On Our Way

We are finally in the air beginning our long awaited many times postponed trip to Sierra Leone. The last week was somewhat stressful getting all our bags packed and all our documents in order to fly international. We checked four large bags and managed to keep them all under 50 pounds.

Our first trip to Sierra Leone was in 2011 to join Alyssa who was volunteering as a nurse on Mercy Ships. We met some of the locals who were hired to work on the ship while it was docked in Freetown. One young man, Simeon, asked if we would help him with his education. He was in his second year of studies majoring in Public Health when he was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in May of 2019. He had a deep desire to help his people and we saddened that was life was cut short.

Through Facebook we were able to contact members of his family and were able to observe some of the funeral and even have our words of tribute read at the funeral. So now we are returning to Sierra Leone to meet Simeon’s family and friends who have become special to us also.

Simeon’s brother, Augustine, is picking us up at the airport in Freetown. He will be the main driver for our trip. We are very thankful that he has found a car to rent and has planned several visits for us. We will meet him tomorrow. But first a long flight from Chicago to Brussels and another one from Brussels to Freetown.