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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.
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Memoir: Thursday 19 Mar 2020
Something goes wrong: I learned the morning of the 19th that Angola would close its borders that night at midnight (20 Mar 2020). After some presentations by the mission students, I made a series of phone calls to figure out how I might be able to get out of the country.
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Memoir: Tuesday 17 Mar 2020
A night of fitful slumber Sleep eluded me some nights more than others. This was one of two nights in Angola when I awoke with irrational fears clutching at my heart. My home is far distant; I might get sick; I don’t know what I’m doing; death is just a breath or heartbeat away; I…
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Memoir: Monday 16 Mar 2020
Awakened early by the OM version of “reveille” – a hammer banging on a piece of metal – I joined Joan and Herivaldo for a walk. The damp and chill of the night before had not yet burned off. We were heading for a discipleship meeting in the village…
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Moving to Angola
My wife and I and our four children left the United States for Angola on November 9, 2022. After two and a half years of slow and careful planning, we spent three panicked days of packing before the departure date. We were trying to take as few checked bags as possible, but over those three…
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Ericleidy and Delfina’s wedding (Nov 2021)
[I started writing this post on 17 Nov 2022, while we were moving to Angola.] My family left the United States over a week ago on 9 Nov 2022, and we have yet to arrive at our new home at the Operation Mobilization base in Menongue, Angola. I am writing this at a beautiful lodge…
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Memoir: Welcome to Luanda
I arrive in Luanda, Angola for the first time. Getting through immigration and meeting Bill from Texas. Visit with Pastor Pedro and short local tour. Getting through the domestic terminal with the help of a guide, Nicolo.
Welcome to Angola 