Information!! Woo Hoo!!!

Dec 12, 2010

As this trip so quickly approaches I want to have a basic background of Sierra Leone.  Also, I always need to practice with my blogging skills, so you get to learn with me.

The Republic of Sierra Leone (official name) hosts 5.7 million citizens and is in West Africa on the Atlantic Coast.  The capital is Freetown. founded in 1787 as a home to many repatriated slaves.  (Names communicate a lot, don’t they?)  English and Krio are spoken, along with many other African languages.  Islam and Christianity are the main religions (I think I read 30% Christian somewhere) The GNI per capita is $320, and life expectancy is 46 (men) and 49 (women).  To put that in perspective, I would, statistically speaking, have one foot in the grave.  Wow.  While Sierra Leone has had some economic growth in recent years, and would like to develop in the tourism industry, it still ranks at the bottom of the UN’s League for human development.  Just this year (2010) the UN Security lifted the last sanctions, establishing that 8 years after a brutal, decade long civil war, the government has established enough control over it’s territory and disarmed rebels.  Diamonds are a major export, still, and the human desire for the wealth they bring helped fuel the war in which rebels hacked off hands and feet of their victims.
 I am really going to try to watch the movie Blood Diamond before I go in an effort to grasp a glimpse of the trauma many of those I will meet have endured.  This kind of movie is not my usual fare as I have an over active picture archive in my brain, and I cannot imagine the reality of such evil.  I watched the movie Amistad, years ago (about a ship commandeered by slaves that landed in America) and can still see it in my mind.  Perhaps you would watch either or both of these movies in the next month ‘with’ me???.
On the bright side, cocoa and coffee are also major exports, so maybe my hot chocolate fix will be met.
On the interesting side, in June 2009, there were 13,900 internet users in Sierra Leone.  That’s .5%.  I plan to be one of them while I’m there..... :)
Well, school is cancelled tomorrow, so there’s your educational moment.

Have I mentioned lately how grateful I am that you are with me in this?
Dawn

Ambulance to Atlanta

Atlanta, here we come!

The Ambulance of Adventure

 9 December 2010       

“The Lord said, ‘Leave your country, your people...your household...and go to the land I will show you.’” Genesis 12:1

This is the scripture that kept coming to mind as we drove from Alma toward Atlanta...without specific directions of our intended destination.

Why do people shudder a bit when they hear that Sue Stack and I drove an ambulance to Atlanta?  We only used the siren and lights when we arrived at my friends home in Nashville, which I’m sure she (and her neighbors) appreciated.  We might have used the bullhorn to gently remind freeway drivers that they were WRONG to text behind the wheel.  Other than that, we were the very picture of responsibility....except maybe when we wore the antlers provided by Stephanie Benn in our fun little care basket.    Let me regress in my story.

An ambulance was generously donated to the Sierra Leone project by MMR.  It was filled (and I mean to the brim) with medical supplies and equipment and parked in the church parking lot to await shipment.  Dr. Cujo (and I might be making up stuff here, but this is what I understand) knows a man in Atlanta who ships stuff to Africa regularly and is willing to help us.  We only needed to deliver the vehicle to him.  Other, less scary, drivers (Jeff Smith and Dean Wilson) were unable to make their schedules work to do the deed, so Sue and I found ourselves with keys, title and a gleam in our eyes. 
We decided to leave on Wednesday evening.  It seemed a good idea to ease into this long drive as the ambulance had probably not been driven more than 20 miles at a stretch.  Just before we left, Dean assured us that someone would pick us up at the airport on Saturday, so we didn’t need to leave a car at the Flint airport.  YEAH!!  That saved us more than an hour and no little stress.  So we headed for Anderson, IN to tick some hours off the trip and spend the night with Savas and Olive Joannides (my adopted parents).  Since they are in their eighties we asked them to warn their neighbors of our peculiar ‘car’ which would be parked in their driveway.  They are wonderful people who are hospitable at any time of the day.
Thursday morning we met Sage and some of her friends for breakfast at Anderson University, and to show them our fun ride.  There’s nothing quite like yelling of your love for your child through a loud speaker as you drive away. 
Our destination dujour was Nashville where my Phoenix  friends, Kim and Lynn Smith, now live. Now, I’m telling you that little diesel fed engine can get going!!  So we found ourselves with a little extra time as we fueled up in Bowling Green, and there was a Lost River Cave right there on our exit, so Sue and I decided to do a little tourist-y excursion, and we went and found that Lost Cave!  After that, we found our way through Nashville rush hour to the Smith’s where years melted away as we explained our mission and heard of their life adventures.  What a beautiful gift to have this oasis of welcome from missed friends!

The tires were looking a little low, so we thought we’d check the pressure before we left Tennessee, but we couldn’t even find the tire stem, so we trusted that we were low riders because of the great weight of gifts we were carrying and headed south again.  We wanted to avoid Atlanta traffic and make sure we could find the address that had finally arrived in a text from Dean.  As we followed the GPS which we finally plugged in, we were led through more and more....’interesting’ places.  Doors locked, sirens at the ready..... and we arrived at the gates of.....a chop shop???  Wrecked cars littered the lot in front of a metal warehouse.  A man whose name I wasn’t sure of came and greeted us, directed us to pull into the quagmire of cars and park.  Before we had our stuff out of the ambulance, there were guys measuring and rearranging items and talking about taking off the bumper and side lights.....  It was a bit unsettling.  Sue, quick, called her friends, Jen and Micheal Dickey, our mooching point of the night.  In the hour that we waited we were engaged in a fairly intense conversation about the Muslim Faith and Jesus, and I am reminded that it is important to know who I am, what I believe and why I believe it.  Not so that I might present an iron clad argument to another, but so that I will be filled with gratitude of the love of God and his desire to be in relationship with me, His creation.  A desire so profound that he would wrap His holiness in skin and walk before, beside and behind me.  Even in this ridiculous Atlantic Adventure any good deed done is only in response to the goodness of God.  How lucky Sue and I are to have journeyed together!  What a gift!!!

(P.s.  Thanks to the leftovers we packed for lunch, Stephanie’s goodies in our surprise basket and the generosity of our friends along the way, this trip cost us diesel–about $250- , airfare to return- about $200, and a few blessed days of our lives–priceless!!!)

Savas and Olive Joannides

Sue's friends in Atlanta

Sage and friends...breakfast

Lost River Cave has been found!

Lynn, Dawn's friend

So, where do we put in air?

welcome sight?

will the ambulance be shipped or sold for parts? (jk)

Practice Adventure

30 Nov 2010

  Just when it looked like there was part of a week to breathe in, opportunity knocked.....or flashed it's lights and honked.  There is an amazing ambulance sitting in the parking lot of church that has been donated to Footprints Missions for the work in Sierra Leone.  In order to ship it, maybe in time to have it their for our visit, it needs to be transported to Atlanta, GA.  Now, who has the time and spirit for a road trip as Christmas approaches??  Well, Sue Stack and I do!  At least we do now as we shuffle schedules and find a way to embrace this chance to assist the process of helping others.  It is clear and humbling how my choices affect the lives of others.  Because I choose to be gone, Steve, especially,  has added responsibility.  And he supports this effort without complaint.  What a guy. 

So many details I don't know as I pack a carry on bag for the return flight.   Who do we meet to hand over the ambulance?  What papers do we need so that it all goes smoothly?  Is there anything I am supposed to do here before I go?  Is there really a special switch to turn off the battery?  Where?  What if we break down?  And.... can we turn on the lights and drive fast????  Please?????  Dean Wilson should answer all these questions tomorrow afternoon.  (should we ask him about the siren?  or is this a case of 'better to ask for forgiveness than permission'???)  Then we're on our own.  Makes me feel like a non-swimmer standing on the diving board knowing I'm going to jump in --and drive this over-grown van to a place I don't know and send it to a place I have never been. 
Ticket-less travel has me feeling a little edgy too.  Did I click all the right buttons when I purchased the tickets on line?  Will they really know that I have a spot on that plane just by giving them my name?  I don't think I've ever flown one way before.  How early do I really HAVE to be at the airport?  Will I make it back for Ben and Teri's wedding??  And....what to do if I get chosen for one of those intimate scans?  Do I say "thank you" for that???  So, so many questions.

The part of me that wants to panic is soothed by the giddiness I feel at knowing that Sue Stack is in this with me.  She isn't going to Africa in January, but she has the heart of a missionary and the spunk of a Yellowstone geyser. I am so thankful for her continual sense of adventure that allows her to jump with me in this, and her capable and supportive family that sends her without guilt. 

A few details I do know:  we will drive my car to the Flint Airport so we have wheels upon our return.  We will take a little bit longer route (about 1 hour) to go via Anderson (to briefly see my 'adopted' parents and Sage) and Nashville where we will spend the night with some friends of mine....hence, no hotel cost, but lots of catching up!!  On Friday, we will get the ambulance where it needs to go in Atlanta, then stay with friends of Sue (again, free digs!).  By leaving Saturday morning we save money on the tickets, and we allow more time for any glitches in the transfer on Friday.  On paper, at least, this all seems quite smooth.  I look forward to relating the wonderful experiences that await us.  Already I am thankful for the way this has dovetailed into life.  And I am grateful that you will be praying for us as we travel and do our best at serving the cause of Love. 

        So is this what always happens in adventure?  It begins with fears and questions and ends with gratitude as blessings and provisions are revealed.  For all of us.....I sure hope so.
dbw

November 26, 2010 and so it begins....

I went to the meeting in September to listen politely to the plans about going to Sierra Leone knowing full well that with 2 kids in college the chances of me going to Africa were slim to none.  Stephanie Benn was more than welcoming... she clearly has ownership in this event, and her enthusiasm was charming, if not contagious.  When she quizzed me on my interest level I explained the obvious: lack of funds.  However, I mentioned that if I were to go I had considered selling ‘subscriptions’ to my journal.  This means I would be working for anyone interested in following the trip: I get help getting there, they get help being glad they’re here!  At 100 dollars per subscription, I joked, I would only need to find 30 people to employ me.  “I’ll be your first customer” she immediately interrupted.  I laughed, quickly pondered if I knew 29 more easy marks...I mean generous people, said thanks, and left. 

The following day I was walking down the mall in Lansing after an appointment with a specialist who works on the shoulder I wrenched last year when my cell phone chimed..  I was thanked for being at the Africa meeting (‘no problem’) and comforted for having two kids in college (‘yes, but I’m glad that’s where they are...’) and then offered help to pay for my plane ticket (excuse me??)  The biggest cost of the excursion is airfare.  The biggest reason for me not to go is the cost of the airfare. 
Somewhere in the cosmos I heard a door slam shut.

Behind that door danced my excuses for staying in Alma in my chaotic, but familiar world. The house is never clean enough, the errands are never finished, the dog has never learned to feed and water herself....  I am helpful if not necessary here in my little space in mid-Michigan.   I thought of the pictures of the hot...not just hot, but drenched in sweat, workers from the last trip and imagined myself negotiating between hot flashes of my own and heat waves of the African climate.  I had SAID I would like to go on this trip, but there are a million reasons why I might be a little relieved if I didn’t get to: no vaccinations that might have creepy side effects, no figuring out the finances, no 14 hour butt cracking plane ride (oh, wait... .), no having my heart broken by lives with less stuff and more joy than I usually manage on a day to day basis.  In short, no risk.     But there seems to be some purpose for me to go and discover.  It won’t involve surgical tools, but maybe a pen and paper to take slices of each day and share them with others.  Maybe I’ll clean up after the skilled medical team, or help dispense medicines.  Maybe I’ll miraculously speak the language and be able to offer comfort to those in need of it....  I’ll aim for that lofty ideal: the transcendence of the language barrier.  I’ll communicate to you, my beloved family and friends and to them, my soon to be loved African family and friends as best I can and trust God to transcend whatever barriers need to be overcome. 

29 October 2010

Starting a blog for Virtual Africa.