Beach ya' !!!!!

May brought many activities. The missionaries had a number of things planned and then there was just every day mission needs. We are continuing to see more clearly what our responsibilities are here and to see ways that we can contribute to the Lord's work here in Sierra Leone.

On Saturday, May 16th, the Freetown Zone--which comprised about 20 elders and 2 senior couples--went and painted the local fire station (which they call the Fire Force). We are not totally sure what the fire department actually does or if the fire engine would actually get them there, but they do have a building. Two of the elders had seen the building in their frequent walking in their area. They talked to the person in charge and asked if the elders could come and paint their building. The Fire Force got the paint and the elders went to work. It was incredible to watch them work together. It was a great experience. Sister Peterson and I helped by holding the ladders. Elder Peterson and Elder Jones helped out wherever they could and also chatted with the local firemen. We spent about 5 hours there. The senior couples provided a lunch and the Fire Force provided pop for the elders. After the work was done, we put together a page with 4 pictures on it and the 2 elders who arranged for the project took the picture to the Fire Force. I guess the Fire Force people loved it. You can see from the pictures the elders working together and what a big project it was.

Here is a group shot of the elders with the people from the Fire Force. One of the elders is missing as he wasn't feeling very well and was resting in the van. It was sad because he was one of the elders who had arranged the project.

The last 6 weeks we have been working with a full time missionary and a branch missionary from Bo--a city north of Freetown. We were short of elders and needed to have 2 branch missionaries help us. The branch missionary that we were working with (Bro. Jonathan Kamara) will be leaving the middle of June for Kenya. He was originally going to go to the South Africa Missionary Training Center. Because of the difficulty in trying to figure out how to get him a visa for South Africa and then on to Kenya, a whole string of events started unfolding. Elder Jones had requested some information from Ghana if they knew the procedure or what information was needed. From there it went from person to person--going all the way to the Missionary Department--who then decided it made more sense to send him to the Ghana Missionary Training Center and then to Kenya. It was a little crazy here as we tried to juggle all the things that were needed. He had gotten a police clearance in order to get his visa. When the person who does some of the visa stuff for the mission looked at the police clearance, he said that it was not legal. So we had to go get another police clearance. He felt that it was a blessing that all this had happened--he could have been in big trouble if he had tried to use his illegal police clearance. The Lord does move in mysterious ways sometimes.

Belong are some of the primary children from Lumley branch--one of the branches we visit on Sunday. The little girl on the far left is named Erika. She is the daughter of the Branch President. She loves white people. She is quite fascinated with them. She sits by Sister Jones whenever we are in her branch. The other branch we go to is Goderich. There is a little girl named Mary there who likes to come and see Sister Jones. I have been spending my time when I go to Goderich in the Primary helping with the music. It is all accapella as there is no piano in that building. I do get to play an eletronic keyboard in Goderich branch.



The Young Adults here decided to have a choir competition. The different branches did a great job. They asked me to accompany whichever choirs wanted me to do so. Most of the choirs had rehearsed without a piano, but most of the time it worked out okay. There was probably only one group that would have been better off without me playing as the accompaniment didn't go very well with what they were singing. There was one small group from Goderich that did amazing. They only had 7 choir members, but they harmonized so well. I was very impressed.

On Monday, two weeks ago, the Freetown Zone got together for a Super P-Day (Preparation Day). They played football (soccer) at the beach. One of the branch sisters fixed them a lunch. Sister Peterson and I furnished pop and cake. They had a wonderful time. It was so fun to watch them enjoy themselves so much. The beach is beautiful as you can see.

While we were at the beach, we found this little friend. The natives asked us if we wanted to take him home for dinner. As I have no recipes for turtle soup or turtle casserole, I passed up the invitation.

One of the other fun things the elders did was have two of the Polynesian elders do the "Hacka". I don't know if that is how you spell it, but it is some dance that is done by the warriors. It was so funny to see them do it. One of the elders was so funny because he was trying so hard to look fierce, but he just couldn't keep a serious face. He kept breaking into a big smile. That particular elder is now headed home to Samoa. He had about a 6 day trip home from Sierra Leone to Samoa. Luckily there was another Samoan elder who had served in Ghana that would be his traveling companion.



Sorry about all the spacing on the blog. Something has gone screwy and I can't figure out how to fix it. Anyway, hope you enjoy the events of the last couple of weeks.

We are so blessed to be part of this great work. We love serving the Lord and being with these great elders. They sacrifice so much and go about the work with such diligence. It is great to see the growth that comes with each transfer and witness the Lord's hand in the lives of the elders, the lives of the members, and the lives of the people here in Sierra Leone. How great to know that Heavenly Father is aware of all His children.