Monday, April 22, 2013

Week #1 - Sierra Leone Freetown Mission (Arriving In Africa)


Okay, a little more information about our travel to the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission.
The beginning of our travels:

4 hours from SLC to JFK (after sitting in the SLC airport for 2 ½ hours) with a 4 ½ hour layover in JFK.

From JFK to Accra, Ghana 10 hours; 2 hour layover in Ghana.

From Ghana to Freetown, 2 ½ hour flight (for some strange reason we were upgraded to 1st class – we are talking about a plane with only about 20 seats and driven by two propellars!).

It was in the airport that a drug sniffing dog made a beeline for one of my pieces of luggage and his handler indicated he had sniffed drugs (probably my happy pills to get me on the plane back in SLC) and advised me I had to take the luggage to customs and have it checked for drugs. Mind you, he didn't accompany me, so I picked up the dog sniffed luggage and promptly walked it past the customs agent along with the rest of the luggage. End of that story! They say you need to be assertive in Africa.




We gathered all our luggage and made our way to the hovercraft to take a 30 minute ride across the ocean to our new home for 18 months. So much for the hovercraft as it was dry docked for major repairs. We were stuffed into a boat and I mean stuffed (I quickly took a Dramamine) with everyone’s luggage stacked in the aft (I hope aft means front) of the boat (I could see all my belongings bouncing out of the boat never to be seen again.


Upon arrival at the shore, we were greeted by the mission president and his wife along with the Lauritzen's (office couple).

Lastly another 45 minutes from the dock to our apartment.

Grand total of 28 plus hours of travel. Somehow I survived it and crashed in bed that 1st night with Scott having to wake me up on Sunday morning in order to make it to Church on time.

Imagine, me sitting in Church and not being able to hear myself sing - that is how fervent the saints of Sierra Leone sing the hymns of the Church.
Love to you from Sierra Leone!

(You can see a neat picture of us on the official Sierra Leone Mission Blog - http://sierraleonefreetownmission.blogspot.com/2013/04/new-senior-couple.html )

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