Days of Your Youth

The beautiful beach at Aberdeen.

My Freetown friends and I in Kabala (ps. can you find me? haha)

From left to right... Makieu, Abraham, Dennis, me, Charles, and Moses J.

Very sorry for the long silence! I have had a few

really busy, and really wonderful weeks in Salone.

Around 3 weeks ago I was able to actually start my field work with CES, which has been amazing so far. My first job here is the Assistant Youth Ministry Director...meaning that I work with the youth in and around Kabala, encourage them, provide them with new ideas, and help them plan events. This job involves going on a lot of day trips to villages to meet with the youth and talk to them, which has been sweet. It is so encouraging to see young people all over this country who are dedicated to serving God, and also incredibly responsible and hard working. I've been working with Pastor Maxwell, the Youth pastor for CES, and it's been an amazing experience! The first villiage we travelled to was Dankowalie, which is about 18 miles out of Kabala...or about an hour on the motorbike. The village has about 1000 people in in, and 2 schools...a primary school and a high school. Which is a very good step, but for a village of 1000, there is only about 25% of the school aged children actually attending school. However, the purpose of this newfounded youth ministry is not only to bring youth together to serve God, but to encourage them to continue their studies and education. If the youth in Sierra Leone can have the realization that they are amazing, unique people with value and worth, than imagine the good that realization could do for this beauitful country...these are talented, smart youth who not only serve God with all they have, but are able to mentor their peers on the dangers of HIV/AIDS, the importance of education, and responsiblity. What an incredible change this generation will make in the lives of people all over Salone...I am so excited to be a part of it, and to come back and see how far these youth have gone!

So during my first week of fieldwork, I travelled to 3 different villages close to Kabala. It never fails to amaze me how welcoming people are in these villages...the kids follow me everywhere, and I was nearly brought to tears at every youth meeting because the pastors were so grateful that I had come to see them - so grateful for so little sacrifice.

2 weeks ago, I was able to work with an amazing group of youth from Freetown, who are all part of a group called Youth Alliance. Their president, Moses Jawara, got the vision for Youth Alliance and made it a reality in 2008. Essentially the group exists to bring youth all over Salone (and hopefully one day the continent, and the rest of the world) together in unity to encourage and build each other up, all while carrying out evangelism and community service events. I have never met such a dedicated group of youth with so much integrity before! During the week I worked with these 5 guys, we visited schools early every morning to do a devotion for them, and from there went to do evangelism in the town until the afternoon. After evangelism, we ate and prepared for our nightly cell group meetings -bible studies which were held outside in different locations throughout the town. God was really on the move that week in Kabala. Although Kabala is a Muslim dominated town, when we did evangelism we were welcomed into the homes of Muslims and Christians alike. All of the Muslims were incredibly welcoming and friendly to us, and it was a constant reminder of how amazing our God is - he was able to open the doors and let us come through! It was such an encouraging and inspiring week.

Last week, I was able to go down to Freetown for a few days to stay with my newfound Youth Alliance Friends and visit with the families of my Sierra Leonean friends in Canada. It was a really relaxing time, and I feel a lot safer in Freetown now - it's handy to have an 'entourage', as my friends call themselves, taking you around everywhere. And I really got a chance to see even more of the amazing character my friends have - when we went to the beach, we'd sit on the sand and pray together, and they were constantly talking to other people about how good God is and offering to pray with them - right on the Aberdeen beach! As my friends like to say, when you're a pastor, you're ALWAYS a pastor, no matter where you are.

Essentially, these past 3 weeks have really encouraged me to be a missionary wherever I am, all the time. Even when I don't feel like I'm making a difference, I need to maintain the heart of a servant, keep my humility, and always put others before myself. After all, we are called to preach the gospel at all times - and when neccessary, to use words. The greatest gospel is the one your life preaches. I love and miss you all very much, thank you so much for your prayers and support.

God Bless from Kabala,
Krissi

Unspoken Bonds

This weekend was certainly a lesson in humility. By Friday morning I was absolutely convinced that I was fully adjusted to Salone life...it seemed like I could handle the heat, I knew more of the songs we sang at school (thanks to Calvary...we must sing at least 5 of the songs they sing here all the time), I'd seen all my old friends again, and I was even starting to grasp a little Krio. Of course, when you think you've got it all covered, that's when God reminds you that on your own...you really don't. By Friday late afternoon, I was feeling really sick...and by Friday night, my stomach felt like someone was squeezing the life out of it. I have a very unnatural fear of actually getting the flu...I would rather have a cold for 2 months than have to deal with throwing up. But, once again, God keeps us humble...so you can imagine which of the two options I was rewarded. Not only was I sick nearly all night, it happened to be the night the whole town was over watching a movie in our house...ah what a sense of humour God has! However, I became so incredibly thankful for my Salone mama & sisi...they were in my room within seconds of my coughing, rubbing my back and murmuring 'sorry' in Koronco until I finally stopped coughing. What a reminder of how universal love is...you don't need to understand the language perfectly to know how much someone cares about you. Saturday I still felt pretty awful, but didn't get sick...yet somehow managed to sleep all day (I do mean all day...from9 - 9, short breaks of ten minutes, and then slept till the next morning). Sunday left me feeling much better...and I was even well enough to go to church, which made me incredibly happy and homesick at the same time. Church here is so much like Calvary...we sang a lot of the same songs, and the message reminded me so much of home. Amazing how things can be so similar on different corners of the world. Today we have a meeting with the CES staff...so hopefully I will have my job tasks outlined more and we will discuss plans for the summer. This weekend was a good reminder that this summer won't be easy...it will certainly be hard work at times, and undoubtedly painful too...but with God's grace, I will get through it. After all, suffering produces perserverence, and perserverence brings faith...and what better place to learn about faith and hope than in a little village in West Africa, one that has been through so much heartache & loss? If they can still have faith, I think it's not something that's out of reach for anyone.