Getting into the Swing of Things

As I write this it is 12:30 in the morning, Saturday, August 28, 2010. Of course, for those of you on the East Coast it is a mild 7:30 PM on a Friday night and those of you in the Midwest have probably barely finished supper by 6:30. Here it is past midnight and yet all is not still at the Elikya Center. Some of the sewing students and teachers are working on some items they will send back to the US with Jim Snyder and Kevin Kompelein, two visiting EFCA leaders who are flying out of Gemena tomorrow. Their sewing machines are busy. The generator is running through the night as well, to power some of the machines and enable them to see what they’re doing. And that’s why I’m writing now- so this computer won’t run out of juice.

I wanted to write in order to get you caught up on how things have been progressing here. In short, slowly but surely. Our EFL curriculum arrived with Jim and Kevin so we are now beginning to wade through the materials, getting familiar with them in order to start lesson planning in earnest. We will be using materials from the Ohana Foundation that are largely DVD based. This, along with the training we received in July, should enable novice EFL trainers like us to effectively facilitate the subject using a wealth of resources including songs, stories, video instruction, games and workbooks. Like so many other things, we’ll just have to wait and see. We are all excited about getting the classes rolling and hope to begin the third week of September. Until then we will be lesson-planning, continuing our Lingala learning and working in our garden.

Speaking of the garden, it has been one of our great opportunities here. It is an opportunity to learn more about Congolese life since so much revolves around the subsistence garden. It is an opportunity to get some good physical exercise and to toughen up our hands. My hands are currently covered with healing blisters (7 in all), proof that they have a lot of toughening up to do. Apparently, the local trick to the dilemma of soft hands is to do the following: 1) Rub palm oil all over hands, 2) hold hands over hot coals until they feel like they’re burning, 3) remove hands from heat, 4) hold hands over hot coals again until they feel like they’re on fire and 5) remove hands. The last step is very important. Sam and I tried this treatment out a couple of times and it seems there may be something to it. The specific activity that was causing our hands such grief was turning the earth with our garden hoes.

It is pretty hard, tedious and back-breaking work, especially knowing that it is to be done for every inch of the garden. And we had it easy; we only had to turn a small portion of earth since our garden is quite small. We also had helpers, which brings me to another great opportunity- the chance to meet people, work with them and practice our Lingala with them. It seems that every time we went out to work we would soon be joined by anywhere between 1 and 8 people. Our Lingala teacher, Guylain has been helping, Several of Mowa’s kids have helped, though Jeffu is barely as tall as the hoe he was using.

Eyenga and Kongba, two Global Fingerprints sponsored orphans have helped and some of the orphan students here at the Center have also chipped in from time to time. Right now we are trying to reclaim the pineapple, banana and plantain rows from the weeds that took over in our absence.

We are also constructing seed beds for our kitchen garden and will soon be planting vegetables, herbs and some trees that may be useful for soil building, living fences, charcoal or firewood and forage for livestock. We have really enjoyed the chance to get out and get our hands dirty. It has also been a good outlet for physical activity and its value as such will certainly be appreciated throughout our duration here.

Another good outlet for physical activity has again been soccer. But another sport that has joined soccer as a hometown favorite is the venerable tradition of Ngba ba. I should preface this by stating that Ngba ba is actually a real game. The first time we saw it being played we thought it was simply a game that Mowa’s kids came up with to play amongst themselves. But it turns out it is known throughout the Gemena region, though not much beyond that. The premise of the game is this: Players use sticks to try to hit a foam wheel onto the opposing team’s side. If they clear the field or if the lagome (the foam wheel) comes to a stop on the opposing team’s side, they get a point. It is actually both surprisingly fun and difficult. We look downright silly out there but we have a good time and the kids really enjoy it too.

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to adjust after our first month in-country. Lingala learning is a constant effort. Pray that we are bold in seeking opportunities to use and grow it. We are preparing to teach a subject none of us have ever taught before. Pray for wisdom and discipline as we make preparations for the classroom. Also, we ask for your prayers concerning Michelle’s pregnancy. Pray that Michelle and the baby would enjoy good health and that all the necessary arrangements would be made for the delivery. The plan is that we will fly to Gamboula, in the Central African Republic to be under the care of a ReachGlobal mission doctor there when the time comes for the baby to be born. We are expecting to leave for the CAR either the last week of November or the first week of December. Once the baby is born we will fly to the capital city of Bangui where we will apply and wait for the baby’s passport. Then it’s back to the Elikya Center. As of right now, flights still need to be arranged as does our housing in Gamboula and Bangui. These plans are in God’s hands and we know that He will provide.

Finally, drop us a line if you think of it. We’d love to hear from you and we crave news from “back home” more than we crave roast beef and home-style mashed potatoes…And that’s saying a lot! So keep in touch and keep us in your prayers. Let us know how we can be praying for you as well.

Ekstrands in Congo

See this blog post by some missionaries with Covenant World Mission. They are also serving in the Gemena area and we had supper with them this past Wednesday evening at a local restaurant.

http://blogs.covchurch.org/ekstrand/?p=751

Making the Most of a Rainy Day

Getting water for dishes, laundery and filtering

Doin' dishes

Michelle and Sarah doing dishes behind the house

Pictures of Home

The following pictures show our house again. There have been several improvements including a nice green lawn (and healthy fruit trees and bushes), an extended roof over our future cooking area out back, a completed front porch and shower barrels on stands at either end.

Home at Elikya

We are finally home at the Elikya Center. Our travel this time around was, in some ways, easier than the last and in some ways more, shall we say adventurous. Our flights were on time, all of our luggage arrived with us and we had only a couple hours layover in Paris. Once in Bangui, CAR we settled into the Brethren Mission guesthouse for a couple nights. We ate our evening meal (chicken and French fries) at a local restaurant. As we were waiting for the food to arrive I felt a tickling on my toes. I pushed back the tablecloth and leaned over to take a look, expecting to find a cat or a small dog sniffing my feet. Instead I saw a large cockroach crawling on my toes, welcoming us to Africa.

Our first full day in the city we took a walking tour of Bangui, visiting such hotspots as the US embassy, the fridge store and a grocery store. That night both of us got only about 3 hours of sleep. As I lay wake my mind was busy with Lingala words and phrases. I ended up with a song in my head and even tried translating that into Lingala with mild success.

The next day we crossed over the Ubangi River into the town of Zongo, Congo. We were hoping to cross the river at 8 AM to get an early start but…As usual the customs process took awhile on both sides of the river. When we finally got on the road it was about 1:30 in the afternoon. We were anticipating something like a 9 hour drive given the report that a bridge was “out” along the way and it was the rainy season so the roads were bad. Michelle quickly showed us all that she was the possessor of an important skill: the ability to fall asleep anywhere. I think it is a safe assumption that if you can sleep in a truck bouncing along Congo roads, you can sleep anywhere.

The bridge required some minor adjusting before it could be crossed. We got out of the vehicle and walked across, though, just in case. We were delayed a couple times for minor repairs to the suspension and changing out the bulbs in the headlights. Finding a place to go to the bathroom was always an adventure. At one point we walked back off the road a ways through two people’s yards and to a third house where the man in charge got the generator running, turned the lights on and let us in. He yelled something about a scorpion to somebody right before he invited us in so we were left guessing a little bit about that.

Back on the road it got dark and we finished the trip, most of us nodding off from time to time (except for Edison, the driver, of course). We had a few encounters with animals on the road with a chicken and a cat being the sole casualties. A cow once suddenly and unwisely averted course and turned immediately in front of us. It got knocked on the head but walked away from it. We arrived at a checkpoint in a town just over an hour from Gemena around midnight. There we were taken into a small room and looked over by an official who registered us after examining our passports and shining a flashlight in our face to confirm our identities.

By the time we arrived in Gemena we had been on the road for 11 ½ hours. We made a stop at the CECU President’s house for a very late supper (or early breakfast) of goat, rice and plantain. Then we finally got to bed and ended up sleeping until just before noon the next day. Now we are continuing to unpack and put everything in order. This afternoon we will register with the regional chef du poste and apply for a residence visa.

The Days Ahead

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9




The months of waiting have turned to weeks, to days and finally to hours. We have made our final purchases, checked in for our flight to Paris, weighed every piece of luggage to within ounces of 50 pounds, scheduled the termination of our phone service and car insurance and a million other little things that must be done when leaving the country for two years. We'll find out what we forgot to do when we get there.

We are excited to be going and more than a little apprehensive...but excited. There will be difficult things to be sure but our God can handle them. And now, when considering the days head, there is something like a swell of excitement at being loosed on this journey and going in His will. There is no place we'd rather be right now and no place we'd rather be going.

The plan is to fly overnight from Chicago to Paris, arriving tomorrow morning. A few hours later we board our flight for Bangui, arriving that evening. We will be spending at least a day in Bangui at a guesthouse as we prepare for the trip to Gemena. That final leg may be a bit delayed as the roads have apparently been wrecked by the rainy season and a bridge is currently out. So we may have to wait for it to be fixed. But regardless, we are on our way. And on our way rejoicing.

Woo Hoo!

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