Mission Trip - day 1

The first day of our trip we stayed at the orphanage all day. We sorted clothes for the kids and did some preparation tasks for the upcoming medical clinics.

A sweet boy named Abubakar took a few of us on a walk thru the surrounding village of Wellington. There were mostly huts and and make-shift houses. I was in awe at the simple way they lived. It was beautiful! There were children everywhere and they would run up to us waving and saying "Hello-Hello."

When we got to interact with all of the kids I was overwhelmed at their joy. My friend immediately brought a little boy to me that I have a video of on my myspace. His name is Benjamin and I could not wait to meet him. He was even more beautiful in person than he was on the video!

The kids were so full of joy. They loved on us and wanted to be with us as much as we wanted to be with them. They were full of questions about our families. I wanted to hug and kiss them all. I have never been in such small quarters with 80 children and had such peace and joy. Their laughing and playing was such a sweet sound.

They have 2 stories in their home. The girls are on one floor and the boys on another. They have 20 sets of bunk beds and a few cupboards that they share for their clothes on each floor. The first day we went on the girls' balcony and gave them all manicures. They were all so beautiful! In Sierra Leone you must pay to go to school. Their native language is Krio but since these children all go to school they know English very well.

Late that afternoon they gave us a welcoming ceremony. The children did cultural dances and played music and sang for us. It was the most precious sight! That evening we sat in on their evening worship service. (They have a worship/devotional time in the mornings and evenings together that is completely led by the children).

The children played African drums and instruments. They sang American worship songs. 2 of them were "How Great is our God" and "I will Overcome" by Charlie Hall. Part way through the first song I started weeping uncontrollably. Watching the children worship...really worship and sing the lyrics to those songs knowing everything they have overcome was the most humbling experience. I felt unworthy to be in their presence. I realized at that moment that He was taking me deeper than I had ever been and opening my eyes to things unseen to me before this trip.