Did we accomplish all we set out to do just ten months earlier? Graci met her biological mother, check. The meeting went well, and Graci received answers to some of the questions that frequently plague adopted children, check. Ray and I were finally able to return to the part of Africa we had long dreamed of, if only to say a final good-bye, check.
Although our trip went on from there to an awesome safari in Kenya, then a visit with our oldest son and his wife in Germany on our way home to the States, our minds returned often to Bukavu and then moved to “What if ____?” If it was possible to return and there were roles we were capable of playing, how long could we stay? How much money would it take to maintain our home in Michigan and live in the Congo? In order to do any work there, we’d have to have other funds. Where would they come from?
Then there was the question of my Mother. She was ninety-two, and as her only living child, I knew in my heart I could not leave her. All the what-ifs were silenced as Ray and I agreed we were not free to leave for an extended period of time. When we shared the details of our trip with her, she instinctively knew we wanted to return, and I think it pleased her in some way. But no. Our dream, with all its unanswered questions and hopes, would have to wait.
But not for long, it turned out. Just two months later, my mother died, suddenly and unexpectedly. Without warning, with no health issues, she passed from the world in January 2016. It was traumatic for me. Grief and loss, emotions the Lord is still helping me wade through, sat side-by-side in my mind with an urge to at least explore the possibility of returning to the Congo. We leaned heavily on God as Heart For Central Africa pulled at our heartstrings.
Eventually, we agreed to a two-week fact-finding trip back to Bukavu. This time it would be just the two of us. Did we have anything to offer? Since the mission is small, would our particular personalities, gifts, talents, and life experiences be a good fit? There was only one way to find out.
During that first trip back to Bukavu with Graci, Ray had examined the mission house and all its working systems: plumbing, water holding tanks (2), electrical and structural issues, and so on. The house is an old, Belgian cement-over-handmade-brick house built in the mid-1940’s. Ray found it in great need of care, new rafters (due to termites) , and the tin roof needed repairing and repainting. Most importantly, there was no running water in the house.
City water comes from large holding tanks, although not every day, and it comes from Lake Kivu. (This means it cannot be used for drinking water. That must come from another source.) Outside pipes run around the house to each bathroom and the kitchen before entering the house. When city water is shut off (daily for periods of time), then the tanks are used. These, unfortunately, were useless, as the pump no longer worked. Showering and flushing toilets was not possible during a shutoff.
Instead, a bucket of water drained from a tank was heated up on the stove (when there was electricity), and each person would take turns standing in the tub with a bucket of warm water to do their ablutions. The more people there were living in the house, the more time it took to heat water. More water had to be heated for dishwashing. A bucket stood by each toilet for flushing. This is not an ideal way to live.
Ray researched the pump problem, coming up with what he hoped was a viable solution. Consequently, we took the proposed equipment with us on our second trip. We only had to take bucket showers for a couple of days, as Ray’s plan and equipment worked! Water was running in the house again, plus he had cleaned every faucet of years of sludge so they ran at more than a trickle for the first time in recent memory. What a celebration there was! The woman who helps with kitchen chores danced with joy at the prospect of washing dishes with hot, running water. After that huge success, Ray went on to solve several problems in the house.
It was clear we had contributions to make. But how?
