Tuesday morning dawned bright & beautiful with the generator serving as my alarm clock at 5:00 a.m. Devotions were good, again, as we sang my favorite worship song, Chris Tomlin’s God of This City. I just love the lyrics…

You’re the God of this city
You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation
You Are

You’re the Light in this darkness
You’re the Hope to the hopeless
You’re the Peace to the restless
You are

For there is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

I love the message of hope that I find for Sierra Leone within the words of that song. It’s so easy to lift it to the Lord as a form of worship and thanksgiving for His mighty works. Darrell lead the devotions with a stirring word about intercession. Reminding us that to pray and intercede means to stand in the gap and plead before God on behalf of someone else, much like the role a lawyer plays in a courtroom. I loved the analogy.

After breakfast, we headed out to the vans and jeeps to start our morning ride into Grafton. The plans for the day are to set up the Medical Clinic and Children’s Outreach and then those of us on the documentary team were heading into some of the camps to shoot footage and interviews with war victims.

We had plenty of time to enjoy one another’s company as we waited for one of the military jeeps to get started. The guys were trying to push start it, but it never cooperated. We just ended up cramming in tightly to our other vehicles for the ride. In the meantime, we kept ourselves busy taking pictures.

We arrived in Grafton and went straight to the location for the Medical Clinic & Children’s outreach… as we exited the bus and headed into the tent area, the sound of Children’s worship could be heard coming from inside the tents. Because we were running behind due to the jeep not starting, the teachers from Joshua International had already begun to lead the children in worship. I cannot tell you how precious it was to hear it. I captured some of it on my little point-and-shoot camera video…. excuse the moving as I tried to get closer, it’s really, really sweet.

(double-click the image to play the video)
(No graphic? You may need to download the Quicktime player.)

The Children’s team worked quickly to get the puppet stage up and begin to minister to the children. In short order, all was ready and the kids had a great time. I really enjoyed watching them as they listened to the puppet presentation. I loved the looks of concentration and enjoyment on their faces. Truly priceless. Shortly after the puppet presentation, the team rolled out a long strip of paper and began to paint the children’s hands and allow them to press their palm prints on the paper… they LOVED IT. To get a better shot of the finger painting, I circled around the crowd and just as I was coming up close on the other side, a girl about the age of 12 grabbed my arm and said, “I love you” - I was so touched and caught off guard by the moment that I just looked at her… after a second or two, I gathered my composure and said, “I love you, too.” Her smile lit up the room - wow. How often do we forget the power of those three words?

At the same time that the children were being ministered to, the Medical team was busy setting up the free clinic so that we could begin to see patients. There were already quite a few sick children waiting in the waiting area. It really touched my heart to see their faces - for most of them, they had not been able to see a doctor since the last time our team was here, a year ago. I began to understand the reality of their situation as I “snapped” their pictures and talked with them. It’s so hard for us to fathom not being able to go to a doctor when our child has diarrhea. And, even at that, diarrhea is so easily treatable here that we don’t even fear it… but to them, a case of diarrhea in their child most of the time means certain death because they have no way to stop the dehydration or know if it’s a sign of malaria. As I looked into their faces, the impact of what we were doing struck home. What could be more important than this? The practical love of Jesus….

After we got the medical clinic and children’s area up and running, those of us on the documentary team left to visit the Amputee & War Wounded Camps to conduct interviews.

Prior to coming on this trip, I had conducted countless hours of research, reading books, watching documentaries and reading everything I could find online about Sierra Leone’s civil war and the country’s current recovery status. I knew of the atrocities that had forever changed this country; including the RUF and a rogue faction of the Sierra Leone Army’s atrocious crimes of chopping off the limbs of thousands and thousands of people, killing mothers with their babies still on their backs, raping women, burning homes filled with people, cutting unborn children from their mother’s wombs and imprisoning young boys with drugs & manipulation to turn them into dangerous child soldiers. Knowing all of this, and more, I still wasn’t as prepared as I thought I was for meeting those affected face to face. I had seen sad things already, but nothing, absolutely nothing could prepare me for the stories of those I was about to meet and how they would forever impact my life.

(note: I didn’t write down any of their names because we had them say it and spell it for the camera, and since i’m blogging from my handwritten notes, I don’t have the names….. lesson learned, but please bear with me.)

The Amputee Camp

Those at the Amputee Camp were placed there by the government shortly following the war. Their lives irrevocably changed in an instant; I won’t even pretend to understand it. I simply don’t. Regardless of whether I understand it, it’s their reality. They don’t need my understanding, they need help; and, hopefully, this documentary will play a part in providing that…. with God’s grace…

As we arrived at the Amputee Camp and got off of the bus there was a little boy who came around the building and just stood in the grass looking at us. When I lifted my camera to take his picture, he broke into a huge smile. I just love this shot:

After taking that shot, I turned to find another curious little one checking out Craig’s video camera. It was so sweet….

Our first interview was with a gentlemen who had his arm crudely amputated with a machete during the war. When the rebels entered Freetown he was working at a Canteen and left to go look for his elderly mother. He was captured and they amputated his arm. As we sat down in his humble home to conduct his interview, Joan helped to button his shirt and Craig worked to get him mic’d. I was reminded of how I take for granted having all of my limbs, I can’t imagine what it’s like to live the rest of life needing help with even the most mundane tasks. I was moved by his willingness to share his story with us.

After finishing the interview, we left his home for our next interview. This time, with the council of the Amputee Camp. In each place that we went to, within Grafton and even in Freetown, we encountered a “council” for that location. These were community-selected leaders who make decisions and seek help for their community. It is a custom, which we followed, to ask the council for permission prior to filming, taking pictures or even touring their area. In the case of our Grafton interviews at the various camps, the local Police commander had gone before us to secure the interviews and ask permission for our presence. It really is amazing the amount of support Joan has within the local government and the people… they know that she’s truly there making a difference and not just exploiting their pain.

As we walked to the location for the next shoot, I saw this sweet little girl coming down between two homes and couldn’t resist snapping her picture:

The Amputee Camp council consisted of four people, one woman and three men; all who had been amputated during the war. We conducted the interview with the sweet lady in the wheelchair. The common language in Sierra Leone is Krio, a mixture of English, French, Portuguese, etc. If you listen long enough (and they don’t talk too fast) you can pick up most of what they are saying. As this precious lady began to tell her story, not a single member of our team moved a muscle. We were completely spellbound. I was caught off guard by the horrifying details of her story (many of which I didn’t hear in full because of the language barrier).

(note: the version of the story below is what I understood and was able to document following the interview. A complete version is recorded on video and will be released when the documentary is ready. There are many, many details which I’m sure I did not capture. But what I did understand and capture forever changed me.)

During the invasion of Freetown, she worked as a server in a place that served police and military. When the rebel forces invaded they took the place captive, lining the men up on one side and the women on the other. They announced that they were going to kill all of the men (about 30 men altogether), which they did, as the women watched. As she stood watching with her seven month old on her back, she knew the fate that awaited her and/or her child - death, rape, forced sexual slavery, mutilation - so she made a quick decision to run. As she prepared to run, a rebel soldier saw her and captured her. He told her that since she thought she could run - he would change that and she would never be able to run again. Throwing her to the ground, he cut off both of her legs with an axe. She would lay in that spot for three days without help, to the point that worms were crawling from the wounds on her legs. At one point she reached the point of death, praying to God that he would save her, and her child.

Help did come, and I wasn’t able to capture all of the details of how because my mind was still trying so hard to wrap itself around what I had just heard. I had read these stories, I knew that these things had happened, but to watch as this strong, courageous women told her story, allowing only one solitary tear to come before she wiped it away in frustration, was heart wrenching. I watched as even those on the council were visibly moved as she recounted the horrifying events that had befallen her.

I witnessed Sierra Leone’s great sadness on this day; getting a first-hand glimpse of the wounds that run so deeply and the quiet strength that hold the welling tides of emotions at bay. This combination of sadness and strength are at the same time admirable and scary; because under the sometimes thin, sometimes thick veil of strength, I sense a great fear and animosity for all that has befallen them. It is my prayer that as the new government continues to bring stabilization back to the country that they find a way to provide healing for the thousands of precious people still suffering silent wounds on their hearts and spirits.

During our time in the Amputee Camp, I made a new friend. His name is John. John began to follow me almost from the minute we entered the camp. I talked to him quite a lot, but never got him to tell me anything more than that his name was John. He would stand quietly off to my side, not saying a word, and then when I turned to look at him, his face would light up in a brilliant, beautiful smile. As we pulled away from the camp, down a long dirt road toward the main road, I looked out the back window to discover John still trailing our van. I motioned for Joan to look and she immediately stopped the van and asked me if I had any food because, at this point, she suspected that the boy was hungry. I had a granola bar in my backpack and she handed me 5000 Leones (the equivalent of about $1.50) to give him. I motioned for him to come to my window and as I handed him his gifts, the smile on his face could have lit up a thousand houses. I tried to quickly capture it, I missed the moment with my camera - but it’s forever engraved upon my spirit and heart.

The War Wounded Camp

Those at the War Wounded Camp were also placed there by the government following the war; everyone carrying scars both physical and emotional. The most shocking thing to me about the War Wounded Camp were the tents, stretching quite a way down the road - housing hundreds and hundreds of families. The shocking thing wasn’t just the sheer number of families calling these tents home, but also the fact that these tents were placed here nearly a decade ago by World Relief as a temporary shelter. I was at the same time appalled that the tents, after nearly a decade, hadn’t yet been replaced by more permanent structures and amazed at how well cared for they were… while they were dirty and, I’m sure, not as bright white as they had been when new, they are in remarkably good condition. These families had turned these humble, temporary living conditions into “home” and, for that and many other reasons, I have the utmost respect and admiration for them.

As we stepped out of our vehicle to begin filming, the first things we saw were simple aspects of daily life. I loved the small bowl of “sweets” that was sitting out with chicks running around it; a simple family’s way of earning money by selling these small treats. We also had the privilege of watching the looming process for making blankets, clothing and more. It’s a long, tedious task that takes patience; the result is a beautiful piece of material that will provide warmth and comfort to its owner.

The next thing I noticed, as with every other place we visited in Sierra Leone, was the children. I couldn’t resist snapping a few pictures of their precious faces.

As in the Amputee Camp, we sat with the council for the War Wounded Camp to capture their story. We heard from several of them during our interviews; pointing out wounds on their bodies that were obvious and talking with us about the wounds on their hearts that aren’t so visible. The stories, so similar, are tales of horrifying abuse at the hands of the rebels, lives changed irrevocably and a hope for the future that’s easy to share with them.

Across the street from the War Wounded camp is a small house where a young teen girl and her family lives. The teen girl came to the attention of Joan and Joshua International within the last year because she had a large growth on her breast which turned out to be a tumor. Without intervention, certain death awaited this young lady. As with most, there was no way her family could afford to get her the treatment necessary to save her life. Joan raised the money and provided the much needed medical care. Our visit was to check on her progress and to congratulate her on her recovery. Certainly a bright spot in our day. I snapped a few pictures as we prayed for her and visited with the family. On the porch of their small house, they had a little set up to sell the items grown from their small garden.

At this point in the post, it’s still only 3:00 in the afternoon and we haven’t even had lunch… still much to write …. sorry readers, but I’m going to have to do a Day 4 Part II… this post is just way too long. :) …

Transformed by each day,

Monday arrived bright and blurry-eyed with the generator kicking on outside my window at 5:00 a.m. - giving me a little time to drift in and out of sleep until 5:45 when Bridget and I needed to get up and get ready for devotions. One good thing was that I didn’t have to take much time to consider my clothes, I had brought one standard type of attire, khakis, t-shirt and vest with pockets to hold my small notebook and camera lenses. After putting on my clothes and make-up (I’m sorry, I just couldn’t part with a little bit of make-up) it was time to begin devotions.

Our morning devotions were held in a central upstairs meeting room, where all of our bedrooms were (the guys stayed downstairs and the central room there was used for eating). Our time of devotion began with a few praise & worship songs, prayer and Darrell sharing an encouraging word on Faith. Then it was time for breakfast.

For our first Sierra Leone breakfast, we were served scrambled eggs, rolls and little “sausages” which were more like tiny hot dogs. I ate a little and drank some hot tea with milk powder. Not too bad, I thought, but I’m really glad I brought a box of instant oatmeal and several boxes of granola bars with me. It was nice gathering as a team around the breakfast tables to enjoy a few laughs and get to know one another.

After breakfast, I had my first opportunity to go outside on the deck to take in the view of Freetown in the daylight. Javouhey House sits on the very top of a hill overlooking Freetown, directly above the U.S. Embassy. From there, we were blessed with spectacular breezes off of the ocean and amazing views of the city. Freetown from this vantage point is completely gorgeous. I probably stood there for 10 minutes taking in the view and silently asking God how such tragedy could befall a place as beautiful and abundant looking as this; a question that I would find myself pondering on more than one occasion during the week to come.

In the picture below, the large with building with white fence is the U.S. Embassy.

It was time to load up the military vehicles and head through Freetown toward our first destination.

Traveling through Freetown on that first day, I was captivated by the crowds of people on the streets; women with children on their backs, people carrying everything you can imagine on their heads, children playing and vendors selling all sorts of wares at every point along the way. Along the way, I saw many families gathered around singe bowls of food, eating their morning meal together - the whole family would share the same bowl dipping in and eating directly from their hands. On a busy street in Freetown, I saw one mother giving her son his morning bath using a bucket of water right out beside the street - it was a little funny because the kid was not happy to be getting clean, however mom was completely oblivious to his objections.

Driving, or in our case riding, through Freetown is an experience all on its on because there are no obvious “street rules” people drive and walk wherever they find a free spot and weave in and out with less than organized chaos. Our team issued their fare share of gasps and groans as our drivers swerved around cars, carts, donkeys and children on our way through town. Later in the week, after one particularly harrowing two-hour journey through Freetown at night, I informed the soldier driving our jeep, much to his amusement, that the ride was better than any adventure movie I’d ever watched, I was literally gripping my seat the whole time. *whew*

As we traveled through Freetown, I was seized by thoughts of what I would experience when we arrived at our destination, Grafton: the location of Joshua International’s Grafton Medical Clinic & School. I found myself experiencing excitement that I would finally be able to go to the place that I had been praying for and learning about for so very long.

Grafton Village is a community with a population of 12,000. A place that the Sierra Leonean government used as a settlement site following the devastating civil war that tore apart the country, dividing the people into four distinct camps: The War-Wounded Camp, The Amputee Camp, The Polio Camp and the Internally Displaced People Camp. Of its 12,000 residents, 7,000 (58%) are school-aged children. Only 2,600 children (37%) of this number attend school due to the high cost associated with education. 90% of the children not attending school are involved in some form of child labor to assist in bringing income to their households. 85% of the children in Grafton Village were either child soldiers during the war or are born to young girls abducted during the war and forcibly raped and recruited as sex-slaves to rebel forces.

Sierra Leone is ranked as the second least livable country in the world with the highest maternal morbidity and infant mortality rates. 25% of all children born die before their fifth birthday from preventable diseases. 1 in 8 mothers die in childbirth due to lack of medical care.

As we turned off of the blacktop road onto a dirt one mired with ruts and rocks, I noticed the sign that read “Grafton Resettlement Project”. Along the road you could see daily life happening with people gathered outside of family tents, small mud homes or other dwellings. All around us were signs of both war and recovery with some buildings burned completely to the ground and others bearing both the blackened scars of fire and the new coats of brightly colored paint bordered by clothes lines, fire pits and other symbols of new life. A solemn mixture of tragedy and hope.

As we turned onto a really muddy and rocky uphill road, I learned that we were in the Polio Camp which is where the new Grafton Medical Clinic & School will be located. Driving up the road there were concrete homes and mud huts on both sides with men, women and children moving about, many using wheelchairs or crutches. As we topped the hill, the sign for the clinic and the brick building began to come into view.

My Embarrassing Moment(s)
As we exited the bus on the muddy hill, I had my first (yes, I said first) unfortunate accident… my foot hit a slippery rock and I fell getting extremely muddy and cutting my knee (which I would discover later and pay the consequences for). In my fall I dropped the camera, busting the motor on the lens, forcing me to have to manually focus the rest of the trip…. a skill I had to acquire as I went. I would fall again for the second and last time about 10 minutes later on a slope covered with loose rocks. Yeah, this trip is starting very gracefully for me. At this point, I’m being shadowed by a local pastor and one of the military guys to make sure I can stand on my own two feet for a while. *hmph*

The Grafton Medical Clinic & School
In partnership with Joan & Joshua International, our church took on an iCare (the overarching theme for all of our capital campaigns, outreach projects and missions) Project in February of this year to build a Medical Clinic & School in this area. The cost of the project is over $680,000 which the generous people of our church raised by August of this year. It’s so exciting to see this first hand!

The 20,000+ square feet of space will:

• Educate more than 600 children in 14 classrooms - FREE OF CHARGE
• Provide much need medical care to the entire community - FREE OF CHARGE
• 4 fully furnished residential units for full-time missionaries and office space for Joshua International

One of the biggest problems that I saw in my time in Sierra Leone is health care and education; neither of which is free and is often hard to come by for the majority of people living in extreme poverty. I’m so excited and honored to be a part of making such a big difference in the lives of those in Grafton. The building itself sits on top of a hill and can be seen from most of Grafton - it truly appears as a shining beacon of God’s mercy and hope in the midst of pain and devastation.

Right down the hill from the clinic in the Polio Camp is a small house where one of the most amazing people I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting lives. She is known simply as Auntie Melrose - a victim of Polio herself, she cares for 18 polio orphans in the only polio orphanage in Grafton. Many of Auntie Melrose’s precious children lost their families during the war, one of the first two girls she took in was found still suckling at her dead mother’s breast. In addition to struggling with polio, a lot of them also battle secondary diseases such as epilepsy and other mental or physical handicaps. With so many children, sickness is common. However, adequate health care and money for food and medications is not readily available. Auntie Melrose has lost 5 children to death simply because she couldn’t afford the needed medication.

When our team arrived, we were able to interview Auntie Melrose and two of her children for the documentary that we are producing. We also captured them as they went about their daily chores. It’s amazing to see these handicapped children scrubbing floors, cooking and helping one another out - it’s their way of life, they don’t know any different and Auntie Melrose sets the bar high for them to ensure a successful life when they leave her tender care.

One of the precious children was very sick upon our arrival and Auntie Melrose had no medication for him. The doctors and nurses on our team examined him: his temperature was high, he was very lethargic and had diarrhea (a common cause of death in this poverty stricken area). We were able to provide the needed medicine and by the time our team left a few hours later, he was already showing signs of improvement.

My time spent in the presence of Auntie Melrose and her children will never be forgotten and has made a lasting impact on me. As we left the house, Auntie Melrose sang songs with the children and read aloud with them from Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want…” I was moved completely to tears and I’m so very thankful to God that he allowed me to witness the perseverance of the human spirit that He created within each of us and the beauty that He alone can bring to the darkest of places.

We left the Polio Camp and drove down another dirt road past the War-Wounded Camp to a field beside the Grafton Police Post which would be home to our team’s Medical Clinic and Jesus Bible Fun for Kids over the next four days. Our team has two primary missions during our time in Sierra Leone, to provide the free 4-day medical clinic & children’s outreach and to film the documentary. Tomorrow we would go our separate ways to begin accomplishing both during our short visit. Today, we were all together, many of us experiencing Grafton for the very first time.

This empty field beside the police post would be transformed in just 24 hours to a place of hope and happiness for a 4 day period.

As our team explored the location, we were greeted by school children who were so excited by our presence. I soon learned two key phrases that by week’s end I would respond to as instinctively as my own name:

• “Abadu” (pronounced Abba Doo) which means “white” - they see so few white people that Craig, Susan, the other Pam and I became instant celebrities. Although, I did have at least three experiences with children who were terrified of me because they had never seen a white person. But for the most part as we drove or walked through areas we would hear, “Abadu! Abadu!” and would turn and wave. In response, we would recieve the blessing of bright beaming smiles and elation from the children simply because we paid attention to them. Craig called me Queen Elizabeth because I would ride down the road waving to all of the children - I couldn’t resist. I loved to see their smiles.
  
• “Snap Me! Snap Me!” - these kids LOVED, LOVED, LOVED having their pictures made. Every where we went, we would hear this mantra.

As our team was sitting in the van preparing to leave for another location, we were greeted by many of the local children who shared with us their needs and asked for our names. I loved hearing them call out to me, “Auntie Pam! Auntie Pam!” - it was so sweet. And, they remembered my name from day to day. Precious beyond belief.

Our final location for the day was Joan’s Hebron House of Refuge the beginning stages of Joshua International’s goal for an orphanage. Currently, the home has two children, David & Abigail; both abandoned by their parents and destined for starvation and certain death without the aid of Joshua International. David has only been at Hebron for a few months and is still recovering from wounds and illness that nearly took his life. Through Joan’s ministry this precious child has a chance at life, love and health. The stories of both Abigail and David will be told in greater detail in the upcoming documentary. But in a few short words, I’ll say that I’m not only overly impressed with what Joan has been able to do in their lives, I’m enternally grateful to God for her ministry and the opportunity I had to see hope in action.

As we left our final location for the day, I knew instinctively that the rest of the week would hold amazing things both full of great sadness and eternal hope. My heart was at the same time heavy and happy for all I had witnessed and heard during the day.

The trip back to Javouhey House that evening was not a pleasant one for me. As I mentioned earlier, I would soon suffer the consequences of not treating my injured knee sooner. Unfortunately for me, bacteria entered my blood stream through the cut and I developed an intense case of traveler’s diarrhea. the journey back was over an hour of misery for me and after trying to act “tough” and deal with it (using Lamaze techniques I’d learned when pregnant) - I finally gave in and made my way back to the back of the van to beg help from Pam and some of our nurses. By the time I made it to the back, I was in sheer misery and must have looked it because everyone was concerned. Luckily, Pam had some medicine with her that helped to ease but not stop the sharp pains. When we arrived back to Javouhey house I spent the good part of the rest of night running back and forth to the bathroom. Soon, we realized that it wouldn’t be going away, so I started on Cipro (an antibiotic for stomach bugs) - I would take it the rest of the week. And, although I knew it was killing the good bacteria in my system as well as the bad, I was grateful for the relief it brought me within a very short period of time.

After I started feeling a little better, I headed downstairs for dinner and fellowship with my new friends and teammates. Dinner was certainly something that I had never imagined myself eating, Snapper with it’s skin and head still intact served with plantains and veggies. I did eat a bit of it and it was good, but my stomach wasn’t ready for a full plate. One of our teammates Debra knows how to eat it … she finished it off leaving only the head and the comb-looking skeleton of her fish. Craig quickly found the kid in himself and gave the rest of us side-splitting laughter in the process. Luckily, I had my camera with me and caught it on video…. see below…

(double-click the image to play the video)
(No graphic? You may need to download the Quicktime player.)

My plate:

My fish and Debra’s fish, having a moment together…

After dinner we sat out on the deck and enjoyed the nighttime views of Freetown. What a breathtaking sight.

Our first full day done, after a quick and cold shower, I fell quickly to sleep around midnight.

Transformed by each day,

Sunday began at London’s Heathrow airport as our team awaited the departing flight to Sierra Leone. We spent our time sleeping, eating and window shopping. London’s airport is an indoor mall… if only the U.S. dollar wasn’t so weak compared to the pound. Geez things are expensive.

The time finally came to board the plane for Sierra Leone. Our flight would be about 7 hours, putting us in Sierra Leone around 7:00 p.m. On the plane we all had a chance to reflect on our journey so far and anticipate the days ahead… some of us also caught some shut-eye, although we knew it might not be a good idea since we needed to sleep that night. I had a chance to catch up on my journal writing and take some beautiful pictures of the sky and sundown from my window seat.

Yes, that’s Craig, Darrell & me hiding in the next row back. Funny.

We arrived safely and prayerfully in Sierra Leone’s Lungi Airport. Our plane ride was really, really rough. Wow, can anyone say turbulence?! As we were beginning our final approach into Sierra Leone we were witness to a fantastic lighting storm over the area. As I watched the lightening brighten up the night sky, I gazed in awe at the landscape below us. With each lightening strike, shadows danced across the African terrain. I couldn’t help but to reflect on the shadows and scars that the war has left behind on this beautiful place and wonder what experiences await me on the ground.

The airplane parked on the tarmac and we walked into the airport under a sign reading “Welcome to Sierra Leone”. The first thing I noticed was that it was very, very humid and, as expected, the airport was small - really small. As I entered the airport doors there was a Sierra Leonean man standing by the door - he reached out to shake my hand and as I took his hand he smiled and said, “Welcome home.” I laughed and said, “Thank you.” A nice way to start my time in SL.

We were directed into the VIP lounge in the airport and one of Joan’s Joshua International team greeted us and gave us our custom’s cards to fill out, then she took our passports and ran us through customs as we rested. I was so impressed with the pre-planning that Joan’s team had done to help make it easy for us.

All of our luggage made it, except 7 boxes which contained some of our more important antibiotics for the medical clinic. We gathered as a group and prayed, asking God to protect them and bring them safely on the next flight which would arrive tomorrow.

After gathering all of our luggage, we loaded onto a bus headed for the hovercraft. It was pitch dark at this point, going on 8:00p.m. SL time. As the bus headed out of the airport, I got my first real glimpse of Sierra Leone. The road outside of the airport was lined with small tin roofed shanties, each one about the size of the small aluminum buildings that you can buy at Home Depot to store your lawnmower; they appeared to  serve as both family homes and storefronts where the family would sell their wares. As we passed, I gazed at families gathered around gas lanterns and fire pits - their only source of light. I looked into one of the candlelit buildings whose walls were lined with items for sale and saw three adults sleeping on the wooden floor covered by thin blankets. Driving along the road, I could make out other figures along the road in front of other shanties, appearing as shadows moving in the darkness of night.

Traveling through the darkness was a bit eerie; the road appeared to be only one narrow lane, full of ruts from recent rains and bordered by tall brush on each side. Occasionally a motorcycle carrying a few people would pass us and there were people out all along the way, walking on both sides of the dirt road.

We arrived at the hovercraft station and waited in a large concrete building with a tin roof as our luggage was pulled from the bus and placed onto the hovercraft. As we waited, a couple of kids came up outside of the station, I was surprised to see children up this late and out on their own. I would soon learn that this is very common and they were very likely war orphans who really have no family and hang around busy areas hoping to make some money or find some food. By the time we boarded the hovercraft headed for Freetown, we were all approaching exhaustion. Personally, I just wanted a shower, after a solid day of airports, airplanes, buses and boats… I felt icky. I knew that it would have to be a cold shower because there would be no hot water at the place we were staying, but at this point, it really didn’t matter.

We docked in Freetown and exited the hovercraft into a small building with seating while our baggage was unloaded. I can only describe the “luggage” scene in the building as organized chaos with men bringing in our bags and just as quickly trying to take them out to our awaiting vehicles. It seemed like mass confusion. After we’d identified our bags and made sure that they were all properly taken out, we exited to begin our trip up the mountain to Javouhey House.

Because of Joan’s connections to the Sierra Leonean government, we were provided with a military escort during our entire time there - something I would find extremely comforting in the days to come. As we loaded into the military van with a jeep following us loaded up with our luggage and turned onto the main road, I was surprised to see so many people out. All along the road in little shanties, small stick tents or in groups walking were people of all ages … many of them starring at us as we drove by. At the time I couldn’t decide if the looks were curiosity or anger… I would discover over the next week that it’s usually a mixture of both. As I looked at their faces, I couldn’t help but to see an overarching sadness in everyone’s eyes. If eyes are the window to the heart, the people of Sierra Leone have deeply wounded and saddened hearts. I uttered a silent prayer that God would use me, use us, in our short time here to bring a glimmer of happiness and hope to their lives.

Driving along the road to Javouhey House was an experience of night in Freetown. Along the beach there were tons of people, cars with music playing loudly and throngs of people partying - it had to be nearly midnight at this point - I was stunned, again, to see so many people out.

I was able to call home on Joan’s mobile phone for a few seconds to let Steve know that we had arrived safely, as usual, it was wonderful to hear his voice, but it did make me miss him. *sigh*

Headed up the hill to Javouhey House, we passed the U.S. Embassy. In comparison to the buildings of Freetown, the embassy is a massive structure painted bright white that stands out in stark contrast to its surrounding.

We finally arrived to Javouhey House, my new home for the next 9 days. We were greeted by more of the Joshua International Ministries staff and had food waiting for us. Initially the power was not on and the house was lit by gas lantern and candle. Shortly after we arrived someone turned on the generator and we had power to get our showers with. The electricity from the generator was great, but every light flickered continuously; it took me a while to get used to it.

When I finally unpacked and got into the shower, I really didn’t mind that it was cold water. I was so tired and wanted a shower so that I could crawl into bed. First, though, I had to follow a few shower rules:

1. Don’t get water in your eyes, mouth or nose.

2. Don’t wash your face in the shower. Wash it at the sink using bottled water.

3. Use bottled water, always, to brush your teeth.

Check, check, check… 1st shower over - it’s 2:00 a.m. and I am finally crawling into bed to sleep. We have to be up for devotions at 6:30. With windows open and the sound of crickets singing in the night, I drifted off to sleep with a quiet prayer that God would give the the strength I would need for the rest of the journey.

Here’s a pic of my bedroom, shared with my wonderful roommate, Bridget.

Transformed by each day,

I’ve been planning and preparing for this trip for months. Today, as I begin my journey, I find myself with no shortage of thoughts, emotions, apprehensions and excitement. The challenge before me will be words. How do you take all each and every spectacular, mundane, boring, funny, exciting and inspiring moment and put it into words? I’m not fully sure that I know the answer to that, but here… I will try.

As I write this, I’m sitting in the London airport with their fabulous free, lightening fast (no exaggeration, it’s awesome) wi-fi. The time now is 8:35 a.m. London time, 4:35 a.m. Georgia time on October 26th, day one of my journey is behind me - my body is totally telling me that I should still be asleep. None-the-less, I’m here and determined to make the most of this time.

The day started early, meeting the team at the church at 7:00 a.m. to load the trailer with all of our luggage and the boxes of medicines, toys and clothes that we’re taking to Sierra Leone.

As we prepared to leave, we paused to take some pictures on the shuttle. I don’t know most of my teammates, although, I have made it a personal goal to get to know them and discover something about each of their lives and personalities before the end of my journey.

I met Imogene, my seatmate, and discovered immediately that she is a woman full of the joy of the Lord. Instead of saying “Cheese” she broke out into praise for Jesus, bringing laugther and energy into our tired crew right from the beginning. I would soon learn that, unlike the rest of us, she had gotten up very early and had time for tea, giving herself a facial, a nice milk bath and breakfast - all this while the rest of us were still wiping sleep from our eyes and downing Starbucks by the gallon. As the day progressed, Imogene’s sense of humor would delight us at each turn. I look forward to getting to know her, and all of the others, as the days progress.

After arriving at the airport, we unloaded all of our many bags and boxes, with some much needed help from the United Airlines team.

After getting checked in, we had a several hour wait before our flight took off for Chicago’s O’Hare airport where we would take the redeye to London. Our team spent the time, reading, getting breakfast and grabbing a few needed zzz’s before heading out.

We arrived in Chicago and had a 4 hour layover until our flight to London. It was a great time to spend with the team, getting to know one another and walking around the airport. Several of us took a looooooooonnggg journey through the entire airport looking for “authentic Chicago style pizza” to no avail. Pam Bolick (the other Pam on the team), Craig and I ended up a 1/2 hour walk from our departing gate, starving and settling for a hot dog stand that actually did have good Gyros. We enjoyed our meal, until Craig pointed out the mouse traps lining the wall right next to our table. GROSS! Pam and I were both immediately full.

Before we headed off on our flight to London, I had a few minutes to take some more pictures (my team has already discovered that my camera is my constant companion….). I love this shot that I got of Joan, the founder of Joshua International Ministries, our team leader and a native Sierra Leoneon, and her lovely mom who has been visiting Joan in the states and is returning home to Sierra Leone with us.

The flight from Chicago to London was scheduled to be 8 hours and 3 minutes. Leaving us with plenty of time to rest (or so I thought). After eating the dinner served on board and watching about 1/2 hour of the movie, Get Smart, I took two Advil PM and expected to drift off into oblivion until London. Um… that didn’t happen. Although extremely tired, the flight was very bumpy and sleep, in the early hours, was often disrupted by another passenger laughing loudly at the movie he was watching. The more disturbing part, was that I recognized the laughter… it was Craig!!! Since landing in London, I’ve learned that he had his sound up so loud that he didn’t realize that his laughter was breaking the silence of the cabin frequently and annoyingly. Ugh. Don’t worry, Darrell & I have harassed him about it! :o) Never-the-less, our team arrived blurry eyed but ready to complete our journey to Sierra Leone.

Well, I’ve made it through Day 1 - a bit tired and blurry eyed - but happy, healthy and well. I can’t help but to reflect on my day and think about all of the little joys and frustrations and that they’re not even close to the pain, suffering and happiness we will find when we reach our destination. As the 3rd poorest nation in the world and a country still recovering from the devastating effects of a 11 year civil war, Sierra Leone is going to be a place to discover true courage, real fears and incomparable happiness. It’s hard to put into words what I hope to experience and discover about God and myself while there, but my expectations are high. And, with God, I’ve never been disappointed.

Next stop - Sierra Leone.

Anxiously Awaiting the Journey,

Check out the rest of my thankfulness journey here.

#27: Today is Bosses’ Day and our administrative staff served breakfast to all of the ministry leaders and pastors this morning. My team gave me a really great card, flowers and a balloon. You have to be thankful for a workplace that finds value in recognition of their staff. I’m also thankful that I get to work with a great team of people everyday. Team, your balloon says “You’re the Greatest” and I appreciate that - but I’m not great without your great support around me. For all of this, I’m very, very thankful. Now, get back to work and quit reading my blog. :o)

Feeling Appreciated,

Those who know me well know that it’s rare that I find myself at a loss for words. But, truly, this is where I find myself with this blog entry. I had an amazing opportunity today to have lunch with William Paul Young, Author of The Shack.

I surprised my 12 year old daughter (about to turn 13 in two weeks!) by picking her up from school to join us at lunch which had been arranged by my friend, Erik (he’s behind the camera in the picture above). She has just finished reading The Shack and, just yesterday, finished her own blog review of the book; which, for a 12 year old, was really good (although it is a spoiler - if you haven’t read the book, don’t read it). She has dreams of being an author herself one day and was completely blown away by the experience.

If you’ve read my blog entry about The Shack, you know I love the book and it deeply impacted my life. In reading the book, you can’t help but understand that the author himself had come to a place of deep understanding of God’s love; a place that can only be found through deep turmoil. To get to this place of beauty from a place of deep anquish, is something that I’ve admired about Paul since reading the book for the first time.

After meeting him today, I can say there’s much more that I admire about him than just his ability to put pen to paper and draw a beautiful portrait of God. Here are a few things about Paul that came across immediately:

• God has truly done a work in his life. You can see and feel the love of Jesus all about him.
• He genuinely loves to meet people. He immediately hugged both Kristan & I and made us feel that he was not just giving his time for this lunch, but that he was truly looking forward to it and glad to be there… with us.
• He’s humbled and grateful for the experiences that the book has brought into his life.

I loved our conversation about the book, its impact, its criticism and those things in life that he gets to enjoy because God brought him on this journey. I loved how he described the writing of the book as a gift he intended for his 6 children that God graciously took and gave as a gift to His children, as well.

I asked him how he was growing, changing or being blessed since the book and his answer was that the thing he enjoys the most is seeing the life transformation in people and being able to share in their stories. He told an amazing story of a woman from Canada who was in the pit of life, ready to take her own life. When she read The Shack, it became her lifeline and God gave Paul the opportunity to help walk her back to a place where she can begin to heal. Papa is doing a beautiful, continuing work in her life. I won’t retell the story, because it’s not mine to tell. I hope one day he tells it in detail on his blog, it’s truly transformational.

All in all, I can say it was a genuine pleasure to spend some time enjoying a Ted’s bison burger and great conversation with Paul. He was a joy to talk with and spent as much time being interested in our story and asking questions of Kristan as we were in his.

There’s so much that I will take with me from this experience, the most important is still this - Papa is especially fond of me … and you.

Wrapped up in love,

There are many important moments in our children’s lives and today we celebrated one of those very moments, Kristan & Heather’s water baptism. It was such a joy to watch as they took this important step of making a public declaration of their faith in Jesus Christ.

They were baptized by their wonderful youth pastor, Rolando Gonzalez, along with 7 other teens. It was such a great pleasure watching so many young people commit their lives to Jesus.

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Yes, I know I’ve been blog-quiet in the last month or so, but we’ve been really busy! Though very busy, our summer has been full of fun and family time. We’ve truly enjoyed ourselves. Here’s a little photo recap:

For a recap of the events from the beginning of the summer, visit my Summertime Fun blog post.

We’ve enjoyed a bit of random silliness around the house:

We spent some time just relaxing:

Many of our friends came together to welcome Kelsey to our family at our GA and NC Welcome Parties:

To see all the photos from the GA Welcome Party, click here.

To view all of the photos from the NC Welcome Party, click here.

We enjoyed a great trip to North Carolina for the welcome party, time with friends and some beach fun:

To view all of our photos from our NC trip, click here.

My wonderful family made sure that I had a great 36th birthday:

I drove into our cul-de-sac to this view…

With signs inside the house directing me down toward the basement…

To a “Happy Birthday” rendition from all three of my daughters…

Then we went out to eat my favorite, Italian… with a fantastic desert…

Yummy.

And then… Summer’s Over… with the girl’s first day of school:

Kelsey started as a 9th Grader at Peachtree Ridge High School…but first, she had to get 5 shots! ugh… three in one arm and two in the other :(

coming home off the school bus, “mom, get the camera outta my face!” :)

Kristan started school as a 7th grader….

Heather started school as a 6th grader…