When you read this we will be on our way home from Sierra Leone where we visited the Courtney family.  Chad, Robin, Dwight, Anabelle and Owen moved to the West African country in January.  They had previously served 4 years in Chile as church planters with Iberoamerican Ministries.
     All the time, money, and finances FCC has invested in this family has paid great dividends.  We stand amazed at how much they have accomplished in just 4 months.  They have established a home, learned their way around, made many friends, started learning the language, and are heavily vested in ministry.  Chad is the Country Director for Willamette Medical Teams.  What started as short-term groups holding clinics now includes rice growing and fishing.
     We were scheduled to get into SL at 11 last Tuesday night.  On final approach the pilot announced there was a rain storm and we would have to circle for 30-40 minutes.  An hour later he said we were being diverted to Gambia to refuel and wait out the storm.  We were on the ground there for an hour, then an hour back to SL. I told the flight attendant I wanted my passport stamped if we landed in another country.  He said he did too, but neither of us got our wish.  The second time we landed with no problem.
     After a long wait for our bags and a short wait to clear immigration and customs, we found Chad. He had waited for over six hours for us.  We had three more waits; for a van to take us to the ferry, for the ferry, and for a van to take us home.
     We fell in bed and did not move until noon. Lunch was a typical stew with spinach, eggplant, and beef over rice.  Fried plantains completed the meal.  Nothing is convenient here, and always looming is the thought that 7 people have to be fed. Since that first day I have been helping Robin cook.  Everything is from scratch except bread which is sold door to door each day.  Twice we have had enchiladas made from ingredients we brought in our suitcases.
     Thursday the official activities began with a 2 hour road trip to a
 school. We presented computers that had come in the container which was sent by ship before they left the States.  When we arrived at the school, there were 250 uniformed students of all ages patiently waiting for us.  They were crowded together on benches under the shade of a tarp. Waiting is a common theme here, as is heat and poverty.  The computers were unloaded and displayed on tables in front of the seats for the guests of honor - us.
     Chad had been told there would be a short formal presentation. It lasted 2 hours. Everyone with a title brought flowery messages replete with superlatives, including Chad. Various groups of children sang and danced.  Everyone performed until the principal walked up and whispered to them, and they reluctantly stopped.  The mode of discipline seemed to be yelling and threatening with a stick.  Children and adults from the village were beaten back with the same stick.  No friendship evangelism here.  A teacher finally literally drew a line in the sand which the onlookers were instructed not to cross.
     Pastor Ben was our host for the day.  He has recruited and trained 11 pastors who are leading churches in the area.  His vision is to have churches and pastors in each of the 12 tribes in the country.
     At the church near the school we were served enormous plates of delicious, groundnut stew (think peanut) with rice. What we couldn't eat the men finished as they cleared the tables.
     Friday and Saturday was a trip to the dam sight, the hospital where the clinics are held, and the rice field.  We attract a crowd wherever we go. Babies cry at the sight of so many white faces, and Owen says he knows how they feel.  We spent the night in air conditioned comfort at a lovely compound that serves the Rulite mine.
     Sunday was a lazy day, and Monday was shopping and to the beach.  The beach was beautiful, but reached over a long, winding, pot-hole filled road.  I think I would be tempted to stay home if I lived here.
     I asked what I should tell the people at FCC about Sierra Leone and the work the Courtneys are doing. Chad said, "Tell them to pray and that we need more workers."
     
God bless you all,
The Shraders and the Courtneys in Sierra Leone