Jessica, Joe, and me

When I first arrived at Jonathan House, Jessica was not my biggest fan. She didn't dislike me, but she also would have rather been held by anyone else who was standing near us. At some point all that changed and now she is my shadow. She runs around yelling "mommy ittie, mommy ittie". We spend a lot of time together and I learned very quickly that in order to get much done this was the best way for us to be together.

Jess is starting to talk a lot, she is running around and even mostly potty trained. The sweetest thing is when she is singing and dancing right along with the older kids. If you say "Praise the Lord" she will yell in her little voice "halleluia". Now when I am holding her she will go to no one else and if she sees me even all the way across the compound she will yell and come. I am happy we are now friends- even if I had to bribe her with food that first month.

I also wanted to let you all know that the work on the new school has begun- I have had trouble with the uploading the first post about it but will get it on soon. For now I just wanted to show you all who is doing the work. Joe is in the man in charge of the construction and he wanted you all to know that he is working so he had me take this photo of him to prove it. We need the trench for the foundation to be 3 ft deep.

I won't say much but you can see who is doing the heavy labor- must be rough to be in charge. :) Love ya Joe

I carried my portion of 15 bricks and then helped some of the kids with theirs. I do enjoy helping and just so you know- I do not usually do this work in a skirt, in fact I hardly ever wear one it just seems the last two photos were taken on the same day. I am still a fan of trousers as they call them here.

"The Rest of the Story" - posted by Karen

Thank You all for your prayers while Christie has been ill. It is hard to be her family here at home sooooooooo far away when she is sooooo ill. After one of our phone conversations I called my cousin, Brenda, who is a nurse on Lukes One Emergency Helicopter. She in turn called Mike who is an ER doctor at St. Luke's, and also the father of Nicholas and Anabelle, the twins Christie has cared for since they were four months old. She had us give Mike Christie's number so he could talk with her directly. After Christie had seen the doctor and had the blood work done that determined this is a kind of Malaria that is resistant to the preventive medication she is taking, Dr. Mike researched this strain of Malaria and the medication they prescribed for her and put our minds at rest that this is indeed the right kind of care for her condition. He has also called Christie and kept tabs on her healing.

When Brenda called to see how Ceek is doing, she told me "the Rest of the Story". The two days before I had called her, Lukes One was down for maintenance for ONE day so she had to take a Vacation Day or go without pay. When one day turned into two, she chose to work in the Emergency Room rather than use up Vacation time. Mike Stowman was also working that day and it was a quieter day than usual and they got to spend time talking together. Brenda said that this has never happened before. They got to talk about Christie and Brenda was telling him about her Malaria and he began researching it before she ever called him the next day! He was ready with the right questions when he called Christie. Brenda said that as she left for the ER that morning, her husband, Dan said "God must have plans for you in the ER today". He sure did, it was for Christie, a half a world away!!

Thanks for praying for Christie and staying actively involved in her ministry in this way. God is not bound by our time and uses our prayers to orchestrate His will and shield His beloved children in ways we'll never know!

Marion and I

First- I am feeling MUCH better. It did take a few more really difficult days but now I am back to normal and am able to fully be a part of things here again. I noticed how much community I have built when I finally walked down the road again on Monday and it took me forever to get to the end because everyone came out to say hi and see where I have been or how I am doing.

I wanted to start introducing you to some of these kids that have become my family. I never thought I would have 75 kids. I think I will start with one of the little girls and one of the older girls.

This is little Mabel- we have two. She is my buddy Patrick's older sister. She has some fire in her, she knows what she thinks and is not afraid to share it. She's smart and likes to make fun- she might get my sense of humor more than some of the older kids. She is also a little mother and takes such good care of her little brother. She loves to sing and dance and has the greatest laugh.

This is my sometimes roommate Marion. She is one of the junior staff and is very good at it. She has a lot of responsibilities and handles them well. Marion also will graduate in December from a program at HANCI where she has learned to do tye-dying, soap making, and many other skills in which she will be able to support herself very well. She is great at it and has made and sold many pieces already. She has started teaching me and I have finished sewing and tying my fabric now I am waiting to dye it and see if it turns out alright. It is a LOT different than our tye-dying. We also have had many great conversations. Marion has been with JCC since they first moved here to Bo. She lived in a house with just 10 kids. We were out for dinner together one night when I asked her whether she missed having just a small group. Did she like it better with less kids or more kids? She looks at me completely serious and says, "Christie, God tells us to take care of each other, especially the orphans, so that is what we need to do." and she goes back to eating. She wasn't just saying it because it was the answer she thought I wanted to hear, she truly means it and lives it.

I wanted to also mention my hair in this photo. I wish there was a way you could really see it. My friend Lily Kainwo did it and I love it. There is a great design that you are not able to see in this photo. It is not as easy to plant (braid) pumoi hair as it is everyone's hair here, so I appreciate it so much when someone takes the time to do it for me. Lily, her sister's Nancy, and my friend James- their brother- took good care of me while I was sick. I went to their house to rest a couple times, since it was the only time I didn't have kids coming to my door all the time. Lily's food was also the only food I while sick. I have come to love this family- along with their sister Theresa and mom Margaret. They have been so kind to take me in like one of their own. I didn't realize how much I missed spending time in a house (not a HUGE house with many rooms and MANY people) and with a group of grown siblings. I'm so blessed to love spending time with my own brother and sisters and miss them dearly so this was a good way to feel a bit like it is when we hang out together.

I need to close now, but I will tell you that my friend Marion just came down to the barri (where I am sitting) wearing a Vikings shirt, so I may have to amend what I wrote above. I am not sure how much longer our friendship is going to last.

What to say?

Well first let me say that I was able to get four of the photos uploaded on the farm post but as I posted it it went below my mom's post, so just scrool down a bit and you'll see some of them.

Yes I have been a bit sick and I am trying to take the time to get better. I know my family has been quite worried and I am truly thankful for all of your prayers. I managed to catch a malaria that is resistent to most of the medications they use so when I took the malaria meds last time- it only managed to take away some of the syptoms, but those nasty parasites were still in me. I haven't felt terrible for the last few weeks but I also know I haven't been 100% either. Finally this week I had a cold, swollen glands, high fever, body aches, and NO energy and as much as I prayed for it to just run it's course and go away, I finally had to go to the hospital as my mom says. It turns out I had a few things going on, but soon all will be taken care of. I am feeling better, but it seems to fool me at times. I wake up in the morning with lots of energy and think that I am completely well and then around 9-10 I am exhausted again. The nights are not much fun either, but at least I know there is an end in sight with the meds (when we get them).

I didn't realize how much I worried my family until Annabelle and Nicholas' dad who is a doctor called me to check up on me. (I watched Annabelle and Nicholas since they were about 4 months old and still love spending time with them now that they are 6- some of my favorite people). Anyway it was so kind of him to call and it was nice to have him reassure me in the decisions I was making. Thanks Mike- I truly appreciate it (you too Brenda). I guess being that I haven't had a fever over 100 since I was about 10 yrs old and the fact I have never passed out before might scare my mom a bit, but God is good and I am on my way to recovery.

I have many posts that I want to put on and have learned that I need to limit them to one photo each and then it will work- how to choose the right one... I'll learn and soon be able to share all the exciting new things around here - like the starting of the new school building, and all our crazy activities during the kids' holiday from school- since we don't have summer here I cannot call it summer vacation.

Keep your prayers coming as it seems to take a bit to overcome this- but by God's grace I'll be wreaking havoc around Bo soon.

The Fence Works!! Posted by Karen and Christie

Christie sent an e-mail that she had tried to update her BLOG - but it didn't work, so she wanted me to post it for her. The problem is, the pictures didn't come through - so I waited to see if she could attach them another way. Now that she's been ill again - I don't think she has the energy to look for pictures - so I'll post just the written word.

Please keep Christie in your prayers as she has Malaria again and another infection as well. She did go to the doctor in Bo (he was trained in America) and he prescribed a different anti-Malaria medication. The Malaria she has is resistant to the most common anti-Malaria medications. Trouble is, she has been to 4 pharmacies and none of them have it. She'll keep trying tho. It is difficult for her to be so ill (everything aches, chills and a fever, tender skin and some pain as well). Please pray that God will bring healing and that she will be able to find the medication she needs. Thank you for your continued prayers for her. We are soooooooooo grateful that she is not alone there - that you are behind her in prayers as well.

Christie called just at I published this BLOG. She got another medication from the doctor to hold her through until she can get the other prescription from Freetown in a coupla days. She is feeling better with that med and the meds for the other infection. It is good to know that she is feeling better!!

Now - on to Ceek's post . . .

Today four of the older boys and I headed back out to the farm to help on some of the projects my dad had started. Our main reason for heading out was to set up the insulators and get the solar electric fence working as the final things we needed were in a bag that arrived long after my dad had arrived back in the states. What a fun surprise it was for me to see that all the fence posts were signed by family and friends in Cook. I loved it and I loved being able to share with Harry and Haja at the farm just who these people were- I did tell them they were people from my village as they seem to understand that better than saying the town I grew up in. Thank you all for doing that. There was one fence post that especially touched my heart. As we were pulling them out of the bag I saw one that had Gus and Barb Lindgren's names on it. What a special reminder of all the ways they have touched and supported so many others, it is hard to think that I will not be able to give Barb a big hug when I get home, but I will carry so many memories of the times we have spent together; and now her name is on a post in Sierra Leone, Africa and will remain there for some time to come.

We were able to get the fence hooked up and even spent some time getting shocked and then shocking each other. I asked Joseph to hold my hand and then I grabbed the fence- he got shocked. I explained that it would go through each person to the last one and they would feel the shock. Well we lined up again, Joseph first, then me, and then Mohamed Allieu. Joseph grabs the fence and once again he gets shocked. Not sure what happened, all I know is that I didn't get shocked so...

After finishing work, we went to check out the pig and her little ones. I caused a bit of a raucous when I said I wanted to hold one- the mother was of course upset and I told them I didn't need to hold one but we didn't stop until we had a little one. It was fun and little Alice- Harry and Haja's daughter was able to hold the piglet as well.

Another sweet part of going to the farm is being able to take back some of the harvest. Today we got a watermelon and some cucumbers. In the past we have had bananas, peanuts, benny seed, and a few other African plants. However today was the first watermelon I have had here in Salone and it was delicious. The only problem was we cut it here at the home so one watermelon does not go far when you sharing it with 80 other people- we each got a bite and I do have to say that those of us who went to the farm each got a larger slice- hey we did the work.

We drove African Style to the farm as we had the jeep with 6 of us in it driving on the nice super highways we have here. We did just fine and I think that I am becoming quite good and finding the smoothest path around all the potholes. You would be impressed dad- almost as good as the time you drove the white van with angel's wings for tires.

Harry's (if you didn't know- he is the farmer) wife Haja has become one of my favorite people here. I love to go visit her and she is always teaching me something new. She will only speak to me in Mende so that I will learn faster and it is working. I look forward to every day we get to spend together.

All in all it was a great day at the farm. We accomplished what we wanted to and even got back to Jonathan House in time for lunch- which isn't until 2. It was even Potato leaf, which is one of my favorite dishes here- well if you can say that you like green sauce with fish heads on top of rice. (don't worry I leave that part for the kids)

I finished my assignment Dad.

Today four of the older boys and I headed back out to the farm to help on some of the projects my dad had started. Our main reason for heading out was to set up the insulators and get the solar electric fence working as the final things we needed were in a bag that arrived long after my dad had arrived back in the states. What a fun surprise it was for me to see that all the fence post were signed by family and friends in Cook. I loved it and I loved being able to share with Harry and Haja at the farm just who these people were- I did tell them they were people from my village as they seem to understand that better than saying the town I grew up in. Thank you all for doing that. There was one fence post that especially touched my heart. As we were pulling them out of the bag I saw one that had Gus and Barb Lindgren's names on it. What a special reminder of all the ways they have touched and supported so many others, it is hard to think that I will not be able to give Barb a big hug when I get home, but I will carry so many memories of the times we have spent together; and now her name is on a post in Sierra Leone, Africa and will remain there for some time to come.

We were able to get the fence hooked up and even spent some time getting shocked and then shocking each other. I asked Joseph to hold my hand and then I grabbed the fence- he got shocked. I explained that it would go through each person to the last one and they would feel the shock. Well we lined up again, Joseph first, then me, and then Mohamed Allieu. Joseph grabs the fence and once again he gets shocked. Not sure what happened, all I know is that I didn't get shocked so...
Harry and the Solar Fencer
Harry, Barjohn, and Mohamed Allieu and our nice fence. Good work Dad, Kari, and Amy.
After finishing work, we went to check out the pig and her little ones. I caused a bit of a raucous when I said I wanted to hold one- the mother was of course upset and I told them I didn't need to hold one but we didn't stop until we had a little one. It was fun and little Alice- Harry and Haja's daughter was able to hold the piglet as well.

Another sweet part of going to the farm is being able to take back some of the harvest. Today we got a watermelon and some cucumbers. In the past we have had bananas, peanuts, benny seed, and a few other African plants. However today was the first watermelon I have had here in Salone and it was delicious. The only problem was we cut it here at the home so one watermelon does not go far when you sharing it with 80 other people- we each got a bite and I do have to say that those of us who went to the farm each got a larger slice- hey we did the work. Joseph and the watermelon.

Our crew today. From Left to right- Barjohn, Mohamed Abu, me, Joseph, Harry, Simeon, and Mohamed Allieu. We drove African Style to the farm as we had the jeep with 6 of us in it driving on the nice super highways we have here. We did just fine and I think that I am becoming quite good and finding the smoothest path around all the pot-holes. You would be impressed dad- almost as good as the time you drove the white van with angel's wings for tires.
Harry's (if you didn't know- he is the farmer) wife Haja has become one of my favorite people here. I love to go visit her and she is always teaching me something new. She will only speak to me in Mende so that I will learn faster and it is working. I look forward to every day we get to spend together.
All in all it was a great day at the farm. We accomplished what we wanted to and even got back to Jonathan House in time for lunch- which isn't until 2. It was even Potato leaf which is one of my favorite dishes here- well if you can say that you like green sauce with fish heads on top of rice. (don't worry I leave that part for the kids)
I finished my assignment Dad.

MMMMM M&M Cookies

Here is another post I put together long ago- remember I told you about the cookies we made- we have since made a few more batches that have turned out much better but we have no photos to prove it so I guess we will be the only ones to know that.

I know I told our attempt to make some good old American cookies and have decided to show you our little experiment. Being that few of the kids have taken many pictures with the camera (though they absolutely LOVE to) you'll have to forgive our photographer- practice makes perfect.

Bindu and I after we had mixed all the ingredients- you might not be able to see it but at this point everything looks right- and tasted great too. (I think I've always enjoyed the dough more than the baked cookie)

Our first attempt to make an oven. These ones turned out a little more fried than baked as you can see from the pictures below, but with all that sugar and chocolate you can't really go wrong unless you burn it to a crisp.

We came up with a few ideas that worked a bit better but we have since come up with a much better plan so we are all waiting to try again soon. As I mentioned we had to divide the cookies up so much we each ended up with only a bite, but that bite was worth all the excitement and time spent working together. There's nothing like time spent in the kitchen baking together- even if it is an outdoor kitchen using an open fire in Africa.

Jonathan House

They say pictures are worth a thousand words and yet there are times when I feel that a snap shot just cannot capture what your eyes can. I say all this because I want to show you a little of where I am and as I look at the pictures I have taken I am not sure it shows you what I see and yet it is at least something so here goes.

This is Kainwo House. Most of us live in this building. Only the older boys and Pastor Ibrihim do not. My room is on the back of the right side of this picture. I learned yesterday as we were cutting away the grass that had grown that the reason we do not have grass is because the snakes won't come if there is no grass. I had been thinking that it would be nice to let some grass grow, but now you will see me out there with my hatchet being the first one to cut away the grass.I have learned to deal with the spiders, millipedes, lizards, and other bugs- but I draw the line at snakes.

My room. Here is my bed and wardrobe. It is a lot more than I expected and works great for me. It took a few days to get used to tucking in the net each night and again each morning, but now I am quite used to it and it is almost like my seat belt now- I can sleep without it but something just doesn't feel right until I am all tucked into my little cocoon. Maybe I should have cleaned my table before taking this picture but hey... This is where I sit each morning to read and this is also where I do most of my wound repairing for the kids. The blue bucket on the table is my sink- I fill it with fresh water each morning and that is my drinking water unless I decide to go the well.

Ahhhh my own private bathroom. The door on the left is my shower and the door on the right is my bathroom. The large black garbage you can see is my plumbing. That's right every few days I fill it and then each room has a 5 gallon bucket that I used to shower with or flush the toilet. I have to say I am getting quite used to it and no longer even think about it. I'll tell you that I can take a full shower- wash my hair, shave my legs and all with less than a bucket of water. That is an accomplishment for me. I just hope the people I live with when I get home don't expect me to conserve water in such a way.

The Barri (I still am not sure on how to spell this word) This is where I often sit to read or type or spend some time with the kids in smaller groups. I like the breeze that comes through here and I can also enjoy being outside without being directly in the sun. The building next to it is the offices for JCCM.

I think that there may be enough pictures in this post to get a small idea of where I am. I will continue to show you more as I go along, but I don't want to put too many photos incase it takes forever to load. After this time I will know more. I have decided it is great to have this technology but there is a reason third-world countries don't have it. It is hard to find the support I need to make all of this work. We are so spoiled.

Stuck on the Compound

Well I will not be leaving the compound for the next couple days. I received a message from the Embassy to stay close to home and then yesterday there was a riot in town between two of the political parties. Don't worry, I am not scared and am completely safe here at JCC, they just don't want me (or any of the kids) to go out for the next couple days just to be extra safe. I am pretty visible when I go out so I don't need to draw any extra unneeded attention. Tomorrow everyone will go to town to vote and then come right home again and we will be here together. It is not a bad thing to have to stay around, it just hampers my independence a bit and you know how hard it is to stay in one place for a few days- at least for me, but there are much bigger things to worry about than that.
Keep praying that God's will will be done in this election and in this country.

I am not sure if little Jessica is trying to send me a message to go home or what, but yesterday she was sitting on my lap and decided it was time to ease herself all over me, (she is about 14 months old, I am not exactly sure) and then this morning I had her tied on my back when she decided it was time she needed to vomit- not spit up- vomit all over me again. I'll let you know that even in America I hate doing laundry but over here I really dislike it as you have seen we do it all by hand, so now in two days I have gone through 4 sets of clothing... It is a good thing I love her and it is all worth it.

I am thinking of you all as it is July 4th today. I was telling my family that I think it is events like this that I miss the most- not the fireworks and all, but just knowing how we get together with our family and friends and spend the day at the lake and of course eating such good American food. I pray you all enjoy and have a great time. I'll sing all the songs I know about America today to the kids.

I HAVE INTERNET

It has finally happened and now I am the proud owner of a tigo modem that gives me internet any time I want. However being that I am still in Africa it doesn't mean that I can use it anytime I want. We do not have electricity at the orphanage so that means I can use the internet as long as my computer battery is charged. It is nice that many of the staff have electricity at their houses now so I can send it with them in the evenings and sometimes I am even lucky enough to be able to go to the compound next door called HANCI. They have electricity there sometimes and are kind enough to let me sit on their porch and use my computer. I hope to be able to be in communication a lot more.

The crazy thing about this internet is that it was given to me. After all my complaining and trying to be patient- it all worked out much better than I could have imagined. Last week Joe went to Freetown and was going to get a celtel modem and was told that they wouldn't have one for at least 2 weeks. Another thing to put off getting the internet. I should have known though that being patient is really the best thing. This past Saturday we were playing a football game with another orphanage here in Bo. As we were watching the game I started talking with one of the people from that orphanage and it turns out he is actually a Pastor from England, Julian Khan. His parents were from Sierra Leone but he was born and raised in England. He has been in Salone for 8 months. I really enjoyed talking with him and had a great night. We started talking about internet and connection to the rest of the world when he told me that he had a modem for me. It turns out he was leaving the next day to go back to England and his internet was paid through the end of August. I guess it really was worth waiting for. Now I not only don't have to buy the modem but also have internet 24 hours a day until September. God is good.

I hope to be able to keep you all a bit more involved in my time here. I want to share more photos and stories and here from all of you as well. Thank you for all your prayers and support. I am feeling much better in terms of the Malaria, only now i have a full blown cold. The kids all have them now and I think with my immune system being a bit compromized fighting off all my other problems it couldn't resist the cold. Oh well it is a minor thing.

You can be in prayer for the coming local elections this Saturday. It is getting a little tense around here. People say it is more tense than the national elections last summer. I am not worried and feel completely safe, so far it has been fine, but prayer is always good and I hope it stays that way.

I look forward to writing more soon.