August 6-8 Getting to the Congo is no easy feat. Our journey the past few days has taken us through Chicago, Detroit, Amsterdam (Netherlands), Nairobi (Kenya), and Kigali (Rwanda). Once we landed in Kigali we ventured a 6 hour bus trip through the curly roads of the agriculturally patterned hills and jungles of southern Rwanda. The bus dropped us off near the boarder of the Congo where we checked out of Rwanda, crossed a small bridge and entered Bukavu Congo. The immigration building was a small room will a curtain and a man sitting behind a rickety table with a small lined notebook. Once he entered our info into the notebook by hand we were free to enter the country. Much different than the excruciating checks and rechecks of the US Immigration Service.

I wish I could give you a glimpse of the sights, sounds, and smells we have experienced the past few days. It is a lot like camping here in the Congo: electricity is limited, there is little to no water pressure, and a mosquito net to keep the bugs out. There are no tents, rather layers of housing that overlook a massive lake. Bukavu is a city of 600,000 people comprised of locals and war refugees, but that varies because people come and go often. The city has seen better days. 12 years of civil war have taken their toll. The city is alive, but needs the life of Christ.