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Memoir: 02 Apr 2020, The HALO Trust
Wessel and Ericleidy drove me to the HALO Trust base, just as they had picked me up from the airport three weeks earlier. I didn’t know what to expect, but I had visions of hectic motion, packing of vehicles, and a hasty departure. Christy had made it clear that time was of the essence. I…
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Memoir: 29 Mar – 01 Apr 2020
I was grateful for the day of rest on Sunday. I needed it more than usual. Very little happened that day. Ngunza gave a message about it being difficult to make it to heaven if we don’t have humility and faith like a child, using a reference in the book of Matthew, chapter 18. To…
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Memoir: Saturday 28 Mar 2020
The mornings were so serene. I was accustomed to the rhythm of life on the base, and I was getting used to the idea that I had little control over my fate. I was disappointed that we could not visit the elderly home or the men’s prison. But even as the coronavirus was locking everything…
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Memoir: 26 and 27 Mar 2020
Thursday Departure time draws closer For the first time since Angola closed its borders, I awoke the morning of Thursday the 26th of March with the sense that the time to go home was approaching, though I still had no clue how to make it happen. The events of that day were significant to the…
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Memoir: Wednesday 25 Mar 2020
Painting On Wednesday, I continued working around the mission base. After Herivaldo and I painted the entryways to the classrooms, Wessel was pleased with how the red paint looked and decided to paint the entire floor with it. It was a dream of his to make each schoolroom inviting and cheerful, along with providing a…
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Memoir: Tuesday 24 Mar 2020
Purpose Tuesday dawned another beautiful day. It was a pleasant time of year in Menongue. The days were warm but slowly cooling as Angola transitioned into the cooler and drier season when the mosquitoes would be less plentiful, thus less deadly. My purpose for coming to Angola had been to determine compatibility with the work…
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Memoir: Monday 23 Mar 2020
After getting stranded by closed borders, I was given some practical work to do on the base. We also made a trip to town to stock up on supplies before the real lockdown in Menongue started. And I visit an open-air African market for the first time, and just in time, because it would soon…
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Memoir: First weekend stranded in Angola
Saturday 21 Mar 2020 Neighborhood visit Saturday was the first full day after I missed my flight. After breakfast, we were sent out in groups to talk to the neighborhood around the base. I went with Ericleidy and Dorivaldo. We would have normally visited the men’s prison that day, but we were not allowed to…
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Memoir: Friday 20 Mar 2020
Instead of leaving on the 20th as scheduled, I stayed in Menongue to see how the COVID shutdown would play out. The world seemed hopeful that it might blow over with a short quarantine. Nobody could have known just how protracted the battle with the coronavirus would be. I chose to make the best of…
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Memoir: Birthday and anniversary in Angola
As previously mentioned, I had planned to be back home before my birthday and wedding anniversary, but the coronavirus made that impossible. It was the first anniversary that I would spend apart from my wife. My plan was just one of billions that coronavirus had left in ruins.
Welcome to Angola 