by Fenton Rees

October 5, 2015

Here’s some ramblings from the jungle.

Stuck on an Island.
Being here at Bongolo Hospital is a little like being on an island, except the sea in this case is the green jungle. If you include the nearby small town of Labamba as being on the same island, then the rest of “civilization” is an 11 hour drive thru the jungle or a 2 hour flight by Cessna back to the capital of Libreville. People who move to a small island from the mainland to live sometimes talk about “Island fever”, the need to get off because of the lack of space, or boredom or there being no possibility of gong for a long drive. I can see how that could occur. On our “island”, there are no shopping malls, no movie theatres, no mountains to hike, no beaches, etc, etc. There is a beach “resort” about a 4-5 hour drive away where sometimes you get to see elephants etc. But we do have both a basketball and tennis court (in this heat ?), and a pool (Yeah!). For the early pioneers of this place back in the 1940’s, this must have been like an extended camping trip on the moon. At least NOW we have electric power and water and internet 24/7. And one of the missionaries even has satellite TV at his house so his kids don’t get totally disconnected from their American culture. But I do admire the “full time” missionaries that are here on this “island” for extended periods of time. As a short-timer, I think it is easier to put up with the hassles and deprivations because you have an end date when you know you are going to leave. This is not a place you come on a full time basis just for the heck of it;- you really must be committed to it. One of the full-time doctors (Dr. Izzi) said that for her after about 3 months on the “island” she starts to feel claustrophobic.

The missions resource book “Operation World” specifically mentions Bongolo Hospital in its 3 page summary on Gabon. And that 1,700 people come to Christ as a direct result of the ministry here. Part of that “success” is due to a determined program of chaplains, etc., that make it near impossible for a patient or their family or a visitor to be here without hearing the gospel. As of a few days ago, they are apparently at 1,600 for the year so far. And that of course is why people choose to come to this “island”;- to be part of what God is doing in this remote part of the world.

Viva Le Pidgin French.
As I (Fenton) begin to work with the Gabonese maintenance guys, the language barrier (they speak French and no English) definitely becomes a challenge. One can see why almost all full time missionaries have to go to language school BEFORE they go to their chosen field, especially if they are teaching or preaching etc. The main missionary maintenance man (Paul Davis) was so needed here 6 years ago that he never did language school, (right now he’s back in the US with a medical problem). So he and his maintenance crew have developed a mixture of both languages;- French nouns and English verbs;- as the French nouns are far easier for an English speaker to grasp than having to work with the French verbs. Now here is the funny part, I find myself doing the very same thing;- plus a lot of hand waving, of course. Pat, in contrast, is lucky in that all of the surgery residents she works with have to be fluent in English to be part of the program.

Their father was a cannibal.
Where we are in southern Gabon was basically unexplored territory until the 1940’s, when the first American missionaries came here and began a work that eventually become Bongolo Hospital (and the associated church). When they first arrived this was full on witch doctor and cannibal territory. The Oxford Dictionary’s 3rd definition of the word “Pagan”, is “Unenlightened”. I kind of like that. This was a people living in darkness. Like the apostle Paul says towards the end of the book of Acts, the purpose of the gospel is to take people from darkness to LIGHT, from the dominion of Satan to the Kingdom of God. We had dinner with Dr. Izzi last night and she told us that there was at least one Gabonese worker at the hospital whose father was a cannibal. Not that far back.

Even though supposedly 10% of the population of Gabon is evangelical Christian, "dark" thinking still permeates this culture, such as:

• The default work ethic is of being work shy;- as their culture says that the more status you have the less you work. In western culture we still have an echo of the Protestant work ethic, where often times the more status you have the harder you work.

• The default ethic is dishonesty. Even though the west is rapidly moving away from anything that resembles Christian morality, there is still an expectation by most that people should be honest. And so state governors who have be found to have cheated still end up in jail (Think Illinois). And there is still genuine shock that VW would have vehicles on the road with software that was specifically designed to cheat on the emissions tests.

• Obviously dishonesty and lack of a work ethic do nothing for wealth creation, and hence the means of solve some of the problems associated with poverty. Not to mention the personal benefit and satisfaction of having provided for one self and perhaps have done something that will outlive you.

Well that’s enough ramblings for one day,

Blessings,

Fenton & Pat