Meeting Kevin's Fiancée

My brother Kevin is engaged to Michaela.  They live in Hanover, Germany, and made a trip to the United States from July 30-August 10 to see us before they get married.  Kevin is now honorably discharged from military service after serving our country for seven years!

Originally they planned to be here from July 29-August 9, but Delta and a US Customs agent completely terrorized their travel plans.  In New York Kevin went through Customs and had to show special paperwork to them because he's now discharged from the military.  The Customs agent screamed and yelled at him unnecessarily.  The line behind Kevin completely disappeared since no one wanted to deal with that Customs agent after he was so blatantly hostile for no good reason.  Even after Kevin was finished doing business, no one went to that agent for awhile.

They were delayed at New York City by inclement weather, which did not exist, which caused them to miss their flight from Minneapolis to Bozeman.  They were forced to stay in Minneapolis overnight at their own expense (which was heavy on the pocketbook), and then took other flights the next day to finally make it to Bozeman the night of August 10.  Michaela's luggage piece was destroyed.  Delta offered to replace her €100 luggage with an inferior one or to send in the old one to a service center where the company would either repair it or give them a voucher of some sort for the depreciated value of the luggage piece.  At his hotel, Kevin discovered that important things in his luggage were stolen from during the travel from New York to Bozeman.  On the way back home to Germany on August 9, Delta cancelled that flight, and forced Kevin and Michaela to stay in Bozeman another day.  When they got their luggage back, a strap was missing but fortunately it was found after the airport personnel searched for it.

Kevin and Michaela are still working out the damaged luggage situation, and I believe they're working on other things too.  Delta has not compensated Kevin and Michaela for any of this mess at this time.  I really hope he gets his story published at FlightsFromHell.com, since it was one of the worst stories I've heard in awhile.  Obviously he's never going back to that airline again.  The funny thing is that all the Delta employees were very sympathetic to the issues, but were constrained by company policies.

Airlines in the US are pretty terrible anymore it seems.  They used to be much more courteous and accommodating.  Now they look for any way to work you over.

While they were in Montana, Kevin and Michaela spent some time with me.  On August 2, I was already at Bozeman after spending the night at Jean's and Bruce's condo.  So that day, Kevin, Michaela, and I drove to Gardiner to see Jean, who was in Gardiner already, and Zana and her kids.  From there we briefly went into Yellowstone Park to look for some animals.  We saw elk in Mammoth, and then saw yellow-bellied marmots at Sheepeater Cliff.

On August 5, I went to Bozeman to go to church, and then drove to Livingston where I met Kevin and Michaela at the Park County Fairgrounds to watch the demolition derby.  We had a lot of fun there.  Afterwards, we had ice cream at Dairy Queen, visited Grandma at Livingston Health and Rehabilitation Center, and saw Dad and Bonnie for a couple hours at their new house.

A couple cars duke it out at the demolition derby in Livingston.

Kevin and me at Dairy Queen

Kevin and Michaela came to Gardiner for a couple nights on August 6-8.  On August 6 I gave them a quick tour of Yellowstone National Park.  We saw a little of Mammoth, Steamboat Geyser, Lower Falls, Mud Volcano, Yellowstone Lake, and Old Faithful.  By that time we were hungry and ate dinner before driving home in the dark.  Michaela wanted to climb a mountain while she was here, so on August 7 we hiked up Mount Washburn at Dunraven Pass.  That evening we drove to Chico Hot Springs where we enjoyed the naturally hot water.

Kevin and Michaela at Lower Falls, YNP

Michaela and Kevin dance like penguins on the Mount Washburn trail.

August 8, we all drove to Bozeman and did a little shopping before going back to Chico Hot Springs for another dip.  I stayed in Bozeman that night at Jean's and Bruce's condo since Dad, Bonnie, Jean, Kevin, Michaela, and I were having a get-together at IHOP the next morning before Kevin and Michaela were supposed to leave but couldn't.  After that breakfast, I was relaxing at the condo when I got a call from Kevin because he needed a ride.  We ate dinner at Outback Steakhouse before I had to go back to Gardiner to take care of the house.

Me, Jean, Michaela, and Kevin at IHOP in Bozeman

It was great to meet Michaela, and we welcome her into our family!

On a British Adventure

On July 15 our JESUS Film team arrived at the Heathrow Airport about 8:30 a.m.  We had a very successful trip to Angola and believe that our showing of the JESUS Film helped give hope to a nation striving for it.  We were now in Great Britain, and had our first meal in the developed world together at Giraffe.  Wow!  What a great meal!

A waffle with Greek yogurt, strawberries, honey, and garnished with mint

Fried eggs and tomato, beans, ham, and sausage

Bruce had to catch his flight so we said goodbye to him.  The rest of us did a little shopping in the airport before I said goodbye.  I had a super-long layover and I was going to take advantage of it by taking a quick tour of London.  The rest of my group would leave before me.

Once outside of Customs, I got a taxi to take me around town.  It cost me about $350 USD, but he was able to make sure I got back to my flight with plenty of time, which a bus tour would not be able to guarantee.  Below are just a couple samples of what I saw.  The entire set of videos I took is about 26 minutes long, so I won't bore you.

The Victoria and Albert Museum

Back in Luanda, and Getting on the Plane

I almost forgot about one side note!  While we were in N'dalatando, Angola, one of the ways that our JESUS film team ministered was by participating in our hosts' church service on Sunday, July 8.  There was some singing, but not as much as during the wedding.  It was a lively service and I enjoyed it.

During the speaking part of the service, Adam gave his testimony about how God drew Adam to him.  His testimony had to be translated from English to Portuguese by Adelson.  After that, Bruce preached to the congregation in English, with Adelson translating to Portuguese.  Adelson did a pretty good job of translating.  There were a couple rough spots, but he got through them.

So, back to the rest of the story...

On our last day in N'dalatando, on July 13, we gave away our gifts which we brought with us from the United States.  Mostly composed of t-shirts, small toys, books, and sundries, our gifts were well-received by the church.

As we were getting ready to leave, Mama Suzanna and a couple of the ladies that helped cook for us sang for us:

We were very grateful to that church for all their hospitality and pray that God would help them increase in knowledge and wisdom.  They were a huge blessing to us.

After some prayers, we drove to Luanda.

The next day was our last day in Angola!  We had a busy day ahead of us.  That afternoon we drove to a public market where we could buy some souvenirs.  It was on the other side of the city, and it took us awhile to get there.  One of the the items that caught my eye was a green rock called Malachite.  I haggled for a couple small pieces of it that were shaped like a cat and an owl.  Of course I gave the one shaped like a cat to Jean!  This is the owl I kept for myself:

During our trip Domingos stayed with us for the entire time.  We finally got to meet his wife Vicky that day.  That couple are very special to us.

That night after we arrived at the airport, I had a fiasco getting through security.  Firstly, Haley had a little bit of trouble with her luggage.  Even though we all had knives in our luggage, they opened up hers and had to examine some disposable toothbrushes with little pointy ends! What a laugh.

Next, we had to get our visas stamped to get out of the country.  For some reason, the woman who was taking care of my visa was taking an extraordinarily long time.  I didn't know what the issue was since I could only speak one or two hundred words in Portuguese, and she only had a conversation with the officer in the neighboring booth.  I was the last one from my group to finally get approved and get out of there.

Then, although I was following British Airways' policy regarding batteries, Luanda security confiscated my batteries in my carry-on and made a big deal about it.  Whatever.  As Bruce and I walked away from that, another security officer asked me to step into a private room!  Bruce insisted on going in also, but all the officer wanted to know was how much money we were carrying.  Since we were Americans, they were wanting to make sure we had less than $10,000 cash.  He seemed satisfied with our answers, so he let us go without searching us.

When we finally arrived at our gate, and having shown our passports to authorities no less than six times apiece, I sat down and put my bag on my lap.  We couldn't understand the person on the loudspeaker since it was in Portuguese, so we just decided to follow the crowd for when our plane was ready to board.  Once everyone started getting up to leave, I tried to get up, but found my carry-on was stuck to my leg!  I tried pulling it apart and found that the bag and my leg were covered in gum.  Insult to injury!  Oh well.  Once on the plane, I quickly changed pants and got that over with.  The rest of the trip home was delightful.

In Kwanza Norte, Telling More Than a Story

On my mission trip to Angola last month, we showed the JESUS film to about 1,400 people and estimate that approximately 250 people came to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.  We showed the film in five different cities on six different occasions.

The film was presented in the Kimbundu language, one of the primary native languages of the province we were in--Kwanza Norte.  This was the premier of the JESUS film in that language, and our hosts were very excited to do this.

We used the Evangelical Baptist Church in Angola (IEBA) church in N'dalatando as our base camp.

On Friday, July 6, we traveled to N'dalatando from Luanda.  We had been waiting a couple days for our driver and the vehicle to arrive, and finally they made it.  We loaded up our Toyota Land Cruiser and drove over there--a distance of about 155 miles.  We were pulled over about seven times during the trip by officers who were looking for a bribe.  Once they realized that we represented a religious organization, they let us go without saying anything.  We got to see the African baobab tree, also known as "the tree of life" for its fruit which can be used in cream of tartar or several medicinal purposes.  The terrain changed from a tan-colored dirt to red-colored, and from savanna to jungle.

An African baobab tree, without leaves since this is winter in Angola (photo by Maggie)

After arriving at the church in N'dalatando, we grabbed a quick lunch/dinner and went to Lucala, a town about 22 miles away.  On this road we didn't see any officers looking for bribes.  There was a lot of road construction on bridges going on.  Since it was the dry season, this was the only time to actually do this sort of construction.  In Lucala, our hosts picked a bare field for us to set up our equipment.

We showed the film to our first audience, a group of about 200 people.  From them, we saw about 25 commitments to salvation.  Our hosts were a little disconcerted at the numbers, but for us, it was wonderful.  The very first person who came to the screen to ask for salvation was a teenage mother with a brand new baby on her back.

There was no shirking about it either.  In our churches in the United States, we often ask people at altar calls if they would bow their heads and close their eyes and then ask people to raise their hands if they want Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.  There was nothing like this here--it was completely out in the open.  Our hosts took down names for further contact, but didn't take down the names of any of the children who obviously accepted Jesus.  That's not to say that it was right or wrong, just to show some of the differences that there are between our culture and theirs when it comes to Christianity.

Our JESUS film team was ecstatic over our results and praised God for the good reception that we had with police officers in the area and people coming by.

The next day we didn't do a film showing because of the wedding at the IEBA church in N'dalatando.

On July 8, we went back to Lucala, but to a suburb called Cacoso, where we showed the film to about 250 people.  We don't know if anyone received Christ as their Savior at this showing since the riot interrupted everything.

We went to a city government building in N'dalatando on Monday, July 9 to properly register our lodging in their city.  We tried on Friday, July 6, but certain people weren't there that needed to be.  We got in the Land Cruiser and waited for our hosts.  Finally we were told that we were going to meet the municipal administrator, the Angolan equivalent of a city mayor.  We were told that she didn't speak English, and that our hosts would explain our goals and plans to her in Portuguese.  If Bruce, our team leader, wanted to say anything, he would be able to tell our hosts in French so that they could translate.  The meeting went pretty much as we expected until Bruce told us that one of us should say something to her!  No one else did, so I offered her and her city all our blessings and explained that we wanted to show everyone we met the love of Jesus.  She smiled, and we all realized that she did speak English!  At least well enough to understand me!  She was very happy to have us in N'dalatando and also wished us her best.

Apparently news of the riot the night before hadn't reached her ears, and so no questions were asked in regard to that matter.

That afternoon we drove to Golungo Alto, a distance of 32 miles.  We registered with the local municipal administration once we arrived to avoid any possible misunderstanding in case police got involved again.  After the riot, no chances were taken on that matter.  The municipal administrator wanted to meet with us too, and so we came inside for a meeting.  The entire meeting was in Portuguese, but from the context we could understand quite a bit.  Our hosts explained our mission to him.  After that, the Administrator asked a man to come in and told him to go with us and report back what he saw.  Then the Administrator asked us to pray with him.  We found out afterwards that he was a believer!  Two good surprises in a day, just after a major attack of Satan.

That night we showed the film to about 400 people, our largest group during our stay.  About 50 people accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.  We showed the film between a church (possibly Catholic) and a school.  We were instructed to go to that destination by the Administrator, and it worked out beautifully.  Nearby was also some kind of outdoor cantina, so many people could hear the film that actually didn't come closer.

July 10, Maggie and Bruce went with our host pastors to be interviewed by the national newspaper and radio.  It was good publicity, and we praise God that we were blessed in this way.

We had a long way to go to our next film showing: Samba Caju, a distance of 62 miles from N'dalatando.  It was a pretty rough road and the air was thickly filled with dust and dirt because of all the major construction along the way.  This road seemed to have been heavily destroyed during the civil war and was being reconstructed.  We had a little difficulty in choosing a site after we registered with the local government, but eventually went to a soccer field that was on the edge of a neighborhood.  We only had about 100 people show up, but because so many thought that this was a political event, only four people actually gave their names to our hosts.  Considering that just about everyone stayed through the altar call, we think that maybe 50 people gave their hearts to Jesus who weren't willing to go public by giving their names.

On Wednesday, July 11, we drove to Dondo, 49 miles from N'dalatando.

Just so that you understand these distances, we often had to drive slower than we do in the United States.  A trip like this could be a couple hours.  It took us about five hours to drive from Lucala to N'dalatando.

There was a lot of construction in Dondo, and we had a hard time finding a good place to show the JESUS film after we registered with the municipal administration.  Finally a guy offered to help us and showed us to several places in the town that might work out for showing the film.  Our hosts finally settled on a soccer field near a major road.  We had about 100 in attendance there plus all the people that drove by and listened from across the street that weren't near.  We had a lot come to Jesus that night--about 75.

So on Thursday, July 12, we went to the botanical garden in N'dalatando.  That night we set up the equipment at a soccer field near a couple schools in N'dalatando.  It was our last showing of the film during our mission trip.  I was greatly encouraged by a group of young men who came to our Land Cruiser while Adam and I were taking a break in the middle of the film.  They explained that they were from a nearby college and had been learning English and learned that American missionaries were showing the JESUS film in their mother tongue.  They wanted us to tell them about us and where we were from in the United States, and on leaving wished us their blessings in Christ (a kind of simple ritual on leaving, but it shows great appreciation).

There were several people in the group who already were Christians besides that group of men.  I knew enough Portuguese to understand one teenage guy who told me that he was a believer, and explained where he went to school.

At this showing, there was an emphasis on the fact that the church one belonged to didn't matter, but that the message of Christ's life, death, and resurrection was paramount to our being there.  We were so well-received and saw about 350 people in attendance, and about 45 people saved.  Below is a video of Adam playing with some of the kids before the film was shown.

More happened during this mission trip.  I think I'll write one more blog about it.  The crux of the ministry we performed is here.  I thank God for our host church in N'dalatando.  They have so little to work with and have a hope that isn't readily explained.  I got to know some of the guys who helped us at that church.  We have such different backgrounds, but I see them as my brothers in Christ, even if they are across the globe.

Below is a slideshow of many of our photos during our time in Angola.  I apologize to those who are in a country that can't view it because of copyright laws on the music in it.

In Luanda, Angola

Well, now that you've already read a little bit about Angola and a few of my stories, I'll explain more about the trip itself.

Once we landed in Angola, It quickly became apparent that very few people in Angola spoke English.  Little did we know that there was a mix-up about having a translator while we were there!

We discovered that our ride to our host church wasn't going to be big enough for us all and our luggage (which included the equipment for showing the JESUS Film).  We got another taxi and split up.  On driving to our destination, we started seeing the conditions that people lived in.  What shocked us first was how chaotic traffic was.  We're so used to having a structured traffic system.  People passed other cars in some of the craziest places.  Lanes were more like suggestions for where cars could go.  And somehow our driver didn't hit anyone else!

We started seeing women carrying baskets of bread and other things on their heads.  They could start a run or make a quick turn on a corner without putting up a leading hand on their wares.  It was pretty amazing.

Eventually we started seeing the sewer ditches everywhere and the deplorable condition of the roads.  The smog in Luanda was much stronger than any of our cities in the US.  The air was made filthier with the dirt and dust that perpetually saturated the air.  Construction was a constant effort in this overpopulated city of more than five million people.  Free-range animals were everywhere: dogs, chickens, goats, and boars.

Once at the Evangelical Baptist Church in Angola (IEBA), we stayed there from July 4-6.  While we were there, we visited with the people that stayed on or near the compound.

We were given a tour of the compound.  There was a church in which about a thousand people could attend.  Also present was an elementary school, and a seminary.  There was a clinic where people could see the "doctor."  We were staying in what seemed to be a guest house with a full kitchen and several bedrooms.  There were even public restrooms on site!

We were surprised to find that many people could speak French, a result of displacement during the Civil War.  Bruce could speak French, and I started picking up some Portuguese because I already knew a little bit of Spanish.  We heard some of the funniest things from some of the locals.  One man who was a "doctor" (though I would be scared to go under his knife!) told us that he believed that Obama had Gadhaffi killed because wanted Libya's oil!

I learned after one incident that it was best to not advertise my training at a Bible college since there was a cultural difference in what people do with the information they learn.  One guy compared me to Jonah, thinking I was running from God's calling.  For those of you who know me, that sounds laughable, doesn't it?  Basically, when people in Angola go to a seminary, it's expected that they immediately go into ministry during or afterward.

Alfonse and I stand at IEBA.  (Photo by Maggie)

The ladies of the church made us a lot of wonderful meals.  They didn't understand why we couldn't eat it all.  Really, they made us a feast for each meal!  One of the ladies was a pastor at this church too.  Below is an interview I had with her:

Several of the ladies who served us at the church stand with Maggie and Haley.  (Photo by Maggie)

While we were there, we met a wonderful British couple from South Africa.  They arrived and left the same days we did, though in different directions.  We had a great time visiting with them.  They shared their butter and French press coffee with us.  We even celebrated Independence Day (a day late) with them!  Think of that--celebrating Independence Day with Brits!

Steve and Sue were great company while we were in Luanda.

When we wanted a little excitement in our lives, we would go outside and talk and play with the kids at recess.  They really wanted our attention and would show off their Justin Beiber moves or a folder with Hanna Montana on it.  It was very overwhelming to have all those kids yelling around us, but it was fun.

Also while we were there, we set up our equipment on a practice run since we couldn't yet show the JESUS Film in any of our destinations.  We were kind of antsy to get started, but as we were discovering, Africa time is completely different from our time.  They're ready there when they're ready.  it was nice that we were able to recover well from jet lag with a couple days to just hang around.  Regardless, it wasn't too difficult, and we started seeing where we were going to find our grooves.

We watch as the JESUS film starts while practicing setting it up.  (Photo by Haley)

Finally, on July 6 we left IEBA for N'dalatando.  We were sad to leave all the kids and all the people we just met, but we were on a mission in the literal sense!

Enjoying a Botanical Garden in Angola

It's crazy to think that it's been almost a month since I've been to Angola!

On July 12, our JESUS Film Mission Team did a little bit of sightseeing for the afternoon.  Our primary destination was the botanical garden in N'dalatando, but before we went there we saw the old mansion of the first president of Angola.

The mansion is a dilapidated building left in ruins today. Originally it belonged to Agostinho Neto.  He was very influential in Angola's formation and was part of the MPLA, the political party that eventually won the civil war.  At some point he had to abandon his home.

The mansion of the first Angolan president

Fungus grows on top of the mansion.

Bougainvillea at the Angolan presidential mansion

Afterwards we drove to the botanical garden.  It's the dry season in Angola so the place wasn't as beautiful as it might be during the rainy season, but I enjoyed it none-the-less.  There was a Chinese bridge, bamboo, many butterflies, papaya, coffee trees, and other plants.  I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Adam takes a picture from the Chinese bridge.

André, Haley, Maggie, Domingos, Adam, and Me at the Botanical Garden

Bamboo reaches high into the sky.

Domingos at the Botanical Garden

André at the Botanical Garden

Haley and Maggie

Trees tower above us at the Botanical Garden.

A butterfly at the Botanical Garden

Maggie and Adam stand in front of bamboo at the Botanical Garden.

Coffee cherries

Smack-dab in the Middle of an All-out Riot!

No, I'm serious!  The title is for real.

On Sunday, July 8 our JESUS Film mission team went to the neighborhood of Cacoso, a suburb of the city of Lucala, Kwanza Norte.  We were in the middle of showing the JESUS Film to the people in that part of town.  People were watching the film from both sides of the screen.  I was sitting behind the projector with Bruce, Adam, and Maggie.  Haley was on the other side of the screen sitting with many of the children.  In the movie, Jesus had resurrected, and the women had just discovered that his body was gone and saw the angels when we heard a car engine being revved and getting closer to us from behind.  The driver made quite a bit of ruckus as he drove to my left, barely missing people.  On the backside of the screen he almost hit a couple women as he drove off.

Most of the young men who had motorcycles and were watching the movie immediately left in hot pursuit.  One of the last motorcycles I saw chasing the car was the police officer who had been there since the beginning of the film showing.  We remained seated even though some people evacuated the area, some of them running in the direction the car went.

When we finally thought all the drama was over, the car came back for a second pass!  Haley picked up a baby, and she and the kids on the other side of the screen ran for cover between the walls of the buildings where the car wouldn't be able to get.  By this time, Adam, Maggie, Bruce, and I were standing, wondering what the driver was going to do next.  He drove on the left side of us again with an entourage of motorcycles behind him.

Some women from the community got Haley's attention and got her to go into one of their houses where they invited her to sit on their couch with the baby while they excitedly talked about what was going on.

He started making a third pass, this time toward the rest of our team and our equipment.  Adam, formerly having been a firefighter, kept a really cool head during the fiasco and helped to direct our actions.  Having dealt with a few medical emergencies at work, I wasn't scared, but I was certainly nervous.  So far no one had been hurt, and we all had enough time to react to this troublemaker, but there was no way for us to move the equipment out of the way in time.  Throughout this whole ordeal all of us were praying Jesus precious name, and our Savior saved us from this as well!

The car made its approach toward us.  Maggie, Adam, and Bruce moved to the driver's side (the left of the screen), and I moved to the passenger side, picking up my chair behind me.  I don't know what I was going to do with the chair since it was made out of plastic and it didn't really matter if it got destroyed or not.  Suddenly, right in front of the equipment, his car died for no apparent reason.  After going over the events for awhile, I believe that God's angel killed the engine.

Then the driver made his worst mistake of the night.  People were hitting his car with their plastic chairs and hands.  The driver got out of it and was beaten to a bloody pulp by the crowd.  I saw him get out of the car and people grab hold of him, but because of my angle and the number of people between me and him, I couldn't see very much.  Adam was able to describe what happened to the man.  When the crowd was done with him, he was an unconscious mess.

We didn't know where Haley was, so Adam told Maggie to go find her.  Maggie finally found Haley inside one of the mud brick houses there.  She stayed with Haley until we were ready to go.

We were about to put everything away and immediately leave, but some of the members of the church told us to stay put.  Somehow even though they were speaking Portuguese we knew what they meant.  Eventually in all the commotion, they told us that we needed to go and started helping us.  I saw that they were taking boxes to the van before things were put inside them because they were in such a hurry.  I had to go to the van and stay with the van to make sure that we got everything, that it all remained safe in this riot, and that the stuff that was empty got sent back to the front line.

One lady put a cassava root in the van.  I didn't know what that was about, but it was a strange night anyway.

Meanwhile, Bruce and Adam put away what was left of the equipment as quickly as they could with the help of our host church's members.  There was a man shouting at them from near the front of the crowd.  He was obviously angry at us for some reason although I don't know why.  He had been angrily spewing Portuguese apparently even before I went for the van.  I hadn't noticed him since my attentions were on the equipment, but there was so much commotion that it was hard to notice everything.  He wanted to get in Adam's and Bruce's face and perhaps fight them, but the crowd kept him at bay.  It was still confusing in the middle of the crowd as Adam and Bruce finished up.  Still, it was interesting that the crowd protected us.

The father of the baby Haley was holding came to the residence Haley and Maggie were in and gratefully took his child.

Finally everyone got inside the van, and all the equipment was accounted for.  We were about to leave when the police showed up.  Our driver and a police officer started talking, and it got a bit exciting for a little bit.  We later learned that the police wanted to blame us for the riot.  The officer claimed, though I don't believe the story, that someone in the crowd said that we beat up a man.  I think the officer was lying; I don't believe anyone said that.  The evidence of the lie was that the crowd disputed that story to the officer too.  There was some question why we were showing this film in the middle of the street.  Fortunately we had all of our permits, so the officer finally let us go.

But it wasn't over!  We had to go to the police station, less than five minutes away from that community, and re-explain the mess.  As we left the suburb, several people waved and smiled at us.  From what we could tell, most of the people wished us the very best.

The situation with the police bothered me a bit more than the actual riot.  The police in Angola aren't known for being honest.  If they decided that we were to blame for the incident, we would have gone to jail.  Who knows how long we would have been in jail!  Their justice system isn't like ours.  We could be in jail overnight or for weeks before there was a hearing, let alone a trial.  Who knows how just their court system is!

Their jails are pretty miserable places.  Don't expect there to be a toilet let alone toilet paper in the room.  More than likely it would have been a bare room with a dirt floor.  If we were lucky it would have a cement floor with a hole in the ground to go to the bathroom in.  Food would have to be provided by other people, since the government doesn't provide food in the jails.  That would have made things more difficult because of the contamination problems in Angola.

We continued praying as our driver got out of the car and explained the issue to the police officers.  It was at this point that they asked to look at our passports.  Up to this point, the national police hadn't looked at our passports yet and had waved us on when we were on the highways.  In Angola, officers often stay on main highways and pull over many people and ask for bribes and examine everyone's papers unnecessarily.

One of the problems that the pastor driving was explaining to the officers was about how we registered while we were staying.  We were staying in N'dalatando, but when we tried to register at that town on Friday, the people that needed to be notified weren't there, and we were told to come back on Monday.  Well we got off on that one since we and our hosts fulfilled our legal obligations.  But after that incident, the officers told us to register with every city we went into when we showed the film so that we'd stay out of trouble.

This was a perfect example of how identity and representation counted for more than witness accounts in Angola.  We got off because we had all of our identity papers in order and because we had every single darn permit that we needed.  If we were going to go to jail, it wasn't going to be because we caused the riot, because everyone knew that we didn't; it was going to be because some piece of paper was neglected.  The police were looking for a reason to put us in jail, but didn't and sent us on our way home instead.  Praise God!  We carefully made sure that we got our passports back (because sometimes officers play that trick too), and went home.

As we were leaving, we were told by one of the pastors that at least this wasn't too bad because no one died!  What a statement!  I hoped that it was a translation problem since the idea was being translated from Portuguese to French, and then to English, but I kind of doubt it.  When we got home, we asked Domingos, our main contact and host during our stay about the frequency of things like this.  He said that in his 26 years of ministry, nothing like this has ever happened before.  Everyone agreed to the demonic nature of this riot, especially concerning the timing.

What a night!

Though this incident we thank God that he sent his angels to protect us, and kept us safe from the unwarranted accusations of wicked people.