The team came in pretty tired on Thursday afternoon. It was a day of finishing the project and tying up loose ends at the jobsite. The ground prep (including cutting down a tree) and forty foundation posts were formed and poured...and this is the short list. Add to this mix rain, slippery mud and a concrete truck with no four-wheel drive and I think you know where I'm going with this. It was a challenge to maneuver the truck through the mud to pour the posts and then get it back to solid ground so it could leave and I'm sure there were many other parts to the job I just don't know about. There was also some maintenance on the guest house, etc., that the guys pitched in and completed while we were there, but all in all, the stage is now set for the raising of the tabernacles for the Bible school, which was the main goal of our team. The work day- the work week- complete, everyone cleaned up and came to the house for a special dinner.
Friday brought us to breakfast at 8:30 instead of 7:00 which was kind of nice. A little extra sleep. We had coffee and breakfast bars, or whatever we wanted to eat. There was no big amount of food on this morning. Everyone just wanted to back off the food train a little. We took care of last day instructions and found out the plans for the day. Everyone was to get ready to go do a little shopping and have lunch before coming back to the house to finish packing and getting ready to leave for the the Malabo airport at 9:30 p.m.
After taking care of all the 'housekeeping' details we had devotions and prayer for Pastor Carroll and Ms Gayle. We asked the Lord to keep them safe, to give them strength and peace and to bless them abundantly. It takes people who are clearly directed by the Lord to move away from church, family and friends to another country to do ministry. The Deals are surely people directed by the Lord and are a blessing to not only to Malabo but to us, too. We love them so much.
The Deals took us to a little place inside a fenced yard on a side street for our first place of shopping and we got some really interesting things there. Pastor Carroll and Ms Gayle helped us all bargain for a fair price and the owner laughed and enjoyed telling us we were getting these great deals because we had two good lawyers, the Deals. It was fun and, in the end, both the team and our seller got what they wanted.
Our second place of shopping was in the town itself where there was lots of downtown traffic. It had lots of interesting African carvings and lots of colorful African dresses. We were shopping and ooohing and ahhing when we looked outside the store to the street. I could not believe my eyes. There, right in the middle of the street, stopped by traffic, was a military vehicle with two soldiers in camo each sitting at a loaded machine gun as they drove through town. Now we know not to stare, or even look at some things that we see on our trips. We certainly don't photograph much of what we see and we never want to purposely draw attention to our team but it's hard to ignore 17 white people in a little African city. I was shaken for a few seconds and wondered if I should just go ahead and hit the ground! Oh yeah. That wouldn't have drawn any more attention to our group. Chubby, old, white woman landing on her belly in the middle of a group of Americans! Yep. No one would ever have noticed me at all.
Although the soldiers looked our way they soon moved along with traffic and we continued our shopping. Afterward, we went to a pizza place for lunch. The food was very good and more like what we are used to at home. It was a pricey lunch for what we ate but it sure hit the spot.
During our stay in Malabo we discovered that the military and police situation was a bit unnerving. The police are definitely not accommodating 'public servants,' and the military is a strong presence in the town with many manned check points around the city. They can and do stop anyone they want to at any time and can be very harassing to whomever they wish. I felt vulnerable to them and didn't like it at all. I learned to ask the Lord for favor with those we met around town and then to simply not look the African men in the eye at any time.
At one military check point that is just before the entrance to our job site, four of us women were stopped before entering the work site. On this particular day, we had earlier brought the team food and now the soldier wanted to know why we didn't bring him food because he was hungry too. Ms Gayle looked straight ahead and matter of factly told him we didn't have anymore food and that we needed to go to the site again. He continued asking for food.
While this was going on, Joyce and I were sitting in the back seat, trying to hide our cameras with our leg and keeping our heads down not looking at anyone or anything except our shoes. Marsha was in the front seat trying to hide her camera with her leg because she knew if he saw it he might want to keep it. Then a second soldier came to her side of the vehicle and was smiling. Marsha thought if she smiled it would diffuse any tension about us--but it did just the opposite. He liked her smile and opened her door! Now this was scary. He could have pulled her out of the truck and kept her there. Marsha was shocked at the opened door and quickly stopped being friendly. Ms Gayle immediately started the truck moving slowly and it made Marsha's door shut. We went quickly past the check point onto the property where the rest of the team was working. It was a nervewracking experience to be sure.
Anyway, back to Friday. We got back to the house and worked hard getting our stuff all packed up after our week there. It's amazing how sprawled out you can get in only a few days but we did it. We had a few hours before time to leave for the airport so Odis and I went to the kitchen to see what we could whip up for dinner. We didn't really want to cook more new food so we started heating up bowls of leftovers from our week there. It wasn't too long and we had a feast set before us once again. Chicken and rice, steak, pasta and sauce, rice and beans, bbq pork chops, mixed veggies, bread, tea, and we were all set. Everyone ate and cleaned up the kitchen and it was time to put the finishing touches on our packing. It was time to head home.
The airport experience wasn't awful and we got through with no mishaps and were soon on our 5 1/2 to 6 hour flight from Malabo to Madrid. That's when the "fun" began. It was a miserable flight partly because the seats are squished together, partly because I didn't get to sit with Byron and partly because some people on this flight were determined they were the ONLY ones flying to Madrid that night and that everything was about THEM! Byron and I were seated in the middle of a group of inebriated Middle Eastern men with him on one side of the aisle and me on the other. So, for this long, middle of the night, unable to doze off so the time would pass faster flight, we had loud talking, fighting, and arrogance all the way to Madrid. I was never so glad to get out of a place in my whole life.
We had about a 4 or 5 hour layover in the Madrid airport but it was really nice and new there. We got food and a little rest. The 9 1/2 hour flight from Madrid to Miami was a breeze compared to the first one. Byron and I had the two seats together on one side of the aisle. He had the window. I had the aisle. There was more legroom. We had movies and food and non-drunk people all around us. It was a good experience. Miami home, though a little delayed, was good too.
We landed safely, deplaned quickly and retrieved our baggage. Good friend Steve was there waiting for us and we got home by 10:30 pm Saturday night. Thirty hours home but oh, so worth it. As great and rewarding and adventurous our trip had been, there's really no place like home.
I learned many things while I was on this trip. Some of which I am already aware and some I'm sure that will surface in the coming days, months or even years. I think that when we stretch ourselves with such new experiences we always come away with something important learned. It changes our perspective on many of the things we do every day. It shapes who we are and who we become. What a great thing!
Father, Thank you for traveling mercies for our whole trip. Thank you for safety on the jobsite. Thank you for no sickness. Thank you for protecting us in every way. Thank you for the Deals and their hospitality. Thank you for their love for you and their obedience to what you want for them. Thank you for our brothers and sisters in Malabo who were so kind and warm to our team. Thank you for the team. What a wonderful group of your children. I love them all so much. Thank you for what you are showing me though the experience of this trip. I am so glad you took us on this journey. It was a blast! I love you so very much.
Suz
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