Leaving for the Good Old USA Today!
Well we survived our 10 week emersion into Africa, sometimes referred to as the baptism in sweat. I think it’s the only place you can sit and just drip sweat. In Sierra Leone just like the rest of the world there are 7 days in a week, the difference is here there all HOT! I’ve also learned there are several different kinds of hot, there is the previously mentioned dripping wet sweating hot, the stand up too fast and you’ll just fall down hot, the Latin American siesta sleep all afternoon hot and of course the I think I can tolerate this heat hot. Temperatures here were usually 100-110 daily high, but sometimes hotter than that. Actually today is unseasonably cool, I think God might be trying to trick us into thinking it was not so bad, or maybe he is just having mercy on our pour seared souls.
I don’t want to complain but I would like to just take inventory of our adventure leaving our own comfort zone of the good old USA. WE have spent 10 weeks in country, that’s 4 weeks without our vehicle, 4 weeks without a shower, 6 weeks without refrigeration, and most of 6 weeks without electricity. We did have a generator though but it’s so big that it wasn’t pleasant to run, not to mention expensive. It did have 120 volt or 240 which allowed us a wonderful choice, would we like lights or would we like to cook. Did I mention the drunken electrician experience with the guy who was going to help us hook it up? I really don’t want to get started on him, let’s just say if I never see him again it will be far too soon…..Do you really have to disassemble everything and every circuit in the house to hook this thing up? I don’t think so!
Once again I have traveled into the depths of Africa hoping to see some great exotic creatures and been toughly disappointed; let me take inventory, several hundred lizards of different kinds, 1 squirrel, a few birds mostly pigeons and crows, large insects, spiders, and quite a few rodents. We had in our bags some rodent glue papers that we strategically placed around the house, we woke up one night to hear something moving through the house, something large had found the glue paper and left most of its hair but managed to escape with its life. Now I just know there is a huge baled rat waiting for me to return so he can get his revenge. What I hoped to see but unfortunately didn’t was of course the normal African stuff you see on TV like lions, elephants, hippos, giraffes, large killer snakes, crocodiles, etc. No not even 1 of those cool African critters. Well maybe next time……
Did I mention to you that Sierra Leone in one of the world’s biggest diamond producers? I have sifted through every bit of gravel in the back yard to no avail, I still just as broke as when I came here. I figured if I just look I would surly find a big, clear, EXPENCIVE, diamond, well I guess everyone who ever looked expected at some time, the same thing, I thought I was special.
I really suppose I shouldn’t complain though because we came here for a totally different cause and even though nothing seemed to work exactly as planned we have a great report. You see we are here as missionaries with No Greater Love International and the Assemblies of God church. We have plans for an orphanage near the city of Bo, Sierra Leone, and plans for youth centers in the larger cities throughout the country. Although not much has been done this trip to reach those ends God has been working in the lives of those around us. When we arrived many young men in the neighborhood were interested in Christianity so we invited them to the house to watch the Jesus Film. This opened up discussion about Christ and what it meant to be a Christian, I could see they were serious so we started a bible study, at the bible study about 30 people received Christ and many started attending church. It is important to note that attending church is not an easy thing for most because they are mostly from Muslim families, also 8 from our bible study were baptized. I can’t begin to tell you how happy Cindy and I were for the response to the gospel. This is really why we came, these people are the true gems of Sierra Leone and I am so glad we were able to be a part of Gods work here, reconciling people to himself through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, may his name be praised forever….So you see it really was a great trip after all.
Rev. D
Hi Everyone!
