A Two-Star Journal
While Lisa and I were in the DRC in this past October and November, I kept a “journal” of some of the significant things we’ve been up to.
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October 16, 2024
There’s a church in "town" that’s been asking Aimable (my ministry partner) and I to visit them. “Town” is where the "rougher" and somewhat less polished people work and live. Tribes other than the main tribe attend this church, but the main tribe is also represented at this church by the few prostitutes that attend as they aren’t readily welcomed at the other churches. After more and more of the prostitutes arrived (they all sat near one another), and as I finally figured out who they were, I decreased my smiling in their direction. In spite of this, the prostitutes were constantly trying to catch my eye during the service as I sat upfront on the platform facing the congregation… awkward!
There were a lot of soldiers in attendance; one soldier said it was his first time in a church. In the churches in our area, most of the services (minimum three hours) have many choirs (children, youth, young adults, mamas, older mamas, and male choirs will each lead one or more hymns). These choirs take up most of the time of the services. This service also had a soldier choir!
The music was great! Rather than beating a big drum, there was a drummer playing on a kit/trap set, and the "band" also had a bassist. The pastor, a super high energy guy, pointed to the bassist, then patted his gut to show me that he was feeling the bass in his gut/body.
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October 23, 2024
This past Saturday, Aimable and I visited the local school where we teach the Bible and present the Gospel. First up were the 200+ primary students; this was the first time for us to show them the Jesus Video and teach from it since our projector broke last October. These young kids sat in awe for an hour as they watched the video, and they responded very well to our teaching and our questions. I teach at pretty much the same level as I do to the secondary students because I think kids are smart, but if they don’t catch everything, they will next year when we repeat the program.
Minutes later, the primary students were gone, and the room was filled with 100+ secondary students. Our hour with these students this week was taken by our handing out Bibles to all the new students who had graduated from primary school up to secondary school (Jr. High/Sr. High), or to students who were new to the school. 49 students received a Bible, as well as a handful of the teachers. I would guess that other than “our” 17 older orphans, who we gave Bibles to a couple of years ago, the students at this secondary school who have received a Bible from us over these past three years are the only kids their age in our region to have Bibles.
A big bonus is that we also have the attention of five or more teachers during each teaching session, and these teachers are just as excited as the kids to view and learn about the Bible and the Gospel. These 10 or so teachers always ask some great questions, and their questions give Aimable and I great insight to what is and isn’t being taught in the churches, and how the local culture views Biblical concepts.
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October 29, 2024
We were visited today by a group of children from our neighboring school. The teachers like to use our garden to teach the children about the “unusual” vegetables that we grow, and as a place for the students to expand their French vocabulary.
The teacher and the students then came over to look at one of our two main gardens and ask some questions of Ruzisana, who is both our day guard and one of our garden caretakers.
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November 2, 2024
Lisa always has at least one project in the development stages. One such project has Lisa working with Moise, 29, a local guy who just graduated from med school. Dr Moise wants to continue schooling and become a gynecologist, so our friend Lazare suggested that Moise come back to Minembwe and practice for a while at the university's clinic and at the local hospital while Moise searches for how to fund his future schooling.
Propelled by the fact that many girls drop out of school because of a lack of feminine hygiene products, we have been seeking the right opportunity to finish distributing 100+ packets containing washable/reusable feminine protection cloths that were sewn for us by friends in the U.S. Now that we have Dr. Moise here in Minembwe, Lisa had Moise find a local female nurse that Moise could work with to educate the older girls and young women regarding feminine hygiene and other related health and medical issues; Moise recruited Nurse Beatrice. Lisa decided to test the program by having Moise and Beatrice meet with the older orphan girls to share this medical information and distribute the sanitary cloth kits. The girls asked important questions for over two hours and were so relieved to get the answers in a practical but medical manner. It was a rousing success, so Moise and Beatrice set their sights on a nearby secondary school, and once again it was a success, so they repeated that program again at the secondary school next door to us at the university.
Word travels quickly here and many schools are interested in this program. Lisa is trying to regionally hunt down similar fabric/material used to make these reusable pads. Two of the older orphan girls are now trained as seamstresses, and we would like to help them establish a business making these cloth/kits. If all goes well, then Dr. Moise and Beatrice can expand their training to the rest of the region.
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November 5, 2024
Lisa and I need to fly out of Minembwe by December 10 to renew our seven-month multiple-entry visa. Just to clarify, last spring we got our three-year visas TO BE IN the DRC, but for us to be able to leave the DRC and then return to the DRC during those three years of our visa, we need a separate “Exit” visa that only lasts seven months... that’s Congo! Since our daughter Demerey and her husband Jamison are flying to the neighboring country of Burundi on December 24 to spend ten days with us and the Ostranders, Lisa and I will get the “Exit” visa in the city of Bukavu and then head to Burundi so we can all be together for the holidays. Lisa and I will return, LORD willing, to Minembwe by the end of January.
…Well, we just got news from the pilot/owner of the plane that he’s only flying into Minembwe a couple more times between now and December 10, so Lisa and I will have to change our plans and leave Minembwe on the next flight, which is about two to three weeks earlier than we had planned. We could try to wait for the second flight, but up here, sometimes there is no second flight.
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November 11, 2024
After more than a year of trying to make this work, today Aimable and I begin a new Bible teaching program at a new school. As with the other school, we’ll begin by using the Jesus Film.
I greeted the kids first in English, then in their language. Their not used to a muzungu (non-African ) speaking their language, so they had no idea I had just tried to say “Good morning.” Aimable immediately told set them I greeted them with “good morning” and they then replied in kind.
If it ain’t gunfire it’s something else.
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November 12, 2024
Saturday and Sunday were great days here in Minembwe. On Saturday, Aimable and I went to the Muzinda village school to teach via the Jesus Film. This video is with the primary school students. After we finished with them, we taught the secondary school students.
On Sunday, Aimable and I had the opportunity to teach at another church in "town." Lisa and I were at this church when they launched many years ago, and the pastor brought this up on Sunday, saying that I was among the first members of the church—I let that comment slide with a smile.
I had to stop the video pan of the congregation before I got to the men's section because some of the men's noses would have been inches away from my lens.
Same church. When you want to buy marginal sound equipment for your church, you can always count on shopping at the 2-Star Shop. Five minutes after I took this photo and sent it to my family with the above caption, the sound board at the church popped loudly and then emitted a bunch of smoke... so much smoke that it looked like a skit that you might see on TV, like on the Muppet Show.
On the walk home, Aimable and I once again passed the UN crane truck. Back in April, when the UN Peacekeepers pulled out of our area, they gave this crane truck to the local DRC army. The following day, the truck broke down right here, and here it has sat for SEVEN MONTHS!
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November 13, 2024
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November 14, 2024
We bought some wood for a building project, and it came bundled and tied with strips of mosquito netting. We crack up when we hear of USAID providing mosquito netting for areas like here that don’t need it; we’ve asked the locals and they say that it is only used here as rope.
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November 16, 2024
Aimable and I soaking up the sun's rays reflecting off “Lake Minembwe” AKA one of the tubs we use to collect water when we go without rain, but like to flush our toilets.
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November 17, 2024
Lisa and I leave here tomorrow if the plane comes (it didn't come today) to get our multiple entry visas renewed in Bukavu. We then head from Bukavu to Bujumbura, and will also apply for Burundian visas (just in case there's long term issues in the DRC). Jamison and Demerey come to Burundi on December 24 for 10 days, then Lisa and I will attempt to make our way back up here in January.
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November 18, 2024
At 7:42 this morning, Lisa received a text from the pilot saying that he was cancelling the flight again for today because the passengers (down mountain in Bukavu) hadn't shown up yet and they were already 45 minutes late. Over the course of the next 75 minutes, Lisa and the pilot were working on a “compensation” plan for the pilot to fly up to here anyway without the inbound passengers when suddenly the vanload of passengers finally arrived at the Bukavu airport two hours late. Lo and behold, the pilot showed up here and at 10:15 am it was “wheels up” and we were on our way.
Flying out of here this late in the morning has the added risk of bad weather and sure enough, that was the roughest flight we have ever been on. Several times the “stress” signal went off in the little plane loaded with 16 passengers and cargo as it was pushed beyond its ability to stay in the air. A good number of the passengers were puking, including the woman in the row ahead of us. I told Lisa “Lift your feet” as a river of puke headed her way. We are now in the city of Bukavu, where tomorrow begins the process of trying to renew our seven-month DRC exit visa.
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November 19, 2024
We got our visas today; it’s amazing what can get done when you pave the way with a little “dough”-re-mi. We'll cross over into Rwanda tomorrow and will stay there in Kamembe until the next available flight to Bujumbura, which is on Tuesday, November 26.
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November 25, 2024
Not sure what the fascination is here in Eastern Africa with labeling yourself as “Two-star.”
We would rate this establishment much higher except for the minimal amount of ketchup that they give you and its presentation when it’s served to you.
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November 26, 2024
We head to Bujumbura today! Going to miss our “two-star” guesthouse with its “five-star” view and relaxing atmosphere. Actually, pretty much everything about this simple guesthouse is wonderful.
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That’s the end of the journal. I apologize for not getting photos of the Next Step program (the home for the three older orphan boys) or photos of the 31 orphans at the other home, but they are all doing well despite the fighting that’s all around them. I also didn’t have any photos of the five orphans who are away at university; three are doing well despite the somewhat cloudy political situation in their area of the DRC, and the other two are doing well here in Bujumbura, Burundi.
Editors Note on June 29, 2026 : Little did we know that when Lisa and I flew out of our beloved area on November 18, 2024, that we were on the last passenger plane to fly to or from there until even today.
Somehow!
Michael