Letters from Sierra Leone!

I am so excited! Tom told me this morning that I got a package of letters from Sierra Leone, West Africa. My great aunt was a Methodist missionary in Sierra Leone many years ago. Although I never met her, I feel a special connection to the schools where she served. I got to meet the headmistress, Jane, of the June Hartranft Memorial School for Girls last summer. We exchanged contact information and earlier this year, I sent a letter to the girls at the school. I told Jane that I would write to any of the girls that wanted an American penpal. I wasn't even sure if they received my letter until Tom told me I got a huge stack of about 20 letters in the mail. I cannot wait the 48 more days until I can go back and read each letter. He said they even sent pictures! I am just so touched that so many of the girls took the time to write to me. I intend on responding personally to each letter as soon as I get home. I can only dream of the day i will get to go to Sierra Leone to visit them.

Jane had sent me a CD with video clips from the school over Christmas. It was so wonderful to see some of the girls and to hear them sing. I am always so amazed by their spirits and how they can find ways to be happy despite living in a country with such a difficult past. With the recent economic crisis in the US, you may think you know what its like to have your country go through tough times. Our worst can even begin to compare to their worst. Our country has money problems. Big deal. Make cutbacks and learn to deal with it. It may be tough and hard but it cannot compare to the unimaginable terror and violence that Sierra Leone faced during their civil war. These people lived through years of a cruel and torturous civil war where amputations were a form of punishment, children were forced into rebel armies, and women and girls were raped so badly that to describe what happened to them is to hard to put into words. Despite these hardships, these beautiful little girls are able to carry on with their lives, and although the scars of the war are still visible today, their spirits remain so strong. With countries like Sierra Leone, it is important to not forget the past, but even more important to focus on how far them have come. I may be volunteering in Serbia, but my heart is in Sierra Leone.