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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Arriving in the Congo

We have arrived in the Republic of Congo.
After a 14 day sail (which felt like a month) we arrived to a great reception at the port of Pointe Noire on the 10th August.
We were greeted by the pilot boat with some of our wonderful advance team waving with excitement after working so hard to prepare for our visit.
 On the dock we saw another crowd gathering to welcome us:
 Gangway preparations start:
 Some of our advance team had even made a head start by putting up some of the dock tents that will receive many patients in the coming months:
 It was also great to see our founders, Don & Deyon Stephens there.  A special time for them seeing the Africa Mercy arrive.
VIP guests arriving for the welcoming ceremony that was organised by the advance team and Congo:
 The ceremony started off with Tim leading the way, along with the pilot, to greet those who have eagerly waited for the ship
 Tim greeting the VIP's
 To honour him, a chair was set aside for him to watch the proceedings:
Now we are in the throws of learning all about the country and getting set up for the screening that will take place next Wednesday.  

We have already learnt some words in the Kituba language which surprises some people when it comes out our mouths!

 "m'bote" - hello 
"wa waso" - how are you
"ka bien" -  I'm good
"née ke m'bote" - are you well
"ee mu ke m'bote na nag aussie wa faso" - yes & you

As we learn more about this wonderful country we will share more with you.

 Please pray that all goes well next week.

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