VIM Trip 2008

VIM trip 2008 to Sierra Leone is ending as I am blogging. All my new missionary friends have departed from the Gatwick airport and are on their way home. This week I had the opportunity to see what an impact 16 people could have on the village of Taiama. So here is a brief report on what the team did during their time in Taiama. Taiama farms had some important improvements made. The agriculture team checked on all the livestock, bought some essential tools for the farmers, and obtained a pump to begin an irrigation project. The construction team had some barriers this week, James Ross even hit one with his head! They were able to do a lot of painting and get supplies going for reconstructing the village's United Methodist Church. This will allow the people of Taiama to get a lot done on the church themselves. The medical team saw and treated 406 patients during the week! The pharmacy worked so hard, and most days finished working last trying to keep up with the patient load. As we saw a huge number of patients receive the medical care they desperately needed, we also saw the number of patients never decrease. This showed us what a need for medical care the community has. The Peanut Butter Project made four batches of the supplement, and I had to refer others to come back to the clinic when I return on January 18th. We were able to further train the local healthcare worker, Lucy, on more specifics of the program such as how to distinguish a healthy child from a malnourished child based on physical cues. Our photographer, Tony, despite feeling under the weather by the end never stopped snapping! Thanks to him our trip is well documented. As you can see, we had a busy but productive trip, Praise God! I also praise God that the team trip ended when it did, because I think the rice and African sun was making some of our beloved team members looney! They had begun to make animal masks for eachother and that is all I have to say about that! You can use your imagination! Thank you for your prayers and support for the VIM 2008 team. I should have pictures of the trip up as soon as possible! Lindsay and I are here in Freetown going strong and ready to get back to work Monday morning.