Republic of Congo

When my brother arrived in Brazzaville, it signified the final days of my big adventure. The last days were some of the best, but hardest days of my life. I will just elaborate on a few highlights:

Malonda Lodge – The US Ambassador to the Congo told a colleague of mine about this amazing resort on the ocean in Pointe Noire. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined such a place could exist in the Congo. However, it does. Malonda Lodge is owed by a charming French couple who have put the last few years of their lives into building this resort. Each room is actually an individual hut with a real thatch roof. Each space is decorated uniquely with hand carved cabinets, doors, and furniture. The bedroom has a cabinet top made completely of one tree with no joints. The huts are located on a hill, overlooking a lagoon which is directly adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. The pool also shares this view. There will soon be (or may already be) a bar next to the pool. Each public space is architecturally shaped with an ocean theme; the restaurant is a turtle, the breakfast bar a shell, and the new clubhouse is a starfish. In this secluded spot, transportation to the resort is interesting. At the airport, all the taxi drivers knew the place, but few dared to offer the trip. Once we turned off the main road, we realized the problem. Our taxi bottomed out on the high sand which had collected in the center of the road. We almost had to get out to walk, but even facing this challenge was well worth it. As the place is far (45min taxi) from Pointe Noire, the resort restaurant is really the only option. Nevertheless, it was excellent, so no problem there. We tested the steak, the lobster, and the fresh fish. Overall, I would recommend Malonda Lodge to anyone who needs a break in the Congo, and I might even go back to Congo just for it some time. Search for it on the web.

Last Trip to Lefini – The last trip to Lefini was by far the best and most eventful. We ended up with a big group including Jamie, John, Leslie, Will, Jessie, Gebran, and myself. We stopped at another local dive for lunch, which was a cultural experience for Will and Jess. Upon arriving at camp, we got to see more babies than before and we had a great new forum for viewing them (although, nothing really tops them running around us illegally before). We also got to see some mosquito projects that they had set up around the reserve (yikes!). Afterwards, Jaime made a great New Orleans dinner. The darkness was impressive again. It was probably the most amazing stars I have ever seen and may ever see. The cabins were cooler than before. In the morning, we were told that the hippos might be on the move from the river. So, we went to track them (of course, as if enough people don’t get trampled by them each year). Unfortunately, tracks were all we saw… I was so disappointed. The river was too low for them to come back to it overnight, so we missed them by a day. Despite the hippo setback, the rest of the day was extraordinary. The drive out of the baby camp was breathtaking as before, and we think we saw a wild dog. Once we reach the boat dock to board for the trip to see the male silverback gorillas, we had to “suit” up. Will was the only one who got “assistance” with his vest. He ended up with two straps between his legs... hilarious! Once we made it onto the boat, we started up the river. On the way to the silverback feeding point, we saw the family of gorillas that had been released into the wild on the opposite side. The guide pulled the boat over so that we might get out, but the rangers got out first to check things out. All of the sudden, we see the rangers RUNNING back to the boat, telling us to push off of the bank. About the time the rangers jump in the boat, a huge gorilla jumps out of the brush and almost into the boat! We were always told that gorillas hate water, but this one was waist deep in it. There went our security. It was wild and intense. We were so close that he was literally staring into our eyes. We took phenomenal pictures at this distance. Apparently, this male had broken off from the family group and was pretty dangerous. Awesome. This experience made our next task of feeding the island gorillas seem pretty mundane. In the end, getting home turned out to be the biggest adventure. The drive back to the main road was completely sand and quite steep in parts. We attempted the biggest hill/dune and had to slide back down again. On the second try, Gebran hit the edge of the sand roadway bed and almost flipped us over. Now that would have been a story. Ray would have killed us (as it was his SUV).

Il Fignond – Another trip to Il Fignond brought another opportunity for entertainment. Getting to the island was no problem. We were able to remember the way from before. The kids at the boat dock were the same: playing, singing, and laughing. The boat across the river was smooth enough. The view was still stunning with the river and the mountain backdrop. On the island, though, Will and Jess were terrified. After exploring, they noticed an empty/abandoned tent not far from the main camp. They began to formulate theories about where these missing campers went. Basically, they scared themselves stupid and had to sleep inside. Will was still so scared that they were going to get murdered that he stayed up all night reading Harry Potter. Gebran and I had a good time actually camping (no bugs or allergic reactions this time).

Cookout – After returning from the camping excursion, the Sing N Share group threw Teresa and I a going away BBQ. It was great to see everyone, but sad to say goodbye. Gebran and Dana made a slideshow for me. Wow. How to measure a year in the life? Presents are nice. The SIL girls gave me a shirt, bag, and some placemats (which are all still sitting in the port in Pointe Noire with the rest of my stuff from Congo after 8 months). John and Caitlyn gave me a nativity. This is currently displayed in my new house, even though Christmas is gone. It was really hard to say goodbye to people who had become my family. There are no words to express how I felt that night, but I am confident I will see them all again one day (In fact, I have already seen the Beattys and the Littetons).

Final reflections –Congo was the rated the worst place on the planet to live by BBC. Yet, somehow, we lived it. It wasn’t pain free, but we managed to get by day by day. With the struggle, came great joy and immense personal growth. This can not be summed up on a blog. I just hope I left it better than I found it for the sake of my Savior God.

Love, Allie

Freelance is now officially incorporated and registered with the IRS (non-profit status pending). I will write more later about the progress, but we already have a board of directors and I hope to begin initial fundraising efforts this summer. We have a website, but it is under construction. Pardon the progress (haha, I always wanted to say that). www.freelanceministries.com

I just wanted to give quick updates on the Congo projects:

Orphanage Update – A church in the US agreed to help collect funds for the orphanage. We were not able to secure the property owed by Mama Dorcas for the orphanage, as it had been designated by the President as a wildlife or tree reserve area. However, the team was able to help find a compound for the orphanage to purchase. Fundraising then began with the goal of about $60k-$70k. But they would not be afforded the time to raise the funds before they would get the eviction notice from their current landlord. In order to move into the new place without purchasing it, they needed to raise 6 months worth of rent in advance. God made a way for this. Now, we have 6 more months to raise the remainder. There is currently about $12,000 in the House of Hope account, so we have a ways to go. Please donate if you feel led to do so. I will post the link later.

Makana Housing Project – We had a groundbreaking with the DCM and the director of IPHD in Makana. Gebran and I laid out the approximate location for the first house with a tape measure, rebar stakes, string, and a carpenter square. Gebran and I both have degrees in AE (African engineering). After I left, construction actually started on some of the houses. I was getting periodic updates, but I have not heard anything in a while. I know that at least one home is complete. I am sad to report that one of our team members passed away in Kinshasa, in addition to the passing of Millard Fuller. However, I hope that the work will go on as they both spent their lives dedicated to making a difference.

I have some very interesting developments to share, but first I would like to go back and recap the past few months. The last time I wrote, eMi was coming to help with the Makana Village Housing Project. I will pick up from there.

EMI came. They were such a blessing and an encouragement to all of us here. The trip was God ordained like nothing I could ever imagine. 1. The trip happened over a holiday weekend in Congo, so I was able to spend more time working with the team than originally expected (awesome timing). 2. I was not sure how I was going to provide all the meals for the team, but they were provided. Many of the missionary families and some of the Embassy guys volunteered to host the team for dinners. There were also many pot luck dinners, including one for Easter Sunday. For lunch, I was given an allowance to buy food from Fuller Center. The team ate all this food in 3 days. I supplemented with some of my own savings, but this wasn’t enough. Out of the blue (and my distressful prayers) one of the mission families gave me money. What is wrong/right with this picture? 3. I already told you about the housing that was provided because of the family that was on a retreat in South Africa. 4. I think I also mentioned about the transportation that was provided because of a colleague who was on vacation during this period. Also in regards to transportation, the team evaded several disasters as God put people in the right place at the right time. For example, my car had a flat tire on the way to the village and so Gebran pulled over into a gas station. He called his work driver to come pick up the team. The driver (with the large van) said “Chief, why are you calling me? I am standing right behind you.” 5. This trip was planned during rainy season. During rainy season, it RAINS like every day. The team was here for 10 days with no rain during working hours. It did not start raining until after they had finished their final presentation. This is very important because the teams main objective was a site survey. 6. The team was able to accomplish every task set out for them, which in the beginning seemed impossible and overwhelming. 7. The shipment of supplies for the orphanage showed up in a container the day before the team was scheduled to visit the orphanage. We were able to use the team to deliver all of the items. The orphanage mother was in tears when she saw everything we brought (thanks to my work people in Birmingham!).

While the team was here, we visited a CMA church where a friend of mine is the pastor. It was so much fun. The church was full of life. It was the first time I introduced myself in French. I was excited that they actually understood what I said. After church, I ate my first real Congolese meal. It was pretty good.

The Makana project is still moving forward, although not with the same momentum as after the team had just left. We broke ground on the first house a few weeks ago. More and more construction materials are being delivered to the village. However, we are waiting on some plan revisions to be approved by the Minister of Construction. Once we get this, we will be back in full force again.

Part of the dulled momentum was due to my recent, much needed vacation. I was able to meet my parents in Spain for a week. We had a blast. Spending time with them was great. Plus, I love Spanish food. I did a lot of shopping, too. After my parents left, a friend from home met me in Spain (after some major drama with her train tickets leaving us to believe she was abducted). We traveled up the Mediterranean coast to Italy. We met so many interesting people and experienced so much culture in the span of a week. Italy was the best. I will always favor Cinque Terra and the Portofino coast over the rest of Europe. We extended our stay in Italy and skipped the majority of Paris. Although, we had to make it back to Paris in order to catch our flights out. Well, all the trains were booked from Milan to Paris on the day we needed to travel because we ended up having to travel on a holiday weekend. It was horrible. We had to train hop (starting at 7am) all the way from Italy to Paris. We were very scared that we would not make it in time to catch my flight out. We ended up making it to our hotel in Paris at about 9pm at night, so I was able to catch my flight the following day back to Congo with plenty of time. It was such a fast trip. Oh, I bought a new cell phone because mine got stolen in Congo. It is such a neat phone. It can hold (and utilize) two sim cards at one time. It is perfect for my situation. Although, all my numbers are gone. So don’t be surprised if I don’t call you when I am home in August. I have no numbers.

Wow, so when I got back from vacation I met this young couple at the Bill’s house. I went to introduce myself, but they already knew me. Apparently, my blog is being read. Who knew? They are here working for the outreach part of CMA. Turns out they had read about the Bill’s on my site. How crazy they were coming to actually work with them.

Their arrival was also very timely. We found out that the orphanage we donated all of our stuff to was sold. A group of us who are involved with the orphanage got together to decide what we should do. The new owner wants the orphanage to move, but is allowing them to stay temporarily. We decided that we are going to build a new orphanage for these kids. However, we were struggling as to how we were going to raise tax deductible funds and who was going to manage the accountability of the funds. Then, BAM, these people showed up. Perfect timing. I will have to update more about this project later.

In other random news:

Gebran and I lead our Sunday night service a couple weeks ago. It was fun. I lead music and Gebran gave the message. This is the first time we have lead in a year of going to the service. Guess we haven’t really been pulling our weight. Oh well.

Two of our friends are in an African choir. We went to see them in concert. It was packed out. They were really good, but they blew out the power after the first song. Thankfully, there was an electrical engineer in the house to save the day.

Our main grocery store in town got bought out by the Casino chain. It is so exciting. The meat and cheese counter looks a little less sketchy now. And they have real dog food. Charlie is a happy dog. And they have feta cheese. Enough said.

I bought an African dress a while back, but have not had any chance to wear it. So, I hosted an “African Queen Party”. Well, my gas on my stove went out and I had to cook on two side by side electric grills. It was hilarious. I had 10 people at my house and had to cook on a little electric grill. It took me 2 hours to stir fry one bowl full of chicken and veggies. We didn’t eat until 9pm. We had the best intentions of watching the movie, but didn’t quite make it. Also, I made a cake but could not cook it. I ended up cooking it later in the microwave. Never would have thought that was possible, but desperate times…

I have been reading a really good book by CS Lewis called Mere Christianity. It is not really “mere” in any way, but definitely worth reading. The idea is that he is describing the basics of Christianity. Although, it is actually very deep and thought provoking. It is also interesting because it was a series of radio shows done during WWII.

On the health front, I am feeling much better. My vision is still blurry at times, but my eyes are no longer read or swollen. For those who don’t know, I had pink eye for 3 weeks straight. My eyes were swollen shut for many of those days. I couldn’t work because I couldn’t see my computer screen. I wore my big sunglasses everyday and our site superintendent called me “Hollywood”.

This week is the 4th of July, so there are many parties. We have a VIP party on the 3rd at a nice hotel in town. I finally get to wear another of those fancy dresses I brought. On the 4th we are having a BBQ with all the Americans in town. Should be a fun week overall.

In a couple weeks, my brother and his girlfriend are coming to visit. We are going to try to make trips to the gorilla reserve and the rainforest. Should be action packed. I think they are both a little nervous about coming.

I guess some pretty big news is that I am coming home on August 6th. I was expecting to come home for a bit after this job, but wasn’t expecting any thing this sudden. I am going back to the home office work on a new project start-up. MORAL OF THE STORY IS THAT I WILL SEE YOU ALL SOON.

Thanks for reading and putting up with my long periods of silence. I will try to write at least one more time from Congo.

Love to all,
Allie

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