Going to the bush!

My home.

(To see the photo up-close, right click and press open in new tab/window)

I thought I would give a better geographical understanding of where I am and where I will be going tomorrow morning when I head to the bush. To get to Bukavu, I flew into Kigali, Rwanda (beautiful yellow dot), which also recently welcomed the other Bush, my President. I know I was a little offended, along with the people of Bukavu, that he didn't visit the DRC. From what I heard, he took some slack for not visiting the hard places in Africa (DRC, Kenya, etc.). But to be fair, there isn't exactly a landing strip to house Air Force 1, and we are something of a security risk.
I live in Bukavu, the nice pink dot, right on Lake Kivu, which has seen so much pain in the past 15 years. It's the capital of the South Kivu province, and has seen its size nearly doubled in the past ten years to over a million inhabitants. The picture of Renee (a missionary working with FH) and I was taken from the Orchid, the best restaurant in town. They have incredible chocolate ice cream, and it's literally the only place you can find it. A little Bukavu history for you: It was known as the jewel of East Africa, with beautifully paved streets and Belgian homes all along the lake. The remnant is pitiful; streets that are nothing but potholes and large broken homes that were clearly once magnificent.

I'm working on getting pictures of Bukavu in the 60s, right after independence, under the strict Mobutu regime, and before war ravaged the city. If I haven't mentioned this already, Bukavu was taken over in 2004 by the CNDP (National Congress for the Defense of People), the rebel group which is currently wreaking havoc in North Kivu, led my General Laurent Nkunda. He is a Tutsi, the ethnic group targeted during the Rwandan genocide, and is now claiming to be protecting all Tutsis as his army ravages the countryside, raping countless women and enlisting child soldiers. Just four years ago, he and his army invaded the city, killing and raping whoever they pleased. Since this horrible event, still so fresh in the minds of the Congolese, people have fled to Bukavu because it is home to MONUC, the UN force.

I took this other picture of the lake at the inauguration of our very own deck! The ladies and I just lounging after a dip in the water. I am in love with the lake! As I am swimming, I try to avoid thinking about past trouble in the Great Lakes Region, yet I can't help but find myself being urged to pray on behalf of those who are sustained by Lake Kivu. Our new deck is my key to the lake, but from this picture you can see the ridiculous set of stairs that stands between my house and the lake. Each stair is at a different angle, threatening to remove your footing at any time. Just a little sketchy.

So back to the map. The huge green dot represents Kalemie, our other main office and also a field site. The infrastructure of Katanga, the southern province, is not prepared for the influx of Congolese returning from their refuge in Tanzania and Zambia. Despite our incredible limitations, FH is the only NGO providing assistance in many of the villages. I will be headed to Kongolo tomorrow, which isn't on the map but very close to the blue dot (Kabalo). After some time in the visiting and hearing stories, I will travel via motorcycle and a canoe (to cross the Congo river) to Kabalo. After a few days in Kabalo I will return to Kalemie until next Friday -- that date is assuming the flights go as planned, a novel idea here in the DRC.

I'm coming up on an adventure, and I am so excited! As I embark on this time away from Bukavu, I am confident that He will introduce me to the people I need to meet and give me strength to love. Pray that I will respond to the call.