Bumpy Roads

The past few days have been an absolute adventure! Yesterday we woke up and went straight to The Covering. We were greeted by the children singing, smiling and ready to receive lots of love. They gave us a Welcome Ceremony and tour of their home. During the day we sorted all of 23 bags worth of materials and supplies we brought for them. Then Beth, Katie, Allison and Linda past out necklaces with the children's names on them and gifts from the children's sponsors, while Tina, Regina and some of the caretakers took two twin babies to a crazy Lebonese doctor. The rest of the day were able to share in their daily activities including prayer and praise time at night. It is absolutely amazing and humbling to watch them pray, give thanks and fully give themselves to the Lord. Today we were up bright and early and met at the House of Parliament where we were honored to sit in on a Parliament session. One of the heads of Parliament accompanied us on the rest of our day and we even met a Tribal Paramount Chief!! The rest of the day...we don't really remember because our brains were rattled for 8 hours as we drove upcountry to Shenge, Sierra Leone. Many of our kids come from this village and we were passing out suckers, soccer balls and taking pictures of the kids to the family members. It was amazing to see the real Africa...we saw what you see in the movies. Beautiful countryside, jungle and lots and lots of huts. We have fallen in love with our driver Foday and The representative from Parliament's son who rapped for us for much of our 8 hour experience. The "roads" were so intensely bumpy that Beth, Katie and Regina were falling on top of each other and laughing/puking for the entire trip. But...the experience was more than worth it. So many jokes and hysterical videos to share later but we thought we would both share our individual thoughts from the past two days:

Regina's Thoughts:

Our God is Healer

I really have no words. I have so many thoughts running through my mind that words just really don't do any of it justice. I'm going to attempt to fill you in on some of the things I've seen but just know no matter what I write it wont begin to scrape the surface of what I've seen. My chest feels heavy and brain full as I see all the things that need to be done to help these children. But, an eerie sense of peace glides over that as God reminds me the power of his presence in this place. So...here goes...

When you hear the words The Covering you think of a place to cover your head. A safe place to sit and rest for awhile. The orphanage The Raining Season has established in these few short months is so much more than a safe haven. It's a community. And isn't that what we're called to be and cultivate for those who do not have community? The first group of kids who came to The Covering were saved from unimaginable conditions. The experiences and things many of these children have seen are unfathomable to any of us. The Covering is now a safe haven for 80+ kids in a guarded and gated community. They have warm meals for their bellies, play time in the yard, education, incredibly powerful prayer and praise time before going to bed and a place to rest their heads at night. (side note...the prayer and praise was enough for me to see that I should have been born in Africa...they are dancing at all moments...now back to serious memoirs from Regina and Beth's trip to across the globe.) More importantly, the comfort of knowing that they now have people who will be there for them. People who will pull through. People who will protect them and care about their future in such an intense way that they sacrifice their personal lives above and beyond anyone’s call of duty.

The moment we began driving up the steep hill to The Covering you could hear the children singing and anxiously awaiting our arrival. The smiles and excitement on their faces as we got out of the car was overwhelming as we were swarmed by hugs and little hands reaching for us to hold them. There is nothing more incredible than spending a day playing, dancing and laughing with children. The joy, adventure and excitement just pours out of them. It's contagious.

I honestly could never paint an elaborate enough picture for you to understand what a cool experience it was sharing in their lives for a day. So many of their stories touched me and their smiles won be over and melted my heart. But, two twin babies touched me in a profound way, so I’ll share that with you so this doesn’t take so long J Gerard and Geraldine are 8 month old twin babies that were brought to The Covering when they were 2 months old and close to death. As the children showed us around the center I came across the baby room and (surprise surprise) I went in and asked if I could hold one! There were twins laying in one of the cribs and the moment I picked Geraldine up I didn’t want to put her down. I quickly noticed however that her poor little body was burning with a fever, lungs rattling and a pitiful little cough. Her brother was basically in the same state. At 8 months they look to be about 3 months old. As I carried her around the center and interacted with the other children she burrowed her little head on my shoulder and just laid there. Tina, Carrie (one of the caretakers), the nurse at TRS and myself took them to a Lebonese doctor who gave them medicine for the most noticeable symptoms and then arranged an appointment this morning for blood work and will receive X-rays and ultrasounds in a few days to assess what further needs to be done to help in developmental delays diagnose why they continue to be so sickly.

Holding this precious angel in my arms and watching her twin brother as well sent so many thoughts running through my mind. At one point Tina looked at me and said, “I wish I was a doctor.” It’s true I wish I was a doctor too and had the resources to just fix Geraldine the moment I saw here. But, all I have is my arms to hold her in and love her in such an intense way that she feels that love and God works in her to heal her body. These twins are the true meaning behind The Covering: a safe haven. But it also reminded me of the abundant blessings and resources we have at home. If a mother wakes up and her child has a fever there IS a place of some sort she can take her child to get medical attention. Here in Sierra Leone, it’s commonplace. If a child wakes up sick, no one is alarmed because they are all sick. So, small illnesses go undiagnosed and become more severe because they think that is just how it has to be. That is not how it has to be. And it’s twins like these that remind me that it is OUR responsibility to make sure these children don’t suffer in this way. It’s our responsibility to help organizations like TRS fund larger buildings so their children are not on top of each other. So that the children of our world not only have a safe place to rest their head but ample space to not pass germs and to have a spot to call their own.

The song “Our God is Greater” has continued to play through my head since we got here and all I can think as I look at The Covering is “Our God is healer…God you are higher than ANY other.” Our God brought Tina and Erica to this place to respond to the need here in Sierra Leone. He is healing these children in this safe place. He has the power to heal anything and everything…including conquering and abolishing human trafficking and exploitation of young children. I’ve seen the fruits of that healing with my own eyes in the past two days. If healing and growth like this can happen in such a short period of time just by two women acting upon God's call, think about what could be done if all of us acted upon God's call when he says to jump! I'm guilty so often of thinking life is about our "success" or how fun and adventurous our lives are and seeing these people reminds that life is about our actions...what we stand for as people, what we do about the things we stand for and the people we touch a long the way.

Bethany's Thoughts:

The reason why the first blog of the trip is just going out for me is because I sit here contemplating the right words to say. There are no words to describe the love that I have experienced in the last two days here in Sierra Leone. Love from each and every child that I have held in my arms, love from the smiles exchanged while driving down the street, love from AMAZING people that I have met, and love from my teammates that are traveling with me. I lay awake last night for a long time before I fell asleep. All I could think about were the children at the center…… the children outside the walls I was sleeping in that were lying on the street…. Little maligie whose smile stole my heart…. My heart has been broken while in Sierra Leone, but has been filled back up with so much joy. I am at a loss for words right now as to what I have experienced.

When we pulled up to the center yesterday the children were all lined up singing and welcoming us. As we got out of the car they all began to run towards us all jumping into our arms begging for hugs…. They didn’t have to beg to much! I was in heaven!!! It was a moment when I realized that all my dreams in life had come true…. I was in Africa with beautiful children, and with people that I have grown to love. The children showed us the center that The Raining Season has provided them. They were all eager to show us where they sleep and where they keep their things. We laughed, we played, we danced, we sang, and we gave LOTS of love. I don’t think there was a moment when I was not holding a child. My arms are sore today!!

Many of the children at the center don’t speak English. When I came over I was worried that the language barrier would get in the way of the relationship that I would form with them. God showed be very clearly that language means nothing when it comes to showing his love. When I picked up a child I would look straight into their eyes and smile. I would dance with them in my arms, turn them upside down (they LOVED that!), give them lots of kisses, and lots and lots of hugs. The love that is exchanged between the kids and us is incredible and truly brings me more joy than I have ever experienced in my entire life.

I’m trying to think of words to explain to you all that will somehow grab your heart and then break it….. so you can put yourself inside the word of the people that live in Sierra Leone. I don’t know what to say or do for you to understand the obstacles that these people face each and every day. I don’t know how to tell you that we need your help and each and every one of you count. I pray tonight that when I go to bed your hearts would be broken. I pray that God will lead you to help these children and work side by side with me and my team to create more joy to children in Sierra Leone. I pray that you will read our blogs and see our pictures and carry on with normal life…. We need everyone to be in this together. God has amazing plans and he is telling me this loud and clear during my time here. “… once our eyes are opened, we can’t pretend we don’t know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to ACT. “ Proverbs 24:12 ……… I have now opened your eyes….. I beg you….. help us save the orphan.

We'll write more later! Thanks for all your prayers!!

Sometimes Life Get's a LITTLE Bumpy,

Bethany and Regina