all of creation sing with me now- lift up your voice and lay your burdens down

Its very early in the morning here in Minnesota. The time change has got my body clock all messed up. I lay restless all night....... i feel sad laying my head down at night in a house that can not even be compared to what the people of Sierra Leone live in. I feel sad sleeping in a comfortable bed while the people i have grown to love are across the world sleeping on the streets while the rain poors down on their head. I don't deserve to be living this way. Its not fair that i have everything i could possibly want and others wonder when their next meal will be or wonder how they will have enough money to feed their family. Its not fair. Its not fair....

As i lay awake here this morning all i can think about is my experience this past week how my eyes have been opened. My eyes have been opened to severe injustice in this world. My eyes have been opened to children digging through the garbage to find food, babies fighting for their lives in the hospital because the nurses have no food to feed them. This is disgraceful..... no food for dying babies at the hospital?? My eyes have been opened to the reality of this world...... i have learned that a lot of eyes here in America have been opened to the world of shopping and getting everything they want, horrible words exchanged to one another, and the attitude that the world revolves around them. Our eyes are not opened to Jesus. There is a time to change. Let me tell you about my last morning in Sierra Leone. Ill share stories and pictures with you that will break up your heart. Please let your heart be broken and let God open your eyes to the most awful and beautiful 2 hours of my life....

We went to an area in Sierra Leone called Kroo Bay on our last morning. The UN has named Kroo bay the absolute worst place to live on earth. Those of you who have seen slum dog millionaire picture the slum in that movie..... and then picture Kroo Bay being worse...

We went to meet with the chief and the soccer team at Kroo Bay to present them with Jerseys and Firefleyes soccer balls. The team wanted to compete and the only way they could was if they had jerseys. Easy fix... lets bring hope to their lives so they can be inspired to chase after their dreams.

The guys were SO grateful. They could not have been happier..... they told us that when people like us do little things to show they care in their community it motivates their team to achieve great things. Praise God! The guy next to me asked me to marry him..... they were all in LOVE with the white girls from America :)

As we weaved in and out of the path to the where the ceremony would take place my stomach began to turn. It was the first time on that whole trip where i truly felt uncomfortable. I felt sick, dizzy, and absolute disgust..... the conditions were horrifying. From the smell to the sights that we witnessed my eyes began to tear up and my stomach was in complete knots.... you can see why...

pictures do no justice to the EXTREME poverty we were witnessing...
The team wanted to show us the soccer field that they play in. After the ceremony of giving them their balls and jerseys they walked us over in the pouring rain to the "field" As we were walking my ankles were being drowned in puddles of brown water filled with mud and feces. I was doing everything inside myself to put a smile on my face for these people who were showing us their home. This was the soccer field........ i looked at Regina and said " this is not a soccer field.... this is a garbage dump" There was no place to run, no place to be free. It was absolutely disgusting.
this is just a few feet of what we were walking around in. Kroo Bay is the home of 14000 people packed into a place the size of a super wall-mart. Kids running around bare foot with no clothes on their body.
The rain began to start coming down even harder. My selfish mind was telling me to run to the car and get shelter. I didn't want to walk around in a garbage dump in the pouring rain with dirty children and then have to sit on a plane for two days.
As kids were running up to us and music was being played in the background God told me to live in the moment. Bring hope to these childrens lives who live off of nothing but the Holy Spirit watching over them. They have nothing..... The rain began to come down even harder as we grabbed each child and danced with them. Our hands were lifted to the skies..... it was the most unreal feeling i have ever had....
I was loving life. A wave of hope and joy washed over me while dancing with these children. its the small things in life that make such a difference. The gift of a soccer ball and jerseys changed the life of a group of men and my hands placed in a young childs hands dancing in the rain brings them hope.... hope that they are loved and worthy to be loved.
You should have seen the smiles on their face.....
The "soccer field" was flooded after 15 min of rain......
Pigs were running everywhere. They lived in close quarters with the people......the "river" you see is filled with mud, garbage, and feces. Kids were standing in it in the middle of the rain and collecting the bottles and garbage they could use. All of the filth ran into the ocean......It was a sight that left me numb....
It was time to give away the rest of the baby dolls that we had. We were getting mobbed like you wouldnt believe. Children in every direction pulling on me trying to get my attention. It was pure chaos... i was scared for my life! I thought i was going to get trampled! Why do kids have to be this desperate for a toy? Why do kids have to be so desperate to have something of their very own? You can believe that when they received their toy the smile on their face was incredible...... in 2 hours my life was changed. In two hours i had experienced the most horrible thing you could possibly see. In two hours i was filled with so much joy and hope..... hope for the future of Kroo Bay. Hope for a new soccer ball for the team, hope for the faces who recieved a new baby doll, and hope for Sierra Leone. My friends....... there is endless amount of work to be done. But we can start somewhere........ praise God for the people of Kroo Bay. Praise God for the people of Sierra Leone..... and praise God for life.
After Kroo bay we went back to the center to say goodbye..... the moments i was dreading the whole week. The kids sang us a song and had a verse for all of the team members. Tears were rolling like crazy!!! Look at baby Hawa... she is the CUTEST! This is her praying and singing..... ADORABLE!
Grandma was so touched by the children this week. They all called her Grandma. She gave so many hugs and kissing and shared so much love. The kids sang i goodbye song to grandma linda and there was not a dry in the place.....
The kids sang us a goodbye and prayed for us..... as the song was finishing they all came and gave us all hugs while continuing to sing. Every child was crying...... this is little Mami. Even she was sad to see us go! I realized in these moments of saying goodbye to the kids that the covering was where i wanted to be. I want to see those children everyday and love on them like crazy..... these kids inspire me. The possibilities for the future are endless...

Waving to us goodbye in the car. I was balling!! I will miss them so much.....

So there you have it. The last day in Sierra Leone. After 36 hours of travel it was good to be done. Our team was ready for a shower after 36 hours of travel and a dance session in the rain at Kroo bay! I pray that as you read this your heart would be filled with sadness. I pray that you wont read this and shed some tears for what you just saw and then go back to normal life. Sit with it.... pray about it... ask God where he wants you to be used in all of this. He has a place for you...... There is much work to be done. Your eyes have been opened...... now go..... be his hands and feet. Every single one of us.........

i'll close with a song from Britt Nicole:

Don't let your lights go down

Don't let your fire burn out

Somewhere somebody needs a reason to believe

Why don't you rise up now?

Don't be afraid to stand out

Thats how the lost get found.

Theres a really big world at your finger tips.....and you know you have the chance to change it.....

Proverbs 24:12

Bethany