Blogs from Africa - page 15

Last evening I went with a group to show the Jesus film at a location somewhere in Lome. It was shown on the side of the street in fromt of a church. The pastor and his wife spoke English. The wife wore traditional dress. The pastor and five children worn western style clothing. The wife showed me some bags that she made with small sized cord. I think she tries to sell then to make extra money. The church was lovely inside. About 30 passers-by stopped to watch the movie which was in the local language. We also sang and prayed. It was interesting to watch the people's reaction. They clapped at the miracles made negative sounds when bad things were happening. I was told that this was done twice a week in different neighborhoods. The ... read more

Left Vermont 22-4-12 and arrived on Africa Mercy in Lome, Togo at 0915 local time Monday (23-4-12). Tuesday 24-4-12 My first assignment, with two days on ang two days off, will be in the dinning area. I get to choose what to do the other days. I plan to start at the Hope Center. Patience who still need follow up care but live too far to go home stay at Hope Center. There are many meeting during the first two weeks for new crew. After that, not so many. My first one is at 1600 today. Coming in from the airport reminded me off many of the poor place I saw in Latin America. The crew is exceptionally friendly and helpful.... read more

This morning I went to Maison Bethany, an orphanage. Judging by the pictures on the walls, it seems to be Catholic. There were about 20 children. Our leader read a bible parable about building a house on a firm foundation. Then we built a small house using blocks on sand and one on a rock and made it rain with a pitcher of water. We had several activities. Watercoloring, singing, games and puzzles. They seemed to receive good care. The place was spacious by standards down here and clean. I had the chance to speak with the translator. He 25 and single. He says that most men do not marry until they are 28 and women 25. He knows French, English, and at least one of the African languages. I don't know what the temp is ... read more

Gibraltar is an anomaly. Geographically it’s in Spain, and they’d really like it back, but for now it’s British - from the pics you can see even the weather is British – I imagine an isolated cold front hovering over it permanently while the sun blazes over the rest of Spain. We went there with Pat and Ann, who you met in the last blog, (thanks again for the tour guys!) and who relished being able to light up in the ‘oldest pub in Gibraltar’ while enjoying a decent fish and chip lunch. You can’t smoke in pubs anymore in the UK, so Gibraltar really is more English than England. The shops are full of Union Jack tea towels and teapots and tourists, but the Rock itself is wonderful – huge, sudden, imposing, white even in ... read more

Sopa! (Masaai for Hello) Last weekend I went to Nairobi for five days and spent three of those on a safari to the Masaai Mara. When I heard about the opportunity, I had to take it; I mean really, how often in your life are you going to get to go on a safari inAfrica. Honestly I was not excited about going to Nairobi. I had heard nothing positive from others who had been already and with a nickname like “Nairobbery” you would definitely be more wary of visiting. I was pleasantly surprised with what I found when I visited Nairobi. It was a very clean, colorful and western city. Although I did not spend much time in the city, all the Kenyan’s I met while on my trip were truly fantastic and really changed my ... read more

Of the gladdest moments in human life, methinks, is the departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands. Shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of Habit, the leaden weight of Routine, the cloak of many Cares and the slavery of Home, one feels once more happy. The blood flows with the fast circulation of childhood …. A journey, in fact, appeals to Imagination, to Memory, to Hope – the three sister graces of our moral being. - Sir Richard Burton One benefit of driving cross country in the everpresent tourist mini-bus is the ability to see more of the landscape. In a country like Morocco, the landscape, both natural and man made, is incredibly diverse. We had already seen rolling green fields along the coast and north eastern part of the country, high alpine ... read more

Manuka/maswera/maneru masweri sei (depending on what time of day you're reading this. As you can probably guess, one of the activities this week was a shona language lesson. We were told to write the words phonetically in a way we would remember so i have no idea about actual spelling. As well as good morning/afternoon/evening i can also say please, thankyou, lion, elephant and please may i have a beer - just about all i need to get by out here! This week has flown past and as well as the usual shovelling of various types of sh*t i've been on a couple of elephant rides and a horse ride in the bush - great for viewing game up close. I also had a great session called 'behaviour enrichment' where you make toys for the lion ... read more