Saturday, April 24, 2010

africa


(Christie and I in a village...note the "bath water" on the side of the log)

okay, I know it's taken me over a month to write this post....my trip to Africa is just too hard to put into words. I think I'm going to make a list with some pictures that go along with them, or in some cases let the pictures speak for themselves. So hold on, cause here I go...

I'll start with the "challenging" things:

- Seeing Child Labor in action. Being the first white people in a village. All at one stop. The kids were digging in the dirt and carrying huge bags of sand on their heads. We're not talking 10 years old, I mean like 4 or 5. Seriously, they didn't look much older than Jack. They were mining for diamonds. Sick. I had to look away and not think about what was going on, or I thought I was going to burst out in tears right there. That changed me.


- We also saw a lot of homes that were destroyed by the rebels. It is sad to see the homes destroyed which means families were separated and children were left orphaned. That changed me.

- Seeing how many kids were not in school, not to mention how corrupt the education system is. The kids have to pay to hand in assignments, in some schools. That changed me.


- Transporting a pregnant lady in labor (due to an ambulance getting a flat tire), who speaks no English and then we get a flat tire. We successfully made it to the hospital, which the hospital is an entire different story. That changed me.

Now for some "amazing" things:
- Kids smiles, and appreciation for everything.

- Seeing Christie in her home.


- Riding a honda for 30 cents. This was by far my favorite part!


- Just how fun a laser light is to people that have never seen one.

- How good a cold Coke tastes when it's so hot (even the Africans were telling me it was hot)

- How fun a balloon is to a kid who has no other toys.

- River #2, a beach in paradise! Amazing.

If you made it this far, please know that because of my trip to Africa...I am changed.

Saying goodbye to Christie. Miss her.