Gabon's Treasures

Over the weekend, things are pretty relaxed on the mission station for short-term missionaries/visitors…so we short-termers got to see some of Gabon's treasures...this involved tubing on the Louetsi River as described yesterday.

Tubing team:



Today, I went to Bongolo Church (the church on the hospital complex grounds). Church is quite extensive. Normally, it goes from 8:30am-2pm. Joanna Thelander told me to arrive at 9:45am and leave by noon. Haha. Dr. Keir preached. Dr. Keir is a man of many talents and is not only husband, father, surgeon, IT tech around the station but does SO much more…AND once in a while he gives the sermon on Sundays.

Bongolo Church:


Keir gave the sermon in French, which was then translated to Nzebi (local dialect)...Side note Nzebi: French, the national language) is currently taught to all children in Gabonese schools; however there are local dialects in different regions of the country. Sermons are often translated into local dialects because the older generation of church-goers may not speak French.

Since Keir was preaching, he had to sit up front, so (with the encouragement of Joanna), I sat all by my onesy in a long row of Gabonese men and women and...LOVED IT! I thoroughly enjoyed all the singing. Everyone here seems to have such a passion and joy when it comes to their faith and praising God. After church, I ran into Joanna, Sarah, Luke and petit Luc who had all been in the children's Sunday School.

Me & petit Luc after church:


I think I understood about 75% of the sermon, even though it was in French. Keir talked about his call to Gabon and how God spoke to him. He then talked about Abraham and Abraham’s response to God’s call. After, Keir addresses the story of Jonah and how Jonah first ran from God’s call.
After church, I ate lunch super quick & changed into caving clothes…Geared up with long sleeves and long pants, a bunch of us were taken on a tour of the caves under Bongolo Hospital by Kali and some Gabonese friends: Boucka, Olrich & Prince.

Caving team:


Christina in the caves:



Yes, I am wearing a headlight...pretty legit. I learned that I am prone to falling all over the place when there is an excess of mud. I think my sneakers lost all their traction once they were cached in mud, so Dr. Tom, Boucka and multiple others developed the habit of watching out for me & catching me. Thanks to them, I don't have too many bruises ;-)

Tomorrow it is an early start to the day…the plan (right now) is to help Meladee (a missionary) sort stuff and organize medical supplies by working in the storage warehouses. There are multiple warehouses on the station and some are quite extensive. Later, around 3pm, I’ll be relieving Joanna by grabbing Luke & Sarah for a couple hours so she can get some work done…So far, that is the plan for tomorrow! Stay tuned for more :-)