more tea, please

I am in Faradje, DRC (The Democratic Republic of Congo). We’ve only been here three days, but it feels like a week has passed. It really is a little world all of its own. Gorgeous and green, the forests are scattered between small rivers and hilltop savannas. We walked through an IDP (internally displaced persons) camp yesterday evening, asking families how they’ve come, why they’ve come, what are their current challenges. It is hot here. The humid high temps that suck all life out of you and make your head spin when you stand up. This afternoon I’ll be joining the team in a food distribution out in another IDP camp an hour from base. Families will receive cornmeal, oil, and beans. I’ll find out more details later today.

We are roughing it out here in the bush. Camping, some would say. I don’t really like camping. And camping with boys makes it even more fun (hear the sarcasm?) I am super thankful my friend Bethany is also on this trip. It would be a different experience without another girl to laugh with in misery. Well, it’s not that bad, but eating bush rat and praying a bat doesn’t fly up as you squat over a hole in the dark isn’t what I call jump up and down, write home about, fun. The compound we are staying at is the childhood home of our country director. His parents were AIM missionaries. I don’t think I’ve been to a more remote location where you can only enter on a plane. It’s hard to imagine what a childhood here looks like. He is a good leader. We walk through the village and everyone greets us with a handshake. The base is very pretty sitting up on a hill. To the back is two large canvas storage tents where the sacks and cans of food is stored before being distributed. The old truck used has no alternator and takes 10 guys to push start it. I now am smelling chicken – it clucked around our feet during morning devotions. It better be chicken, I can do without more bush rat. The teeny tiny kittens ate one much larger than itself this morning.

Mud huts with thatched rooftops are tucked in between guava, mango and various orange trees. Palm trees fat as oak trees are scattered across the hillside. Thunderstorms threaten us from above and are making it quite dark outside.

I made it through the flights without being sick…so far! I even opened my eyes a few times – it’s quite amazing to be up in this tiny plane and watch everything on the ground. We’re high, but not too high. I can see huts and people walking. The goats are a wee bit too small to spot. The mountains were pretty. And looking forward in the plane all you see is clouds – it’s pretty awesome, I won't lie. :-) You feel like you’re floating on the clouds. Until you hit a bumpy patch. Then my eyes close again. We are spending another night in Faradje and traveling up to Banda (a village even more remote and oppressed) for tomorrow to check out our current water & sanitation projects, and then a couple more stops before flying back to Uganda and Kenya on Friday.

It really is beautiful here. The communities are very poor; children have large swollen bellies from malnutrition and illnesses. But they also have huge smiles, lots of giggles, and love to follow you around asking for pictures to be taken of them. I will post some of their portraits when I get home this weekend. For now, I think I will have one more cup of tea, and then we’re off to distribute food!