BrianJBecker.com

Friday afternoon I said goodbye to Curtis as he left to catch a flight to Kinshasa.  He was here for about four months to study ways that HOPE can work to reinforce local agriculture through microfinance.  It was great having him around, especially as these have been my first few months in a challenging new place.  Curtis came to Congo with little or no experience in French and he made remarkable progress during his stay.  He was able to carry on conversations, conduct his research and even build some friendships.  I am very impressed.  Most of us are afraid of the awkward moments and silly mistakes that are made when we try to learn a new language.  Curtis dove right in head first and he was blessed for his efforts.

Thursday afternoon the power cut out across just about the entire city.  The word was that they were quickly working on the breakdown, digging up the street someplace nearby.  It was off all day Friday.  Fortunately I had meetings and work to do without the help of the computer, but a few days of this can really slow down our operations (as computers don’t do much for you when you can’t power them up).  Friday night I lit my candle and sat next to it listening to Radio France International.  It was either that or nothing and I was entertained and informed.

I was exited when I woke up this morning and saw that there were some lights on in the apartment.  That meant that I could boil some drinking water, charge up my electronics and flashlights and maybe even check my e-mail.  I had a meeting with some church youth at 10:00 AM but I wasn’t sure if they would keep the meeting and I wasn’t really sure who they were.

They turned out to be Clarice and John, an engaged couple that are youth leaders at one of the Nazarene Churches in town.  I’d met them once previously.  They wanted me to go with them to the church to meet with youth that had assembled.  So we went to their neighborhood and stopped first at Clarice’s house where I met her family and saw their parcel with its bread oven and well.  They share their well with everyone in the community.  Neighbors were coming by to dip a bucket on the end of bamboo pole down deep in the ground.  Before we left Clarice’s father told me that it is traditional to give gifts to guests and handed me two chickens eggs, one in each hand.  I told him that even though I am a big guy, he really didn’t have to give me TWO gifts!  Nonetheless I accepted them and now they’re sitting in my fridge.  Two eggs may not be a fortune, but here it means more than it might in San Diego.

The church was really out in the thicket and it was fun driving the jeep down some footpaths and under low tree branches, up hills and through some small streams.  It is tricky getting out there on Saturday because gangs of local youth work on the roads and set up roadblocks to demand money from people who want to pass.  I am a big deal here wherever I go, so the roadblocks can be a real problem.  The first one seemed innocent enough so after some refusal I tossed a little something into their collection basket and they all cheered and allowed us to pass.  About 300 feet down the road another group stopped us and they weren’t as friendly.  They were also letting everyone else pass freely but us.  So I turned the car around and we took another route.

I really had a great time with the youth group at the church.  This group was quite the opposite of the road construction teams.  They ranged in age from about seven to seventeen and there were only about 25 of them.  It was a good low-key time.  There really wasn’t anything planned so I asked everyone to share their name, their favorite subject in school, their favorite food and their prediction for the World Cup.  That out of the way, they sang a few songs and three little guys played their hearts out on the drum.  Then I gave a brief message and sang a couple of songs for them and one that we could all sing together.  Just before I left we all danced a bit, to round out the meeting.  It was a special time together.

I spent the rest of the afternoon with Clarice and John.  They bought a pineapple on the way back and I had some bananas here at the apartment so we ate together and spent the afternoon talking.  It turned out the be a great day.  And just now I decided to check my e-mail and the electricity has cut out again.  I’d better power down my computer before the battery runs out completely.  My candle is already lit.