Sometimes things do work out in Congo. Our luggage arrived from Goma on the same flight we are now sitting on for the next leg of our journey to Entebbee. Thanks for you prayers. We invite you to pray for a Canadian neurologist who is being held in Congo without his passport and MAF who are being fined thousands of dollars for bringing him in without a visa. While people could arrive in Bunia and buy a visa at the airport until recently, that changed in May and now presents a wonderful opportunity to collect exorbitant fines from those who assume they can still purchase a visa at the airport.
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October 25, 2011 at 10:00 am
Michael Ben
A big relief on multiple fronts!
October 25, 2011 at 12:51 pm
Dawn
Very happy to be in Entebbe!
October 25, 2011 at 6:56 pm
Anonymous
The story of the Canadian neurologist held in Congo without his passport reminds me of our experience on arriving to the Congo in 1987.
How could we know that our visa, obtained in Ottawa, had not been signed by the appropriate official of Zaire. When we arrived they should have sent us back on the plane to Belgian where we could have rectified the problem. Instead they held us at the Kinshasa airport for 24hours until our mission group could do what was required to release us into their custody where we were under house arrest for 3 weeks waiting for visa resolution. We did not have our passports during that time period.
Unfortunately, it meant we did not have the appropriate orientation needed for our new jobs up country in Kananga. Eventually we did get to Kananga where we were working with the Presbyterian Church of Zaire.
The best thing to do in these situations is to find a bit of humour and a silver lining. During that 24 hours at the airport we practiced our french and lingala skills and shared with the officials about why we were there in Zaire (Congo).
It certainly remains a memorable event even 24 years later!
So glad you have your luggage and it sounds like most of your travel plans are working out.
You have been and are in our prayers,
Wendy Funk
October 26, 2011 at 2:06 am
Dawn
Wendy that is quite the story! I hope this one will be resolved more quickly but you never know. In Amsterdam now enjoying a Venti Starbucks with Ross.