The following is the account of Mennonites Bud and Clement Kroeker who are transporting a truck to Congo for to transport goods to the needy ... 'Bud' Kroeker takes us along for the pickup in Port Boma ...
D.M. Stearns Missionary Fund
P.O. Box 1578
North Wales, PA 19454
Greetingsfrom Kinshasa.
July 3, 2013
I
landed here in Kinshasa safely Tuesday night, July 2. The pilot said
that it had been perfect weather for flying, and our arrival was right
on time. Just the same, it was midnight by the time I got to the home of Dan and Christine Grings who are giving me lodging.
Thank
you for praying for this trip. All the last minute details were taken
care of last week in spite of many unpredictable events.
This
morning I woke up early. Erik Kumedisa came and we had a long
conversation, discussing the plans for the coming days. The ship arrives
tomorrow at the Port of Boma so the truck will be unloaded that evening
or the next day. Erik will come pick me up at 6 a.m. tomorrow and we
will go by bus to the Port.
Two Congolese men
helping us with customs documents are already there. We'll need to get
the other papers for the truck, insurance, immatriculation paper, etc.
in Boma once we get there.
Please pray that the
customs fees will not be too high. Normally, non-profit organizations
don't have the same tax fees, but it takes many months, even a year to
get this exemption paper.
I will be meeting with pastors in a few minutes.
Thank you for your encouragement in preparing this trip. God is good. We thank Him for providing and for guiding us day by day.
Bud Kroeker
D. M. Stearns Missionary Fund
P.O.Box 1578
North Wales, PA 19454 USA
Clement & Charlotte Kroeker
15, Ave. des Mésanges — BE-1480 Tubize Clabecq, Belgium
Tél. +322 355 99 06 — E-mail: kroeker@skynet.be
07 July, 2013
Dear Friends,
We
are here in the city of Boma for the first time, arriving last night. A
Pastor welcomed us at the bus terminal and took an old taxi to drive us
over dirt roads to the Hostel of the Old Port. As he showed us our
room, he told us that the river was right next to us.
What
a delight the next morning to rise and look out the window over one of
the largest rivers in the world flowing right next to us with one of the many islands out in the middle.
In the mist one can hardly see the other side, Fishermen in their
pirogues skim over the water seemingly without effort with the oarsman
standing up in back.
Out
in the distance one can see a ship in the ocean waiting his turn to
enter the port, and we can’t help wondering if it isn’t the ship
carrying «our» truck, but then we find out that it isn’t. From where we
are eating we watch several ships pass by us heading up the swift
current towards Matadi. Finally around 4 p.m. we see the large ship
coming in to the Port of Boma which is the one carrying the truck.
Normally they will unload the truck tomorrow and go through customs on
Monday. We appreciate your prayers for these two Christian men helping
us with customs formalities, helping to get the taxes cut. During the
day we had several talks with them and they are trying to defend our
cause.
The
trip down here from Kinshasa began early yesterday morning. Mrs. Grings
made me some sandwiches and we took off to go into the city just in
time to catch the bus leaving at 7:30 a.m. Fortunately our bus was a
newer one (brand name Tata) and a good driver. I am traveling with Erik
Kumedisa, Jacques, the truck
driver loaned to us for the return trip, and Erik’s daughter Gertrude
who is an announcer for TV but out of work just now.
The
highway to Boma is the same National Highway #1, but heading west from
Kinshasa towards Matadi it is blacktop that is much older and worn out,
narrower and more congested with traffic. Every few minutes we pass a
large truck loaded with containers coming from the Port of Matadi.
Around
noon we pass through Matadi. Matadi is the word for «rock». It sits
perched high up on the hills and rocks overlooking the river and the
port. Because of the over-population and congestion, the rugged terrain,
lack of urban planning, order and cleanliness, the city is over crowded
with millions of people trying to live, walking along the road without
sidewalks, crossing everywhere. Shops are crowding the sidewalks even
into the street. Taxis parked here and there, big trucks come down this
same road.
Finally
we cross the big suspension bridge which hangs between the two cliffs
high above the river. At first the road is quite good, but little by
little gets worse, and soon we pass villages completely covered in a red
dust from the road.
This
part of the country is very good for agriculture. People spread out
their bananas, eglantine, oranges, madrier and other fruits and
vegetables along side the road. Unfortunately the transport system is so
poor that the produce doesn’t profit the rest of the country.
We
thank God for the safe arrival in the Port city of Boma, where we will
be staying while waiting the truck to pass through customs. We will be
in Church tomorrow with friends who love and worship the same Lord,
trusting Him as we are, and singing His praises so much better than we
could.
Thank you for your prayers.
Bud Kroeker
Clement & Charlotte Kroeker
15, Ave. des Mésanges — BE-1480 Tubize Clabecq, Belgium
Tél. +322 355 99 06 — E-mail: kroeker@skynet.be
11 July, 2013
Dear Friends,
Finally
yesterday around 5:30 p.m. customs officials cleared the truck and it
could be driven away from the Port to where we are staying at the
Auberge along the river. We praise God together with all of you who
prayed and gave so generously for this vehicle. Six days of waiting have
come to an end. Erik Kumedisa had been negotiating three days at the
Port before they finally let it go. We arrived at the Port city of Boma
Thursday night. The ship arrived Saturday July 6 in the late afternoon
and they unloaded it that night. But customs formalities couldn’t begin
until Monday morning.
The truck has been given a name: Metanoia, since it was previously a military vehicle and now is transformed to bring service to the needy in the heart of Congo.
As
a non-profit organisation, we’d hoped for a reduction in taxes. Though
some were actually lowered, there were so many others that we ended up
paying as much or more than we’d expected.
While
waiting all day Saturday, we did a little sight-seeing along the coast
at the mouth of the Congo River. At the Berlin Conference on Nov. 5,
1881, the then World ruling powers divided Africa arbitrarily. King
Leopold had the vast interieur of the Congo, but the French and
Portugese only left him a very small passage from the ocean with the
Congo River. There is still a part of Angola (Kabinda) on the north side
of the River.
Sunday
we were able to go to Church with a new little group of around thirty
people in a new building. One of the elders of the church is a customs
officer who, along with another Christian took care of our customs
declarations for us and tried to help us through. After the service the
young pastor Bazinga walked with us across the city to show us a few
historical sights. This city of Boma on the Congo River was une of the
first places to be settled by Europeans as far back as the 16th century.
In fact the little meat market next to our Auberge was the actual site
of the slave trade market during the 17th and 18th centuries. And the
city was the capitol of Congo from 1886 until 1929.
Our
Auberge was simple but nice. A small breakfast of bread and coffee was
served. We had one other meal each day, usually fish and rice in a red
sauce. The rates were low, but they still add up and now we are happy to be on our way.
Today
we bought the license plates and got the other things taken care of so
that we can leave for Kinshasa tomorrow morning. We are very grateful to
the Lord that we will at last be able to continue west towards our
destination. We’ll be in Kinshasa a few days for errands, meeting a few
people and to check the truck over before going to Matende. Please pray
as we drive tomorrow on the difficult stretch of road between Boma and
Kinshasa. I need to get used to driving this truck and to the roads. A
fine truck driver has been loaned to us for the hard parts.
In Him,
Bud and all the team
Clement & Charlotte Kroeker
15, Ave. des Mésanges
BE-1480 Tubize Clabecq
Tél. +322 355 99 06
E-mail kroeker@skynet.be
D.M. Stearns Missionary Fund
P.O. Box 1578
North Wales, PA 19454
Greetings from Kinshasa. July 13, 2013
We arrived here at 3 a.m. this morning, Saturday, thanks to God’s grace and protection. I’m happy to be back at the Grings home where I found my bed at 4:30. But morning came quickly and I was up by 7.
Yesterday
we didn’t get off as quickly as we’d hoped from Boma. We had a truck
driver we didn’t really know, and a truck we’d never really taken out on
the road to try out. And there wasn’t much money left after paying
customs, plus the fact that we didn’t know how much diesel fuel would be
needed for the trip nor how much toll would be demanded...
Actually
the truck reservoir holds 150 liters and we didn’t use it all up after
432 kilometers yesterday. Toll roads, the Maréchal Mobutu bridge at
Matadi and the fee for weighing the truck (9.970 kilos) all added up to
$100.
Someone
stole the key to the truck at the port and we had to go out and buy a
new one (which may have been the original one) but it doesn’t work too
well. We need to get another one.
The
driver, Jacques, did a great job of driving and I was very happy to let
him do it. The trip was extremely tiring with no assisted steering and
bad roads. Driving at night was dangerous because as we headed into the
poorly adjusted headlights of big trucks headed towards us and the port
of Matadi, we were blinded. Sometimes trucks had no tail lights. Of
course no street lights or freeways lit up as they are in Belgium. The
villages were packed with people, goats, all walking along the narrow
roads.
So we really praise the Lord for caring over us during this part of the trip. We hope to leave Wednesday for Kikwit.
In His name,
Bud Kroeker
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