Row To Congo 2009

Shruggy gets an explaination at the pygmy palm project

2009-07-06T23:14:00.001-04:00

Making rounds with Congolese doctor Blaise Ndandu

2009-07-06T23:11:00.001-04:00

John and a team of Congolese doctors perform surgery at Good Shepherd Hospital

2009-07-06T23:10:00.001-04:00

Dr. Kennedy conducts a workshop at the Mutombo Hospital in Kinshasa

2009-07-06T23:08:00.001-04:00

Bonobos Monkey Preserve and scenery near Lac de ma Vallee

2009-07-06T23:04:00.001-04:00

Team at Good Shepherd Hospital

2009-07-06T23:00:00.001-04:00

Painting day at the IMCK Kananga Hospital

2009-07-06T22:59:00.001-04:00

EA and Katy - animal balloon makers extrodinaire!

2009-07-06T22:57:00.001-04:00

Lilibet leads singing in Tshiluba

2009-07-06T22:55:00.000-04:00

Ira and Kat help children add their handprints to the banner - along with U.S. children

2009-07-06T22:54:00.001-04:00

Jim and Jimmy prayng and washing children's hands

2009-07-06T22:52:00.001-04:00

One of last year's graduates from the sewing school - 17 of 19 are earning a living from sewing!

2009-07-06T22:51:00.001-04:00

At the Sewing School for Single Mothers

2009-07-06T22:49:00.001-04:00

At an Infant Nutrition Center

2009-07-06T22:48:00.000-04:00

We saw a number of these calendars.

2009-07-06T22:46:00.001-04:00

Anyone want to help deflate a giant beachball? Try blowing it up!

2009-07-06T22:45:00.001-04:00

our team at the ROW Orphanage

2009-07-06T22:44:00.001-04:00

Make the ball fly high and land on the parachute, once, twice, three times and more

2009-07-06T22:42:00.000-04:00

Congolese kid with his "antique" toy

2009-07-06T22:41:00.001-04:00

photos from trip

2009-07-06T22:39:00.000-04:00

Katy Manier takes a turn at the pump at the ROW Orphanage well

update on ROW Congo-Kasai Team

2009-07-06T22:33:00.001-04:00

I'll post pictures in a few days - please check back!

Friday night - June 26th

Arrived back in Kinshasa via Cessna Caravan. Great flight that was low enough to see some of the terrain. We got to fly over Lubondai where several members of the team went to high school or elementary school. Lubondai is around 80 miles south of Kananga. We flew along the river for part of the flight - no hippos or anything sighted but we saw great scenery and small rapids in many places. Making the circle around Lubondai was very special. We got back to MPH around 7 PM and had a late dinner.

Saturday, June 27th

Very cool. I had really hoped to set up a recreation day and we were blessed. We went to a small forest preserve where Bonobos Monkeys live. This species is only found in the Congo - why? They are terrible swimmers so they never crossed the Congo River to the north and only lived in their natural environs of the jungle rainforest. As they wandered far enough south to get out of the forest they would have still been well inside Congo and they stayed in the forest. These guys were hysterical! One tiny orphan kept pretending to fall as he tried to walk up a small slope. It was exactly like kids rolling on the lawn and tumbling down a hill. Another older guy casually strode over to a water trough and leaned down to fill his container. When he withdrew the container and wandered back to start drinking we realized it was a Coca-Cola can! Even the Bonobos apparently prefer Coke! We ate our lunch we brought with us - small bread loaves with cheese and water. It was great! Afterwards we went to a small lake called Lac de ma Vallee (Lake of my Valley). The setting was gorgeous and we were able to enjoy a cold beer and French fries and fried plantains (OK, most of us enjoyed a cold beer - one person stuck with a big orange drink). Interesting side note - we said a blessings and gave thanks for our refreshments. When we said amen a waitress asked why we were in Congo. "Mission trip." She said she had never seen any white people come to that location to this little restaurant and pray before. Wow. Even when you don't think you are witnessing...

Sunday, June 28th

Lilibet headed off to a local church of God about 90 minutes away. They sent someone to get her. She had a wonderful experience. They gave her some goodies - the main gift was a live chicken she walked in carrying in her arms. I told her that 5 minutes after we left the hostel that chicken would be dead and in a pot!

Shruggy headed to a Presbyterian church as the invited guest of people her family had known when she was a child. She too had a great experience. She didn't bring back a chicken.

The rest of us piled in the UPC van and went to the largest Protestante Church in Congo. There were around 900 people there by my best estimate. We wanted to sneak in but the usher at the door would have none of that. He said each first time guest had to stand for an introduction. We stood and when it was announced we represented the Protestant University next door, the President of the University, Dr. Ngoy, who is a friend of mine, stood and immediately called us to the front so he could properly welcome us. So much for stealth. We also met the head of all the Protestant churches in the Congo who was in attendance. During his message, the preacher suddenly in English said, "Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!" Our President is a huge hit in Africa. The message was on hope and restoration and how individuals need restoration and so does the Congo. No doubt he was right on all fronts.

After church we took a route back to the hostel so we could drive alongside the Congo River. The Congo is the world's 2nd largest behind the Amazon. But, the Amazon has a low season and high season based on rainfall. Because the Congo flows from south of the Equator, crosses it and swings far north before turning back south of it again, a part of it is always in rainy season - so, steady flow. The rapids begin on the south edge of Kinshasa and continue for around 100 miles, dropping close to 1,000 feet along that route. If the power could be properly harnessed, it could supply electricity for all Africa. Great fun to get to see it up close and personal.

Monday, June 29th

We went to the Protestant University. I serve on the Board for the North American Liaison Bureau for the University, so we had a real interest. There were the tours and walking through various classrooms, of course, but also we were able to see the early construction on our new medical school building. I had meetings on a variety of issues and with a number of people while part of the group headed off to Kinshasa for some souvenir shopping at a place that supports disable Congolese craftsmen. The University has over 6,000 students and four colleges: Law, Economics, Theology, and Medicine. The day was inspiring. Our motto is Université Protestante au Congo, education to build a nation. I love it!

While we did this, Dr. John Kennedy performed surgery on two patients at the Dikembe Mutombo Hospital out toward the Kinshasa airport. His specialty is breast cancer and, unfortunately they had candidates he needed to work on. When he came in that night he wanted to try to squeeze one more surgery in the next morning before we left.

Tuesday, June 30^th – again God is in control and we are reminded of it!

Departure day. Everything is done that we can accomplish - now we just need to get back home safely. Some years, Independence Day is fraught with tensions. I had worried that I inadvertently planned the trip for a 30 June departure. It went so smoothly that I think that is what I will intentionally plan next year!

Most businesses were closed. The drive at 9:10 AM to go downtown to advance check our luggage on Air France should have taken the usual 45 minutes. It took 10. The luggage office was supposed to open at 10 and we got there at 9:20. They had opened early and we were right near the front of the line. The bags were checked and cleared customs with no problems.

We wandered into the adjoining hotel (the nicest one in Congo) and discovered they have a restaurant on the courtyard by their pool (who knew?). Coffee and croissants seemed logical. We hadn't splurged yet, so this was it. Incredible!

The hospital sent a doc to fetch John and off he went. We made plans to pick him up as we drove to the airport. I told him I did not want to face his wife and say I had left john in the Congo so he needed to be ready to handoff the surgery if it got bogged down. He was confident they could step in if needed.

Afterwards, we returned to the hostel and just took it easy before departing again at 3:45 to go to the airport. Even though we took the long route to the airport, it still only took less than an hour even with picking John up on the way. Last year, that trip took 3½ hours and we almost missed our plane!

At the airport, we had been told (only right before we left to go to the airport) about a special lounge to wait in – that "serves food and has comfortable furniture." It cost $15 per person and was worth every penny. We even got to board without all the hassle that usually has accompanied every trip to Congo! The day could not have gone any more smoothly – actually, the whole trip couldn't have gone more smoothly!

We departed Congo around 9:20 PM Kinshasa time and arrived Paris at 5 AM Kinshasa time (6 AM Paris). After a layover of around 5 hours, we were off again and Atlanta bound. Got here around 2:20 (7:20 PM in Kinshasa). This was a long 22 hours of flying and airports and everyone wasn't done yet!

Jim had to fly to Denver and then take a shuttle back nearly to the Nebraska state line. Shruggy had to fly to Austin after a layover of several hours in Atlanta. Kat and Katy had to fly to Nashville. Lilibet had to drive to SC. I was thrilled to be 45 minutes from home!

FW: congo update - back in Kinshasa

2009-06-26T18:44:00.001-04:00

Update from Congo: June 26, 2009

We haven’t been able to get online so far in the trip. We are currently flying on a 9 passenger Cessna Caravan (plus 2 seats for pilot and co-pilot. The pilot, David is with mission Aviation Fellowship. The co-pilot is Jim Carse – a member of our team who just happens to be a pilot so he got dibs to sit up front but isn’t actually the co-pilot.

We’ve spent the last week in Tshikaji, a small village near Kananga in the south central part of the Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo). Our routing was up around 6:45, breakfast and then off to whatever project we were involved in for the day by around 8:30 to 9:30. Somewhere in the middle of the day – usually by 2 PM, we would manage to eat and then often had a 2^nd project for the afternoon. By dark (always at 6 PM) we would return to the guesthouse for dinner at 6:30 or 7. Some evenings we had additional activities.

Here’s the way things unfolded…

· Friday – conducted Bible School program at an orphanage ROW Congo-Kasai partially supports outside of Kinshasa. 25 kids officially in the program but about another 20 hung on the fringes wanting to participate. Games, Bible stories, photos of each child we printed and gave them, animal balloons.

· Saturday – flew to Kananga from Kinshasa and were greeted by Dr Joseeph Mulumba, the General Secretary of the Congo Presbyterian Church (CPC). CPC has some 2 million members in the nation. We actually had lunch in a restaurant in Kananga. It seems to be where they always take guests so it is considered the best in town. It is located over a gasoline station and owned by the gas station owners. We had a great evening meeting amongst ourselves and discussed the events and impact on each person.

· Sunday – worshipped in Tshikaji. They had prepared some special music since they had many guests. Normally only 2-3 groups would come through on mission trips each summer, but this time we were in the same location as a group of 12 from Charlotte, NC (Myers Park Presbyterian Church). In the afternoon, we organized all of our materials for the Bible School programs, took a short walking tour of the immediate area, mission station, infant nutrition center, bought some papayas in the local market, etc. Evening discussion centered on the worship from the morning and concerns with whether our presence may have distracted for the service. 21 “special” guests is a lot.

· Monday – We toured the Protestant Printing operation, IMPROKA, as well as a “pygmy” palm tree project. These little palms imported from Puerto Rico (I think) do not grow very tall and will start bearing palm nuts after only 3 years. Thus, it is a much faster planting to harvesting cycle than with the native palm trees. The palm oil is used for cooking (like cooking in corn oil or olive oil only far more is used), fuel for lanterns, making soap think Palmolive (palm + olive oil). IMPROKA also builds furniture for schools. After the tour we were treated to a traditional Congolese meal of bidia, greens, chicken, fried plantains, rice, and beans. They do not eat nearly this well every day but were providing a special treat for our group. Excellent discussion tonight on what really helps, what the Congolese really do or don’t need in the way of help, and how we can come alongside them.

· Tuesday – Morning visit to the School for Single Mothers that ROW Congo-Kasai started in December 2007. The first class of 20 ladies were all either rape victims or had been involved in prostitution. 19 graduated. One had to withdraw due to illness. None just dropped out. All had children (35 among them). The current class of ladies (30) were greatly encouraged by our visit. The program is 12 months long so they were almost at the mid-point. The curriculum includes math, a little science (hygiene and sanitation), French, and sewing. For graduation each lady receives a new annual sewing machine so they can begin supporting themselves. Part of our discussion centered on the graduates giving some back to the school to help the next group of students.

We took a walk through the village, winding our way along the paths past palms, papaya trees, bread fruit trees, and manioc plants – across yards and around mud-brick houses with thatched roofs – and went to see 8 of the ladies from the first class. Six were in the village and two have located their business to Kananga, the large city some 8 miles away. They make the walk twice each day – in to town and back to take orders and sew whatever people order. Of the 19 women, 17 are earning a living at some level from the sewing they learned. These two are probably doing the best and have even taken some courses in embroidery, etc to advance their skills. On Monday we bought some fabric in Kananga so we could give it to the women on Tuesday and get some things made – a shirt, dress, or skirt in traditional Congolese style. By Friday the were ready for us – all made by last year’s graduates!

Tuesday afternoon we walked (due to a miscommunication with the driver of the church vehicle) to the village of Lubi II about a mile away. We had 38 kids officially in our program and over 100 more who sang, listened to the Bible stories, and wanted to participate fully. The local Pastor, Josiah, had designated the kids to participate (his church), so we did as instructed. Watching the faces when we hand out the pictures is just too cool. Holding one picture aloft, they all shout the name of the kid in the photo and point for the picture to be handed to him or her.

After dinner, I went to set up and test equipment for the movie to be shown the next night, The Jesus Film (in Tshiluba). We needed a sound cable to feed into the sound system for the church but fortunately a videographer who was on site filming for a documentary (from the MPPC team) had a cable. The documentary is being produced by Kim Brattain who was a news anchor in Charlotte for a number of years.

· Wednesday – We conducted VBS in Ndesha, another mission village some 15-18 miles away. The drive is ridiculous on terrible roads, so it took around 45-50 minutes. As we pulled in over 100 children were singing, shouting, dancing, gyrating, and grinning from ear to ear. It seems they were expecting us J. Dr. Mulumba welcomed us and spoke to the children for just a moment before we dove right in. Photos, games, stories, animal ballons… for over 135 kids! We were swamped! At one point, as kids were playing with a huge 20” diameter nylon “parachute, I got a second group started with a smaller one. When I looked back while staring Frisbee, Dr. Mulumba was playing with the children and using the parachute to toss a soccer ball in the air and trying to catch it again. Umwe, ebidi, esatu, enai, etanu (1,2,3,4,5). He was having as much fun as the kids. The highlight of all 3 VBS programs had to be handprints – across the world. Kids in my church in Atlanta put their handprints on a cloth we brought over here. We then used brightly colored paint to add the handprints of the Congolese children to the same cloths. One cloth stayed at each location and one will return to GA with me to hang in our church. The concept was to communicate to children on both sides of the ocean to pray for each other. After the paint was applied to hands (using plastic plates filled with different colors so they could choose their color), the children pressed their hands onto the cloth and then rotated around to one of us to wash their hands and say a quick prayer for them. It was moving.

· Following the VBS program, we were treated to a traditional Congolese meal of bidia, rice, beans, chicken, and palm oil at the Presbyterian University of the Congo (UPRECO). Then a walking tour of the campus (168 students – law, theology schools), a pygmy palm project, a little pig farm, and a pineapple field of several acres. These projects will help bring in revenue for the university. Tuition is $250 a year for single students and $300 for married students. Low, but the annual per family income is only $300 for the Congo – less than a dollar a day!

· Thursday – We painted at the Kananga location for the Good Shepherd Hospital. We managed in 4 hours to do the front outside wall on the lower level as well as the central stair well area. In this tropical environment, the old paint was flaking and very mildewed, but this cleaned the appearance up greatly. The work was purely physical and very hot, but went quickly as 8 of us worked alongside 5 Congolese workers. We brought paint rollers, pans, and roller covers from the states because what is available here is extremely limited.

After painting we were treated to another traditional Congolese meal at the home of Mr. Bernard Kabibu, a close friend and the Administrator of the Hospital. His wife, Astrid had prepared the bidia, greens, plantains, rice, beans, and peanuts and they were excellent!

A full day!

2009-06-22T19:28:00.001-04:00

Hi again!!!

Jimmy called a few minutes ago and the connection was very good this time!! All are well, but the water situation remains a little iffy. Last night was the bath in the bucket routine, but tonight was a shower, though not really warm! The group sent out their clothes to be laundered, but the lady did not see Jim Carse’s bag, so his clothes did not get cleaned!!!! Never fear, Jimmy had some extra ROW shirts, so they did not make Jim sit in the corner all alone!!

A prayer request for tomorrow is for a surgery John Kennedy is performing at Good Shepherd Hospital. It is a colostomy on a baby about 3 weeks old who has not had a bowel movement since birth. The baby is very weak, so say an extra prayer for strength during and after the surgery. Please also pray for John as he performs this surgery in an unfamiliar place!!

They have a full day tomorrow and Jimmy did sound tired for the first time tonight. They have been having nightly small group Bible study in the ladies duplex. The one last night lasted from 8-11 PM and Jimmy said it had become a great time to talk about the day’s events and to discuss what they had seen and their reaction to it!! This time has been very rewarding!!

They have power, but can’t get an internet connection, though Katrina, EA, and Katy have tried several times!! Maybe when they get back to Kinshasa they will be able to email!!

Please continue to keep them in your prayers!!

Blessing to all,

Jan

Kananga

2009-06-20T17:45:00.001-04:00

Hi again everyone!

Jimmy called today, and the reception was not as good as it has been, but he did say they had arrived in Kananga safe and sound and were settled into their rooms. All five of the ladies are in a duplex just adjacent to the main guest house and all of men have their own rooms. There was something about not enough warm water or water period for a shower, but the signal kept “breaking up”, so I am not real sure. Anyway, they were surprised to get their own rooms with the Myers Park Presbyterian Church group from Charlotte there at the same time. The Charlotte group came in a day earlier than our group and had gone to Lubondai for the day. I think Jimmy said they were driving up as we were saying goodbye.

Lib and Kay, I know you both talked to your guys today! Your connection may have been better than mine, so if you have some more info, please pass it along!!!

Thanks for all of the prayers for the group!!!

Blessings,

Jan

Good VBS in Kinshasa

2009-06-19T17:28:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone,

Jimmy called about 3:15PM EST to say they had had a wonderful day at the orphanage, sponsored by ROW, conducting Vacation Bible School for about 3 hours!!! Jim Carse stated that if they did nothing else, this day would have been worth the trip!! They lost a couple pieces of luggage/trunks which did have some supplies! The paint they needed for the hand print banners from Redeemer Presbyterian (our kids here put their handprints on a banner and the kids in Congo are going to do the same connecting Snellville, GA and Congo) was in the trunk, but they were able to purchase some water colored paint in Kinshasa!! Jimmy had taken a small photo printer and the kids were very excited to have their picture taken and to actually get a copy of it the same day!! Luckily, the printer runs on a battery as well as electricity, because the power has been out since they arrived and had just come back on about 10 minutes before I talked to Jimmy!

On the way to the orphanage, they dropped Dr. John Kennedy off at the hospital in Kinshasa where he will do surgery when they come back through Kinshasa next week. They leave for Kananga in the morning (they are 5 hours ahead of us in Kinshasa and 6 hours ahead in Kananga) and will be there for about a week!

Please continue to pray for safe travel as they fly inland tomorrow!

God Bless,
Jan

Arrived safe in Kinshasa!

2009-06-18T16:03:00.002-04:00

Great flight overnight from Atlanta to Paris. 7 of the team are on this flight together and we will pick up Jim Carse in Paris. He flew 2 hours earlier than the rest of us. Ira Dworkin is already in Kinshasa having flown in a few days ago. It is almost 2 AM East Coast Time as I write this and by 6 PM, we will be landing in Kinshasa (6 hours ahead of East Coast US. We were able to check all the trunks and only had to pay about $500 in extra baggage charges.

Everyone is excited and everyone also realizes the excellent service we got on Air France last night and will get today going to Kinshasa is likely to be the last “schedule” we manage to achieve for two weeks. We are about to enter Congo time – different than the rest of the world. Slower pace, poverty, mighty struggles. The average family – repeat family – income is $300 U.S. a YEAR! We can’t do squat with $300 a year… neither can they.

We may be able to use Skype to make computer to computer calls we will try.

Jimmy

Heading to Congo!

2009-06-15T18:24:00.003-04:00

We are about to ROW to Congo – hopefully not! Under the auspices of the Rivers of the World Congo-Kasai Chapter (ROW-CK www.row.org) we have a team of 9 people headed out on the 17th of June to spend two weeks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Depending on email capabilities, we will try to post updates during our trip.

We are loaded down! We have at least six containers of medical supplies and medicines, a portable ultrasound machine, Bible School materials for two village locations and an orphanage, more than 450 pairs of reading glasses and Rx glasses, hundreds of toothbrushes, animal balloons, solar Bibles (in French), a Lingala solar Bible, a Tshiluba solar Bible, The Jesus Film (in Tshiluba), 3 laptops, an LCD projector, and a ton of other things. All totalled we will have thirteen 24 gallon Rubbermaid Action Packers in addition to cramming our personal bags with everything imaginable!

It’s going to be hot, humid, and great! But we’re excited!

Here is who is going:

Shruggy Stranahan (Austin, TX) – Trip Organizer, Retired
Lilibet Wilkerson (Laurens, SC) – Educator
Katrina Manier (Nashville, TN) – Educator
EA Manier (Atlanta, GA) (Elizabeth Ann) – Accountant
Katy Manier (Stanford Grad School) – Business Consultant
Dr. John Kennedy (Stone Mountain, GA) – Surgeon, Chief of Staff, Dekalb Medical Center, Decatur, GA
Jim Carse (Monroe, GA) – Businessman
Ira Dworkin (Cairo, Egypt) – College Professor
Jimmy Shafe (Grayson, GA) – Director, ROW Congo-Kasai Chapter; Board Member, North American Liaison Bureau – Université Protestante au Congo

-Jimmy

Children in Dem Rep of Congo

2009-06-15T18:20:00.000-04:00

These kids are eager to hang around missionaries. On the 19th we will be conducting VBS for kids just like these guys at an orphanage in Kinshasa!

Universite Protestante au Congo (UPC)

2009-06-15T18:10:00.000-04:00

Part of the purpose of our trip will be to visit the UPC campus in Kinshasa. UPC was founded in 1959 in what was hten Stanleyville. Following the chaos of Independence in 1960 and rebellionthroughout the first half of the 60s, the college was relocated to the capital city of Kinshasa (then Leopoldville). We believe education is the long term solution for the Congo and all of Africa. Education steeped in Christian faith can change lives even as it helps to build a nation. UPC has a school of Theology, school of Business, school of Law, and a school of Medicine. Check out the web site and campus scenes for the North American Liaison Bureau at www.upcongo.org.

Congo Trip Schedule

2009-06-15T18:00:00.000-04:00

Date	Location and Event
June 17	Depart Atlanta for overnight flight to Paris
June 18	Depart Paris for all day flight to Kinshasa – lodging at Methodist Presbyterian Hostel
June 19	Conduct Vacation Bible School Program at ROW orphanage outside Kinshasa. Dr. Kennedy will visit the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital (built by Dikembe Mutombo Foundation) and consult on upcoming surgeries.
June 20	Commercial flight Kinshasa to Kananga – guesthouse at Good Shepherd Hospital, Tshikaji
June 21	Worship at Tshikaji Presbyterian Church
June 22	Kananga and Tshikaji – Meet with Dr. Mulumba, General Secretary of Congo Presbyterian Church - Tour Kananga IMCK hospital - Visit hospital infant nutrition centers - Visit palm trees project - Visit IMPROKA program - Dinner at IMPROKA
June 23	Tshikaji - Conduct children’s program at Lubi II village - Visit Sewing School for Single Mothers - Dr. Kennedy will work/perform surgery at Good Shepherd Hospital
June 24	Ndesha - Conduct children’s program at Ndesha - Visit UPRECO (Université Presbyterian Congo) - Dr. Kennedy will work/perform surgery at Good Shepherd Hospital
June 25	Kananga / Tshikaji - Work day at Pax/IMCK - Sarah visit Tatu Mande while we paint at Pax - Dr. Kennedy will work/perform surgery at Good Shepherd Hospital
June 26	Tshikaji to Kinshasa by Mission Aviation Fellowship Cessna (Fly over village Lubondai)
June 27	Recreation Day in Kinshasa area - Dr. Kennedy will conduct workshop at the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital
June 28	Worship in Kinshasa area
June 29	Visit Université Protestante au Congo Visit Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital - Dr. Kennedy will perform surgery at the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital
June 30	Depart Kinshasa – overnight to Paris
July 1	Arrive Paris – 3 hour layover before departure to Atlanta