The container got to Douala, Cameroon, the second week in June. Because the customs papers are handled by a very very busy company from long distance (our agent/helper in Bangui, CAR), it can sometimes take a long time. Well, due to misplacement of the official documents mailed from the states, it was delayed even more than usual. The container arrived at the Gamboula customs office on Aug. 30th, and we picked up the papers and sent a man to Berberati (Gamboula is not allowed to handle container customs) to get them processed. Finally, after a series of hoop jumping red tape, the papers were ready and the customs official was willing to come, but a humongous rain washed out the road and a big truck fell in the water, blocking the road on Saturday. Here you can see the truck on its side and the pile of rocks hauled to shore up the road eaten away by the rain.
Sunday was a no-go, so we arranged, after hours on the cell phone, for them to come Monday. Meanwhile, the trucker was on the phone with me, talking in Fulfulde, wanting to somehow get things moving, as he’s just sitting at Gamboula customs unable to go anywhere and the end of Ramadan was fast approaching, and seeing as how that is THE biggest day of the year for our Musxlim friends, he wanted to be home with family on that day. So, we were planning for the customs man to come Monday, but then heard that another place in the road was washed out, and that took another full day of repair work, so they eventually came on Tuesday. So, the container got to the mission, was unloaded and the “customs free” fees were paid, and we were then ready to turn over all our responsibilities to our colleagues and head for the beach for some longed for R&R!!!
We are currently in Yaounde, to be on our way to the beach for vacation on Saturday.
Thank you so much for your prayers for the container processing!
