Looking at Luputa - our first visit!

We will attempt to keep this blogger alive this time.

We have been on our mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa for almost two months. We have just returned from our first expedition to Luputa, the village that is reached by a 3-hr plane ride and then a 5-hr Toyota Land Cruiser drive to reach this amazing place. We were there for 7 days, each day filled with walking, water, and a million children wherever we went. We stayed in the church district's office building which has been converted into a sort of 'hotel' for travelers such as us when a Luputa trip is required. Our purpose was two-fold: to be introduced to key people in Luputa with whom we will be dealing for the next 18 months regarding the two million dollar clean water project that is not quite finished; and to access the project itself and do some trouble-shooting to move the work along to completion. We "walked the line" so to speak, as we traveled along much of the main water line to check the distribution stations (some were working, some not) and then we walked up to the actual spring source (quite a walk in the heat of the jungle -- no roads). We took tons of pictures and will share them below. We felt what a rock star must feel -- everywhere we went, we were followed by a few, then a dozen, then twenty, then one hundred children and adults who were simply curious about us whiteys. In Lingala language (spoken in surrounding villages of Kinshasa)they call us 'moondillys' but in Chaluba dialect (Luputa and surrounds) they call us something else we didn't quite understand. One thing they do all have in common is their curiosity about us, our color, our hair, our skin, our language. One time Elder B took my hand as we were walking down the trail, and that caused loud and prolonged "ooooooooooo!!!" The children love to mimic us, so I have several times sung "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" while we were waiting for the men to conduct their business regarding the water line. They also like to mimic clapping patterns, or just to repeat anything we say to them. The other thing they seem to have in common is their happiness. They don't know anything different, and they seem perfectly content, although not perfectly healthy. Contaminated and polluted water sources are the norm here. We are very privileged to be part of this work to help people help themselves improve their lives by making water available and clean. There isn't room to describe our Luputa trip, so we will try to explain in pictures.