We had a GREAT time

I know Christie wanted me to come on here and tell you how the trip was and as I tried to summarize our trip I still ended up with a 3 page summary and decided that was too long to put on here so I guess I will try summarize my summary.

We had such an amazing time and I know that all of us would like to return someday. Christie seems to be doing so well there and of course everyone loves her. It was so nice to meet some of the people she talks about so much, they are such wonderful people. I really miss having morning singing and devotions with the staff, it was such a great way to start each day.

My favorite part of course was spending time with the kids. They were all so much fun and they all have such a vast knowledge of the bible and can recite bible verses like crazy. I feel like I learned so much instead of teaching anything.

One day we went and painted the inside and outside of a church in a village called Torwama which is about 3 miles from JCC. Many kids came to watch so we taught them a few songs and they taught us a few songs, it was a really fun time. We got really dirty and went to rinse off in the river and of course everyone had to come watch.

We were the only white people around so people were excited to see us and as Christie has said before they yell out pumoi pumoi and want to touch you or have you hold their child. In some ways we were kind of treated like famous people so it is nice to be back in America and blend in with everyone.

One day we went and toured the Njala University. That was really interesting to see and hear about. There is no electricity but they do have generators and it seemed like they have some really good programs there. We also learned that the students have to bring their desks with them to each of their classes if they want to have a place to sit.

We spent a few days at the farm which was not part of us girl’s plans but dad needed our help and we actually got a lot done. We cleared brush off the field and threw it over the fence. Then we hand hoed the entire field which took about two days. Thankfully there were some kids who lived around there that would come help after school. They were very hard workers and much faster than us.

We ended up having to do laundry 3 times and somehow Kari got out of helping 2 of the times. The kids were so nice and would come help us which was great cuz they are so much better at it than we are. After doing it all by hand and rubbing a couple fingers raw we were very thankful we have washing machines and driers.

It was sad saying goodbye to all of the kids Friday night. We got up at 2am Saturday morning and 5 of the older boys came with us so they could go with Pastor Ibraham to get our tickets for the bus since they charge more when they see white people. Then around 4am we got on the bus for 6 hours to get to Banana Island.

Banana Island was so nice. We swam a lot and relaxed quite a bit. We took a couple walking tours and found out a lot about the history of Banana Island. We saw remnants of the forts the slaves built and a big rock bridge they built. The last night we were there Pastor Ibraham and our tour guide Ibraham told us some of their experiences with the war. Ibraham, our guide, told of how his dad was a diamond trader and the rebels came and tied him and his parents up and they shot his parents and took him and tried to make him a rebel soldier but he was able to escape. Both of them were very open about talking about the war and it is amazing to see how well they are doing after hearing everything they had to say. They said after the war all of the weapons were melted and the rebel soldiers are a part of the communities now. So they can be in town and see the man who cut the arms off a 5 month old baby or the man who killed their parents but they have to accept them because they do not want to have war anymore.

Monday we went back to Freetown and got some souvenirs at the market before going to the ferry to get to the airport and head home. It was such an amazing trip and we are so blessed to have been able to go. It was hard to say goodbye to Christie but it was so nice to see how well she is doing and I’m sure 4 months will go by much faster than we think.