I made it! Here I am in the Congo Republic, unpacked and ready to get going… The trip was mostly uneventful, I had a very long layover in Paris, so I booked a dayroom at a hotel inside the airport and got a nice, long nap! I arrived in Pointe Noire (with all my bags!) on Monday morning, February 7th at 7am, and it was already steamy… of course, I had just left the ice and snow of North Texas, so anything over 70 degrees felt steamy to me! The missionaries met me at the airport, along with a lady in their church whose job it is to help people through customs… After she worked her magic, no one even looked at my large number of huge bags, we just picked them up and carried them to the cars! Praise the Lord!
After unloading the bags into my new home, Janice and I went on a shopping trip to the huge Pointe Noire market… I’ll admit that was a bit overwhelming for me on my first day in Congo, but Janice said I was a trooper, and she was impressed that I stayed awake all of my first day here. That night, we were treated to a steak dinner by some folks from Houston working here in the offshore oil business. We also got to watch the Super Bowl! We were all very careful not to look at any news so we wouldn’t know the outcome ahead of time. It was a very nice way to begin my time here – good food, new friends and a great football game!
I took the next couple of days to unpack and find my way around, taking another couple of trips into town to check on internet availability and to do a little shopping. Traffic here is terrible! A trip to town is a real ordeal, especially after torrential rains! On Thursday, I was introduced to the girls at the school where I’ll be working for the next couple of years. They are delightful girls, eager to learn and usually smiling… But, as typical teenagers, they can be a bit moody… Janice and I just have to make them smile again… that’s pretty easy for me, since my French is still so bad, we laugh together at my pronunciations!
On my first Sunday here in Pointe Noire, I arrived early for the service, in time to hear the worship team rehearsing… As most of you know, I love good worship music, and I am really impressed with the quality of the musicians here. Gary (the pastor) wanted to add a song to the service that would go well with his sermon, but the worship team didn’t know the song. It was a song I knew, and I was sitting in the back of the church just singing it along with him… He asked me if I could play it on the piano, I said, “No, but I can sing it!” I thought he just wanted me to teach it to the worship team, but instead, I was drafted to sing in the service! So, I suppose it is no surprise that on my first Sunday in Pointe Noire I ended up with a microphone in my hand!
School is meeting four days a week for a while during the rainy season – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Having Wednesdays off for a while will help me to acclimate to the pace and the temperature! Today I have made curtains for my living room and have actually cooked something! My laundry room is only halfway useable, the washing machine is installed and working, but the dryer is not hooked up yet… So, laundry is waiting, since drip-drying is out of the question in this humid climate! I think Saturday will have to be laundry day, since it is a terrible shopping day… all the stores close at noon on Saturday! I found a little market within walking distance, so I can now get some things locally without having to find a taxi! I don’t know how to tell them where I want to go yet anyway! I’ll close by posting some photos of my new home!
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My front door with outdoor kitchen in background |
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| Laundry Room |
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| Bougainvilla outside my gate |
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| My living room with curtains I made! |
Wow Mom, nice house! The yard area toward the living room looks like a dream! I'm sure you're going to add to those bougainvillas before too long! I'm glad you're getting settled and getting the lay of the land- procuring edible foodstuffs is always the hardest part! Way to go on cooking an actual meal :)
ReplyDeleteLove you!
Caleb loves the chameleon! How big is it? It looks small next to the bougainvilla on the wall. Glad for the update! Keep them coming. I'm sharing your blog with my friends and prayer partners!
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Lexi, the chameleon is about a foot long. Don't tell Caleb, but it's really just a lizard... it doesn't change colors! It has red head and a red tail!
ReplyDeleteMelody, yes, the house is nice, too bad I don't spend enough time there to enjoy the yard! The hibiscus plants beside the front door are just about to burst into bloom! I'll send pictures! Love these tropical flowers!