The land of Congo

Well, much has happened in the last few days. We left Nairobi and got on a Kenya Air Boeing 737 and flew to Entebbe, Uganda. We were met at the airport and waited about an hour for the MAF flight to arrive. We then met Lary Streitzel who we are staying with in Bunia and he flew, well Caleb flew (from the copilots seat) from Entebbe to Bunia, DRC. We have been doing very well here. Bunia is a major center for UN operations in Congo, as they try to keep peace and calm with the rebel activity going on. There has been a lot of activity north of us, and a lot of troops have been flying out to help up there. Bunia seems pretty safe with all the UN support. We have been pretty busy already in our time here. Here are a few snipits of some that has gone on:

Caleb rode along in the Cessna Caravan one day as it traveled to a number of stops to pick up people, cargo, and even shuttling fuel (since fuel is not available every airstrip). It was a lot of fun and a lot of work loading and unloading the airplane!

Caleb and Emily both went with Sheryl, Lary's wife, to two schools for orphans. We spent the morning visiting each classroom and watching them learn and the teacher's teach. We didn't understand much since everyone spoke Swahili and they were being taught french. The children are taught the gospel in school and they stress that God is the one who provides and cares for them not the school.

It was evident that God was answering prayer during the customs process getting here. The only time our bags were even opened was leaving Nairobi. We were bringing in a pressurized canister about 3 feet long and 12 inches in diameter and we were a little apprehensive about getting it through customs. The one time they did open our bag (1 bag) it was the other duffle bag we had and they asked if there was anything metal in there, the only thing was our camera so it was ok, all the while the bag right behind it held that big metal cannister! Praise God.

Thank you to all who are praying for us. We feel very blessed. We are here in DRC for a few weeks and then the plan is to take a trip back to Uganda when maintenance comes due on the caravan and spend a week there for the 100 hour inspection. The plan is that both of us will go along with Lary and Sheryl to visit and get a feel for what Uganda is like. There are also plans for spending some time in Nebobongo, DRC for more of an "out in the sticks" experience.

"Let the nations be glad and sing for joy..." PS 67:4