Shake Ya Ga-bon-bon!

UPDATE!!

2009-09-10T15:44:00.001-07:00

Ok....so it's been almost a month since I left Gabon...which is absolutely crazy! Time has flown by! I'm sorry for not updating sooner, but I only had like 4 days at home before I had to be back at school. Hope I didn't leave anyone hangin' :). For those of you who don't know about my crazy adventure home, I'll give you a quick Reader's Digest version...
We were supposed to fly out of Gabon on Thursday, Aug. 13th at 12:30 am. However, when we went to the airport Thursday night we saw that our flight had been cancelled. Tim went to find out what was going on and found out that the airline we used-Royal Air Maroc- had gone on strike yet again! I was really homesick at this point and I was so disappointed when I found out! I broke down and cried at the airport...pretty embarrassing haha! Something about Africa just makes me more emotional I guess :). So anyway, that night Royal Air Maroc put us up in their hotel in Libreville...which by the way was super nice..5 stars baby! AND it was free...including meals and room service! Needless to say, we got tons of food and actually ended up having a good time. The next day, Friday, we were told that our flight would leave at the same time as the night before-12:30. We all went out for pizza before going to the airport. While we were eating, Tim got a call from the Air Maroc guy in Gabon saying that there was no flight and that the pilots were still on strike. At this point, I was just mad! I wanted to change my flight to Air France and just get out of there! God was definitely teaching me patience and teaching me to trust in Him. So, we stayed another night at the hotel. The guy told us that another company would come and fly us out on Saturday at 2:30pm. So we got to the airport around 11am to check our luggage the next day. It took FOOOOREVER because everything was so backed up from the strike. We finally got through and said our goodbyes to everyone. It was a bittersweet moment...I knew I would miss everyone but I was so ready to go home too. We went through customs smoothly and then all bought some chocolate to eat while we waited for our flight. We were all looking for a while to see which plane might be ours. However, plane after plane boarded and our plane was nowhere in sight. We saw on the monitor that it said our flight was now at 7:30pm. I was so fed up at this point....I thought that no one in this stinkin' airport had any idea what they were doing! I honestly thought that there was no plane coming. We found a lady who let us use her phone to call Tim. He said there wasn't really anything he could do just yet, and that we should call him if the plane still didn't come at 7:30. We all felt really helpless...here we are in an international airport with workers who don't know what the heck is going on...we don't speak the language...we don't know when or if our plane is coming. It was a crazy, very hard time. We all really had to support one another....we got together in a circle and prayed that God would just take care of the situation. I felt more at peace after that. We passed the 8 HOURS by playing cards and sleeping. Finally, our plane did arrive! We flew out of Libreville at 8pm and arrived in Casablanca, Morrocco at around 2am. We weren't leaving until like 11am the next day so we went to the Air Maroc office to get a hotel like we did on the way over. The office was PACKED because of back up from the strike. A man working told us that there were no more rooms at the hotel. We asked him where we were supposed to sleep and he basically said he didn't care. JERK! haha. Finally, we talked to a really sweet lady who called another hotel. She got us and a few other people rooms there for the night. We rode a bus for about 45 minutes to get to the hotel and crashed! It was probably around 3:30am at this time. We all woke up the next morning, showered, ate breakfast, and caught the bus back to the airport. On the way there, a guy riding said that the flight to New York had been cancelled. That made us all worry...but we didn't freak out just yet. We got the the airport and went through security. Then we had to catch a bus to another terminal to get to international flights. (Might I mention that we got the time change wrong, so we were an hour late getting there...we were running to catch the bus and our flight). We met this really sweet lady who was also going to New York. On our bus ride, we all prayed again and she prayed with us. We got the terminal and found out that the flight hadn't been cancelled, thank God! The lady said that our prayer had worked....I don't know if she was a Christian or not, but I hope we touched her in some way. So we FINALLY FINALLY flew to the U.S.!!! I was so happy when I got to NYC! It was an amazing feeling. All the interns had to rush to catch our next flights, so we quickly said goodbye. It was really sad. After, I flew to Charlotte, NC. In Charlotte, I met a really cute old man who was going to see his sick brother in Jacksonville. I told him about my mission trip and he told me he went to church and they sent a lot of youth on mission trips. I told him I would pray for his brother, and he really appreciated it. Meeting him really helped me make it the last leg of the trip...who knows..he could have been God's angel :). When I got to Jacksonville, I cried because I was so happy! My mom and dad were there waiting for me with signs and flowers:). My mom was crying her eyeballs out haha. AAAAAAND..my boyfriend Aaron surprised me by coming with them to pick me up! He is so sweet :). So that is my long and crazy journey home. I think it was the last stretch God had for me before I ended my trip.
Since I've been home, everything has just been extremely busy. I knew it would be...especially with school. Sometime I forget I even went this summer.....which is really weird! But then random little things will remind me of Gabon....like singing in French for voice lessons or hearing any song from Top Gun on the radio haha (the interns know what I'm talking about...). I'm still processing all that happened this summer and probably will be for awhile. I do know that God taught me so much and I will never be the same. I want to again thank EVERYONE who supported me and prayed for me....I know I couldn't have done it without you! This will probably be my last blog post....but if anyone has any questions about my trip....or just wants to find out more you can email me: Lherndon@tfc.edu
Love you everyone!!

Au Revoir Gabon...

2009-08-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

Today is my last day in Gabon....which is still not feeling real. This whole week has just been a whirlwind of goodbyes. Last Friday, we said goodbye to the Washington team as well as Torey :(:(:(!! I cried for a good 15 minutes haha...definitely didn't see that coming. Saturday we did a medical clinic with the Pittsburg team. Mama Jeanine gave us all dresses as a gift...so sweet!!Sunday, we went to Avea II (the biggest CMA church in Libreville)...which was also the first church I went to here in Gabon. My good friend Martin goes to this church. He is starting an NGO in Gabon called HIV Hope. It's already legalized in the States. It's purpose is to slow the spread of HIV, while getting rid of the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV. Many people here in Gabon are shunned and ridiculed if they have HIV/AIDS. HIV Hope is designed to give these people HOPE that only comes through Jesus....pretty awesome concept. Torey and I partnered with Martin this summer, and hope to raise awareness at our schools. Martin is an awesome guy! Sunday night, the Pittsburg team left :(....last team of the summer! Monday we all went to the Straw's to hang out and watch movies with Megan. Tuesday we went to Point Denis for our final beach day! It was so fun and relaxing. Tuesday night we went out for Chinese food...mmmmm! Wednesday we went to the tourist marche and then to Hope House for one last time. Ah, it was hard to leave! Everyone was crying...even the kids. I'll post those pics later. Wednesday night we went over to the Straw's again. Zach made really good Chinese food!! We watched 17 Again...haha. Today we did our last medical clinic. Mama Christine who always works with us in the pharmacy gave us girls jewelry, and Mama Jeanine gave us all wooden elephants. They are always so kind and generous...the most selfless people I know. This was yet again another tearful goodbye. I don't have much time to write....have to go pack! Our flight leaves tonight at 12:30 am. For our final meal, our mother (Meredith :) ) is making us grilled cheese sandwiches, brownies, and icecream....mmmm!! I love everyone, and I can't wait to be back in the good ole' United States and see everyone!

Tim, Mer, Leann, and the interns....our big happy family!

Danielle, Christian (an awesome Gabonese guy who worked with us most days) and me
me, Hannah, and Torey Martin and me at Avea II

the Pittsburg team at the clinic with our new attire from Mama Jeanine!

a beautiful baby boy at the clinic..he was sick :(

all the girls :)

One week left....whaaaat?!

2009-08-07T01:49:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!! So....we FINALLY got internet back here in Libreville! I don't even know where to begin on catching everyone up...let's see. So the teams from Ohio and Mass. left...and we got two more teams! The first is from Washington state (they arrived the 24th) and the second is from Pittsburg, PA (they arrived the 30th). The first week the Washington team worked with a local church Nzeng-Ayong. They are building a new church, so we helped pour cement for the floors and things like that. This team is really great-it's the smallest team we've had so far. They are all really close to one another and are so much fun to hang out with! The Pittsburg team got here on Thurday, then Friday they left for Ndjole. Zach, Danielle, and I went with them. We were helping give Pastor Phillip indoor plumbing for his house. Some of you might remember sweet little Arnold from my first Ndjole trip early this summer... Pastor Phillip is his father. Needless to say, we got a lot of play time with Arnold...so much fun! We got to Ndjole on Friday expecting to stay in a school house that we had scouted out before. We were very surprised to find that the mayor was on vacation...so we got to stay in his house! It was so nice and even had a working toilet! Wooo hooo!!! I was the designated "cook" for the trip...so I was happy to see a real kitchen with a stove as well :). Saturday was a work day...we started by digging a line from the water source to Pastor Phillip's house...200 meters! It was hard work (I stink at digging haha). But everyone was so helpful and the whole village pitched in to help. We got the line dug by the end of the day and were pretty proud of our work! Sunday we went to church and of course did another music special :). Two guys from the team played piano (Ben) and drums (Jacob), and the girls sang (Me, Heather, and Olivia). We had our own little band! haha. As the church service was coming to a close we got some pretty devastating news....one of the Mama's from the village was mad that the line was dug so close to her house...so we had to redig a pretty large portion! Pastor Phillip said that the men of the church would work on the project that afternoon, and we would finish Monday. However, when we got there on Monday...the project was done! They had worked all afternoon to finish...we were so surprised and greatful. We started on a new project Monday...digging a line from the septic tank to the house. It had to be really deep so it was pretty hard work. Monday morning I wasn't feeling too hot and neither was Jacob from the team. We both stayed back with a leader after lunch...and then we got really sick. It was noooo fun. We were both in bed basically the whole rest of the day and night. I was so amazed, though, because the girls from the team really came behind me and supported me. They helped prepare the meals and let me rest. It was really sweet. It also made me realize how blessed we were to have a nice house with a REAL bathroom....being sick in a shack would have been...well..horrible. haha:). Tuesday, we decided to pack up and leave a day early because Jacob's fever wasn't going down and he was still getting sick every hour. We left around lunch time and got back to Libreville that night. When we left, Arnold cried and cried. It was really sad..probably the last time I'll see the little guy. I love him so much :(. Wednesday, we went to the tourist market with both teams, and then to the Hope House. Yesterday we went to Santa Clara (a BEAUTIFUL beach) for the day....it was nice to relax. Today we are doing a medical caravan near our house in Libreville. I can't believe I leave in a week...this summer has seriously flown by. I've learned so much, and I can only hope people will see the change in my life from this trip. Although I will miss it here, I am pretty pumped to get home and see my mom, dad, family, friends, and Aaron :). I can't wait to share all my experiences in person!! It will be great! OOh before I forget...quick update on the Hope House. A lady has given them land (can't remember if I already wrote about that..) but they a lot to do! There is no water or electricity here but there is a water source they can use nearby. The land still had to be cleared and then building plans will begin. Pastor Israel and his wife are really excited to see how the Lord will use this land to further their efforts to take care of abandoned children. Please continue to pray that everything will work out! Here are pics from the last couple weeks:

one of the beautiful (almost) window at the new Nzeng-Ayong church

doing and little dancing and singing before we work :)

the current church they have

the foundation of the new church...it will be huge!

everyone meeting to talk about the project

packing the van to head to Ndjole!

Arnold shoveling :) (he's only 3!!)

the team working hard

he's so cool ;)

digging, digging, more digging!

beautiful Santa Clara beach

a little cove we found

this is me trying to be artistic...plus this log was really cool haha
coral reef!
ah.....isn't God awesome?!

and last but not least.... this is the Hope House land!!

Also...here are some blog sites you can visit from different teams and organizations to find out info and see more pics:

http://www.strawsinafrica.com/ (the Straw's...my second fam here in Gabon)

http://stmogabon.org/ (the CMA Short Term Missions Office)

http://lancasterallianceyouth.blogspot.com/ (Lancaster, PA team)

http://www.bongolohospital.org/ (Bongolo Hospital website..duh haha)

http://acacgabon2009.blogspot.com/ (Pittsburg team)

http://www.gabonteamblog.weebly.com/ (Washington team)

http://gabon09.blogspot.com/ (Boston team)

quick update....

2009-07-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that the internet company we use here in Libreville is on strike...so no internet for us. I'm at the Straw's house right now (another missionary family in Libreville...also our second family:D). I don't know when or if the internet will be back up before I leave in 3 weeks, but if not I'll do a big update when I get home. Love everyone! Thanks for all the prayers :)

A full house!

2009-07-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

So we only got a short 3 day break before the next TWO teams got here...that's right I said two. A team from Ohio got here last Saturday night (11th) and a team from Southshore, Mass. got here Sunday night. So we had about 40 people in the house Sunday night...CRAZY!! The teams however split up on Monday. Torey, Danielle, and myself went with the Southshore team back down to Bongolo Monday morning. We left at 8am and got there at 8pm....12 hours with 20 people packed into a van and a truck...it was quite a trip. While at Bongolo, the team worked on repairing some of the road near the hospital. They are dirt roads, so Tim Kelly (the missionary who housed us) brought in dirt and the team spread it into the pot-holes. The interns stayed in with Amanda Kelly and helped her cook and clean for the team. It was kind of a mini-vacation for us interns...it was nice to have some girl time and get to know Amanda (love her!!!). The Kelly's also have...*drum roll please*....a POOL! So we spent most nights in there relaxing. It was really nice. Not to mention, Amanda taught us how to make some home-made treats from scratch (pancakes, cookies, cake..mmmm). We had three work days (Tues, Wed, Thurs). I really loved getting to know the Southshore team as well. They are such a close-knit community of believers....so open and honest with one another. It was really refreshing to see. The debrief times every night were amazing, and I really felt God's spirit moving. It has really taught me to maintain close relationships with Christian brothers and sisters, because they are the ones who will build you up and keep you strong in your faith. Southshore youth group is really blessed to have the strong Christian relationships with one another! Friday morning we left to come back to Libreville. Saturday, we did a medical caravan in a fisherman village in Libreville. I was touched many times throughout the day. The Southshore team is really good about continually praying for one another and for others...they felt the need to pray for many patients we saw and were very bold to step out and actually do it! A woman with HIV came back to the Lord after doubting for many years. A young girl with cerebral palsy was prayed for while her mother had tears rolling down her cheeks. It was probably one of the best medical clinics I've been to. Sunday we went to church and had a relax day! This week the team will be working with a local church in Libreville. They are repairing a roof for the parsonage and also working with the water system. This team leaves Thursday and the next team arrives Friday! Not rest for the weary:). We don't have a break until Aug. 10th...and then I leave Aug 14th. The rest of the summer is going to fly by! I've learned so much...I just want to say thank you again to all those praying for me and who gave me support...you truly helped to change my life :). I've been really slack on taking pics lately..but here are a few pics from Intern-Night-Out during our short break last week. We went to a place called "Birdy Art" where they have all these exotic birds...it's so beautiful! We had a blast:)

Zach and Josef

Me and my Canadian roomie..Marley!

The Whole Group!!!
This is like our Gabonese wal-mart. Mbolo means "welcome" in one of the tribal languages. It's air conditioned and everything is highly over-priced. Haha....a lot of the Europeans that live in Gabon shop here.

A box of Special K for 5350 CFA (francs)...which is around $11!!! haha

LIVE GENEROUSLY

2009-07-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

I've been reading through the Gospels the past few weeks. I have the Message translation and Jesus continually commands us to "Live Generously." I just finished reading Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne (I highly recommend it) and I’m learning a lot about giving of myself, my time, my money, anything I have. I’m learning how to live generously-and I’ll be the first to admit-I am horrible at it! I’m so selfish with the things I have. But, I’m starting to change my whole world view. No longer do I see my money as mine, but as God’s. My time isn’t mine-it’s God’s. My life isn’t mine (Jer. 10:23)-it’s God’s! Just a little tidbit on what God is teaching me…on to the blog…

I feel like I have so much to write I don’t know where to begin!! Ah…I’ll probably leave out a ton…but oh well. So last week our first team came from Lancaster, PA!! The coolest group of people I’ve met! They arrived last Sunday night. Hannah and I went to pick them up from the airport. There were 18 people in the group. Monday morning we had a short orientation, and that afternoon we went over to the local Bible school to clean up the warehouse. We also unloaded a medical container for Bongolo Hospital. Tuesday we went to the city right outside of Libreville called Ntoum to do a medical caravan. We set up at the local school. The team did a skit about malaria where they acted out how a person gets malaria and how it can be avoided. Mama Jeanine interpreted the skit for the crowd. After, Sydney from the Lancaster team gave her testimony and Tim interpreted. We set up the medical caravan, and let some of the Lancaster team help out with the weight and blood pressure station as well as the pharmacy. (By the way… I got a consultation for myself at the medical clinic from the eye nurse haha--my eye has continually been bothering me for the past 3 weeks so she gave me an antibiotic eye drop--hopefully it will work!! J). Wednesday, we went to the Hope House and hung out with the kids. Both the team and the kids had a blast! I think God really spoke through this experience--the team was really touched by the kids and their situation. On Thursday, the real fun began! The whole team traveled to the village of Ebel-Abanga (where the interns went last week) to help out with the local church. We camped out just like before-outside under mosquito nets. We bathed in the same river and used the same “out house.” It was quite an experience haha. When we got there Thursday, we set up camp and took a quick tour of the area. We also walked around to the local houses to hand out tracks and invite people to the Jesus film that we would be showing on Saturday night. Friday, we got up and went to our work site. They local pastor in the village has land for a church and it needed to be cleared. We worked most of the day clearing brush, dirt, wood, and all other kinds of jungle stuff. I saw a ton of snakes…ugh! So awful…haha. That night, we split up into teams to hand out more Bible tracks. There was one Gabonese and two Americans with each team. My group witnessed to about 10 people and 3 of them accepted Christ. It was an awesome experience. Our Gabonese leader made sure to introduce us as Americans at each house we went into--the people pay more attention to that because they think it’s crazy for Americans to leave our “utopia” and come to Africa, therefore they listen to what we have to say. Friday night was absolutely crazy. The local Catholic church was having a ceremony of sorts, because someone had died. Many Catholics in Gabon still practice their ancestral spirit worship. The local pastor had warned us about this, but Tim didn’t think they would be too loud so we didn’t move camp. Around 11pm we heard them start beating on drums. I was laying in my mosquito net and all I could think was “oh no…” The next thing we know, they are singing and dancing and playing the drums RIGHT beside our camp. The celebration lasted ALL NIGHT. I mean…literally…until sunrise they did not stop. Then they all drank until they were drunk and sat around to talk. It was horrible-nobody got any sleep. I had nightmares about those stupid drums haha. It was funny in a way, but also very sad because they were basically worshipping evil spirits so the dead would not haunt them. This is a big problem among Catholics and non-Christians in Gabon. Saturday (which might I mention was the 4th of July), we grilled out, swam, and watched fireworks…..NOT! Haha. No 4th of July celebration for us--we cleared the rest of the land and dug the foundation. It was such hard work, but we all felt very accomplished when we finally finished. Saturday night, we were supposed to show the Jesus film but the projector would not start. Instead, we sang and danced for Jesus for about an hour. It was nice to be able to praise God even in the midst of a difficulty. That night, we sang America the Beautiful while eating ravioli by the fire. Sunday, we went to church and then hung out with the local youth group. We had a Q&A session with them and found out a little about the local church and how they are organized. Monday we got up, packed up camp, and left. It was so nice to get a real shower and use a real bathroom! I really feel like this was one of the best experiences I’ve had so far, even though it was very difficult. I learned so much from the local people. One of the kids we met named Manio hung onto me for the entire weekend. He was 3 years old. His mother was dead, and he called me his mother. It was extremely hard for me to leave him--I made such a connection with him even though we exchanged very few words. The Gabonese we met had such a passion and zeal for God that I haven’t seen anywhere before. They constantly sing and praise God. They love to talk about Him and worship Him-it’s all they want to do! It made me feel like my relationship with God is so dull and unmotivated. The irony of it all is that they kept asking us about America and how we did things-as if we had it all together. They are the ones who I want to be like-I want to have that same passion and zeal for God. Hopefully as I learn more this summer I can take some of that home with me. Today, the team went to the market and to the beach. They left tonight, and it was sad to see them go. They were an awesome team that I will never forget. Our next team comes Sunday so the interns have a little down time. Phew….I think I’ve written all I can for now..thanks for reading:)

This is Sydney giving her testimony at the Medical Clinic

setting up camp in Ebel-Abanga

Zach in his favorite spot-the driver's seat haha

blowing up mattresses!

All our nets:)

Gumba Gumba, Manio (my fav!), and Pepune

"The box" (bathroom)

walking to the "shower"

the river we bathed in

the path to the river

the Equator!! we stopped on the way home

the actual Equator line

these people lived directly on the Equator...cool!

To view more pics and learn more about the Lancaster team, view their blog: http://lancasterallianceyouth.blogspot.com

Dieu est bon!

2009-06-21T09:40:00.001-07:00

God is good! The pastor at church this morning told us to say this as we were greeting one another. It really is true...God is so, so good! Before I blog about this weekend, I wanted to post a few prayer requests. I appreciate all those praying for me and the team here in Gabon. I figured some specific prayer requests would be helpful:

1. The Hope House (the orphanage) here in Libreville is in need of a new house. They are renting now, and the owner decided to sell the property. So now, Pastor Israel and his wife (the couple who run the house) needs a new place for the orphans! They need to find something within 2 months. Pray that God would provide a place and the financial means to rent/buy it.

2. The first team is coming out next Sunday! They are from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Pray that they have a safe trip, and that everything goes smoothly (and all their luggage gets here! :]).

3. Gabon is still in a transition period with it's government. An election should take place in a couple of months, so pray that God's hand would be in that.

4. Pray for health for the interns and teams. A lot of us have been getting sick and having health problems (I had pink eye last week...ugh!).

Again, I'm SO very appreciative for all of you who have committed to pray for me this summer!!

So...here is what's been happening over here in Gabon:

This past week we worked a lot on the house, and we are almost finished! We have one more room to paint, and then it will be ready for the first team! It looks really great! Friday, we left to go on a medical caravan to a village about 3 hours away. After that caravan, we went to another village about 15 minutes down the road to set up camp for the night. A man met us who helped us get set up. He was like the chief's right-hand man. We nicknamed him Mr. Pamplemousse (Mr. Grapefruit), because he gave us lots of grapefruit from his trees haha. A lot of people pitched in to help us blow up mattresses and hang mosquito nets from the trees. After we set up, Pastor Jacob played guitar and we all sang songs. He taught us a few French songs. A lot of kids came and sang with us too. They were so cute!! We went to bed around 9 (we were exhausted). It was pretty hard to sleep, because there were roosters and dogs making noise all night. Not to mention we were right beside a road, so trucks drove by all night. But nevertheless, I did manage to sleep a few hours! The next morning we bathed off in a river. We did another caravan in that village, and then came home. I was so happy to get a real shower! Today we went to a church really close to our house. It lasted 3 1/2 hours....the usual. It's so crazy how long the services are here! I will never complain about the service going longer than an hour EVER again. I never knew how good I had it until I had to sit for 3-4 hours with no AC, sweating my butt off, and only understanding about 5% of what the pastor is saying! I have no excuse to complain about ANYTHING when I get back to Foothills :).

My make-shift bed in the jungle :)

A long-awaited post :)

2009-06-15T01:27:00.000-07:00

Before I start blogging....I had to put these pics up. This is right down the road from our house. It means "beautiful Tam-Tam bar"!!! hahaha!! All the interns know my mom (because she friended them all on facebook haha)..and I told them how a lot of my friends at home call her Tam-Tam. So now, they all call her Tam-Tam. One of the interns spotted this while we were driving and we all cracked up! Love you momma :)

So I'm sure many of you have by now heard all the craziness that has been going on in Gabon (even though it really wasn't that crazy on our end). But for those of you who don't: the President of Gabon died after 41 years of presidency. Most communication was shut off for about a week, including the net. Now everything is back to normal. (For more info you can email my mom...I can't put much on the blog for different reasons). ANYWHO...now I can finally tell everyone the adventures we've had the last couple of weeks! I don't remember everything, but I'll hit the high points :]. For starters, a couple of weeks ago the interns and Leann got to go into Libreville alone (without Tim and Meredith aka our parents haha). We took one of our friends from Libreville with us, Yoann. His mom, Mama Jeannine, helps us with medical caravans. He is 19 and we definitely couldn't have made it in the city alone without him! We went to a place called Paradise where they have cheeseburgers and REAL MILKSHAKES!! Ah, it was so good. We took a taxi there. There were 6 of us not including the driver, so we put the 4 girls in the back and Zach and Yoann got the front. On the way we got stopped by the police for having too many people in the car and had to pay a fine! I bet that taxi driver was like, why did I pick up a bunch of white people?! While we ate, we spent a lot of time laughing with Yoann, because he would say the funniest things. He is still learning English, so his word choices were quite humorous. For example, he said that the salads were a "melting pot of vegetables." haha! Another funny one: He was talking about going to a soccer game by himself...he said he was going to go "lonely" instead of alone. He spent a lot of time laughing at our meager attempts to speak French as well. When we were about to leave I decided to get a milkshake to go, so I told Yoann to ask the waitress if they could do that. She said she could and pointed at Zach's empty water bottle. We all kind of looked at each other...then figured out she meant she could just put it in the water bottle! Haha....I said sure! I didn't care...and that milkshake was definitely worth it! On the way back, we got another taxi driver who had a decked out taxi...I'm talking about lights, stuffed animals, beads, the works. He was also listening to Akon (the Gabonese LOVE Akon because he's from Senegal). While driving home, he randomly stopped on the side of the road for a potty break. Only in Africa...

My milkshake "to go" haha

(L-R) Leann, Hannah, Zach, Torey, Me, Yoann

Last week we went to Lebamba where Bongolo hospital is located. It's about 8 hours away (10 hours by taxi-bus). We had a wild ride there, let me tell you! Our taxi driver was Roman...and he was a hoot. He had a girl in just about every town we stopped in. One time we stopped to eat, and after we couldn't find Roman. We later found out that he had gone to get a haircut! Haha...he was really funny. The roads in Gabon are really bad as I've said earlier, so driving for that long can really make you sick. He thought it was hilarious that the roads were so bad! He would drive extremely fast, smiling the whole time and would occassionaly look bad to say "Se bon?" (are you good?) We also stopped at a hotel where they randomly had a fenced-in area with a pelican, antelope, and deer in the back. There was also a white-nosed monkey in a cage. The scenery was really pretty everywhere we went. We could see the mountains in the distance...it was beautiful.

When we FINALLY got to Bongolo, we got to use the internet! I talked to my mom and consoled her, because she was crying uncontrollably (just kidding :]...although she did alert most of Georgia when we were out of contact for 2 days...haha. gotta love moms :]). We stayed with a missionary family-the Kelly's. They had a POOL! The first day we took a 3 hour tubing adventure on the river that runs through Lebamba...I didn't get to take any pictures since we were in the water, but it was BEAUTIFUL. It was pretty chilly though. The next day we took a tour of the hospital. It's amazing all the stuff they have in the middle of the jungle! We saw newborn babies, TB patients, AIDS patients, people going to the dentist, and much more! All the patients and nurses were so sweet and welcoming. They also have a large surgical ward and people from all over Gabon come to have surgery because of the affordable prices. Bongolo hospital is a private Christian hospital, so they want to make care affordable while also spreading the love of Jesus. It's awesome :).

We saw a precious newborn baby in here...
This is a surgerical suite:

All the meds!

When a patient registers at the hospital, they have to have one family member that will agree to stay and cook for them. This lady is preparing fish for one of her family members that is a patient at the hospital.

A little boy who is waiting for his legs to heal.

This is Bongolo falls...the community gets all their electricity from here.

Hopital de Bongolo-a view from the top of the hill.
Pediatric Ward
Surgeries for the dayAfter touring the hospital, we cleaned out the Kelly's attic. That night we had a bonfire with SMORES (we were all so excited!). We left Friday morning at 6am. On the way, we stopped at a gas station and I heard everyone saying there was a chimp just hanging out there! (I didn't have my contacts in..so I really couldn't see). Roman (our driver) said it's name was Ben. Next thing I know, I'm looking out my window and it's like RIGHT THERE! It was then that I realized I am afraid of monkeys that aren't in a cage. I screamed and slammed the window shut. It didn't help that the interns had just finished talking about that monkey in the States that killed that lady...UGH! All monkeys should be on a leash or in a cage if you ask me. We finally made it home around 5pm that night. Saturday we mainly slept and rest, and yesterday we went to church. Last night we FINALLY got internet again!!! It was great to be able to talk to my parents and Aaron:). That's all for now! Thanks for reading :)

videos

2009-06-04T02:51:00.000-07:00

here are some videos from the Hope House....

A LOT has happened the last few weeks, but I haven't had the opportunity to post. I'm in Bongolo right now, but when I get back to Libreville I will hopefully be able to catch everyone up! Enjoy the videos!

New Puppy!

2009-06-03T14:07:00.000-07:00

Guess what we got Monday at the STMO center?! A new puppy!! His name is Titus..he is the cutest thing ever!

While I'm at it...here are the other pets of the house...first is Bandit (pronounced Bon-dee)

And.....Gentile (pronounced Djen-tee) with our favorite intern leader Leanne!

Yesterday we got to swim at a pool owned by the U.S. Embassy. Tim and Meredith are friends with someone that works there...it was nice!

Going to post some videos later...

Hope House and Ndjole

2009-05-31T10:16:00.000-07:00

I have about a week to catch up on so hopefully I'll remember everything! Last week we worked on the house for a couple of days. We're trying to get it ready for when teams start coming out at the end of June. I used a drill and a chop saw! I love power tools (just like my mother:])! Last Thursday afternoon we went to the Hope House in Libreville. It's basically like an orphanage. We sang a few songs and did a skit for them. Then we just hung out and played. They were the sweetest kids.

Friday, we left to go to Ndjole for the weekend. It's a village about 3 hours away that we are partnering with this summer. We went to scout out places to sleep and shower for the teams when they come out. We stayed at Pastor Phillip's house that was attached to the church. Friday we went to church as soon as we arrived...funny story: we were seated on the stage and after the preacher finished, a lady stood by the stairs and told me to come down. I was the first in line. I started to go out the door but she pointed near the offering plate up front by the band. I had no idea what to do, so I just walked up there and starting dancing with the singers. They looked at me like I was a MORON! Tim quickly informed us that we were supposed to walk around the plate and go sit back down. Talk about embarrassing moment...After church, we ate ANTELOPE! It was pretty weird...like beef I guess. The pastor and his wife were very hospitable and gave us their room to stay in. We slept in mosquito nets which was very strange. When I asked to go to the "toilet" they showed me a little wooden shack in the back (see picture below). Little did I know that it was just a hole in the ground haha! The next morning I went to take a "shower" (which, by the way, was in the same shack that the "toilet" was in, only separated by a wall)and there was 3 buckets with water. It was intense haha. By the way-the Pastor's son Arnold was the cutest little kid EVER...he is the little boy in the pictures. Saturday we toured the village with the pastor and saw the different places to get food and supplies. Meredith bought some fresh grapefruit which were DELICIOUS! (I basically ate that for every meal after:]). We went to the Ogooue River that runs near Ndjole and found a place for teams to wash off. When we got back, we watched the women prepare for dinner. We each got to help crush the manioc leaves that they cook and eat. Saturday night they had another church service...which might I add lasted for FOUR HOURS. We did some "special music" (Mighty to Save by Hillsong)..Zach played guitar and the girls sang. Sunday we had another church service and did special music again. I played guitar and sang along with Hannah and Torey(Sing to the King by David Crowder Band). They liked our special music a lot. Zach gave his testimony, too. After eating lunch, we made the long journey home and FINALLY got a good shower! I have never been so happy to see a shower and a real toilet in my life...Oh, Africa:)

Church, Beach again, and Crazy Markets!

2009-05-26T11:42:00.000-07:00

Hello again! Here are some pics of the house:

Sunday we went to church and it was pretty fun...very long though! It was kind of an outside church. We were guests of honor and got to sit up front. It was all in French so I didn't understand very much, but the music was really good! Sunday after church we went to the beach. Monday we got up and went grocery shopping at a place called Mbolo. This means welcome in one of the native languages. It's basically like a Wal-Mart but SO expensive! I bought a small container of conditioner for 5 dollars! It was crazy. Most of the Gabonese don't actually shop here. It's mainly for richer French and Europeans that leave here. After, we drove to a cape and had a prayer retreat. We fasted and prayed about the summer. One of Tim's friends who is a pastor here talked to us about prayer. It was a really good time.

Today was an interesting day. The interns got up this morning and worked on the house. We are trying to get it ready for when teams come out starting in the middle of June. We boarded up some spaces so we can tack on netting to keep bugs out. We also hauled off some desks and a table to a local missions school. We organized the wood and other stuff behind the house. Then we took a shower, ate lunch, and went to the market. The market was...INSANE. If anyone has ever been to a market in Mexico like Tiajuana...it's like 100x crazier than this. There were people EVERYWHERE and in the middle of the road was a huge pile of trash and mud. I bought a pair of pants and a skirt for pretty cheap. I also got a soccer jersey for Aaron. People would call out "American!" or "White Woman!" or "Blonde!"..it was pretty funny. They were very insistent and aggresive, which was kind of scary. It was still a fun experience though:). Now all the interns are just chilling out and playing games.

More Pictures

2009-05-24T04:01:00.001-07:00

Here's the pics I didn't get to load last night..

From the beach to the jungle...

2009-05-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

Here's what has been going on the past few days...
The first day we were here we had an "orientation" in the morning with Tim. He told us basically what the schedule would be this summer. He also gave us an idea of what we'd be doing. After, we went to another missionary family's house-The Straws. We hung out there for a while and then went to the BEACH!! It was beautiful...

The last two days we have gone to villages for medical caravans. Anyone who is sick in the village comes and a nurse gives them a consultation. They also write prescriptinos for meds that we have. Then we give them medicine. We also have an eye clinic where they receive glasses. I helped with the meds-I was a pharmacist! (like Father like daughter!!:D) We gave out medicine for malaria, high blood pressure, infections, and pain. We also gave them lots of vitamins. The first day we got stuck in the mud and it took us an hour to get out..

Bonsoir! (Good Evening)In case you haven't figured out, the Gabonese speak French:]. I'm in the capital city of Libreville. A few things I've learned about the city so far: It's really hot and humid here, but the dry season is coming so it will cool off. There are around 800,000 people living here. They have most technology that we do-cars, t.v., internet, cell phones. The city is pretty modern looking except all the cars are 1980-90's. Also, the streets are filled with lots of small shops and venders where the people work. There are tons of dogs, cats, and chickens in the street. People drive like MANIACS here! There are driving laws but the police don't really enforce them. Everyone drives literally 70-80mph all the time, they honk constantly, and they swerve in and out of lanes (when there are actually lines painted). In the villages outside of Libreville, there is still electricity lines (sometimes help up by trees). Other than that, things are really rural! Here are a few pics of the town of Libreville:

Today we did another medical caravan. We also went to another village that we will be going to next Thursday and told them we were coming. On the way, we stopped at a family's house. The pastor with us preached to them in French and most of them prayed to receive salvation. It was great! We went to a Catholic church and school that was BEAUTIFUL! We got to meet the chief (pronounce chef haha) and also walked down to the water. On the way home, we stopped at a lady's house. Tim told us that earlier she had talked with the pastor and decided to stop selling stuff to witch doctors (potions and such). She wanted us to come and pray for her family. There were 13 kids there (7 were hers) and her husband. The preacher talked to them and prayed with them. Almost all the kids (the ones who were old enough) received salvation. Then we sang songs in French. The only word I knew was Allelujah-yet it was the most beautiful thing I've seen in a while.

That's all for now...gonna post this while the net is still up:)

Finally Here!

2009-05-21T01:40:00.000-07:00

Bonjour from Gabon! After two days, I'm finally here! Our flight landed last night about 11:30pm (6:30pm back home). So I guess I should start from the beginning of my travels...
My first flight was Tuesday at 11:30am from Jacksonville.

^This is me with all my luggage. I went from Jacksonville to Atlanta. I only had an hour wait in Atlanta. Next I flew to New York. And guessss who was on my plane?!

It's Dell from Private Practice! I basically stalked him to get this picture (I wanted to make sure it was really him..haha)He was really nice and was reading a script (maybe for the season finale of PP!!)

While in NYC, I met up with the other interns.

This is Zach, me, Hannah, and Torey.

We had about a 2 hour wait in NYC then we flew to Morocco! Royal Air Maroc is a lot different than Delta or an American airline. It was really nice though! They gave us a little travel kit with an eye mask, head set, and socks (weird! haha). They also fed us. The food was pretty American, but still different. It was about a 7hr flight. We left New York at 8:30 and arrived in Morocco 3:30 am..but it was 7:30am Moroccan time. We went through Passport Control and customs and then got a voucher for a hotel. Since we had such a long layover (9hrs) they gave us a free hotel room for the day. We took a shuttle to the Atlas hotel. It was super nice...

We got back to the airport around 2pm and shopped around until our plane left at 4:50pm. There wasn't many people at all on our flight to Gabon. I sat by a really sweet Arab-looking lady. I was trying to get comfortable to go to sleep and she gave me her pillow. Then she covered me up with the blanket and tucked me in. She called me her daughter. It was really sweet! We arrived in Gabon around midnight and Tim was there to pick us up. It was pouring rain when we got here. It stopped when we were leaving the airport and it got super hot and humid. The house we are staying in is BEAUTIFUL! I have my own room for now until the summer teams arrive. There are two really cute cats. Tim and Meredith are really nice and hilarious! After talking to my parents, I went straight to bed! And that's all so far....I will post more pics later hopefully! Thanks for everyone's prayers and cards!!

T-Minus One Week!

2009-05-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

My visa FINALLY came in! I was getting a little worried..but my mom got it in the mail a few days ago. Bree's wedding was beautifuland amazing! It was so great spending the weekend with Aaron, my friends, and my family. I have 3 days of finals and I go home on Wednesday to start packing up. I leave next Tuesday (19th). I'm getting SOOO excited and just a tad nervous about the plane ride. This is my first time flying alone. I meet up with the other interns in New York so that will be fun! Other than that, I'm just trying to think of everything I will need while I'm there. This will probably be the last time I write until I get there, because as soon as Wednesday hits I'll have tons to do. Please continue to pray for me and the interns and we travel. I'll update as soon as I get there and get settled!!

One Month..The Countdown Begins!

2009-04-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

Hello again! So a few things have happened since the last time I wrote so let's get everyone up-to-date...
Over Easter Break, I went to Valdosta Health Department to get my vaccinations. The Yellow Fever vaccination is required to enter Gabon, but some others are also recommended. I got the Typhoid vaccination too. The other recommended vaccinations were required ones for entering into the public school system…so I’m vaccinated for just about everything now! I also got my Malaria drug prescription. My whole family basically got involved to make sure I got the right one (most of my family works in the medical field). My dad was worried about the first prescription they gave me because it makes you very sensitive to sun…and since I’m going to be pretty darn close to the equator, he figured that wasn’t very smart. However, after talking to a infectious disease expert (my Aunt Laura has connections!), we found that it would be the best medicine. So, that means I have to bring LOTS of sunscreen (3 months worth to be exact haha). I’m glad we got that all worked out!
I also sent off for my Visa, so that should be processed pretty soon. Tim and Meredith know a guy in New York that took all of the interns Visa applications together so we could split the fee. Thank you Jonathan!! Other than that…I’m just trying to finish school and start preparing and packing up my dorm room. My mom and Mema are coming up Wednesday, and I’m really excited to see them!

Finally got plane tickets!

2009-04-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

So today the reality of what I'm doing actually hit me. Lisa emailed me the plane itinerary...and I feel like I'm actually GOING now! I'll be flying from Jacksonville to Atlanta to New York by myself. Then I'll meet up with Zach, a fellow intern, in New York. From there, we will fly to Morocco and then to Gabon. I've been getting a lot of "Where is Gabon??" So for everyone who doesn't know (which I didn't either before I applied :) )..here is a map:

This Friday I'm going home for Bree's wedding shower (CRAZY!!) and I have an appoinment Friday at 3 in Valdosta to get my Yellow Fever Vaccination. Then I can start applying for my Visa! I'm really excited to see my family and friends this weekend. My mom is really starting to freak about me going to Gabon...she took off the day after I fly out just to cry haha. Poor Tammy. My dad is freaking too..but he's staying strong for me. I'm so glad my parents are being really supportive though. I couldn't have gone without them. I am very lucky:). I will only get to see my best friend Lauren for a few days before I fly out because she is coming home from Colorado. My other best friend Bree is getting married May 9th. I feel like everything in my world is changing so fast! I love it but at the same time it's scary. I know God has everything already worked out and that reassures me. My boyfriend Aaron is also getting a little nervous about my trip, but he is also very excited and supportive which is exactly what I need. :)

That's all for now I think...continue praying that everything will fall into place. Thank you everyone for being so supportive...I'd be a wreck without you!

Working out the kinks

2009-03-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

So I just got back from choir tour...and I basically got nothing done for my trip! But I really learned a lot about myself and felt God drawing me closer which was amazing! I also found out during my trip that my nana's church raised a good bit of money for me and that was so humbling and awesome. I wasn't expecting that at all, but I'm so thankful to Elizabeth Baptist Church for the support! I've also received support from Foothills Community Church, West Ward St. Church of God, and Daughters of the King Sunday Class. I'm so thankful for the willingness of people to give! I've had a number of indivuals give as well, and I'm truly greatful to them too. I can definitely tell this is where God wants me, because he is so faithfully providing my every need! I just sent the final dates to CMA for my departure and arrival, so I should be getting plane tickets soon. Now all I have to do is get my yellow fever shot, get my Visa, and pack! I'm getting more and more exciting everyday and can't wait to meet the other interns as well as Tim and Meredith!

Only the begininng...

2009-03-08T16:36:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! So this is my first time blogging...not really sure how to use all of this yet! Anyway...this blog is basically for anyone who wants to keep up with my mission trip to Gabon this summer. I'll try to write as much as I can, especially while I'm gone..and hopefully put up some pictures too! Right now, I'm getting all my paperwork and such done..got my passport! Now working on shots and my visa. I'm getting a little nervous...this is my first time going on an overseas mission trip and I've never flown alone! Other than that...I'm just trying to raise support. I've received support from so many people..it's blown my mind how much God has already blessed me! I know He will continue to provide. To all of those who have given me support and are praying for me...THANK YOU! You don't know how much this means to me. As for now....I'm asking that everyone would continue to pray for me as I'm starting this new adventure in my life!