strip at our next destination. Upon arrival, I circle the strip and note
the location of a few things to avoid: truck ruts at one end, a hole
near the same end, and a few rocks sprinkled around. Determining that I
could land safely with plenty of room, I descended to a smooth touchdown.
Crowds of children and adults came running toward the plane as I quickly
make a radio call and shut down. Walking the runway, I found quite a
number of rocks ranging in size from a few inches to a few about a foot
in diameter. These are not friendly to airplanes. So a whole team of
children lined up across the runway and together we "swept" it clean of
rocks. Rocks and sticks were flying everywhere, almost hitting several
kids. But all went well and a big job was made light and happy by
cheerful volunteering children.
I returned to Bere, fueled up, and picked up my passengers - this time
including Melody! We rolled to a stop, parked the plane, and began
walking toward the big lake, about a mile distant. The health clinic is
in a village on the other side of this lake. Arriving at the beach,
Melody and I are excited to see a large, wooden boat with a motor on the
end. We pile in and wait for our guide to start the motor. We talk about
the hippos and crocodiles that live in this lake. Later we hear about
the mystery monster fish that gives milk to it's babies. Huh?
On the other side, Melody and I meet the people at the clinic and are
offered the usual tea and gato snack. "No tea? How about Coke? What? You
just drink water?" This is the usual response wherever we travel and it
gives us an opportunity to teach these "health professionals" a bit of
simple health concepts.
When they start their meeting, Melody and I go explore a gully/wash and
eat some lunch. Dried bean flakes re-hydrated on bread that Melody made.
Then we walk down to the lake where there is vivid green grass. We
haven't seen such green for months, and it was quite refreshing. The
village children came in large numbers to surround us and to sing and
chant and be happy.
Finally, it is time to go. I had given our passengers a strict time
limit. If we are not at the plane by this time, we can't go home. We
have to stay in this village. Pressed for time, they opted to eat a
rushed rice-and-meat meal in the boat on the way back.
On the way to our their final stop, the pastor again picked up the
French Steps to Christ from the seat pocket. He was always either
reading 1 Samuel or Steps to Christ in the plane. I gave him a copy, and
gave one to the doctor as well.
We part ways with our health team and hope to meet up again in a couple
weeks to finish some more work. But for now, Melody and I need to find a
place to stay in Mondou for the night. It is too late to fly back to
Bere today. Dr. James and Sarah host us wonderfully. We enjoy the luxury
of a shower with running water!
Thank God for safe travels this far. We pray for all the literature left
behind and the influence of conversations and life in the various villages.
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