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Memoir: Epilogue
“Welcome to Angola. Something always goes wrong” I used this title the same way as the Angolan official who originally said it, not as a harsh judgment, but as a lighthearted way to deal with everyday struggles. Just like the phrase AWA – “Africa Wins Again,” it reminds us not to take setbacks too seriously.…
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Memoir: Coronavirus convoy, day one, 03 Apr 2020
Preparing to leave In the morning, the first order of business was to get everything loaded up. The governor had not yet signed our overland authorization, but we were not going to let that deter us. Not content to waste another day waiting, Christy was determined to set out for Huambo that morning. He and…
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Memoir: Afternoon and evening at HALO Trust
Louie and the landmine manual The US Embassy had sent me a document requesting that the holder be allowed passage to Luanda. We went to one of the offices in the long building with the veranda to print the document, and Louie loaned me his laptop to access my email. After wrestling with the printer…
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Memoir: Conversations at the HALO Trust bungalow
When we got back to the bungalow from the Ops room, Christy was on the phone, trying to work things out for our departure. Louie went to continue packing, and I wandered around the grounds. The planters in front of the bungalow were tail fins from bombs, their deadly warheads replaced with an explosion of…
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Memoir: Breakfast and the HALO Trust Ops room
Breakfast Uppermost in my mind was the dying camera battery that I would need to capture the remainder of my journey, whether that be by land or by air. Somehow, it had lasted from home to HALO without a charge, much longer than it had a right to. My battery charger was dual voltage; I…
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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: 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…
Welcome to Angola 