Laughing Matters

A square column (2'x2') in the middle of our kitchen.  We have to coordinate our movements so that we are both going either clock-wise or counter clock-wise.  How would a real estate person make this sound appealing?

Look clearly and you will see this hub cap is tied on, as most are.  We aren't sure if it's to prevent them being stolen or from falling off (probably both). Having badly dented fenders (and often a completely dented car) is almost "de rigueur" in Kinshasa.

Elder Bingham is totally fearless...He is not afraid to risk his own life or that of his passengers.  This picture does not do justice to the crevasse we are approaching.

I took this picture, wondering how an already full train could take on so many more people.  The answer is that they hang on the sides and even stand on the top.  

Do not try this at home.

This is "Big Arms".  He is our favorite "protection" person.  He helps us get a parking spot at "NiceCream" and stands nearby while we eat outside  (it is very narrow inside & always very crowded). George is on the left & on the other side are President & Sister Jameson, the Staggs and the Binghams.

Elder Smith spotted these in an expensive car parked outside "NiceCream".  Somehow Mickey and Minnie Mouse seats seem incongruous in the Congo.

"Jackie", who helps cook & clean in the Mission Home, came into the office one day with a new hair style. We asked what type of braid this was called & she said, "Chenille", which is the French word for caterpillar.

Can you see why?

It amused me that, in the midst of a big ceremony, this guy strutted right through.

It made me wonder for the hundredth time... why DID the chicken cross the road?

One night I went into the front room and said to George, "There's a lizard in the bathroom!" He said, "Leave him alone, he eats bugs."  So, meet my new friend.  I call him "Junior" because he is little.  I do worry about meeting his mother or father. 

When we saw the sign ("Driving School") on top of the white car, we looked at each other in shock and said, "You mean they teach people to drive here?"

This, in case you needed help knowing, is a LION.  He is the wallpaper on my computer at the office.  I told one of the Congolese office assistants that when I looked at his face, I imagined him saying, "Hello".  He shook his head and said ominously,

 "No Sister Smith!  He is saying, 'I am going to EAT you'!"

George put a rare clean franc in the mix, just to show the contrast.

Elder Bingham is 6' 4" and Chantal's mom, Jeannine, is not!  She is fiesty 80 yr old who has come from a comfortable life in Geneva, Switzerland to the Congo with her daughter and son-in-law, Eric.  He will be in charge of building a dozen new chapels in the Kinshasa area & more in other parts of the mission next year.

This is located outside of our apartment building.  You can put your trash in here if you want, but it has no bottom.

If the very long Kinshasa license doesn't fit, hammer it in until it does.

At last... a picture of the ACTUAL post office, which is used about as much as the abandoned building I once wrongly identified as the post office.  It actually doesn't look bad.  But, take a look at the advertising on top!  

Apparently the ad fooled this guy.  He's wearing a very heavy knit Christmasy cap on a 95 degree day.  When your own face is dripping with sweat, you see people selling and wearing sweaters.

 These are HUGE, long logs that weigh tons and are held on the flat-bed truck with very fragile looking cords.  Because of bumper to bumper traffic, we were forced to travel next to this guy for miles on the Kimbanseke road, with the truck just inches from our side and logs hovering over us.  The truck finally pulled ahead.  

It's not a very clear picture... probably because I was still shaking a little. 

A couple of features in this picture... an example of a pedestrian walk-over the Belge built.  But, it's fallen apart so badly that nobody dares use it... so the people risk their lives on this "Kimbanseke Raceway".  To the right, we have the ultimate Congo cut-off, which is when the vehicle doing the cutting begins to move over into your lane BEFORE he clears the front bumper of your car.

The Chinese are building the six floor office building next door.  Here are two Congolese workers who have obviously been instructed in the art of making Chinese "shading hats" out of cardboard.

I saw this collection in a small grocery store across from "Mama's" stand, where we get much of our fruit.  There was only ONE thing here with a recognizable name & that was "pate"...  

 which is French for "You don't want to actually eat this!"

Most of these cheeses also had names I was not familiar with, but I did buy some Gouda and Emmantal.  One store had about 10 types of Gouda with every conceivable variation of flavors (curry, garlic, cajun etc)

Now, here's a fun collection.  The pineapple and banana are easy to identify.  And some might recognize the mangos and MAYBE the orange (which is more green than orange), but you might not know Papaya (back left), and probably not the three front ones... Passion Fruit, Mangastina and the fuzzy little Litchi.

This machine, which reminds me of "HAL" in "2001 Space Odessy", is the bain of George's existence.... a Chinese-made washer/dryer combo with a will of it's own.  

It is unalterably set on a water temperature capable of boiling eggs and takes a minimum of 5 1/2 hours to complete a wash and dry cycle.  It "talks" to you in it's own language with various beeps.  One of these is a signal that most would interpret as "Finished", but it won't let you open the door for 20 minutes.  So all of your hot clothes (no cool-down option), are wrinkled by the time you can get them out.

If you try too soon, it petulantly restarts the wash cycle.

The Binghams were complaining that they didn't have a picture of themselves on our Mission Office wall board, so I drew one to put up.
Unfortunately, he is very tall.

Yes sir!  Yes Sir! Three bags full! How would you like having to haul out your bank withdrawal with duffle bags.

This is what happens when you are working as an accountant in a cash society.  It's about 19 million francs, which will buy you... not that much!

The picture doesn't do it justice, but this was the funniest looking little van.  It is only two-seats wide, which makes it ideal for squeezing into the middle of a 2-lane road.

Knowing that we were having 13 for dinner on Easter Sunday night, I thought it would be nice to buy some flowers.  They are so waxy that they appear to be artificial.  I'd never seen anything like them before... until Saturday.  After driving for miles on bad roads to get to the Bonobono Primate Reserve... Lo and Behold!... In the middle of the jungle, were these same flowers.

Except Ye Become as a Little Child

 On the way to Kimbanseke, George wanted a picture his favorite innovative vehicles......   

Have you ever see a retro-fitted motorcycle & trailer combo?

Just an example of the "open door" policy of the majority of taxis.   If a door is not off completely, it is held together by dubious methods. Most of the time, someone is standing outside of vehicle's open door or even standing on the bumper and hanging on at the back.  It's not unusual to have a door or other piece of a vehicle fall off, see someone jump out, pick it up and off they go again.

A old beat up taxi with seats taken out and board benches placed inside can  hold up to 24 people.  The concrete you see is what is left of a 50 yr old Belgian-made median and "sort of" marks the middle of the road.

Can you imagine how heavy the load on this "pus-pus" is?  Also, in the picture... used furniture or similar things are often displayed for sale outside.  I'm not sure what they do when it rains.

It seems as if every other store in the Congo is a "Pharmicie".  I guess the owner of the "pus-pus" stopped for something.  This picture also shows a common sight,  a vehicle whose wheel is off.

Whatever it takes.  Congolese will buy old European vehicles and use them until  you think they can't  run anymore.

The Liberté Marché stretches out for blocks & blocks.  An outdoor Walmart that sells everything.
On the left is a display of costume jewelry.  On the right, cassava... the leafy plant that is the staple food of Africa, packed into and on the loaded van.

George captured the attention of this young girl who got a big kick out of him and "posed".

This little sweetheart  was the first to greet me at the orphanage.  She is one of  four children who will be adopted by Americans this month.

On the left, sewing machines to teach women some marketable skills.  In the middle, a young woman who has been at the orphanage with her younger brother since she was a little girl.  She has stayed on as an adult to help Philomene take care of the children.  She and the other woman are using cassava to make "foo-foo", the favorite food of the Congo.
On the right is her brother, "Arnold", who touched my heart immediately.

Some of the children holding up a few of the food items we brought.  Curious neighbors and passers-by pause to watch.

Papaya anyone?

Here is where it starts to get hard.  THIS is their school room...ancient shelves, pitted and dirty concrete walls and a piece of corrugated  tin over a three-sided dank and dark room.

Yet, look at these precious, happy faces... 

Don't complain about our blackboards.  This is theirs... a concrete wall painted black.

This is Jonathan.  Fils, who came with us to act as translator, told us that Jonathan is 14 and the president of his Teacher's Quorum in Kimbanseke Ward which Fils also attends.
He and his older sister have been at the orphanage since he was a little baby.
He is already talking about the day he will serve a Church mission.

Our little cutie was the first to get in line for George to lift up high off a wall. 
Notice the curious young men who were walking by watching in the back.

I'm not sure who enjoyed this interaction more.. the kids or George!  
He is so incredibly sweet with little children (one of the reasons I love him).

The wall dividing the property from the neighbor on one side was formidable with broken glass bottles on top.  They have probably been there for decades & decades.

When I got close, it was if this guy knew I was there and he struck a pose.

I could hear him saying, "Wait a minute.. THIS is my better side!"

Here is the "bathroom" for all the children... It is nothing but a hole in the concrete and a door that won't even close.  We are working on a way to get a proper latrine built.

Papayas on the left and green bananas on the right.

This is "Arnold", who stole my heart.  When I first saw him, he was sitting next to this door, leaning against the side of the building with his hand up on the wall, as you can see in one of the first pictures.  I asked Fils to tell me about him.  He said that Arnold is 16 and a very good young man who attends the same Kimbanseke Ward as Fils every Sunday.  Arnold  is blind and  goes to a school miles away in Kinshasa by taking a series of buses every day.  I asked Fils to help me communicate with Arnold.  As soon as I walked over to him and introduced myself, he visibly perked up and then we had a sweet and insightful communication with  my halting French and Fils' help.  When I asked if he knew how to read in braille, his mother quickly brought out some papers and handed them to him.  He rapidly discarded some by "reading" the first word and, knowing what he was trying to find, finally settled on a "test" paper.  I asked him if he made good grades.  He does.  He is VERY smart and has so much to offer.  We are working in conjunction with others to help him have opportunities to progress and fulfill his potential.  
I feel a love for him that has surprised me in it's intensity and I cannot talk about him without crying.

Philomene called all the children to gather at their chairs and they quickly and obediently did so.  Wouldn't every teacher we know just love to have such a good group?

Then, she asked them to sing one of their favorite Primary songs, which they sang sweetly.  \
When they were deciding which song to sing, I said, playfully..."I guess they don't know, 'Once There Was a Snowman!" :P

Such beautiful children

Philomene is saying goodbye to Fils (who isn't praying.. he often puts his hands together when speaking)  & to Elder Stagg

As we left, we had to walk down the narrow, well-traveled, village path that also runs right through the grounds of the orphanage.  To the right is a ditch of filthy, debris-filled water.

When we were about to get into our vehicle, a little boy came running toward us down the lane with a stick and what looked like a bicycle tire rim.  If you look closely, you will see that he is not using this "toy" as an American would (by putting the stick inside the hoop) but pushes it along with the stick in the groove of the metal rim.  Nevertheless, it worked for him and his smile was as wide as the Congo River. 

 I watched him until he disappeared down the lane & thought, again about the ability of children to make the best of life, even in humble circumstances.