We beginning a new day in Freetown. Rained all night but seems to have stopped for morning rush. Girls & Roo preparing for school. We are loading supplies for Kroo Bay.
We beginning a new day in Freetown. Rained all night but seems to have stopped for morning rush. Girls & Roo preparing for school. We are loading supplies for Kroo Bay.
After a day of work,we’ve settled in doing our “Nazareth House” thing. As I type this, James has left to go find some malaria pills – he has come down with a case of it, Kadijah is cooking rice, Ann Marie and Lucy are doing their homework and Father is out walking the streets in prayer. Roo is asleep, taking a much needed nap. He was a bit cranky today.
Father S was especially happy to have said his Noon Day prayers at Pa Barrie’s home today.
Cockroaches make cooking here a lot more difficult. First of all, you must remember that you have to wash the dishes BEFORE you put them in the cabinet and AFTER you take them out! That is to clean any germs the cockroaches have left behind as they invade everything at night. I don’t see too many during the day, but get up to go to bathroom at night with your flashlight and …wow… Even if you eat in the fancy restaurants here in town that can afford pest control, it is still not unusual to see a cockroach run across your table. Cockroaches are everywhere and most of them are the size of ’53 buicks!
St. Laurence House is probably one the cleanest, if not THE CLEANEST house I’ve seen around here, and we still get invaded. Morning chores start early with the girls sweeping and mopping the floor before going to school. EVERYDAY! This place is spotless.
Every visit, I try to beat Kadijah to the laundry but she always gets to it first. The girls also give her a hand. I put my day’s clothes in the hamper at night and wake up to find them sparkling clean on the line. Dirty shoes are washed immediately and propped up behind the refrigerator to dry them from the heat of the motor. No time lost and shoes are ready for use the next day.
They have allowed me to cook and I do a lot of it. They love the different flavors I add and different way of cooking.
I am sorry if I am spilling out random thoughts on this blog today, but it is very hot, the electricity is off and things I want to tell you are scrambled in my brain. But that is the way Africa is… spontaneous, random. For example, yesterday at the beach as we huddled in the wet thatched cabana waiting for the rain to stop, suddenly James says (totally out of the blue) “Mr. Limpet is dumb, why would any man want to be a fish?”
We wanted to treat our staff and those who help them to a day at the beach. A relaxing, fun day of fellowship. We traveled in two cars on some terrible roads, zig zagging around pot holes for over an hour. We get to the beach just in time for a cloud burst! It rains heavy, but we are content, huddled together in a thatched cabana, enjoying each other’s company and eating our picnic lunch. It was a good time.
After a day of work,we’ve settled in doing our “Nazareth House” thing. As I type this, James has left to go find some malaria pills – he has come down with a case of it, Kadijah is cooking rice, Ann Marie and Lucy are doing their homework and Father is out walking the streets in prayer. Roo is asleep, taking a much needed nap. He was a bit cranky today.
Father S was especially happy to have said his Noon Day prayers at Pa Barrie’s home today.
Cockroaches make cooking here a lot more difficult. First of all, you must remember that you have to wash the dishes BEFORE you put them in the cabinet and AFTER you take them out! That is to clean any germs the cockroaches have left behind as they invade everything at night. I don’t see too many during the day, but get up to go to bathroom at night with your flashlight and …wow… Even if you eat in the fancy restaurants here in town that can afford pest control, it is still not unusual to see a cockroach run across your table. Cockroaches are everywhere and most of them are the size of ’53 buicks!
St. Laurence House is probably one the cleanest, if not THE CLEANEST house I’ve seen around here, and we still get invaded. Morning chores start early with the girls sweeping and mopping the floor before going to school. EVERYDAY! This place is spotless.
Every visit, I try to beat Kadijah to the laundry but she always gets to it first. The girls also give her a hand. I put my day’s clothes in the hamper at night and wake up to find them sparkling clean on the line. Dirty shoes are washed immediately and propped up behind the refrigerator to dry them from the heat of the motor. No time lost and shoes are ready for use the next day.
They have allowed me to cook and I do a lot of it. They love the different flavors I add and different way of cooking.
I am sorry if I am spilling out random thoughts on this blog today, but it is very hot, the electricity is off and things I want to tell you are scrambled in my brain. But that is the way Africa is… spontaneous, random. For example, yesterday at the beach as we huddled in the wet thatched cabana waiting for the rain to stop, suddenly James says (totally out of the blue) “Mr. Limpet is dumb, why would any man want to be a fish?”
We wanted to treat our staff and those who help them to a day at the beach. A relaxing, fun day of fellowship. We traveled in two cars on some terrible roads, zig zagging around pot holes for over an hour. We get to the beach just in time for a cloud burst! It rains heavy, but we are content, huddled together in a thatched cabana, enjoying each other’s company and eating our picnic lunch. It was a good time.
After a day of work,we’ve settled in doing our “Nazareth House” thing. As I type this, James has left to go find some malaria pills – he has come down with a case of it, Kadijah is cooking rice, Ann Marie and Lucy are doing their homework and Father is out walking the streets in prayer. Roo is asleep, taking a much needed nap. He was a bit cranky today.
Father S was especially happy to have said his Noon Day prayers at Pa Barrie’s home today.
Cockroaches make cooking here a lot more difficult. First of all, you must remember that you have to wash the dishes BEFORE you put them in the cabinet and AFTER you take them out! That is to clean any germs the cockroaches have left behind as they invade everything at night. I don’t see too many during the day, but get up to go to bathroom at night with your flashlight and …wow… Even if you eat in the fancy restaurants here in town that can afford pest control, it is still not unusual to see a cockroach run across your table. Cockroaches are everywhere and most of them are the size of ’53 buicks!
St. Laurence House is probably one the cleanest, if not THE CLEANEST house I’ve seen around here, and we still get invaded. Morning chores start early with the girls sweeping and mopping the floor before going to school. EVERYDAY! This place is spotless.
Every visit, I try to beat Kadijah to the laundry but she always gets to it first. The girls also give her a hand. I put my day’s clothes in the hamper at night and wake up to find them sparkling clean on the line. Dirty shoes are washed immediately and propped up behind the refrigerator to dry them from the heat of the motor. No time lost and shoes are ready for use the next day.
They have allowed me to cook and I do a lot of it. They love the different flavors I add and different way of cooking.
I am sorry if I am spilling out random thoughts on this blog today, but it is very hot, the electricity is off and things I want to tell you are scrambled in my brain. But that is the way Africa is… spontaneous, random. For example, yesterday at the beach as we huddled in the wet thatched cabana waiting for the rain to stop, suddenly James says (totally out of the blue) “Mr. Limpet is dumb, why would any man want to be a fish?”
We wanted to treat our staff and those who help them to a day at the beach. A relaxing, fun day of fellowship. We traveled in two cars on some terrible roads, zig zagging around pot holes for over an hour. We get to the beach just in time for a cloud burst! It rains heavy, but we are content, huddled together in a thatched cabana, enjoying each other’s company and eating our picnic lunch. It was a good time.
Here at St. Laurence House we can stay busy without ever leaving the house.
We were delighted to have Marianna and Jaria come visit us today. Together we all sat down and watched the video of Pa Barrie. This was the first time they had seen the video and it made us all cry. Marianna continues to miss her late husband, Pa Barrie and seeing Father Seraphim she said she could only think of Pa Barrie. When she saw Fr. Seraphim praying his beads as he talked with her she could only remember. We go into see Marianna’s landlord on Monday and make sure her rent is paid in full. Yesterday, in the city, we briefly saw Marianna at the Central Mosque she works at.
We saw our landlord last night, but our inquiries about lengthening the lease or purschasing this current St Laurence House facility met with a negative response. The kind gentleman has memories of this place, he grew up here, raised his kids here. Then he rebuilt the place for his mother but she passed on. He’s been renting it to us until his children are grown and ready to move in. That time is now and he will rent it no more after we complete this lease in March 2010. He suggested some institutions that would be fair with us on a house purchase and we will investigate on Monday.
James tells me the electricity has been very good but as usual, upon our arrival it has been on and off. Not so bad but sometimes inconvenient. James brother, Paul and his son, Samuel stopped by last night and right in the middle of our visit it was dark. Lyat don go. Fr Seraphim and Paul had a lengthy discussion on the spiritual life while Samuel and Roo enjoyed some good play time. Samuel needs some prayers, he is 5 years old. He has a swollen on his neck, under his ear – I think its mumps but we are not sure. He’s been running off and on fevers now for over a year.
I have gained over ten pounds since my last visit here and the trim Africans have noticed it well. I have been met with “Mama, you are fat” by everyone I have seen. They don’t mean this in a derrogative way as it is taken in America but it does tend to set you a bit off guard when you are greeted this way. To them a “rounded” belly simply means you are in good health and have ate well. Last night, I had to laugh at Paul who greeted me with open arms “Mama you are fat, when you fill your plate you should just fill it half way if you want to remain your same old size” .
Johnny, who Fr. Seraphim baptized a few years ago, came by, traveling all the way from to North of Makeni to greet us at St. Laurence House. And yes, he commented that I have “gotten big”.
Simithe came to visit today. It was a great to see her as she and I have been keeping up on Facebook quite often.
We are still looking to see Besty, who is about 8.6 months pregnant! Maybe we see her tomorrow.
This afternoon, we handed out the small amount of shoes we had on hand that had been sent to St. Laurence House during the “We GOT FEET” drive that we partnered with One Love Foundation. We only had maybe 8 pairs of shoes, but we found 8 pairs of feet today and covered them in shoes. To be honest, in this neighborhood alone, we could have easily fitted 1000 children in shoes if they would have arrived by now.
A great joy for us yesterday, was when Salu, Kadiatu, lil Salma and one month old baby, Marietu visited us. I broke out in tears seeing this baby and the family so healthy and happy. If you remember, it was last year that Kadiatu lost a baby after being in hard labor for days, the hospital (wanting more and more money) neglected to do a c-section and the baby died. Before that, their oldest daughter, Isha, died from infections of severe burn after falling into a cauldron of boiling water. (These stories are on past blog posts). I was anxiously waiting to hear of this baby’s safe birth. I could not stand to see Salu, once again taking a baby in a box (no funds for casket) to the grave, and Praise be to God, I didn’t have to this time. Marietu is healthy. Just a few months before Marietu was born this past September, Kadiatu lost her mother. This is why Salu named the baby girl, Marietu, in memory of Kadiatu’s mom. I have never seen a baby look so much like her father. Salu proudly announced “she has my face!” But he need not tell us, we already could see. An affectionate nickname for Salu is “By-Day” because he lives in the moment, taking every moment to its fullest, not worrying about tomorrow or the past, he lives “day by day”, hence the name By-Day. I couldn’t resist calling lil Marietu “By-Day II”. When we fix this java update thing, I promise you’ll see the pictures.
I am having a harder time adapting to the cold showers this time, maybe its because (as they say) I am “fatter”. Ha Ha… This morning I found myself standing in the shower for almost two minutes before getting the guts up to turn it on. Once you stand in the cold water a few mintues its okay, but that first initial hit… wow… PLUS this morning earthworms seeped up from the drain while I stood in the shower. T. I. A. This Is Africa
Here at St. Laurence House we can stay busy without ever leaving the house.
We were delighted to have Marianna and Jaria come visit us today. Together we all sat down and watched the video of Pa Barrie. This was the first time they had seen the video and it made us all cry. Marianna continues to miss her late husband, Pa Barrie and seeing Father Seraphim she said she could only think of Pa Barrie. When she saw Fr. Seraphim praying his beads as he talked with her she could only remember. We go into see Marianna’s landlord on Monday and make sure her rent is paid in full. Yesterday, in the city, we briefly saw Marianna at the Central Mosque she works at.
We saw our landlord last night, but our inquiries about lengthening the lease or purschasing this current St Laurence House facility met with a negative response. The kind gentleman has memories of this place, he grew up here, raised his kids here. Then he rebuilt the place for his mother but she passed on. He’s been renting it to us until his children are grown and ready to move in. That time is now and he will rent it no more after we complete this lease in March 2010. He suggested some institutions that would be fair with us on a house purchase and we will investigate on Monday.
James tells me the electricity has been very good but as usual, upon our arrival it has been on and off. Not so bad but sometimes inconvenient. James brother, Paul and his son, Samuel stopped by last night and right in the middle of our visit it was dark. Lyat don go. Fr Seraphim and Paul had a lengthy discussion on the spiritual life while Samuel and Roo enjoyed some good play time. Samuel needs some prayers, he is 5 years old. He has a swollen on his neck, under his ear – I think its mumps but we are not sure. He’s been running off and on fevers now for over a year.
I have gained over ten pounds since my last visit here and the trim Africans have noticed it well. I have been met with “Mama, you are fat” by everyone I have seen. They don’t mean this in a derrogative way as it is taken in America but it does tend to set you a bit off guard when you are greeted this way. To them a “rounded” belly simply means you are in good health and have ate well. Last night, I had to laugh at Paul who greeted me with open arms “Mama you are fat, when you fill your plate you should just fill it half way if you want to remain your same old size” .
Johnny, who Fr. Seraphim baptized a few years ago, came by, traveling all the way from to North of Makeni to greet us at St. Laurence House. And yes, he commented that I have “gotten big”.
Simithe came to visit today. It was a great to see her as she and I have been keeping up on Facebook quite often.
We are still looking to see Besty, who is about 8.6 months pregnant! Maybe we see her tomorrow.
This afternoon, we handed out the small amount of shoes we had on hand that had been sent to St. Laurence House during the “We GOT FEET” drive that we partnered with One Love Foundation. We only had maybe 8 pairs of shoes, but we found 8 pairs of feet today and covered them in shoes. To be honest, in this neighborhood alone, we could have easily fitted 1000 children in shoes if they would have arrived by now.
A great joy for us yesterday, was when Salu, Kadiatu, lil Salma and one month old baby, Marietu visited us. I broke out in tears seeing this baby and the family so healthy and happy. If you remember, it was last year that Kadiatu lost a baby after being in hard labor for days, the hospital (wanting more and more money) neglected to do a c-section and the baby died. Before that, their oldest daughter, Isha, died from infections of severe burn after falling into a cauldron of boiling water. (These stories are on past blog posts). I was anxiously waiting to hear of this baby’s safe birth. I could not stand to see Salu, once again taking a baby in a box (no funds for casket) to the grave, and Praise be to God, I didn’t have to this time. Marietu is healthy. Just a few months before Marietu was born this past September, Kadiatu lost her mother. This is why Salu named the baby girl, Marietu, in memory of Kadiatu’s mom. I have never seen a baby look so much like her father. Salu proudly announced “she has my face!” But he need not tell us, we already could see. An affectionate nickname for Salu is “By-Day” because he lives in the moment, taking every moment to its fullest, not worrying about tomorrow or the past, he lives “day by day”, hence the name By-Day. I couldn’t resist calling lil Marietu “By-Day II”. When we fix this java update thing, I promise you’ll see the pictures.
I am having a harder time adapting to the cold showers this time, maybe its because (as they say) I am “fatter”. Ha Ha… This morning I found myself standing in the shower for almost two minutes before getting the guts up to turn it on. Once you stand in the cold water a few mintues its okay, but that first initial hit… wow… PLUS this morning earthworms seeped up from the drain while I stood in the shower. T. I. A. This Is Africa
Here at St. Laurence House we can stay busy without ever leaving the house.
We were delighted to have Marianna and Jaria come visit us today. Together we all sat down and watched the video of Pa Barrie. This was the first time they had seen the video and it made us all cry. Marianna continues to miss her late husband, Pa Barrie and seeing Father Seraphim she said she could only think of Pa Barrie. When she saw Fr. Seraphim praying his beads as he talked with her she could only remember. We go into see Marianna’s landlord on Monday and make sure her rent is paid in full. Yesterday, in the city, we briefly saw Marianna at the Central Mosque she works at.
We saw our landlord last night, but our inquiries about lengthening the lease or purschasing this current St Laurence House facility met with a negative response. The kind gentleman has memories of this place, he grew up here, raised his kids here. Then he rebuilt the place for his mother but she passed on. He’s been renting it to us until his children are grown and ready to move in. That time is now and he will rent it no more after we complete this lease in March 2010. He suggested some institutions that would be fair with us on a house purchase and we will investigate on Monday.
James tells me the electricity has been very good but as usual, upon our arrival it has been on and off. Not so bad but sometimes inconvenient. James brother, Paul and his son, Samuel stopped by last night and right in the middle of our visit it was dark. Lyat don go. Fr Seraphim and Paul had a lengthy discussion on the spiritual life while Samuel and Roo enjoyed some good play time. Samuel needs some prayers, he is 5 years old. He has a swollen on his neck, under his ear – I think its mumps but we are not sure. He’s been running off and on fevers now for over a year.
I have gained over ten pounds since my last visit here and the trim Africans have noticed it well. I have been met with “Mama, you are fat” by everyone I have seen. They don’t mean this in a derrogative way as it is taken in America but it does tend to set you a bit off guard when you are greeted this way. To them a “rounded” belly simply means you are in good health and have ate well. Last night, I had to laugh at Paul who greeted me with open arms “Mama you are fat, when you fill your plate you should just fill it half way if you want to remain your same old size” .
Johnny, who Fr. Seraphim baptized a few years ago, came by, traveling all the way from to North of Makeni to greet us at St. Laurence House. And yes, he commented that I have “gotten big”.
Simithe came to visit today. It was a great to see her as she and I have been keeping up on Facebook quite often.
We are still looking to see Besty, who is about 8.6 months pregnant! Maybe we see her tomorrow.
This afternoon, we handed out the small amount of shoes we had on hand that had been sent to St. Laurence House during the “We GOT FEET” drive that we partnered with One Love Foundation. We only had maybe 8 pairs of shoes, but we found 8 pairs of feet today and covered them in shoes. To be honest, in this neighborhood alone, we could have easily fitted 1000 children in shoes if they would have arrived by now.
A great joy for us yesterday, was when Salu, Kadiatu, lil Salma and one month old baby, Marietu visited us. I broke out in tears seeing this baby and the family so healthy and happy. If you remember, it was last year that Kadiatu lost a baby after being in hard labor for days, the hospital (wanting more and more money) neglected to do a c-section and the baby died. Before that, their oldest daughter, Isha, died from infections of severe burn after falling into a cauldron of boiling water. (These stories are on past blog posts). I was anxiously waiting to hear of this baby’s safe birth. I could not stand to see Salu, once again taking a baby in a box (no funds for casket) to the grave, and Praise be to God, I didn’t have to this time. Marietu is healthy. Just a few months before Marietu was born this past September, Kadiatu lost her mother. This is why Salu named the baby girl, Marietu, in memory of Kadiatu’s mom. I have never seen a baby look so much like her father. Salu proudly announced “she has my face!” But he need not tell us, we already could see. An affectionate nickname for Salu is “By-Day” because he lives in the moment, taking every moment to its fullest, not worrying about tomorrow or the past, he lives “day by day”, hence the name By-Day. I couldn’t resist calling lil Marietu “By-Day II”. When we fix this java update thing, I promise you’ll see the pictures.
I am having a harder time adapting to the cold showers this time, maybe its because (as they say) I am “fatter”. Ha Ha… This morning I found myself standing in the shower for almost two minutes before getting the guts up to turn it on. Once you stand in the cold water a few mintues its okay, but that first initial hit… wow… PLUS this morning earthworms seeped up from the drain while I stood in the shower. T. I. A. This Is Africa
Good Morning Freetown! I slept in this morning, woke up as Fr. Seraphim was saying his morning prayers but I went back to sleep and didn’t get up til 7:30 AM this morning. The night sounds were at a minimum last night and there was a bit of cool breeze. It’s the wonderful little unexpected gifts that are so much appreciated… oh yes, and I’ve yet to have my first mosquito bite…
We use sugar cubes here, in this kind of humidity this works best. My chore this morning was to shake off all the ants and place the cubes into a tupperware container.
We have plans to talk with the landlord today. This place is so perfect, tiny but situated well amongs those we serve. We love this neighborhood, in the heart of the poor and would like to stay here. So say a prayer for us, we are going to approach the landlord to see if he might consider selling it to us. It’s one of those against all odds things, but hey, you have to ask, right?
“Buy Cold Sausage” “Buy Cold Sausage” I am listening to these words as I type this. A merchant is walking down the street, selling his product from off the top of his head. I love it.
The icecream man visited St. Laurence House last night. His traveling Ice Cream Shop consisted of a baby stroller equipped with a cooler.
Yesterday morning, Fr. Seraphim was sitting on the porch when a lady passed by in a taxi. She saw him and instructed the driver to “stop”. She jumped out of the cab and ran to Fr. S. She explained that she saw him and at first wondered “Is he a Muslim or Christian?, then she saw the Cross”. She asked questions of him about the spiritual life, eager to learn. As she left she thanked Fr. S for his time, promised to return and said she “felt good” as if she “had been talking with Christ, himself!”
I saw a REAL Sierra Leone “diamond” the first night we were here. As we drove to St. Laurence House from the airport, we passed by a woman huddled up against a building. She was crying and as we passed, a tear streaming down her face reflected in the car headlights and the tear glistened like a diamond. I can’t get that scene out of my head, the shining tear, sparkling brighter than any diamond I have seen. I wished we could have stopped and helped her but we were in the midst of check point activities and had to stay in the car. Maybe I will find her. I hope so.
James, Kadijah, Lucy, Ann Marie and lil’ Roo all look well but thin. James is especially thin as is Ann Marie. We took them to a little Chinese Restaurant last night along the beach. It’s food is alright, nothing great, nothing terrible. It just is. The building is basically a garage. The large doors are opened and you sit as if you were in a garage with the doors opened. It has awnings, etc and the ocean is right across the street. We were entertained by the security guard who was chasing a rat with a rock. He’d throw the stone at the rat, he’d miss and the rat would scurry away. (Note the rat was not in the restaurant – which was very clean – but outside under the awnings).
In the mornings before school the children come to Fr. Seraphim for a blessing. Not only those of St. Laurence House but the neighboring children as well. This morning Sanu brought his daughter, Adama. I was happy to see that she was wearing some of the shoes that we sent from the Shoe Drive that Maria had orchestrated. A few of the shoes were sent by mistake to NHA and we used them as packing material for some of the medical supplies.
Maria informs me that the container has set sail and should arrive in Freetown on November 17th. We’ve been told that the drive gathered about 3000 shoes. I am aware that many of you supported this project and although I don’t know exactly who all gave, NHA is very appreciative of your cooperation with One Love on this venture.
Today promises to be a Steamy one, hot and humid. We’ve already been to the post and collected 3 boxes, all filled with supplies for Kroo Bay. The postal workers were so glad to see us.
Keep checking the blog often. We will update as much as possible. Thanks for your continued prayers….
James javascript is down, so I cant upload photos to the blog, so you will have to wait until we return, but at least you will be able to keep up with our activities for now.
Good Morning Freetown! I slept in this morning, woke up as Fr. Seraphim was saying his morning prayers but I went back to sleep and didn’t get up til 7:30 AM this morning. The night sounds were at a minimum last night and there was a bit of cool breeze. It’s the wonderful little unexpected gifts that are so much appreciated… oh yes, and I’ve yet to have my first mosquito bite…
We use sugar cubes here, in this kind of humidity this works best. My chore this morning was to shake off all the ants and place the cubes into a tupperware container.
We have plans to talk with the landlord today. This place is so perfect, tiny but situated well amongs those we serve. We love this neighborhood, in the heart of the poor and would like to stay here. So say a prayer for us, we are going to approach the landlord to see if he might consider selling it to us. It’s one of those against all odds things, but hey, you have to ask, right?
“Buy Cold Sausage” “Buy Cold Sausage” I am listening to these words as I type this. A merchant is walking down the street, selling his product from off the top of his head. I love it.
The icecream man visited St. Laurence House last night. His traveling Ice Cream Shop consisted of a baby stroller equipped with a cooler.
Yesterday morning, Fr. Seraphim was sitting on the porch when a lady passed by in a taxi. She saw him and instructed the driver to “stop”. She jumped out of the cab and ran to Fr. S. She explained that she saw him and at first wondered “Is he a Muslim or Christian?, then she saw the Cross”. She asked questions of him about the spiritual life, eager to learn. As she left she thanked Fr. S for his time, promised to return and said she “felt good” as if she “had been talking with Christ, himself!”
I saw a REAL Sierra Leone “diamond” the first night we were here. As we drove to St. Laurence House from the airport, we passed by a woman huddled up against a building. She was crying and as we passed, a tear streaming down her face reflected in the car headlights and the tear glistened like a diamond. I can’t get that scene out of my head, the shining tear, sparkling brighter than any diamond I have seen. I wished we could have stopped and helped her but we were in the midst of check point activities and had to stay in the car. Maybe I will find her. I hope so.
James, Kadijah, Lucy, Ann Marie and lil’ Roo all look well but thin. James is especially thin as is Ann Marie. We took them to a little Chinese Restaurant last night along the beach. It’s food is alright, nothing great, nothing terrible. It just is. The building is basically a garage. The large doors are opened and you sit as if you were in a garage with the doors opened. It has awnings, etc and the ocean is right across the street. We were entertained by the security guard who was chasing a rat with a rock. He’d throw the stone at the rat, he’d miss and the rat would scurry away. (Note the rat was not in the restaurant – which was very clean – but outside under the awnings).
In the mornings before school the children come to Fr. Seraphim for a blessing. Not only those of St. Laurence House but the neighboring children as well. This morning Sanu brought his daughter, Adama. I was happy to see that she was wearing some of the shoes that we sent from the Shoe Drive that Maria had orchestrated. A few of the shoes were sent by mistake to NHA and we used them as packing material for some of the medical supplies.
Maria informs me that the container has set sail and should arrive in Freetown on November 17th. We’ve been told that the drive gathered about 3000 shoes. I am aware that many of you supported this project and although I don’t know exactly who all gave, NHA is very appreciative of your cooperation with One Love on this venture.
Today promises to be a Steamy one, hot and humid. We’ve already been to the post and collected 3 boxes, all filled with supplies for Kroo Bay. The postal workers were so glad to see us.
Keep checking the blog often. We will update as much as possible. Thanks for your continued prayers….
James javascript is down, so I cant upload photos to the blog, so you will have to wait until we return, but at least you will be able to keep up with our activities for now.
