It has been another beautiful, sunny day in Freetown. The rainy season is nearly over, so there have been some wonderful days of sunshine lately. Now that elections are over it is safe to travel up-country, to the villages! Some of the CHASL staff and I are traveling all next week to different villages to visit their medical clinics. At each medical clinic we are going to introduce the program we are beginning, The Baby Friendly Initiative which will officially begin October 1. Then, on Thursday we will arrive in Taiama for my first peanut butter supplement production/ distribution opportunity! I am so excited that it is finally time to begin doing the peanut butter clinic! I will have no access to the internet all this week, but will blog how everything goes when I get back on Monday or Tuesday. I have also put together a newsletter. I will be sending this out via email to my supporters. If you do not know if I have your email address to send you a newsletter, then post your email on my blog or email the address to me at chelsearingel@aol.com. May your lives be filled with God's peace, presence and faithfulness.

Today would not be a day I would call exciting, but it was productive. I was in an all-day meeting concerning child malnutrition and community health. The meeting covered all the major programs that are going on right now, and how each health association can bring the programs together in most efficient way.

Also, I have a prayer request. Vincent, an employee at CHASL, has a son who suddenly got very sick at the end of last week, and the son has died. Keep Vincent and his family in your prayers during this time. Thank you

An exciting day in Freetown

Yesterday around 10:30am I was at the CHASL office when I heard cheers and shouts of celebration. I ran to the nearest window facing the road, and it was obvious what had happened. The results of the new president were official. Ernest Koroma of the opposition All People's Congress had won with 53% of votes. Everyone in the streets was celebrating by putting on the color red, the party's official color, and dancing in the roads. There were mobs of red running everywhere! People were shouting, whistling, honking their horns, and cheering. There were many vehicles parading down the road crammed with so many, that people were hanging out of the vehicle. Koroma's entrance into the presidency has been a peaceful one, and it is good to see the country beginning to remember that no matter what political party they voted for, they are all Sierra Leoneans. It is exciting to see the country uniting again. All people share one thing in common. They are desperate to see a change. The people need jobs, adequate health care, electricity, and education. Hopefully, this change in political structure will be another step toward the good of the country.

A little of this and a little of that

It has been a busy few days! We have been working on a new project called the Baby Friendly Initiative. CHASL and UNICEF are partnering to work on this project to promote early and exclusive breastfeeding in 8 CHASL hospitals to trained workers and mothers.

Mr. Pieh and I went to a meeting at WFP (World Food Program) dealing with community therapeutic care. This meeting had many government organizations and non-government organizations present to discuss the problem of malnutrition in Sierra Leone. Up to this point every organization has been doing their own programs to fight the problem of malnutrition. Now the organizations are beginning to see that their efforts are much more effective when everyone works together! WFP has agreed to partner with CHASL in bringing the peanut butter supplement to Taiama. WFP will support CHASL with supplies, and also bring another malnutrition fighting food called benni mix to use alongside the peanut butter supplement. I can't wait to see what we will be able to accomplish working together!

Ramadan, the Islamic month of daily fasting and special nightly prayers, began today. Before now, I could not tell who was a muslim and who was a christian. During Ramadan, the muslims wear their dresses and tunics, and I see their brightly colored garments everywhere. The daughters of the man I am renting my apartment from have told me that there is no religious tension or problems in Sierra Leone despite the variety of beliefs you see here. People are very laid back and accepting of other peoples' religious beliefs.

Random Items...

There are so many fun and random things that people sell in the roads of Freetown. Most of these items are carried on their heads. I made a list of things I saw people selling:

multi-colored clothes hangers
gum and lozengers
floor mats
mugs
sunglasses
blue jeans, sport coats
bags of water
extension cords
dvds from China (twelve movies on one dvd)
tools
umbrellas
lamps
bumper stickers
manicure kits
hot dogs
Wal-Mart meets the street! It's great!

This morning Mr. Pieh and I had the opportunity to meet with the Nutrition Specialist at UNICEF. I got to talk to him about the child malnutrition program, and he was very interested in partnering with CHASL. YEAY! No results for the election have come out yet, so I am continuing to do office work. I have never heard rain come down as hard as it did last night! It sounded like a hurricane had hit Freetown! It cleared up though and is a beautiful, sunny day. Thank you Northside UMC members for the fundraiser, the Cabaret dinner. I heard it was lots of fun! I appreciate everyone's support. The amazing thing about ministry is that it cannot involve only one person, but a whole community of believers working together to be the body of Christ. Have a blessed day

Update on the weekend

Well, the run-off elections went peacefully for the most part. There were twenty voting stations, and only four had any type of violence that was stopped quickly by the police. I had to spend the Saturday around my apartment for safety. I went to my landlord's house. His daughter gave me a thorough lesson in Krio, culture, politics, tribal conflicts, and religions in Sierra Leone. I learned so much from Nadia! Mr. Assad (my landlord) told me many stories about the war that he experienced. On Sunday, I went with Mr. Pieh and Melissa (the other intern at CHASL) to a Methodist church. It surprised me with how similar it was to the Methodist church I am used to. We said the Apostle's Creed and everything! Later Melissa and I got to go for a walk at the beach, BEAUTIFUL! Today we have been busy doing office work. Betty Sam (nurse at CHASL) and I have set a date to go to the village of Tiama on September 28 to distribute the peanut butter supplement. Results for the election should be out by Wednesday, then it will be safe again to be out in Freetown and the villages, I am very excited!

Good afternoon! This morning we visited another medical clinic- Wesleyan Medical Clinic. It is hard to believe what I am seeing when I visit these clinics. This clinic had dirt floors and extremely small rooms. The nurse, Anna, spoke with us about what she sees most often. She says there are mostly cases of malaria. Even in these difficult working environments all the staff seem to work with what they do have with joy and contentment. We visited another medical center, which has a more common name, because they are located in many areas of the world- Mercy Ships has a base location in Freetown. We were not able to go inside here. I will not have the opportunity to visit the Minister of Health until tomorrow. This delay is due to a peace march that will be held in Freetown. It should be happening anytime now! The peace march is for the run-off election that will be held this Saturday. Instead of each party campaigning, they thought it would be a good idea to unify the people with a peace march. There are lots of people that are going to show up for this march, and they will be walking a good distance up and down the main streets of Freetown. Pray for peace during the upcoming run-off election in Sierra Leone.

Muddy Roads...

Greetings! Today has been an action packed day. Some of the CHASL staff and I have been visiting medical clinics. We visited Juba Medical Clinic, a clinic right behind CHASL, and St. Anthony's Medical/maternity clinic. There was a woman at this clinic who walked by herself all the way there in labor! She was waiting patiently in line when one of the nurses noticed she was in pain and asked her if she was in labor. This situation is not uncommon, and many women walk to the clinic by themselves while in labor. At each medical clinic the staff would show us each of the rooms and what they were used for, then they would give us some information on what types of patients they see and the treatment they give them. I am learning so much! We had a pharmicist in our group who gave them drugs, vitamins, and other medical materials. It took awhile traveling today, because it was so rainy. It rained last night and into the day. The roads are washed away in many areas. Tomorrow I meet with the Minister of Health to discuss the PB project. Blessings! By the way, thank you for the comments on my blog. I am still figuring out how to respond to comments..I wish I knew more about blogging:)

I'm In Africa!

I arrived in Freetown about 10:30pm last night. My first day has been full of so much excitement. This morning I rode with Mr. Pieh to CHASL, and I met everyone who I will be working with. Then we had a short devotion. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to sing and pray with people working for the glory of God! Then, we visited the Kissy Hospital/medical clinic. I got the opportunity to meet with the nutrition specialists there and ask them questions dealing with the malnutrition they see with the children enrolled in the clinic. I have already learned so much! This country is beautiful and so are the people. Thank you for your continual prayers! Oh by the way...For those of you who don't know, I have a pet bearded dragon named Parkson. There are millions of Parksons running around!! Well really they are king lizards, but they look just like him!