{"id":237,"date":"2013-04-28T13:04:09","date_gmt":"2013-04-28T12:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.berry1.com\/wordpress\/?p=237"},"modified":"2013-04-28T13:04:10","modified_gmt":"2013-04-28T12:04:10","slug":"its-just-a-matter-of-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.berry1.com\/wordpress\/its-just-a-matter-of-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Just a Matter of Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"P1000021\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sunday, April 28, 2013<\/p>\n

I think too often we forget to put things into perspective.\u00a0 I know that at times I can definitely be one of those people!\u00a0 Since moving to Gemena I have found myself saying\u2026hmmm\u2026it\u2019s all a matter of perspective!<\/p>\n

My first time visiting Kinshasa was 2011.\u00a0 We stayed in the most densely populated part of the city; we drove around in the HOT city in what felt like 10 feet deep of sand\u2026we got stuck at least 3 times, and never actually made it to our destination.\u00a0 Anytime we had to walk places, with each step we took, the sand puffed up, covering our legs, shin down, with dust and dirt.\u00a0 As I said before we were in the most densely populated part of the city, and anywhere we walked you would bump into the person in front of you, or next to you or behind you.\u00a0 It really may feel like an exaggeration, and perhaps it is slightly, but it really was a difficult first visit.\u00a0 Not to mention we stayed at Hotel Apocalypse, NO JOKE!\u00a0 Although we are truly good friends with the District Superintendent in Kinshasa, I said, if I NEVER have to go there again I would be one happy girl!\u00a0 Of course with a statement that strong\u2026the Lord likes to keep His sense of humor by making sure we HAD to go there again.<\/p>\n

After moving from Juba, we found ourselves in Kinshasa AGAIN!\u00a0 Most of our business was going to be in the central part of town so we found a place to stay that was closer to town.\u00a0 While it was still busy, there was a significantly less amount of people, we stayed in this beautiful Catholic compound, and realized that the city of Kinshasa is a beautiful place.\u00a0 I was happy I was still just passing through, but I had a very different perspective of Kinshasa after that trip.<\/p>\n

Then we moved to Gemena.\u00a0 Now don\u2019t get me wrong we have quickly grown fond of our little town.\u00a0 It really is a small and simple place.\u00a0 It does not have the security concerns that most of the big cities in Congo bring, but it is also very secluded.\u00a0 The last passable route to drive from Kinshasa to Gemena is no longer passable.\u00a0 You can drive to Bangui, Central Africa Republic, but it is anywhere from 12-17 hours, depending on the rain; and in lieu of the current political situation in CAR, no one we know has been on the road since the start of this recent rainy season, so who knows what it\u2019s like now!\u00a0 There is not a lot in Gemena. \u00a0There is one man that I know that grows cucumbers, carrots and green peppers, sometimes, to add to our \u201clist\u201d, otherwise the food options are quite small: sweet potatoes, onions, tomatoes, garlic, avocados, papaya, pineapples and bananas.\u00a0 We have found one restaurant (it\u2019s actually the UN base) so we go on Sunday\u2019s after church.\u00a0 Since they have regular flights in and out of Gemena, they change up their menu options and offer things we would not normally get for ourselves; and it does make for a nice break.<\/p>\n

People ask us what we think of the climate in Gemena, and are surprised that we say it\u2019s quite nice.\u00a0 You don\u2019t think it\u2019s HOT?\u00a0 People, we are coming from South Sudan, trust us\u2026its all a matter of perspective, I even find myself using a jacket some mornings!<\/p>\n

So why did I write this blog?\u00a0 Well, we have now been in Kinshasa AGAIN for a third time.\u00a0 We are 3 weeks into a 5-week stay.\u00a0 After being in Gemena for 3 months and realizing how secluded you can feel, this trip to \u201ccivilization\u201d has been a welcome change even if it IS Kinshasa.\u00a0 In 2011, after I left Kinshasa, I had absolutely no desire to return.\u00a0 I left not realizing that I would eventually consider Kinshasa a nice \u201cvacation\u201d.\u00a0 We have power, air conditioning, and HOT showers.\u00a0 We are staying in a guesthouse, meeting other missionaries from so many other parts of Congo, many that are just as secluded.\u00a0 It just puts things into a whole new perspective.<\/p>\n

While I would never want to live in Kinshasa, and I am SO ready to be back home in Gemena, its funny what Kinshasa has become for me.\u00a0 It no longer feels like the end of the world\u2026pun intended (i.e. Hotel Apocalypse), instead it feels like a place that I can get a fresh perspective.\u00a0 It\u2019s has become a place I can get encouraged by other missionaries, many whom have the same struggles and it has become a place to get refreshed.\u00a0 And also taking advantage of the many food options doesn\u2019t hurt!\u00a0 So from now on, I promise to keep things in perspective.\u00a0 You never know when you are going to wish you were back in YOUR Kinshasa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sunday, April 28, 2013 I think too often we forget to put things into perspective.\u00a0 I know that at times I can definitely be one of those people!\u00a0 Since moving to Gemena I have found myself saying\u2026hmmm\u2026it\u2019s all a matter of perspective! My first time visiting Kinshasa was 2011.\u00a0 We stayed in the most densely populated part of the city;…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3,9,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-drc","category-gemena","category-kinshasa","category-missionary"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.berry1.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.berry1.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.berry1.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.berry1.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.berry1.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.berry1.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":241,"href":"http:\/\/www.berry1.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions\/241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.berry1.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.berry1.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.berry1.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}