Arrival day

Well, we finally arrived in Sierra Leone! We got here on Sunday morning...I woke up very early and headed outside to watch the sun rising as we approached land...the anticipation was high and we all gathered on Deck 7 dressed up in our African clothes. When we reached the port, I was able to spot several friends on the dock who were on the advance team...unfortunately, we had to wait a few hours before they were able to board (due to customs and other issues), but when they finally did come on the ship, we had a nice little reunion!

After we arrived, there was a nice little ceremony with some of the local government officials on the dock, while the rest of the crew watched from Deck 7 and then surprised the crowd when we sang the Sierra Leone national anthem with the country flag flying (we had been practicing during the sail).

We were all a little bit disappointed that we weren't able to get off the ship to walk around in town the first day we arrived (because of customs issues), but thankfully they released us today!

So far, I've only been out into town once, but from the little bit that I've seen, I really like it! I went out today to walk around and explore a bit with some friends and the minute we got outside of the gate, we were surrounded by lots of little children wanting to hold our hands and learn our names. The kids are so adorable and most of the people we've met in town have been very friendly.

The one bad thing I've heard so far about Freetown is that there is A LOT of traffic (which is very obvious the moment you get to the road!)...I really don't like being stuck in traffic, so that's a bit of a bummer, but I have a feeling that we'll just be walking a lot more this year!

As we had church last night, I was reflecting on some of the things that we have been talking and praying about in preparation for this outreach. One of the songs we have continually come back to in our community that has really resonated with my heart is called "God of this city." This has become a prayer for me as I consider the outreach ahead of us:

You're the God of this City

You're the King of these people

You're the Lord of this nation

You are

You're the Light in this darkness

You're the Hope to the hopeless

You're the Peace to the restless

You are

There is no one like our God

There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done in this City

Greater thing have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done in this City