Point Noire or bust

The next phase of our trip was passed in Brazzaville. We spent two days with Orcxance’s sister and her family. While there, we enjoyed catching up with everyone, watching some kids cartoons and introducing Aravis to her cousins. We experienced extreme sleep deprivation due to the heat and crowded sleeping arrangements.

Esther and I also went shopping.

We were invited to Hotel Bravo to have dinner with the missionaries that are currently living there, reconnecting with people from our Impfondo days as well as a missionary couple who helped us with Aravis when she was sick.

We also got to visit some old friends Jeannichelle and Talia.

Monday evening after the visit we got a taxi to the airport to wait for Margaret. It was a happy reunion!

After some scrambly packing and rearranging of bags, we got ready to leave early Tuesday morning.

We didn’t get a place at the first bus station we tried, but God provided an even better option, and we got places on a very nice bus with AC and we were able to spread out since there were empty seats. We only paid for 4 seats and planned to hold the 3 girls on our laps but there was enough space for both Molly and Eileen to have seats so it worked out beautifully.

Unfortunately Eileen got sick the second day we were in Brazzaville and Molly started feeling sick the morning we left for Point Noire but she recovered. Aravis also is dealing with some kind of eye infection and Orcxance had been feeling poorly for several days.

On top of all that, I had forgotten to pack several important things and then forgot even more in Brazzaville (we can get it on our way back but there were things we needed for the Point Noire time). I was only getting about 4 hours of sleep each night since we left home and it definitely contributed to my brain blanks.

We arrived safely in Point Noire after a day on the bus, and were welcomed by long time CMA missionaries David and Teresa Bill, who are wonderful hosts to strangers and stragglers. A nice dinner, enough mattresses for sleeping and warm showers marked the start of the real vacation.