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which was why I contracted malaria and had nothing to offer. They didn't respond and so
with a quick wave goodbye I left.
As I continued walking my feet were getting sore and I could feel that I was de-
veloping blisters. I had never walked so much in one stretch in Africa. It was a peaceful
walk though, mostly under blue sky with birds singing away. I finally arrived in the town
and with the help of a little boy, I found Kamina's Cathedral. I mustered enough energy to
climb the final hill and entered the mission compound.
I met Father Winfried from Belgium who kindly gave me some food and a room. I
quickly stripped the bike and went with the cook to find a tire for sale but couldn't locate
onethatwouldfitmyrim.Wemettwoboyswhosaidthattheywouldtakemeinthemorn-
ing to get the tire repaired. So, I returned and joined Father Winfried for a drink. We split a
beerandheshareda'funny'anecdoteaboutwhathappenedtohim.Hetoldmethatnottoo
longagotheunpaidsoldierswentonarampageandbrokeintohishometostealhismoney
andbelongings. Hesaid that the soldiers placed the stolen items onthe side ofthe roadand
told the local children to watch over the goods. While the soldiers left to steal Father Win-
fried's Toyota to transport the goods, the children ran away with all the stolen goods.
The next morning, after mass Icleaned mybike again. The two boyscame and said
they would take my tire to get it fixed. They returned after an hour with the gash stitched.
Immediately I told them that it would not do. The workmanship was poor for the stitch-
ing would easily come undone and would not hold the pressure from all the weight. I told
themtostitchatlast2cmabovethetire'sedge.Theywentoff,andFatherWinfriedquickly
came by and suggested that I should check on what they were doing to make sure that they
understood what I wanted. I did and since they were doing it correctly, I returned to my
bike. I removed the inner tire of my rear wheel and trimmed more of the tread off with my
knife.
The boys returned with a great repair job so I paid them 6 million zaïres for their
work. I used the electrical tape to cover the inside stitching to prevent another puncture. I
put everything together and cleaned up the room. I took a shower (after three days without
one)andfeltlikeanewman.FatherWinfriedwassurprisedthatIwantedtospendasecond
nightbutIexplainedthatsincethetirerepairfinishedsolate,Ididn'twanttostart.AsIlay
in bed, I thought of taking the back roads in the morning and to forget about the national
road, but laughed myself to sleep. I could only imagine what these back roads were like.
I awoke early to go to mass in the cathedral. By the time I arrived, the place was
packed. The choir sang and danced and the music was extremely exciting. I found the con-
gregation a bit more reserved compared to the people in the Kasai province. During the
offertory,therewereatleast24womencarryingthegiftsontheirhead(maize,rice,tied-up
chickens, pineapple, eggs,
etc.
). After mass, the poor of the village came to the rectory and
Father Winfried disseminated the offered food. He said that there was no way he could eat
all that was offered in one week.
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