Final Email June 30, 2008

Buwa!
We are happy to greet you one more time from Sierra Leone. (This was supposed to be sent out several days ago. The team is actually in the air, and their left behind team leader is sending it out as if it was a couple of days ago!) Our time in this beautiful country is quickly coming to an end. We departed Banta on Friday and headed to Freetown where we spent the weekend debriefing, relaxing, and shopping before we boarded our first plane on Monday at 5:30 am after an eventful ferry ride.
As we are wrapping things up and attempting to summarize all we have been privileged to experience and learn our thoughts race in many directions. In some ways, we are leaving with more questions then answers. In other ways we have been challenged and encouraged. When we think about you and all the ways you supported us, we are quick to acknowledge that you were part of our team. We are truly grateful and would like to begin to express our gratitude by briefly sharing some of the lifelong memories we've made and some heartfelt life lessons we have learned. We hope what follows below will be a blessing to you all.
Thank you again for your prayers and support. We are excited to return home with these things and more!

Britt's memories
This trip has been an overall great experience for me and I will always have a special place in my heart for Sierra Leone. I will miss waking up in the morning to the rooster crowing, the sound of dumping water out of a pail for a shower, and the joyful sound of the nationals singing hymns to start the day off right. I have tried to take in as much of the culture I could by interacting with the nationals (hauling water, cooking over a fire, making all cooking ingredients from scratch and washing clothes by hand). I will forever be truly grateful and appreciate what we have in America and I only wish more people could experience what we experienced on this trip to really appreciate what they have or ever lack of words cannot explain what I am feeling for this country but I will sum up the main thing I have taken from this experience: LOVE!

Emily
As the end of our trip approached I find myself challenged with the thought of trying to put all that I have experiences on this trip into words so one might truly understand all that I have gone through. How will I explain the culture I lived in for three weeks, the growth and change of my heart of the numerous relationships I built along the way, each one being so different. My heart has been challenged and pulled in many ways and for that it has been forever changed. I leave with a new meaning to love as I have seen it in many different aspects and more powerful then ever. I have seen that hope exists everywhere as long as you have trust in God to be there along the way. I will miss falling asleep at night to the echoes of the children's voices as they sing their praised to God. The laughter of the nationals as I attempted to speak Mende and Krio will forever echo in my heart. The genuine love each Sierra Leoneans has for God and people will forever be in my heart. The faces of smiling children playing football and dancing in the rain storms will be images stored for a lifetime. I leave Sierra Leone with a full heart and thankful for being blessed with such an amazing and unforgettable journey. God bless and see you soon!

Nicole
They say teachers are life long learners and that learning has continued for me on Sierra Leone soil. My prayer has been for an open heart to learn what lessons God had for me on this continent, and he has been filling it with much that I will continue to process as I return home. As I have learned chook-chook (cross stitch) from Aunty Mariama, hand clap games from Janet, Mende from Moses, and dance moves from Aminata, I have also learning how to live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly. I have been stretched by the questions of poverty, injustice, and the search for hope. But mostly I have been overwhelmed by love- the nationals love for God, the children's love for us, and the conviction that I must grow in my genuine love for others. I must learn to love deeply as I return- loving my neighbor as myself whether down the street or an ocean away.

Carissa
In a nation recovering from a tragic war filled with people who are broken and coping with heartache. I have found myself surrounded by the most loving and passionate people. I have always considered myself a very relational person, however, since landing in Sierra Leone, I have been changed in every area relationally. I ask myself daily, what it means to be truly relational? From this experience, I walk away with a renewed perspective on living relationally. God models the perfect relationships, that which is a self-sacrificing, passionate, loving, and focused on community. Upon return to America, I will find myself contemplating and evaluating my life and repeatedly identifying those relationships which I need to be targeted. I praise God for the true blessing of living among these amazing people for three weeks.

Julie's contributions
Its hard to summarize but here it goes: I am learning again the lessons of love…how to receive it from the Lord and then how to freely give it away without condition or reservation. I am full of thoughts still in process but one thing I will carry with me as we go is the sound of the children singing during their morning devotions at 6:00am. It is a beautiful way to wake up and it stirs up praise in me.

Kristen
Sierra Leone seems to generate many questions that swim around in my head. How can a country be so plagued by injustice? Why does God allow this to happen? With so much hurt and suffering, what can one person really do? I have found that the answer is simple and yet complex in its depth. But it is simply to love, to love those who reject you, those who embrace you, those who are rich, those who are poor. As Christ does not distinguish his love by race, wealth or fame; neither should we. Simply love.

Allie
What is self-sacrifice? Is it giving up a modern convenience that is meaningful to me? Perhaps going without a flush toilet or a hot shower or a cell phone? Doubtful. Perhaps closer would be using what God gives me everyday for the good of another WHEN IT IS HARD, or uncomfortable or unnatural. I have been give life, the ability to think, hands, feet, a voice…
This Sierra Leone experience has helped me catch a glimpse of Christ's heart regarding self-sacrifice. I am far from completion in this, but I am thankful to God for giving me the strength and conviction to inch closer. this moment came as I hesitantly surrendered my hands, and arms to dozen of little children, who in all their germs and filth, reached out to touch me, and in turn forever touched my life.

Sarah
What will I take from this trip? The memories, the relationships, the hard questions, the beautiful moments of hope, and the tears of brokenness. This place is my second home, these people are my people. The relationships here are what give me endurance to press on. The small moments of sitting and talking with Aunty Batu, playing with Kadija, hugging Fatu. Seeing all the familiar faces brings such joy to my heart. This place also leaves me with a lot of questions. More questions then answers. As I work among these people who are beautiful yet broken, I see myself. I see that I too am broken. yet God chooses to use broken people to fix a broken world. And God views us all with the same loving heart: a heart that longs to redeem, and restore all of creation- every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Second Email June 18, 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

We are excited to send you our love and appreciation from the beautiful countryside of Sierra Leone!

We arrived safely on Saturday afternoon having conquered 200 miles and one million bumps in 8 hours. There are many details to our roadtrip adventure, but for now we will tell you that we loaded our faithful poda-poda at 6:00 AM on Saturday morning. Those blessed four wheels carried 9 lovely ladies, 3 kind gents, and about 15 suitcases. With everyone in place we rolled down the guest house driveway (in the ballpark of 20 feet) whereby we immediately bottomed out at the gate exit. Everybody out! J Luckily we hadn't had the chance to get comfortable yet. And thankfully we were easily entertained despite the early morning hour, and preceded to laugh while we walked the first couple blocks. 45 minutes later we were successfully cruising (a slightly relative term) through Freetown when our poda-poda decided to…how do you say it…stop working. Once again, no worries. Our driver and his 2 apprentices did some hardcore tinkering and 8 minutes later we were off. We could continue with our second hand story about our poda-poda caravan carrying our other COTN friends, but in light of bottoming out 20 feet into the trip, an electrical fire with a flaming driver's seat pales. When all was said and done we thanked God for our safe arrival to Banta and all the memories it supplied!

Since our arrival we got to attend the church service, participate in the Day of the African Child, lead in-services for Health Animators, the Children's Home Auntys, and the teachers. Not to mention the plethora of dancing and playing with the children.

We also paid a visit to the nearby village of Ngolala. Walking into that village was like walking into a National Geographic magazine or a Discovery Channel documentary. We were immediately bombarded with a train of children who seized our hands, rubbed our arms, and huddled around us. Sarah and Kristen guided us through the small village which was home to approximately 200 people and 20 huts. Ngolala was located not far off the road, yet when we stood there under the canopy of trees surrounded by a wall of green bush, we truly felt like we were close to being in the middle of an untouched land. Communication proved to be an instant barrier and we first-comers struggled with the basic Mende greetings. The village people simply laughed at us, and I'm pretty sure their pet monkey joined in as well.

The village of Ngolala and people of the Sierra Leone countryside are among the many things we wish you all could see and experience first hand alongside us. We are privileged to walk through this place and are honored to be among its people.

Last night we had a discussion about hope. The nationals reminded us how their people have hope each day because God has given them another day to live. They trust that God will give them food for the day and will meet their needs. Many times when you greet a native with "How are you?" they will reply "Telgodtenki" which means "Thanks be to God." No matter what ails them or how hungry they are, thanks be to God. Last year a woman told Sarah, "Where there is life, there is hope."

The Lord is keeping us in good health. Thank you for your prayers. We have been blessed with good cooking by Aunty Chris who traveled with us from Freetown. And at night we laugh as all eight of us crawl into our "princess beds" with mosquito net canopies which are tightly packed one next to another. Talk about team bonding!

Thank you for your continued prayers. We are grateful and feel as though God is answering them all.

Because He lives we can joyfully face tomorrow. Tel God tenki,

First Email Update June 12, 2008

This is an email we sent out when the team first got here. Was not a part of this travel experience because I had travelled a week earlier then them, but it is quite humorous so I wanted to share it!

Greetings from Marjay Town on the edge of Freetown!

We are excited to report to you that we have arrived safely and are in good health. A couple of us have endured the stomach churns (we will spare you the details!), but all are strong enough to carry on for daily events. Thanks be to God who is our strength.

The trip was, without a doubt, quite lengthy. IN short, out flight time totaled 14and a half hours, our layover time added 23 hours, our hover craft time clocked in a one hour and our exhaustion topped the charts at 38 and a half hours!

Noteworthy highlights from the journey include:#1 Getting lost (almost) at the JFK airport in New York. Come to find out, airtrain maps aren't easy to read. Some of us were thinking we were already out of the country. Three cheers for New York.
#2 Attempting to sleep on the tile floor at the Casablanca airport for a good 10 hours. As we wearily boarded our plane that night, we found out we could have rested and showered in a complimentary hotel. The next COTN team will greatly benefit from our discovery.
#3 To our surprise we got to fly over and past Freetown to make a stop in Monrovia, Liberia before going back to Freetown. Evidently the Liberian football (soccer) team is more important than us (the sweet action COTN team). If only….

We arrived at the guest house on Monday morning around 7:00am after our long journey. We were grateful to be able to nap horizontally and spend some time at the beach. Needless to say we still crashed under our mosquito nets shortly after dinner. Sierra Leone gave us a more official welcome at 2:30am when we awoke to a "tropical typhoon"- as we lovingly called it. Fear, not, dear loved ones, it wasn't really a typhoon, but it did get our attention. With adrenaline pumping, we joined forces to attempt to stop the incoming deluge, but soon realized the windows failed to close completely. No worries, it was just water mixed with extreme wind. All thrives in the experience with laughter and unbelief.

Well there truly is so much we would love to share however some details are best relayed with hand motions (you will simply have to wait).

We will conclude with the update about out time in the Freetown COTN School. We have been leading in-services for the teachers and also co-teaching in the classrooms. With only two school days under our belt, we've already felt welcomed in the children's lives as they excitedly call us Aunty, and are quick to grab our hands. The teachers have graciously allowed us to teach in their classrooms and are patient to repeat things over and over again when we can't distinguish their accents. All of us wish our schools would begin with daily songs, dances, and devotions. The kids sing wholeheartedly each morning- one of our favorite daily joys. All of us will take these experiences with us when we leave and trust they will challenge and encourage us even after departure.

Please continue to join us in prayer for the following #1 100% health for each member
#2 Wisdom as we spend time in the classrooms
#3 A heightened ability to understand the nationals' accent.
#4 Our journey to Banta on Saturday.

Praises include
#1 Safe arrival to Freetown
#2 In-service presentations are going well
#3 The multiple short rain showers which momentarily cool the air
#4 We are learning so much about Sierra Leone's history and God's heart for Sierra Leone's future.

Thank you for your prayers and for joining us in this adventure. We are grateful and we send out love.

The 8 white chicks! (Written by Allie Clark)

Now for the team leaders perspective
The girls are doing an awesome job with their in-services. They are planning and preparing culturally relevant in-services and doing a great job presenting the in-services to the teachers. It is so neat to be able to watch them interact with the children and teachers! Everyone has positive attitudes and are open to learning about the culture and education system of Sierra Leone.