We went to Africa so we could visit projects and programs of the West Angola Conference of The United Methodist Church. We needed to continue the personal contacts that began when Bishop Hassinger visited Angola in 1996, and when Bishop Emilio J. M. de Carvalho visited New England earlier this year. We needed to understand the situations people face in the land with which we share this covenant relationship. There's no better place in the world to make a difference in the lives of children. Angola has lived in a state of war for 40 years, and the children suffer.
Land mines kill or maim thousands each year, and children suffer.
In the midst of a hellish city and decimated countryside, the United Methodist Church gives people faith for their lives, education for their minds, health care for their bodies. After enduring the six flights that took us to Newark, Italy, Ethiopia, Kenya, Congo, and finally Angola, we settled into a hotel in the capital city of Luanda. Members of the Africa Task Force among us were accustomed to staying in the homes of church members when visiting African countries. Bishop de Carvalho explained that would not be possible in Luanda. Church members would be unable to host us.