November 5-15, 2023
I am in the process of slowly adding photos and commentary over the next week.
2023 is the 100th anniversary of the 1923 arrival of the first American Lutheran missionaries in South Sudan, which of the time included the Central African Republic (CAR) and Cameroon. The CAR is one of our two companion synods. Also partnered with the CAR are the Eastern North Dakota Synod and the Western North Dakota Synod.
President Ngoe invited representatives from all three synods to come for the celebration, so off we go. My last trip was 12 years ago, so this will be a warm homecoming.
Here is a list of all Gulf Coast Synod Leaders/ELC-CAR trips over the years.
Here’s our delegation:
- Bishop Tessa Moon Leiseth, Eastern North Dakota Synod
- Bishop Craig Schweitzer, Western North Dakota Synod
- Alison Richard, ELCA Director of Companion Synod Relationships
- Véronique Eberhart, Gulf Coast Synod
- Bishop Michael Rinehart, Gulf Coast Synod
The Central African Republic is a landlocked country in western Africa that is rich in resources, but has struggled mightily with internal conflict in part because of these coveted resources. They won their independence from France in 1972.
The church there grows quickly due to a passionate faith and a focus on evangelism, however, armed conflict has constantly destabilized the country, scattering the church. In this lengthy post you will hear how the church is recovering and rebuilding.
Lutherans in the CAR, supported by companion churches around the world and the Lutheran World Federation, are always responding to the humanitarian need. You have been a part of that response. Last year we provided support of around $36,000 to this church. These funds go a long way given the exchange rate. This year we are trying to do the same. Below you will read how those funds are being used.
The trip is arduous. One day to flight to Europe, then, one day to fly to Bongui in the Central African Republic, then one day of driving to Bouar.
We thank you for your prayers during our voyage, which went without any incidents. We invite you to continue your prayers for the church in the CAR.
SCHEDULE OVERVIEW:
Dimanche Tous les Saints, 5 Novembre / All Saints’ Sunday, November 5, 2023 – Flight to Atlanta, then Paris.
Lundi, 6 Novembre / Monday, November 6, 2023 – Flight to Yaoundé (Cameroon), then flight to Bangui (CAR).
Mardi, 7 Novembre / Tuesday, November 7, 2023 – Visit to Saint Timothy’s Church and School and rest.
Mercredi, 8 Novembre – Wednesday, November 8, 2023 / All-day drive to Bouar with a stop in Yaloke.
Jeudi, 9 Novembre / Thursday, November 9, 2023
Vendredi 10 Novembre / Friday, November 10, 2023 (Luther’s birthday) – Baboua
Samedi 11 Novembre / Saturday, November 11, 2023 (Luther’s baptism day) –
Dimanche, 12 Novembre / Sunday, November 12, 2023 – Closing ceremony, visit to the water project and peanut oil project.
Lundi, 13 Novembre / Monday, November 13, 2023 – Drive to back to Bangui (10 hours)
Mardi, 14 Novembre / Tuesday, November 14, 2023 – Fly from Bangui to Yaoundé then to Paris
Mercredi, 15 Novembre / Wednesday, November 15, 2023 – Fly from Paris to Houston
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DETAILED COMMENTARY:
DIMANCHE Tous les Saints, 5 Novembre / All Saints’ Sunday, November 5, 2023 – Flight to Atlanta, then Paris.
LUNDI, 6 Novembre / Monday, November 6, 2023 – Flight to Yaoundé, Cameroon then Bangui, CAR.
MARDI, 7 Novembre / Tuesday, November 7, 2023
9:00 am – Our flight arrived in Bangui from Paris. We were exhausted and rank after two days of travel and two consecutive overnight red-eye flights. We were grateful that Willie had made the decision to not immediately hit the road and spend the day driving to Bouar, but to visit a congregation, give us some rest, and leave in the morning.
10:00 am – We visited St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church in Bangui and St. Timothy’s school. St Timothy’s was founded in 1984, but moved to this site in 1989. The congregation was named in memory of the church’s construction engineer from the US, Tim Olson who was killed by bandits. The building was finished in 1993.
Our group was joined by Annelise from the Lutheran Church in France (DEFAP).
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MERCREDI, 8 Novembre – Wednesday, November 8, 2023 – Travel to Bouar
10:00 am – We departed for Bouar 2 1/2 hours late because one of our vehicles broke down. With a stop at a congregation in Yaloke, entire trip took a little over 12 hours.
Most congregations to not have a solo pastor. One pastor serves 6-8 parishes. That pastor moves from congregation to congregation, one week at a time, providing communion. They are served day today and week to week by catechists who lead a service of the word and provide primary leadership of the congregation. Evangelists also serve multiple congregations, helping them reach out to their community.
Yaloke
4:00 – Yaloke is on the road between Bangui in Bouar. After six hours of driving, we arrived to find a large group gathered to met us in the road as we came over the hill, singing and dancing. The women’s group flooded the road like a beautiful flock of flamingos in their flowing pink dresses. Catechist Patrice, Evangelist Jean (Dean?), District President Simplice greeted us and led us into the sanctuary.
In March, the representative from the French Lutheran Church had visited this church, and it had no roof. Since then, a roof had been constructed with resources from our three partner synods.
The Lutheran Church in the Central African Republic has 7 regions and 27 districts. The church’s General Council has 40 members, with one representative from each of the 27 districts. With their growing ministry, they expressed a need for a parsonage, a health clinic, and a school building. After the presentation, they provided us with food and drink in the African tradition of hospitality.
We pulled into in Bouar around 10:00 pm, exhausted. It was quite warm. The rooms have no air-conditioning or hot water. In fact, the water was turned off when we arrived, but they graciously turned it on for us, so that we could take cold showers and they turned on the generator so we could charge devices. Nevertheless, I would have no phone signal or connectivity of any kind for the next six days. It was a breath of fresh air in many ways, but also frustrating to be completely cut off.
There is no electricity in Bouar, or most (90%) of the Central African Republic. people use gas powered generators for part of the day, and little solar panels have become popular for charging devices. In spite of the heat, I had very little trouble falling asleep after such a long day.
Sango word of the day: Singila mingi (thank you).
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Jeudi, 9 Novembre – Thursday, November 9, 2023 – Opening Worship!
Before worship, I was delighted to run into former missionary Phil Nelson, Mark Nygard, serving in Cameroon, and his son, Matthew Nygard, who serves on the staff of Western North Dakota Synod staff.
9:00 – Opening Worship at the Bouar Lutheran Center.
Pastors Theophile (“Teo-feel”) and Ringo Hamoa introduced the guests. President Ngoe presided and Jean, the Presiding Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Cameroon preached. The local Mayor and National Prefect brought greetings. Choirs sands and a loud band played. The worship was celebrative and joyful.
One of the most moving moment s for me is when the Catholic Bishop’s representative spoke. He invited forward the older Lutheran missionaries and thanked them, particularly Phil Naas, who translated the Bible into the Sango language and even created a French-to-Sango Dictionary. He took the Bible from his briefcase, held it before them, and thanked them earnestly to the cheering of the congregation.
In West African French he asked for copies of the dictionary. Jim reached into his bag and gave him one on the spot.
The Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cameroon preached.
After worship there was an unveiling of their 100th anniversary monument, followed by lunch.
Following lunch, we heard a short lecture by Pastor Paul Denou on the founding of the Lutheran Church in CAR, and another one on the major developments 1923-2023, by Pastor Henri. Later a first group, led by Pastor Ngoe left for tomorrow’s celebration in Abba.
In these lectures, I learned that the church was built on the foundation of healthcare services, schools, local evangelists, the Ecole Biblique (Bible School in Baboua), the Seminarie in Baboua, water projects building wells and spring boxes, and literacy efforts. the church grew rapidly and continues to hold the great respect of the leaders and people due to this vital, life-saving work. As will be seen below, this work continues in their current priorities.
From late afternoon to evening, three choirs rotated around eight neighborhoods, singing and dancing.
The three choirs were the Central Temple Choir, the Mamadou Sara Choir and the Cantonniere Choir.
The districts were the Gogo District, the Ganza District, the Herman District, the Zo Koue Zo District, the Gombou District, the Cotoaf District, the Haoussa District, and Crossroads Camp (Carrefour Camp) of Roux-Pakita,
One event we visited felt like a rave.
We could not keep up with this, obviously, but we were able to hear some of the choirs when they came back to the Lutheran Center. I hung in there till about 10:00 pm and then went back to my room and collapsed. I woke up around 11:30 pm and it was still going on out there. I could hear just fine from my room. 🙂
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VENDREDI 10 Novembre – Friday, November 10, 2023 in Baboua
7:00 am – Breakfast
After breakfast, Bishop Tessa and I were approached and asked to sit with four people for a brief meeting. Presiding Bishop Jean, Dr. Titus, and Denis, all from Cameroon, along with the CAR Church Administrator Rock from the CAR sat with us. The Cameroonian sister church leaders told us that health ministries had always been the foundation of the church in Western Africa, and that they should be giving consideration to a hospital in Bangui, as well as the development of more clinics. The church in Cameroon has 30. We said we would be excited to support whatever priorities the CAR church leaders set.
8:30 am – Our group was part of the delegation that then went to Baboua. The Cameroonian delegation set up a huge speaker in the back of a pickup truck, so that the music followed us wherever we went.
9:40 am – We made a brief stop at Gallo so that the Cameroonian delegation could see the Emmanuel Health Clinic on their way home to Cameroon. Dr. Emmanuel Dimla gave us a tour that oppose our eyes. The delegation from Cameroon was impressed with Gallo. Our group planned to return to Gallo tomorrow for a longer visit, so I will save my remarks on the Gallo Clinic until then.
Worship in Baboua
An enormous crowd was already gathered when we approached Baboua. They lined the roads and ran along with the vehicles. We were welcomed with joyful songs and dancing, and led almost immediately to a very large worship space with no roof. Children raced up to greet us along the way. I worry that when next year they come to visit us, we will struggle to duplicate this kind of welcome!
Processional video
Pastor Rachel DUMBAYE led the liturgy and Bishop Tessa Moon Leiseth of the Eastern North Dakota Synod preached, every word first translated into French, and then from French into Sango. As usual, the offering took a full 20 minutes of singing, as people danced their offering forward and put it in the box.
During a song, former President Andre Golike (2006-2015) caught my eye. We moved toward each other and embraced. It brought tears to my eyes. I gave him my ELCA/CAR pin and we danced together a bit.
Everywhere we went it seemed, the radio ministry of the Lutheran Church in the CAR, which is reading reaching thousands of people, was present.
The Cameroonian delegation left us and we departed to visit the Ecole Biblique (Bible School) and Seminarie.
Bible School – Ecole Biblique
Again, we were welcomed by an enthusiastic group. The Bible school has about 24 students who are being prepared to serve as catechists. One is female (Wooreen). With their families there are about 50 people. Bible school takes about three years to complete. You have to have a high school diploma to enroll.
The students performed a skit for us in the Gbaya language, exemplify, some of the mistakes of the missionaries, and of the locally trained catechists. Pastor Rachel described, but did not perform another skit, in French.
Pastor Rachel (DUMBAYE) has been the director of the Bible School for about a year now, though she has been working here longer. She showed us her house. Which had been completely trashed in 2020 and 2021 by rebels, all of the contents stolen. The house is being renovated, but is marked by the absence of furniture.
My last visit was in 2011. the rebellion exploded in 2013. From then until now, it was unsafe to travel here, which has saddened greatly. There are still attacks and skirmishes, but Russian and UN forces have tempt that down considerably. The Russians have economic interests here to protect. Their presence is strangely comforting. Still, church leaders would not allow us to come with them for the celebrations in Abba because they felt it was too risky.
The Bible school trains catechists. One must have a high school diploma, with all the requisite reading skills in order to keep up. Bible school last three years. So I’m going to Seminary to become pastors.
Seminarie
The Lutheran Church in the CAR ordains women, but few women make it to that level of education. Many young girls are traditionally pressed into service in the home, and some get pregnant in their teens, discontinuing their education. Most boys knew French, along with their traditional Sango, but many girls could not even speak French.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Central African Republic, had three women pastors until 2019 when Pastor Antoinnette died in a terrible bus accident.
Catechists can enroll in the seminary to become pastors. Seminary takes 4 to 5 years and includes more intensive study of scripture and theology.
When we arrived at the seminary, we heard were the former CAR church president André Golicke had fallen ill, and needed a ride back to Bouar. So, our time at the seminary was cut short. Fortunately, I had some time for prayer in the chapel, which I had come to love from my last visit.
On the way back, I learned that they were building two new churches in Baboua. New growth and life is being seen, after a devastatingly difficult 10 years.
Sango word of the day: Bara ala: Hello!
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Samedi 11 Novembre – Saturday, November 11, 2023 (Luther’s Baptism Day)
The morning brought us new life and energy. I’m over at some of the beauty of the area.
Bishops’ Meeting with President (Bishop) NGOE
In the morning, after 7 am breakfast, Bishops Tessa, Craig and I met with President NGOE. Willie Langdji, our missionary, was present and gracious enough to translate. before I get into details, I have to say, I don’t think I’ve ever met a more humble and unassuming spiritual leader.
Click here for LWF interview with Pres. NGOE.
President NGOE led us in prayer together, and then he gave us a sort of state of the church address. In time he outlined seven priorities of the church. Many of them align with the initial priorities of the church over the last 100 years that we heard about in the lecture on the first day. first, I’ll list them as he did and then I’ll go into more depth.
Priorities of the Lutheran Church in the CAR
1. Santé (Health)
2. Education (Education)
3. Formation (Formation)
4. Capacitation (Capacity Building)
5. Évangélisation (Evangelism)
6. Sécurité Alimentaire (Food Security)
7. Réponse aux Catastrophes (Disaster Response)
1. Health
This ministry will now make the Emmanuel Health Clinic in Gallo the center of their health ministries. More on Gallo below, later on this day. There is also a second health clinic in Bohong. Jesus’ primary evangelism program was his healing ministry. Jesus did two things in the gospels,: he preached, and he healed. How effective would Jesus preaching have been, if it had not been accompanied by his ministry of healing? How effective will are preaching be, if not accompanied by ministry of healing? The CAR has some of the worst health outcomes in the world. Medical care is barely available. The first missionaries established pharmacies in many towns. Read more about this critical ministry below. The ELCA gives $30,000 a year to the Gallo clinic, roughly 1/3 of it’s budget, but they have a doctor who comes for several weeks at a time, and they need a full-time doctor and more staff, especially in maternity. Last year our synod provided $6000 for this ministry.
2. Education
This ministry focuses on building schools and villages. This week has been tremendously effective in evangelism, the education of girls and boys, building trust with the community, and raising the vocational capacity of the population. The church now has 30 primary schools and two high schools. 15 of the schools still need roofs. Some have yet to be built. They cost about $35,000 each.
3. Formation
Formation refers to theological education for both catechists and pastors. (I’m not sure, but this may also include evangelists.) Catechists go to the Bible School in Baboua for three years. Pastors are trained after Bible School at the Seminary for 4-5 years, including a one or two-year internship. Recently, both schools were re-opened, after a time of wondering whether they would ever reopen. It is like new life.
4. Capacity Building
This ministry area refers to building the infrastructure of the church and its capacity to get his work done. This involves financial and administrative work. Due to a recent embezzlement, they have worked hard at tightening financial internal controls. Rock is their Administrator. His father was the first President of the ELC-CAR.
5. Evangelism
This area is a high priority. It involves the radio, ministry, and the coordination of other ministries that affect evangelism, like Health, schools, and food security. Evangelists strategize about how to grow the mission of the church and reach out to/serve the community. Schools need roofs, but evangelists also care about roofs, because, President NGOE said, when schools have roofs, it encourages people to come. Two roofs are under construction right now and a third is about to start up, thanks to ELCA funds.
6. Food Security
This one is obvious. People are hungry, and the majority are surviving through subsistence farming: planting crops and raising livestock (goats, chickens, etc.) to feed your family. This is a mentally hard work, and people need help with it. When churches show up for people in desperate need, they serve the world in Jesus name. This area also includes their water purification program (No longer called PASE, but just the water program.) Later in this visit (tomorrow) we will describe the spring they found, in the water purification, and bottling program they’re launching. They are also launching a peanut oil project thanks to the many peanuts their farms produce.
7. Disaster Response
This is a new priority. I don’t recall them mentioning this before, but the number of climate related disasters, from drought to flooding, have increased dramatically. I need to learn more about how the church is responding to this critical challenge.
After this discussion of priorities, Bishop Tessa mentioned the meeting with the Cameroonians about health. He had already heard that this meeting had taken place. We worked through it.
He thanked us profusely for having the courage to come into a war-torn area. We prayed for him, with laying on of hands. We were grateful he asked for this time to speak bishop to bishop.
Companion Synod Relationship Meeting
10:00 – They then invited in other members of our delegation: Pastor Rachel (CAR VP), Alison (ELCA/Companion Synod Relationships), Annelise (DEFAP/the French Lutheran Church), and Véronique (Gulf Coast Synod CAR Team).
He began by repeating with you for: “Thank you for coming into a space where we have had violence. After this crisis, we had the 2022 partners meeting in Cameroon because it wasn’t safe in the CAR.” Thank you for coming here in 2023.
He rehearsed the same priorities above, from memory, in a nearly identical way. Clearly, this was part of his consciousness, as he perceived work at the church.
Véronique asked if there was a plan. He gently sent her for the question and said that they are still recovering and not ready to articulate a strategic plan. He indicated they had been making great progress getting things back up and running, but recently, the centennial celebration had taken a lot of their time and energy. Rock added that right now they’re scrambling on many fronts. Different people have different responsibilities.
Bishop Tessa mentioned that we had received many requests, and asked how we should respond. Rock (Administrator) set. This has been a problem before, and they were trying to avoid it. Before it was a completely free system of projects. People managed them like it was their personal project. Different groups responded to different requests by different people and it was chaos. They are trying to seek a more integrated approach. They have establish the new system of accountability, but some are struggling with it. I was impressed the President NGOE didn’t feel the need to respond to every question, but let his leaders respond.
Alison shared some reflections from the women’s group. She encourage them to work through the structures of the church.
We discussed many other aspects of the various ministries of the church, and then talked about their visit next year. President NGOE will come with one other leader of the church, someone from church administration that can carry it back. The trip will encompass the synod assemblies of the three synods present, including other visits in the synods, and of course a stop in Chicago. There was interest expressed in the English language training (ESL). Or in his case, English as a third or fourth language.
I started sketching out possible timelines, given that our assembly is May 17-18 and the ND synod assemblies are the first week of June. We asked how much time was too much or too little. He responded, “How long would you want to host an African Bishop?” we all laughed and Willie said this was a very African response. We agreed that three weeks would be tight. He said a month would be acceptable.
If they go to Chicago first, then United Airlines Yaoundé to Brussels to Chicago makes the most sense. Here’s one of several possibilities, dependent on airline schedules:
2024 CAR Visit Possible?
5/11-14 — Travel (3 days)
5/14-17 — Chicago (3 days)
5/18-25 — Gulf Coast (1 wk) – Assembly 5/ 17-18
5/25-6/1 — W-ND (1 wk) – Assembly 5/31-6/2
6/1-8 — E-ND (1 wk) – Assembly 6/1-2
6/9-11 — Travel (3 days)
TOTAL: 30 days
Alison will be a big help here: A letter of invitation, with dates is needed as soon as possible. Likewise a dummy ticket.
It was decided that it would be too complicated to send youth to the ELCA Youth Gathering this time.
Alison asked if they would like another missionary, and President NGOE said “Yes, of course. The conflict/rebellion was not of our choosing. We did not choose to send the missionaries away.” Pastor Rachel said simply, “Yes.”
Before leaving, we presented President NGOE and Vice President DUMBAYE with gifts. A stole for each, a pectoral cross and other crosses from Peru (our other companion synod), quilts, school supplies, cards, ELCA globe pins, keychains and more.
Emmanuel health Clinic in Gallo
12:00 noon – We loaded up to visit the Emmanuel Health Clinic in Gallo, less than an hour away. Dr. Emmanuel Dimla was with us again. He is from English-speaking Cameroon. He comes with a team on contract with the church. He was supposed to be here for two weeks last time, but stayed four weeks.
We were offered a tour of the clinic again, this time slower in with plenty of time for conversation.
Triage – The goal in triage is to stabilize.
The store room – Medicines are more tightly controlled and coded. They have HIV and tuberculosis supplies. Children’s malaria meds. He explained that without electricity, they cannot keep blood, so, when children need transfusions, those transfusions generally have to come from the parents.
The Male Surgery Ward – They don’t keep up people long because there’s not much space. Their beds aren’t good, and they don’t have oxygen.
Outdoor eye consultation – 22 cases of cataracts recently.
Maternity ward – in a separate building as far away from the sick as possible
Fistula village
We met with the doctor for a while, and then we met with his staff, in the house, where everyone stays, which used to be a missionary house, where Phil Nelson lived. We learned about the most common maladies they treat.
1. Malaria – The CAR is a malaria zone. Malaria is carried by mosquitoes from someone with malaria to someone who does not yet have it. We slept with mosquito nets every night while there.
2. Malnutrition – The second most common. three out of five children require transfusions.
3. Vaginal fistulas – these are very common, and there is no other center until you get to Bangui the treat stairs. They had one woman who had one for 12 years.
4. Ovarian cysts
5. Appendicitis
6. Trauma
He is very impressed with this facility. It had been abandoned when the rebels moved in. Prior to that, it appears to have been poorly managed for a while, during the early years of the rebellion. People come from powers around. And he shared their need for more equipment, and better equipment. The x-ray machine is outdated. They need an ultrasound.
He met with the staff who consisted of Beatrice who is head of operations, a midwife, 2 assistant midwives, a pharmacist, security, operating room, nurse, 2 assistant operating room nurses, 2 security, and a gardener. What gives them hope you’re saving lives. But they seem to be most afraid of his when the doctor leaves, if someone comes in needing a C-section. Later Dr. Dimla’s team came in, and he introduced them. Quite a wise, impressive group. Gallo almost closed, but now it’s revived.
On our return we briefly made an unexpected stop at the Lutheran school in Yazeka. People from the local neighborhood came out and greeted us.
When we got back, I skipped dinner and went to my room. Fell asleep early.
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Dimanche, 12 Novembre – Sunday, November 12, 2023
7:00 am – Breakfast of omelets, avocados, bread, and coffee.
9:00 am – Closing Worship at the Lutheran Center. After many introductions and welcomes, liturgy was led by Pastor Alfred KOMBO. Rev. Alvius DEBSIA, President EFLC, was scheduled to preach, but I’m not sure that it was him. I thought I heard them say he was a Baptist preacher. And the sermon was certainly heavier on law than gospel.
All the services follow the same basic outline.
- Many songs with dancing
- Welcome, announcements , greeting of guests
- Song
- Confession (memorized by all, so books or bulletins)
- Confession song
- Absolution
- Forgiveness song
- Scripture
- Song while pastor prepares to preach
- Sermon
- Song with offering (20 minutes while groups dance there offering to the box up front)
- Closing remarks and benediction
- Song as we depart
I was surprised that representatives of the Lutheran World Federation were not present, especially since they have a presence in Bouar. I may be missing something.
President Ngoe invited us forward, offering us gifts of thanks for being present.
Pastor Théophile NAMBONA gave a short presentation on the ELC-CAR facing the challenge of empowerment. We were then presented with some lovely gifts.
President NGOE offered some closing words and suddenly it was over.
In the afternoon we visited a Projects. The water project, and the peanut oil project.
Water Project
The CAR churches, water project begin with digging wells and building spring boxes. Upstream they found a spring that was really good, so they tapped the water. It’s too hot they built a building and bought the equipment to filter by reverse osmosis, sterilize it, and put it in the clear packages for sale. This would cost less than the bottled water on the market. The facility is in Bokorta.
They got it going on 2018 and then rebels came in and it was abandoned as people fled. All equipment was stolen. When the people returned, they began to repurchase the equipment. They built a big wall around the building and locked it up so this doesn’t happen again. They’re almost ready to start production now. Maybe after the first of the year. This has the potential of making clean, safe, water, available to many more people for a much lower price, while at the same time, providing a sustainable income stream for the church.
Peanut Oil Project
Along the same lines, church members have been growing peanuts for a long time. Peanuts sell in the open market for a lower profit margin than peanut oil. In a similar way, they had been set up for this work until the rebels arrived. Now they are rebuilding. One machine hits up the peanuts on a grill, while another one process them for the oil. What’s left can be animal feed. This church has had many conversations about sustainability. Like the water project, this work could address food security, and also provide an income stream for the church.
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Lundi, 13 Novembre – Monday, November 13, 2023
We said our tearful goodbyes and drove to back to Bangui (9 hours), leaving at a decent time. Pastor Bruno, Willie, Tessa, Craig, and Emmanuel (Willys nephew) wrote in our car. We talked about our families. I pushed their English and they pushed my French.
Driving across the country, I was reminded again about the housing and neighborhood realities. Here are some typical homes:
What arrived around 5:00 pm. By 6:30 we met on the patio by the river for drinks and dinner with her African friends, that went to while past 10:00 pm with much laughter and memories. We all share what this visit had meant to us. The Gulf Coast Synod has been represented by a dozen people over the years. If this is something that touches your heart, I hope you’ll consider coming sometime.
Mardi, 14 Novembre – Tuesday, November 14, 2023
We left the hotel around 7:30 am for our 11:00 am flight from Bangui to Yaoundé then to Paris. Bernard, Rock, and Willie escorted us to customs and we made them farewell.
The daytime flights are so much more bearable than the red eyes. I spent the entire flight reading through my journal from the last week and working on this post.
We landed around 9:30 pm, 14 hours after leaving our hotel in Bangui. Véronique had a train to Strasburg where she’s working on her PhD until February. The rest of us headed to the Holiday Inn Express.
Mercredi, 15 Novembre – Wednesday, November 15, 2023
We had breakfast at the hotel and left around 7 AM to take the train back to the airport. Our flight left at 10:30 am from Paris, arriving in Houston at 2:30 pm. 10 hours. Of course it was 8:30 pm on my body clock, but the lag is always easier for me coming back.
It is my hope that every congregation will have some personal engagement with global mission. This relationship blesses both of us. I always learn from the joyful worship and intentional evangelism. And given that $1 = 600 CFA, we have the potential to do some great good.
Our Synod CAR team will need to set its priorities, and invite individuals and congregations into the dance. Next year we can look forward to a visit from the president of the church and another member of the church leadership at our assembly. I invite you and your congregation to remember our dear friends of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Central African Republic (ELC-CAR) in your prayers.
