On Time After 24 Hours

May 26, beginning in Mampoko

After spending all day and part of the night on the river yesterday, and dancing till midnight, we still woke up a little before 5 am in the guest house.  Church was announced for 5 am, but we doubted this would happen, until the big lokole (talking drum) started thrumming exactly at 5.  We were called to worship!  Sleepily the whole village gathered, including choirs from other parishes that had come the day before to welcome us, and had stayed over to be certain to have a chance to sing for us.

After a very moving worship, where Bob share the importance of partnership for the Indiana Disciples as well as the Congolese Disciples, we walked to the primary and secondary schools.  Only one year ago, rebels had come through Mampoko on their way to Mbandaka.  The people fled into the forest, and the rebels burned many things in the village, including many of the school desks. Children in some classes now had to sit on the floor, because there is no easy way to cut down the giant trees and plane them into planks.
After breakfast, it was time to prepare to leave our new friends, which was hard.  We were given gifts - fruit, three chickens, a duck, three goats, and a crocodile (yes, crocodile - lunch the following day!).  All had to be loaded onto our already heavily-laden boat.  At 9 am, we set off.

We headed down river to Lolonga, and arrived after a few hours, only 24 hours later than planned.  As before, a great welcome awaited us.
We descended from the boat through arches and walked on cloths along a file of dancing people for several hundred yards to the half-completed church.  They had raised enough money for bricks to build half of the walls, but construction was on hold.  Our offering should help to move them along.


By the time we left Lolonga, we were short on water, so we were careful to share what little we had.  Bread, fresh fruit, and avocados tasted great for lunch.  The pineapple and oranges helped slake our thirst.
Although the day was very hot, travel was cooler than the day before because the captain had thoughtfully removed one of the forward windows in the small cabin, and a breeze filtered through past the goats when the boat was moving.  The most amazing thing was that in spite of all the difficulty along the way, everyone, pilgrims and Congolese alike, continued to joke, sing, and happily share stories throughout the whole return trip.

Late in the afternoon, storms gathered on the horizon, but we arrived at the guest house just at nightfall, with only a few drops of rain before we left the boat.  Tired and thirsty, we remained joyful and amazed at our good fortune to have a wonderful chance to experience the daily lives of our partners - to truly walk (and ride) beside them for a while.