Team DRC has officially made it! Some highlights from our 36 hours of travel:
Boarding our first flight to DC- we were checked in by a PLNU student’s mom- great way to start our trip.
During our 4 hour layover in DC, a fellow passenger sketched a candid shot of our team. Some were catching up on some much needed sleep and others were taking more time to get to know each other. It was great to accompany the LW Mozambique team all the way to Addis Ababa.
The process of getting through customs was seamless. Following this the retrieval of luggage came after much negotiation with Pastor Celestin and Gavin and other Pastors as our intermediaries. Some of the baggage claim tickets came up missing so we had to show passports again, inventory sheets (thanks Maira and Esteban) and describe the contents that would be seen first upon opening the bags in question. When all was said and done all baggage was in our possession.
We got a crash course in Congolese traffic on the way from the airport to the Church. The game Frogger had nothing on this course including goats, road blockages, a train, a small dust storm, cars tempting pedestrians, motorcycles and vice versa.
We were welcomed warmly by Pastor Celestin and many of our brothers and sisters from Lubumbashi at the airport- we can’t wait to show you the pictures and videos we took of their greeting. There must have been at least 50 people there to greet us with flags they had made, songs and dances. All of the girls on our team were in tears. The boys claimed it was the dust storm that brought them to tears. Esperanza just made us a delicious home cooked meal, including a Congolese favorite, casava bread! We definitely won’t go hungry here!! Tomorrow we will be going to Betsaida / Katuba Church to assist in building a school. We will be privileged to start by laying the cornerstone.Thank you again for your continued support and prayers- we’ll continue to keep you posted! Please pray that we will have strength for the day tomorrow and that our team dynamic continues to flourish and that we can remember all the new names and Swahili words we’ve learned.
Deron & Sam
