...and so it Begins

: We are home. We are exhausted. We are hopeful. 

Spending the past few weeks in Sierra Leone, Michael and I experienced some incredible highs. Traveling to any poverty stricken area is a an incredibly humbling experience, but when you travel to places in the world that government assistance doesn't exist and people literally die of poverty...it will break you.

So many of us can turn a blind eye to these things, because the closest we ever get to extreme poverty is the sad commercials with the starving child that last 30 seconds, and then our 'good feeling program' comes on afterward., and just like that the images of such sadness have been removed from our minds. The emotional experience has passed, but being present and witnessing first hand the hurt pain and destruction that poverty plays in a community will haunt your soul forever. 

Michael and I were out in the community inatking children for Pikin House and reaching out to families for our Project Salone family sponsorship program, and every family that we came across had a different story, but a similar present. Families still suffering from the catastrophic disaster of the war that ended over a decade ago; families that have lost sole providers, parents or other family members to Ebola and the stigma that it has still left in these communities; The flooding of 2015 that destroyed homes and businesses that haven't rebuilt. These are just a few instances of what has plagued these families. 

You see, if you don't have food...you don't eat. If you're sick and don't have money....you don't see a doctor & then you stay sick or worse. Although, Sierra Leoneans embrace the "it takes a village" concept, there is only so much a poverty stricken community can do for others and still survive themselves. 

Each intake brought a new perspective on life in Sierra Leone and each intake brought more purpose to Project Salone. There were days where I stressed so much about what was going on...legalities, funding and day-to-day operations....then I would sit and realize that this is Gods plan and he will provide and see us through. 

Every case broke a piece of our heart...as we had prayed for God to "Break our heart for what breaks his"...this is a prayer that he fulfilled. 

We left Sierra Leone with even more of a drive to fulfill Project Salone and see to it that these children and families have a future...a future where they thrive...where they feel loved...and where they succeed. 

Please keep Project Salone in your prayers and click on "Sponsor a Child" to learn more about sponsorships. 

xoxo, 
​Christina