"Another Flight 'From Hell',...flying back to Bukavu!"

Sept. 2, 2012: "Another Flight From Hell",..aka flying back to Bukavu!"

     Sunday dawned partly cloudy, after it had rained HARD two times during the night.  The roof over my 'bed' leaked, & the bed got wet down at the bottom.  So, just slept with legs drawn up,.....Up around 6:45am,..& waited for something for breadfast,..which never came.  Back to the good old 'power bars'; we're eating the last of those, too.  The African did bring us boiled water we used to refill our bottles, & make some instant coffee. 

What was left of a black Mamba snake(very poisonous)

     Tom was showing the glasses & watches he had brought from the USA to some pastors.  Since we were going to take ANY cargo flight out,..we decided to not attend church,..rather, to await word from the airport, & be ready to go at a moment's notice.  Suddenly one of the pastor's phone rang, with a message that there was a plane leaving for Bukavu in 15 minutes, & the pastor would come to get us.  We rushed around, rather 'like chickens with our heads cut off',.....to get things ready to go!  As usual, the messenger took 35 minutes to show up!  So, we finally started our walk to the airstrip,...maybe 2 miles.  Upon arrival, we noticed the Lett M-410 was the SAME one that had broken down the night before!!   This would be our plane for that day!!,  Everyone connected with the cargo flight ASSURED us that even though the plane had broken down the night before,..it was fixed & ready to fly!!!,...well,-what could we do?????  .In fact, the plane was already loaded w/cargo & a few people,..& just waiting for us to show up!  Thank God, they waited.  Immediately, we each climbed up a  STRAIGHT UP, VERTICAL ladder,..which was BARELY big enough for us to make it up & into the plane's belly. PTL, Someone had totally taken care of our Passports, visas, & Go Passes,...remember this is the place where on the way into Downcountry we had been hassled for over 3 hours!

      Once again the inside was totally STRIPPED, & made into a cargo plane.  There were two African pilots in the front, with no bulkhead nor door between them & us!!   We just sent up some silent prayers for our safety!  This plane had 4 seats,..occupied by Congolese soldiers!!!  The pilot came & told the soldiers they would have to move to sitting on the cargo/floor,..& let the "paying passenger's" have the 4 seats!  The soldiers were NOT happy.  We all agreed we'd rather have the soldiers 'happy', & just let them have the seats,...but, the pilot wouldn't do that.  So, the soldiers sat on the cargo & the floor,..looking quite upset!  That was ALL we needed, at the beginning of another 'adventure' flight,....!!!!!!!

     A young male African businessman/student sat beside Kathy, & couldn't keep his eyes off of her.  She was quite uncomfortable,....& Tom & I sat right behind them,......OH,..you wanted SEAT BELTS????????    As    they say in New York,  fugetaboutit!!!   Some barrels of something were rolling  freely around toward the back of the plane.  Of course, the bathroom was gone, too.

    The pilot started each of the twin turboprop engines separately.  Altho' they had insisted everything was fine with the plane,....I was comforted to notice he ran each engine up to high rpm's, ...for longer than usual!!  Satisfied that all was well, he released the brakes, & we lumbered down the dirt strip.  Amid much NOISE the plane lifted off, & the crazy thing actually FLEW,  PTL!   Our trip was just about 45 minutes, to Bukavu,(border town),...punctuated by a very good, soft landing!  (When flying into the Congo interior, one is able to see wreckages of numerous of these flights that went down in the jungle,..the planes are usually just left where they crash!).

     At Kavumu airport outside of Bukavu, Immigration was a breeze, with no problems.  It maybe took 15-20 minutes.  It felt so good to be back to "civilization",...such as it is, that is,.....Upon arriving by taxi at Tom's apt., we discovered there still was no water, no electric, & the emergency batteries were getting low! We were able to charge our International phones off the batteries,....so we could make some calls & texts to let loved ones know we were ok.  Remember, we had been out of any communication for 9 days!

     Since it was Tom's birthday, we went to a restaurant within walking distance of the apt.  It was clean, & we shared a nice meal there.  Tom had a fish entree,-& I mean the whole fish, head & all!  Kathy had tilapia(meat only) & potato fries,..and I had pork chops with fries.  I treated Tom & Kathy to the meal,..and it was only $45US.

     We needed some bread,..but didn't find any on our walk back from the restaurant.  All 3 of us took a much awaited, long, nap,..until 6:30pm!  Then we ate leftovers from the restaurant meals for dinner.

     A BIG, WINDY, noisy thunderstorm came thru after dinner.  Had to batten down the hatches,...Emile, our Immigration friend came over & true to form stayed til 10pm!

     Even after the long afternoon nap, I was 'wasted',..so I went to bed around 8pm.  I loved hearing the rain on the metal roof,..especially now that we were out of the Downcountry,......in just two days l would be reversing my steps from Congo thru Rwanda, Uganda, Amsterdam, Detroit, & Dallas,.....to the good old USA!!  Meanwhile I was giving away clothes, shoes, jackets, etc.,...with a goal of getting EVERYTHING into just my backpack.  And, this was making several Africans extremely happy with my gently used stuff!!,.....

Rogers/Banuamazi

   ...

BIG DAY! Leaving Downcountry, Congo!!

September 1, 2012, Saturday, 'BIG DAY,.Leaving downcountry, Congo!!


     I was awakened two times in the night by wind, thunder, lightning, & rain blowing in my room's window.  WOW,....we really needed to get going that day,...but God did provide.....

     Got up @ 5:30am, & breakfast @ 6am.  Guess what?  The sun is out now & drying the paths for us,..BUT, true to form (T I A),....a new problem surfaced.  Tom's piki piki's rear tire was flat as a pancake,..AGAIN!!  Our piki drivers went looking for an inner tube & gasoline.  (The piki drivers had not brought all the gasoline we needed from our stash @ Katshungu!!).  Why?...who knows?   The guys found gasoline, but no inner tube.  Well, we pumped up the tire,..prayed over it,...& waited an hour.  Praise God, the tire held!!  

Saying goodbye to SaSimon @ Station Katanti, Congo

     Started out @ about 10am, after emotional goodbyes to SaSimon & the other Africans.  I cried all the way down the Station Katanti hill,..on the back of my piki piki.  This time my driver was a really nice young man, & a good driver!  I think he knew 3 words of English,..'yes' & 'no' & 'ok'!!    As expected, the road was a mess, so we had to ride pikis very carefully, with many dismounts & pushing.  The rear tire on Tom's bike held until we were about 4km short of our first goal, - a place called Mapunga.  So, we stopped in that village to re-group.  Over the course of an hour and a half, the Africans took off the back wheel and tire,..and patched holes in two places.  (Now, why didn't these guys tell us they had patches & glue in their toolkits before we started out????!!!).

    The next phase of our journey was Mapunga to Lugungu,...this particular stretch of path is AMAZINGLY difficult passage.  Trees down, many,many rivers, many, many culverts, very overgrown,...you get the idea.  Very slow going,.....so we finally reached the crossroads @ Lugungu around 2:30pm.  We rested a bit, then headed out on the final leg, from Mapunga to Shabunda(regional center). 

     Just 6km short of the regional town of Shabunda,  Tom's piki tire went flat again!  Same tire,..new problems.  We negotiated with some villagers along the way to push Tom's piki to our destination,..& we would just walk.  Their price was so exorbitant,...& they wouldn't budge on price, so we went to 'plan B'.  Tom went ahead with one of the good piki pikis, while Kathy & I stayed behind with the broken down piki.  Plan B was for Tom to return, or send 2 piki piki back to pick us up BEFORE nightfall!!   Kathy & I sat under the thatched  roof covered village 'meeting place',..waiting & watching over Tom's bike. 

     While waiting, a plane flew right over our heads, on its way to Shabunda air strip.  We knew it was the last plane into/out of Shabunda for Saturday.  Our hopes of making it onto that plane that same day, Saturday,..were dwindling to zero & none!   Kept telling myself, Roger,- God is good all the time'!.......  Now our hope was to get a plane to Bukavu the next day, Sunday.  Meanwhile back at the village,.. a crowd gathered to watch the Bazungu(white folks) under the meeting roof.  A couple of them knew passable English,..& with Kathy's Swahili & my Kilega, we were able to converse.  Two of them said they were the local Catholic priests for the village.  However, one of them said, "If you will take me with you to America, & give me a job,..I'll gladly switch to your religion!"  The two men were drinking palm wine, or palm whiskey,..made locally from the fruit of palm trees,..the palm nuts.  They 'dared' me to taste it,...so I did.  Now I won't need an airplane to fly!!!!,.......

Kathy & I waiting with broken-down piki piki

     Kathy & I waited over 2 hours, & began to get a little nervous as the afternoon wore on toward darkness.  An old man, who claimed to be Protestant, came to see us too.  He couldn't keep his eyes off of Kathy, which grew to be an uncomfortable situation.  He had been drinking, & at one point asked Kathy to "go home with him!"  Of course, she refused.  This was met with more bravado & jabbering on his part.  Later, he asked Kathy to "go home & pray with him, & cook for him!"   In Congo, that last phrase means he wanted to make her his wife!   Uncomfortable, to say the least.  SO, we pushed the bad piki piki up the hill away from the meeting place, & thankfully the crowd,-including the man,-did not follow us!   PTL. Some 35 minutes later 2 piki pikis returned to pick us up.  We left Tom's piki piki with careful instructions to the Africans that someone would come the next day for the piki. 

     The 8km ride to Shabunda was uneventful,..UNTIL,...we approached a crowded crossroad, filled with people, including police/soldiers.   I noticed all of them were standing stock still,....& it looked menacing.  My driver stopped, & told me to get off the bike, and also to stand still.  My thought was,..'this can't be good,..and may not end well',..so I stood there praying & standing still.  After a time a whistle blew,..like a referee's whistle,...& everyone began to move again.  My driver told me to get on the bike,..& off we went, to our destination,...the Shabunda pastor's house.  (Upon passing the airstrip, we noticed the plane we had watched over our heads,-while we waited in the village.  It had broken down somehow,..and was needing repairs before it could fly back out!).  We found out later that every day at sundown they take down the Congo flag,....EVERYONE who happens to be at that place must stand at attention until the whistle blows for all clear!   WOW!!  Shabunda was teeming with people, & to me didn't feel completely safe!!  I couldn't help but flash back to 1960, when we fled this very area!  We also discovered that due to the erronious report on the radio regarding missionaries coming back to dig up buried treasure,..local pastors had put themselves at risk, & went on the radio to say that it was a hoax,....that we were missionaries who meant no harm. 

     The pastor's wife had boiled drinking water for us,...& we were able to spit bath our weary, tired bodies.  I was given a small room with a mat bed,...& Tom/Kathy had a larger room with the same things.  The bathroom,-a 'hole in the ground'  was 'down the path',.....AND, did I say,..it started pouring down rain AGAIN!  And, this is the "dry" season??????????? 

     Shortly after a meal of the same things we've been eating for two weeks or so,...I/we went to bed.  As for me,..I was BEAT!!!!!! & sleep came quickly.....First leg of our trip out of Downcountry was completed,..I could 'hardly wait' for what may happen the next day,...a Sunday,....

Rogers/Banuamazi

STILL Ready to Leave, But WAIT SOME MORE!!...

August 31, 2012: Katanti, Congo DRC, Africa:

     This is the 3rd post for Friday, Aug. 31, .....while we WAITED & WAITED for things to come together for our trips out of the Rain Forest to Shabunda,..then to the border town of Bukavu, Congo.  Yes, I was getting a bit impatient,...but reminded myself once again that "God Is Good All The Time",..& that T I A 'This Is Africa'.

     While we waited, Kathy & I walked to the Clinic/hospital.  On the way we saw both the old maternity/clinic building & a newer one.  The old Maternity is where my Mom delivered literally thousands of babies back in the '50's.  It always seemed like she was called down there in the middle of the nite,...-never during the daylight hours!    There are many, many stories about Mom's work with babies, injured folks, sick folks, folks attacked by crocodiles, snakebite victims, etc., etc.  Often she had to do the work of a medical doctor,..even though she was an RN.  You see, there was no medical doctor! 

Old Medical Clinic where my Mom worked,..

Front of New Medical Clinic,.....

     SaSimon sat on the front porch for hours.  Finally, thru tears,  he said,  "We are so happy when you come to see us,..but it is so hard to see you leave!"   WOW,..this is the same Pastor who 52+years ago was the one who told us we HAD to leave the Congo in 1960;-so we wouldn't be killed!  

     Late Friday afternoon we heard the "talking" drum beats from Masegesege,..a village perhaps 6 kilometers away.  The message was that someone from that village has been killed in North Kivu Province, in the current rebellion/uprising there.  Sad to hear,..even though North Kivu is 200-300 miles away from our position.  The word had just arrived in the village,....and, the family was in mourning.

     Some African boys picked 15 fresh guavas for us.  I eagerly ate one.  Back in the day we used to make wonderful jelly & jam from the guava fruit.  We probably planted the tree 60 years ago,....there is also lots & lots of bamboo taking over the station,.....

     Tom held forth answering questions from the African pastors on my front porch.  He covered lots of ground in 1-1/2 hrs!:

1.) Economics & foreign investors:  The pastors had asked why no one wants to invest Millions of $$ into the Congo.  Well, foreign investment is at a near stand still because of security/safety issues,...& the fact that anything that would be built up would be ripe for the soldiers to come & burn it down!   And, the West can get gold, silver, cobalt, tin, coltan(for cell phones), & diamonds from the Congo on the black market for CHEAP.
2.) Obama's presidency:  Africans cannot understand why he hasn't done anything to promote Africa on the world stage?  Good question,......
3). Rampant divorce in USA:,...discussed dowry system in Congo,  quick legal divorce in USA, quick marriage in USA,-along with other issues the Africans just don't understand.  They don't divorce here,...
4.) Same Sex Marriage:  These pastors just cannot get their heads/minds around the concept/idea of same sex marriages in the USA!,...PTL they can't!!  They want to know, 'if there's a same sex marriage,..then who is the MAN!???? 

     A 10 year old boy, Debaba,  was shooting birds with a slingshot,..EXACTLY what I used to do!!!  I watched as he killed 4 hummingbirds in short order!  They would bake them to eat,..altho' there really isn't much meat on a hummingbird!!   Back in the day I could shoot like Debaba,...but not anymore,....

Debaba, with slingshot & hummingbird in his hands,..

    Dinner was served,..meager as it was,-since our rations were very low.  The plan was to get up early Saturday morning, before dawn.  Then, at first light, we planned to leave on the first leg of our journey.  The piki piki trip to Shabunda(regional center) could be 3 hrs.,...or 6 hrs.  We'll see.....We were hoping & praying to be able to catch a cargo flight mid afternoon, to get back to Bukavu(border town) Saturday late daytime.  The planes only fly during the daylight hours here,....IF they fly at all!   There are no roads, no lighted airstrips, no runway lights, no control towers, & only mud/grass runways, or just a clearing in the jungle! 

    Return airfare was only $159 each, compared to the $300 each we paid coming Downcountry.  Since the planes fly back mostly empty,...the fare is cheaper.  We are ok with that!!,.....

    PTL, & thankful everything was in shape for our trip Saturday,.......well, at least we THOUGHT it was!!

Rogers/Banuamazi

"Ready To Leave,...but WAIT!!"......

August 31, 2012, Friday @ Station Katanti, Congo:

     The Africans living across the hall from me awoke very early that morning,..like 4 AM!   Why?,..I have no idea,-but sleep was at a premium after they started talking/moving around.  Found out they thought we'd leave Station Katanti on that Friday,..so got up early to help us get a good start on the day,......well,......stay tuned,.....remember, T I A, 'This is Africa'.........

     Tom/Kathy were already up, dividing up supplies & books for the schools at Station Uku, Station Katanti, Station Ikozi, & Station Kasese.  We had breakfast later than usual,..scooters(dry cereal), coffee, powdered milk, & water.  Our rations were really getting low at that point,.....we agreed to 'take a risk' & cut our rations to next to nothing.  We had to get our weights down as far as possible, since the piki-piki wasn't running smoothly.  The lighter, the better,......

     The 'bicycle' guy,-Jacque-came,..so we loaded what was left of the Seminar stuff onto his bike for transport to Shabunda, around 50-60 miles.  During the process we discovered that the other man who was supposed to have talked to Station Katshungu to bring us piki-piki's & gasoline for our trip out of Downcountry,....had, in fact, never talked to them!!!   Wow!   At this point, all we can do is give ourselves & our trip to God,..and pray,....

     Meanwhile, one of the house/bodyguards has been pressing me to take my spit bath this morn,....since he carried my water all the way from down in the village,..I made him happy by washing my hair, & doing a spit bath. 

     Many of the Berean churches' delegates were hanging around, hoping for some handouts from us.  We gave them gently used batteries, shoes, & clothes.  The delegates love to keep saying,:  "Where's Banuamazi???  Then, someone shouts, "KuBisindi,",....(to hunt squirrels),....followed by much laughter, back/leg slapping, & repeating the phrase over & over,..at my expense!  No matter,..I actually enjoyed hearing them teasing me,...

     My best friend, Yoanne, showed up again this morning with fresh papaya & bananas for us.  We had more good times, laughing & carrying on,.....Yoanne is the son of Sansago,..who was another of the old-timers my Dad worked with many years ago.  (We will walk to his village today, to visit with Sansago,98, & his wife, 96)!!!-who are Yoanne's parents.  

Sansago, 98,..in his home

NyaDenga, Sansago's wife, 96.

    Yoanne also said he had been our "defender" since we got to Station Katant??.  When asked what that meant, he said,: Someone had put a story out on the local radio that 3 white missionaries had returned to Station Katanti, reportedly to present a Bible Seminar.  The radio story continued that the missionaries "REAL GOAL",..was to go to the original mission Station & dig up buried treasure the missionaries had hidden when fleeing in 1960!!   Nothing could have been further from the truth!   When we fled in 1960, we had only what was on our backs.   Crazy & crazier!!!,.......

     Later the Station Katanti pastors wanted to have a meeting with Tom/Kathy, so I tried to take a nap.  My brain was too rattled,..so I just laid down to rest & pray.  After that meeting, we walked about 5 miles to see Sansago & his wife NyaDenga in their village.  This couple had 12 kids,..one has died,...& the couple are greatgrandparents now!  Sansago still remembers a little English from years ago......Since that day was clear & hot,..it was a long, arduous walk back up the hill to my house.  Along the way we saw KingNgome, who worked as one of our houseboys many years ago.  He just shouted when he saw me!!,....

     PTL,...2 men came from Katshungu with piki piki's & 5 liters of gas for Tom's piki.  Things are beginning to form up for our leaving!  The two men also went to buy a new valve stem for the rear tire on Tom's piki, & returned to install it.  NOW, we are praying/hoping for a nice early start on Saturday morn for our trip back to Bukavu,..the border town,......& back to the USA.

     SaSimon sat on the front porch of my house with us for hours,...he also cried & cried that we had to leave soon,......
     OOOOHH-HHHH,....I almost forgot:   this Singer, foot-pump sewing machine still sits in the dining room of my house,....and it still works,...50+years later!!   I "claimed" it for my Mom's old machine from back in the day,-all the while acknowledging that Tom would say it was his mom's, & Kathy would say it was her mom's,....anyway,...it is still there, in useable shape!!,..

Rogers/Banuamazi
    

"Oh What A Night!!",..in Congo, Africa,......

     August 30, Thursday, at Station Katanti, Congo:

Black goat,...read story below!!,...

     To paraphrase an old song,.."Oh What A Night!,.."    As I listened to the hours & hours of rain, I felt the ground turning into a big, fat, mudpit!!   As I often say,.."Let the games begin,..."

     This morning was a big surprise,..as 20-25 men came to give me a Special Gift!   With much fanfare, they pulled/pushed a black goat on a rope behind them.  Someone made the following BIG presentation:  "Rogers/Banuamazi, We know that our lives here are very hard.  You now see the struggle we have to live,...Even tho' we don't have much, we got together & want to give you a very small token of our appreciation for your coming to visit with us.  So,..we are presenting you with this black goat!"   I thanked them profusely,-especially since this represents several days' meals for them,-.all the while wondering what on earth I'd do with a live goat!!???? (Sure can't put it in the overhead bin on KLM Airways!!).  My fears were instantly allayed, when the spokesman said, "We are so happy you've come back after 52+ years.  We know your travel was HARD,..on poor airplanes, piki-piki, taxis, & you even walked here!  So, with your permission, we want to slaughter the goat & have a banquet/feast for lunch with all the Seminar delegates!"  With some relief, and trepidation I immediately AGREED;-relief that my 'goat problem' was solved, & trepidation in that the last goat I ate over here did NOT sit well with my stomach!!  However, this was a touching tribute from people who have next to NOTHING. 

Goat Appreciation Feast/Banquet @ my House

       4 of the Pastor/delegates came to talk to me after the meal.  Basically, they were asking me to stay with them for 2-3 months, so they could refresh my Kilega,..-their native language!  Wow!  I had to tell them I had passage booked back to the USA,..& we'd have to see what God(Mungu) had in mind for them.  BTW, we had mountains of GOAT, bugali(manioc mush), rice, sombe(greens), & baked bananas.  I carefully selected one small portion of something I knew was goat MEAT,.--NOT the entrails, which the Africans like the BEST!!  Ugh. 

     SaSimon, formerly my Dad's right hand man, made his own passionate 'appeal',..:
"Now, to all 3 of you, we are so happy that you came through all your troubles to visit us & present a Bible Seminar, & eat a Banquet with us!  Now that you've 'blazed a trail' into the jungle, we want all the other missionary's kids to come see us as well!  In fact, you come again, & bring them with you!"  To me he said, "we are saddened to hear of the loss of your wife, Carol, & your daughter, Nicole; but that Rogers coming out to the jungle proves it CAN be done!"  Basically, this was an appeal to me, Tom, & Kathy to get our kids to sign up to be full-time missionaries in Congo. The Africans now see us as 'trailblazers',...similar to the original missionaries way back in 1938!!  Tom did his best to explain the logistics, changes & issues,..and SaSimon poured on more 'heat', saying:  "your parents started this work here in 1938, and built this work here.  You can see it is still going on, to this day. We beg you not to forget us,..and to bring us new missionaries to live amongst us!"   Tom gave them a kind response,..which they 'sorta' accepted.  In part, this is what Tom had to say:,..we are trying to set up a Mission Office in the States as a liaison to you here in Congo.  That has not yet been accomplished,.....but may be in the works;  In addition, Tom told them that asking young couples in USA or Europe to commit to a lawless land, with no roads, no electricity, little water, scarce food, mud/stick houses, & lack of safety for them & their families,.....will be a HARD SELL to those young couples! 

     After all this 'palaver' & discussion, I gave my response: "Thank you so much for inviting me to come visit with you dear ones.  I've heard what you said,..and right now my head is SPINNING!  One thing I CAN say, however, is that I am praying for you many, many times daily,..and I will NOT forget you!  So, God bless you, each one!"  We all sang "When They Ring Those Golden Bells for You & Me",..Tom led in prayer, & the Katanti Biblical Seminar was officially concluded.

     Afterwards, we sat on the front porch exchanging snake stories into the night!  We would love to go to Shabunda tomorrow, & catch a returning cargo flight to Bukavu,....BUT,....suffice it to say once again,..
T I A,..'this is Africa',..& there are numerous 'issues' to be negotiated before we can leave!  As I said before, my getting to Bukavu to catch my flights home to USA, was getting more & more dicey,...  As they say in Congo, "Tutaona",...means 'we shall see'.....as I like to say,.."stay tuned",.........

    

    

"Wednesday @ Station Katanti,..Great Times!!

August, 29, 2012: Wednesday @ Station Katanti, Congo,..my old home,..Great Times!"

     Up early for devotion & wash up a bit.  Nice morning.  Kasimbula (houseguard) said to me,.."It is so strange you don't remember how to speak our language, Kilega!.....you spoke it better as a child than WE did!"  Nice compliment,..& I wished it would return to my brain, too......

     We met 'Lutilitili's' son, who is middle aged.  He remembered us, & we had a good talk.  His dad, "Lutilitili' is deceased,...but, back in the day, he used to dress up like a witch doctor and scare the livin' daylights out of us missionary kids.  Good memories, with his son,.....

     Last night the Africans were sitting around the outdoor fire, watching a DVD of Tanzanian singers, on a Chinese battery operated player called "KOBY".  One of the non-government organizations had given them out last year.  The people here must keep it charged with the solar panel....

     We have had cool mornings,..and hot, sticky afternoons.  Today I'm going to leave the Seminar @ the first 'break', and walk the Station Katanti,..just letting the memories flood over me...

The book translated in 1953, my Dad helped to translate.. 

My parents driving into Interior of Congo, first time, 1950..

     First, I went down several jungle trails where I used to hunt/trap squirrels.  The gasoline electric generator & water pump pipes are long gone.  I found another car rusting in the jungle,..then sat with Elena(SaSimon's daughter) under some bamboo.  She showed me a book "Major Doctrines of the Bible",..that she's kept all these years,....it was translated in 1953 by my dad, Ernest L. Green, C. Neal VanderPloeg, & Sansago Jerome.  It was a wonderful moment to see & look thru the book.  Also, she showed me old, old pictures of the earliest & later missionaries.  She has kept these safely hidden from the wars/soldiers all these 50+ years!    She also had an album of pictures of my parent's first trip into Congo, in 1950!  I was able to get good pictures of her pictures,.....

    Trekking behind my house, I found 3 large healthy guava trees, which we had planted back in the day.  Back then, we kids would carve our initials in the bark, inside a carved heart,-with the initials of our current girlfriend at that time!  I wanted to do something extra special, so I carved a heart with RG+CG in it,..as a tribute to me & Carol Green, my wife of 45 years, who is now in Heaven.  Just a special moment for me & her memory,... the carving will be there for a long, long time,..-just as the older carvings are still there after all these years! 

Guava trees where I carved a heart with my initials & Carol's in the bark....

     I investigated the carpenter shop,  school house, baseball field, & even found the tennis court we kids had created out of a hillside 50+ years ago!   That is where I learned to play tennis in the '50's!, on a clay, homemade court!  The court itself has been taken over by the jungle now,....

Carpenter shop, and baseball field..

    A huge rainstorm, with thunder, wind, & lightning came thru during the night.  We sat on the front porch & watched it for a long time,...We've made decisions to end the Seminar on Thursday, & hope to get going out of the Interior by Friday or Sat.  Friday is the day that most planes would have been going back to Bukavu,....so if we didn't make Friday it could begin to get a bit dicey with my scheduled flights back to USA... .......

     One pastor walked some 30 miles to the Seminar on crutches.  He asked if I had an English newspaper he could practice his English on!  I didn't, but I gave him a Reader's Digest. 

     We must be sure to lock our individual rooms @ my house,..as well as the doors to the house,..as things will 'disappear' if we don't.  Each of us has our own key,....we've also discovered rats in the house, & evidence of snakes.  Tom perfected a great way to get rid of rats crawling on one's bed, while one is in it!!,......He carefully slides his foot underneath the sheet, right under the rat,....then,  he gives it a mighty kick thru the sheet,-watching the rat fly against the wall!!!  Works for me,....

     I discovered that some missionaries actually lived at Station Katanti,-off & on,-until the early 90's.  However, they were in & out with evacuations,..& fleeing the uprisings/soldiers. When those come the soldiers kill any men who have not fled,...take the boys & make them soldiers,...take the young girls for sex slaves,....then, rape the women,-----followed by burning the village entirely.  Soldiers even have pulled out any/all wiring,..-they think the missionaries must be using wiring in the walls to get on the Internet and plot against them!   Crazy,.....

     During the storm we caught fresh rain water from the roof, for spit baths & cooking.  Bedtime,....so we wished each other well, with all the critters, snakes, & mosquitoes,........

Rogers/Banuamazi

"Proving My visa & Papers are Fine!,...Congo, 2012"

August 28, 2012: Tuesday on Station Katanti:

     Up early this morn.  Woke up in the morning, dreaming/feeling someone or something was in my room.  Turned out to be nothing,.....just bad dreams.....

     Breakfast of dry cereal we brought with us, powdered milk, freshly boiled water, scrambled eggs, & papaya.  The 'scrambled' eggs in Africa are VERY, VERY greasy,..and may contain things other than scrambled eggs!!  As my son in law Bob Veach likes to say,.."God, I'm putting it down,..now You please keep it down!" 

     Tom & I took his piki piki to Mapimu to see the Minister of Something re: our papers and particularly my visa, which the official had claimed wasn't 'authentic'.  The path was about 5 miles,..thru the jungle.  3/4ths of the way there, Tom's piki ran out of gas.  It wouldn't run at all on the 'reserve' tank,..due to dirty gas in there.  (Because we had to put a replacement carburetor on the piki,..and, because it wasn't exactly the correct one,....the piki was using more gas than usual).  Anyway, we left the piki on the path in the forest,..& walked the remaining way to see the Official.   The Minister of Something was busy,...so we were kept waiting for awhile, before we could see him.  (This too, is part of the 'hazing', & not unusual!).  Finally, we got in to see him.  Turned out to be a very pleasant man,..who exchanged pleasantries with us,  asking our reasons for visiting Station Katanti,-in his territory.  We didn't bring up the paperwork 'issues', & neither did he, PTL.  After a few minutes, he said we were ok, & we could go!  (Later we found out he already had local issues that morning,-that a big crowd had demonstrated against his handling of forest/garden rights).

     Tom & I put out the word that we needed to buy some gasoline in the plastic drink containers.  One of our friends went off to find some for us.  In the meantime, we looked at the items in a ramshackle path-side 'store'.  Actually, we needed a small pair of scissors,..but, they had everything BUT scissors.   One can buy a solar panel, colorful fabric,..etc...but NO scissors!!  Go figure!!    Did I mention the wide contrasts in Africa?????....OH,..& BTW,...local men were using a rudimentary scale to weigh tablespoons of gold dust, right out in public.  AMAZING!!

                                   Kathy teaching on the Full Armor of God,..each afternoon.....

Pastor/delegates at a Seminar Class

     We walked a mile back to where we had left the piki,..& waited for the man to come with the bottle of gas.  He arrived after a wait on our part,..so we put the gasoline into Tom's piki.  PTL,...it ran fine,..& took us back to Station Katanti.  Our "bodyguards",..i e houseboys,..were doing our laundry by hand behind the house.   They hung most of it in the attic over Jansen Hall. 

Mapendo teaching Seminar Class.....

     Then, it was time to start the Bible Leadership Seminar.  Tom, Kathy, Mapendo(the legal rep), & SaSimon all taught.  I went to the Seminar with them for the entire first day's meetings.  Tom taught on ""5 Major Doctrines of the Bible";  Kathy on the "Full Armor of God";  Mapendo on the book of "Corinthians",...& SaSimon did a daily wrapup. 

     About 35 men came to the Seminar,..and maybe 20 women.  It was the season to be burning the forest patches for gardens.  That meant the women could only come in the mid-afternoons, due to their garden work loads. 

Me, speaking thru Tom as an Interpreter,...end of first day,..

     At the end of Seminar Day One, I was asked to speak to the crowd.  I told them about my family, my extended family, & my God.  They seemed to really appreciate my words.  As for me, I was pretty emotional,.....

Roger & Kibekiangabo

     Kibekiangabo, (our longtime cook back in the day),...was ill & in his 90's now.  So, Kathy & I went with his daughter to see him.  What excitement & joy when he saw me/us!!  Altho pretty feeble, we had a great chat.  Also, we saw the graves of 5 or 6 of the Pastors who had worked with my Dad in the '50's & 60's. 

     After the Seminar that day, we sat and talked on my front porch,....it was hot, sticky, & humid!!  My 2 best friends from childhood came to see me:  their names are Yoanne, & Josef.  SO good to see them again.  Laughed, talked, cried, yelled, & basically had a grand old time, as guys everywhere love to do!....  Years ago we would go to the forest EVERY morning together at 5AM,..to hunt & trap squirrels.

     Last item for Tuesday,..the local pastor came & ask Tom to cut the Seminar from 5 days to 3 days.  The reasons:  1)they were running out of food to feed the delegates;  2) & they also need to be working in their gardens.  Tom promised a decision the next day,....

    Went to bed under a beautiful 3/4moon,..shining where the window was 'supposed to be!'  Don't hear wildlife in the forest like we did back in the day,.......

     Couldn't wait to see what the next day would bring,.....

Rogers/Banuamazi