Out and About in the Congo!!!

"I am because we are"

I have learned over and over on this adventure that we are all  in this "life" together!

The joy that "giving" brings is so amazing!!

Sometimes it is money, sometimes it is love, sometimes it is food, & sometimes it is just giving of my time & attention!

It all puts life into a much better perspective for me :)

There is always a reason to celebrate......Birthdays, Going Away's, etc

PRAISE GOD for Healing and Transformation!!!

I could share hundreds of these pictures of smiling faces!!

Learning to cook SaskaSaska (sp?) :)
Full of yummy ingredients.............greens, peppers, onions, eggplant, garlic, fish, peanut butter
and 3/4 bottle of palm oil!!
I've been eating this the whole time I've been here thinking that it was so healthy......then, when we were cooking it I had to add the palm oil and realized it was not so healthy after all!!......Still Yummy!

Maren and I had to put on our "cooking" clothes First!

Below...........Helping Erika de-bone the fish!

It is an all day affair cooking the SaskaSaska! Many ingredients that are added at various times!

So, in the meantime we sat around and sang African Songs and took funny pictures :)

The Kitchen

Mamma Olga has invited us to her home on many occasions. Each time we go there she gives us gifts......dresses, jewelry, and always feeds us!!
I made her this collage :)

Another Beautiful Sunset in the Congo!

Helped with the purchase of a sewing machine to help one of the ladies gain some independence. Lots of fun going to the grand marche to make the purchase :)

Fun at the Orphanage!

I love these purses.......two of my roommates.....Hannah & Martha!

Stopped by one of our friends families home to get fitted for a dress. WOW......imagine hand washing all of your clothes! 

Lovely People!!! I so enjoy their company!! 

If I could only speak more French :)......I do lots of smiling and hugging!

 I love these French Pastries!!

Another Saturday afternoon visiting!!!

It does not surprise me that my "visiting" always includes food!!

These packets are filled with fish, seasonings and vegetables.

I am on a mission to taste all the "Mamma's" SaskaSaska recipes......

They each put in a few different ingredients.

Awesome Lunch made by my friend Anne Marie :)

 AWE!!!! Life is Good!!

Happy Easter!!

Thank God for LIFE!!! Through the resurrection we know there is more to come, that death is not the end and we continue on this "earthly" journey called Life!!!

I always looked forward to Easter. It was a time of family getting together for fun, lots of food and laughter. The day always started with searching for the Easter Basket that the Easter Bunny brought and hid. I would find my basket under the sink, in the washer, behind the couch and assorted other places around the house. As I raised my children we followed the same tradition. The baskets were always filled with candy, chocolate Easter Bunnies and lots of Jelly Beans. The yearly Easter Egg hunt was always so much fun. I believe that there are still some missing eggs that were never found!

Now, as I am older and “alive” with the TRUTH of scripture, I find  a whole new meaning to Easter. The  Easter baskets, family and food were wonderful, but now the story of Jesus comes alive!! Starting at Christmas, we begin to remember and reflect on the birth of Jesus. Then from Christmas to Easter we reflect on the life of Jesus, his miracles, teachings and display of compassion and love. As Easter approaches we are reminded of what “Life” is all about......we see through the life of Jesus, that our lives will be hard, that there will be struggles and hardships; that people you love will die, that your friends may betray you, and even when you are kind and compassionate, people may not like you and may be intimidated by you and will even go so far as to crucify you! We learn that this is LIFE as demonstrated in scripture and shown in the "Stations of the Cross" below. 

BUT.......through the study of scripture of the Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus we find that this “earthly” journey is only a small part of our “Life”....Even at death, our lives continue in the heavenly realm! We learn that LIFE is a continuous journey; eternal, never ending! I am so blessed to now know that THIS is why we celebrate EASTER!!  We were shown that even through a bloody, painful crucifixion, God carried Jesus through the pain and the suffering and He rose from the dead and came back to us!!! We are not alone! Jesus has walked the path that we are on. He is here to show us how to live and to keep us safe on our journey. We also continue on, even after death! As I believe in the story of Easter and put my faith and trust in the resurrection of Jesus, my life took on a whole new meaning. As many may say......I was “reborn”......I have a chance to start over and look at life and live my life so differently. Thank You Jesus!!!

YIPPEE!! AMEN and Happy Easter!

Celebrating Easter on the African Mercy has been a wonderful journey of self reflection going from Ash Wednesday, Lent, Palm Sunday, Good Friday and onto a Beautiful Easter Celebration.

Sunrise Service on the Deck

Beautiful and Amazing Praise and Worship!!!

Separate, private areas for foot washings

Our Chaplaincy team recreated the Garden of Gethsemane which allowed a beautiful place for quiet prayer and reflection……

On Good Friday we gathered in the big room that smelled of Palm leaves. We had quiet worship and prayer. At the end, we all wrote our thoughts on a piece of paper (whatever we needed to share with Jesus)and nailed them onto the cross. I prayed and wrote on my note for God to show me how to Love like he Loves me and a few minutes later they played the song from Foreigner " I want to know what love is" and showed a great video along with it! Needless to say, I was amazed and felt like God spoke to me in seconds and tears flooded me :)

Beautiful Worship Service after the service on the deck.....Beautiful music, ballet, children's choir, singing and prayer!

Tears rolled down my face as our crew from 20 different countries said 'Christ Has Risen" in 20 different languages. WOW, Amazing.....The reality that God is everywhere and LOVES US!!

Delicious Spread of Food with yummy Fresh Fruit!!.......Better than Chocolate :)

Of course there were many deserts that took the place of the Chocolate Easter Bunnies! 

After the Sunrise Service we celebrated with Yummy Chocolate Croissants and other yummy pastries. (yeah......so much for the 20 #'s that I lost)

 Another room was set up for the Stations of the Cross. 

The Soul’s Journey – 
a Mystical Approach to the
Stations of the Cross

By Kathrin Burleson

Station I
Jesus Prays in the Garden of Gethsemane

He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he said to them, 'Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.' Then he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed, 'Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.' Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. In his anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground. — Luke 22

Divine Protector, send your holy angels to watch over me. Strengthen me in times of darkness, and open my eyes that I may always be aware of your loving presence. 

Station II
Jesus Betrayed and Arrested

Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, 'Rabbi!' and kissed him. Then they laid hands on him and arrested him.
— Mark 14

God of Peace, help me to forgive those who hurt or betray me and strengthen me to be worthy of others' trust in me. Let your steadfast love and compassion flow through me that I may be your presence in this world.

Station III
Jesus Denied by Peter

Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house. But Peter was following at a distance. When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, 'This man also was with him.' But he denied it, saying, 'Woman, I do not know him.' A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, 'You also are one of them.' But Peter said, 'Man, I am not!' Then about an hour later yet another kept insisting, 'Surely this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean.' But Peter said, 'Man, I do not know what you are talking about!' At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, 'Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.' And he went out and wept bitterly.
— Luke 22

Divine Friend, Fountain of Strength, give me courage to speak the truth and to stand for justice. When I fall short, help me to accept your unfailing forgiveness and give me strength to continue, with you as my unfailing support.

Station IV
Jesus Judged by Pontius Pilate

Then he asked, 'Why, what evil has he done?' But they shouted all the more, 'Let him be crucified!' So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, 'I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.' So he released Barabbas for them, and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.
— Luke 23

Gracious God, be with me in all adversity. Give me strength to endure false judgments and accusations. May I always put my faith in your ultimate truth and my hope in your enduring grace.

Station V
Jesus Mocked and Crowned with Thorns

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' and striking him on the face. — John 19

Merciful God, be with me in times of humiliation and despair. Give me hope, and let me know that I am always worthy in your sight. Clothe me in your love.

Station VI
Jesus Takes up His Cross

. . . and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. — John 19

Almighty God, help me to accept and understand the pain and hardships of this life. Give me strength to meet my challenges and bear my burdens. Grant me grace to grow in holiness, and the will to take up my cross and follow you.

Station VII
Jesus Helped by Simon of Cyrene

Then they led him out to crucify him. They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.
— Mark 15

Divine Helper, may I be the hand of Christ, reaching out to help those in need. Make me an instrument of your peace and a messenger of your loving kindness.

Station VIII
Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, 'Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, "Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed." Then they will begin to say to the mountains, "Fall on us"; and to the hills, "Cover us." For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?' — Mark 15

Divine Comforter, do not let me turn away from pain and sorrow. Help me to be a witness to your love and a comfort to others who suffer.

Station IX
Jesus Nailed to the Cross

Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take. It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, 'The King of the Jews.' — Mark 15

Eternal God, give me strength to endure pain and injustice. Comfort me when I am overwhelmed and do not turn your face from my distress.

Station X
Mary and the Beloved Disciple
at the Foot of the Cross

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, 'Woman, here is your son.' Then he said to the disciple, 'Here is your mother.' And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. — John 19

Jesus, by your life and death you created a new family born of your love, compassion, and sacrifice. Help me to see you in each of my sisters and brothers, and may we all know that we are one in you.

Station XI
Jesus Dies on the Cross

From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' that is, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' . . . Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. — Matthew 27

Jesus, at your death, the veil was torn, and heaven and earth became one. Fill my heart with your love and guide me, that I may help to break down the walls that divide us. May your spirit flow through me as a healing force in this troubled world.

Station XII
Jesus' Body is Taken Down from the Cross

Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. — John 19

Divine Comforter, be with me in times of grief and despair. Comfort those who mourn. Hold me in your loving arms.

Station XIII
Jesus' Body Is Entombed

So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. — Matthew 27

Eternal Light, even in the darkest of times you are present, for you are the light beyond darkness. May your light shine in my heart, and may I be faithful to the knowledge that darkness shall never prevail.

Station XIV
The Resurrection

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. — Matthew 28

Love's ultimate victory over death shines forth in all of creation! Eternal and Glorious God, give me eyes to see the eternal springtime of your love, a voice to sing your praise, and a heart that leaps for joy.

AMEN!!! Thank You JESUS!!!!

Happy Easter to ALL!!!

Porcupine Anyone??

OK.........Once again, I stole (with permission) Jenica's Blog.......She captured our outing to Dolisie so well! Praise God Jenica for your creative writing abilities that you are blessed with!!!

Bianca, Kathy and I headed off the ship at 0530 for the train station. Destination: Dolisie. Purpose: mini vacation/ see more of Congo.

We took the train up, a 4 hour ride, as long as everything is working and on time. Our train took 7 hours.

We sat on board at the station for 45 minutes then left at 0745, instead of 0700, and made it to Fond Tie Tie (pronounced Chee Chee) which is the big Congolese market. It’s about a 30 minute taxi drive or 7 minute train ride. We then sat for 2 hours people watching and making friends with some little girls outside the window who were transfixed by the mundelays (white people). We would wave, they would shyly smile and wave back over and over again for a good 40 minutes. There were technical problems with the train and we were told we were waiting for the technician; hopefully we would be leaving by 1100… it was 0915 at this point. Glad we brought snacks!

Tie Tie Market

Happily though, by 1000 we were moving again and had no further problems. We voyaged through the grasslands, rolling hills, and straight into the “heart of darkness,” a little Conrad for you literature folks, the rain forrest for the rest of you.Pressing in on all sides, the railroad was literally machete-ed through this thick, lucious, beautiful jungle. A little excerpt from my journal:

The scenery on our way was beautiful. More grasslands with white sand bluffs and then rain forrest. It looks like they just hacked through it, the jungle pressing in on both sides with a little river far below. So gorgeous. These random little villages flashing by, 2-10 shacks on the side of the road. Some adorable kid standing next to them or a family with buckets on their heads. Quintecential Africa snap shots. The kind you really want to take to show back home. See? This is the real Africa, this is the real Congo. Not Pointe Noire with all it’s oil money and fancy roads. But you reach for your camera, you blink once, and it’s gone. So they’re just mental snap shots to carry with me forever.

Around 1345 we rolled into Dolisie. Honestly, wow. The beauty of the place! Red dirt roads, buildings that used to be white are now red tinged. And the nature! Green trees, grass, rolling hills, beautiful flowering bushes, fresh clean air. It was like paradise to me after living in a grey flat port city for the past 7.5 months!

Arriving in Dolisie

Train Depot

There was a little bit of confusion with getting off the train… namely we couldn’t. And the train was headed to Brazzaville… which takes another 8 hours… hard pass. But all the doors were locked on the inside, there was no getting out and the train was getting ready to depart! It was getting a little stressful! Somehow all these people had gotten onto the train at Dolisie to go to Brazzaville but we couldn’t get off. So we were swimming upstream in these tiny aisles with our back packs, dodging around the other people trying to find seats and store luggage, going from locked door to locked door, trying different cabins, thinking “this is cool, we’re going to spend the rest of our lives on a train. We did not bring enough snacks for this.” Eventually some of the other passengers took pity on us poor mundelays and started shouting for the guards to open the doors and let us off. They started hammering at the doors, shouting, rocking the door back and forth a bit. I began to worry a bit about a riot breaking out to let the mundelays off the train! Luckily it didn’t escalate that far and a guard came to unlock the door and let us off. About 2 minutes later the train was gone.

We took a taxi up the hill to a Protestant guest house we were staying at. These are fairly common in Congo. They are basically hotels associated with the church- Protestant or Catholic.  You don’t have to profess a faith to stay there and they are normally nice, clean, cheaper than hotels but more rustic. In Kathy lingo, they’re “cute” (insert sarcasm here)- no AC, running water when you ask, bucket showers the rest of the time. But there was a fan and a toilet. It more than suffices for the night!

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After settling in we took a nice wander down the hill, taking in the beautiful scenery, saying hello to everyone we passed. Mundelays aren’t common in Dolisie, it’s very different from Pointe Noire where there is a large ex-pat community. I didn’t see another white person the entire time we were in Dolisie, so we created quite a sensation

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Bianca made friends with an African mamma we met on our walk who showed us the way to the Grande Marche. This Grande Marche is in a two story building, not outdoors like the one in Pointe Noire. Therefore, the smells are much stronger because they are enclosed in a building but the floor is much cleaner. Which is good, because walking through the red dust we were already dirty enough! The market is divided into food downstairs and clothing upstairs. It was interesting to look at the food, especially the meat- some very different things available in comparison to Pointe Noire. In Pointe Noire the main thing is ocean fish: fresh, BBQ. or dried with salt. In Dolisie it was forrest game: things that looked like overgrown rats/ Texas sized possums, baby crocodiles, river fish. Not as many fruits available but more vegetables.

After a nice drink at the market we decided it was time to wander back towards dinner. On our way we stopped at a Catholic church, just to look around, and met the priest, Pere Philippe. He was very friendly and bonus, even spoke a bit of English! He is Congolese but studied in Quebec, Canada, then lived there for 16 years and had just returned to Dolisie, his home town, last year. We asked him if he had a favorite local restaurant he frequented and after careful consideration, he decided he would show us his favortie restaurant.

The restaurant we went to was off the beaten path. Very simple but pretty and delicious food! We ate like kings, again, two nights in a row! River fish, porcupine (yes, you read that correctly), eggplant, bread, manioc, saffou (vegetable- purple on the outside, bright green on the inside, tastes like a mixture between a lemon and artichoke heart), and good wine (first time in 8 months). It was a really nice evening, really enjoyable conversation, good weather, good food- what more can you ask for? Oh, what was the porcupine like you wonder? Tough, chewy, gritty, did I mention chewy? Like you’re chewing the same piece for 5 minutes and that piece was only the size of a quarter chewy. Yup.

The following morning we got up to sunshine, birds, blue skies and green grass. Can you tell I was loving being so close to the outdoors? This summer, give me some granola and I’ll just live outside, soak it all in. No problem :) We then went to the agriculture site that Mercy Ships is involved with. It’s about 3km outside of the city. It’s a government site where they teach farmers more effective methods of farming. Mercy Ships partners with local farmers in every country and does an agriculture program where they teach sustainable, effective farming. The idea is they teach farmers with a passion for teaching and equip them to re-teach what they’ve learned to others. This way the program is sustainable and has a lasting impact long after we have left the country.

Here in Congo, we partnered with what the government started. The program through Mercy Ships officially finished a few weeks ago and all the farmers have returned to their villages and farms. There are three farmers remaining to farm the agriculture site. We met two of them and they showed us around. One of the farmers was explaining to us how grateful he was for our partnership. He said that the buildings were built by the government but prior to our arrival there were lots of high weeds and not a lot of land cleared for farming. He told us that he had gone to university for agriculture and his passion was to teach others how to farm, how to be sustainable, and how to use farming as a means to climb out of poverty. He told us how the course from Mercy Ships helped him further his goals, learn new techniques (like composting), and through this he has been able to form 40 small groups of farmers to teach what he has learned.

The farm is very impressive. It’s very orderly and the vegetables all look delicious- plump and juicy. Some of the vegetables are sent to the ship. Others are sold in town. They are very proud of their work, skills, and knowledge and it shows in the way the farm is taken care of. There’s also bunnies on the farm. Apparently they, like goats, are very expensive here. They are a delicacy, but no, I did not eat any. Just held them!

  

After the agriculture site we had brunch at a patisserie in town. Gotta love the French influence on the bakeries here! After, we had some time to kill before meeting up with Pere Philippe to get our return bus tickets so we decided to go back to our hotel for a bit. The previous night he had generously offered to get our tickets for us since he knew where to go. (Only in Africa, aka OIA). We gave him our money and told him we’d return the next day at noon since the bus left at 1400. (OIA) When we got back to our hotel the mamma who runs it was in a tizzy, worried because a priest had come looking for us (OIA). The time of the bus had changed to 1200! Again, OIA! It was 1140. Luckily we had a taxi waiting for us so we quickly grabbed our bags, said au revoir to mamma and went to the church to meet Pere Philippe, who gave us the tickets through the open window and told the taxi driver to go vite vite (fast fast) to the bus station. We made it with 5 minutes to spare!

…. and then sat.

For 30 minutes.

Before the bus showed up.

Only in Africa, right?

The bus was very nice, very modern, with air conditioning. It was a beautiful drive back to Pointe Noire. It was a very hilly drive with lots of switch backs but our driver took everything very slowly and carefully. My stomach was very grateful for that, as was the rest of me, especially after seeing multiple buses and taxis flipped on their sides rusting away on the side of the road. The road itself was in amazing condition and there was a lot of maintenance road work going on. The Chinese have been investing a lot into Congo’s infrastructure. I’m not positive why but they have had a hand in a lot of major construction projects throughout the country. It was a very hot day and there were a lot of men working on tarring the road, paving it, and hand-chiseling steps in the rockside for water run off to prevent flooding on the road during rainy season.

 

The bus held 24, I think max we had about 26 people in there. Randomly we would stop on the side of the road and see if someone needed a ride to Pointe Noire. They’d hop in, pull out a fold down chair and we’d keep going. We also stopped at two road side stands to buy food. One of them was about 300 yards away from the road. To see the mammas rush the van with their avocados, peanuts, bananas you’d have thought we were celebrities. I got some delicious massive avocados- I love that they’re in season right now!

Funniest moment of the trip was when the man behind Kathy told her to give him her water. She did so without thinking and he proceeded to down half of it in one big gulp, hand it back and that was that. No thank you. Just obviously that was the way it was.

The only haphazard we sustained on the way back was a flat tire about 30 minutes outside of Pointe Noire. So everyone trooped off the bus, the tire got changed in about 10 minutes and then we trooped back on and continued our way into the city.

L to R: Bianca, Kathy, Jenica

All in all it was a lovely weekend, full of adventure and all things Africa!