First day in Lubumbashi
Monday, July 28th, 2014
Bryce and I arrived in Lubumbashi (Democratic Republic of Congo) airport about noon. Bertin Mwanya (the president of the DRC church conference) met us with two other church leaders. We took a quick ride to our hotel. My stomach was not feeling well, and the smells were getting to me. Although I had slept a little on the plane, I was still quite worn out.
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After a nap I felt a bit better, and Bryce and I left the hotel on foot, looking for a place to buy bottled water, and a bank for him to exchange some Mozambique currency for Congolese Francs. I was so glad that Bryce was able to accompany me on this trip, since I do not know French. The banks were closed, but we did manage to find a supermarket, so we came back to the hotel with four 1 1/2 liter bottles of water. Later, we went out again and purchased a loaf of French bread at a bakery, and came back to a meal of peanut butter and jelly on that French bread.
About 8:00 pm, Bertin arrived with nine other men. These would be the trainers that we would be teaching throughout the week. We had some fellowship time getting to know each other outside our hotel in the dark, since the hotel did not allow visitors to enter its compound after 7pm. I introduced myself to the group (with Bryce interpreting in French), and we talked about what we would be doing during the week. Then we prayed for each other, and they left.
Our hotel did not offer many of the accommodations that Americans are used to, but it had doors and windows which locked, toilets which actually flushed, cold showers, and beds. Of course, we were both in jet lag, so I’m sure neither of us got much sleep that night.
The next day, our plan was to gather at El Shaddai church and begin the lessons.
jeffersonvann 