AIM International - Europe - Bridget's Bunia Blogg 1

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Bridget's Bunia Blogg 1

Bridget's Bunia Blogg 1

Good Morning, Bunia!

The call from the mosque stirs me from sleep. It's just after 4:30. The Arabic isn't distinguishable here but the call is the same world-wide. I echo his sentiments: God is Great! and the words of Jeremiah "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentation 3:22-23 The night has passed peacefully - no sound of gunfire or tank movements.

Outside I can hear the cry of the fruit bats in the trees against the hum of bugs and insects. Avocados thud to the ground. Will we get any of them or will they be 'removed'? Will little boys scuttle away clutching avocados to their chests as they lose their pants not having a hand free to clutch them?

There's a distant sound of dogs barking and a closer sound of cocks crowing.

Birds join in the party. No sound of rain. Drums start to pound as people gather for an early morning meeting at one of the local churches. A bell rings. From the Catholic church? The Greek Orthodox church? Voices murmur.

The morning will only get noisier as the dawn breaks. I see that the light is glowing on my surge strip - there's electricity. Great! The water will be hot. I can blow dry my hair. I can use the lap top. Maybe. One never knows how long we'll be connected. There's no room for lie-ins here. And I can't afford to get into bad habits because when school begins, classes will start at 7:30.

This day, Lord, may I dream your dreams; This day, Lord, may I reflect your love; This day, Lord, may I do your work; This day, Lord, may I taste your peace.

(AA - The Book of a 1000 prayers)

May the story of my day be part of your story.

Bunia, Goodnight!

Nightfall begins somewhere after 6 o'clock. The noises of the day fade with the gathering darkness. The roar of small taxi motorbikes lessens.

Footsteps and voices are subdued as people pass by on the side road. People are returning home. But not as early or as keenly as some months ago when the militias were nearer the surrounds of the town. People feel more liberty to sit outside and chat. As the sounds of humans and their activities diminish, the drone of insects begins. It forms a backdrop to the night. The chirping of bats starts. They whoosh in and out of the fruit trees. The dogs begin their barking cacophony. The night belongs to them. The town sleeps.

"I will lie down in peace and take my rest; for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

Blessings,

Bridget Howard

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About Bridget Howard

Bridget Howard’s first recollection of Africa is being shown slides of termite hills in the Belgian Congo during a Sunday school class. “From a young age I had a sense of purpose from God that I would one day teach in Africa”.

Bridget is not one to freely give out her age but it occasionally does slip out that she first went to Congo to work 26 years ago when the country was still called Zaïre. Her first assignment was as a teacher at Rethy Academy, the Mission’s school for children of its members. Her next assignment was as a school inspector in Zandeland where, as she puts it, she: “cycled around inspecting teachers and outside toilets of the church schools!”

Following evacuation from Congo as a result of the fighting that errupted around the Great Lakes in the wake of the Rwandan genocide, Bridget worked at Aim’s International Office in Bristol. She returned to Congo in 2005 to teach English at the Institut Supérieur Pédagogique in Bunia. The ISP exists to prepare students to teach at secondary schools run by the CECA-20, Aim’s partner church in Congo.

Since her return Bridget has been sending her ‘blog’. She admits that ‘composition’ was not a favourite lesson when at secondary school but writing has become less of a chore as she told friends back in the UK of her daily experiences of life in Africa. “Maybe it’s an exalted sense of my own importance as being ‘From Our Own Correspondent-like’ I can pretend to be Aim’s very own Kate Adie!”