BrianJBecker.com

I’m back in Kisangani now, safe and sound.  There was a large crowd at the one window for us expatriates to get our airplane tickets stamped at N’djili Airport in Kinshasa this morning.  I ran into a good guy with IRC that I hadn’t seen for months and he said he’d been waiting for almost an hour.  Then they called my plane for boarding.  In the nick of time I was able to get one of the several idle officials’ attention.  I built enough of a rapport with him through my anxiety over possibly missing yet another airplane that he got my papers stamped quickly and insisted on escorting me out to the aircraft himself.  Only in Congo.  I think maybe the line was held up by professional “protocol” agents who handle travel formalities.  If they block the process then people like me have no choice but to hire them as they block the line.

Three staff members met me at the airport and we rode through some intense heat back to town.  They came up to the apartment and we had some cool water and conversation.  They were surprised that I didn’t put on weight in the USA and they asked me about my family and friends.  I told them about fireworks at the baseball game and Grandpa George getting his gift from Papa Wembonyama and my days at the home office in Pennsylvania.   There are many more stories to tell and more to hear.  It was great to travel, and it’s so great to be home again.

You’ll notice a lot of new photos from my travels in the USA.  I’ll get back to posting pictures from the Congo ASAP and put these into an album of their own in due time.

Thank you to everyone who showed me hospitality, grace, and love during my travels.  My heart is full to overflowing.