone any more smoothly – actually, the whole trip couldn't have gone more smoothly!
We departed Congo around 9:20 PM Kinshasa time and arrived Paris at 5 AM Kinshasa time (6 AM Paris). After a layover of around 5 hours, we were off again and Atlanta bound. Got here around 2:20 (7:20 PM in Kinshasa). This was a long 22 hours of flying and airports and everyone wasn't done yet!
Jim had to fly to Denver and then take a shuttle back nearly to the Nebraska state line. Shruggy had to fly to Austin after a layover of several hours in Atlanta. Kat and Katy had to fly to Nashville. Lilibet had to drive to SC. I was thrilled to be 45 minutes from home!
