DR Congo Again

It really is hard to describe our impressions and experiences in the DR Congo last week. It truly is something I want to write about so that I can remember and also so others might feel what we feel as we travel there. We have made several trips there, and it continues to be place of poverty, joblessness, chaos, illness and even an underlying hostility that you can feel, but it also is a country of color, laughter, happiness, joy, talent and inventiveness that is so amazing. The drive from the airport is one of people, people and more people. There are hundreds of people on the side of road decked out in the most beautiful fabric of flamboyant color. They are busy walking, carrying, selling, talking, laughing, running, playing and just going about their everyday life. It reminds one on an ant hill with everyone going a different direction, but with great purpose.
We had one scary incident on that drive to the mission home. All of a sudden the traffic stopped because of an accident or something up ahead. We couldn't go forward or backward and there were dozens of people walking and many right next to the car. Most were students and I made eye contact with several and smiled and waved and they smiled and waved back. All of a sudden the waves changed and their hands turned over and they were asking for money. Their smiles became demanding looks and intense look and all of a sudden they were pounding on the car. It was very scary. Our driver, Eustach, had the space to turn around and he did so immediately and we went back to another route. From one second to the next the climate changed and I learned that in close quarters like that I can't make eye contact like I can in South Africa. We were glad to be on our way.
We trained all day on Saturday and that is always a wonderful experience. We couldn't get into the stake center because it was in the middle of Kinshasa and the roads were blocked off because of poles in the road on one street or a load of gravel on another street, or the metal plate that went over the sewer was out on another street so we parked out car in the middle of this area and walked about 4 or 5 blocks to the church. It was wonderful to see the way they live in that way. Little children were naked as they were bathing in the pan of water. There were chickens running around and children playing and laughing and following us, the white folks. We could see into their homes and courtyards all of dirt floors. We saw them cooking over their little fires, and one woman was delousing her child and many were doing the braids on their little girls. We loved it and they waved and smiled and we felt joy. The oasis in that village was the beautiful stake center which was an old house. I trained the women under a covered gazebo type structure which was wonderful because it was cooler there. Even though it was hard with the interpreter translating from French to English and sometimes from French to Lingala to English. In spite of it the women laughed with me and we learned together. I presented the new Health Manual that we had been working on and which was recently translated to French and they were thrilled to get it. We didn't have enough copies so we will print 200 more and send them up.
The most touching was Stake Conference on Sunday. We woke up in the middle of the night to a terrible storm....rain and wind. The next morning it had not stopped and we knew it would affect the attendance. When we arrived at the rented hall on the fairgrounds, which was a huge cement building with no windows and little light it was still pouring. When it was time to start there were 30 people there. We started a few minutes late because they were having trouble with the PA system. Slowly but surely the people began to arrive....in a slow steady stream. At one point a hired bus pulled right up to the door so they could dash in, but in that horrible downpour that was so severe that you could hardly hear, because of the rain on the tin roof, those people kept coming. I sat there with tears streaming down my face and Bill had tears in his eyes too as did the mission president and his wife as these wonderful Saints came in completely soaked in their Sunday best clothes and with beautiful smiles on their faces. They walked through mud and pot holes and a fields to get there. What a testimony to me of the goodness of those people. When they sang I thought the roof would come off. What a blessing to participate with them in that meeting.
There were 11 check points in the airport as we found our way to the plane on the tarmac. We were searched several times and when we finally lifted off for Johannesburg, we were thrilled to be going "home", but we knew we had had many experiences of a lifetime and we loved it.