Mar 2008

I am just laying here with Charlie, reflecting on life in this crazy place. This past week was action packed. Villa Washington got a basketball goal. I am SO happy! Last week, Gebran and I played one night and we also organized a game of 3-on-3. It was great. I still have my shot which is a miracle after all these years. Dribbling is a slight challenge because the “court” is marble pavers and the joints make the ball bounce in all directions. I hope to play again this week. If I can’t find anyone, I’ll just go shoot by myself. I completely forgot that today is selection Sunday. I need to put my bracket together before Wednesday. Go SEC!

We got a new restaurant in Brazzaville. It is called the Corsica Tavern, because the owners are from Corsica. It is interesting. The food is good, but the restaurant is not quite finished. Sound echoes off the walls because they don’t have anything hung on the walls yet. They do not have any light fixtures yet either. However, I go there for the pizza. They have a ham pizza to which I add pineapple. It is so delicious. My mouth is watering as I type. I have half a pizza in the fridge now.

In other news, our friends finally got into their house. They had everyone over last night for Japanese chicken curry. It was really good. They got a huge Easter shipment from the US, so we all split a big chocolate egg for post-dessert. Real dessert was pineapple casserole. My mom puts cheese in hers, but they did not. It was still good though.

I had everyone over today for a Mexican lunch. I used all my remaining rice and chicken packets, but it was worth it. I made salsa chicken with corn and green peppers, guacamole, beans, and spicy rice with stewed tomatoes. We also had salsa that I found at a store here, cheese and diced tomatoes for additives. Someone from the home office sent me a taco packet awhile back, so we had hard taco shells. I used pita bread for makeshift burritos. It turned out really well. I have one plate left that I intend to eat tomorrow.

After lunch, we had a company luncheon. For reaching our work milestone, we had a big party for all the workers at the Rapids. Can you imagine 250+ people in one place? It was perfect though. The Rapids is an outdoor restaurant on the Congo River, where the rapids start. They had so many tables set up with plastic chairs. Everyone came. They all wanted pictures. I can’t wait to see what ended up on film. It is like when you give out plastic cameras at a wedding, you never know what you will end up with. I believe someone was taking video as well. My house staff is now technically employed by the company for insurance reasons, so they were invited. It was nice to see them away from my home. I will post pictures of them when I load them to my computer. Notice how I told you that I served lunch at my house, then went to the “luncheon”. I was scared to eat at the Rapids… You never see white people eating at Rapids. I took that as a sign.

I have one week until the eMi mission team comes here to help us with the Fuller Housing project. They are gong to survey the village, help us plan the new village layout, and design a water supply system. All I can say is that God is amazing. I am still in awe of how this all came together for his glory. Last month, we had no shot of getting our project approved before the summer. Three weeks ago, we had no shot to get a team together in such a short time. Last week, I had no place for the team to stay and no transport. Now, every need has been provided for. I wrote about the opportunity to work on the village housing project on my blog back in the summer of last year. Now, we are fully committed to this effort and I am leading the way into uncharted waters. Thankfully, I am not alone. Christ is in front, dragging me along. I am so glad that we are meeting physical needs, because I fully believe that the message of Christ is not as affective with hungry/homeless people. I pray that through these works, the villagers may see and know the love of God. Faith without works is dead, and vice versa. Please pray that team is able to accomplish their goals this week, and also pray for strength for me. I am taking some time off work, but it will still be a stressful time. If anyone would like to partner with us in this ministry, please email me and I can send the address for Fuller Center headquarters in GA. I may send out fundraising letters so people will have the opportunity to participate. I will keep everyone updated with our progress on the blog.

My real job is going well. I may be back in Birmingham by December. Keith and Maria know what that means…We are all working hard to make it happen.

Happy Palm Sunday to all!
Love,
Allison/Al/Allie