Sunday, August 23
Dave was asked to give the sermonette for our home church service at House 4. His scripture was Proverbs 22:1-4 "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches..." He shared that his family names of Conquest and Swanson were highly respected in his hometown of Crown Point, Indiana. Family and friends are more important than riches of silver and gold. Keir served as worship leader and Joanna was song leader; Luke, Sarah and Diann were able to make special song requests with some songs in French but most in English.
Finished up packing by 4:30 for our trip to Libreville tomorrow. Dave had to have one last photo. This one of him by the Bongolo Hospital sign. We then headed off to Barack Obama Cafe for fish, chicken, rice and French fries which was the best we've had here. (No kidding!) When we've eaten at the Lebamba & Dakar restaurants, we take our beverage along with us. They serve unfiltered water and we steer away from that.
Many of the residents and missionaries came by to say farewell to us and some of them prayed with us. It was sad to say goodbye to them all, many of whom we have seen now for 3 years. During our visit we met the new and first Gabonese resident Dr. Simplice and his wife and 20 month old daughter, we met Paul & Meladee for the first time and we met the Kelly family for the first time. All the other residents and missionaries we have spent time with before.
Dave & Keir loaded the car by about 9 PM; they had to put a few pieces on the roof rack. The Thelanders are going straight from our 5 days in Libreville to Field Forum in Lambarene with the other missionaires to Gabon. Thus we had lots of luggage. We are returning home with 3 suitcases and one trunk plus 2 carry-ons as opposed to the 4 trunks, 4 suitcases and 2 carry-ons that came with us.
Monday, August 24
Joanna's thirtysomething birthday
Joanna called us at 5:30 am to make sure we were awake and on schedule for our 6 am departure. We sang "Happy Birthday" to her over the phone!
We departed House 4 at 6:15 am with two mostly sleepy children and 4 mostly tired adults. We left the hospital grounds under a light lifting fog. The station Mango Man had not yet picked mangos for us and placed them on palm leaves. So no mangos for the trip.
We met 5 trucks at the Bongolo Bridge and had to wait our turn on the one lane bridge. The first 30 kilometers after that were basically traffic free. The roads weren't very dusty because of the fog and Sunday night's mist. On our way to Mouila, the washboarding effect was ever present and the dust was kicking up. The dust was worsened by the presence of about a dozen logging trucks - one of which was rolled over on its side. On one stretch, as Keir began passing two logging trucks, we began slipping and sliding on the edge of the road and almost veered into the path of one of the huge trucks and to these passengers, at one point it seemed that we would roll over. It reminded us of the out-of-control spins that we experience on NY highways during ice and snow storms. God protected us and we are grateful indeed! The roads are difficult to describe.
We saw a lot of road construction enroute and saw a record number of construction vehicles including Caterpiller. We also experienced a record number of police check points with nearly 20 in all. At each stop we were waved through with no question after the police saw the Bongolo Hospital identifying decal on the vehicle.
A half hour stop in Lamberane at the Field Forum sight allowed Joanna to finalize a few of the details for the conference. It is a nice hotel on the Ogooue River. Dr. Dave has built a tent since the facility has no conference room. Breakfast will have to be brought in every morning from town. The conference leader is Ralph Trainer of Beulah Beach in Ohio. A quick stop for locally handpainted cards and fresh pain au'chocolate and we are on the road again.
Luke & Sarah are great travellers snacking along the way and watching movies. Sarah and Diann made the trip with no car sickness.
The new concrete sign at the equator was cause for another photo shoot. A man who lives nearby came out to tell us he used his machoette to cut down the tall grass. Keir rewarded his efforts with some money.
Arrived at the Guest House in Libreville about 4 PM which enabled us to avoid the rush hour traffic. But we also missed the toilet paper sellers along side the busy streets.
A wood fired pizza dinner at Tivoli's by the airport was our first experience with a server and a menu in over a month. The alfresco dining was fun.
Tuesday, August 25
Cold cereal (yes, we did have fresh cereal in Bongolo!) for breakfast after sleeping in and then we are off for shopping in the big city. San Gel, the waterfront frozen food store, was our first stop because they close between 12 noon and 3 PM. Broccoli, peas, chicken nuggets and mozarella cheese were purchased (later to be stored in the missionary freezer at the Guest House). At the open air market there, we bought cucumbers, carrots, fresh basil, a watermelon and papaya. A huge ship was docked and French miliary personnel were coming ashore; we watched them walk through the market. At M'bolo, the supermarket, we bought Comte & Brie cheeses, Coke, snacks plus we looked at the drawings of a street vender artist. On the way home at an open air market, we bought tomatoes, banana chips and were given a passion fruit by the fruit stand owner.
At 4:30 we were invited down to the Straws for ice cream and birthday cake for Sam. We joined Tim, Meredith and LeaAnn plus the King family. Afterwards we ventured to a private sports club for bowling. The bowling alley was closed at 6 when we arrived but a delivery man from the local bakery said he was scheduled for a 6:30 delivery. So we waited but toured the rest of the complex. At 7 PM no sign of the bowling alley personnel so we left. We prepared a quick dinner for ourselves and Luke and Sarah while Joanna and Keir had a dinner date at La Dolce Vita.
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