Yes, I went on a mission trip to Africa this month to Freetown, Sierra Leone Africa. I am still trying to put into words the things I experienced there. For those of you that don't know it, Sierra Leone (SL) was in a brutal civil war up until 2002. Many countries are now trying to help the people of SL rebuild their lives. What I witnessed in Freetown SL was incredible. The people of SL are basically a peaceful people. Their lives were turned upside down when rebels, trained in Liberia, invaded and killed many in SL. I saw many people in Freetown who had had their limbs cut off by the rebels. One lady told me the rebels killed her daughter, then they cut the lady's left leg off below the knee so she wouldn't chase after them.
The city of Freetown is overpopulated (4 million +), dirty, and unsafe for tourists. We had escorts and body guards. There are pockets of hope though, places where people are starting to rebuild and clean up. It is still however a third-world country, and is the poorest country in Africa.
You are probably wondering what I was doing there then. I was part of a group of pastors who volunteered to go there and perform several tasks:
1. Teach & train pastors.
2. Pray for people.
3. Assess needs of people so that we can send supplies from the USA.
4. Meet with our missionaries there to assess their needs.
5. See things first-hand.
I can say that my life has indeed been changed somewhat by my trip to SL. You read about this stuff, but until you live in it for two weeks you can't believe it. We met some really nice people there too. Oh yes, they had the people who wanted to steal from you, but most of the people of SL were nice. I have included just a few photos for your viewing. Enjoy! Oh yea, no busas in SL, but there were scads of little 125s all over the place zipping in and out of traffic. I did see one Yamaha 600 (old bike), and one broken down Honda 500 (I think it was a 500), too dismantled to tell.
Take care all!
Tom.
The city of Freetown is overpopulated (4 million +), dirty, and unsafe for tourists. We had escorts and body guards. There are pockets of hope though, places where people are starting to rebuild and clean up. It is still however a third-world country, and is the poorest country in Africa.
You are probably wondering what I was doing there then. I was part of a group of pastors who volunteered to go there and perform several tasks:
1. Teach & train pastors.
2. Pray for people.
3. Assess needs of people so that we can send supplies from the USA.
4. Meet with our missionaries there to assess their needs.
5. See things first-hand.
I can say that my life has indeed been changed somewhat by my trip to SL. You read about this stuff, but until you live in it for two weeks you can't believe it. We met some really nice people there too. Oh yes, they had the people who wanted to steal from you, but most of the people of SL were nice. I have included just a few photos for your viewing. Enjoy! Oh yea, no busas in SL, but there were scads of little 125s all over the place zipping in and out of traffic. I did see one Yamaha 600 (old bike), and one broken down Honda 500 (I think it was a 500), too dismantled to tell.
Take care all!
Tom.
