from bullets to bazookas: July 2005

Sunday, July 31, 2005

'on the road again'

We had to drive back to Freetown for Sunday morning service although we could have stayed to attend service right next door in Waterloo. After service, we had to drive back to Waterloo again only for me to return back to Freetown on Tuesday [whistle].

We were able to drive around for a bit today. We visited a fishing village in Tombo, drove past a place called Black Johnson. Yep, that's what I said! We then visited Tokeh beach. On our way, we wanted to find the nearest gas station, and realised we just drove past some boys who might be able to help us. Since the road was pretty much empty, we decided to stop and reverse. To our right was a young girl and her toddler brother bathing in a stream. When she caught sight of us, she grabbed her towel, deserted the brother, and began running, struggling to wrap the towel around her. She was screaming "Samuel! Samuel!" with tears in her eyes as we reversed. Since she was going in the same direction as we were, she started screaming louder. I asked the brother we were driving with what her problem was, and he said that she though we were going to kidnap her. Yes, a lot of this happens all over Africa. Sudan is a prime example. Poor girl! She was laughing at herself when she saw us asking for the nearest gas station, and then driving off.

When we arrived near Tokeh beach, we were not sure where to go to enter the beach. As we drove into the village, we were greated with chants from young lads shouting "Opoto! Opoto!" or "White man! White man!". One little boy stopped us and told us he could direct us to the beach. He hopped on to the back of the pick-up, and directed us. He waited for us to finish taking pictures and enjoying the sight. We gave him "small change", and he was thrilled. I asked him what his name was, and he said Sahr. I asked him if he was from Kono (my Kono names lesson came in handy) and he with a surprised look on his face said he was. We then drove him back home on our way back. The beach was splendid! White sand, thatched-roof gazebos, lush mountains on top of which the clouds meet, and the wide open Atlantic.

Saturday, July 30, 2005

'feels like home to me'

We woke up early to go out to Kissi to the cement factory to buy some cement. While we left Bro. John to wait for the cement. Bro. Augustine, David, and I ran errands all day. I managed to get to an Internet cafe, and this time took my own laptop with me which proved to be significantly faster than the Pentium II 233MHz machines with 160MB of memory that the cafe uses. The guy tried to give me a hard time about using my own laptop and suggested that it would cost more as he would have to configure it. He quickly shutup when I asked him if they used DHCP in the cafe. Turned out they didn't use DHCP and he had to configure an IP address and Gateway, but didn't charge me anything extra.

David learned not buy two cartons of ice cream in a tropical country where there is barely any electricity. He ended up drinking most of it.

VOM? I pledge allegiance to BBC. I learned of the reduction of forces in Northern Ireland, the sad demise of VP John Guren of Southern Sudan. As if Sudan didn't have enough problems already, riots have now broken out in reaction to this death. They suspect foul play. Saudi's King Fahad passed away, and Korea announced that they have, with the help of American scientists, cloned a dog named Snoopy. Though I like the British accent, they just can't figure out how to say Snoopy. I heard Snuppy and Snopy being reported by different correspondents. I also listened to an interview with Carl something-or-the-other who is the scientist who discovered "the pill". Now he has plans of sorting out a way to seperate sex from reproduction, and reproduction from sex. Go figure! Apparently, this is to liberate women further. Well go on with yo bad selves now! The road continues to wind down.

As women are liberating themselves, I have been making breakfast and lunch for myself here in Waterloo. This is because of the freedom we have here. Temporary freedom from female leadership. For breakfast, I made myself an omelette complete with onions, peppers, and chopped ham. For lunch, I made a medium-well done double cheeseburger topped with grilled onions on a pan over a coal stove. Now that's liberation for an American in Salone (it's what the locals call Sierra Leone)! Of course this was strange food for the locals and they refused to be partakers in this cheeseburger meal, and enjoyed rice and potato leaves. Awk! The joy of being American. Now if only VOM stopped playing crappy hip-hop and reported some interesting things, this joy would be closer to complete.

Friday, July 29, 2005

knowledge of good and evil

Not much going on at the construction site today. We ran out of cement. The sand delivered was "dutty sand" according to Bro. John who is Trinidadian and also from Yonkers. So I continued to help clear out the weeds. Took a break and wandered the woods alone discovering the land. I walked along some very narrow, sometimes non-existant trails left through the bushes, and came across a stream that flowed from a water supply dam. It was a bucket of water compared to some of the dams I have seen in New York. It was thrilling to to wander off alone in the bushes.

Since not much else happened, I'll share some of the Krio I've learned,
and some stories of witchcraft.

I de go? (E day go)	- Are you going?
tinap	- Stand up
sidom (The O is written as a backward C)	- Sit down
wot i na yu name?	- What is you name?
wot i na da time?	- What is the time?
a de go	- I am going
a de kam	- I'll be back in a moment
Papa God	- Heavenly Father or Father God
boku (or boku boku for emphasis)	- a lot
small (or small small)	- a little
a tel God tenki	- I thank God
abada-abadi	- Who knows when?
Usay yu di go	- Where are you going?
usay yu komot	- Where are you coming from?
we fo do?	- What to do?

We're on our way!

Witchcraft. Well aside from the constant blackouts, Africa is a dark continent because of the "powers of darkness". There's witchcraft, black magic, fetishism, sorcery, cannibalism, etc. In particular, there is a belief in what's called a "Mamed Spirit" (Mermaid Spirit); also known as mami wata. These spirits are as you guessed it, half human, half fish, and make their kingdom under water. They ocassionally send messengers in human form to attack and make people as their own. For a spirit to attack you, there must be a "point of contact". Say you found a ring laying around and you picked it up and kept it for yourself. A spirit will approach you at a later time in the form of a human and ask you for the ring it lost. This now is the point of contact. The kingdom of darkness has a hierarchy and it is possible to move up the ranks depending on how faithful you are in you duties. Witchcraft is abundant in the provinces. Shenge I have heard is very popular for this. Apparently everything we see in movies are all true. I condemned it all to foolishness and was quickly chided for it. Of course I had witnessed demonic attacks and deliverance from demons when I was growing up in India, but somehow it all seemed false to me. Here is a true story that was narrated to me:

There was a young girl about 13 years of age in Shenge who had been initiated into witchcraft, and she had been practicing it without her parents knowledge. She had advanced to the position of "Queen of the Coast" in the villiage she was in. She later moved from that village to another village, and this girl got really sick. Apparently, in the spirit world, when she moved, her throne was taken by another spirit, and both these spirits had been warring with each other. She had another male friend in the spirit world who had an aeroplane (a broomstick). He came and rescued her, but two other spirits captured her and tied her up to a particular tree. She began getting frail, and deathly, and had pains in her stomach. After much coersion and prayers, she confessed to her deeds. Some years ago, she had been asked to sacrifice someone to the spirit world. She sacrificed the two little kids born to her father's second wife. While in the spirit world, the spirits cut up the meat and boiled it before they ate, she being the queen, threw up a piece of raw meat in the air and caught it with her mouth. The piece of meat went straight down her throat without being chewed first, and had been lodged in her stomach. In the real world, these two children soon became sick and died. The reason why she was tied up now was because it had been time to sacrifice someone else, and she promised to sacrifice her mother, but later repented of it and refused to give up her mother. When she was asked who had tied her up in the spirit world, she gave names of real people who she had been in contact with. When these people were approached, they gave the same story. When they were asked to release her, they refused. The only way she was released from this bondage was through prayer, confession, and a conscientious decision to renounce witchcraft. I will have the opportunity to meet this girl next in two weeks. I will TRY to ask her myself if it's possible.

Thursday, July 28, 2005

lessons of every sort

As if making concrete blocks isn't hard enough, we had to move about 200 or so blocks that had dried, and stack them up neatly to prepare the bafa for a new set of blocks. This took up most of the day. I helped with some of the carpentry work as well. The fellow who was building a workbench was impressed by my knowledge of carpentry. (I advised him to nail a single 2x4 along the middle of the bench to support the long planks that would make the top of the bench). I guess those physics lessons came in handy after all. I could never profess to common sense! Well then I was tested on my skills and promptly failed at pounding in nails. I kept bending the nails and the fellow kept asking me if I had anything to say to him. I had no clue what he was talking about. I later found out that if you're pounding a nail and the nail bends, it supposedly means that I have something on my mind that needs to be said. I am not sure if this is something particular to Sierra Leone, or if it's common in other parts as well. I later opted to go clear the weeds and continued through the rain.

I had a very interesting and informative talk with a brother whose descendents were warriors from Mali. They were part of a tribe that had come to Sierra Leone in search of salt. The tribe split up leaving some behind and promising to return (me Kono - we will return) as soon as they found salt. The group never returned, and the ones who were left behind in Sierra Leone came to be known as the Kono tribe. This brother's
father is a chief of the Kono tribe. He attended the Bo School, as the sons of many of the prominent elders and brilliant students did. Bo School, located in a town called Bo is a very prestigeous school.

Kono, as the place is named after the tribe, is the diamond capital of Sierra Leone. When the rebels had come to Kono, the brother narrates, he along with his family had to live in the bush for weeks. The bush as the locals call it is a forest or any place densly populated by trees, shrubs, and bushes. They also eat "bush" (Cassava leaves, potato leaves, etc). He recalls on many ocassions having to remain absolutely silent when some of the rebels had come close enough to their bush. Even the little kids were trained to recognize the rebels and remain silent.

The Kono tribe are the only tribe (in Africa he says) who have a system of naming their kids:

	Boys	Nicknames	Girls	Nicknames
1^st	Sahr	SaSa or Sascoh	Sia or Seah	Sia-Sia
2^nd	Tamba	T-Boy or Tam-Tam	Kumba	Kum-Kum
3^rd	Aiah	A-boy	Finda	Fin-Fin
4^th	Komba	K-boy or Kom-Kom	Yei	Yei-Yei
5^th	Kai	Kai-Kai

This is applicable to the sons and daughters of the first and second wives. The 6th kid onward for the guys (5th for the girls), and the children of all other consecutive wives (as they can marry more than one wife) are given random names (sometimes named hammer, or beef, or rock, etc - in their language of course). This brother I spoke to is a Komba. He does have a first name, the middle name is Komba, and a last name. So yes, that Sia you know just might be a Kono.

I also had a very interesting conversation about the practices of witchcraft in Africa. More about that later. It's 10:50 and the generator was turned off at 10 PM today.

P.S. I finally acquired a scrub to wash with. It's a miniature version of a nylon fishing net. It actually works better than a loofah. All of you who were worried about by showering habits can now rest easy. I am as clean as a whistle. I think.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

survival of the fittest

Manual labour. You see the results of it on both men and women here. These people make great specimens for an anatomy lesson on the muscles of the human body. I have seen muscles I've never seen before. Little girls pound cassava leaves with a long pole (Pestle) in a container carved out of a tree trunk (Mortar). From the looks of it, it works the shoulders, upper back, and arms. These same young girls who can't be more than 10 years old go down to the stream, collect water in buckets, carry the water on their heads, and fill up large plastic barrels with water to be used for the day. They help their mothers in the kitchen - which is outdoors in many homes. If they can afford a coal stove, wonderful. If not, they'll have to settle for three rocks to hold the pot, and light a fire underneath. Their main diet consists of rice, cassava leaves, and potato leaves. I am not kidding when I say they eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When David and I arrive at the construction site at 7:30 AM, the men are spreading the sand and cement mix preparing to make cement. After they pour the water into the mix, as the water soaks in (they really could use those nifty cement mixers we see in the States), they eat their breakfast. Every day so far, they've had rice and cassava leaves for breakfast. They eat LARGE amounts of it as well. I see them like tractors, they consume a lot of fuel - if they're lucky enough to afford it, and work VERY hard all day and burn all the fuel. They are "RIPPED" as they say in America.

Well we joined in to make concrete blocks today. I helped shovel the concrete, and pour it into the metal molds. The molds have to be tapped out and left to dry. We also helped clear some of the weeds that grew up to about 3 feet. A weed wacker alone won't do the job. We had to use a machete as well. My palms are callused from the work. Sorry Frank, I am not "diesel" yet. Two more pieces of sad news; I haven't ridden a Zebra, nor have I found an African bride.

Bro. Samuel and I walked around for a while visiting some of the local homes. We came across a family who wants to come to church but can't because she is afraid of what people will say if she came to church in the clothes she owned. When I saw her, she wore what looked like a sheet wrapped around her (Lappa). She had her baby strapped to her back - also in a sheet. The little boy is named Benjamin. The rest of the family wore thread-bare clothes, and some of them didn't even have clothes on. The entire family came out when I pulled out my Ziploc bag of Bazookas. It was a joy distributing them.

Almost every house in Waterloo was burned down during the war. Walking along the streets of Waterloo, you can see the destruction. Torn down houses barely holding up with no roof at all. Poor people have moved in and made it somewhat of a quarters. Several families live in one burned down house under individual family roofs they constructed with tree branches and thatch. Waterloo used to have electricity but the lines were all destroyed during the war. You can see the cables dangling from poles but this town no longer has electricity. If you see light in a house, it's the result of kerosene lamps or a generator.

If you own a generator, as the church does, many locals will bring their mobile phones to the church to get them charged. The church used to charge these phones, but had to stop because as you can imagine, word got around and they had a herd of people wanting to have their phones charged.

Well I need to recharge myself. It's been a tough day. Plenty of hard work. My somewhat puny muscles are aching. Maybe I can use some of this Tiger Balm I brought along.

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

torn

David and I were moved to Waterloo. It's a bit more country out here and I like it! We'll be here for a week or two. It should be nicer here. We have to wake up at 5 AM for morning praises, and then head out to the construction site to make cement blocks. Bro. John Noel has been working on that project with little help and he makes over 300 blocks a day. We're excited to get to work. We would have been doing much more of this but the building plan has not arrived yet and a brother in Australia is supposed to have furnished this by now. I think I have already been slated to do something else for the rest of my stay here. I will most likely be teaching in the Christian school.

We had an interesting experience today. We were walking along some of the streets in Waterloo, and some of the kids playing in the street began waving at us and calling us Opoto (White man in Timini, another local dialect). I am neither white nor black. I used to be brown, but I am quite a bit toasted now from the Equatorial sun. Bro. Samuel said that most people here don't often see our color. They're used to white or black. Talk about not fitting in!! People however are EXTREMELY friendly and approachable. They love visitors and welcome us with broad smiles.

I met a family who are Liberian refugees. The son who is 18 will be immigrating to New York on the 4th. His is able to do this through the UNHCR. They had registered at the border when they fled to Sierra Leone in 1990. After all these years, James finally got the opportunity to go to New York and hopefully make something out of his life. I understand that only families who are utterly poor get such opportunities. How can you determine that? Seems SO MUCH of the population is utterly poor!

It's such an irony. Sierra Leone could really be one of the wealthiest countries in Africa. The country is rich in natural resources. Diamond mines are plenty. There is a pretty decent population of Lebanese and Indians here who own a lot of businesses. There are many who are rich, but as they say, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It is really sad to see the livelihood of the poor here in Sierra Leone and I am sure the rest of Africa. A tiny shack made of branches with a tin roof is home to so many. They eat, shower, cook and wash outside, and only go in to sleep at night. I have visited some of these shacks and many times, I am moved to stay in one of them just to know what it feels like. I am sure these people will accomodate me even if it might be hard to squeeze me in. But alas, I am not allowed to do that.

For more info regarding the diamond industry in Salone, click on the photo below:

The church has been taking pretty good care of us so far and I feel inadequate. I feel it's really not what I came here for. I did not come here to eat and sleep. I came to live like a local. I mentioned how I feel to the brothers and they understand, but it's a weird situation here and I wasn't prepared for it. I don't think I ever will be. Female leadership. It's causing so much agony for so many people here. This is as much as I'll say about this. I can speak to you in person about this if you'd like. The brothers are all absolutely wonderful, and there is really no power struggle of showcasing of power. I don't think many will really understand how and why I feel the way I do about this subject. But I feel strongly about it and no matter how much I try to persuade myself to think otherwise, I just can't help feeling that I am not wrong in thinking this way. I have had some very deep conversations with the brothers here and they all feel the same. Funny that many of the sisters feel it too. I think I should stop here about this. I came here to surrender and by God I shall try as hard as I can!

It's 10:40 PM now and the generator went off 10 minutes ago. I am typing in the dark on battery power. Off to bed now.

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

out & about, part 2

Bafa. That was our main task for the day. A bafa is a tent made of bambu (bamboo), and covered over with tarpoline for a roof. David and I helped haul 10 foot long bamboo. These are carried on the shoulder. This took up most of the day. The bambu had to be cut at the right lengths, nailed or wire tied into a structure.

In the evening, we drove to Waterloo, a town about 1 1/2 hours away from Freetown. We took a longer, more scenic route to get there. Though scenic, the roads were not very pretty, and it was a very risky ride (not for these locals of course). We passed by a place called Grafton. Grafton is a source for clean, natural springs. The entire route winds up the mountain. The roads are unpaved and full of rocks, holes, and puddles. They were very narrow roads along the edge of the mountainous terrain. There are no guard rails to prevent a fall. The bridges were very narrow and it was pouring again. There were 15 of us and we split up into groups of 3, and walked around town visiting and chatting with local families.

David ran into a family where the man was shot in the war, and another girl who was bitten by a Viper. She was bitten on the foot and her foot had turned black from swelling and venom. When a snake bites, it leaves it's teeth behind. You have to remove the teeth, use a sharp blade to cut the area of the bite, and place a black stone on the cut. The stone molds to the body and draws out the venom. The stone will remain there until all the venom has been soaked.You can see the white pus and venom flowing down.

When we returned from our visits, we again had to jog (push) the bus to get it started. It was pouring!!!

Monday, July 18, 2005

out & about

Went out with Bro. John Samuel to pre-paid SIM cards for our phones. Le9000 for 200 units. It takes 50 units per second to make an international call on Comium. They have several GSM networks here. CelTel, MilliCom, Comium, and AfriCell. Mobile phones are very popular and common here. I called home for 3 minutes, and checked my voice mail once, and my units were exhausted.

We then went to an Internet cafe on Wilburforce Rd. Le2000 for 30 minutes. Stayed on for an hour. They have several Internet cafes here, but only two that allow me to use my flash drive. I figured it would be easier for me to compose everything on my laptop at home, and take it with me on the flash drive.

We drove towards the Lumley beach area to buy sour yogurt and a journal for David. The drives seem so long as everyone drives about 20mph on the streets which are shared by oncoming traffic and vendors/pedestrians. It's just like India, minus the cows, elephants, goats, auto-rickshaws, and bicycles.

Bro. Godwill and I went out to the Wilburforce Barracks to visit the houses of random locals (witnessing). It is very interesting and refreshing to be able to walk into strangers houses, feel welcomed, and sit down for a chat. We greet and are greeted with a "Gud Ivnin, Aw di bodi", "Di bodi fayn". That's "Good Evening, how are you?" "I am fine". They then bring out wooden benches, or chairs for all of us to sit, and the conversation begins. We talk to them, ask them about their life, what their worries and problems are, and we encourage them, give them advice, and pray with them. Many times, when we walk into houses, people are walking around in their towels. Sometimes, in the middle of a conversation, the woman will pull out a breast and begin feeding their infant in front of the guests. This is normal, and is not frowned upon, or discouraged, nor does it cause any feeling of uneasiness to anyone. The conversation goes on as usual. OUt in the West, flesh is used as a means of seduction. Here, everything is out in the open, so lust and seduction is not prevelant as it is in the West. Of course this does happen here, but in different ways I guess. I have yet to see the dynamics of that.

While driving, you can see both men and women bathing together in a lake or stream. It's a very simple and open life here. People are indeed very sincere and tender-hearted.

These visits are usually undertaken by foot - even in the pouring rain. Today, it was raining in torrents. There are no street lights, and many of the roads are unpaved. Flashlights and umbrella are a necessity. I think July yields the highest levelsl of rainfall. Everything is soggy, wet, and smells moldy.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

first impressions

David and I had to wake up for morning praises at 5 AM. After morning praises, we went back to sleep to wake up again at 8 AM and prepare for Sunday Service. We were asked to testify. There was a translator to translated into Krio - the local language. It's a derivitive of English - quite broken up and with mangled grammar. Bro. Edward preached from 10:45 AM to 11:30 AM, and was led to lead the congregation into a 30 min praising session. He then began preaching again until 1 PM. Bro. Augustine is down with malaria, and Sis. Doris just came out of her seventh attack of malaria.

I was very impressed with the ushering ministry in church because the ushers in Yonkers are absolutely useless. The ushers here guide you to your seats, and they make you sit in each consecutive chair not skipping any chairs. During the message, if they see you nodding off, they will come to your seat and gently wake you up. If you continue to sleep, they will ask you to go wash you face. No, I was not the lucky candidate for this demonstration though I very well might have been!

After lunch, David and I were asked to join Bro. Godwill on his trip to Waterloo to pick up the ministers and some families. The Faith Home's very reliable TATA Mini Bus was our mode of transportation on this trek. The bus does not have a starter. In order to get it started, you have to get a group of people to push the bus, and the driver has to use the clutch to start the bus. To get to Waterloo, you have to drive up the mountain. On our way there, the clutch sprung a leak and began leaking fluid into the bus. Bro. Godwill pulled over and found a twig large enough to plug the hole and continue on our journey. The bus stopped three time on our way to Waterloo, and each time, we had to get out and push the bus to get it started. On our way back, the clutch rubber broke and we had to push the bus off the road. None of us had a mobile phone to call for help. We were to return back by 5 PM to watch the Christian School closing program.

While the rest of us got out the bus and watched the vendors - seems every single Sierra Leonean is a vendor of some sort. Peanuts, water in plastic bags tied at one end, fried goods, bread (Bro. John Noel said he witnessed one vendor scrape mold off a bread, wipe the bread on his shirt, and display the bread for sale), cigarettes, candy, hats, used socks, etc. All balanced on their head in baskets overflowing with these goods. The humidity not helping the people or the food in any way, these hawkers walk for miles selling their goods, clad in torn and tattered clothes with barely any fabric to hide anything.

Bro. Godwill and Bro. Jones went to find a phone to call Bro. John Samuel for help. We waited for about an hour, and David and I were sent with another brother by taxi. We boarded what they call a Poda-Poda. It's an outfitted van where all the passenger seats are removed and replaced with metal and wodden benches to allow seating for many more passengers. It's a shared taxi so you can squeeze in about 18 people. You're squished up against a random local - and you better believe they don't use deodorant. There are no signs indicating destination. You have to ask for it, or hear the conductor repeatedly yell out to the passers-by.

We were headed to a place called PZ (that's Pee-Zed). From there we had to head to a place called "Girls School" (because there is a girls High School there), and from there, walk to church. By the time we arrived, we only got to see 30 mins of the program. When Bro. John arrived at the site of the breakdown, since all the clutch fluid had drained, he used soap water as a substitute, and drove the bus back to Freetown.

I must expound on lunch. We had what the locals call "Fufu". It's Cassava - cooked VERY slimy. They eat this with an Okra sauce with is also cooked to be unusually slimy, and eaten with the hand - as all food here is. We were served Breadfruit chips on the side. I managed to grin and finish lunch, and vowed never to eat Fufu again (I will try anything ONCE). I understand they eat cat (called "Pus"), snake, and monkey.

At nights, the room is sprayed with mosquito repellent. Once sprayed, you have to stay out of the room for about an hour as the smell of the chemical is rather strong and lethal. I then sleep under a mosquito net as I had decided not to take any prophylaxis pills for malaria. At nights, sleep is sweet. I listen to FM 102.4. It's VOA (Voice of America). News and music. Of course there are not enough hours in the day to sleep. Seems David finds plenty of time though. Off to bed!!

Saturday, July 16, 2005

free(town) at last!

David and I had our last McDonalds breakfast meal before we headed to the Brixton Faith Home. We were prayed for, and were driven to Gatwick airport. We arrived at the airport at 12:30 PM. The line to the Astraeus check-in counter was rather long and we were a bit worried that our bags might be over-weight. We are only allowed one check-in baggage weighing under 32kg, and one carry-on weighing under 5kg. I also had a laptop case. My luggage made it without a hitch.

The flight, Astraeus 5W 071 arrived at Gatwick a bit late, and we took off almost two hours late. The seats were so crammed that even I (as skinny as I am ;)) found it hard to move my arms around. It was a 757. The meals were not bad at all!!

We were supposed to land in the Freetown International Airport at 8:20 PM, but we landed at 10:20 PM. It is an airport where you have to de-plane and walk to the main building. There was a shuttle bus waiting for us as it was raining heavily. The locals are very helpful and kind. We had no problems with the officials, and Bro. John was waiting to pick us up. There is an Elizabeth Morgan who is a security officer in the airport, and with her help, we were not even checked by the customs officers. We did however, wait long for our luggages to come out the luggage belt. We had to rush to catch the last ferry to Freetown. We were the last ones to make it into the ferry. Had we not made it, we would have to find room in a hotel. There was barely any room in the ferry to drive the TATA 4x4 in. There were a ton of other cars already parked on the deck. Bro. John managed to squeeze the 4x4 in, but broke the right side mirror. We couldn't get out of the vehicle as all others had because we were crammed into a corner. There were people resting all over our vehicle snacking on tender coconuts. The ferry ride took 30 mins. When we finally reached shore and managed to back the vehicle out, we could not go anywhere as the taxi's very rudely parked themselves in the middle of the street, and would not move till they picked up passengers. We
finally arrived at the Faith Home at 1:30 AM. Sis. Norma and Sis. Sheila greeted and thanked God for our safe arrival. They also had meals ready for us.

Rice, beans, fish balls, chicken, and Orange Fanta. Yes, fish balls! De-boned, skinned, mashed fish made into balls. There was also locally bottled water. Bottled at a spring in Grafton - not an hour away from Congo Cross. It tastes as good as the water from New York. No lie! Apparently Pastor Don said it was better than NY water. Thank God for that!

By the time I got to bed, it was 3:30 AM. After dinner, I had to use the bathroom, an 8x4 room with only a toilet bowl. There was a bucket of water and a mug to wash with. In the middle of my business, they shut off the generator that powers the entire Faith Home. It is a Craftsman 3----. They have two other Colemans generators that continue to break down. Sears is after all as reliable as they say it is! They use generators almost exclusively for power because municiple power is very rarely delivered. People live for weeks on end without electricity. (Maybe that's why it's still refered to as the Dark Continent?) Well anyway, I had to feel around for the bucket, wash, and stumble along to my room to find my flashlight. I found a kerosene lamp, light it, cleaned up the toilet, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and headed to bed. But first, you have to mount up your mosquito net.

It is terribly hot here (and it's winter) and you sweat profusely doing nothing. At about 4:30 AM, I was knocked out. Woke up at 10:30 AM.

I have yet to have a shower. The last shower I had was at 2:00 AM on the 15th at Aunty Susy's.

Monday, July 04, 2005

getting it together

I've got a predicament. How on earth do you pack for a year? The airline Astraeus Airlines, a charter flight company that flies to Sierra Leone only allows ONE baggage of 25kg to be checked in, and one small carryon. They will not allow any wheeled baggages into the cabin.

I can ship some of the things but depending on how it's shipped, it could take 30 days, 6 weeks, or 2 months. The cheapest option for me would be to ship it along with the truck that the church is sending to Sierra Leone. This won't cost me anything, BUT this truck is already packed to the gills and it could take from 6 weeks to 2 months to arrive. I could buy a barrel for $20 or so, and ship the barrel for about $160. This option will get my vital necessities (mosquito repellents, soap, tooth
paste, etc) to me in 30 days.

The problem is, I only have a day and a half to pack all of this. Mom has organized a July 4th family get-together and a boat load of family will be over. By the time the rice and curry digests and the family filters out, it'll be about 10PM or so. Tomorrow, I'll have to sort out the packing for Africa, and for the Virginia convention as well. Though I'll be travelling to Africa on the 12th, I will be in Virginia from the 6th to the 10th. That leaves me the 11th to finalize packing. This is where I need an Optimization Research person. LIZ!!!!

If I were to pack tee shirts and shorts, I could make the Astraeus limit, but even in Africa, I'll have to wear long sleeves and pants to keep the mosquitoes from devouring me. Not to mention church attire.

....

Well the family gathering turned out pretty well. Quite a bit of heated arguments, support, forgiveness, resolution, food, dessert, and the grand finale - another very heated argument among "pastors". What love! I think I'll miss all this (sarcasm). The cousins, all of us got along just fine and resolved not to turn out like the adults. Thank God for the tiny bit of brilliance in the family.

a drifter

This song came to me while in the shower this morning. Described how I felt:

Here I go Again

Whitesnake

I don’t know where I’m going
But, I sure know where I’ve been
Hanging on the promises
In songs of yesterday
An’ I’ve made up my mind,
I ain’t wasting no more time
But, here I go again
Here I go again

Tho’ I keep searching for an answer,
I never seem to find what I’m looking for
Oh lord, I pray
You give me strength to carry on,
’cos I know what it means
To walk along the lonely street of dreams

An’ here I go again on my own
Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known,
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
An’ I’ve made up my mind
I ain’t wasting no more time

I’m just another heart in need of rescue,
Waiting on love’s sweet charity
An’ I’m gonna hold on
For the rest of my days,
’cos I know what it means
To walk along the lonely street of dreams

An’ here I go again on my own
Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known,
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
An’ I’ve made up my mind
I ain’t wasting no more time

But, here I go again,
Here I go again,
Here I go again,
Here I go...

An’ I’ve made up my mind,
I ain’t wasting no more time

An’ here I go again on my own
Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known,
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
’cos I know what it means
To walk along the lonely street of dreams

An’ here I go again on my own
Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known,
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
An’ I’ve made up my mind
I ain’t wasting no more time...

But, here I go again,
Here I go again,
Here I go again,
Here I go,
Here I go again...

There is almost always a song to put into words what I want to say but can't seem to find the words.

Did you ever feel like you've got so much to say, but you have no words, and when you take a stab at it you sound like a blithering idiot and everything is misunderstood?

Saturday, July 02, 2005

holy bazookas batman!!

For years now, I have had a desire to go out to Africa to volunteer in humanitarian/charitable/non-profit work. I had always been intrigued by the continent, it's countries, people, culture, and history. I have finally come to a point in my life where I can make such a trip. I feel there could never be a better time in my life to follow this path. I will be primarily in Sierra Leone for a year and if doors and opportunities open up, and finances allow me the opportunity, I will be traveling to Togo, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and Tanzania. I doubt much of this travel is possible as I understand that travel within Africa can be very expensive. Unless a miracle happens, I have no income coming in for a year. I will be working with local churches, schools, and NGO's helping to teach children, or build facilities.

Sierra Leone, a small country in West Africa had been plagued by a decade long civil war which ended in 1999. I remember hearing reports in church about the troubles there. The fires set by rebels, the bullets landing in the compounds of churches, entire communities burned down to the ground. I never thought Sierra Leone would be a country I'd visit. God works in mysterious ways.

In preparing to make the trek to Africa, I spoke to others who had been there, several locals, teachers and friends. I was told that the children in Africa don't often get chewing gum. I was told that whenever someone visits, the kids love to get gum. I went out to Costco and purchased a boat load of Bazooka Joe gum for these kids.

Here is a history of Bazooka gum. It's interesting to note that the gum was named after a musical instrument. This name was then later given to the armor piercing weapon. Music, war, and politics...So much of this has been going on lately. The most prominent figure being Bono and his DATA organization, and The ONE Campaign, a coalition of organizations, artists, and prominent figures.

"It's an amazing thing to think that ours is the first generation in history that really can end extreme poverty, the kind that means a child dies for lack of food in its belly. This should be seen as the most incredible, historic opportunity but instead it's become a millstone around our necks. We let our own pathetic excuses about how it's 'difficult' justify our own inaction. Let's be honest. We have the science, the technology, and the wealth. What we don’t have is the will, and that's not a reason that history will accept." --Bono in an interview to the World Association of Newspapers for World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2004.

Regrettably, I cannot be as effective as Bono in changing the world, but I can take small steps. Developing countries are not very fond of the West because of our over indulgence, and big bully attitude. I was advised to keep my American passport safely hidden while in Africa so as to evade unnecessary troubles. It's sad indeed. So here I go, Bazooka in hand, to show the dark continent some love. I will update you as often as I can. Keep me in your prayers folks!

from bullets to bazookas