Talent at TASOK

Here a couple of fun pictures from a recent play here at school. It was really good!

Reaching out to the women of Kinshasa

Here are a few pictures of our Women's Ministry happenings. The third one is my team, the second is of my friend, Val, giving her testimony at a conference, and the first is a group of kids helping me get in the car. Enjoy!



(clockwise)Lucress, Sarah, me, Cesile and Angel. Pray for us! There are always trials along the way. Angel recently had a young nephew who lived with her drowned in a pond, and Cesile is very sick with malaria right now. Lucress has a terrible tooth problem. Between these trials and the challenge of transportation, it's hard to get done what our hearts long to do!

Every tribe, every tongue, every nation

We often sing a song at our International Church that quotes those verses talking about how one day we will all gather at Jesus' feet and worship Him. Being in an international church is interesting. Like all churches, it has its challenges, but we are loving it. People from all over the continent of Africa and many parts of the world come together each week to worship together through music and the teaching of God's Word. Recently we had a baby dedication and a baptism. Here are a few pictures of the day:

We're 3 for 3!!!!!

AHHHHH...the good old days.......Me and my Mini. I think I'm dreaming.....my Mini and me when Grace and I took our 25th anniversary roadtrip to Northern CA.NOW.....we get to drive these really cool Toyota's around. The problem.......Grace and I have been having hard luck on the cars that we can rent here at TASOK lately.....we are 3 for 3 in breakdowns the last 3 times we have taken one of the Toyota Corolla's out on the streets in Congo. As you can see, they rent us cars that are 30 years old....barely running, always breaking down, and really hurting machines. The first car overheated and we had to leave it on the side of the road and a fellow teacher kindly picked us up.

This picture is of our 2nd car......it communicates what happened...our tire slowly lost air and went flat. We stopped, looked inside of the trunk and saw........NO SPARE!!!! SO......we rolled home to TASOK on the rim of the tire for about a mile......we would never do this in the States and definitely not encourage anyone to try it but......

By the way...look at the lugs...missing one!!! No biggie!!!

The car we drove this morning to church (they are all white late 70's Toyota Corolla's....which must have been an awfully good year!!) OVERHEATED and was burning as we parked it in front of 2 of our administrators at TASOK. I vented that we were 3 for 3 and needed a little more reassurance that if we go out into the city, we need to feel more sure in the mechanical condition of the cars we rent. Pray for us and our car situation here.....we really do desire something that is dependable and more secure.......

More Photos from Kinshasa

These are some more photos of common scenes from the Congo. The photo above is what the streets looked like before and just after the elections and when the results of the election was to be announced. The UN presence has subsided lately. They are still here but pretty much in the background of Congolese life. Lots of these pictures were taken off the BBC web site and simply posted here. I wish I could say that I took them but can't. The pictures of the trash unfortunately is all too common and troublesome. The government needs to somehow get a handle on this problem and the conditions of the roads. The Congolese are not deserving of these unsanitary conditions. They communicate clearly how things are here in Kinshasa and hopefully some things that need to change here.

A Day On The Congo River

We met a very kind Belgian couple as we traveled back to Kinshasa, DRC from California who graciously invited us to spend the day with them on the Congo River. They picked us up and we went to their Yacht Club and got on a speed boat. We went up the Congo river for about 45 minutes.It was an interesting time as we felt so many different emotions throughout the day. First, the group (9 of us) spoke French during much of the day. They did interpret some of the conversation but it was still hard and somewhat frustrating. Secondly, the contrast between the have's and have not's was so vivid! As you can see in the photo's....the Congolese who are fishermen by trade live right on the water in huts that are above the ground/water on stilts. Their huts are open which means bugs must be a terrible presence. Here we were....having a picnic and water skiing among them as they lived and worked in their dug out canoes. Thirdly, I swam in the Congo River!!!! I know this sounds really stupid but I asked these folk if there were crocks, hippos, or poisonous snakes that I had to be aware of. I am a big chicken...but did it and lived to write it on the blog. Finally, just being with a group of people we didn't know and being in unfamiliar country was weird. It was a great experience and one that we're thankful for, but just so different than what we've been use to here in Kinshasa.So many things were awesome...the clean air, the boat rides, the great food, the nice company. It just was such a mix of emotions....having lots of great things enjoying such good stuff but going by these small villages on the river and seeing the Congolese people with so very little.

Back in the Saddle in Congo

Here are some pictures that I found on the BBC's web page that show Congo scenes. We are praying that things change drastically for the better here. The UN troops are still here and will be here till 2009 we are told. The picture of the women carrying water is very typical around here and apparantly the whole of Congo.

Going home (?)

Hard to call Kinshasa home yet, but we are in the Amsterdam airport on our way back. Our cheeks are tear-stained and our brains are fuzzy, but God is sustaining us as usual. Our journey has not been care-free so far (is it ever?) We got rear-ended on the 405, had to repack our boxes, and have another LONG layover, but all is well. We had such an amazing time back in California. We especially enjoyed our time with our kids and our Milo. We will post more pics later, but here is one, okay two, of Milo and our kids for now:). Milo just turned 5 months and makes us all smile like crazy and talk jibberish like never before. Kiki is awed at thinking we once talked that way to her.