Screening Day

Well, screening day is here and gone!  It was an amazing experience, we dealt with a huge number of people, many are saying over 7,000 were in line.  The line was over 1,100 meters long for an hour or so and stayed at 800-900 meters for much of the morning.  The stream of people coming to line up seemed endless.  There was stress, both for Mercy Shippers and for the Congolese people, but with patience and God's grace the line moved along without major incident.  We worked hand in hand with the Pointe-Noire police.  My counterpart is a great guy who speaks decent English.  Every time I asked for something he replied "That is no problem" whether it was to have 12 additional police officers in 10 minutes or if it was that, because the line was growing so fast I needed to close a public road to extend our line!  Then he proved it really wasn't a problem!

The day is filled with stories, both of success and heartache.  Here is a link to the blog of one of my friends (yes, she is the nurse from the 60 Minutes story!)

http://alirae.net/blog/

Ali is a gifted writer who tells the stories that many of us experience.  She is a blessing here!  Her latest post is about yesterday and tells of some of the challenges we face.

It is easy to focus on the good we do, but often our hearts are weighed down by the one's we can't help.  I know I have pictures in my mind of people who were told "No" and their lonely, sometimes broken walk to the exit gate.  I think these pictures will always travel with me. Our successes are fantastic but our limits hurt!!

Having just experienced my first big screening event, today I am more thankful for the blessings in my life, our family both immediate and extended, friends, church family and faith. 

Here are three pictures from screening day. 

Please take time today to appreciate your blessings!!!