School starts

Today was the first day back to school for the kids. I got to the center just in time to walk the kids who go to school outside the center with Pastor Daniel and Mohammed. Walk is a relative term. Hike would be a better one. It is probably about a mile with half of it uphill. Can’t say I’m looking forward to making that one several times a week. The views at the top of Juba Hill are excellent though. We met the principal and got the uniforms for most of them. Some didn’t fit and they forgot to make one. When we got back to the center it was time for a staff meeting. That meant Sam and I were entertainment for the kids while the meeting went on. Sam started to tell them stories. It was in Krio so I don’t know what it was about, but I heard Papa God a lot. It is amazing to watch Sam lead. All the kids just gathered around, were quiet (an amazing feat), and just listen to him intently. I was interrupted as the electrician arrived to look at the problems with the lights. I’m not sure if it is wiring or just that we need bulbs. So now that we have an estimate, I will try to fix it and get back to them if we need help. Soon they started school upstairs and I waited for the staff to get out of their meeting.
Next it was time for our exciting trip to town. Cari, Mohammed, Terresa and I took the seven kids Sam, Fallah, Dauda, Betty, Fatmata, Asatu, and Rugiatu to get stuff they need for school. We walked from the center to the closest market in Lumley. After arguing with several vendors we were able to get bags for a couple of them. Next we jumped in a van and headed to downtown Freetown. Our van got a flat on the way. While we were out waiting on the side of the road for him to fix the tire, I forgot and leaned on the van……….the driver is alright, it just slipped off the jack and nobody knew why. I didn’t offer a reason either (that’s a secret). We found the shoe alley and proceeded to get shoes for all but two. Our adventures carried us all over town. By the time we were done we were panty shopping. Yeah, that was not on the list of things I thought I would be doing in Freetown, much less in the market here. After 4 hours of shopping we caught a poda and headed back. I think everybody was wiped out. One of my jobs is to evaluate the staff while I am here, something else they don’t know. It was great to see how Mohammed protected the kids all the time. He would stand out in the road (not a smart thing to do) and herd them. Terresa was very caring for their needs as well. It’s always good when you can feel good about who watches them all the time. Dinner tonight was mushroom, corn, and pepperoni pizza. Yeah they were all on the pizza.
It was interesting to watch these kids all day. I watched how they behaved when we walked the streets and how their eyes got big as we went through town. Cari and I have been talking about getting them out of the center a little more. I like the idea. They need more stories of good things outside The Covering. I hope we get the chance to provide that. It’s fun watching kids be kids!