We're Finally Here - Experiencing Major Culture Shock!!!

So the trip from Brussels was no big deal; everything went very smoothly. We've notice that the African people on the flight seemed extremely friendly. Everyone was very eager to help out their fellow passengers; from an older gentlemen watching a newborn while it's Mother changed it's sister’s diaper, to a guy that got onto Paul for photographing the kids while they slept. It was a bit bizarre, but the guy started hasseling Paul in French for photographing the children; he didn’t realize they were ours! Paul managed to spit out "my child" in French and he then calmed down, started to smile, and proceeded to ask where we were going and what we were doing. This was a rather short conversation, but someone got out "missionnaire" and he understood that we were on a mission trip.

On the descent into Kinshasa we noticed that it was pretty dark compared to any other American City you might fly into. It was a rather bizarre checkerboard pattern of lights for a city that is over populated. It turns out that dark portions of the city were the ones were the power grid had failed; a rather frequent occurence. While staring out the window, a large portion of the city suddenly became illuminated.

Okay, now the fun starts...of course there was no terminal to pull up to. The plane was apparently randomly parked and then we marched down a set of stairs that had been pushed up to the cabin door. We were escorted straight to the customs "hall" - more like a room with three wooden boxes at the far end: one for Diplomats, one for Expatries (foreigners), and one for Nationals.

Blowing through customs we entered the Baggage Claim Area. This small room is packed with people constantly milling about and all simultaneously talking so that the background noise was quite high. The only thing I could compare it to would be standing in the middle of a commercial chicken coop or perhaps being in a mall around Christmas time when there is a run on Hannah Montanna paraphenalia - use your imagination.

I can't help but mention the terrier sized rat that was milling about in Baggage Claim. We almost thought someone's pet had gotten out of it's carrier.

We had previously instructed the kids not to let go of their luggage for any reason and to stay close. I'll fast forward by saying we were stuck in the baggage claim area for around 2 hours waiting for the 20 bags of stuff we were bringing for the orphans. In the mean time we had several individuals that were loitering close enough to our stuff that the Congolese Police and Military came to stand next to us to make us more "comfortable." They were extremely nice and we were grateful for the help.

Interestingly enough, one of the Police officers asked Ashton if he could "see" his cap. He asked Paul and of course Paul negligently said yes. As soon as Ashton handed it to him he walked away laughing…we saw him a little later fighting with another policeman over the hat, and that was the end of that! Evidently "see" means "donate!"

On the ride to the Mission from the airport, the streets were littered with old VW buses moving under their own power or being pushed by several hired hands. The streets were lined with people milling about the street vendors whose stands were lighted with candles, as there was no power in the middle section of the city.

When we arrived at the Mission they welcomed us all with open arms, treating us very well! The hospitality is amazing. They prepared a wonderful Congolese meal, for us, which included whole fish curry…even the eyes! The kids handled it very well, but Zach was a bit squeamish!
It’s getting late and we’ve all partnered with someone (except Zach) to sleep head-to-toe on a twin bed.