And about a week or more ago I got to visit Chez Bonobo! Bonobos are monkeys that are native to Congo. They are about the size of Chimps and are super cute!! Suzanne's boss and assistant were here from Akron, PA and I got to be part of their week of activities and the Bonobos was one of them! Monkies are my favorite animal so that was great! And I really enjoyed getting to know some of the people I've met before but haven't had lots of opportunity to spend much time with before. Good bonding time!
This past weekend I went with John and Charity Schellenberg to an orphanage they help support through their NGO. It's a beautiful location out of the busier areas of the city and closer to the river and mountains! There are about 20 boys there and we had a great time with them! In this picture we had jut handed out their gifts. Someone had made them all school uniforms which meant that they would be able to finally start school that Monday (and only a week or two late!)!! We gave them ring pops (Charity's sister in Canada sent them) which I just found SOO amusing and cute! And this fruit I'm eating which is called a Mangostan. It's quite yummy! (Don't you love my pants?? They are SOO comfortable and I just had them made and they've been a lifesaver in this heat. I have a top too but that pattern top and bottom...??)
October is now in full swing and so is my weekly schedule! I'm still living with Tim, Suzanne, and Rose Lind and will be for the duration of my time in Kinshasa. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I go to the Christian University of Kinshasa (UCKIN) which many of you are familiar with. Currently I'm helping teach a Microsoft Excel class (basically I teach it the days the professor isn't there - those days are random and uscheduled making lesson planning difficult). That is in the morning for 2 hours. Then I have a break and teach an English class for another 2 hours. While I have never felt that teaching is my strong suit, it seems to be going well! Here is a picture of some of our students (they are doubled up at the computers because there are not enough computers and a few of the ones that are there are currently not functioning properly) and the real instructor - Maurice.
I still help Suzanna and Tim with their various work with MCC and MWC at the office on Tuesdays. Which I have really enjoyed! And on Thursdays I am still going to the Artisinat et Development store I wrote about before. That's going ok too. Right now I'm just helping the workers get a better handle on how to communicate in English with customers. So I try to walk around the shop and think of questions customers (such as myself) would want to ask. They know more English than they admit! Which has made my job there fairly easy! And Tuesday and Thursday evenings I'm still taking my Lingala lessons. But for me it's really Lingala and a little French lesson too so it's challenging that's for sure!
I have been getting text messages from the Embassy for the past few weeks warning of potential marches and just to be cautious but I hadn't seen or heard anything more. Well Thursday I did! As I was driving with Debo (manager of Artisinat et Development) to the A&D store, we passed a group of protestors. I asked Debo who they were and what was going on. He explained that it was a group of women whose husbands had been killed in military actions in the interior and in the East. They were marching and protesting demanding the money promised by the government not only for their husbands' pay but for their deaths. It was quite interesting and tragic all at the same time. But I was glad I got the opportunity to see it. It was peaceful and the cops present were just trying to keep the women off of the street and safe from (the horribly crazy) vehicles. I wish I could have taken a picture, but there were too many cops around and that's a no-no!
So I am fairly busy with planning classes, studying for my own class, and just trying to be useful in general. As always, there are challenges in life. I find that nearly everyday my mind is drawn to thinking about some challenge in life here and wondering how I will think about it all when I return home. That event will of course bring it's own challenges. Currently my struggle is with not having a negative attitude towards certain things. My time is winding down and I'm in a phase where the idea of going home is becoming more appealing. Therefore it's hard to not get frustrated with things like lots and lots of mosquito bites all over my legs and feet or sleeping under a stuffy mosquito net every night. Really just quite silly things but it is my current struggle so I do ask for prayers in that. And also that I can continue to focus on living here and not starting a countdown for coming home...
I think that's it for now. There's been a lot going on lately but that's what seemed most interesting to me! Stay tuned for the next version of "Andrea in Africa"
Love to all, and God bless!
