Alberta and Osman.

Alberta and Osman have both been here since I have been here and they are pretty incredible kids...Alberta's arm had grown onto her side because of a burn, and osman had to have his leg amputated. these relationships are why i am here.

It's been a little while...Sierra leone hollaaaa

hope center.

these are just a bunch of rando's from the hope center...sorry if it isnt the most exciting thing in the world, but it is my life here, and i love it. just giving you a little snap shot.

adventure abounds.

so a lot of things have been going on lately, and it is pretty hard to just hit them all, so first i will share with you a little adventure that some friends and i went on last weekend. we started off in lewis' van (that he bought in sierra leone to get around easier.....) driving about 4 hours north to a village right on the border of guinea. the village was actually the last stronghold that the rebels were in control of at the end of the war, so this particular village had seen quite a bit of death and and endured a lot of heartache. it was also a diamond mining village, which is what was drawing us 4 hours away from the ship. we werent interested in keeping any of their diamonds, we just really wanted to see how they actually do the mining and thought that they would maybe be willing to show us the fields where they pan for them....

dead monkeys.

it was a nice day, with a nice view, and a nice place to sit on top of the van...one of the coolest rides ive ever had before.

what we arrived to when we finally found the village we were looking for. (most of the women didnt feel the same way about clothing that we do in america, so i tried to avoid taking those pictures...)

one of the chief's wives

lewis meeting with the villagers, introducing our group and why we were there

after much convincing that we werent there to steal their diamonds, they softened up a bit..

excited to see themselves on a camera

the walk down to the diamond fields

the pile of dirt on the right is an example of the kind of dirt they look for diamonds in....they just take a pan full of dirt and go into the water and start a lookin

the walk back to the village

next we went on a little canoe trip on a river between guinea and sierra leone to a waterfall...i didnt want my ipod to get soaked so there arent many pictures of the canoing...

soooo that was a good day, a lot more happened than what these pictures show, but it just took me over 3 hours to get these up, so my energy level to tell you more is pretty limited right now. but it was a blast and a great adventure. now for the hope center.

phew.

dropped the ball a little bit...

soooo sometimes (always) when i get in the swing of whatever i am doing and hit a rhythm, the first things to go are things like blogging...calling people...effectively keeping people informed on what is happening. so i would like to say i am sorry for dropping the perverbial blogging ball for a bit, but i plan on writing more. why the lack of pictures and videos? ( i currently have 1,247 pictures/videos that have not seen daylight), even without the sun having its little mood swings with the solar flares, the internet on the ship makes me want to rip the computer off the wall, throw it through the window into the ocean, then blow it to pieces with a shotgun while i watch it sink to the bottom in hundreds of little computer shards. im getting therapy. but seriously, wherever you are, take a moment to appreciate clicking on a link and it loading within 60 seconds. or youtube. or skype. or uploading anything. at all. just appreciate it.

but now that that is out of the way. i will be uploading pictures and videos as much as i can, and probably do a good video update on everything that has been going on for the last couple weeks. i have been throwing children in the air at the hope center for the last 4 hours, and desperately need sleep, but i just wanted to say that i am alive, doing extremely well, very healthy, and excited about what God has for me in the next 12 days before i leave.

a for real update coming soon (in the next 24 hours, scouts honor). much love

james

White people and iPods.

We went about 4 hours inland to a diamond mining village...most of the kids had never seen a white person up close, much less an iPod...

consistently colored grass.

i have a short post for you today. just a little something on my heart, a little thought before bed.
(if you read my facebook status already, this is just an elaboration...)

i have spent a lot of my life under the unconscious (but still conscious) understanding that when it comes to loving Jesus whole-heartedly in the current life situation im in, "the grass is always greener on the other side." i thought, once i just get out of highschool, i will really just let myself go. ill go to the honor academy, i wont have the same distractions and worries and drama of highschool.......
nope.
ok ok ok ok ok. once i get out of the honor academy, i will really be able to be on my own and choose to love Jesus and not feel like i am forced to, so it will be way better. college is going to be perfect. just me and Jesus.
woops.
after i leave Asbury, then i know it will really take off. ill be free from all these classes and stresses and worries...i wont have chapel 3 times a week to drain me of any real deep spiritual interest and i will finally be independent and on my own. i'll work in a youth group too.
i know, i'll go to africa and do mission work! then i'll really do it. no more reservations Lord. im all yours. the perverbial spiritual Jesus grass is so much greener in africa.

the perverbial spiritual Jesus grass is greener everywhere except where i am.

what i am learning (what ive been learning since about 17), slowly but surely, is this: the color of the grass is extremely consistent. it is consistently the same shade of green in every field, mountain, and valley i could think of going to. i serve a God that is the same as he was in high school, the same as he was in college, the same today in africa, and He's gonna be the same until the end. serving underpriveledged people in developing countries does not change the way He feels about me, and should never change how i love and pursue Him.

silly me. thank you Jesus for being so patient.

if you are waiting to find the perfect, opportune time to be whole-heartedly in love with Jesus, you can stop looking now. you're living in it, so run your race.

theres the thought for the night. on a different note....
i havent put up any pics in a while, so here's a few rando's. i need to be more vigilant with my camera.

this is just one part of the line outside of the Hope Center for their dental screening day a little while back. they had 2 dentists that day.

Dr. Fleming, the doctor i shadow a few days a week, and Joel, her interpreter. these two are amazing together.

the surgical admissions tent we work in right outside the ship.

the start of our hike up Sugarloaf mountain. our instructions were: "once you hit a dead end driving, get out and find the pipes. follow them until you see two blue dots. you should find the trail from there. nope.

pipeless and dotless. maybe we should walk for a few more hours.

we conquered. michael doesnt understand why white people purposefully look for ways to expend energy when they dont have to. like hiking. we got back to the ship a few hours later, muddy, bloody, and wet, and someone asked him where he had been, and he just blankly said, "i followed the white people up a mountain." it built character.

colorful.

on our way to the beach. our taxi didnt do so hot with the potholes on this road. so we got out and hitch hiked. its a lot easier in africa.

love you all deeply. dont be afraid to go on an adventure.

james