Update from Sierra Leone!

We are doing well here in Sierra Leone! Our time is going quickly, but every team member is excited about the work and is loving being with the COTN kids. It took us more than 50 hours to actually get here...needless to say, we were tired, but the anticipation for the work and the experience has carried us through.

I wish I would have been able to post on Thanksgiving, but I am now a day late. In honor of the day, I will tell you what we are thankful for:

- safe travel, even if it did take forever
- the opportunity to wake up to children singing praise songs and starting their day with devotions
- the chance to watch the teenage girls of house 9 giggle with glee as they braided Uncle Nich and Uncle Andrew's hair
- walking into Ngoala village and having the children RUN to us with delight. No team member was without child hanging on their arms for the entire visit
- watching Kelly share fire safety with villagers and having them understand the dangers and how to deal with them
- receiving African names and hearing the children call to us as we walk by
- most all of our playground supplies waiting for us
- the group of local villagers who are waiting for us each morning to help us build
- Aunty Christiana's food - every team member has commented about how they don't eat this well at home :)
- community - sharing life with each other, even if it does mean non flushing toilets
- bug nets
- water. a few of us have attempted to pump and carry water from the well and it is excruciatingly difficult. the kids do it with ease.
- Quami - our host. What an amazing man...I'm sure you will hear stories of him when we return.
- the chance to hear stories from these children. they have endured the worst you can imagine, and they smile and praise God everyday. if we can have faith like theirs at some point in our life, we will be blessed.

Things we are TRYING to be thankful for:

- The roosters that wake us at 4:45am. Aunty Christiana says "praise be to God for them...they let us know it is morning." I roll over and pray that they will be our dinner that night so we don't have to hear them anymore.
- No rain. Though it feels like we are sometimes building a playground in Hades, we are plugging away.
- Knowing that the bugs around us are not as dangerous as others we could run into. Waking up to a cockroach on my arm was not pleasant, nor seeing the lizard on my bed, but at least they don't bite.
- Bucket showers. Though we never feel clean, and the first cup makes us gasp, it feels great to be cool for the 5 minutes we have...before we get out, start sweating, and apply sunblock and bug spray again.

We will be eager to share photos with you when we return. Quami calls Tammy "Aunty Paparazzi", so there will be plenty to see.

I am amazed at this team. I have led others before and have not seen such hard workers. We are truly united and feel the prayers around us. We are the luckiest people from EastLake right now... Our time here is precious and I know we are appreciating every moment, every conversation and every lesson. God is good.