Today was beach day for our team. We got to take a few of the kids from the center to the beach. This beach is truly amazing. It has the softest, whitest sand and turquoise water. It is just outside the city and it feels like you are in paradise.
Excitement was running high amongst the kids as they knew beach day was approaching. They were constantly asking, “You going to take me to beach day?” Only 9 kids got to come (all sponsored by people on our team). Luckily all 4 of our sponsored kids got to come. Zanaib was very concerned that she might not get to come and was in tears most of the morning. Since only a few kids got to come we had to all pile into 2 vehicles. Our poda (picture bigger than a minivan, but smaller than a cargo van) had 23 people in it! We were literally squished like sardines. On this year;s trip to the beach John earned an A for driving. Last year I gave him an F.
Kandeh and Zanaib wore their new outfits we brought them to the beach…
I was still finding sand in this girl’s hair two days after the beach…a sign of a good time!
This is a small glimpse of what 23 people in a poda looks like…
The beach was a blast! I got to check something off of my 30 before 30 list as we swam in the ocean, played with the beach ball and had fun with the kids. Kandeh and Zanaib loved laying close to the shore and letting the waves come crashing over them pulling them under water. They would come up with great big grins on their faces and sand all over their bodies. After 5 hours at the beach we headed home for a relaxing evening. Thank goodness for SPF 50 sunscreen! I got a little bit of a spotty sunburn, but it could have been much worse!
River No. 2 Beach…the pictures really don’t do it justice.
When we got back we had a little play time and then I went to Kandeh’s devotion. After devotion I brought him outside. We were sitting and talking on the bench. I was asking him some questions and then we started talking about the American and Sierra Leone flags. After a minute or so Kandeh asked me why the clouds in America are red. I was so confused by this question that seemed to come out of left field. Then I thought more about it and asked Kandeh what the colors on their flag stand for (green/land, blue/water and white/clouds). Therefore, if our flags are similar in color then they must mean the same things, hence clouds in America must be red :) I loved spending time with Kandeh tonight, but pretty soon he started looking very sleepy. I asked if he wanted to rest his head on my lap and he was out like a light within two minutes…poor guy was all tuckered out from a long day at the beach!
Baby Mishell, who is sponsored by Trent’s parents…hard to believe that just a few months ago this cutie was brought into the center malnourished.
It is hard to believe that tomorrow will be our last full day in Sierra Leone. Saying good bye will be so tough. It is incredible the relationships that can be formed in such a short period of time.
{The Launes}
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