I finally got back home to Bukavu on Friday morning (My first December day here!). By 1pm, Serge and I had mostly decided on our eight Seed participants. By the end of the day, the invitations were officially sent! Wow. I feel amazed that we finished that part! So Relieved. And a little stressed about everything that was put on the back burner while we made those decisions.
The unexpected week in Kinshasa was surprisingly peaceful for me. Each day, I thought "Maybe I'll be able to leave tomorrow" and I finally left on Thursday. I got to be part of the ECC (Congolese Council of Churches) chapel and share a bit about the Seed Program. One of the staff said I did a great job on my French. How nice!
I know Mark will be ready to share a lot of his excitement about what he's going to be doing. Lord-willing, he'll be back in Bukavu tonight (Sunday). I hope he won't have the drama I had at the airport upon return to Goma regarding my yellow fever vaccine card. It was the biggest dilemma I’ve faced thus far: whether to get another yellow fever immunization in the airport or to pay the health department official (what Mark insists is extortion because it was to protect myself).
And here it is, almost Christmas! As one of my favorite bloggers, Janelle in Uganda, pointed out, Christmas is a whole different ballgame near the equator. Not only is the weather the same as it is most of the year, but only the fancy stores have any Christmas decorations. Maybe part of our struggle is the variety we’re accustomed to – in terms of cereal options, food generally and even seasons that change.
The unexpected week in Kinshasa was surprisingly peaceful for me. Each day, I thought "Maybe I'll be able to leave tomorrow" and I finally left on Thursday. I got to be part of the ECC (Congolese Council of Churches) chapel and share a bit about the Seed Program. One of the staff said I did a great job on my French. How nice!
I know Mark will be ready to share a lot of his excitement about what he's going to be doing. Lord-willing, he'll be back in Bukavu tonight (Sunday). I hope he won't have the drama I had at the airport upon return to Goma regarding my yellow fever vaccine card. It was the biggest dilemma I’ve faced thus far: whether to get another yellow fever immunization in the airport or to pay the health department official (what Mark insists is extortion because it was to protect myself).
And here it is, almost Christmas! As one of my favorite bloggers, Janelle in Uganda, pointed out, Christmas is a whole different ballgame near the equator. Not only is the weather the same as it is most of the year, but only the fancy stores have any Christmas decorations. Maybe part of our struggle is the variety we’re accustomed to – in terms of cereal options, food generally and even seasons that change.
The big things on my agenda for Christmas are going to a
church service on Christmas day and giving $20 extra to the staff (guards and
gardeners) who keep up our “compound” (walled plot of land with four
residences). I have our stockings hung, but haven’t yet figured out if we’ll
fill them with anything. I’m sure there are a bunch of single expats who will get
together and drink and tell stories about the crazy things they’ve done, and
that may be the easy place to be, but I’m not into that.
 |
| Our little Christmas decorations |
Thanks for posting! We love you both and are praying for y'all! Let us know when/if Mark makes it back.
ReplyDelete