Adjusting Back to Life in Congo

September 2019

Adjusting Back to Life in Congo

We made it back to Congo about 3 weeks ago and are adjusting to life.  It is an interesting process, the coming and going, packing and unpacking, goodbyes and reunions, letters and intentional time with people, layovers and missed flights….all of this is part of being a missionary.  We become accustomed to change, but it isn’t always easy. It is an interesting process of seeing things with new eyes.

We traveled through Rwanda and into Goma where we knew we had a better chance of getting vaccinated. We were vaccinated against Ebola our second day in DRC.  We spent about 4 days in Goma, a city built on lava, a very interesting place.  Then we took a commercial flight to Bunia and then to Nyankunde.  We were “traveling” for a total of 6days before we got to our final destination. It is all par for the course.  

We through a birthday party for Emmanuel’s 5^thbirthday with other missionary families. It

was a blessing for him to have his friends over and feel special.  He had been looking forward to his birthday party in Congo for weeks!

Then our first week here was challenging on all fronts.  We were dealing with health problems of our own, a child with emotional outbursts struggling to speak French, hospital disappointments, frozen bank accounts/phone numbers, etc…In fact if a tree had fallen on our house (as usually happens when we are away for an extended time), this would not have surprised me.  Although it had its challenges, it was also a rich time of re-connecting with our friends and colleagues.  It is nice to feel like people are glad you are back, that somehow you can give hope in simply sharing life together. 

It feels like we have two homes-one in the US and one in Congo.  It is an interesting thing to “belong” to two VERY different places.  I have thought a lot about this watching Emmanuel work through it.  I think he now has the idea that he is American, like his grandparents.  He knows he has a home in North Carolina, but he also knows that Congo is a very important place.  He knows he is different somehow.  He is becoming more aware of differences such as children bathing in the river without swimsuits on.  He thinks it’s silly and I say, Emmanuel they don’t have a “swimsuit” like you do.  He wants so much to connect with Congolese kids his age-to sing songs and feel like he belongs.  He climbs trees all day long and runs around barefoot!  

Little things about life: 

-It gets dark at 6pm every night here.  I forget the rush to get everything done outdoors before the sun sets and maybe get a run in if I am lucky.  Evenings are pleasant, always cooler and quiet.  There is time and space to hear yourself think.  I have a need to be outside when the sun is setting…I am not sure exactly why.

-There is no need for air conditioning.  You just open the windows and enjoy the breeze.  I don’t need to know what temperature it is indoors-it doesn’t even occur to me.  If it’s cold I get a sweater and if its’ warm I open the windows.

-We eat organic food without trying very hard!  I love this, not having much packaging, and simple but healthy meals.  Squash is a treat, as are green beans and peas!  Coffee takes some planning…you need a good stock of charcoal and a forge (!) to roast local beans.

-We have time to spend with each other.  Life doesn’t feel harried.  People are very important, more important than completing a checklist. 

- We live less private lives here.  We want to know and be known by others.  I enjoy having people in my home and working together with local people.  Our parrot is constantly talking to people walking and birds flying by the house…he is starting to imitate everything.  It even sounds like he is doing the local tribal greeting: “Nebo” in the morning.    It is funny.  Less private, yes, especially with a parrot.

-It is nice to work in the dirt, feed the chickens, and take goats out to pasture.  

-It feels good to speak French again daily.  I can hear Swahili better after a time away.  I have retained a fair amount of Swahili which is neat.  It is a blessing to worship the Lord in another language. Things take on new meaning.  I love this.

-I have more stuff than I need.  There is a lot of stuff to re-organize and give away.  It is easy to give things away here.  

We are getting back into the swing of things.  I have been attending meetings with the hospital about nutritional programming, looking at statistics and thinking through the best way to do operations.  We have been working through proposals for hospital capital improvements and trying to think strategically about what the needs are. Warren has been doing surgery every day and working with residents.  

Thank you for your interest in our lives.  We would love to hear from you!

Blessings,

Lindsey for the Coopers

Prayer Requests

-Pray for Emmanuel’s schooling, that we would know what his needs are, that he would be

First day of school

learning and growing in 2+languages.

-Pray for our hospital that we would represent Christ well, that our staff would feel valued and have their needs met.  

-Pray that we would be directed in how to spend our time in the hospital, ministry projects.

-Pray for protection of our area from Ebola and the end of this epidemic.

-Pray for our continued adjustment to DRC and security of our whole area.