I forgot to mention that our day ended yesterday observing the United States Marines celebrating their birthday. It was a large event here at our hotel outside in the pool area. We watched it from the outdoor restaurant above the pool.
Today was a day filled with family. Our first visit was with Aaron, Mariama and family. They have four children, a brother and a cousin in their home. The drive there was adventurous with traffic, motorbikes and an incredibly rough ride to their house.
Aaron and Mariama greeted us warmly. The children were shy at first, but warmed up to us quickly. The toddler was a little frightened of us white people. He warmed up to Tim by the time we left.
We took a delightful walk around the neighborhood. The children were of course interested in our white skin and hair!
Desmond is 10 and wants to be a pilot. Tim found a game on his phone where he could fly a plane. It was pretty cute to watch.
Later we met Simeon’s family at his gravesite. It was pretty emotional for all. But it was good for us to bring closure and the family made us feel like a part of them.
We had a family meeting after where we met more of the family. A nice time of remembering Simeon and his hardworking nature and his love for serving his people, both young and old.
We are so blessed to be here and experience the love of these precious people.
The morning didn’t begin well as I was not feeling good. We began the day at noon with a drive to the home of Pastor Timothy for lunch. It was an adventure to get there; driving over bumpy roads and walking across this crazy bridge. Pastor greeted us and we sat down to lunch of rice (of course), fish and juicy oranges. We had an interesting talk about church and other matters.
From there we made our way to Alimatu’s house. Along the way we passed the site of the fire and gas explosion that was in the news.
Alimatu is the late Simeon’s fiancé. We had a nice visit with her family. Simeon’s mother, Hawa, was also there so nice to see everyone in person.
Our day began today with a visit to see Alyssa’s friend and former Mercy Ship patient, Mariama. She met us at the car and led us down many steps to her place. She was so happy to see us. She is a second year nursing student. She is very excited about her studies and thankful for the influence Alyssa has had in her life.
Augustine then drove us downtown Freetown and to a bank. Samuel called his banker friend and he met us at the car to exchange money for us. (It really pays to have a local with connections 🙂).
We toured around Freetown and then went to the big Market. It was fun to see all the crafts and fabric for sale. I might need to return and buy some of the local batik, tie-dye and cottage cloth. Samuel said we are some of the first white people back to visit after Covid. The venders were quite happy to have someone to sell to.
We ended the day with lunch near Lumley Beach. We sat outdoors and experienced the breezes coming off the ocean.
Wednesday was a day of rest. We slept late and had a nice breakfast. The hotel is great with amazing views of Freetown and the Atlantic Ocean.
Aaron and Mariama came over to visit in the afternoon and stayed to have dinner with us. It was a joy to finally see them in person!
Hello from Sierra Leone! We have arrived safely with all of our luggage intact. Things were a little chaotic at the airport. Our plane from Brussels was full, so they are processing more than 100 people. First we had to purchase our visa and then make our way through passport control. We wait awhile for our luggage and it finally appears. As we leave the luggage area many people confront us to buy SIM cards for our phones and offering us rides and tickets for the water taxis.
We follow the herd to the Covid testing area. We sign in with our pre purchased travel number, then to the next table where we get our test tube label. Then we are called in to be tested. From there we wait for our results and allowed to leave. It all took time.
Augustine and his uncle Samuel are waiving at us as we emerge. We are all excited to greet each other. After loading the luggage in the car, we have a short ride to the ferry. The ferry is about a 45 minute ride to Freetown. It was lovely to visit as we moved along the water. We drive off the ferry and into downtown Freetown in the dark night. After 25 minutes we arrive at the Country Lodge Hotel.
After over 24 hours of travel we were ready for sleep.
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.
Sierra Leone is in West Africa, bordered by Liberia and Guinea. It is a little larger than the state of Virginia. The name was given to the country by the Portuguese explorers. It means Lion Mountain.
It has a complicated history. Between 1668 and 1807, more than 50,000 slave left from Bunce Island with many arriving in Georgia and the Carolinas to work in the rice fields.
In 1787 abolitionists settled freed slaves in what is now the capital city of Freetown. Eventually Great Britain controlled Sierra Leone. The country gained their independence in 1958.
From 1991 to 2002 the country experienced a terrible civil war. Some of our friends tell of spending their childhood in refugee camps in Guinea to escape the violence. We first traveled to Sierra Leone in 2011 and the country was still suffering from the results of the war.
Then in 2015 the Ebola outbreak devastated the country for 18 months. Hospitals were overrun with the sick and dying. Schools were closed. Then in 2017 there was terrible flooding in Freetown and hundreds lost their lives and homes.
As a result of this history, there is much poverty, corruption, and lack of jobs for the youth. But the people have hope for a brighter future.
But, it is a beautiful country, with beaches and forests and a lot of wildlife. Not to mention the lovely resilient people who we are excited to meet!
In all of life, change is always a given. Releasing our grip on the plans we create allows life experiences we may not always choose.
We have moved the trip to Africa once again. This will be our fourth attempt to set foot in Sierra Leone. We are now scheduled to leave November 8th.
Releasing our grip on our previous plan allowed us to join Kathy’s family in caring for their mother, Marguerite Williams, in the last days of her 97 years. Beautiful times of healthy tears, encouraging embraces, memories expressed, and a celebration of a life well lived. We are so very grateful for these life experiences, even though they were unchosen.
Now our travel plans ramp up to full steam. All the travel itineraries have been adjusted and we are working through the final details and countdown check lists.
We were just asked to provide the teaching at the Sunday worship services on the 14th in Freetown. Please pray for God’s clear direction in what we are to present.
Tim and Kathy
Welcome fellow readers! We are Tim and Kathy Simonsen and, like many of you, enjoy traveling and the adventures of this grand journey called life.
We have moved to a new blogging platform that looks a bit easier for us to manage. We encourage you to make comments on the posts. We really enjoy your interactions!
Our upcoming travels will take us to Sierra Leone, Africa. This will be our third try at getting there. Our arch enemy, COVID-19, has won the first two rounds, but we are in hopes we will make it this time.
Our flights are not until mid October but we are beginning to gather all the items to pack in one spot. We are hoping to help our friends in Sierra Leone with clothing, kitchen items, etc.
One very useful item is used cell phones. We have unlocked and reset several of ours and they are in the pile. If anyone has a cell phone several generations back that is still in good working order, please get them to us. The phones will be very greatly appreciated.
We will keep you posted as we get closer so check in regularly or subscribe and be sure to stay in touch!
Tim and Kathy
Tim & Kathy Simonsen