Africa is not funny..

Misch and I keep getting asked how come we have not blogged about Africa. Well, this is a humor blog (so we think) and our experience in Sierra Leone was not, frankly, on the level of things we poke fun of here. It was magical, moving, spirit-filled, hard, hazardous, amazing, poignant, meaningful, and knock-you-to-your-knees-in-search-of-your-savior indescribable. It was a bonding experience between me and my 5 new best friends, plus our home team of support and prayer warriorers, the most beautiful country and people that God ever created, our amazing PEACE team, and the love and faith of our families. This is what lifted us up, and gave us courage.

That being said, Michelle and I WERE roommates, which often led to hilarity. (So we think.)

In the insanity that was traffic in Freetown, we saw many creative means of transporting unusual belongings. Seen: A young man carying a 12' wooden beam on his head. NO hands! Walking down a busy city street! Seen: 37 people in a 12 passenger van with no side door (public transportation) with a goat smashed up against the back window. No wasted space! In this same catagory, goat on a motorcycle, complete with two passengers, and goat on the top of a van. Three days later, crammed in a van with 11 people, all our luggage, and a homemade African meal complete with china and silverware, (ask us about this...it was an amazing experience!) when we passed the van with the goat in the back, someone in the van said "Look at how crammed in they are!" I said, What are you talking about, all we're missing is the goat!"

Michelle fashioned her skirt into a dress in order to get a good second wearing out of it. TOTALLY different outfit, y'all!

Stacey ate a double helping of "cake" that was at the bottom of a crock pot full of fish. (The funny part here was her expression when she saw where the "cake" came from. YUM!)

Me and Michelle, first night in our hotel room. Toilet does not flush. I call the front desk. "Oh hi, this is room whatever and I just wanted to let you know that our toilet does not flush." Front desk: "What?" Me: "Our toilet does not flush." Front desk: "You have been flashed?" Me: "What?" Front desk: "Flashed! Flashed!" Me: "No...toilet. Toilet. Flush. Flush!" Sigh. Communication deficiency brings out the idiot in me.

Krio Explanation: "How de body?" means "How are you?", "How's it going?" Friendly greeting. Well, a VERY sweet Sierra Leonian merchant says this phrase to me. A couple of times. (Obviously, I wasn't answering correctly in kind.) I continue to smile and say goofy things to him, and then go over to my team and happily anounce that that nice man invited me to a party! Someone says, "No, he said something about your body!" Me, embarassed, says, "No, I'm sure he invited me to a party." Susan: "No Dawn, he said How de body?" We laughed at me for several minutes.

On the way out of Sierra Leone we had to take a water taxi to where the airport is in Lungi. It will make the story funnier to know that I am deathly afraid of boats, water, drowning, and shoddy regulations on water transportation in 3rd world countries. After much confusion on the dock, part of our party went onto the boat and part of us were held back. While trying to communicate that we had to all go together, even if the ones on the boat already had to get off, we were sumarrily shushed and told to wait, wait, you are next. Not knowing if that mean actual next, or the next boat, anxiety began to rise in my heart. Also hilarious is the fact that I was "Security" for our team, keeping my eyes open and bringing up the rear. We were, gratefully, actual next, and as we scurried down the dock toward the boat, my sandal broke, COMPLETELY, and my suitcase capsized in the middle of the dock and passengers. I slipped off my shoe, righted my bag, and, sweating and hyperventilating, caught up with my team. I stepped onto the wrong area on the way onto the boat (dock buoy) balancing my freaking crappy bag, broken shoe, and purse, and very nearly went into the water next to the boat. A nice employee of the water taxi "company" grabbed my arm to keep me from collapsing into the bay, took my bag from me, fixed my sandal in 2 seconds, and shaking his head says, "How you manage?" Sigh. How you manage indeed. Dawn's next personalized license plate: HOWUMNG

Laura, Dawn, Michelle...3 to a bed night. I probably shouldn't even include this here because we were pretty much exhausted and mentally spent and ended up rooming together for the night. MINISTRY TEAM in da house!!! We had a king sized bed, and I'm pretty sure Laura and I were just glad we got Michelle because she was the smallest. Watching her get tangled up 3 times in the yukky mosquito net over the bed was pretty funny too. But then again, in our state of mind that evening, everything was funny! No, it was hilarious. We stayed up and giggled stupid until 4:00 in the morning.

At breakfast the next morning after 2 merciful hours of sleep: (Food being passed...) Person next to me plops a spoonful of fishricebeans on top of my bag. He looks down and says, "Oh I'm sorry." I say, "It's ok, it just looks like someone pooped on my bag!" (We laugh.) Denise: "What!! Someone pooped on your bag? WHAT? WHAT?!!" Hahaha! The fact that that was in the realm of possibility in Denise's mind....funny.

You have heard a fraction of the funny. Here is the short version of the joyful: Healing service at church for pregnant women and women who have recently given birth. Mercyship in Sierra Leone. The glow of joy and the Holy Spirit in the eyes and heart of the first lady, Worship service in Makeni. Smiling, beautiful children. Restoration. Rebuilding. Hope. Red earth.

If you asked each of my teammates to convey their take on this amazing shared experience, we could fill a book. Michelle, Laura, Denise, Stacey, and Susan...you make me laugh, and in our laughter, you bring me closer to God. It's not even close to enough to say I love you. (I could do a whole blog post on inside jokes. I won't. You're welcome. But if I should live to be a hundred, I will still laugh at BEN-jamin!!!!)

Team SL 2011
just Dawn