Catching Up

One of the biggest blessings of coming to Sierra Leone is that I am permitted to be an unquestioned guest in many contexts. It is nice to be able to pop in at Mercy Hospital, the CRC campus, and various meetings. There is ALWAYS something going on and the staff are incredible at making you feel welcome. We have (per usual) packed lots of different meetings into our team schedule. I have been able to hear about all the new developments, issues, and progress. It is really encouraging and I particularly enjoyed meeting with the CRC Alumni Association, which is the older post-secondary students. They have all grown up so well and ran the meeting with great skill.

We were able to attend the United Methodist Annual Conference. The opening day consisted of a march around Kenema (a town an hour away from Bo I had never seen). We also got to observe the opening worship service. It was a unique experience that I was glad to be part of.

I have really gotten to see a lot of Bo on this trip. We have gone to the market a few times which was, as predicted, chaotic and extremely unclean. I was particularly shocked when we got out of the van and three men in tribal gear were walking around (a little too close for comfort) while singing and playing instruments. One was holding a handkerchief that had some dried blood on it. (Never fear, our driver Joseph was with us and we were completely safe). He explained to us that they were members of the male Tende secret society. They often cut their tongues, for reasons he did not know. I saw demonstrations by secret societies on my first trip as well. They are extremely widespread here and the majority of the population (male and female) are members of them.

On the Mercy side, I was able to go on rounds and see some of the patients. As always, it is the plight of children that saddens me the most while I am here. At the nutrition screening, a woman brought in her twin babies. They were quite small, unable to walk and still breastfeeding. From their size I assumed they were a few months old. However, I soon discovered that they are actually 15 MONTHS old and only weigh NINE pounds. It was extremely shocking and very sad to hear this. They have both been enrolled in the Mercy Nutritional Program and will receive food that will be essential to their growth and development. Such a small thing that Mercy does that makes a HUGE impact in the lives of people who would otherwise have no alternative.