Begin with the end in mind

The loaded ferry from Lungi to Freetown

4a.m. group on the go

I must confess that sometimes when I am reading a book with some suspense, I skip to the last few pages to make sure everything turns out ok.  Alas, it is true with this whole blogging attempt with Virtual Africa that my reports begin at the end.  We tried for 5 days just to get enough download ability to send an email….getting on the blog to keep you posted in the moment was just not going to happen where we were.  

It has been said, “Begin with the end in mind” as a way to encourage people to live toward a worthy goal in life.  Allow me to begin this journey with the end in mind, and reported, before I go back and try to draw you through the experiences of our African Journey.  

From the time we got into the van at Magbenteh Hospital in Makeni, Sierra Leone, until the time we stepped out of the van at First Church of God, Alma, MI, forty (40) hours had elapsed.  From heat in the 90 degrees to cold in the barely 0 we traveled in car, on ferry and aboard planes.  In the entire trip one out of eight flights departed on time.  A few were completely cancelled, and yet in coming and going we were only about an hour late each way.  Amazing.  To begin our journey home we managed checking in at the Lungi airport after having lunch at Hassan’s home (Dr. ABD’s brother who is in charge of the hospital in Lungi. We ate kasava leaves in rice with a spicy fish sauce.  I’m probably not going to be making this any time soon.)   It is a sure thing that Dr. ABD’s influence eased our path through customs once again.  The man is a rock star, as Jeff Smith has christened him.  Of course, our being brought to the front of the line was not appreciated by those who were there, and one woman was intimidatingly vocal about it.  Dr. Turay (you will meet him later) talked to her to apologize and say, ‘these people have been here at their own expense to help our people and though I understand your frustration, this is something we can do for them to express our appreciation.’  We were glad to see her accept this as we shared the next long flight with her.  That flight boarded two hours late, and then sat on the tarmac for another 3 hours.  5 hours and still in Sierra Leone.  We heard later that they were minutes from cancelling the flight (the second engine was having trouble with reverse), which would’ve been traumatic as these flights leave only every other day, and we were all ready to be home.  Once we finally left, we were to stop in Dakar to fuel, then on to Brussels.  In Brussels the gate changed 3 times before we finally boarded for Chicago where de-icing delayed us, but, YEAH, got us to Detroit where the wonderful Mark Prout and Dave Martin picked us up in the church vans.  Delirium hit around St. John’s, and I’m pretty sure my brain is still riding some luggage carousel in another hemisphere, but we’re home and glad for it, snow and all.