I spent my last few Impfondo days quite leisurely. I way overestimated my packing time and started last Saturday, but it only took me about an hour to pack, so I had about two and half days worth of free time. I just soaked up Impfondo, visited with friends, and then watched movies with Claire and Isabelle; it was pretty sweet way to wrap up. Finally Tuesday arrived and our plane luckily came. We had a few minutes to greet/say goodbye to Joe and Becky since they came up on the plane we were leaving on. We stopped in Brazzaville, made sure our luggage got back on the plane (quite literally, we had to pick it out of the luggage being taken off so they would put it back on) then arrived in Point Noire! Steven and I rode in the bed of the pickup with the luggage through the sandy roads, and I got the first hand glimpses of the dusty city. Sarah and I are staying in the guest house at the Christian Missionary Alliance mini compound. It’s different being in the big city, since I’ve been in the village for so long, but this vacay should be fun.
I will certainly miss the people that I have left in Impfondo, but they will be in my prayers, and maybe one day I’ll return to see them again. Home is on the horizon! But first a little R&R and tourism on the Congo coast!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Down to the Wire
I’m wrapping up my time here; I’m in Impfondo just six more days. I only work two more days, then it’s the weekend and I will be packing to leave for Pointe Noire (on the coast of Congo) on Tuesday! Sarah and I are going with the Wegner family for four days then flying back to Brazzaville to wait for her dad and sister to arrive. Then I will chill out in Brazzaville for a few days before I leave for the states on the 16th!
There have been cold showers, laundry by hand, three mile bike rides to work, limited electricity, making every item of food from scratch, smoldering days, just today we ran out of water, and yet the past four months have been some of the most peaceful and content months I have had in a long while. Watching the sun rise over the river and seeing the boaters peacefully glide along the gradually rising river have been just a few of the perks to living in such a beautiful place. Not to say I didn’t have my frustrations or my days of homesickness, but even behind all of that there has been a sense of peace here in Congo. I have been surrounded by spiritual warriors, crusaders, and sages of the faith. I have seen how these things are important in a culture that harbors superstition and still refers to their local witch doctor for fetiches to cure their maladies. However, I have also seen the power of prayer, miracles of healing, and how faith can lead us through. I have to admit, I was somewhat of an outsider looking in on how the hospital functioned and the missionary team interacted, and I actually liked it that way, it was interesting perspective. But, I have seen a lot of growth, endurance, and progress at the hospital, with the team, and in myself. God is good.
There have been cold showers, laundry by hand, three mile bike rides to work, limited electricity, making every item of food from scratch, smoldering days, just today we ran out of water, and yet the past four months have been some of the most peaceful and content months I have had in a long while. Watching the sun rise over the river and seeing the boaters peacefully glide along the gradually rising river have been just a few of the perks to living in such a beautiful place. Not to say I didn’t have my frustrations or my days of homesickness, but even behind all of that there has been a sense of peace here in Congo. I have been surrounded by spiritual warriors, crusaders, and sages of the faith. I have seen how these things are important in a culture that harbors superstition and still refers to their local witch doctor for fetiches to cure their maladies. However, I have also seen the power of prayer, miracles of healing, and how faith can lead us through. I have to admit, I was somewhat of an outsider looking in on how the hospital functioned and the missionary team interacted, and I actually liked it that way, it was interesting perspective. But, I have seen a lot of growth, endurance, and progress at the hospital, with the team, and in myself. God is good.
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