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construction of a new parish. He invited me to lunch which I accepted and we chatted
throughout the meal until after 3:00 p.m.
I thanked him for lunch and continued further for several hours. The road since the
lake was full of sharp stones so my pace was cautiously slow. I asked several people as I
passedhowfaritwastotheCatholicmission.NomatterhowIfarIprogressed,theanswer
was the same: three kilometres. It was over ten kilometres that I came across the mission.
I finally arrived at 6:00 p.m. at the Parish of St. Francis Xavier in Kabea, about
45 kilometres from Mbuji Mayi. I was welcomed by the seminarians and the sisters and
quickly was given a room. After a quick shower and some dinner, I sat with the religious
community for some tea and chatted until I was drowsing off. I was in great spirits for the
next day I only had a four-hour cycle to Mbuji Mayi
and
I was being expected.
After mass the next morning, I was on my way by 10:00 a.m. I gave them my ad-
dress and Canadian pins and said good-bye. The first 10 kilometres were very slow and
difficult. But then I reminded myself that it was Sunday and to enjoy the cycle. I enjoyed
it up until I was 15 kilometres from Mbuji-Mayi. I realized I miscalculated the amount of
water I purified so I was running short. With the threat of another downpour looming over
my shoulder, I stopped by a small church to rest.
I bumped into Father Serge and he welcomed me to stay for lunch. He asked if I
wanted to stay the night but I opted to get going for people were expecting me. When I left
the parish, I arrived onto a high quality road and within the hour, I arrived in Mbuji-Mayi.
I passed by a military checkpoint without any hassle and quickly found SEDIZA (a UK
diamond purchaser). I stopped at the fortified gate to ask for directions. The guard told me
to wait and went to the back of the building. Out came a British national who welcomed
me into the heavily guarded compound.
I entered into a western style home with a VCR, TV and a living room set. They
gave me pizza, omelette and tea and said Icould just relax and watch videos. While Isat in
an incredibly comfortable lounge chair,a guard was sent to the Claussens to let them know
that I arrived in the town and was resting at the Brits' home.
In the late afternoon, I was escorted to the Claussens and had dinner of beef stew,
rice and chocolate chip cookies. I took a warm shower with water from a solar bag and
prepared the couch that I would call my bed.
The next day was a let's-not-do-anything-strenuous sort of day. I had a great break-
fast with the children and shared my adventures as we coloured in their books. At 11:50
a.m., they escorted me back to SEDIZA so I could have lunch with the English diamond
guys. We had potato salad, cheese, corned beef, Branson's pickles and some chocolate.
After lunch they brought in a small packet of diamonds they were to export to the
UK. They asked me to open my hand and poured the contents to show me. They told me
that in my hand was about $20,000. I thought about making a run for it, but correctly sur-
mised I wouldn't even get to the front door. I was amazed that these two Brits lived in the
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