Coopers in the Congo: Father's Day Projects, Gorilla Adventures, and a Loss

June 21, 2020

Happy Father's Day

Wishing you all a very Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Warren is a great father to Emmanuel. They are always making something together. Today Warren made him a little treehouse and showed Emmanuel his handmade crossbow. It is a blessing to have a handy husband who likes to try new things! He invests in his son. Thanks for being a great dad and husband! We love you!

Building a mini-treehouse

A handmade crossbow

Virunga National Park

Last week we had the opportunity to visit Virunga National Park, the oldest national park in Africa. We had been hoping to do this for years and we jumped at the chance. We needed desperately to get out of the village for a short time. The national park is officially “closed” due to Covid restrictions to protect the gorillas. The park headquarters has a gorilla sanctuary for orphan gorillas whose parents died prematurely. There are currently 4 orphans: 3 females and 1 male. They have one guardian who cares for all of their needs and has learned to communicate with them. We were told that there are 15 gorilla sounds/calls that they have mastered. I tried to imagine spending most of my time with gorillas instead of people and what a commitment that really is.

It seems that the gorillas have learned how to escape from their enclosure, climbing over

the electric wire without being electrocuted! While we were there with their guardian, two of the gorillas were very interested in us and jumped the fence! No sooner had this happened that it was peering over the observation deck with its’ big hands scaling the wall between us! Then the second female came to join us. They wanted to take turns approaching us. At this point Emmanuel got a little nervous and the guardian was between us at all times. They were not aggressive just very curious. I am sure they would have come up and touched our hair, etc. IT was enough excitement for one day!

It is amazing to watch these creatures scale trees with such agility and size, to see the size of their hands, etc. Their eyes are so inquisitive, as if they want to know what we are thinking about them. They are very deeply respected by the Congolese, almost hallowed. In fact when a gorilla dies they hold a funeral procession and give them a proper burial. It felt like such an honor to spend part of the morning together.

Virunga NP has become increasingly a difficult place to protect. In Africa conservation is akin to actively protecting animals from poaching and land from exploitation for natural resources. It is not an easy job. Our pilot friend wears a bullet proof jacket when we flies doing surveys. Much of this is done from the sky. Our hospital has cared first hand for many rangers who have suffered accidents from national parks. I have great respect for those who work to protect these rare habitats. It often comes at great cost.

Perhaps someday we will have the opportunity to visit gorillas in the wild as Emmanuel gets older. We take any chance we get to expose him to these wonderful wild animals. He is becoming a bird watcher and loves chameleons. He just loves animals and is learning that animals have limits and get tired too.

The descent to the Semliki Valley

Close to Boga

Loss

This past week one of our nurses died of complications of a stroke. His name was Bara and

Bara's family

CME Colleagues, Friends, and Family

he was chief of the pharmacy. He worked at Nyankunde before the war and was one of the few who came back to re-start the work afterwards. It affected our staff deeply. I was very touched to hear of many staff members who came to sleep in the hospital chapel alongside the family the night of his death. It is very cultural for family members to “veuil” (night guard) alongside the body of their loved one. The following day there was a large procession to attend the funeral in a neighboring village.

Today the hospital held a prayer meeting for his family, friends, and co-workers. One of the Swahili songs was about how there is only one way to get to God and we need to know Jesus to inherit heaven. We need to prepare ourselves for this reality. Death has a way of exposing what is really important: knowing and following God in this life and helping others to do so. I was reminded of the passage in John 14: 6: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

I could almost hear Bara’s chuckle and see his dry smile as we sang and prayed over his family.

An Update on Security

Many of you have expressed concern for how we are doing, given the recent event of insecurity in our village. Thank you for contacting us. We are doing all right. There has been continued movement of the population-many women and children have left, most shops have closed, etc. The governor of our province visited a couple of weeks back in an attempt to promote peace and the laying down of arms. There is military presence here which isn’t always reassuring, but they are here to protect against any insurgences. We have taken more frequent breaks out of the village to breathe which has been good.

We appreciate your prayers and support.

Blessings,

Lindsey for the Coopers