More Transportation Stories

The President of the English Club here is a young Congolese man, probably around 21, who faithfully leads the Saturday afternoon meetings. He takes the role seriously, starting on time and monitoring the comments so no one speaks more than the allotted time or gets out of control. We've addressed some pretty heavy topics such as "The Moral Dilemma of Abortion," "The Relationship Between Science and Religion," and "The Consequences of High Technology." Next week's topic is "War in Africa." Yesterday, before English Club, Andrew arrived at my UPC office as usual. I could tell he wasn't himself. He slowly closed the door and announced that he had been in a serious accident the night before while riding in one of the Kinshasa taxis. He was in the back of the bus when another car tried to cut the taxi off at a turn. Instead of missing the taxi, they were "T-boned" and the bus spun out of control and turned over twice. Andrew's leg and face were badly bruised, but so far, nothing seems broken or needs surgical repair. He was shaken emotionally and had a difficult time telling the story to us without losing control. He verbalized God's mercy in sparing his life, realizing full-well he should not have survived this accident.

After hearing Andrew's story, my troubles about the Pajero seem fairly insignificant. However, let me just extract a little more sympathy from you by adding that the saga with the gasoline/diesel issue continued through this past Thursday when, in the pouring rain, of course, the car refused to go faster than 15 miles an hour. It rumbled and shook with every turn of the wheel and died numerous times in our 6 mile commute to UPC. We had no choice but to negotiate with a mechanic who was willing to perform a "house call." Another $240.00 (cash) later, the job was complete and I'm happy to report that I have had three glorious days of a well-running car.

Today Abbey and I drove said car to our first Protestant worship service in English in Kinshasa. Just roughly guessing, 50% were Congolese and the other half were Caucasion--from all over the world. I was pleased to see many people that I knew already from several venues: TASOK, my neighborhood, UPC, CALI, the Embassy. I share with you the words of the following song:
"Hold me close,
Let your love surround me.
Bring me near, draw me to your side.
And as I wait,
I'll rise up like the eagle,
And I will soar with You,
Your Spirit leads me on
In the power of your love."
AMEN!