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!