I have come to two conclusions over the past couple of weeks......the first is that I could NOT live on a submarine and the second is that the "twilight zone" does exist and it's here - in DRC.
What, you maybe asking, does a "submarine" have to do with living in Kinshasa and why can't she live on one?? Suffice it to say that I'm feeling a bit "claustrophobic". The past few weeks our world has shrunk to being pretty much confined to our part of town and at times even to just our home. To be fair, there have been a few days where we have wandered outside of our immediate neighborhood - but it's always after checking with different people as to what they are hearing, calling pastors and seeing what the situation is in their neighborhood, etc. To quote a very well used phrase from the state department, we are "being vigilant".
I was raised on a farm, I'm used to wide open spaces. Although Kinshasa does not provide those - it's a huge, sprawling city and Pat and I tend to run the length and breadth of it with various ministry activities as we have AG churches all over. Last weekend, after having spent several days in a row without even leaving our house, I did begin to reflect upon our brave soldiers who, for example, spend weeks or months at a time on a submarine. I think I'd go nuts!! So, in all seriousness, I salute our military!!
And what about the "twilight zone"? Sometimes politics here take on a very surreal, bizarre, "did that really just happen" scenario. As I write this, large "booms" are being heard as Joseph Kabila, who was the incumbent and won a very widely criticized election, is being sworn in. (the booms are "happy booms")......Meanwhile, in another part of town we have the main opposition leader, locked in his house and surrounded by military. On Sunday he had a fiery press conference where he reiterated the fact that HE was the president elect, that all should obey him (including the military....i.e. mutiny) and that there would be a "great reward" for anyone who brought him the current president alive. He also stated that his inauguration would be this Friday at the big soccer stadium.
So the bizarreness continues.....along with very real concerns about security and violence. I am so thankful that I don't have to know the bigger picture, that I don't have to know how things will turn out. I can rest assured that God is God......and the nations are in HIS hand.
In the meantime, we are thankful that, despite all the "doomsday violence fears", widespread violence has not occurred. I am not minimizing what has happened - there has been violence and people have lost there lives......for that we mourn. But the widespread "Congo is at war again" scenario so far has not happened. The Congolese are saying "The Christians prayed for peace and it rained".......this has been the wettest rainy season that we have seen here in years! And there is nothing like a good rainstorm, or an all day shower, to discourage even the most diehard of militants who want to protest or cause problems. Thank YOU for praying and please continue.
Reaching Planting Training Serving in Central Africa
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
A Parallel Universe
Sometimes it's hard to grasp the fact that Congo and the USA exist on the same planet. This last week or so we have felt like we live in a bizarre, parallel universe. On one hand I browse through facebook and read postings of friends in the U.S. - celebrating the holidays, Black Friday shopping sprees, Christmas concerts, parties, etc. Please don't get me wrong - I am NOT criticizing this. In fact, I love the Christmas season in the U.S. I know of some who do not appreciate the "commercialization" of the season and I do get that. But I guess since we only get to experience it once every 5 years (and it's 6 years this term) we tend to soak it all up.
But this year Christmas, in my Western sense anyway, has seemed far away. Our days and evenings have been filled with following election "talk". The actual vote took place on Nov. 28. Results were to be announced on Dec. 6....then delayed to Dec. 8th.....and finally actually announced the afternoon of Dec. 9th. Anticipating violence, the embassy has restricted (or at least advised limiting) circulation to a certain part of town. Other times we are advised to not leave our homes.......nothing like a few days of "lockdown" to put one in the Christmas spirit!!
The girls ended up not having school all last week. Homework and exercises were posted online so that they could continue with their studies. It's been a good system, especially considering that a number of students (at least 1/3 of the student population) have left the country due to fears of violence.
Right before voting day, we finally packed our "go bags".......it's always a bit of a weird moment to do that. You feel kind of "hysterical" and "over reactionary" doing it - but on the other hand, we are in a rather "edgy" moment and better safe than sorry. In about 20 years of missionary service this is only the third time we've packed go bags.......the first time was about 15 years ago when we lived in NE Zaire (now the DRC).......and we used them. In fact we evacuated from Isiro 15 years ago on Dec. 1st.....the circles of life are interesting, aren't they? The second time was in Togo when the long-term dictator died and his son was placed in power. Things were very drawn out and violent, but in the end we did not leave - didn't use the go bags. So this time they sit in Ben's bedroom (which has become somewhat of a "dumping ground" when we don't know where to put things)........Abby's favorite teddy bear sits merrily on top of the pile. I fully anticipate unpacking them in a few weeks, but in the meantime, we are ready....just in case.
On Dec. 6th, the first day that the results were to be announced, we decorated for Christmas - put up our tree, played Christmas carols, and laughed at how this Christmas season would definitely be in the memory books. One day my kids will have GREAT stories to tell their children. On the 8th, the second day that results were to be announced, we made and decorated Christmas cookies.
Despite the monotony of the days, they somehow pass.......we exercise, we bake, we clean, we play games, we watch DVD's. We are getting a bit tired of one another, haha, but morale remains high.
After the results were announced yesterday afternoon our particular neighborhood was filled with celebratory noise as those loyal to President Kabila, who won a second term, marched in the streets. But large parts of our city were silent - or were filled with more ominous noise as opposition supporters protested, burned tires, looted shops, and confronted security forces. Sporadic shooting occurred throughout the night. From the moment results were announced until at least tomorrow (Sunday) morning we are on lockdown, encouraged by the embassy to not leave our homes.
The opposition has refused to accept the results......their main candidate has named himself president elect and told his militant followers to "await my command". Right now, a "Merry Christmas" for Congo would be peace.....peace on earth and goodwill towards ALL men.
But this year Christmas, in my Western sense anyway, has seemed far away. Our days and evenings have been filled with following election "talk". The actual vote took place on Nov. 28. Results were to be announced on Dec. 6....then delayed to Dec. 8th.....and finally actually announced the afternoon of Dec. 9th. Anticipating violence, the embassy has restricted (or at least advised limiting) circulation to a certain part of town. Other times we are advised to not leave our homes.......nothing like a few days of "lockdown" to put one in the Christmas spirit!!
The girls ended up not having school all last week. Homework and exercises were posted online so that they could continue with their studies. It's been a good system, especially considering that a number of students (at least 1/3 of the student population) have left the country due to fears of violence.
Right before voting day, we finally packed our "go bags".......it's always a bit of a weird moment to do that. You feel kind of "hysterical" and "over reactionary" doing it - but on the other hand, we are in a rather "edgy" moment and better safe than sorry. In about 20 years of missionary service this is only the third time we've packed go bags.......the first time was about 15 years ago when we lived in NE Zaire (now the DRC).......and we used them. In fact we evacuated from Isiro 15 years ago on Dec. 1st.....the circles of life are interesting, aren't they? The second time was in Togo when the long-term dictator died and his son was placed in power. Things were very drawn out and violent, but in the end we did not leave - didn't use the go bags. So this time they sit in Ben's bedroom (which has become somewhat of a "dumping ground" when we don't know where to put things)........Abby's favorite teddy bear sits merrily on top of the pile. I fully anticipate unpacking them in a few weeks, but in the meantime, we are ready....just in case.
On Dec. 6th, the first day that the results were to be announced, we decorated for Christmas - put up our tree, played Christmas carols, and laughed at how this Christmas season would definitely be in the memory books. One day my kids will have GREAT stories to tell their children. On the 8th, the second day that results were to be announced, we made and decorated Christmas cookies.
Despite the monotony of the days, they somehow pass.......we exercise, we bake, we clean, we play games, we watch DVD's. We are getting a bit tired of one another, haha, but morale remains high.
After the results were announced yesterday afternoon our particular neighborhood was filled with celebratory noise as those loyal to President Kabila, who won a second term, marched in the streets. But large parts of our city were silent - or were filled with more ominous noise as opposition supporters protested, burned tires, looted shops, and confronted security forces. Sporadic shooting occurred throughout the night. From the moment results were announced until at least tomorrow (Sunday) morning we are on lockdown, encouraged by the embassy to not leave our homes.
The opposition has refused to accept the results......their main candidate has named himself president elect and told his militant followers to "await my command". Right now, a "Merry Christmas" for Congo would be peace.....peace on earth and goodwill towards ALL men.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
The Young and the Restless
These are uneasy times in DRC. The second ever democratic elections were held this past Monday (Nov. 28th) and now the country awaits the results........scheduled to be announced this coming Tues., Dec. 6 (supposedly after dark, possibly even around midnight). It feels like we've been in this "season" of elections forever. Around the end of Oct. many organizations in the city began limiting their travels, even around the city. Churches are on edge; if anyone is out after dark it's at a prayer meeting as they pray nightly for peace.
For us, it's a bit of a restless time - trying not to over process the whole election, who will win, what will happen when the winner is announced, etc. as well as needing to stay close to home for security reasons. The title of this blog is "The Young and the Restless".......so we're not so young anymore........but we are restless and it just seemed like a good title.
Everyday the tension seems to build a bit more. Polling stations were supposed to count their ballots the night that they closed and then publicly post the results......so people are slowly formulating their ideas of who won (keep in mind that this is a HUGE country and there were around 63,000 polling stations, so the best guesses have large gaps in votes counted). Every day we notice that there are fewer cars on the road - so far it's "business as usual" downtown, but workers have reported that it's getting harder and harder to find transportation as each day less people are willing to take their vehicles out.
The girls had a 6 days Thanksgiving weekend......normally it would have been 4 days, but last Monday and Tuesday were also announced as "no school" just in case of violence. Now they're back and we are hoping they can at last finish up this week. They will also have next Tues. and Wed. off of school - to see how the city reacts to the results. About 1/3 of the students have left the country, parents being fearful of what will happen.
When discussing how to arrange for 24/7 watchman duty for next week, during the time that the results would be announced, we decided to ask one of our workers if he could stay here, offering him a place to sleep, etc. Even with the tempting bonus salary that we were willing to pay, he politely declined. He explained that he had teen-age daughters and he needed to be home.....just in case. "You can't trust anyone right now", he said. "I have no idea if my neighbors will turn on me because of who I voted for." I appreciate his commitment to family - It's just hard to hear of the anticipated violence that is to come.
So we wait.......each day marking one less before we will at last know how this will turn out. In situations like this, it's not so much a question of "who will win".....it's more a question of "how will everyone react?"
For us, it's a bit of a restless time - trying not to over process the whole election, who will win, what will happen when the winner is announced, etc. as well as needing to stay close to home for security reasons. The title of this blog is "The Young and the Restless".......so we're not so young anymore........but we are restless and it just seemed like a good title.
Everyday the tension seems to build a bit more. Polling stations were supposed to count their ballots the night that they closed and then publicly post the results......so people are slowly formulating their ideas of who won (keep in mind that this is a HUGE country and there were around 63,000 polling stations, so the best guesses have large gaps in votes counted). Every day we notice that there are fewer cars on the road - so far it's "business as usual" downtown, but workers have reported that it's getting harder and harder to find transportation as each day less people are willing to take their vehicles out.
The girls had a 6 days Thanksgiving weekend......normally it would have been 4 days, but last Monday and Tuesday were also announced as "no school" just in case of violence. Now they're back and we are hoping they can at last finish up this week. They will also have next Tues. and Wed. off of school - to see how the city reacts to the results. About 1/3 of the students have left the country, parents being fearful of what will happen.
When discussing how to arrange for 24/7 watchman duty for next week, during the time that the results would be announced, we decided to ask one of our workers if he could stay here, offering him a place to sleep, etc. Even with the tempting bonus salary that we were willing to pay, he politely declined. He explained that he had teen-age daughters and he needed to be home.....just in case. "You can't trust anyone right now", he said. "I have no idea if my neighbors will turn on me because of who I voted for." I appreciate his commitment to family - It's just hard to hear of the anticipated violence that is to come.
So we wait.......each day marking one less before we will at last know how this will turn out. In situations like this, it's not so much a question of "who will win".....it's more a question of "how will everyone react?"
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