Freetown

I landed in Africa after what I think was 26 hours of travelling. Time-zone swaps and a lack of sleep have been my travelling companions, along with a band manager from Tennessee, a college-aged girl from Germany, and a Taiwanese ex-masseuse (who gave me the best hand massage of my life).

From the airport I had to take a small ferry to land within Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone. The area was first built upon by the Portuguese at the end of the 15th century. British philanthropists founded what would become Freetown for freed blacks in 1787. The slave trade unfortunately fed out through the city until 1928. Encountering the city first in darkness (I arrived around 10pm, locally) had a very eerie effect; the headlights from the jeep illuminated the snaking roads, the horrid potholes, and the locals walking about. I eventually saw a city built into a large hill. Random windows and street lights gave me some comfort if pending life within, but also stirred up a level of fear. Fear, I suppose, of this new reality and my utter lack of control.

This journey is just about as out of my hands as it can get! From the itineraries to the assignment itself, the lodging situations and the work I will be doing, I am forced to either cling to what I know or step out into the deep unknown. The pitch blackness of last night’s arrival seemed to illustrate the necessity of entering such a dark night before any dawn could possibly break.

We have to periodically put our power back into the hands of God. If we never make ourselves empty, the Spirit never has room to work in us. I know this, and I’m fine with the logic of it, but in practice I certainly struggle, or I compromise on just “how empty” I think God wants me to be. Now I feel akin to a child, completely dependent on those around me. BUT, my friends, God certainly does deliver on his promise: “What’s more, I will be with you, and I will protect you wherever you go” (Gen 28:15). CRS officials have been walking with me ever since I stepped off the plane, and tonight I was invited to have dinner with the director of programming and his beautiful daughter (we played ‘Hang-Man’ for about 10 rounds; she won). They hail from Montana, and the comfort of their presence gave me much psychological and emotional comfort.

Tomorrow I will be transported to Makeni, a town to the Northeast, where I will begin my official assignment under the local priest. Thank you all for your prayers…they’re helping me to sleep better at night!
-Bob
“If everything is Yours, I’m letting it go—it was never mine to hold”—Audrey Assad, Everything is Yours