"Still Raining,......& other Saturday Craziness, at Station Katshungu"......
August, 25, 2012: Saturday
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SO,....this is the 'path' to the outside latrine,..aka hole in the ground!. OH, a problem,....rain has made the path to the 'john' slicker than slick!!!......
So,.......Phillip's motorbike, -piki-piki,-still wouldn't run. FRUSTRATING! Now gas was also leaking from the carburetor,....so carb must be changed,..did that. We were also sending out word for other piki drivers we could make deals with to go to Station Katanti......Hoping they would do it just for a reasonable price, & the 'free' gasoline we have stockpiled. Maybe we can ride on Sunday,..& maybe on Monday,....all depends on the rain!!!
Went to my bedroom for a nap,..while Tom was meeting with some guys from the village. When I awoke, they were gone,...& Tom was sound asleep on a chair. While Tom napped, I sat by the piki piki needing repairs,..just to GUARD the parts, tools, etc. One really must keep a watch on things here,..stealing is a BIG problem! Even Pastor Masudi's own kids steal from their Dad. MERCY/YIKES! Basically, this is a lawless culture. The so-called Central Government just ignores the Eastern provinces because they are too hard to govern peacefully.......
Here at Station Katshungu the missionary/African tennis court is gone,....soccer field is overgrown,..and any/all thoughts of cottage 'industries' are gone. With this location being on a much travelled Path to the Interior, the danger factor from rebels/soldiers is much higher here,...besides there is a gold mine here! Pastor Masudi has been here 40 years, & has fled to the forest 45 times,.....3x this year!!! Masudi's been on the soldier's 'death list' for years. Example: one time when the missionaries were still here,..Masudi sheltered some of them in the forest for a month,.....this was done at his own peril, and that of his family,...at risk for 'harboring'. Other times he has taken his family to Bukavu for safety's sake,....
Later: some men came to have a big discussion about the Christian Education department in their school. Basically, they were asking for help. The government wants the churches to run the public schools,..& in return they can have 1 hour daily to teach Bible principles. Problem: their aren't any female teachers,(which would be advantageous), to do the teaching. Why?- because over 30 women who came to the last training school, but do not want to take responsibility to teach.....When the soldiers come, they burn all the school materials in the front yard of the teachers,..& make the villagers watch as their school stuff is pillaged & burned,.......!!! And, that's the least of what could happen,.....
Mid afternoon 2 soldiers came to Pastor's house for another 'shakedown'. One was nice, & one was drunk! The drunk one took Tom apart for "not telling them, (the soldiers), we were coming,-& getting their permissin!" Oh, by the way,..there is no 'permission' required,....he was just saying it was "against regulations", so he could try for some $$,........blah, blah, blah, blah,....Tom said, "We're sorry,"...& left it at that. YIKES.
A local radio station is talking about our coming to do a Leadership (Bible) Seminar @ Station Katanti. Apparently many, many people are already on their way there,..some walking up to 200 miles!
Remember now.....T I A,....'This Is Africa!'............we can now close the book on Saturday @ Station Katshungu,.......
Oh, I FORGOT,....it is still raining,......so we're going NOWHERE,......
Rogers, Banwamazi
