Hair Planting... Another Big Mistake!

Kathy and I had our hair "planted" before the Beaverton Foursquare team arrived. I wasn't convinced I wanted to do it but went ahead with the process anyway.

Personally, it was a big mistake, and I won't do it again. The rubber bands and the tightness of the braids broke a lot of hair. It only cost about $7, and I left the braids in for almost 48 hours. I was so relieved to get them out, even though it left me with Tina Turner hair until I washed it.

Here are the pictures you've been asking for!

A Little Advice: When you visit the village, stay on the footpath!

In the west, we are particular about our bathrooms. We are accustomed for them to look a certain way, and many of us like our commode at home best. (How many of you bolted off the bus because you wouldn't use the school bathrooms?) And when we travel abroad, we are often concerned about the “facilities.” In fact, we actually require a lesson in order to use some bathrooms in the world (like a traditional Thai toilet or bath).

In Africa, it is pretty obvious what to do when the bathroom is a hole in the ground. However, a recent trip to the bathroom in Kagbaray village left me with an important question. My question then became, “To whom do I ask this important question?” The answer was Hawa. Hawa is an amazing lady that Mike met in Freetown when he visited Sierra Leone in March. Not only is she smart, beautiful, full of the love of Christ, promoting social justice in Sierra Leone and seeing changes take place by God’s hand and grace, she’s also kind and fun. If you knew Hawa, you’d love her and want to spend time with her, too!

Now, back to my important question… Kathy and I look forward to our weekly prayer meetings with Hawa on Friday nights. And I chose last Friday to inquire of Hawa (after a lead-in that explained how silly I felt asking this question but needing to know the answer so I could at the very least instruct teams that visit in the future), “When you visit a village and the bathroom is a pile of rocks, what do you do if you need to poop?”

Her answer went something like this, “You should go out in the grass. If you want to, you can use some grass or dirt to kind of cover it up when you’re done.”

“Just out in the grass?” I continued. “Not in the hut with the rocks?”

“Yes, in the grass.” Hawa was patient to explain. “Pick some tall grass off the footpath.”

And then she offered this most useful bit of wisdom: “When you visit the village, you should stay on the footpath. You don’t know what you might find when you leave the footpath. Yes, in the village, stay on the footpath.”

Of course we all laughed. I thanked Hawa for her instruction and insight. And I was doubly glad that I’d asked the question.

Bigyay Bra Spayda

Bra Spayda (Brother Spider) is a character in many Krio fables. He tries to get everything for himself (usually food) and thinks himself very clever, but he winds up with nothing. Today, we had to turn in a story about Bra Spayda for our Krio lesson. My teacher (Violet), my neighbor (Abdul), Bakarr, and Kathy all laughed, so I’ll count it as a success. Here is the story I wrote (with an English translation following):

(Krio uses some vowels we don’t have in English, so I will approximate the best I can.)
Bra Spayda get et pikin. Wan tem di pikin tel am “Wi angri! Ples go ton foh bred. Wi go day o!”

Bra Spayda go ton. Di makit uman de sel fo smohl bred en wan jayant bred. Bra Spayda i tink i need di jayant bred foh di pikin bikohs na behs at ohl. I aks di makit uman ohmos i de sehl i jayant bred. Di makit uman se ne Le 18,000. Bra Spayda i get Le 100. I aks di makit uman foh sel in jayant bred foh Le 100. I se “Noh. Mi smohl bred na Le 100.”

Bra Spayda i want ohltin di jayant bred. I se i kin dans foh di jayant bred. I se i kin johmp foh di jayant bred. I se i kin krak jok foh di jayant bred.

Bra Spayda i dans foh di makit uman. Ma kow i bai tu smohl bred. Bra got i bai wan smohl bred. Sista Pus i bai wan smohl bred.

At midulnet, Bra Ohkpohloh i bai di jayant bred. Bra Spayda luk foh di smohl bred but i noh si natin. Bra Spayda i waka go no os with noh bred bikohs i get bigyay.

Now, the English translation:
Brother Spider had eight children. One time the children told him, “We are hungry! Please go to town for some bread. We are going to die!”

Brother Spider went to town. The market woman was selling four small loaves of bread and one giant loaf of bread. Brother Spider thought he needed the giant bread for the children because it was the very best one. He asked the market woman how much the giant bread cost. She said it cost 18,000 Leones. Brother Spider had 100 Leones. He asked the market woman to sell the giant bread for 100 Leones. She said, “No, 100 Leones is the price of my small bread.”

Brother Spider only wanted the giant bread. He said he could dance in exchange for the giant bread. He said he would jump for the giant bread. He said he would tell jokes for the giant bread.

While Brother Spider danced for the market woman, Mother Cow bought two small loaves of bread, Brother Goat bought a small loaf, and Sister Cat bought a small bread.

At midnight, Brother Frog bought the giant bread. Brother Spider looked for the small bread but saw nothing. Brother Spider walked home without any bread because of his big eyes (his greed or gluttony).

Stay tuned for Kathy’s Bra Spayda story…

Bathing in Pig Water... Big Mistake!

As the rainy season comes to an end in Sierra Leone, water is very valuable. In fact, when it rains, we (as well as the neighbors who share our "compound") run outside with our buckets and containers to collect the runoff from the roof.

Although there is no recycling program in Sierra Leone, they practice the ultimate in recycling - almost every container is reused somehow. In our garage, we have large containers that used to hold vegetable oil and are now currently filled with water. In preparation for the team from Albany, Oregon, we were concerned about the amount of water we'd need. So Bakarr told us about and purchased three large plastic "barrels" in which to store larger quantities of water. These barrels are used to import pigs' feet to Sierra Leone. We were fairly confident that a thorough cleaning would make these ideal containers for storing water. Uh, wrong!

Kathy was the first to take a "bucket shower" using water from one of the barrels. The water had a very unpleasant smell. I had the misfortune of using the "pig water" for a shower the next day, after the water had ample opportunity to "stew" in the barrel and soak up more of the distinguishing odor. Yuck! Yuck! Yucky! Think about pouring a scoop of stinky water over your head and using it to wash your hair and body... I'm grimacing now just recalling that "cleansing" shower.

Kathy and I were determined to come up with a use for the stinky "pig water" - it couldn't be used for bathing, laundry, dishes, or drinking. How about for flushing the toilets? We thought we had it but laughed about the smell of the water rivaling whatever was needing to be flushed...

We still have a barrel of the "pig water" left in the garage. Neither of us is brave enough to open it and use it. The last time we opened an empty barrel, we decided against having it filled with "clean" water (a relative description) because the smell from the empty barrel made us both gag. It really is that gross! (And we bathed in it!)

And since we're on the subject of bathing, since I've been in Sierra Leone, I have bathed:

• by candlelight
• in "pig water"
• from a bucket of warm water (ahhhh!)

Definitely not experiences common to my life in the US! But as our neighbor, Abdul, told Kathy the other day, "Welcome to Sierra Leone!"

My Big Fat Anti-Malarial Experiment

Kathy thought I should share this story as an example of the trials a missionary faces even before hitting the field, so here's a lesson on malaria...

(You didn't know this blog would be educational, did you?)

Malaria is a serious disease caused by the bite of a parasite-infected mosquito. There are four types of malaria, one of which can kill you. Of course Sierra Leone has all four types, and the "killer" malaria is resistant to some antimalarial medications. It's a given that you need to take drugs (and avoid mosquito bites - a real challenge for a "mosquito magnet" like me) to prevent malaria when visiting Sierra Leone. (Unless you are old-school missionary and go with the "pray & trust God" approach.) Oh, you might also like to know that you can get malaria even while taking antimalarial drugs. Ridiculous sickness, isn't it?!

Here are the antimalarial drug options in a nutshell:

• Mefloquine: Pros - Taken once a week, pretty inexpensive (about $30/month). Cons - weird (but supposedly rare) psychological side effects like dizziness, anxiety, vivid nightmares, hallucinations, and depression.


• Doxycycline: Pros - Inexpensive (about $33/year?). Cons - Taken daily, causes sun-sensitivity, yeast infections are common.


• Malarone: Pros - Least severe side effects. Cons - Taken daily, Expensive!! (about $188/month).

Based on my research on the subject, I had pretty much eliminated mefloquine as an option because it just doesn't seem wise to mess with your brain. But I also had questions about taking a drug (doxycycline) that makes you sensitive to the sun while living 6 degrees above the equator. I've taken Malarone when traveling to Cambodia without side effects, but its cost makes it impractical for a 2-year assignment.

So when the travel clinic doctor suggested I take mefloquine (That's what he took when he served in the Peace Corp.), I wasn't thrilled. However, he convinced me that I should do a little experiment. He'd prescribe 2 mefloquine, and if I didn't have any of the rare side effects, he'd prescribe 2 more because any side effects would manifest in 4 weeks. I figured if I was going to take it for 2 years, it wouldn't hurt to take it for a couple weeks this summer and agreed to give mefloquine a try. (And, again, the side effects are supposed to be rare.)

I guess I'm glad I did the experiment because I found out I cannot take mefloquine! The first week was fine. The second week was a different story. Here's a question to get you ready for my experience...

Have you ever
a. Stuck your tongue on a battery?
b. Touched an electric fence?

That electric zing you get from either of those scenarios is how my hands, arms, feet, and legs felt. Plus, my head was "fuzzy" - kind of like that heavy jet-lag feeling - and I was jittery and anxious. And did I mention my ears were ringing? I was a mess!

And I was supposed to be leaving for vacation and couldn't imagine getting on an airplane feeling the way I did. I went to the doctor the day before we left for Florida, and he prescribed an anti-anxiety medication and commented, "You're going where for two years?" as I left. I didn't feel like myself for a full week. It was better when I was active or moving because when I was still, I really felt the "electric current" in my extremities.

Mefloquine has a 3-week half-life, which means tomorrow marks the day when all traces of that nasty drug should be out of my body. I think I'll celebrate the end of my "experiment"! (And just in case you're curious, I'll be taking doxycycline when I leave for Sierra Leone.)

What's The Big Idea?

"Africa? God, are You seriously calling me to serve You in Africa?"

I have to admit I ask that question regularly.

When I seriously began pursuing missions several years ago, I never thought God would call me to Africa. I love SE Asia! I have family - both physical and spiritual - in Thailand, and "family" in Cambodia. I want these beautiful people to know and love the completely awesome Creator God! And, of course, I'd love to be there sharing the Good News with them. In fact, I started taking Cambodian language & culture classes in January in preparation for where God was leading me.

So why am I heading to Sierra Leone, Africa instead of Asia? It amuses me to say, "I was the answer to my prayer!" I had been asking God to send someone to minister with my friend Kathy in Sierra Leone. I knew she didn't want to go to start this new ministry by herself. I can't express how surprised - and then excited - I was when, in response to my request for direction for the year, God said, "What about Sierra Leone?"

I had actually hoped to serve in missions with Kathy in Thailand. But that wasn't what God had planned. After much prayer, wise counsel, and searching scripture I was confident that Sierra Leone was truly God's plan and not my own. And He has been faithful to confirm to me over and over and over that He has gone ahead of me to prepare my ministry in Sierra Leone. And I believe He has given me just a glimpse, an inkling, of what He wants to do there. I don't know details, but I know it is BIG. No wonder I love singing "God is Big" with the kids at church - God has been preparing me all along!

So, my target is to join Kathy (who leaves in less than a week) in Freetown at the end of August. I have committed to serve there for 2 years and then re-evaluate. I can't wait to see what God is going to do!

This may seem entirely off-topic, but stick with me... I love DVR. I get to skip commercials and opening credits, which makes watching television much more efficient. However, I've always watched the opening for Gilmore Girls because I love the theme song. "Where You Lead" is even my cell phone ringtone. So it wasn't a big stretch for me to answer God's question ("What about Sierra Leone?") with, "Where You lead I will follow. Anywhere. Even Sierra Leone."