All work and No play makes . . . .

I really should have put another post first. But since I had pictures for this post, it got started first.

On Monday, October 19th, a group of 8 of us decided to have a day of relaxation. Sister Squires's sister was visiting so they had plans to go to Banana Island and to show her a few of the beautiful beaches around Sierra Leone. The Flakes (from Snowflake, Arizona) who will be working on the Measles and Yellow Fever Campaign also arrived on October 16th. Another couple, the Gredings, who will be working on the Water well project along with another younger sister, Melissa Hawkley, were also in Freetown. The Gredings had too many things to do to take a day off, but the rest of us decided to join in to see the beautiful country.

In the picture you can see Banana Island in the background. The boat you see is what we took across the water. The water was wonderful. I'm not sure that Sister Jones would have gone if the water had been rough at all.

On the boat. There were 3-4 life vests available. Sister Jones prayed that since she was traveling with so many misionaries that there wouldn't be a problem. The man in back is one of the boatmen--he was in charge of bailing the water out of the boat.


Melissa Hawkley is the one on the left. The Flakes are the older couple. They were here 3 years ago for the Measles Campaign. People here remember them very well and are very excited to have them return.

Docked at Banana Island. The island is 1/2 mile wide and about 2-3 miles long. There are about 150 peoplew who live on the island. The island is where some slaves were held prior to being shipped off to various countries. The slaves wouldn't leave the island as many of them were afraid of the water--they don't swim and the island is about 2-3 miles off the mainland. We have found that many of the Africans are still a little hesitant about being on the water in boats. Some of the fishermen and those that live next to the water swim, but many others don't.

Elder Jones was fascinated by this tree. You can see the intricate pattern made by the roots.

Elder and Sister Jones (not our typical missionary attire)

After our picnic, we went on a tour of the island. One of the stops as at the local primary school. After the children have passed primary school, they must go to Freetown in order to continue their education. Here Melissa sings songs with the children.

Elder Jones loves being with the children. The children are so excited. They call white men "abeos" or something like that. It is not a derogatory term--it is merely an indication of who you are.

One of the wells used by the villagers. Each family has their own rope in order to obtain water.

Elder Jones enjoying one of the beaches on the island. There are little huts that people can rent to stay overnight on the island. The Squires have stayed there with one of their sons and his wife. The son ordered a lobster which the cook got out of the lobster trap just off the beach. It was the biggest lobster they had ever seen.

This is a cotton tree--it reminds us alot of the banyan trees in Cambodia. You can see how big it is in comparison to Elder Jones. There is a cotton tree here in Sierra Leone that people say is 2-3 hundred years old.

This was the church on the island. It had various plaques dedicated to various important individuals who had lived on the island.

I wish we would have gotten one picture--that of a 94 year old man who lived on the island. The guides told us that he gets up every morning and cracks (breaks up) rock (granite). They offer to help him and to take care of him (cook, etc) and he refuses. He says "I can take care of myself". He was a very strong looking man for his age.

After we left Banana Island, we briefly visited some of the beaches on the way home. This is Boreh beach. This is Elder Jones's favorite beach. It really is a beautiful place--just not a lot of amenities.

This is Tombo. This is where the people were headed to when the boat capsized (this happened the first part of September).

We had a wonderful, relaxing day. It was great to get to know the Squires, Jeanette (Sister Squire's sister), the Flakes and Sister Hawkley. It was also nice to see the President have a little break. Although he still did some work while he was on the island while the rest of us took the tour as he had seen it before.

Heavenly Father definitely blessed us with a beautiful world. All things do testify of His love for His children and of Him.