Up Country

This past weekend I went up country with some house mates to Kenema. Cecily's friend Kurt is a marine and has an amazing home there which he shares with 9 other military men from all over the country. This place was amazing and really allowed us to feel as though we were on a real vacation. Each night we slept outside in their sedona room. It was encased with mosquito netting so it was just like camping without the worry of those little annoying bugs buzzing around our heads. They had a pool so that was amazing and we also bar-b-qued that night so we had ourselves some real hot dogs and hamburgers! (Which is a real treat here in West Africa) Saturday morning we went to the diamond mines and this was a site. We pulled up to this house and walked into what looked like their back yard but was actually piles upon piles of sand. We walked a ways back and came to where the men were sifting through the water and sand to look for small diamonds. I got in there first chance I could and after about ten minutes I was spent. I couldn't believe the strength it took to do this let alone the hot hot sun that beat down on you while you search for these tiny diamonds. Kurt told us they do not get paid for doing this work in the traditional sense of the word. For 8 or more hours of work a day they receive a days worth of food and that is it. Its amazing they just push through with out complaint and yet I can think of all the times I would complain about the stress of my air conditioned job office job that pays me four times what these men will see in a year. They are just happy to eat. It really puts things in perspective. On top of that it was surreal to see a place that looked so similar to the scenes in Blood Diamond. Kurt reminded us that the men who were forced to do this during the war were held at gun point and if they stopped at any point during the day without permission they were beaten and shot on the spot. Can you imagine?
After this we went to the village where the little ones greeted us with smiles. We headed back towards the compound and enjoyed the rest of our stay there in Kenema. This was a six hour trek on a mostly unpaved road so I got a bit sick on the way home , but man was it worth it. I saw some truly beautiful country side and met some really genuine people. One thought that ran through my mind Saturday morning was, "it really is amazing how we can come from all over the world and end up in the same place." The people I met were really amazing and to hear how the Lord works in the lives of those not only here but in Ireland and the UK and West Africa is a good reminder of how AMAZING our God is.