When blessings abound

Un mois, jour pour jour. Sure enough time has passed by in a surreal fashion. These past few days have been reinvigorating in numerous ways, be it talking theology till the wee hours of the morning with my Congolese hall mate or becoming the new soccer star of the Tabacongo district on a warm Saturday afternoon.

Filled with joy and never more at peace in my tranquil monastery, work has taken a sharp turn during the past ten days. An array of thoughts are constantly swarming through my head now that I have been entrusted to a market research and analysis project. Intimidating, vague, you name it. And yet, to my greatest surprise, I have never been more motivated. Who would have thought that I would be plowing through data that has never been compiled before and reading up on those once disregarded statistical methods.

Despite the strenuous office work, I still get to spend l’avant midi bus hoping between neighborhoods to visit solidarity groups. Day after day, I have never been more certain that the Lord is actively present in the midst of microfinance. Hearing a loan officer explain the meaning of wisdom in his own tongue or witnessing the spontaneous sermon of papa Clement on the importance of honesty are once in a lifetime experiences.

Next week, I shift gears into surveying local markets with my spectacular mathematical skills. I use to dread the streets and now I cannot wait to interact with the Congolese youth. The reality of poverty always hurts to witness, but you have to see the opportunity behind the sickness.

Beyond the promising weekend ahead, I look forward to occasionally pulling out the blazer and gathering data on the macro level situation in Lubumbashi, be it at the Congolese Central Bank or the United Nations. I can only begin to describe the economic potential of the Katanga province in constant cohabitation with the indiscreetly corrupt regional jurisdiction. Mining companies are everywhere, commercial banking billboards appear out of nowhere and yet the rich get richer while the poor remain poor. In the meantime, university students have to pay off their teachers to pass their year and business owners have to bribe government officials to obtain their merchandise.

In spite of the backwardness of life, Congolese never stop smiling and laughing. How could I dare slow down half way?