A Week in Review

Well, maybe it's been the last few weeks. Have I ever told you that time doesn't really exist here-- last week, last three weeks, same thing!

A few weeks ago we were invited to the First Birthday of our Head Teacher's daughter. It was such a contrast to birthday parties I'm used to. Last year I went to the first birthday party of a little girl I used to take care of. It was a quiet afternoon party, mostly involving other young children, their parents, and watching all the little ones interacting with each other. However, in Sierra Leone, there was loud music, dancing, and even after we left, we could hear the music coming from the house late into the night! What a contrast!

Last weekend, Sarah and I went to a women's retreat with other ex-patriots. It was such a great weekend full of fellowship(which is hard to come by), time to reflect on life(which is hard to come by), and a lot of snack food(which is hard to come by)! The theme was, "Real Peace for Real Women," I know it's sounds a bit cheesy, but it was really great to get some good biblical teaching, true fellowship with other believers, and also to discuss some of the issues that we all face on a daily basis here. It was also just amazing to be with all these amazing women who come from all over the world, knowing that we all serve the same Great God.

This is the new American Embassy, and I really have nothing to say other than it's huge and ridiculous!

Two Months

It's so hard to believe that in a little over two months I will be home! This spring has gone by so fast. While I am looking forward to being with friends and family again, it will also be extremely hard to leave.
I just wanted to update you on what these next two months will look like for me. On April 30th, we will be expecting the International President, Chris Clark, and his family for a quick 8 day trip. He will be spending most of his time in Banta. So when he comes we will be with him in Banta and then we plan to stay on until around May 21st or 22nd. Sarah is expecting two of her friends for a visit on May 25th to June 18th. We will be entertaining them by introducing them to the various NGO's that operate in Sierra Leone, giving them an overview of COTN, taking them to the beach, spending a week in Banta(which will be our last week there), and taking them to all the sights:)! Arlene, our coordinator, will be arriving in country on June 1st with a short-term team that will stay until June 15th. After they leave we will have our good-bye party, our final debriefing, etc. Then on June 25th we will board the helicopter to the airport(which is on a peninsula), board a plane and be off.
As you can see there will be many things that I will need your prayers for over these next two months. Preparation to leave--mentally, physically, emotionally. Preparing the children and our departure. Wrapping things up at school with the teachers-- that the impact we have made will continue to take root and grow in them. Coming home and starting life again. Also for Fatu, the little girl we brought back from up-country, she will be having her surgery on April 24th, please pray for her as it will be a fairly painful procedure with extensive rehab and physical therapy.
I hope that this entry finds you all well. I am always blown away when my mom tells me how many people are checking this blog. It is humbling and also so exciting to be able to give you a little look into the lives of the people of Sierra Leone. It is my prayer that even as I come home, that you will continue to carry Sierra Leone in your hearts and lift the country up in prayer. Bikaway(the strongest form of thank-you found in the Mende language, spoken in Banta).

Last Saturday Sarah and I returned from an amazing, much needed, 2 day, retreat to a beach side guest house, which even offered the luxury of hot showers, cold drinking water, and Air conditioning(amenities we take for grated in America). We spent our days in these lounge chairs, lounging all day long! Don't worry, we wore sunscreen. We enjoyed their fine Italian cuisine while viewing the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean. Ahh, how romantic! Really if your interested in a getaway, this is a great place, you just have to come to Sierra Leone to get there! We only had one minor hiccup, when we came back from dinner one night the ceiling was leaking in our room because the water tank on the roof was over flowing! We reported the matter to the owner, but little did we know that he, being an Italian man, only speaks Italian and Krio. Consequently, our broken Krio wasn't enough to get the point across to him. We found another worker who does speak English and together we got the mess cleaned up right away! (It's moments like these that just make us laugh). In all seriousness, this is one of the only places we have found where we are really able to get away, it's quiet, there's no one there hassling us to buy something or asking us to marry them, it's great!

Pictures of the Girl!

Fatu Charles

Fatu Charles is a six/seven year old girl for the village of Golala. Last year she was burned on her shoulder very badly by a kerosene lantern. Because the burn was not dressed properly, the scare tissue grew and connect her arm to her side from her arm pit to the middle of her upper arm, making it impossible to lift her arm. As her body grows, the scare tissue does not and continues to stretch across her shoulder making it very painful.
We first met Fatu this summer one our first visit to Banta. This was not long after the incident. Sadly we had not been able to get her help until now. We are planning to take her to a hospital that is funded by an Italian NGO and so the process will be free.
Now, this child is something else. It is quite an experience bringing a child who has never left the village to the city. Everything is so new to her and she is so curious about everything. The whole way back from Banta(8 hours), her eyes were wide open, taking everything in. The first time she used the toilet, Sarah flush and she jumped back, afraid, then she looked again and started laughing. We took her to see Mama Angie(the country director), and she fed Fatu. There were fish bones in the meal and do you know where they went, on the floor, where else! Oh, how she has made us laugh. She is the goofiest girl.
It is so interesting to observe this child. Many times in this country children are not nurtured in the way they should be or allowed to be the children that they are. Consequently, they do not have the opportunity to go through all the stages of development, which all children/adults go through, whether or not they are in the right order or at the right time, they go through them. Now that Fatu has been brought to a safe place where she is encouraged to be herself, it's almost as if she has reverted back to being a two year old. She has been talking none stop and most of it is just gibberish, like a two year old who is experimenting with sounds and trying to talk(she also only speaks Mende, so she could be saying something meaningful and we just don't know).
Yesterday we took Fatu to the beach. At first she was scared of the water but after a while we couldn't keep her out. Needless to say, she has kept us quite busy since we've been back and kept of laughing constantly. But she has been a joy to have around. Please pray for Fatu this next week as we take her to the hospital, that the doctors would be able to complete the procedure and that the recovery would be speedy and painless.

We're Back

We've finally made it back to Freetown. Not that we were anxious to leave Banta, but we had planned to leave last Tuesday and didn't actually leave until Saturday! We are continually in a process of being stretched, learning patience and flexibility. Which are all good things, there are just times when I wish God would just let me rest! But now we are on break and while we haven't had much rest yet(we brought a little girl back with us for surgery, more on that below), it has been nice to just have a little change. However, we did enjoy our time in Banta. There is no other place on earth like it! I wish that everyone could experience it for themselves and not just by my incomplete sketch writing. Thank you again for all your prayers. Banta is a place full of diseases, infections, and germs, and when you have children hanging from your limbs constantly, it's a bit hard to not share some of these gifts. However, the Lord has blessed us greatly with good health and I know that is because of all your prayers. I ask that you always remember the people of Banta when you pray. They are a people so blinded by their own cultural, spiritual beliefs that it is hard for them to let go of those beliefs completely and follow after the one true God.