Corey and I arrived in Guinea-Bissau around 3 am on a pretty full plane. Would never have thought so many people would be going to Guinea-Bissau. Of course it was dark so a quick look around didn't reveal much. A step inside the terminal and things got interesting.
First, the man picking us spoke to an official who grabbed our passports, visa forms, and the $120/ea fee and had us through customs before anyone else. We found ourselves standing in a relatively large but empty one-room terminal waiting for our bags. I noticed at least one person leaning through the opening where bags would appear, seeming to ask the worker to pass his bags through first. I also noticed that there were two workers for each (huge) cart, pulling and pushing it from the plane to the unloading area.
We drove from the airport towards Lendem, where we have one of our Bible translation centers. Almost no lights as we drove (unless someone had solar-charged batteries, there was no other electricity), a number of serious speed bumps, and even a police checkpoint. We arrived "home" at around 4 am. We are staying in a guest bedroom of the director, whose concrete wall and tin roofed home consists of two bedrooms, a kitchen and open area, a cold-water only shower and a flush toilet. All in all, comfortable and welcome at that hour, though it was still warm both in and outside.
We agreed to sleep in and have breakfast at around 9. We woke up at 11 am! Whoops... and we hoped to get a jump on the work.
After a breakfast of bread, cheese, fruit drink and optional yogurt, I was given a tour of the site, making note of where the computer network components were. Corey had been here last year working on the electrical system so knew much more than I did and greeted many friends warmly.
Without going into great detail of the rest of the day, we were advised to adopt the local practice of not working from 1:30 to 3:30 pm because of the heat. Corey and I then proceeded to talk to the director through that time, planning our work for the rest of the day and tomorrow. We also talked about how to get work done and not interrupt any workshops.
Today's big project for me was to begin setting up an exterior heat and weatherproof wireless network that would reach from the main office building to 3 separate sets of guesthouses at least 100' away. (It can get to 115 degrees in the hot season and this device is good to 122 degrees.) I found myself walking and balancing as I walked the edge of the roof to where I hoped to swap out another wireless device installed several years ago that wasn't doing the job. Since there was fragile tin roof on one side and hard ground 20' below on the other side, I had just one thing to say to myself... "What is a 60+ man doing up here?"
Obviously I survived and am happy to report that the new system was sending out ~twice as strong a signal. Tomorrow's job will hopefully include another test to see if I can find a better/closer place to mount the wireless system to deliver an even stronger signal.
So day #1 ends at 11:30 pm (local time) with this update and appreciation for the many prayers for safety and the projects going well. There were many times when I thought there were major problems (like when I thought my wallet had been pick-pocketed yesterday or when I though I wouldn't get the wireless system back on line by tonight), but God has been walking ahead of Corey and me.
And I haven't seen a mosquito yet! God is good... all the time.
Blessings from Africa...
Jon
First, the man picking us spoke to an official who grabbed our passports, visa forms, and the $120/ea fee and had us through customs before anyone else. We found ourselves standing in a relatively large but empty one-room terminal waiting for our bags. I noticed at least one person leaning through the opening where bags would appear, seeming to ask the worker to pass his bags through first. I also noticed that there were two workers for each (huge) cart, pulling and pushing it from the plane to the unloading area.
We drove from the airport towards Lendem, where we have one of our Bible translation centers. Almost no lights as we drove (unless someone had solar-charged batteries, there was no other electricity), a number of serious speed bumps, and even a police checkpoint. We arrived "home" at around 4 am. We are staying in a guest bedroom of the director, whose concrete wall and tin roofed home consists of two bedrooms, a kitchen and open area, a cold-water only shower and a flush toilet. All in all, comfortable and welcome at that hour, though it was still warm both in and outside.
We agreed to sleep in and have breakfast at around 9. We woke up at 11 am! Whoops... and we hoped to get a jump on the work.
After a breakfast of bread, cheese, fruit drink and optional yogurt, I was given a tour of the site, making note of where the computer network components were. Corey had been here last year working on the electrical system so knew much more than I did and greeted many friends warmly.
Without going into great detail of the rest of the day, we were advised to adopt the local practice of not working from 1:30 to 3:30 pm because of the heat. Corey and I then proceeded to talk to the director through that time, planning our work for the rest of the day and tomorrow. We also talked about how to get work done and not interrupt any workshops.
Today's big project for me was to begin setting up an exterior heat and weatherproof wireless network that would reach from the main office building to 3 separate sets of guesthouses at least 100' away. (It can get to 115 degrees in the hot season and this device is good to 122 degrees.) I found myself walking and balancing as I walked the edge of the roof to where I hoped to swap out another wireless device installed several years ago that wasn't doing the job. Since there was fragile tin roof on one side and hard ground 20' below on the other side, I had just one thing to say to myself... "What is a 60+ man doing up here?"
Obviously I survived and am happy to report that the new system was sending out ~twice as strong a signal. Tomorrow's job will hopefully include another test to see if I can find a better/closer place to mount the wireless system to deliver an even stronger signal.
So day #1 ends at 11:30 pm (local time) with this update and appreciation for the many prayers for safety and the projects going well. There were many times when I thought there were major problems (like when I thought my wallet had been pick-pocketed yesterday or when I though I wouldn't get the wireless system back on line by tonight), but God has been walking ahead of Corey and me.
And I haven't seen a mosquito yet! God is good... all the time.
Blessings from Africa...
Jon
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