Congo

Having received my acceptance letter from Mercy Ships,  I thought it was time I went into more detail of where I am heading to.
I will be joining the ship in Congo, to be precised Point Noire in Congo Brazzaville. This is not Congo DRC, which a lot of people get mixed up with.
So here it is a bit about Congo......


 The right name is Republic of Congo, it is located in Central Africa, bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Angolan exclave of Cabinda. The capital is Brazzaville, which why some people call it Congo Brazzaville.

Congo was formerly part of the French colony of Equatorial Africa, upon independence in 1960, the country became the Republic of the Congo. The people of Congo are largely a mix of Catholic and Prodestant. There are 62 spoken languages in the country, but it can be grouped into 3 categories. The Kongo are the largest ethnic group and form around half of the population. The second largest group is the Teke who live north of Brazzaville with 17% of the population. Boulangui are 12% of the population living Northwest of Brazzaville. Pygmies make up 2% .The Republic of the Congo's sparse population is concentrated in the southwestern portion of the country, leaving the vast areas of tropical jungle in the north virtually uninhabited.

 

 

The country is located along the equator because of this the weather is consistent all year around, average temperature during the day is 24 C. The dry season is from June to August, and 2 main rain seasons March to May and Sept to November.

 

The ship will docked in Pointe Noire, the second biggest city after the capital Brazzaville. It is situated on a headland between Pointe-Noire Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Pointe Noire is the main commercial centre for the country, and at the centre of the oil industry. But it is also know for its fishing.

 

This is just a small look at Congo, and where I will be based for 10 months on the ship. This is the first time the Mercy Ships has been to this country, please pray for the team who are there getting things ready for the ships arrival in August.

I will hopefully be joining the ship on the 21st of August. I am already getting things ready for leaving but the main prayer point is my house, I am trying to sell it but there is not much interest at the moment, praying the right person will come along and buy it!