you can not even begin to imagine what it is like here unless you have been here.
a few words would not do it justice.
a picture is worth 1000 words. but a picture would not even begin to do it justice.
there are 30 images every SECOND in a film. but a film would not do it justice either.
30 images/second X 60 seconds/minute X 60 minutes/hour = 108,000 words. and sadly, 108,000 words would not do it justice either. you simply cannot imagine until you are here.
this past weekend i went on a mind-blowingly amazing adventure with mind-blowingly amazing people. people very dear to my heart. we set out from Freetown (the capital, where the ship is docked) and made our way north east to Makeni. we were able to stay the night in Makeni at some cool little youth center. power run off a generator. african showers (which means scooping water from a bucket with a cup and dumping it on yourself). so much fun. it was a pretty early night on thursday night, since we still had driving to do on friday morning.
friday we woke up and got ready to go. first stop: SCHOOL! we went to a small school near the youth center. picture 70 of the cutest kids you have ever seen, all wanting to hug you and hold your hands and have their pictures taken. it was amazing. the kids were so friendly and fun. i have 70 new best friends. i love those kids very much. they were so much fun to hang out with. so great for pictures too. as we were getting ready to leave, i was sitting in the van and picked one of the kids up and set him on my lap and said "we should take you home. you are coming with us." mona just looked at me and said "nope, we can't take anyone because i could never choose just one." AWWW!!! but so true. they were all so incredible. finally though, it was time to go. after playing in the rain with the kids and hugs and lots of smiles, it was time for us to continue our journey. second stop: Makeni market. we stopped so that our fearless driver/navigator extraordinaire could buy a generator for his van (which is incredible). while he was doing that, the rest of us wandered about a bit, bought some fabric, talked with some locals, and bought eggs. i met a man who called himself Charles the Great. quite the character. he owns his own shop right in the middle of the Makeni market. while we were talking, he said that he has friends who live in Indiana. he started telling me about how his friends come once a year to Makeni, bringing supplies and necessities to help the many many blind people in Makeni. he told me to take him with me back to america, but i had to say no. however, i did promise him that if he comes to texas, i would show him around. :)
after the market, we were back on the road. a few hours and a short lunch break later, we were in Kabala, our destination (one of a couple, actually)! we were following a guide book for where to stay and which roads to take and stuff like that, and so we ended up at one of the "nicest hotels" in Kabala. if you read that, and just imagined Embassy Suites, you might as well stop reading this right now. haha. nice, but not american nice. the hotel was right at the base of a couple mountains, which were very beautiful. again, not american size mountains. anyway, we were about to get settled when we looked over and BAM! there was another group of people from the ship staying there too. people on the ship like to take advantage of their three-day weekends. so we got our rooms, and headed off again, into the center of Kabala.
dinner was delicious. we stopped at a restaurant called "Choice", which, despite it's name, really had no choices. haha. no menus at all, but delicious food. we had peanut soup, chicken, and rice, and it was GOOOOOOD. spicy, but very good. after a filling meal, we decided to wander about the town. a few of us wandered and "saw the sights" (it was getting dark), and some of us stopped to have a chat with a fellow oputo (i doubt i spelled that right, but it basically means "white guy or girl") named John. john is an actor/producer/writer/jack-of-all-trades. extremely interesting guy. he has been living in Kabala for about seven years, and had lots of stories to tell. i, however, do not have time to recount all HIS tales, as i am having enough trouble recounting my own. haha.
anyway. back the the hotel. we get back, grabbed some of our cookie stash, some water-proof UNO cards (thanks to Mona), and sat at a table and played a few rounds of uno. we listened to some good music off my ipod on some speakers (thanks to Aaron), and just sat and talked. a very good time. while everyone was getting ready for bed, i decided to go for a walk down the dark streets of Kabala. so amazing. cool outside, clear skies, felt perfectly safe. God and i got to have some REALLY good quality time together during this trip. we bonded. but finally it was bed time. no breeze. a bit hot, but God is good, and i did actually sleep.
saturday came quick. wake up. get ready. HIKE HIKE HIKE! up the mountain. i have no idea how high we climbed, all i know is that it was quite hard for me. my first climb. and not a real "hike". no switchbacks, no plateaus. just up. and up. and more up. i'm sorry to the group (if you actually read this) if i was a bit....grumpy. it was hard for me, but i am a fan of goal reaching and obstacle conquering. and i made it to the top. technically we ALL made it to the top, but i was the only one struggling to make it up. haha. the view....oh my gosh. so incredible. so peaceful. we could actually see into Guinea. so beautiful. we just sat and stood and talked. then....the climb down. wet mud and slick rocks on a steep slope down. i was a bit nervous (cause heights and i really dont get along too well). then...rain. i am so glad i made it off that mountain alive.
anyway, we got back down the mountain and pretty much just jumped right into the car. we stopped in the Kabala market again to pick up some food for lunch, but then just decided to buy some street bread and street meat to make sandwiches. it's SOO tasty. some really flavorful meat, cooked on a hunk of metal right on the side of the street. yumm. and CHEAP. for the whole sandwhich (bread and 4 kebabs worth of meat) was only about $1.25. yep. big sandwich too. very filling. anyway, we got back on the road, and made our way back to Makeni. we had agreed to stay at the youth center again that night (they had told us we could stay all weekend if we wanted). however, we got there, and their generator was gone. oh no! no electricity! we had all learned to function without the lights, but it was the fans! we really needed fans! anyway, after some creative electrical work we had Lewis's generator rigged up to the building, providing us with beautiful delicious electricity. we had a delicious pasta dinner (thanks Liz) and lots of fun sitting around and chatting. then the rain started to come down, and it was bed time for most people. i, however, took the opportunity to go and simply stand in the rain, talking to God. the rain always helps to quiet my heart and focus my mind.
sunday came early waking up to get ready to go out for our last adventure of the weekend. we got ready, got packed up, and hopped back in the van driving off to Bumbuna, to see the largest waterfall in the country. the rainy season, however, has an effect on dirt roads. large puddles (or small lakes) had formed on the road. however, nothing is too difficult for Africa Lewis Roadways (thanks Lewis). we made it there down one of the bumpiest roads i have ever been on. i kind of felt like a mexican jumping bean. or maybe a baby rattle. anyway. we got to Bumbuna, and had a strange (but delicious) lunch at a small little restaurant that Lewis had been to previously. after filling our bellies a bit, we headed off the short remaining distance to the falls. parked the van, locked it up, and wakka wakka (walk in Krio) to the falls. we had fun taking pictures, sunning on the rocks, and just chatting. finally, it was time for us to get going so that we could make it home before dark. we got back to the base of the road (not back to the van yet), and a fisherman held out my wallet and a small notebook of Lewis's, both of which had been inside the van....
yep. burgled, which i was pretty sure was a word my dad made up this morning when i told him we were robbed, but then i looked it up. of course, like usual, he was right. oh well. haha. anyway. yes. we had been burgled! total loss? 3 ipods, a pair portable speakers, about 170,000 leones (under $50), a pair of oakleys, and a backpack with keys (to a cabin on the ship), an ID badge, a library book, an umbrella, and i'm not sure what else. nothing on the van was broken, and everything was locked, so we have NO idea how they got inside to take the stuff. however, God is QUITE excellent and good, and it could have been SO much worse. so we started heading back, and met a fisherman who told us that this had happened before, and says he would take us to the chief.
so we went to the chief, explained things, and he said he was sorry, and told us to go to the police to file a report.
so we went to the police, explained things, and they said they are sorry, and file a report, saying they would do their best to get our stuff back.
BACK on the road again. we decide to take a shortcut. the moral of the story is dont take shortcuts. haha. as you might have guessed, the shortcut turned out to be a LONG LONG cut, because we had to double back and go back the way we came. we were driving, destroying huge puddles as we went. we took some unfortunate advice from some World Vision people, and as we were going through a small lake (it was too big to even be a large puddle) the van......sank. the whole left side of the van just kind of sank into the ground. completely stuck. however. YET AGAIN! God is exceedingly good. not three minutes later, a large van drove by. they were happy to help us, and pulled us up out of the mud. no other size vehicle could have pulled us out, and we were in the middle of nowhere. it could have been hours before anyone came, but no. God knew we would need that truck even before we did. they pulled us out, and didnt even ask for anything in return. no money. no food. nothing. just helped.
we doubled back, had more street meat sandwiches for dinner, and finally finished our journey about three hours later than we had planned, arriving back at the ship well after dark, around 11:00 pm.
God is so good, and these words that i have written cannot even begin to do Him justice, just like they cannot do justice to Sierra Leone, or to our trip. watch for pictures.
anyway, i hope you enjoyed the story. come back soon, and have a marvelous day.
ciao for now.
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