Exhausted seems to be a fitting way to describe today. Not only am I tired, but I also feel that if I were to blow my nose right now that exhaust would literally come out! We spent so much time in the poda today and in traffic. I also haven’t quite adjusted to the time difference here (5 hours ahead) so I spent most of last night laying awake in bed thinking, If I fall asleep right now I will get 6 hours of sleep. If I fall asleep now I will get 5 hours of sleep. Please fall asleep so I can get 4 hours of sleep… Around 2:30 a.m. a big storm rolled in. It is the start of the raining season so there is typically one good downpour each day. This one that came through in the middle of the night looked and felt like a hurricane moving through. It was definitely the hardest rain I have experienced here. This morning Auntie Marie said that later in the raining season it will do that all day. I can’t imagine!
Today was a busy day for our team. We hung out with the kids for most of the morning. Then this afternoon we headed out to the children’s hospital. On the way there we made several stops to purchase goods for the hospital and the other orphanage we would be visiting later in the day. It was another opportunity to see some new parts of the city and interact with the people here. Someone might be walking down the street with a very serious look on their face, but a friendly wave will change their whole demeanor.
Trent reading stories with some of the kids…
Brock and Matt at the beauty shop getting their hair planted…
They love reading! Taylor and Amber shared one of Dr. Seuss’ finest with some of the kids…
Daniel racing some of the younger boys…
Moh-Moh looking quite dapper…
Monte spending some time with the boys…
Traffic in Freetown is organized mass chaos. Honking is completely normal and not even considered rude, nor is passing another car on a busy street with another car coming head on. I cannot believe that we have not witnessed and accident! Today as we were backing out onto a busy street, John was checking the street for oncoming traffic when thud! We bumped a pedestrian walking behind us. He was okay and they exchanged a friendly wave before we continued on our way. Organized, mass chaos. It works here.
About three hours after we left for the hospital we finally made it. First we visited the malnutrition ward. Children who come here are extremely malnourished and allowed to stay for 10 days. We visited with the children and their mothers, sharing smiles, sweets, prayers, formula and diapers with them. One mom looked particularly down when we walked in. By the time we left she was singing and dancing to thank us. After leaving that ward we visited two more wards. One was suppose to be more serious than the other, but they both seemed pretty serious to me. Many of the children were in obvious pain as their little bodies fought for their lives. It continues to break my heart to see so many illnesses that could easily be diagnosed and treated quickly in America be so serious here. Many of the children had been in the hospital for more than a month.
This little guy l.o.v.e.d. Monte and had him wrapped around his finger. Any way he pointed Monte went…
This little girl was recovering from Malaria, but seemed to be doing pretty good…
After leaving the hospital we headed to Auntie Margaret’s orphanage just outside of town. We visited there last year and our hearts really went out to Auntie Margaret and all of the children around. She personally cares for 24 orphans, but 50+ kids from the nearby community came running when they saw us. Auntie Margaret has an incredible heart for the children and an even greater passion for Jesus. She shows thanks in everything. She is primarily functioning on her own with some support from the Raining Season and possibly other organizations.
Michael, the American missionary, attempting to fix Auntie Margaret’s well…
A dangerous game of duck, duck, goose…
Friends Joseph and Joseph. One lives at Auntie Margaret’s orphanage and the other lives in the nearby community…
As it got dark we headed back to the orphanage. We spent so much time out in the community today that we missed nightly devotions with the kids and many of them were already in bed. Dinner was waiting for us when we returned. I particularly enjoyed the fresh watermelon!
Freetown is a city of 2.4 million people. There is so much going on at any given moment. Today, I am thankful that I got to be part of that.
{The Launes}
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