Hi everyone! This past week has been great, but also challenging because of all the new things I am learning. Since I work in the Hospitality department I am learning how to make beds properly, fold towels fancily, orient new crew to the ship, and give tours to new crew. It's a pretty fun position, and I'm working with a great team of ladies!
This Wednesday I had quite an adventure going into town. My friend Emily wanted to do some final shopping because it was her last full day here, so she took me and another friend Susan (who is from Nigeria) into town with her. Our walk to town was pleasant, but after about 30 minutes the streets became very crowded. We were heading to a market that's in the heart of Freetown. I was already feeling a bit uneasy about the crowdedness when a woman came up beside me and said "You need to be careful! This is a dangerous place!"I told her I would be careful, and we kept going. Then she came beside us again and was even more upset. Pretty soon she had corralled us to a corner of the street, when a large group of women including her began to shout very angrily. There were at least 50 women around us upset and yelling. At this point I was so frightened because I didn't know what they were upset about. All I heard was "Get in the shop! Get in there now!" At the moment I had no idea why they wanted to get us off of the street. Susan who is from Nigeria speaks Krio, so she understood what was going on. Once I saw her agree and head toward the shop, I knew it must be ok. Once the woman had us off the street, she very angrily explained that there had been several men following behind us who had knives. We are pretty sure that they were only going to use them to get our purses/money, but it was still quite scary. One lady grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled it out and stuffed my small purse down so that the men who were following us couldn't reach it.
From that point, we headed back toward the ship. However, we knew that those men could very well still be following us, so we needed to either get someone from the ship to come pick us up, or take motorcycles. We opted for the bikes, since it was quicker. We quickly hailed three drivers to take us back. Let me just say that riding the motorcycle was much scarier than finding out we had men behind us with knives! My driver went very fast whether there were large potholes ahead or whether there was another driving coming straight towards us. Around here, the bikes weave in and out wherever they can fit. Needless to say, it was quite an adventure, and I was so relieved when we made it back to the dock. Once I stepped off the bike, my driver reached toward me, and I thought he was trying to hug me. At that point I was so glad to be alive that I hugged him. I was quite embarrassed when I realized he was just trying to get his helmet back! We had a good laugh about my mistake.
This past Friday night I had the opportunity to go out and show the Jesus Film to a nearby village. This was a great experience! As soon as we arrived, the locals began to sing for us, and didn't stop until everything was set up for the film. By the time the movie started, I believe there was around 300 people watching. More and more continued to come because they could hear it from quite a distance. Most of the people ended up standing (we did too), but didn't seem to care at all. I can't wait to do this again soon! Here's a photo I took during praise and worship.
On Saturday I went with a group to Mama Beach, which was a lovely place! Driving down to the beach we passed through this community, where this boy and girl lived. The little boy just loved striking poses for the camera! :)
The next photo is several kids on the beach. They just loved us taking their pictures (or snap snap as they say).
This is Abraham. He loved taking "snap snaps" of us and of himself! This was one of his self-portraits. :) Him and his sister, Alli hung out with us before we left the beach; they were both very sweet. Just look at his big brown eyes!
I hope you enjoy the photos. Everything is going well...it just takes time to adjust to being in such a different culture. Please keep me in your prayers! God bless!
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