Sept 13 (Diva men and tattoos)

This past Thursday, one of the men on staff here named Jan (he's German so it's pronounced Yan) asked me to go to Kroo Bay with him. We were going to drop off a med student from Oxford named Rachel at a clinic in the middle of the slum and then go to a couple of places in the area that Jan knew to get to know some of the people who live there and establish some relationships with them. Evidently he is already fairly well known by a lot of the people and we heard "Mr. Jan! Mr. Jan!" coming from all over as we walked. Everybody wanted to greet him. I do not think there is a way for me to give you an accurate understanding of what Kroo Bay is like. It is just not within my literary or vocabulary reach to do so, but suffice it to say that it is a place avoided by even most Freetown locals, most of whom would be considered poor themselves. It is a place of poverty, disease, hunger, and all sorts of suffering and evil, but while that is all true it is also a place where there is a great opportunity for the love of our Creator to be shown. For it is in the darkest places where even a little bit of light can make a huge difference.

Basicall, what Jan is doing in Kroo Bay right now is getting to know the people. I think so many times in my own life I get wrapped up in projects and "fixing" problems as the way to love my neighbor as Christ commanded. Now I am all for certain projects and social justice issues and such but it is so easy sometimes to de-humanize or de-personalize such things. I forget that within the "projects" are the prized creation of the Most High God, made in His image, and beloved by Him. It is when I begin to comprehend this Truth that places like Kroo Bay cease to exist in my mind as a problem that needs fixing but instead as a place filled with beloved children of my own Father, my brothers and sisters, each with a face, a name, a story, joys and sorrows, who long to be loved and accepted, and with whom God the Father is madly in love with.

Ok, so time for a story. One of the thins we did in Kroo Bay is to go to this place the residents called "Diva." One guy we talked to actually introduced himself to us as a "Diva Man" and I was really confused at first until he explained the meaning. I know, funny name in English, but in Krio it basically means "hang out spot." Diva is a lean to style structure with no walls, a tin roof, and bench style seats made of crude wood where people, mostly men and boys, hang out and smoke weed to pass the time. It was really funny to see the reaction of the guys to me and Jan walking into Diva amidst the pot smoke wafting through the air and then Jan asking if we could hang out with them. At first, they were suspicious of us, and I don't blame them. I doubt many white people come to hang out there much. Jan just told them we came to learn from them about life in Kroo Bay. Once they realized that Jan and I weren't there to really "do" anything but that we were really interested in hearing about their lives in Kroo Bay, both good and bad, they started to loosen up and talk and joke with us. They told us about their community soccer team and bragged about how two guys from Kroo Bay actually play on the national team. They pointed out the field that they play on but informed us that they were waiting until after the rainy season to play because the area floods so badly. Not only does their houses flood but with the water comes all the trash and filth from the city above so the entire area, soccer field, paths, houses, is covered with trash. They told us that the flooding is worse now because of a bridge the city built for a road through Kroo Bay is causing a buildup of rubbish and is not allowing the water to flow through but instead pushes it out of the banks and into the slum. They told us about trying to find work in the city but the scarcity of jobs which is why they sit around and smoke instead of working (granted there are probably a variety of reasons they do not work. some their own fault and some not but I am just repeating their words).

One of the cool parts about the whole thing was that they seemed thankful, though probably still skeptical, that we actually wanted to listen to their thoughts on life in Kroo Bay and that we honestly admitted that we did not understand and could not relate but wanted to learn from and listen to them.

At the end, several of them were asking about my tattoos and so Jan asked if they wanted to hear the story behind my tree tattoo. Stories and pictures are big in African culture so they were eager to hear. Jan read the story from Isaiah 11 that prophesies of the coming of Christ. "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit...." I told Jan later that was not actually the original inspiration of the tatoo but that I really liked his interpretation of it. After that, they all asked to hear the story behind my other tattoo, as they could only see the part below my sleeve, but we had to get going so Jan said if they would like for us to come back we could tell them the story next time. They said we could come back Monday if we wanted to. Haha I think it is so interesting to see how God works sometimes. I never really imagined myself in a pot den in a slum in Freetown having a friend use my tattoos as a story board to tell of the love of Christ. Please pray for the people in Kroo Bay and especially for the "Diva men" that Gold would reveal Himself to them, that they may see and experience His love. For there is no place that His love cannot penetrate. Pray that I may listen to and obey the Spirit as He leads my interaction with these people.

I love you all!!!