Congo Blog IX

Monday July 30

Several guys went to see a bible institute four hours drive away. Calvin is working at the hospital, while Martin and I stayed here. I’m doing better but not feeling 100%. Partly because it’s warm and sticky.

Tuesday July 31

Today we held the first of two seminars for pastors and church leaders in a village about 30 minutes from Tandala (yay for Toyota Land Cruisers). When we arrived they got the word out to come to the gathering by playing a large drum made from a hollowed out log. Apparently it can be heard a couple of miles away. I asked Tom if they used various rhythms to communicate and he said it was unclear, but that the Church is pretty much the only ones who do this. So maybe it’s like the church bell? I decided to do my best imitation of my daughter Kaarin and danced to the drums. You would think the Congolese had never seen a white guy dance before. It was worth it to see the smiles on their faces!

Once again, while we waited, chairs were set out for us in the shade. I happened to sit in a chair that had a leather seat, and it reclined! It was very creative and downright comfortable. So I laid back and put my hat over my face. Even with the language barrier the people knew exactly what was going on and once again there was laughter all around.

When enough people had come for the meeting they had quite a reception for us with a long line of greeters. But the Pastor Responsible (a district superintendent) read a declaration of welcome first, including thanksgiving for those who first came with the gospel. This was not an unusual thing to hear as they are so thankful for the gospel and those who brought it. It was neat. When we finally got underway about 200 people came to the meeting, with some coming from 40 Km away on foot or bicycle (about 25 miles).

We did something unusual for the church here. We took our chairs off of the platform and put them on the floor. Protocol is important here and this may be unheard of. But we did it in order to be on the same level with them and to encourage a more interactive time. It seemed to work pretty well and once they warmed up they began to ask some very good questions about leadership. When we finished they fed us a meal and gave Kevin (as director of the African mission) a gift of a couple dozen eggs and two live chickens. It’s amazing how quite they are when held upside down. This is quite a generous gift for these people (just by comparison, a Caesarian birth costs about 2 or 3 chickens). So our driver strapped the chickens to the roof top carrier and off we went.

We wrapped up the day with singing happy anniversary to Martin. It was his 25^th anniversary and we wanted to help him celebrate. Someone cut up a cardboard box to make a card which we all signed and gave to him. Perhaps the only 25^th Anniversary card with “4 in 1 cleansing action” on the out side!