We remember Brent and Barbara Neilson talking about crossing the Congo River between Kinshasa and Brazzaville and what a wild and exciting adventure it was. We never thought at the time that we would ever in a million years every be able to say, "We have done it to!" The first challenge is even taking photos as this is a Border Crossing so you even take a chance taking a photo. The second challenge is getting through customs, a long wait while you get your border crossing visa, boat tickets and then just getting in the boat is challenging.
We considered it a real honor to be able to be escorted by Elder Kola (an Area Seventy and Brother Kubangila (Country Public Affairs Director). They were wonderful and really paved the way for us. They were experts in the crossing and we just kind of rode along hanging to their shirt tails.
The Congo river is about 7 kilometres wide and is a very deep and fast flowing river. I can't even imagine crossing the river standing up in a narrow boat like this one.
The crossing leaving Kinshasa going to Brazzaville was in a quite nice boat. The city of Kinshasa has a population of 10 million people and has 5 Stakes of Zion. We were able to meet with a representative from each of them.
We stayed overnight in the Hotel de la Paix. It was not too bad. The event that we will remember is that this was the day of cleaning out the gutters. They remove the cement covers that you can see in front of the garbage and shovel it onto the side. A truck then come along and it is shovelled into the truck. As you can imagine it has a very distinct odour.
Bishop Kelounou met us at the port and was our chauffeur. Elder Kelounou was one of our missionaries in the Ivory Coast and served as my Assistant. He was a wonderful missionary and now works for the Church as CES Coordinator. It was so good to see him and the other missionaries that served with us.
This is leaving Brazzaville. This was a little more scary crossing as we were in a boat meant for 10 passengers and they packed about 20 - 25 in the boat. At least we had life jackets. The city of Brazzaville is has a population of about 1.5 million and has 1 Stake of Zion. We met with a Counsellor in the Stake Presidency and two Public Affairs Council members.
We got a chuckle watching this cute little boy finally give up and go to sleep. He definitely was not worried about the crossing.
We can, along with the Neilson's, say we have now crossed the mighty Congo River. It was a unique experience and we lived through it.
We considered it a real honor to be able to be escorted by Elder Kola (an Area Seventy and Brother Kubangila (Country Public Affairs Director). They were wonderful and really paved the way for us. They were experts in the crossing and we just kind of rode along hanging to their shirt tails.
The Congo river is about 7 kilometres wide and is a very deep and fast flowing river. I can't even imagine crossing the river standing up in a narrow boat like this one.
The crossing leaving Kinshasa going to Brazzaville was in a quite nice boat. The city of Kinshasa has a population of 10 million people and has 5 Stakes of Zion. We were able to meet with a representative from each of them.
We stayed overnight in the Hotel de la Paix. It was not too bad. The event that we will remember is that this was the day of cleaning out the gutters. They remove the cement covers that you can see in front of the garbage and shovel it onto the side. A truck then come along and it is shovelled into the truck. As you can imagine it has a very distinct odour.
Bishop Kelounou met us at the port and was our chauffeur. Elder Kelounou was one of our missionaries in the Ivory Coast and served as my Assistant. He was a wonderful missionary and now works for the Church as CES Coordinator. It was so good to see him and the other missionaries that served with us.
It is the dry season in the Congo right now and the river is very low. This is the regular dock that is used when the river is normal level. They say that it will not be able to be used for another two months. The river, as you can see Kinshasa in the distance, is very wide now it must be awesome in the wet season.
This is leaving Brazzaville. This was a little more scary crossing as we were in a boat meant for 10 passengers and they packed about 20 - 25 in the boat. At least we had life jackets. The city of Brazzaville is has a population of about 1.5 million and has 1 Stake of Zion. We met with a Counsellor in the Stake Presidency and two Public Affairs Council members.
We got a chuckle watching this cute little boy finally give up and go to sleep. He definitely was not worried about the crossing.
We can, along with the Neilson's, say we have now crossed the mighty Congo River. It was a unique experience and we lived through it.
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