Thankfully mom, grandma, and Lorie didn't have any problems flying home. I, on the other hand, had a more interesting time trying to leave Sierra Leone. Christie, JK, and Jerry dropped me, Ron and Brenda off at the airport around 4pm on Sunday then they headed back to Bo. Our flight wasn't supposed to leave until 11pm but the ferry went over at 4 so that is when we were able to go over. Plus after being Africa for 2 weeks or a month you get used to waiting around.About 8:30 they announced that our flight was canceled due to technical difficulties so we had to find a place to stay and go to the BMI office the next morning to figure out our connecting flights. The next flight out wasn't until 4am Tuesday morning so we had some time to waste. But there was a little bit of panic when at 8:45 we still hadn't found a taxi and the last ferry to Freetown was supposed to leave at 9 and we only had so many leones left since we thought we were going to be leaving. Well we were able to get a taxi and he got us to the ferry with about 10 minutes to spare, thankfully things never leave on time in Africa.
There was a 20 year old boy who was always at the ferry everytime we were there and knows Christie pretty well and I know him pretty well since he was there in December when I went also. His name is White Boy but of course as you can see he is not white :) He has always been very helpful and we know we can trust him to help us so on the ferry ride back to Freetown I just kept praying he would be on the other side to help us get a taxi and get to our hotel. Once we hit shore and got off I saw him and felt a huge sense of relief. White Boy got us a taxi for a good price and even rode with us to make sure we got to the hotel and all settled in. Then he told me he would be going accross on the 2pm ferry the next day if we wanted to meet him and go accross then he would help us and get us a taxi on the other side. We decided that was a great idea and it didn't matter which side of the ferry we were on since we were going to be waiting for awhile anyways.
The next day we tried to get our flights figured out then left for the ferry. White Boy got us accross and to the airport and even helped us find some dinner then didn't leave until he knew we were all set and would be ok. Ron, Brenda, and I really felt like God had sent him to help take care of us and were very thankful.
In talking to White Boy I found out that he is a Christian and works on a boat for his church. Besides the ferry there are wooden boats that go accross more often in case you miss the ferry. He is the driver of the boat and the name of the boat is "Jesus is Coming." I thought this was really cool to hear. Most of the money goes to the church and he probably gets about 3 dollars a day. He told me that he has 3 younger brothers a younger sister and an older sister. His mom passed away 2 months ago giving birth to his youngest brother who is now living with his grandma. White Boy's older sister is taking care of his younger siblings and trying to keep them in school. White Boy said he is trying to send them money to help them out and with only making 3 dollars a day it is not an easy task. He is not in school now and has only finished up to 10th grade but knows that an education is important and that he can't work at the ferry all his life. He told me that he knows God will take care of him and provide for him and his family. I was very impressed with White Boy and being able to trust when he has so little and he was willing to help us so much and didn't expect any payment. God really took care of us and sent us a gardian angel in White Boy.
