Easter away weekend

We are just back from our church’s 3-day away week-end, a first. Sixty adults attended and many children. Over 20 would not have afforded the £4 but for support from our friends in the UK. There were practical sessions on money, loyalty, & the occult, which is powerful here.

It was held in a girl’s boarding school in town next to the government offices and the football stadium. Cooking facilities are basic; note helen pounding with the pestle & mortar the onions, chillies and tomatoes for the sauce, which is swimming in palm oil; football reigns as always.

We enjoyed getting to know them better and being accepted. I spoke to the group about experiences we had in Africa when we were both young, and how this time is fulfilling a hunger in our hearts for the warm people of this great continent. Helen, speaking in Krio lead prayer for Christians suffering for their faith at this time in the Middle East.

Freedom

I am writing this at 5 am, Saturday morning. I can’t sleep because of a broadcast Lent all-night prayer meeting that is going on in a church 100 yards away. I went down to the ‘tin tabernacle’ (literally) and found three members of the ‘God’s end time revival army’ church going strong with two microphones at the same time. Last week it was the raucous singing of ‘I’ve got peace like a river.’ that finally got me up.

Apparently there is a law about disturbance of the peace, but here anyone complaining about noise would be slammed by the neighbourhood (mostly Muslim) as anti-social interference with African freedom. I therefore quietly asked them to kindly turn down the volume a tad, which they did.

Crossing the river

The airport here is separated from town by a six-mile wide river, and various means of transport are used, all of which have had their problems in the past. Last week a wealthy patron arrived before light in her jet and chartered a private motor boat to take her across. Since there is no landing stage men had to carry the passengers shoulder high through the water to the boat. The boat needed fuelling and due to waves some fuel got spilled in the boat. A lighted torch fell in the petrol, but it fortunately it didn’t ignite.

They started across in the pitch dark, and the lady asked the pilot how he knew in which direction to go. He answered that the boat had GPS, which unfortunately wasn’t working at the moment. He said he could phone a friend on shore to shine a bright torch which would guide them if the batteries were in good condition. Unfortunately his phone battery was flat so he couldn’t call!

As the waves got bigger and the passengers got wetter she started to get scared. She put on two life jackets and stuffed some money and her passport into her bra. She phoned the boat-owner to ask what his contingency plan was should the boat get into trouble. After some evasive answers it emerged that absolutely no one would save them for another hour until daylight. Afterwards she said it put 10 years on her life and was the worst experience she had ever had! When Tony Blair came his security people wouldn’t let him come across, and he just spent the night near the airport.

Clean-up Saturday

Garbage collection doesn’t occur in any but the main streets in Freetown. In our street there is a scattering of rubbish everywhere, and piles here and there. Since the elections last year there has been a monthly clean-up day, and no one is allowed to travel or open business till noon. Clouds of acrid smoke fill the air as garbage is burnt, but generally the event is not well supported.

One of the masters and 30 children of the street school and ourselves scoured 100 yards of our steep street for plastic rubbish and picked up 25 sacks of it. It created quite a stir in the neighbourhood, and impacted the children too, who got a lollipop each!