My own little space

Why hello ... good afternoon to you! My first day on the Africa Mercy has gone well, this morning we took a tour of the ship and now have the rest of the day to rest and relax before the business begins. I wanted to tell you about my wonderful accommodations (seriously they are really nice). I am in a 6 berth cabin so basically, it is a long hallway with 3 little nooks, each little nook has two bunks and two tiny closets. Thankfully I didn't bring all my clothes, this will not be the most fashionable time of my life. Sticking to the basics! Anyway all is good, roommates have been checking up on me and I am settling in. 

See the bunk with the green blanket, it tis my space of my very own!

What have I been doing since I left?

These past two weeks I have had the opportunity to experience a whole new world. After flying to Sierra Leone we spent these two weeks in a small village near the capital of Freetown. The name of the village is Yam’s Farm. Once known for their growth of, you guessed it, yams. Now they are a poor fishing village. We hosted a VBS in the small local Christian school and built a latrine for the school.
            Even though the children learn about the Bible in school, it was the first time they had fun and sang songs while doing it. We taught them several songs including an interactive version of “Jesus Loves Me” that involves clapping. It was a lot of fun.

The construction crew built a small concrete building that contains three latrines. This will be very beneficial for the school considering that the children had been going to the bathroom in a hole filled with maggots. To be a government recognized school, they needed appropriate bathroom facilities.

We also hosted a wound care and basic first aid class. The amount of wounds and extent of infection was astounding. Because the children only wear flip flops and love to run and play soccer they get a lot of cuts and abrasions on their feet. Without proper cleaning with clean water and soap the continuing walk through trash and dirt cause infection. Sadly some will die because of a simple cut that turned into sepsis. 

            We also had a dentist on our team, Toni. Poor Toni was so very busy, pulling teeth of at least 80 people. She even had one incident where she pulled out more than a tooth, but that is a long story and more information than you would ever want to know. When we arrived to the village on one of the days we had at least fifty people patiently waiting to see her. Word had got out that we were running a dental clinic. Sadly she already had her patient list and was unable to take additional patients.

Mamy found me every single day of VBS just so she could hold my hand and sit with me. She reminded me of myself in the fact that she is very quiet. The biggest difference is that she always has a really serious look on her face (of course I'm usually smiling).

The latrines that the super duper strong and tough construction crew built.

Official Africa Mercy Crew Member

It's official I am an Africa Mercy crew member ... I have the badge to prove it! I have moved into my room and met two of my five room-mates. They were both very welcoming and sweet. Though it's tiny I have made my bed a home. Today has been pretty good, we had to finish up some paperwork but otherwise all good. I have been a little down lately when I think about what it will be like when I come home in November. It is pretty much going to be totally different than when I left. People have  moved on with their lives and haven't been there. I'm sure that I will be different as well. I have absolutely no idea what my future holds, so if you could say a little prayer for me that would be awesome. I definitely need some clarity about the future. In other news I haven't downloaded my pictures yet, but they will be up soon. More information to come soon <3

One hour of internet ...

Hello everyone! I'm alive :D I have one hour of internet use while visiting the ship. The ship is amazing. Just like a really cool community. There is so much stuff I want to tell you about!!! We have been in the Yams Farm community for almost a week now, the people are so kind. I don't have my camera here with me but I will post alot of pictures very soon. The children are adorable! Whenever we come down the road they run to the van just so they can hold our hands. They are so loving and well mannered. We have been having a VBS for them and have taught them "Jesus Loves Me". They are really quick learners. The majority of them speak at least a little English, even if it is hard to understand at some times because of the accent. I've learned a few basic Krio words and I am trying to put them to use. The two second overview of the past week is .... LONG flights, bad airplane food, humongous cankles, cold showers and the most amazing experience ever! It has been awesome! Anyway I hope to fill you in soon with what's going on and pictures of beautiful children! Love you all!!! <3

Say hello to my team!

This has been my wonderful family for the last month! We are going to have so much fun!

I'm leaving on a jet plane ... Tomorrow!

It's almost here! The past month has flown by and now July 13th is just a day away. My bags are packed and I fly out of the Dallas-Fort Worth airport @ 10:45 am!! Which means I have to be out of the dorm at 5:45, gonna be an early morning. We will make stops in New York and Brussels so I won't be in Sierra Leone until Thursday morning. This is going to be my first super long flight, I think it is close to 27 hours in all. Pray that I don't go crazy! The first two weeks we will be at a local Christian school in a small town near Freetown. Our plans are to host a vacation bible school, a dental and medical clinic and build toilets (this is when we will discover who is strong, haha). It is going to be a very busy two weeks, but I am sure it will be so rewarding working with the kids and sharing the love of Jesus with them during the VBS. During this time I will not have access to the internet so I love you all! Thank you all for your prayers and kind words through out this past month. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you guys are awesome!

Three days and then off to Africa

So here I sit staring at my closet and trying to find the motivation to pack. No luck so far, instead I came to blog! It feels kind of weird to get getting ready to go to Africa! I mean come on, I never ever thought I'd be saying I was going to Africa! That's crazy! So thank you everyone who has supported me on this mission to bring hope and healing to Sierra Leone!

As you can see it's pretty full, haha!

Are you a trader?

We were shown this video today in class. It is amazing!

I am ____.

If you had to fill in the blank with twenty words to explain yourself, what would you say? My answers were ... happy, loving, kind, beautiful, special, smart, quiet, tall, chosen, sister, daughter, friend, radiant, interesting, goofy, adventurous, strong, giving, blessed and most of all His. After I wrote all of these down I really started thinking, I have come so far in the last four years. I never would have been able to say even half of those. God has really been doing a work in me to help me realize that I am fun and He is delighted when I am happy. He loves seeing you doing the things you love. For example say you love sports, it makes him so joyous and proud to see you out on that field or court! You are the most dazzling, beautiful and smart person He knows, because He made you. Just let that soak in for a while :)

Happy 4th of July

Despite having to go to class today we had an awesome 4th of July. We attended a fireworks celebration and were able to have an awesome time of fellowship! It thundered and lightening but the rain held out til the show was over! 

The storm was rolling in.

 

It knows me

This week in class we were studying personal development, this included a personality profile. This profile is called DISC ... Dominant, Influencing, Steady and Cautious. Can you guess what mine was? It really described me very well. It said that I am a high S type with a little bit of C. The S type is described as a Golden Retriever! What does this mean exactly? According to the report we are stable and contemplative. We like small groups of people. We are sensitive to the needs of others and are loyal friends.  We are motivated by sweet and sincere opportunities to help others. But the down side is that that we need to learn how to say "No"  and quit trying to please everyone. The report also says that we become subservient, insecure and worrisome under pressure. This report really helped me to see that my personality traits are why I have always been so quiet and reserved. I seriously have a lot to work on. I absolutely hate confrontation! I mean I really, really hate having to tell someone something they might not like to hear. People who are close to me definitely know this. "Fun Kari" (as some of your refer to my confrontational side) only comes out via texting! I could make myself sick worrying about how my words could damage a friendship. To be a healthy addition to the crew, I need to be comfortable with expressing my feelings to the others on the ship. It is a ship of 400 people ... you won't be able to avoid that particular person. So being more secure, strong and courageous in the confrontation department is my goal for this time. This is what I learned this week! Thankfully I am not the only S type in the group so I am not alone in my fears :)