Day One in Freetown

How can people be so poor and be so happy?

Today has been a day of high emotions nt only because we are dealing with jet lag and exhaustion, but because of the wonderful events of the day. The Sierra Leonans have greeted us with extreme warmth and love. Their joy in the midst of poverty is overwhelming. I do not possess the vocabulary or the pictures to do justice to the extent of the poverty. Yet, people seem to be happy, loving ,patient and gracious.

We have seen a depth of poverty that I only knew from pictures and movies. Believe me, it is overwhelming and no amount of preparation and prepare you for the deep poverty that slaps you in the face.

God has been so good to us thus far in our trip. He has blessed us with a wonderful host - a man of uncommon goodness, honesty and love. Joseph has been one of our greatest blessings and without his tireless work this trip would not be possible. John is our guide and constant companion. He is a Sierra Leonean who cares for us as a mother bird would care for her young. Azul, our driver, has unbelievable skill. I would ride with him anywhere. So far we have seen only ONE stop sign and folks ignored it. Traffic is truly an everyone for himself proposition. There have been many times that I have simply closed my eyes and whistled, "Anywhere with Jesus."

We met this morning with the chief of military chaplains. We could not have found a more gracious man. He is allowing over 50 military chaplains to attend our classes ... no rather insisting that they attend.

This evening, I took part in a TV interview that will air tomorrow morning all over Sierra Leone explaining why we are here and the details of our classes. After that, we all took part ion a 30 minute radio interview which was followed by audience comments. We received several calls asking for more details about our classes and our purpose. One caller could not believe that our classes were being offered free.

If you are concerned about our safety, don't be. I do not know that we are ever without some kind of guard or chaperone. But, we really do not need the constant presence of guards. I am been afraid of the traffic, but not from the people. Freetown is a hectic, bustling city, but one that is safe. The roads...that is another story. Luckily, about 30 minutes after the cars stops we stop jiggling. Many of the roada are little more than dirth paths and the ones that are paved are covered with potholes and broken pavement.

Do you know how fortunate and blessed you are for God having allowed you the blessing of being born an American? Don't take it for granted.

Our classes and thus our work begins in earnets tomorrow. Already the venu has changed in order to accomodate a larger crowd. We have been told to expect at least 150!

Steve, Jimmy and I are safe and healthy. Even well fed if you count tonights p'butter snack that was supper.

Please continue to life our work before our Father and look after our families.