Recent outings and activities

We have been keeping busy the past couple of weeks. Last weekend we went to our 1st Congolese wedding. It was an ALL day affair. It was for HOPE Loan Officer, Fabrice. The HOPE Congo staff did not inform us that even though the invitation says 1:30 they really mean it starts at 3:30! We were a little bitter! haha We got there at 1:20 and sat around until 3:30 when the bride and groom entered. The wedding did not end until 5pm. The wedding was beautiful. It was full of singing by an awesome praise team. But getting to the church at 1:20 made for a long day! At the end of the wedding the guests formed a long greeting line down the church aisle. Everyone brought their gift to give to the bride and groom. The HOPE staff put their money together and bought a refrigerator for the couple, and some HOPE guys actually carried the fridge up to the couple! They were champs. Another family brought an oven and carried it up to the front of the church too! 

Nate preached at  church last Sunday and did a great job! He is a natural. We were also able to take a picture of the front of the church with Rev. Antoine speaking. He is the pastor of the church as well as the DS of the area. The Brazzaville Nazarene church is the only Nazarene church in the area and is only 1 year old. We are glad to be apart of this church. This Saturday we are helping out with a youth event. It will be a full day of prayer walks around the city, playing sports with some neighborhood kids, as well as delivering some gifts to some families. They also asked Nate to bring his video camera. We will probably get some interesting footage! 

Last Sunday we got invited to visit "Villa Washington." This is the US Embassy recreational facility. We can only go if a US Embassy employee is with us. There is a pool, work out facility (with really nice equipment!), and a basketball court. We enjoyed relaxing all afternoon with our new friends Joshua, Somei, and Jonathan. Joshua is the IT guy for the embassy and his wife and little boy are so sweet! We enjoyed getting to know them and playing with little Jonathan in the pool. 

Allie made Christmas cookies Tuesday evening with her friends, Ann and Angie. Angie and Allie brought the Christmas cookie cutters and Ann provided the cookies and icing. They are pretty proud of themselves! The cookies look good and taste good too. Allie was also busy interviewing clients this week. Everyday she went out into the field to meet with clients and take pictures of their businesses. She really enjoys going to see the different districts of Brazzaville and meeting all the clients. 

We have made some plans for the Christmas and New Year's holidays. We will update everyone with pictures after the holidays! We are definitely missing our families during this time, but God has blessed us with some wonderful friends. We have had many invitations to different events over the holidays. Everyone is making sure we don't get lonely. We are so very grateful for God's provision.

Christmas Cookies!

Congolese Wedding

Nate in the greeting line

HOPE staff carrying the present to the bride and groom

The Nazarene Church and the DS Rev. Antoine

Jonathan at the US Embassy Pool

Allie at a HOPE group meeting

My God is Faithful

I, Allie, got up at 5:45am this morning to go on a 3 mile walk with my new friend, Ann. Nate thought I was crazy and warned me not to wake him up! haha Ann has been a missionary in and around Congo for 20 years. She fluently speaks English, French, and Lingala (a native tribal language). I walked to the outdoor market with her yesterday and she was chit chatting with everyone along the way. Everyone knows her and loves her. She has been so welcoming to both Nate and I since we arrived. She gave me some of her extra Christmas decorations. Now it looks a little bit like Christmas in our apartment! When she invited me to walk with her this morning I was a little hesitant because of the time, but I decided to go ahead and give it a try!

It was a wonderful time and food for my soul. We walked all through the city. Since it was so early, the city was still quiet and peaceful, unlike the usual constant honking of taxis and people everywhere. I got to see many new sights and areas of town. Ann new people all along the way. We first passed a homeless man that was sleeping under a tree. Ann said she has been praying for him for a long time. He would never talk to her when she would say hello and then one morning he finally did! He sat up and said, "Well hello old lady!" haha She said she has never been so happy to be called old. Now he will wave at her when she passes. Next we passed several Congolese boxers. They were training and doing all kinds of exercises on the road. We walked a huge circle and ended up walking right next to the Congo River. The view was beautiful. The sun was coming up, the water was dark, and there were skinny canoe like boats all over the river with men throwing their nets out to catch fish. The city line of Kinshasa, the capital city of DRC, was right across the river.

Ann and I exchanged our stories of how God had called us to the Congo, and talked about her days of growing up in northern Canada. As I walked along listening to Ann and gazing at the Congo river I felt full of God's presence and peace. Like he was telling me "You are right where you need to be, Allie." God has been so faithful to Nate and I through this whole transition. He daily gives me what I need and has blessed me with some wonderful friends. I thank God every day for putting Nate in my life. He is a constant source of encouragement and love.

God has proven this verse true in my life, Psalm 25:10 "The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands."

Picture from around town and HOPE clients

We have been able to take more pictures of the city this week. Matt, the senior accountant with HOPE, went shopping with us on Saturday. We went to Marche LaPlane (sp?), an outdoor veggie market, and bought fresh produce and went to Park and Shop (our favorite American like grocery store). We also walked around the downtown area for a while. Many of the roads downtown are paved which is nice. When going outside of the downtown area all the roads become dirt. Now during rainy season the roads can get pretty nasty. Taxis still try to drive through some parts, but the mud definitely slows people down. 

A few people from HOPE are visiting this weekend and next week. There are 3 guys from corporate and the Managing Director of HOPE DRC. We had a nice pot-luck dinner with everyone Friday evening at our apartment. Marie and I both cooked several dishes. It was a great time of fellowship. We also got to play Dutch Blitz with Marielle! 

Allie was able to interview 2 clients on Wednesday. It was an enjoyable time for her. She loves to hear about the lives being changed by the ministry of HOPE. Nkomo is the owner of a barber shop, La Benediction (The Blessing). He took out a loan with HOPE to make necessary improvements in his shop, including new swivel chairs, razors, sterilizer, air conditioner, and window panes. Nkomo said he is now able to help support his nieces and nephews by paying for their needed medications and school supplies. She also interviewed Nkounkou, but will not be able to take pictures of her business until next week. She owns a small retail store where she sells various products. Nkounkou used to receive loans from another organization, but she has decided to work with HOPE because she feels HOPE is much more organized and dependable. Both of these clients were very grateful for the loan they had received from HOPE. 

We found out this week that we will each be able to receive French tutoring! We are very grateful and eager to begin. Please pray for our French language learning over the next few weeks and months!

Matt and I in front of a monument downtown Brazza

One of the several 6 way circles in downtown Brazza

Monument of a President

Central Bank

HOPE Client group meeting with Loan Officer, Chancy (far right)

Typical inside of a church (where HOPE meetings occur)

NkounKou is a small business owner and client of HOPE's. I was able to interview her last week.

Typical street (outside of downtown)

We are currently in rainy season. This is what many of the roads look like this time of year.

Nkomo, the man giving the boy a haircut, is the owner of this Barber shop. 

Nkomo in front of his business. I was able to interview him last week as well. 

Pictures of art and apt. decorations

Our apartment is finally starting to feel like a home. We spent all day yesterday shopping for supplies, decorations, and unpacking the MANY suitcases we had. Everything is finally in its place and the suitcases are out of sight! We put up 3 pieces of artwork that we bought as well as set around pictures and decorations. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Our first load of laundry. Thankfully there is a washer, but here is our dryer!

We love the ones with women carrying stuff on their heads.

All the art is so colorful!

The kitchen. 

I put up the painting grandma painted me! 

Our little Safari table.

Finally settled....sort of

We have finally arrived in our permanent apartment today! We are so happy to be able to unload all of these suitcases and truly call a place home for a change. Today has been a very busy day for us. We got up and packed all of our stuff, and then went grocery shopping while our new apartment was being cleaned. The grocery store we went to is called "Park and Shop." We have come to love this place. First of all, it is air conditioned so it is always a great break from the heat. Second, it reminds us so much of the grocery store back home, even if some of the prices are much more expensive. A loaf of sliced bread costs $10. Third, the place is like a club....no lie. They are constantly playing American Hip-Hop and R&B. Today, I am pretty sure we heard Akon, Usher, and Justin Bieber. We love it. Today we had to pick up alot of items that we needed for our home such as cleaning supplies, tupperware, and a few skillets. We also did our grocery shopping for the week. After that we came home and moved all of our suitcases from one room to another. Nate and one of the security guards, Udu (sp???), moved all of it down one flight of stairs, across the compound, and up another flight of stairs. It is the most Nate has sweated since being here. Udu is a very sweet man that is always willing to help around the compound.

After that it was off to do some more shopping, as Park and Shop didn't have everything we needed. We first walked to this street just a couple of blocks away that a bunch of local artists sell their pieces. We bought a carved elephant for $12 (retail $45 at Disney's Animal Kingdom) and three gorgeous paintings. It was amazing how cheap the handcrafted items are here. Family and friends be prepared to receive some African merchandise for Christmas and such!!

We then headed to Azia and Casino to finish off our shopping for the day. When we finally arrived back at our apartment we were very tired, but happy to have had such a fun day in the city. We promise to take some more pictures around the city soon. Unfortunately, both of us are very bad about remembering to bring a camera.

Allie had her first English class yesterday. There was probably about 12-15 employees in the class! Going forward, Allie will teach two classes a week. One will be for beginners and will take place on Wednesday morning. The other is for more advanced students and will take place on Fridays. The employees love having this class. They are so eager to learn, and Allie is having a blast teaching. She even taught them the word "y'all" yesterday!! Last thing we will mention because we know this blog is getting long. Last night the power went out and we thought we were going to have to sleep without the fan on. Thankfully, it came back on around 9:30 to which Nate exclaimed, "Victory!!" He might have woken up a few neighbors. Please continue to pray for us, especially with the language learning. It has been particularly frustrating so far. Love you all!

Happy Thanksgiving! and the first week of work

Nate started work this week! It has been going well so far. He is enjoying working with his staff and getting the hang of things around the office. He loves his office (more than home probably) because it has an air conditioner! haha He is having to get used to the on again and off again and not so good anyways internet connection. It makes it hard to do work at times. Allie will begin teaching her first English class on Friday. The staff seem excited about it and she is definitely looking forward to getting to know the staff better. We went to see our first microfinance group meeting today! We went with Chancy, a loan officer, and he was a wonderful host. Thankfully Chancy spoke English so he could help us understand everything that was going on. We got to sit and watch him conduct 3 meetings using the 5 W's method. The meeting goes through 5 steps...Welcome, Worship, Word, Work, and Wrap-up. We also got to practice our French a lot by talking to the clients asking them about their business, their families, and Brazza. Allie met a women that wants to do an interview with her. HOPE has asked Allie to also interview clients to find out their stories and take pictures of their business to use in marketing and development back in the states. She will be going back with Chancy next Wednesday to the meeting to meet with the women.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our family and friends! We are very thankful for you.

Our temporary apt. is the one Nate is standing in front of.

This is the entrance to the complex and a huge mango tree! 

Our adopted dog while we are in Congo. Espresso is precious.

The HOPE truck that we get around in and another view of our building.

Building #2

The out door laundry room!

This picture is in honor of Jim Hill. :) Beautiful flowers here in Brazza!

PIctures around our Apartment complex

We moved in to a temporary apartment in the SIL apartment complex we will be living in. Next Saturday we will officially move into our permanent apartment! We are VERY ready for this. The bags are still not unpacked! Here are some pictures we took this afternoon. We had a good day. We went on our first shopping excursion with the Palis', studied French, played Wii with Marielle, and explored the complex. It is not really that big. There are 3 buildings. 2 Apartment buildings and one building with offices and a meeting room. We met the apartment dog! She is SO sweet and her name is expresso! haha Tomorrow we are going to the Nazarene church in Brazzaville. Rev. Antione is coming to pick us up in the morning! We are looking forward to it.

We made it!

We arrived in Brazzaville today! We had the first test of our patience in Philly when we went to check in and couldn't find Allie's ticket! After a 15 minute freak out a wonderful woman name Maggie found Allie's ticket! Something had gone array with the way the itinerary was loaded into the system. The trip was very smooth other than that! We flew 13 hours to Addis Ababa and then boarded a 4 hour plane ride to Brazzaville. All of our 8 pieces of luggage made it, which we were very worried about. Sophie, the HOPE office secretary picked us up at the airport and took us to our hotel. We have a very nice room and we will stay here until Saturday when we move into a temporary apartment at the SIL complex. Then the next saturday we will move into our permanent apartment there at SIL.

We had a wonderful evening eating with Manny, Marie, and Marielle (their daughter). Manny is the Managing Director of the HOPE office in Brazza. He has been working in microfinance for over 20 years and will be a great mentor technically and spiritually for Nate. Allie, Marie and Marielle already have plans to go shopping together as well as learn how to make our own bread (safe/ clean loaves of bread here are very expensive). Allis is looking forward to spending time with these 2 girls.

We are going to meet the HOPE staff tomorrow morning and begin setting up our life, including: getting cellphones, connecting our computers to SIL's internet, registering at the US embassy.

Thank you to all that were praying for our travel! We were shocked and thankful at how smooth everything went. God has been with us every step of the way. We are blessed to be here and already have met some beautiful people.

Officially beginning our Blog!

Hey everyone! Sorry it has taken us a while to get to this. We have had some friendly reminders lately from a few people to start blogging....so here we go!

We have been in Lancaster, PA (place of headquarteres for HOPE) for 2 weeks now. We have been busy training and meeting everyone in the office. The HOPE staff have been so welcoming and hospitable. We have constantly been invited to dinner or lunch almost everyday. Everyone here is giving us tips on living in Africa and surrounding us in prayer. We are very grateful and encouraged to work in such a Christ and prayer centered organization. Jim and Patty (Nate's parents) are here in Lancaster until we leave. We enjoyed a great weekend with them in New Jersey last week visiting Uncle Kenny, Cousin Kevin, and Cousin Barbara. They will be taking us to the airport this Wednesday at 6am to see us off! We are grateful they made the trip to come see us off. It will be nice to see a familiar face before we leave as well as have someone to leave some extra stuff with! haha Our poor parents have been amazing through this whole thing! Always helping us with whatever and willing to keep all of our junk!

We will arrive in Brazzaville Thursday at 11:40am. Our apartment is not available until November 22 so we will be living in a hotel when we first arrive.

Please be praying for Nate and I as we prepare to leave Wednesday morning. Please pray for our peace of mind and safety as we travel, families back home, and visa situations once we get there. Again we give God all the glory for his amazing blessings and presence in our lives.