Brian Dalley Speaks on Re-entry

The Congo team has returned and for the last 2 weeks we have been readjusting to life in North America. This re-entry process has been different for each of us but we have come together many times just to be sure we are all doing okay.

To give you a recap-- I did three countries in 4.5 weeks. I flew a total of 10 airplanes.

First, we attended the International Conference in South Africa. This is where the volunteers and supporting organizations of Hands at Work Africa come together for four days. They discuss their current status of projects and how they plan to expand in the future. Hand at Work Africa is currently supporting projects in seven countries as it strives to reach 100,000 orphans by 2010.

Then, on to Zambia where we spent 7 days supporting the work that Hands does in Roan and surrounding areas. I saw many changes in Zambia. I had volunteered there in 2005. It is very encouraging to see the progress that is being made there and to know first hand that the volunteers that Westside sends over really are making a difference. One of the projects that was of particular interest to me is the Youth Program called Twende. This group is led by two young women who belong to the Westside family, Natalie Blair and my daughter Jordan Dalley. To see and feel the hope that these two have for Zambia is very inspiring. They have tremendous skills to offer and so much love to give to these young people. This program helps to build confidence, assurance and love to the youth in this area.

The Congo was our next stop and the main reason for going to Africa. The Congolese have an interesting way of welcoming you into their country. The border crossing is an uncomfortable place to be to say the least. Our Visa’s were taken, money was exchanged and we were allowed to walk through no man’s land to enter the Congo where our chariot awaited us, or should I say Land Rover. An experience I’ll never forget. Two days of driving through pot-hole after pot-hole and feeling like a bobble-head doll made us appreciate our final destination of Likasi.

Three days after arriving in Likasi we were finally able to purchase the gravel that we needed and the project was underway. Our intent was to build a school. As the word spread that white men where here to help, the number of children who sat around the perimeter of the construction project grew. By our last few days, there were many hopeful and watchful eyes on us … as well as little helping hands. “Breeeek Breeeek” was Paul’s favorite saying and a steady flow of children with 1, 2 or sometimes 3 bricks stacked on their heads would offer them up to us so that we could place them on the walls. I had a hard time lifting 2 bricks at a time and these little boys and girls would carry them around like nothing. It was amazing that even though none of our Team could speak French we still had the uncanny ability to communicate with these children. Although our project was not quite completed, we have the assurance of Maurice our contractor that he would finish the roof and tidy up all loose ends over the next several weeks.

The inspiring part of what I experienced was to be able to see people who are going to die, live and others that need friendship and love receive this gift from Margaret and Dominic and their amazing team of volunteers, who give so much of themselves.

Thanks, to five guys who decided to “let it slide” and did a great job of not letting the stress and frustration get to us or between us.

BFF … ha ha!!!

More Stories and Photos to follow

Please check back. The stories are just coming in and there are a lot more pictures yet to be added!!
I've heard some amazing things to share.

Our men are home!! And pictures are getting posted!

THEY'VE LANDED!!! Our men are back!!

Well, Desi is asleep and I'm soon to join him...
But they've all made it!

Tomorrow I'm going to go through all the past emails and post pictures to go with stories so I can match stuff up a bit. So feel free to scroll back and reread them again with visual aids after tomorrow.

I've also started posting pictures on a picasa web photo account found here, if you are interested. Check it out.

It's so great to have him home!!!

Thanks Marianne with Menno Travel

I got this text from Desi today when they were boarding Johannesburg to Frankfurt. The flight was late but it shouldn't impact them being able to make their Frankfurt to Calgary flight. Let's hope.

Anyway, here's the text:

"Well, we've finally boarded. I guess I'll let you know when we are racing in Frankfurt. When we were checking in the lady said to be sure and thank our travel agent because she did such a great job. She had no idea how Marianne was able to secure us aisle seats so early, even for our way home."

So, I just wanted to take this public space to thank Marianne Hutchinson with Menno Travel. Their website is www.mennotvl.com.

And while I'm at it I'll thank Lisa Dalley for working so hard to book the flights with Marianne including lots of back and forth with dates and last minute changes.

A Note from Brent

As my wife would tell you (assuming anyone reads this blog) I can create expectations for almost any event in my life. But because I was instructed on the laid back lifestyle in Africa I decided it would be best to limit my expectations.

One expectation I could not seem to get out of my mind unfolded this past Saturday. It started by simply remembering to put a soccer ball into my backpack before heading to the building site. Saturday turned out to provide a lot of sitting around time. This made my "expectation" possible.

Within moments of pulling out the soccer ball I had a crowd of boys anxiously wanting to see what was going to happen. I received help placing some bricks for goals and corner posts. I divided the group into 2 teams and indicated the start of the game by a whistle. Though mayhem ensued, the game was all I ever hoped (or expected) it to be. Kids having fun playing the game I adore.

They played with so much enthusiasm and excitement. We didn't need the side and endlines as the tall grass and new brick school created the natural boundary much further away then the ones I had created . I came away with cuts on my leg and arm and a big smile on my face. Thank God for the soccer ball donated by a soccer team in Calgary.

Bits and Peices Gathered about their Time in DRC

I've gone through my texts and notes scribbled on papers to gather all of those short little observations and bits of information obtained while they were in the DR Congo:

One night Desi was texting me and finally said he was still awake because of someone playing keyboard across the street. Then he texted me a while later and said- great, now the singers have started! And I wrote back that I didn't think he'd have trouble sleeping to music. He said he didn't but the music was so incredible he wanted to stay awake.


Before starting work on the school they spent a day fixing up Margaret and Dominic's house. They fixed the windows- rescreened them all (to better keep mosquitoes out) and fixed the broken glass.


The men did Home-Based Care as well along with the building project. I'm sure we'll hear more details of that when they get back. From the snippets I've heard things are very dire for families living there. But this isn't that much of a surprise. And some stories have already been posted of people they've come across. He says, "you don't understand- these kids have nothing. Just nothing- and every one of those kids are laughing and smiling..."

The always-needing-a-translator has been a difficulty of the trip. Desi has already determined to take French courses (and we'll practice at home, of course) because he's already looking forward to going back but wants to be better able to communicate next time. Not everyone knows French either- but a lot more know French than English! And while doing home-based care and wanting to be encouraging to families... the difficulty of the situation is only compounded by the language issues. Desi did say that he found it so much easier this time around to be encouraging even when faced with the devastating realities of life for them. This can be shocking and difficult at first.

He texted me one day about a little girl named Esperance. A very sick 8 year old with HIV. She was finally able to go on ARVs 3 months ago but was still extremely frail and sick in appearance.

Ruth had invited them over on several occasions for supper. Desi always remarked that she even had such great desserts. She was spoiling them with ice cream and mango puree or cheesecake. They also heard from her many stories of what it was like living there, especially in the early 90's. They were broken into and beaten by a mob of 15 men. Once, the older German missionary who, just passed away from cancer, was beaten into a coma lasting 11 days. But she never left. She just fortified her house. This is the house our men were staying in. It had a phone line connecting her to Ruth, It had a panic room. It had a switch in the kitchen that sounds a siren on the roof. It had metal bars and padlocks and locks of all sorts.... She spent the remainder of her time in DRC as secured as was humanly possible. But she didn't leave. And Ruth has weathered the difficulties... What kind of courage or patience or most of all HOPE would it take to stay?

Throughout their time there I've gotten texts about the water and power. Both were intermittent (email too) and on some days there was neither. Sometimes they wouldn't have water for days at a time. But Ruth took care of them, bringing them water and even heating it up for them to bathe. They are going through a lot of drinking water due to the heat, bottled or well-boiled. Desi said that water boils amazingly quick there. The difference in power voltage was very apparent.

The building projects in Africa are always a unique experience for our Canadians. They poured the foundations, they had to do a lot of negotiating and exercise a lot of patience and diplomacy to get concrete for some of the work (due to the mines who use it all leaving little for anyone else). They rehired the contractor, Maurice, who'd started the preparations for them. He is, of course, knowledgeable and it seemed important that he remain in the loop since the project will be left still in need of a little work so he was rehired for two weeks and then they were going to negotiate a price for finishing the job.

There is another school on the block being built by World Vision. This is a bit of a complicated issue and came largely from a local man pitting one against the other. But peace and a relationship has been formed between World Vision and our guys who see that the need is greater than even both can fill anyway. The confusion is that the WV school is a school that one must pay to attend, with the money going to a church who will run it. Hands at Work only builds free schools and they provide a meal every day. It seemed important to Desi that they communicate. One thing Desi did was to see the plan for the other school and to modify the Hands at Work plan to have matching roof lines so that the two schools would relate to each other. World Vision didn't understand the significance of this at first, but Desi explained that already there is a bit of a class division going on in the community and yet there was a need to not further divide the community by education. So having the schools match, as they are right near each other was one way of trying to not distinguish the paying school from the free school. The local chapter of World Vision there understood and agreed. The relationship will be maintained by Farzam, another Canadian working with Hands at Work long-term.

They were told before leaving not to even bring shorts. Shorts aren't worn and can be insulting. On the first day they met Maurice, the contractor, he changed from his pants into shorts when he started work. So the following day- our team all showed up working in shorts too. They were SO grateful given the heat to be allowed the freedom. While we were suffering Spring blizzards they were equally suffering end of Summer heat waves.

They went to a "market". It was actually just a shopping district of Likasi with little shops and storefronts. Dominic had to do the bargaining for them because of the language barrier. (I know this would have been a bit of a disappointment to Desi, bargaining is his favorite part) I'd asked him to keep an eye open for bushmeat- but he said they told him that it was only seen in outside areas, not seen very often anymore. They bought cloth.

They worked many long days and Desi spoke a lot about the corruption that was so much a part of normal life in a country with no economy, where real business is almost impossible. They would get bags of cement that had been opened and with some cement replaced with fine sand and the bag resealed. Corruption at every level. I'm sure we'll get an earful when they return. There were many meetings to negotiate all sorts of things and to build relationships... This has been one of the most difficult elements of life for Margaret and Dominic and they sometimes find it insufferable, like Pastor's wives blatantly stealing food from orphans... just crazy stories. They are finding it increasingly difficult to trust anyone. This only encourages Desi about the need for teams to go in and help them out and strengthen them. They are living this reality and need all the support and help they can get.

Desi loves it there. He finds the corruption sometimes exhausting but also a familiar game that doesn't scare him out of liking the country. He said that even with the language barrier he can tell from tone of voice, eye movements and hand motions what is really going on and he's been able to navigate the waters. He describes the people as beautiful and he's met some really special and devoted and moral people. He loves the brightly colored buildings and the spirited culture. Lots of dancing and singing... People walking everywhere. Little to no begging. And exciting, fun type of busy- more social and free. People are more reserved at first than in Zambia, but are very nice. A married man with kids is called "Papa", like sir. Even the guy you're negotiating with in the market. The kids put their right hand across their chest bow their heads and say "bonjour Papa." Women are called "Mamie." Desi loved this endearing element.

I got this text once. "So, if you run over a chicken or goat it's not your fault. But if you run over a duck, sheep or pig you have to pay to replace it. Law of Congo."

Every now and then we (the wives) hear reports of the men huddled around an iPod to watch a movie. Bob sat out of the first one to do some writing, but even just the other night I get texted that the 5 of them all watched a movie on Paul's iPod. This is a funny thing to picture, I think.

Anything else to add? Feel free to comment to this post.

Sounds of a Sunday morning in DRC and details of their return itinerary.

Desi recorded a few sounds for me on his phone. (wish we'd thought of that sooner...)

This first one is of the church service on Sunday morning.

And this next one was recorded when later in the day the Home-Based Care Volunteers cooked a meal and had a farewell party for the guys.

Their itinerary:

Monday: Drive to Lubumbashi and stay a night at the guest house where they stayed on their way in

Tuesday: Fly out from Lubumbashi to Ndola, Zambia. They'll be there overnight

Wednesday: Fly to Johannesburg. They'll stay there overnight.

Thursday: Fly out to Calgary with a 4 hour layover in Frankfurt. (But because of the timing they'll have to stay in the airport in Frankfurt this time, nothing is open yet.)

Desi texted me at 3:40 AM last night (Monday morning). It said "made it to the guest house, dropping off bags and going shopping for curios".

I look forward to seeing everyone midday on Friday!!

Bob's follow-up update

This is a follow up to Bob's earlier story:

I asked around about the possibility of getting a small water testing kit to check for bacterial levels in the water well I mentioned. From the response I got there isn't one on the continent. Plan B was to get in to see the World Vision office in Lukasi and ask for their input or assistance. Much to my surprise Desi and I got right into see the head of WV and he gave me two of his staff to go directly to the site. The good news is that the residents already understood not to use that well for drinking. I also learned that there was a serious Cholera out break there and an NGO had given everyone chlorine to treat their wells. So all's well that ends well.

Bye for now
Bob

The Story of Longtin

The latest news from Desi:

Did you know you can find real life heroes living in a slum? I tell you, you can, I met one today, a broken old man who has something to live for.

Twenty years ago the love of his life went blind suddenly & he has taken care of her ever since. Just over five years ago his son-in-law died of AIDS & he began taking care of his daughter & 3 children. Five years ago his daughter also died of AIDS leaving 3 orphans for him to care for, one born HIV positive. What is the life expectancy of a child born HIV positive? I tell you it cannot be much more than 5 years.

When we got to the house this evening Longtin was standing on the front porch coughing endlessly. She is a beautiful child, though you would never guess her to be 5 as she is so small. We heard stories of how she has fought so hard, with her grandfather encouraging her. She is finally old enough to go to school, has a uniform & everything. Unfortunately, she doesn't have the strength to make the trip. Sometimes when her grandfather is feeling strong he will carry her to school, otherwise she just puts on her uniform & sits on a bench at the front of the house. When she does make it to the school, which is sponsored by Hands at Work, the wonderful lady who is their teacher goes and gets a big comfy chair from her house for Longtin to sit in.

Her CD4 blood count gets checked whenever her grandfather is able to make the 2 hour journey with her to the hospital in Lubumbashi, on the bus. Her last test results said that she was finally healthy enough to begin taking the life saving anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs). Unfortunately, there are none available and her condition is worsening once again.

There we were all squished into the living room of their tiny 2 room shack. We gave them some food that we had brought, as they are a part of the Hands at Work orphan feeding program. Margaret then told them that we were from Westside Kings Church. She told them that Westside was the one that had been supporting their work here in DRCongo. She told them that we were the ones that had been supplying food, school fees & funds for health care to the family.

The grandfather began thanking us, thanking us for giving life to his family. This is one of those times I find extremely difficult. It becomes hard to put into words due to some sort of confusion. On one hand, I am honored to play a small role in what Westside & Hands at Work is doing in Africa. I am honored to be the individual who is able to receive this gratitude, from such an incredible man, for giving life to his family. On the other hand, it is hard to miss the fact that they are still barely surviving. You have to ask yourself, "is this enough, is this the best that I can do?" Or maybe even a better question, "is my being a part of this family barely surviving worth such gratitude from a man who labours every single day for their survival?"

Did you know you can find real life heroes living in a slum? I tell you, you can, I met one today, an incredible old man who has something to live for.

A short note from Bob Wall

Here is a short update from Bob:

How basic is water? Brian and I went on Home Based Care in the townships yesterday. I asked to see their water supply and they were very proud to show me the well that had been constructed. A cup was attached to a string and dipped into a small hole about 8 feet down. Several small children painstakingly were filling discarded plastic bottles to take home. Six feet behind us is a steady stream of raw sewage which is the source for the well.

I am going to try and do everything I can over the next week to correct this lunacy.

Please tell Debbie and the Wall flowers that I miss them more than they can know but we have some work to do here. All my love. Bob

A Moment, from Paul Smith

Well, we have a story coming in from another member of the team, Paul. This is what he wrote:

I went over to see how the pastor was making out, as we had lent him two wheel barrels full of concrete to repair the toilet. When I got there this beautiful little girl of about 2.5 years old was sitting and watching the pastor work. I decided to sit down beside her on an upside down bucket.

She was adorable. The pastors wife came over and had another girl bring me a chair. I certainly didn't need one, but they brought it and I sat in it.
Then an identical girl to the first one came over wearing the same pretty yellow dress. Then more chairs came out and more people sat down. The pastors wife told me they had about six orphans there from the same family- the twin girls, a boy about 9, and three girls in their mid teens. All beautiful children. Their father passed away in aug 07.

This was all very difficult to communicate as they could really only speak French and Swahili and I have a very limited grasp of French and all I know in Swahili is "jumbo" (hello) and "mizungo" (white person - we hear that a lot) I will be unbeatable in charades when I get home.

More and more children came over to us and I just tried to be present in the moment. The pastors wife said that the six orphans' father had been poisoned. The pastor finished with the concrete and I got up to take it back to the job site, but he called a few of the boys who were sitting around and they took the wheel barrel and shovel back to the site. The pastor needed one more wheel barrel full of concrete to finish his toilet repair. I told him I would bring one back right away.

When I got back to the site there was no more concrete available for the day. I went back to the pastor's house to let him know that he wouldn't get his concrete until Monday.

I couldn't find the pastor but I did see his wife in the window. I tried to get her attention and she beckoned me to come into her home, which I did. She asked me to sit on her couch and I couldn't say no. I just wanted to leave her the message about the concrete when she got up and went into a back room saying she will be right back. A few minutes later she returned with some pictures and they were of this man who was poisoned and then of his funeral. Many pictures of his casket and mourners. I still don't know if this dead man and six kids were related to the pastor and his wife.

Ode to Ruth

Well, we have somewhat settled in. We are currently in the city of Likasi and have spent four nights in the same place, which makes this home. We are living in a great little house that less than a year ago was occupied by a German missionary lady who had spent something like 40 years here. She was forced to return to German due to cancer. Next door and sharing the same courtyard lives Ruth. Ruth, also from Germany has been living here for about 20 years now. She has been awesome and has more than taken care of us. Ruth had met us at the border in order to help us get across and 3 of us traveled with her from there to Lubumbashi eating her homemade banana bread all the way.

Once we got here, the following day, she let us know that there were homemade waffles in the freezer and that we should check it regularly for other surprises she might leave. I think she is happy to have some male company around as she is really spoiling us all. When the power is out she brings hot water for our morning coffees, when water is off (as it has been for the past two days) there are buckets filled all over the house. Tonight she had charcoal all set up outside in case we wanted to heat water for baths. She also let Margaret and Dominic know that she would like to have us over for supper for the next two nights. She sends her cleaning lady to our house every afternoon to clean up the house and do laundry. She said she will not have it any other way. So, I want to take up some special space here to say thanks to Ruth for making us feel so much at home.

Entering the Heart of Darkness

Update from Congo via texting from Desi:

"This is not okay" is all we could repeat as we drove through the town into Congo yesterday.

Two and a half years ago when I read an article by Stephanie Nolen on the DRC I broke. I don't ever remember crying so hard, especially not since childhood. I knew at that moment I could not have something affect me like this and do nothing about it. Now here I was in the DRC with eyes watering trying not to let it start.

Well, we've made it. It has been a long journey. I feel as though I am one of the privileged few. How many people feel the need to do something like this and actually get to do it. I am also privileged to be able to do it with four great guys. We left the farm in Zambia around 7:30 which put us too close to the border too soon. We were now to be meeting people there at 12:30 to assist in our crossing and so we stopped in a quiet little town close to the border to kill a couple of hours. Once the time got close we were off again. Within 10 minutes there were people everywhere. Big trucks lined both sides of the street leaving only one lane in the centre for both us and oncoming traffic.



Guys were running after our vehicle waiting for us to stop to try and sell us something or help us get across, for a fee, the first part of what seems to be an insane money grab but as we would soon enough find out was part of an elaborate economic system. It was all quite surreal.

I don't remember how many times I thought, "this is a first for me." I know I have done many "first" things, but this was one of those moments when all of your senses seem to be racing, trying to take in everything going on around you. I think that in times like this, because you realize you cannot grasp it all, an entirely new emotion gets created. You know how you can smell something and it takes you back to another moment in time or you hear something and you return to a feeling you once had. That is what this became in an instant, a place and time to return to. I don't really know how else to describe it.

I think it took us about 1 1/2 hours to make it through. First we had to check out of Zambia. After that we walked through "no mans land," a place filled with parked cars and trucks, people everywhere, garbage covering the ground and dust covering everything. We were almost there. We had to stop at a little shed in order to "check in." This was the second part of their economic system, although I am not sure how much this one cost us.

Next we filed into a packed hallway of people waiting to see a customs agent. Our passports and immunization records disappeared and we waited standing, trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening in the offices. There were two people who had met us in order to ease the procedure who were in and out of an office, arguing amongst themselves while the guy who had been following us around, looking for a way to be of use, for a fee, was trying to keep busy by going into the office every once in a while only to be yelled at and kicked out. The entry fee was finally negotiated. 10USD each ($50 total). Not bad. Margaret turned over a $100 bill and we waited for change. There, of course, was none as the fee had suddenly jumped to $20 each. Ruth, the German missionary who had come to help us, caught wind of this and marched back into the office with $50 and a yell and came out with the $100 bill. It pays to have friends at times like this.

We were done and on our way. What I saw next was a town that God seemed to have forgotten about. I know that sounds sacrilegious, but I could not help but wonder where God is. You feel that if He knew what was going on here he would surely punish somebody somewhere for allowing such a thing. There was garbage everywhere and it stank. There were little shacks built mostly of plastic bags and torn tarps over sticks. Those with any walls were the lucky ones. Naked children playing in the dirt next to a river of free flowing sewage. I have never seen anything so appalling in my life. One sentence kept running through my head over and over, "This is not okay, "This is not okay", "This is not okay." There is no level where this is acceptable. No human should have to live the way that I saw them living today.... this is not okay. I don't really know what else to say about that...

They stayed in Lubumbashi last night in a guest house and Margaret took them to her favourite restaurant for Chinese food where she is a VIP and they even got the VIP room.(I can't wait to hear what that's like) Desi said it was really good. Today they drove on to Likasi and arrived at about 4PM. Thirty minutes after arriving to their house the power went out.

Chickens, Monkeys, long walks and lost bags

Well,
Their time in Zambia is coming to a close. I'll add here the odds and ends of stories and information that I've gotten. But overall, this was an excellent location for a few days. They've managed to get a lot done at the farm. It was a really good time to prepare themselves for Congo, getting ready/getting rested/ getting on schedule. They feel mostly prepared. So now more about their time in Zambia:

In the last update Desi mentioned Bob going on a long walk with Matthews. When I spoke with Brent's wife, Carol, who was in Zambia last year said she too had been privileged to go on that same walk and that it was a highlight of her trip. I told Desi this and then I got this text back from him the next day: "So you can tell Carol that I started asking Mathews about his morning walk with a lady last year. Right away he said, "you mean Carol?" I said "do you remember her?" He said "oh yes, Carol. She is my friend" and then he started giving details of the walk. He then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and said that Carol had given it to him. He is now pretty excited to meet her husband."
I love the connectivity in this story. How our lives here in Canada are becoming more and more intertwined with those of the beautiful people of Africa we are working with.

Now to the monkey. There was a little tree house on the farm that wasn't there a couple of years ago. Desi asked Oswald and Matthews about it. They gave him this story about how there was a UK team that came through and they'd mentioned to Pastor Jacob that they had expected to at least see a monkey in Zambia. Well, Pastor Jacob, trying to be the good host decided to buy a monkey for the farm to live in that tree. The tree house was his. George heard about the monkey and called up Pastor Jacob to tell him to get rid of the monkey... what if it bites someone, what if it gets away and eats the vegetables in the garden for the orphans... And that was the end of the story. But then they ask, well what happened to the monkey. And Oswald and Matthews proudly say "We ate him for Christmas." Then the next time Desi saw Pastor Jacob, he slyly mentions that he was surprised not to see any monkeys here in Zambia to which Pastor Jacob replies, "OH NO, if I buy another monkey those two at the farm will just eat him."

So, now on to what they've been eating. The previous update mentions Desi making arrangements with Oswald and Matthews. The team would buy the food and the two would cook it. The practice was a lot more blended, which I love. Desi also wanted to include their families and wanted to have a large Zambian feast together to start. So from the market they picked up 3 live chickens, pumpkin leaves, roasted nuts and of course Nshima (a cornmeal mush that is a staple in Sub-Saharan Africa). And they all pitched in to prepare this meal together and had a large cook-out outside of the farm. They had enough food for two days. I just love this image of them chasing chickens and plucking the feathers. After this our guys cooked a pasta meal for everyone that Desi says was really good too.

Our team has not had the best luck in regards to luggage. Desi had a suitcase lost from his flight between Johannesburg, South Africa and Ndola, Zambia causing him much frustration. There is still no word on if he'll ever see the darn thing again. And now, as Brent has just flown in to join them, he too has had to suffer a lost bag. His contents included the shoes for Desi that I had sent with Brent to replace the work shoes that Desi lost in his bag as well as some of the tools they were bringing to use to build the school in Congo and some soccer balls. So we'll see what happens.

The men have had a lot of work to do on the farm while they were there. There were a lot of general fix-ups and clean-ups and preparatory work. The farm is being prepared for a UK team that is coming to build Pastor Jacob a house on the property. Also, Bob was the only one to go out and do a day of Home-Based Care. He entered an area that has had the support of Home-Based Care for a while now and many of them have been on ARVs for the last year. Bob said it was the most hopeful Home-Based Care day he's ever had in Africa. This is his 3rd time here. He had been warned before going that he would see a lot of people that look healthy and fine but that they are very sick none the less and could still use the support. And then with every house he entered he heard the same theme to each story, which was "You should have seen him/her last year... They were dying and now they are back!" This is a testament to what good can come. This is a story of hope for Africa. Children with parents.

Margaret is the Hands at Work missionary, along with her husband Dominic, serving in Congo for Hands at Work. She stayed behind in South Africa because she was sick and there was some questions about if she had malaria. She's been tested. No malaria. But she did succeed in getting positive results on a pregnancy test. Margaret is pregnant. She was very sorry to the team- her first time getting a team to help her in Congo and here she is pregnant and getting sick all the time. Desi patiently explained to her that each of the 5 men on the team is a father and that each of them will do anything for her that she wants. That she should not worry about disappointing any of them! What is important is that she stays healthy and rested and they are going to make sure that happens.

Also, they have been picking Margaret's brain about what things will look like in Congo. They discussed a lot of the practicalities, the housing and food. A typical house in DRC has several units around a courtyard. This is practical for security reasons. If you are away for even a short time you will come back to nothing- everything will be taken. So clustering houses like this helps offer some protection. They will be staying in a house connected to the house of a German missionary named Ruth who has been in the DRC for 20 years. She is practically Congolese now herself. She has been very helpful to Margaret over these last years. There were two German missionaries but the older one died last year. In Congo, the electricity goes out every 3rd day. So this lady had her house wired again so that when her power goes out she can just switch over to her other line! There is security stationed in their courtyard. (2 men who alternate) They will have use of a washing machine on the property. Another aspect of Congo is that young women are "adopted" by a local "Mama." Margaret's old Mama died last year and now she has a new Mama. Mama will be doing all the cooking for the men.

Now to the border crossing. Margaret has a contact at the border to facilitate the process. The public relations lady will only be there between 8 to 8:30 in the morning. That is midnight our time. Desi has asked for prayer that they are able to cross with minimal fuss. Even with the VISAs in their passports there are still concerns. Desi has warned that I may not here from him for a couple of days. So I suppose no news will be good news at this point. I would appreciate anyone reading this to offer up a little prayer for their smooth crossing and their time in Congo- That they are able to accomplish the work they went to do and that they will be safe from harm and hassle. Thanks.

the Lovely Zambia

We love Zambia.
Four of our guys met back up in Johannesburg where they had split off a few days earlier and flew into Ndola, Zambia. Here, they will be awaiting the arrival of our 5th man while doing work around a place we call the Wakefield farm, even though the name changed recently. Desi and Brian had been at the farm in 2005 and were looking forward to returning. At that time they built the little houses found there now that are used for orphan camps and whatever else. They even outfitted them all with bunkbeds. But the farm has a larger house and also a large garden growing produce used for the orphan feeding programs. Pastor Jacob is in charge there for Hands At Work and is a really wonderful person.

This is Desi's update as texted from Zambia yesterday:

So, we made it to Zambia. All went well, except for one of my bags not showing up. Just so happens that it was the one containing 1/2 my clothes, my shoes, power convertors and toilettries bag. It's not like you really need deoderant here anyways, right guys? I think that being here in Zambia for a few days will be a good thing, a stopping point between where we were at and where we are heading. Sort of a chance to ease ourselves into the devbastation that we are about to live in for the coming weeks. The farm here has always felt like such a relaxing place for many of us who have had the privledge of spending time here in the past. It is still that place. We have all begun sleeping normally now and are getting caught up and on schedule.

There are a couple of guys that live here on the farm that Brian and I could not wait to see again, since meeting them here 3 years ago. Oswald and Mathews are as incredible as I had remembered. A couple of guys who if not laughing are smiling. I think they are laughing at us and smiling at the list of work that they have for us to help them with around the farm. An order for lumber is being placed tomorrow morning and then we are off and running. Bob has stated that he feels like he is in Zambia again and never realized how much he had missed it. Being the first one up this morning he grabbed Mathews and got the full 2 hour tour of the farm before the rest of us even got started. This is the Bob that I know and this place is where I most love hanging out with him. (Yes Bob, even more than the Bent Elbow)

Tonight we sat out by the pool (not operational) and discussed life in Africa. We do this often here, sit around and solve the problems. Friday we will be going to do Home-Based Care and Friday night instead of solving more of the problems here we will probably just be sitting silently realizing we don't know a whole lot about anything, except that we have become sad. Hopefully we will also all know that we cannot see these things and do nothing. Hopefully hope will follow, but more often than not that part takes a while. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Mission's Conference Update 2

I've gotten another update from Desi. This one a bit less emotional:

Today was more the vision casting for the church & a call to get to work. Hands is once again restructuring their methods of reaching the 100,000 by 2010. It is a lot of good information to bring back for the missions committee as we need to begin being much more focused & intentional with our teams.

The plan now is to begin focusing on 3 essential services being education, food & basic health care. Each of these were broken down into 4 levels. Hands is going to begin focusing the majority of their time & resources on the first 2 levels of these 3 items.

What I feel this means for Westside is that our teams will need to be specific & intentional within these 3 items. I believe this means that we will have to make a more conscience effort to stay away from "pet" projects & one of projects.

It must be understood that this information is all being presented as such due to the fact that Hands is wanting to move from an 80:20 model (80% outside agencies : 20 % church & individual) to a 20:80 model, as George believes this work needs to be driven by the church & committed individuals. People & churches who in essence have bought into the Hands model/philosophy of caring for the widows & orphans.

We also had the opportunity to sit with the country representatives of our choosing in order to have a little more intimate small group discussion time with them. Kind of a chance to hear what is on their hearts, what are their dreams & needs for the next year & what each of them envisions themselves doing to reach 100,000 OVC's (orphans & vulnerable children). Of course Brian & I sat in on the Malawi conversation....just kidding. We went DRC all the way. It was another awesome time to spend an hour with what can only be refered to as giants.

The DRC has a population of 55 million people with a rapidly increasing orphan population of 4,200,000. There are also 3.5 million children lacking access to primary school. The work that Margaret & Dominic have been doing there is still somewhat in it's beginning stages. The biggest reason for this is due to the state of affairs plagueing the country. The DRC has become internationally known for it's devastating civil conflicts, the most recent lasting since 1998 & claiming more that 4 million lives, making it the deadliest conflict since WW II. This has lead to a system run on bribery & corruption in an attemt to survive. Understandably this has made things extremely difficult for this couple & yet they are now caring for 565 OVC's & 347 patients with 35 committed volunteers. I cannot remember their targets for next year(I will send them tomorrow) but could use as much support as possible.
As you can see it is a worthy effort that we have been priveleged to be a part of.

On another note Brian & I have the greatest of intentions to be up for 6 tomorrow morning in order to go on a game drive. I will update more tomorrow.

Dez

Mission's Conference Update

Desi sent an update of his time at the Hands At Work Missions Conference:

So we are at Hanna Lodge.
At about 2 this afternoon we left for the retreat. Brian, Lynn & I traveled together. It was a good chance for us to get caught up. We made a quick stop in Grasskopf to buy Brian some biltong as I told him it was a must while he was in South Africa. We got lost for a bit of course & got here between 4:30 & 5.

It's a beautiful place of little thatched roof houses built all along the side of a hill. Even the drive in to the lodge was exciting as it was filled with all sorts of wildlife like kudu, antelope, warthogs & impala. The reserve is more of a savanna, not a lot of the big wild animals except for a few of the very elusive leopard.

This evening we were given a challenging message by George, where he picked on the evangelicals & their "5 step prayers for salvation". After we were thoroughly vision-ized we ate a great supper.

Following supper we heard from all of the country leaders. We heard all sorts of incredible stories of people whom they work with & a lot of sad stories that almost bring you to tears & leave you asking the question "what am I doing?" Once again I am in the presence of giants. People doing incredible things in the lives of others as though there were no thought that there might be something else to do with their lives. It becomes very humbling very quickly.

As this was going on a thought crossed my mind. "Do you wonder the shade of red that flowed from Christ as he was crucified? Look into the blood filled eyes of a child dying of AIDS, it's the same. Be there when a father is coughing to death from TB, it's the same shade of red. Hold the hand of a woman covered with bed sores because she hasn't had the strength to get up for months & has nobody to care for her, you will see the same colour. Jesus said 'in as much as you have done it to the least of these....you have done it to me', there is no difference".

It has been awesome to be around Margaret, she is so life giving. She so often seems to be smiling or laughing. It begs the question of how she does it. She has seen so much death during her time in the DRC & yet she longs to do more. She is now looking at starting work in 3 new places, one of them being the Goma region, which borders Rwanda, because "there is so much to be done", she says. It personifies what George said earlier tonight, "I will not be satisfied until I have gone into the darkest corner of this continent & been able to care for the sickest person there". Wow! Then you ask yourself again, "what am I doing?" & you wonder why you even came.

The worst part is that Margaret & Dominic are so honored that we are coming. They are running around telling all of the other project leaders "Westside is coming to Congo", with so much pride. How backwards is that? She was even apologizing because one of the beds that we will be using is "very small" & she is embarrassed to do that to us. Are you kidding me? I am in the presence of giants. This woman is responsible for saving hundreds of lives, just working out a deal to provide ARV's to 300 people, including her adopted daughter, & she is concerned that one of us might have a poor sleep on a bed that is "very small".

If I go on any longer I will feel completely demoralized :) & yet wouldn't change a thing about this opportunity. Being around such people feels so close to God himself.

Dez

Jo'burg Bound

Well, the plane is in the air. The guys have just left Frankfurt and are heading for Johannesburg.

I got a few emails back and forth from Desi's blackberry but his emails were taking SO long to reach me (Darn RIM needs to buy more servers to keep up with traffic). I got most of them long after he'd been back in the air.

They went to visit a few churches in Mainz and had some bland food. The part they liked the most was the passport stamp they got when they left the airport.

They'll be arriving in Jozie in the morning, local time. Then they'll split into 2 groups with two of the men flying on to Nelspruit to make a missions conference.

So, next update will be in tomorrow.

On their Way

Well, 4 of our guys are on their way. They left Calgary this afternoon and have already made it to Toronto. After grabbing a bite to eat and a quick whiff of fresh air they are just now boarding their flight to Frankfurt overnight.

They'll arrive in Frankfurt midday tomorrow and they've got a day to tour around before catching their next connection to Johannesburg.

This is the information I prepared for them for their time in Frankfurt, mined from the internet:

To Mainz's Old Town from the Frankfurt Airport:

Locally, Frankfurt is called Frankfurt am Main (on the Main River). The airport’s name is Flughafen. So, on the transit maps the airport stop is Ffm Flughafen Regionalbahnhof (Frankfurt on Main Flughafen Regional Station). You will want to take the S8 line on the S-Bahn. You’ll need to find a VGF machine to buy your tickets, unless you go to the desk. The ticket you’ll want is a Gruppentageskarte 5 personen, a group-day-card for up to 5 people. This will even double as a bus ticket if you wanted. The columns denote the area that you want the card for. You want to choose from column number 4 (green) because you are going just outside of Frankfurt. The price will likely be 13.70 Euros. The individual costs were just over 8 each so the group price will save you money. The train passes every 15 minutes for the first part of the day. The end stop for the train you want is Wiesbaden.

You’ll want to get off at the Mainz Hauptbahnhaf, Mainz main Station. As far as I can tell it is 9 stops from the airport, just after Mainz Nord Romisches Theater and may take +/- 30 minutes. It will take you to Mainz’s Old Town. You won’t need to buy another ticket for the return to the Ffm Flughafen Regionalbahnhof. Don’t push it on the return because the trains may pass every half hour by then.

I don’t know what it will look like where the train deposits you but I’ll describe what I’ve read about the Old Town. First off, look for the Maizer Dom, St. Martin’s Cathedral (named after Martin Luther), to orient yourself. Some say this is the largest and best-known building in Mainz and it’s found where Old Town and Marketplace begin and is near the banks of the Rhein River.

One guy wrote:

One of my favorite restaurants in Germany was Maredo, an Argentinian steak house... the Mainz Maredo is right by the Mainzer Dom, by the big statue of Gutenberg and the McDonalds.

The main street is South of there and is compared by some as being like 5th Avenue or the Champs Elysée (but not as wide). This had been the city’s main business street. It’s called Augustinerstrasse, Augustine’s Street (after St. Augustine). It has small businesses and boutiques, cafés, pubs, restaurants, taverns and weinstuben (traditional wine bars).

About Augustinerstrasse, I found this:

Surrounded by all this seething activity and embedded within the row of house-fronts is the magnificent Baroque façade of the towering Augustiner Church. Built to accommodate the needs of the former Augustinian hermit s monastery between 1768 and 1776, it is now a seminary church. Also of impressive beauty is its interior. The ceiling frescoes provide insights into the life of St Augustine as well as the history of the mendicant order which had its home in the Augustinerstrasse since the 13th Century. In contrast to many other Mainz churches, the Augstinerkirche had the great good fortune to survive WWII undamaged.

Also, Kirschgarten is recommended for its interesting half-timbered buildings.

The city of Mainz is 2 thousand years old and was once an outpost of the Roman Empire in the 1^st century. Also, since the Roman times it has been known for its wine. So drink up. It did get very damaged by the war, just not as much as Frankfurt. Wiesbaden just a bit further down is known for receiving the least damage.

To Frankfurt from the Airport:

If by chance you do want to go into Frankfurt instead, you’ll still want a Gruppentageskarte 5 personen, a group-day-card for up to 5 people, but then you can just get a ticket from the orange column number 3 for a bit cheaper. Then the stop you want is the Hauptwache which is found on the S8 line (the opposite direction from Mainz). The Hauptwache is an underground stop. Once you go up to street level there are plenty of restaurants and shops right there. The vertical mall, the Zeilgalerie is there with a restaurant up there that has a public viewing platform on the roof of the building that offers a nice 360-degree panoramic view of downtown. The Hauptwache stop is just a couple of blocks away from the famous Romerplatz, area which has some of the few old buildings left in the city and is near the city cathedral. There is also a Maredo Restaurant right near the Hauptwache stop, if that suggestion sounded tasty.

the coolest entry VISA ever

Bonnie Smith has done a wonderful job of coordinating the Visa applications for the team.

It required finding out what WAS required and then wrangling all the needed information and objects together. The application had to be sent with bank statements and a copy of the tickets and a personal invitation to each member from someone in Congo and a letter of reference from someone here who has known them who can attest to their character and 4 passport photos and each person's passport and a fee....

The part I found most worrisome was sending the passports. Is it just me, or does this seem risky?

Well, surprise surprise! After only a few days, yes days, the passports came back with a beautiful visa laminated right into them. If I were a passport stamp collector I'd want to go there just to have this beauty in my passport. I'm a bit jealous, in fact. I mean, not really... but, whatever.

Thanks Bonnie! Thanks DR Congo Immigration officials! Thanks God!

Eye Witness Accounts

As previously mentioned, this is the first Westside team to enter the DRC. And the permission from the board did not come easily. It has been a process that has taken nearly 2 years. Part of the proposal drafted this year to the board in order to gain permission included accounts from people who know the area who could testify to it's safety. The board needed to know that they were not putting a group of Canadians in a harmful situation.

These are excerpts from a couple of those accounts:

The first is from another church STM leader in New Brunswick who last year began sending annual teams to the DRC:

“The reason we go to Lubumbashi in Southern DRC instead of other places, is to
work among displaced people—people who have fled the danger in DRC’s east.
Southern DRC is safe. Just follow the people. The reason they displaced
themselves to southern DRC is because it is safe.

“Even if fighting does flare up in the East, it’s over 1000 miles away—through
mountains and over terrible roads. The rebels certainly do not have air
capabilities. If they ever did try to come south, it would take them over a week.
News reports would pick that up, and we would simply cross the nearby border
back into Zambia.

“My team did not take extra liability insurance, and our waiver was not
sophisticated. The greatest way to manage risk on the field is to avoid acting
irresponsibly on the field. If your church’s leader acts irresponsibly, then you are
at risk.”

And this next excerpt comes from a man who grew up in Likasi who operates a flight service and travels regularly between the US and the DRC. This is what he had to say:

“You’d be amazed to see how many foreigners are in Likasi. If you go you will
see that the peace is there. You will sense the peace…BIG peace. The challenge
is in going around at night. You just need to find a good area to stay. There is not
this issue of people coming into your house in DRC.”

“The trouble in DRC is the fighting. Uprisings bring trouble. But the fighting has
never gone on in Lubumbashi or Likasi. That is in the Eastern part of DRC. The
Eastern part is scary. It is over 1000 kilometers away.”

Rukang added: “The people are tired of war. Working in Congo is easy because
the people are ready to receive you.”

That last part gets me.

Message from Lynn Chotowetz

We have received an update from our friend, Lynn, who is living in Africa and serving with Hands@Work. Lynn and Jayme went to where our men will be staying to help prepare for the team. This is his email about what he saw:

Hope you are doing well. We have just returned from stepping out dimensions on the exact site where you'll soon spend 3 weeks turning a flat bushy field into a life-giving place of transformation! I think something like approximately one thousand snotty-nosed little kids came to watch us do it, so you can be assured you won't be alone as you work!

The entire project you're working on will encompass 2 classrooms, one office, and a toilet. According to Sal's calculations, you will likely be able to finish one classroom and the office. (perhaps also at least digging the hole for the toilet, as a few of you have experience in that...!). A local contractor has been hired to dig the foundation of the first classroom and office (a single foundation for both), to pour the foundation slab, and to build it up to ground level with bricks. Two locals have also been hired to purchase bricks, cement, stones, and sand and ensure they're on site when you arrive. They will also have lined up sources for the timber, roof iron, and door frames, to be purchased and picked up while you're there. Finally, they will purchase two wheel barrows and 4 - 6 shovels.

Water is available on site at a hand pump well drilled recently by World Vision (now our partners)...but as there is never a line up of less than 50 women and approximately 300 water jugs at any given moment, you will have to plan your water trips!

Margaret and Dominic will drive you from the Farm to the border (Jacob may also have to offer a car to fit you all in), and at the border you will be met by a German missionary friend with a Land Cruiser who will, along with M&D, get you to Lubambishi, where you will have to present yourselves to immigration, and then on to Likasi, where you will also present yourself to immigration a second time. In Likasi, you will stay in a house next to this German missionary, and only 5 mins from M&D's new house. Margaret will arrange food to be cooked for you. Food is expensive in DRC, about 75% more than you'd pay for equivalent items in Canada. Cooking will cost very little, only the purchase of groceries. You will also have to purchase bottled water...about $1.75 for a 1.5L bottle.

Make sense? That's all I can think to tell you for now, other than to say it is a wonderful place. Lots of old colonial urban infrastructure surrounding by very rural villages.

Great News

I have excellent news to post. The tickets have been purchased!

Lisa Dalley has to be thanked for spending hours coordinating a confusing mess of dates and requests and budgetary considerations. She has brilliantly worked through the web of dates and places and times and various travel agents and resources to appease each request beautifully in a most cost effective way.

The team will leave April 1st (except Brent leaving a short while after) and will return on May 2nd. They will be going through Johannesburg, South Africa and then onto Ndola, Zambia where they will check in on the farm where Desi and Brian worked in 2005. Once Brent meets up with them then the whole team will travel on into the Democratic Republic of Congo!

On the return, the flights left an overnight in Johannesburg. They plan to use this time as a debrief period and they will visit the Apartheid Museum together.

With the purchase of tickets, the entry visa application could be sent. We are anxiously awaiting their arrival in the mail.

The Go-Ahead

The process of sending a team to Congo has not been easy. Last year's attempt was painfully unsuccessful. In order to facilitate this year's attempt, the governing body of the church has been provided with a lot of information in an effort to sway the decision in favor of being allowed to enter the country with a team.

This included complete detailed evacuation procedures and plenty of reassurances. The reassurances include letters from local missionaries working in the area, even one randomly found on the internet, answering questions about their comfort level and safety precautions. It has included sending out various scouts to report back. It has included promises to monitor short-wave radios daily while the team is there.

Today, the team is awaiting the last of these "go-aheads" from the board in order to be allowed to purchase the tickets that our agent has tentatively held. We are all anxiously awaiting the moment the tickets are bought and paid for. This will be a long-awaited moment after desiring and praying to be allowed to go to Congo since 2005.

Any moment now...

Meet Desi

Meet our team leader, Desi. Here he is in the center flanked by me and George Snyman of Hands at Work. This will be his first time to the DRC. He's been to South Africa and Zambia.

When Desi was a kid he wanted to be a televangelist. No really, he wanted to be a carpenter for a while... a doctor for a while. Now, if he could try another profession he says he'd love to try to be a project manager, or a hardwood flooring guy, or a leasing company owner or an architect.

One thing Desi hopes to get from going to Africa is playing a part in each of the team members getting what they are going to Africa for. One thing that Desi hopes he's able to do while there is eat rat. That and to discover the reason that he's felt for the past 2 1/2 years that he needed to go to the DRC in particular. He's sure it has nothing to do with eating rat though.

When Desi flies in an airplane, he's hoping to get some sleep. Which, he says, is part of the reason he packs the night before. Yeah.

Desi says he can thank his wife for teaching him to swear. Also, for teaching him the importance of culture (having grown up half Louisiana Cajun and half French) and teaching him some of the traits necessary to living in community. (Building community is a pet topic of ours for years)

In the kitchen, Desi is known for his mulligatawny Soup and Chicken Cordon Bleu with a beer in hand and Tabasco on everything. (Note from wife: He doesn't cook often but whatever he makes is REALLY good.)

Desi's ideal vacation would involve lots and lots of friends in a place new to everybody or to be adopted by a Zambian community for a month or two.

If given $1,000 to blow in any one shop in the mall Desi would head straight for a Skate and Snowboard shop for a new Nixon watch, a couple of hoodies, because nothing is more comfortable than a hoodie, a pair of shoes (must sport a skull), new wallet to replace the one that just got stolen, a new backpack for sure... might as well throw in a t-shirt and of course a new hat... "What?!! $1150? Hey guys, who gave us the grand? I need some more. It ain't cheap to look this grubby."

There are a number of CDs that Desi could listen to on repeat indefinitely like Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory or Demons and Wizards' Touched by the Crimson King. And he adds, of course anything by "the Man." ( Desi refers to Neil Diamond as "the Man" and he has been able to listen to his music indefinitely for years)

One book that Desi thinks everyone should read is A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards.

The last question on the survey given to the team members for this profile was to add one little known fact about themselves. Desi is choosing to share that he has a heart-shaped birthmark on his bum. (This is true.)