[Oe List ...] From South Africa

[Del Morrill]

More from the grandkids now in Africa.

Friends and family,

We are finally getting settled in and beginning to adjust to Kamina. 

We left the US on Monday, May 9, arrived in South Africa on the

Tuesday (almost 24 hours later), left for Lubumbashi, Congo on

Wednesday.

We were greeted at the airport in Lubumbashi by at least 10 people

including Bishop Ntambo and a representative of the governor. This

was a little unexpected and we felt a little awkward and underdressed,

but blessed all the same. We didn't have to go through security,

other people got our bags, and took care of our passports. It was a

strange experience. We spent the next few days staying at a guest

house and doing some grocery shopping and spending time with people

Kathryn knew there.


Then on Saturday we finally left for Kamina. Our friend Gaston flew

us from Lubumbashi to Kamina in his little 6 person plane. Gaston is

a Congolese friend of Kathryn and her family. When we arrived at the

airstrip we were greeted by a large crowd of men, women, and children.

There were men playing drums and a choir of women singing and

dancing. There were at least 50 kids and a large number of local

pastors and community leaders. A girl read us a greeting in English

and two children handed us each a bouquet of local flowers and

brightly colored leaves. After almost a week of travel we were very

happy to finally arrive to our new home.

We are now staying at the United Methodist guest house. Our place is

nice and we are being very well taken care of. We have been shown a

great deal of respect and hospitality. It is interesting how hard it

has been to receive this. Our desire is to truly be people who can

not only give, but also receive hospitality.

This week we have been spending our time getting acclimated, going to

church, meeting people, learning some basic language (most people

speak at least 3 languages and generally speak a mixture of all of

them), touring the village, and seeing some of the various development

projects. Fairly soon we will need to pick some areas of focus, but

for now we are just seeing, asking questions, and trying to learn as

much as we can.

We will write more soon. If you want to contact us we have a cell

phone. (the Bishop requested we buy one so that he could contact us,

especially if there was an emergency) the number is 243-081-246-5838. 

Also we have access to email, though not every day. It depends on the

electricity and how strong the current is that day.

Dave and Kathryn