Samaritan's Purse Okalasi, Gabon

Do you remember my blog on the Okalasi church? It's the one that started small, but then has grown due to the Samaritan's Purse Christmas Shoeboxes. We took some teams out there this past summer and helped them start on the foundation for the church. There were a few kids that came everyday and helped us... Seraphin and Oliver are two of those kids. We went there this past Sunday for church with Pastor Jean Marc (the man who is in charge of the Samaritan's Purse program for Gabon - yeah we know all the important people :) Well it turns out he was going to give some kids in the church certificates for participating in the Mailbox Club.
The Mailbox club is ""through-the-mail" Bible lessons, stories, and games as a tool for spiritual teaching and encouragement". I had never heard of them but apparently they are partnering with "Sam's Purse". Well as I found out these kids have done 100 lessons to be able to get these certificates - WOW you say... well that's not even the impressive part! The two children who I mentioned before can't read so they would take their lessons home and have their parents help them with them!!! I was so impressed and proud of my boys!! Please continue to pray for these two! That God would continue to grow in them and give them a desire to know Him! To me this is one of the true success stories of the Shoebox program, not just giving kids gifts, but teaching them about a God who loves them!!

A thief

So tonight we went to Mama Jeanine's house for dinner, but we had to park around the corner because the bus wouldn't make it down their hill. When we came back out to the bus there was a small crowd gathered around the back of the bus. We soon found out that there was a teenager who was trying to break into the vehicle to get our soccer ball. Apparently he was not successful and was caught in the act. When we got there the people told us what he was trying to do and handed him over to Yoann (Pastor Jean Marc's son) for him to take him back to the house. I don't know what happened to him back at the house, but the social justice system was really neat to see in action. You can't call 911 here and expect police to show up. Tim has told us before that if a thief tries to run people will give him the beat down, so I'm guessing that's why the kid hung around. Don't worry Tim, the vehicle is good. It was that back window that doesn't shut well.

Times they are a changin'

(Old picture of Paul - our guard and Titus - our dog who is now too big to pick up)

So I've realized that I'm posting news from over a month ago and you might want to hear what is going on now, sorry. But I will be continuing with Dad's trip later.

Just so you know my schedule... and what I/we do in a normal week:

Sunday - Church (usually get back around 1pm or 2pm), then rest the rest of the day

Monday - Prep for my English class

Tuesday - usually shopping in the morning and English class in the afternoon

Wednesday - Mobile clinic in the morning, French class at 1pm, Hope House at 3pm, then to the Straws for dinner, expatriate youth group/adult bible study

Thursday - English class in the afternoon

Friday - Mobile clinic in the morning, French class at 1pm

Saturday - JPC (Youth group at my church) in the afternoon

So things have been normal lately, with some slight modifications... We had the Kellys up from Bongolo for a couple weeks hanging out with us. We just got a small team in last night. It is a PA who has been here before and his daughter and one of her friends.

But the really big news is that Tim & Meredith are leaving to go home for 3 months this Sunday! It will be so wierd living here without T&M! Life will definitely change, I don't think I really realize how much I depend on them, but I have a scary feeling I'm about to find out!

Future plans: I also am working on starting level 2 English class, hopefully in December. And there is some talk about starting up a English club where people can come and just talk.

Part trois (3)

Wednesday: Leanne’s Birthday. Meredith had made some cinnamon bread! And had a bunch of presents sitting on the breakfast table. Leanne got sung to that morning as she opened presents, a few of which came from home, Christie, Angie, and Dad.
It was great to be with her for her birthday. Not saying which one!! (Thank you Dad!!) That morning we all went to work at a traveling health clinic that the church sponsors. Leanne told me that I was going to take blood pressure measurements. I was all ready to use the stethoscope and everything, but luckily for the patients it was an automated commercial cuff!! Saw about 30 patients in a make shift clinic setting where the head of the village let us set up in a central meeting building. Here I met Mama Jeanine for the second time. She had been one of Leanne’s students, but was really the person in charge of the health clinic. I met a few others with the clinic and another “character”, Joseph. (See a picture of the best buds in "Dad's trip (first two days)") Leanne was introducing me as “papa” so when I reached to shake Joseph’s hand he just grabbed mine and gave me a big hug. [by the way Dad - they said to say "bonjour" yesterday] From that point on he and I were cutting up quite a bit even though I couldn’t understand a word of his French. Later I found him in Leanne’s English class, and at about every event that I went to!
Tim had dropped us off at the clinic and came back later to pick us up to go back to the house for lunch. Later that afternoon we went to the “orphanage” to work with the kids for a couple of hours. Leanne had brought plenty of paper and crayons so most of them did some amazing drawings. (This was the first time we had done this and I was amazed at how engrossed they were, but they really don't get to color much - if at all, so they loved it!) Josh went with some of the older boys and played soccer in the front yard.
Leanne had chosen (I think with a little help from me) to go to the Lebanese restaurant in town for her birthday dinner. After dinner we all went back to Steve and Elise Straw’s place for birthday cake, that Meredith had made late the previous night. Steve is the missionary pilot awaiting a newly refurbished plane to carry patients to and from the Bongolo hospital. It costs about $120 to get cataracts taken off both eyes at Bongolo hospital, but in Libreville, the capital of the country, it costs about $1500 per eye.

Part deux (2)

Monday evening: Saw Leanne for the first time since March 23 when we said our goodbyes at the RDU airport. Some young fellow that I thought was with Leanne’s group of about 10 there at the airport came up and started to give me a hard time. I poked him in the tummy playfully and as it turns out he and Leanne did know each other, but he was a Marine guard at the US Embassy. Not the right guy to poke in the stomach!! Met Tim and Meredith Brokopp, the folks in charge of the mission’s office in Libreville where I was going to be staying. Really nice young couple. Afterwards I am still amazed at the efforts that these two put in each day, especially Meredith, who was putting together meals for 6 people everyday and making Leanne’s goodies for her birthday and later feeding the 10 people that were there after our trip out and back to the Bongolo Hospital!! And then in the summer months feeding up to 40 people!!
Also met Anna, a college student who is in Libreville for a semester, and Josh who is planning on staying at least a year.
Flew to Gabon on commercial airlines, Air Canada and Lufthansa, both serve free drinks which include beer and wine. Military space-a did not work out at all. I tried sitting in the Charleston AFB airport for a few hours on the Tuesday before I really left, but the flight was not carrying any passangers, as we were told after 4 hours of waiting. Space-A is good if you have time to sit around in airports not doing anything. As one gets older time becomes much more precious, so I don’t like the idea of sitting...not that I ever did!
Tuesday: Breakfast as with all meals had French bread. That and manioc were the staples of the country, at least it seemed that way today!

Watched and participated in Leanne's English class to 6 Gabonese women. Leanne is teaching by showing objects, not with textbook per se, but with text and everyday objects that one would be encountered.
Her French seems to be pretty good. During the course it was pouring rain for about 4 hours at about 2 inches per hour. The house has tin roofs on the front and back porch so it is REALLY noisy!!! I’m sure her voice went up a few decibels.

His side of the story

What you all have been waiting for... ok maybe just me. But it really is neat to hear about his experience from his point of view...
(This will be put into short chunks b/c of internet issues)

Prologue:
I went to Gabon to see how Daddy’s “little girl” was doing. I needed to see that she was OK in her new adventure. I can’t remember missing one of her birthdays and I wanted to be there for that even though I was missing Sandy’s surprise birthday party that I found out about on the day (Sandy’s Birthday), I was leaving. It is really amazing what experiences one can have traveling to a far away birthday party. But the most moving experience, for me at least, was the realization that I love Leanne very much and miss her and that I love Sandy very much and missed her if just for 17 days. And in return I realized that I was loved by both these wonderful women. I told Meredith this, during my stay there, that I have been blessed! I guess you don’t realize what is happening until you venture out of your own little cocoon and take that “Road Less Traveled”. And boy was this road less traveled! I think that these trips/ventures are really necessary as you travel though life to get to know what you have (and appreciate that) and what you may not have and especially what many others do not have. I don’t just mean material things, but the love, health, time, and friendships to enjoy this trip (life) we are all involved in.

I felt that the Gabonese people had the love, the time, and especially the friendships to enjoy their lives, but lacked many of the material things that may or may not really enrich their lives.

Internet Issues

Ok so I think we have finally figured out a pattern, the internet is off during the day but comes on around 11pm and goes off sometime in the morning. One of these days I will wake up early and finish some blogging. Well I'm going to post this quick since it is already 8:10am and I'm not sure what time it quits. Love you!!

Patience

Do you ever feel like you are just waiting and waiting for something? Welcome to Africa!
So I'm working on the rest of my dad's trip blog, but the pictures won't load! Sorry, will try another day, please be patient!
Thank you!

Dad's trip (2nd installment)

So on dad's second day here we headed down to Bongolo (an 8-10hr drive). He did well for being couped up in a van for most of that time (we had a few stops). One of the stops was at the Equator for pictures... here is Dad and I in front of the sign.

This is a picture we snapped on the way down. You can get some great sky pictures here in Gabon... there is always a cloud somewhere and usually there is a spectacular picture along with them.

We had a good time in Bongolo just hanging out mostly. We took a walk down to the river. The river is where Bongolo hospital gets their water and their power. Actually the power plant there gives power to a few "cities" in southern Gabon.

Lisa graciously gave us a tour of the hospital.