Bridging Culture. Working Together.

I had the opportunity to give a speech/toast at my sister's wedding.  I had written down my thoughts a few weeks earlier but then decided to throw it all out the window.  I sat down at midnight, the night before the wedding, thinking of what to say.  I decided that at the end of my speech, I wanted to give her some life advice, since I am her older sister.  This is something I have thought about a lot while transitioning from my year in Sierra Leone to my time in the U.S. When I was in Sierra Leone, it was so simple to do my daily devotions every morning.  It was a habit I developed and found out quickly that I needed that time with God each morning.  I needed it to be filled with peace, comfort, and joy each and every day.  I was living in an extremely uncomfortable situation and had to rely on God to comfort me, to protect me, and to provide for me. However, when I came back to the U.S, I realized my habits of doing my devotions in the morning qu...

As I have spent time these past three weeks sharing about my time in Sierra Leone, many people have asked me questions pertaining to Ebola.  So, I figured I would share some of my thoughts about it.  These are just my own thoughts, so I may be wrong and you may not agree with everything I have to say. I knew nothing about Ebola before it became a threat to Sierra Leone, but I was fortunate enough to learn a lot about it while in Kabala.  I did not learn about it through my own research, but from people in the community educating others.  Along with learning about Ebola, we were given tools to educate others about it.  As teachers, we had many opportunities in the classroom and at parent meetings to educate those about the symptoms of Ebola, what to do if you have symptoms, and how to prevent it. It felt like everywhere I went, there was always talk about Ebola.  It was constantly on the radio, posters and diagrams were plastered around the city, and the...

Along with the rainy season, comes sickness.  The rain has brought an increase in the mosquito population, which has also brought a significant increase in the amount of Malaria cases.  My students are constantly complaining of sickness.  We have had a significant increase of absences this third term from school because of students being sick.  Not only has malaria plagued Kabala and all sides of Sierra Leone, but the disease called Ebola has also brought significant worry to the community.  It started in Guinea and Liberia and has now entered into Sierra Leone and is presently in Kailuhan District.  It has infected many people in Kailuhan and it has also killed a significant number.  The schools have closed down and people are not allowed in and out of the district.  I was listening to the radio on my way to Freetown two weekends back and people were complaining because they were even canceling all public gatherings like w...

Growing up, Apples to Apples was one of our family's favorite games. But the best part about Apples to Apples was not actually putting cards that truly matched the green apple cards, but playing cards that contradicted the green apple cards.  The goal was always to make the judge laugh.  The judge would always pick whatever apple card was funniest.  If I can remember correctly, some of our favorite red apple cards were "Barney," "Puff Daddy," "Boyfriends," and many more. I decided to introduce the Apples to Apples Junior to my students in class III.  Before we played, I sorted through the cards to pull out the red apple cards that they would not understand.  They are currently sitting in groups so each group of four students got twenty red apple cards.  I picked a "runner" in each group to come and bring me their red apple card each time I chose a green apple card. The game went relatively smoothly.  At first, I would give the word on the...

Something that has driven me crazy since the first day coming to Sierra Leone is this idea of begging.  When people here want something bad, they will often beg the person.  They always say "I beg."  If someone begs me for something, I have no desire to give them anything. If I want to give a person something, I want to give them something because I love that person or because I want to help a person.  I think my students have learned this quickly.  They know that if they beg me for anything, I will not give them anything. For example, if I am eating bread during lunchtime, instead of begging me, they will just stand around me and if they are lucky, maybe I will give them the end of my bread.  But as soon as one of my students begs me for my bread, all desire to give to that person leaves my head. The other day, a student in class 6 was begging me for a lolipop.  I asked my class 3 students who were with me if I will give him if he begs me. ...

Today, I was doing my oral exam with my students during the afternoon part of the day.  I asked her what she was going to do over the summer break.  I was expecting a normal answer, like go to Freetown, or study, or play, or a typical answer.  But instead she told me "I am going to eat corn." I said, "you are only going to eat corn for the whole break?"  After asking her more questions to give me a more detailed answer, she could only tell me "I am going to eat corn and pick corn." I guess my student really likes corn and that is all she will fill her time with this summer.  I thought it was so funny I tried hard not to laugh at her.  It has now reached corn season again in Sierra Leone.  I have my corn lady who I always buy corn from!  I can't even tell you her name but she loves me.  Any time I go to her, she will give me a big hug.  Then I will always buy 1,000 Le corn and she will always give me 3,000 Le corn.  I love that wom...

The greatest commandment that God gave us is to love God with our whole life.   He said love Him first before we try to care for the orphans, help the sick, and serve others.   Through God’s love, through our relationship with him, the other commandments that God has given us will be fulfilled.   In Jeremiah 29: 12, it says that if we seek God first, than all things shall be added unto you.   If we seek God first, then God will continue to work in your life and in the lives of others through you.   Before coming here to Sierra Leone, I went to the International House of Prayer Conference with a few good friends.   One woman began talking about how she had served overseas for some time.   During her time, she had not committed her life to her relationship with God; rather she had committed her life to serving him.   She quickly got burnt out and had to leave the country she was serving in.   Since this story, I have learned how easy i...