Sorry this has taken so long to post. I wrote this soon after we arrived in Congo but have been unable to post it due to technical difficulties. Now I do not have time to write a current post but I am well. Blessings on you all looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks.
Dear Friends and Family,
I my team and all our luggage safely arrived in the Congo. I am doing well. The first couple days were especially challenging as my body tried to adjust to the pollution, the new food, different eating times and different foods. In Congo because of the extreme poverty often people will not eat lunch and sometimes not breakfast. Also because it is a very warm culture if you are eating you are obligated to share with the people around you. So we have not really eaten lunches since we got here. At first it was hard but now today we actually had a lunch around two and it is now seven and I’m not at all hungary. I am realizing again how little food some people live on and what an abundance we have in North America. It seems so unfair that some should go without when we throw so much out.
It’s hard because as a North American I just want to fix it and make it fair, but as a Congolese I am learning that relationships are more important than tasks. I can make an impact and touch lives for Christ by taking the time to build relationships wether with the taxi driver, the youth and children we are working with or the kids on the streets or in hospitals and orphanages.
In my mind I’ve been trying to figure out how to explain the Congo to people and I feel like no matter what words I use you will not truly understand for yourself until you have been here. The first things that hits you as you walk off the plane is the air. It is oppressively heavy with smog and pollution. It feels like you need to cough but you can’t. As we walked out of the airport there were people everywhere. Animated smiling people. We drove down the road in a taxi van which we had rented. So nine of us are 17 pieces of luggage and nine carry-ons along with Jean Baptise, the driver and the apprentice climbed into a van no bigger than a normal eight passenger van. This van was a cargo van with windows hacked out on the two side panels and the back to benches removed and narrow board benches put in. We had 23 people in there today and we’ll likely have even more once we no longer have this van hired.
Then we proceeded to drive through Kinshasa to our home for the month. At first the road was smoothly paved highway but the further we got in to the “abandoned” neighborhoods the worse they got at some points disappearing between layers of dust and garbage, littered everywhere with plastic bags, bottle caps. . .some days we have driven down narrow bumpy dirt alleys lined on either side by fences and strewn with boulders. I have no idea how our driver manages to navigate these roads but he is amazingly good at it. In Kinshasa there is no such thing as road edict. Drivers weave in and out of traffic on both sides of narrow roads. Pedestrians walk willy nilly. Drivers honk loudly as a warning to get out of the way and you better move quickly otherwise you will be driven over.
It is challenging to adapt to another culture, but at the same time it is something that I really enjoy doing. Trying new things, meeting new people, being in Africa our all things I am passionate about. So as hard as it sometimes it is I am really enjoying myself and learning a lot.
The first day we arrived we went to Jean Baptise’s family’s home and had dinner. It was very good and they were very welcoming. The next morning we got up and went to the embassy’s to register that we are here. Then we went shopping to stock up for running a Congolese household. Everything takes longer in the Congo. We need to treat our drinking water, sanitize our hands before we eat and bleach, cook or peel all our food.
Because there is no standard of transport getting places takes longer as well. So we are learning to be patient.
The next day we went to Boma Yi Sika (House of Mercy) an orphanage for children who have been kicked out of their homes. We spent the day doing introductions touring the place and then just hanging out with the kids. The regular team will be working there doing a DVBS program in the coming weeks so this week was mostly just introductions. When we were playing with the kids I was shaking hands greeting them and then this one boy Vinny grabbed onto my hand and would not let go. The whole day that we were there he held my hand and sat on my lap. It was so sweet. He didn’t speak even to the other children and he was younger then most of the other kids there. I wonder what his story is and pray that God will bring healing and restoration in his life.
On Friday we went to Bon Berger a medical clinic where the nurses will be spending a lot of their time. In the morning we toured the place and then spent time listening to the story and vision of the two doctors who started the clinic seven years ago in a small shack. The neighborhood where Bon Berger is situated is considered an abandoned neighborhood. The government is not involved in the neighborhood and there is only one public school and two public clinics for the population of 100 000 people. In order to get there we had to cross a waste stream.
The regular team spent our time drawing pictures in a small church school, then we taught them a Bible lesson and sang some songs with them. We enjoyed our time. Meanwhile the nurses observed at the hospital.
Today we spent the day with the youth group from Jean Baptiste’s church. We went to the Congo river and shared testimonies then we hiked through a rock quarry to the other side. Where we sang on the rocks and talked a bit more. Then we hiked back through the jungle/bush and the quarry to the other side where we had a snack of peanuts, bread and some chicken. Afterwards we headed back to our house and most of the team passed out from exhaustion and dehydration. I stayed up. Today has been the first day when I have felt full of energy. Praise God!
So pray for
energy
safety
unity within our team
health

Thank you so much for your prayers and support.
Britt

Going. . .Going. . .Gone!

Hi Everybody,

Sorry this will be brief it is late and I need to go to bed I did not sleep well last night. Tomorrow is our last full day in Canada and then we fly out on Sunday and spend unreal amounts of time in airports and on airplanes as we fly half-way around the world to minister to the Congolese people and learn from them.

Debrief has been going pretty well. I'm just so ready to be in the DRC already, but the past week of training, orientation and language prep has been good. God has been revealing Himself to me in new ways each day. I'm excited to see what He has instore for me in the DRC.

I ask that you pray for health, safety while traveling, that God will enable my body to digest fats so that while I'm in the DRC I don't have to make the decision between being disrespectful and eating food that I know will make me sick. Pray that the financial support will come in for me and all my teammates. Pray for unity in my team and patience as we live in uber close quarters in the DRC with less than stellar conditions. Pray for grace as we deal with conflict within the team. Pray that we will be able to communicate with our limited French.
Thank you so much for your interest in my life and your prayers and support.
Blessings on you all.
Britt