Part 2 - What a way to end the year

Two days after Christmas we went out to do some shopping. We had a few stores we wanted to go to for specific items that we needed. American Eagle is a Lowe's type store with only a hundredth of the inventory but nice Muslim brothers raised in Detroit with ties to New Jersey. They have been very helpful to their "fellow Americans" with special discounts and other things. When you drive up in front of their store there is usually a greeter to open your car door and another one to open the door to the store. That didn't happen this time and when we asked one of the "family" he gave a terse answer then turned around and busied himself without the usual help. We didn't find what we wanted so we left the store and again no one to help you get back into the flow of traffic. (The traffic is often two or three lanes and no movement, these workers usually stop the traffic and help create a space.) 

We needed to stop at a shop that deals in wireless modems but the traffic was too heavy and nowhere to park, so we decided to stop at City Market for a few items on our way back. The traffic was heavy and chaotic, nothing new. The cars and motorbikes were coming from every direction. We tried to park in front of the store, but the space was too narrow. Mark tried to back up to get a better angle and the "police" waved him to back up. He did but the policeman didn't stop us before we bumped a car. All Hell broke loose. A crowd gathered yelling that we had "killed the sacred cow". The "police" motioned us to pull up to a different space and get out of the truck. There was no way Mark was going to get out of the truck. He made a sharp left and went down a road. What a sight, the gang came running after us. Mark's language skills made it possible for him to explain that we knew the "fix was in" between the "police" and the car driver. They demanded money and when the other groupies gathered he took $20 out of his wallet, truly the only bill he had in his wallet. No, they wanted more. Mark said to take or it leave it but that was all there was. They accepted the money and left a big enough space that Mark was able to slip between two cars and escape. The "police" are scammers that help create a situation where they can demand money from the "white" guys. We may have been targeted because we were missionaries. We shop there often and they know us. We decided then that the holidays are scam time so keep a low profile.

We were treated to Family Home Evening with the Collins family. Sister Collins went to Provo High and lived in Grandview. Her husband works for USAID. She and her children, two girls and one boy, spent days preparing treats for the senior missionaries and for other couples that are in the Congo on work assignments. She had her dining table covered with every wonderful treat you can imagine. The next day the Grana family invited the senior missionaries to dinner. He is a Church employee in the finance office. She is Portuguese, he is Spanish and they met in England. Eduardo was working for the Church in the area office and Filzy his wife was working on a masters degree. They married and lived in England until this assignment. They have two girls and they sound like real Brits. They speak Spanish, Portuguese, English and French. 

 Christmas caroling at the Collins just two nights before Christmas.

Collins table loaded with homemade treats gave us a taste of Christmases past.

  

Elder and Sister Gates serve as Construction Missionaries. They are being transferred to Kananga where two chapels are waiting to be built with all of the permits in place. They will be going in a week to their new assignment. There are fewer couples coming so we have spent the last three days clearing out one apartment and redistributing items to the other apartments. We will miss the Gates. We now have two small refrigerators which together approximate one full-size fridge.

We attend the Gombé Ward in Kinshasa. The chapel is on the same property as the S&I building where we work. Saturday December 28th the Christmas Party was held. They had the nativity play, the youth performed an interesting story of three trees and how each tree was part of the life of Christ, one in his cradle, one in the cross and one in the boat Christ was in on the Sea of Galilee when the tempest tossed. It was followed with a "catered African Meal". It was African - rice, foufou, beans, chicken and fish. Glad there wasn't goat. After the meal they cleared the floor (just one observation, much of the food ended up on the floor. One ten or eleven year old took an open bottle of pop and did his African hip rotation move and shook the pop all over the tile floor. Being a former schoolteacher I went to correct the young man, told him to pick up the bottle he had thrown to the floor which he did, then threw it farther along the floor and dumped the garbage can I was suggesting he use and then left. The only words I could think of were English cuss words so I went back to my seat.) The music started and the "moves" began from youngest to oldest, so we decided it was time to "retire". 

Nativity

Collins' children sing in the ward Primary choir.

Monday we were going to do some of those items we had to abandon because of the "police" encounter but got advisories that there had been gun battles going on in three areas of Kinshasa, the airport, a military base near the chapel and the communications center where the state TV programs originate. We were told to stay in. President Cook and Sister Cook evacuated their apartment to come to ours because our compound is more secure. Elder Gates had gone to a construction site and was told to come back, no stay where you are, no come back depending on who was calling him. President Cook said he should stay for now. Elder Gates told his students if we stay we work. You decide. Most of them left. When more information was available he was told to return. He brought some of his students with him and they directed him to go a different route than the usual Blvd. Trente Juin, the major street in Kinshasa. He saw police assault vehicles riding in formation on the way home.

We learned latter it was some radical group unhappy about something so they tried to take over the airport, attack a military base and take over the TV station and broadcast their own grievances. it was reported that forty of the rebels had been killed. We had some of the pizzas in a community freezer chest so we made dinner for all the couples. The moving of furniture from the one apartment that was being closed continued during the afternoon. President and Sister Cook returned to their compound that evening. 

The pizzas were gifted to us, which is good, because they were marked $12 apiece.

The next morning at six, it looked like the town was still on "lockdown". There wasn't the usual honking of horns, the clacking of vendor's attention getters and the plaza music. The train that makes a run once a day didn't come again that morning. Later the traffic picked up with the usual packed transports, the honking and the music blaring outside our building. The the denizens were standing in lines trying to get transportation home on buses, taxis or transports. We were told not to go out wearing white shirts, so we chose to stay in. We were going to a buffet dinner that evening but it had to be postponed until noon the day after because we are not to be out after dark. The news reports that day said that one hundred and one rebels had been killed in this attack. Still not sure what it was all about, but with the quality of news reporting we may never know.

Did some internet searches to find out what was going on early Monday morning. The early reports said the group responsible for the attacks were supporters of a televangelist claiming to be God's chosen on the earth. One report said it had nothing to do with religion but was a political move. The evangelist used the "pulpit" to whip up his followers to overthrow the current President of DRC because he lost to him in 2006. His main complaint that causes the "tribe" mentality to go ballistic was the preacher's claim that President Kabila is not Congolese, but Rwandan. Then the reports stated that 40 attackers with machetes and some guns were killed. The authorities were incredulous because the attackers we not organized, had crude weapons and their numbers were so small. They attribute the attack to a desire to make trouble just before the big celebration of a new year and sort of an act of "dying for the prophet" mentality.

Part 1 - What a way to end the year

We have had some interesting days the past two weeks. The week of Christmas was basically a vacation for the Church employees so most of the offices were closed in the Seminary and Institute offices were closed. Frère Didier said he too was taking a break from the office until January 6th. He gave us the option of coming to the office or not. The two young men that help asked us to come because they had "work to do". The work to be done is to take money accompanied by a student and pay fees, and tuition. Well we felt that the work must go on. Because of the orphanage visit on Christmas Day, we had things to do for that and decided to not go to the office so we could be ready. One helper called and asked if we would come and let them have the keys to the office as well as a key to get into the building. We do not have a key to the building and told him. As we considered the request, we wondered why he asked for a key to the building. We apologized that we could not help them. After only a gap of two minutes the other helper called using the same phone as the first one, and asked the same questions, will you bring us the keys? Our answer was the same. As we talked about the requests we realized that no key-holder was going to the office, so see if the Volunteer Couple Missionaries will bring the "keys to the Kingdom" so the usual crowd can have their usual place to hang-out. That was when we decided to also avoid the office during the two weeks; we chose not to be the enablers. The S&I building has become the place for so many youth to just "hang-out" and "Veg". They want you to supply them with water, air conditioning and food if available. Some just lay on the floor and sleep all day. One takes over the keyboard and bangs on it all day long - never taking a break unless he sees new "meat" to beg for food. So much for self-reliance.

The orphanage Christmas was quite an experience. It is a "private" orphanage operated by a member. She has eighteen children from three to twenty. She receives some money from a charitable organization in the United States. This organization paid for the construction of a school building where the children could be taught the basics because they do not qualify for any other school. The Gates and Sneddons had family that wanted to donate all their Christmas funds to help this little group. They gathered clothes, food, toys, shoes, school kits, hygiene kits, had benches made for the children to sit on in the school and much more. The day before Christmas, there was a serious rainstorm. We live in what would be called the "downtown" part of Kinshasa and as usual, the rain "drains" somewhere and the only evidence of rain are a few puddles or ponds in certain places along the road. The evening and the night of Christmas Eve was rain-free and the early part of Christmas was also clear so it was decided to attempt the trip. The orphanage is not on a paved road, can't really be called a road, just a rutted trail. The first part of the trail had a huge puddle that the caravan was able to cross. A little farther on that road we turned right onto a rutted trail that could have swallowed up our trucks unless you negotiate the best way to avoid the deepest holes and the biggest rocks. It was not too far down this trail that we stopped and walked the rest of the way because the trail became a footpath not meant for trucks. The trail went along a canal on the left and a "lake" of muddy water on the right. The trail went around the school building and widened to reveal the lake of filthy water, a flat-roofed building with four openings and some women using buckets to bail water out of the residence part of the orphanage. 

The children have bunk beds in this space and when the room fills with water, they double up on the top bunk because the lower bunk is under water. The missionaries carried in plastic chairs and a table and started piling all the gifts, food, and such on the table. One weak leg gave way under the weight and collapsed, spilling some of the food and gifts into the black drink. One camera ended up in the muck.

We have just cleaned off the table.

They were planning on having the festivities in the "yard" but it was filled with water so they decided to open the school and use it. The head of the orphanage could not open the lock, making us wonder how often that building is used as intended. After trying for twenty minutes, Elder Gates broke the lock and we were able to get in. The school was also flooded with several inches of water. The older children and some women worked to push the water out. So after an hour, we were inside setting up tables for the lunch. It was a simple lunch, chicken legs, french fries, drink and roll. The children and adults were fed, the tables were cleaned up and the presents were brought in. Each child got a pair of shoes, three or four outfits and each got a toy. The older boys got soccer balls, the middle group model cars and the little boys got smaller cars or motorcycle. The girls got dolls but I forget what the older girls got.

Little guys hanging on tight to their pops.

 

The boys joyous over basketball shoes, while Philomene, the "mother" cries. Two of the boys, center, are legally blind.

Mark had talked to managers of several large markets in our area and they were anxious to help provide food for the children at the orphanage. When he and Brother Sylvestre went to collect the goods, they offered enough canned goods to fill several trucks. They filled our Isuzu and threw in on top one hundred frozen pizzas. This store is owned by Muslims and they do not sell anything that contains pork so they had to get rid of these pizzas.

Bro. Sylvestre and Mark with Amer, the grocer, center.

Well, you need some kind of refrigeration to keep frozen pizzas frozen and Mark realized that they would not make it until Christmas, so what an experience to give away pizzas quickly to people that do not have refrigerators or freezers. It made for a long day for him. There is a small kitchen in the S&I building, so we cooked the ones that could not fit in the freezer. We fed as many people that were around as much as they wanted. For most this was their first taste of pizza. One local brother took some frozen pizzas and put them on his desk in his office not knowing what they were or what was needed to preserve them. The canned goods were carried to the school and the amount was overwhelming. We learned later that they did not have a can opener. There was a large supply of canned pop. I wonder what happened to the empty cans, did they recycle or are they in the bottom of the swamp? We had to back up the truck to get out because the "neighbors" wouldn't permit us to use their space (I almost wrote driveways) to turn around. We got the three trucks pointed in the right direction and were able to get to the major road before more rain.