Lunsar and Portloko

Fire got very close to this village and road. Even singed some of the thatch.

early morning leaving Port Loko for Lunsar, sun just coming up

rural village

Dexter, is getting more and more social, he reaches for personal contact and has a sound for "yes". It is so nice to see him relaxed and not so scared.

Pioneer Friends from Nigeria and Special Pioneers from Port Loko

careful with this bridge approach, center only!

mud bogging anyone! watch out rainy season....... coming soon

fire storm sky

smoke across the road, was like this in many spots

Hello Friends and Family,

Hope springtime is finding you all well.

We have been very busy with the invitation campaign for the memorial.

Our drive to Lunsar last week was eventful, with brush fires on all sides. They burn the tall elephant grass before rainy season. Fires just burn and burn and burn. People brush around their huts to make fire breaks. The air was thick with smoke, made the air change colors and swirl like tornados. While preaching it was like being in a sauna. During the meeting the air above swirled like an eirie firestorm, ash was in the air. Like tiny flakes of snow.

The children and I were able to place over 1,100 invitations in Lunsar. It was an incredible experience. Regretfully though we have had to make the tough decision to not travel to Lunsar as often as before. It is just too far a comute at this time, we decided as a family not to rent the small rental in Lunsar. Our family will always remember and cherish our experience there and continue to visit and support periodically. There are just so many outlying villages and territories here to preach in. The friends from Port Loko will continue to travel to encourage the two publishers there.

The road from Port Loko to Lunsar is a tough one. The road is dirt and very rutted, the new bridge has not been given the finishing touches. If you don't know the road and try to stay to one side as normal driving, you would have big problems. You have to approach and leave dead center. I certainly wouldn't want to drive it at night. The bridge has been this way for months, it is not on the priority of the road maintenance. We will keep the Special Pioneers in Port Loko in our prayers as they continue to travel to help in the rural areas.

Our family had the wonderful priveledge of visitors from Nigeria. What a wonderful brotherhood! We also learned that the brother who gave Shelby's baptism talk in 2002 at Nattick Ma. has served in Sierra Leone! He was actually in Kissy Congregation when it first formed! The same Kissy Congregation that was the first Kingdom Hall we had the priveledge to help renovate here in Sierra Leone. Talking with the friends from Nigeria we learned that they knew some of the family of the same brother from the US. Small world, Jehovah's large family is wonderful!

Thinking of you all often,

Lorie