2 years in Sierra Leone...

It’s hard to believe that exactly two years ago (probably to the hour) I arrived in Freetown.

I remember meeting up with Josette and the boys and James in Brussels, flying to Freetown, Pastor Mark running around arranging our helicopter tickets, laughing at the wooden boarding passes, waiting for the helicopter, Doug meeting us on the Lungi side, taking the helicopter over, being picked up by my dad, driving over to the Lumley team house…not knowing that this would be my home for the next two years.

That first night I shared a room with Gisela in the house; the noisy room next to the generator. We had a small portable AC that leaked and so if you got up in the night you’d be standing in a puddle of water! I didn’t know my ‘own’ room wouldn’t be ready for another few weeks but since then I’ve been in my own room, overlooking the gazebo, with a view of the ocean and its been great (besides the walls that are sometimes wet and moldy!)

My first day in Freetown was spent exploring the ACFC (our center). Wow, it’s changed a lot over the past 2 years. Of course the outpatient clinic part was just empty rooms. But even the wards weren’t wards yet at the time. I remember one ward was totally full of boxes and medical supplies that had just been offloaded from a container from the USA. We didn’t even have a kitchen or laundry yet at the center. At the time I didn’t know it would be another month before we started surgery and two months till the opening of the clinic!

Wow, how time flies. It’s fun thinking about everything that’s happened over the past two years; the good, the bad, the funny, the sad. I’ve made some good memories, met some cool people, helped many children, made many beach trips, taken lots of Lariam tablets, posted a number of blog entries and done so many more things. And, the adventure continues…