Sierra Leone Follow-up #9: Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts:

Pictures, no matter how good they are, will never tell the story of the relentless heat, the constant smell of trash piles every few yards in the city drenched with diesel fuel and set to burn 24/7, the feeling of 2 million people crowded together in a city built for less than 1 million, the sounds that never seem to stop, and children everywhere wanting to touch you. And yet, we would return in an instant given the opportunity. We hope with everything in us to be a part of a team in 2009.

The people we met are the greatest! In spite of illness and hardship they have such joy! They put us to shame!

What a privilege it was to work on each of the 2 construction projects – Hastings Ladies Polio House (Tom worked on this one), and the shower facility at King George Compound for the Elderly (Becky alternated between the two).

Lest we leave the impression that we worked every second, we did have the opportunity on Sunday afternoon to drive 45 minutes up the coast from Freetown to relax at Bureh Beach. WOW! Beautiful beyond description! Only one on our team thought to bring a swimsuit, but that didn’t stop most of us from getting in the water. It felt so good. We will always remember that respite.

We will be in prayer for Sierra Leone. We learned that there are still UN Peacekeeping Forces on the ground and there are rumblings of more war. We pray for the new president as he makes decisions on behalf of the people. We pray for the people to patiently give him the chance to make lasting changes. It will take time. We pray for Mission Direct and the amazing work they are doing. May it increase!

God bless you for your support of this effort! We love you!