Camp Hill United Methodist Church
Sunday, September 05, 2010

Team Panguma Update

 

 
Below are many of the postings received from members of "Team Panguma" during our CHUM Mission Trip - Feb. 25 - March 6, 2010.  

  • Team arrived safely  - Newark, New Jersey - Monday, Feb. 22 - 7:43pm ET
  • Tear arrived safely in London - Tuesday, Feb. 23 at 4:30 am ET
  • Team boarded plane to Africa - Tuesday, Feb. 23 - 8:38 pm ET
  • Team arrived safely in Sierra Leone, Africa at 4:03 pm ET
  • Team boarded ferry to Kissy port, Freetown at 5:30 pm ET
  • Team arrives at hotel in Freetown, Wednesday morning at 12:05 am ET
Below are some text messages received from the team members via their cell phones and Blackberries....it amazes me that we are able to receive these from such a remote area of the world.  What a blessing to all of us back home. 
 
Tuesday, Feb. 23
Carolyn Shover - " On ferry now...ride from the airport was overwhelming.  Very well organized.  Went as smooth as could have.  Begging at every moment.  Police at airport kept beggars away until they thought they could get too.  Then held out own hands...Was offered a dead chicken through car window.  No city/town lights....People along road with candles, fires, lanterns, all selling and begging.  On water now to Freetown...Safe but overwhelmed."
 
Jim Foster - "Our trip began with a wonderful send off at CHUM by our families and several other members of the congregation.  Pastor Tom led us in prayer and we were off.  At HIA we reconnected with the other members of our group and our leader Rev Jeff Fisher.  We checked in without incident.  Our first leg was a short hop on a commuter jet to Newark.  Next was a long flight over the Atlantic to London Heathrow.  I noticed that the exchange rate is not nearly as favorable to Americans as the last time I was here.  Lunch there was really expensive.  By far the longest flight was from London to Freetown, over 7 hours.  On the way, we talked to members of a group from Western New York who are involved in drilling water wells and other development efforts in SL.  Good water sources are critcal to raising the standard of living there.  From the plane, we viewed the geographical diversity of northern Africa, including mountain ranges, deserts, bays and plains. Freetown is a large city of over one milion.  Some say it is over two million now with all of the in-migration that has occurred during and since the war.  However, from the air at night you can see almost no lights at night.  This gives an idea of the primitive conditions and lack of development.  Freetown lies on a very picturesque bay that reminds me of San Francisco Bay.  The airport is across the bay from the main city.  Coming off the plane there was an abrupt transition from the first world to the third.  Though it is the airport of the national capital, it has extremely poor lighting with exposed concrete and rebar rod.  The road from the airport to the ferry seemed to be ancient asphalt and packed dirt.  People lined the road selling plantains and other food." 

Wednesday, Feb. 24
Carolyn Shover - "7:30 am...ready for breakfast.  Took 3 10 second showers...Praise God for the water!! Shirt is already soaked.  Humidity is so bad. I put my glasses on at 3:30 am and they fogged up completely and immediately.  Rooster outside window at 5am.  Did not sound like a handsome fellow!  Today was fine...a lot of begin shuffled about.  Got food to take to Panguma b/c no market there.  Lunch at the SL UMC conference building...not fancy...toured seminary and academy...heard speeches from principals...Their success, progress, and ability to do anything totally depends on our support.  The roads are filled with people and cars all over.  It's like times square hosting jubilee day and an open air market at once in a two lane space.  Came to the beach tonight.  5 hour ride on dirt road tomorrow to Panguma. Still very humid here.  No water.  Occasional electric.  We're excited about Panguma!
...water is gone...used a bucket to rinse off.  Mosquito net works but blocks all moving air...it's very hot.  marching band across dirt road is practicing for founder's day tomorrow.  Drums & brass. No street lights or anything.  Pretty much marching in the dark.
 
Jim Foster - "We are staying at St. Edwards, a Catholic school.  We stayed in two person rooms that share a bath with adjoining rooms.  My roommate is Greg Johnson a pastor at a church in York.  Electricity is provided by a generator that runs part time and water that runs intermittantly.  We spent the morning getting supplies for our trip inland to Panguma and visiting the home of Amadu.  He is a well to do oil company executive who is affiliated with the SL United Methodist Church.  He is leading efforts to bring aid to Panguma and he will accompany us there.  Our visit with Amadu ran long and we were late for our lunch at the United Methodist conference office downtown.  After that, we wnt to Albert Acadamy, a boys school affiliated with the UMC.  It was founded in memory of Rev. Albert, a missionary from Grantville, PA who drowned in SL in 1903.  Later we went to the (name) seminary.  It trains pastors of the UMC and other denominations to serve in SL.  The seminary has two particular needs, books for its library and computers.  Mission Central sent a shipment of books some time ago, but they were apparently diverted for other purposes by the UMC.  I spoke with one of the administrators about getting computers for them from Computer Ministry.  I am hopeful we will be able to help them.  CM has sent a few hundred computers to SL for various ministries.  We had dinner at The Atlantic restaurant on the beach.  It was a beautiful setting and the food was very good.  Greg and I were locked out of our room due to a faulty latch.  The staff was able to force it open with a crowbar and hammer.  Freetown has dogs all over the place.  They run across the streets seemingly unfazed by traffic.  They seem to be halfway between wild and tame.  They don't seem to be attached to any one person, yet they aren't at all threatening.  It's hard to keep from petting them,  but I don't think that would be wise.  They are also very similar, sort of a terrier mix.

 Thursday, Feb. 25 
Carolyn Shover - "rooster was right on time.  Don't know how he recognizes it's 5 am...packing the van full for Panguma.  I'm riding in Amadu's car...courtesy of my motion sickness and overpacked van.  Good possibility of cell phone signal in Panguma.  Team is very excited. I'm in the back seat....air...one of 5 in toyota that seats 5...should still be better for me than 12 passenger van with little air.  We're riding around taking care of details...then 5 hour ride to Panguma...1:00 pm...I'm typing this in case we lose our cell signal...very remote area...we're on a road you'd never take your truck on...finally about 1 mile from Panguma!  7:10pm - Arrived in Panguma to the most amazing reception ever...lined up at end of town...sang and danced us in the whole length of town.  Only Heaven's reception will probably top it.  Stopped at church for what the pastor called a 5-minute introduction. The people here think our kids are crazy for loving the snow!  I've shown some of the pics of Taryn and Jeremy from the blizzard. 
 
Click on this WAV file to hear the celebration as our team rode into Panguma!!!
 
Jim Foster - "There was electricity when we woke up but no water for showers.  I took a "cowboy bath" with a bucket of water that reminded me of my hiking travels.  At breakfast a few of us sat woith Henry, one of our drivers.  He told us a bit about the civil war in 1999 and 2000.  He explained that the war was between the rebels and the government at the time.  The government employed Nigerians as mercdnary soldiers.  Sometimes they didn't discriminate between the rebels and Sierra Leoneans, and many regular Leonean men were killed for no reason.  Things are generally peaceful now buit there are still disutes between the northern and southern tribes.  Our breakfast included some of the best tasting bananas and pineapples I've ever had.  I wonder if bananas aren't like tomatoes in that the ones that are made to be shipped have tough skins and don't taste nearly as good as the ones made for local use.  One of the strategies the current government uses to bring the country together is paving the roads between the regions.  We hope at least some of the road to Panguma will be paved.  Freetown strikes me as a city that is extremely overpopulated with very aging infrastrucure.  There are signs that the streets and sewers were once reasonably adequate.  However, it looks like little has been done in at least a generation.  I did see some evidence of constuction, which is a very good sign.  Our group of 22 is splitting up to go out to various places throughout the country.  The 8 of us from CHUM are going the furthest distance, to Panguma in the southeastern corner.  As we left the sprawling city of Freetown, there were slow yet dramatic changes.  Overcrowded streets surrounded by crumbling buildings and tin roof shacks were replaced by landscaped filled with grasslands and woods.  Indeed the road out of Freetown is good and in many places looks to be newly paved.  Our van is packed to the very top with our eight suitcases plus eight more that we got from Mission Central and packed with items to give to the Panguma community from the CHUM congregation.  Seven of us are packed into the van along with Edison, our driver.  Carolyn is traveling with Amadu in his SUV.  The road continued to be good and paved until we reached (name), about 40 miles from Panguma.  Then it became a dirt road that looks like it was once paved and has now fallen into disrepair.  Later it turned into a rut filled dirt road that obviously becomes a quagmire during the rainy season.  We passed giant trees as well as banana and coffee plants along the way.  Finally we reached the edge of Panguma at about 6 pm.  We heard something that sounded like singing in the distance.  It turned out to be what I can only describe as the most amazing reception of my life!!  The dirt road was lined on each side by a choir of boys in uniform.  This was followed by a large group of women in identical traditional African dress who danced, chanted and sang.  The town leaders came next, including the local UMC pastor, the mayor and various leaders of tribes and schools.  They all hugged and welcomed us, then surrounded us as we walked approximately a half mile to the church.  The children competed with each other over who could hold our hands.  We were all overcome with emotion, most especially Fred, who has worked so hard to make this visit a reality.  They led us into the church where the minister led a brief welcome service and formally introduced us.  The church presently has no roof.  Workmen have just started tearing our the remnabts of the old one and installing new rafters.  It was explained to us that the rebels burned the entire town in the late 90s.  They camped in the UM Church, building fires inside and using the  pews for firewood.  All of the power lines were cut and have still not been restored.  There is a hydroelectric plant not far away, but that power goes out to Bo and elsewhere.  We are staying in Amadu's house here.  He was born and raised here, going to the local elementary school.  We had an excellent dinner there and discussed the plans for our stay here.  Also, I had my first real shower in three days, which felt wonderful.  No need for hot water in this climate.  Truly a remarkable and extraordinary day.
 
Friday, February 26 -
Carolyn Shover - "Day is good...lunch now...stopped at church to recognize relationship and work to be done.  Visited Chief of area (chief of 7 areas/towns)...very full of tradition.  Were introduced to each important member of the community.  Given a goat (kid) as is custom.  Back to church...helped move lumber to demonstrate shared effort and commitment.  Played CHUM CD during work - "Days of Elijah" was popular....gave away a set of batteries to the SL UM Conference communicator who is here to document.  He has a similar camera as ours to use, but not as nice...he asked about my rechargable batteries.  I said I brought extras.  He then asked if I had extra that he could have - they are very expensive and hard to come by....so I gave.  Further blessings....I asked what type of memory card he has.  He only had a 1g that he uses repeatedly for the whole conference, so I gave him one of my four 2g cards that I was carrying.  He couldn't believe it.  We live in such abundance!  We just learned that CHUMly, our goat, is to be served for dinner.  Apparently, goat is the highest honor...best meat you can offer.  Fortunately, he won't be served to us.  Amadu will take him to his compound and save him for another time.  Chief was bringing honor and wealth to us....we were thinking "pet" (we did know better)...just hated to have it confirmed.  Poor CHUMly! 
 
Jim Foster - "I woke up after a great night's sleep to the sounds of children and birds, including the ever present roosters that start crowing about 5 am.  Thank heavens for the earplugs I brought.  We had a wonderful breakfast of egg salad, bread, papaya, and especially pineapple.  The pineapple is so good here. After breakfast and devotions, we went to a meeting with community leaders.  The attendees included the Paramount Chief of this district.  I understand there are seven such districts in SL, meaning that he is roughly the equivalent of a US Governor.  He greeted us warmly, as did the leader of the local mosque.  Amadu tells us there is a genuine spirit of cooperation between the Christian and Muslim followers in Panguma.  That is good to hear.  After that we went back to the UM Church, this time to do some work on the building.  We helped out for a few hours,  doing things like moving lumber and handing boards up  to the workers.  The workmen hired to install the roof.  Shawn and I (at least) wanted to get up on the roof and really help out.  However, Jeff and Steve had specifically told us not to do so, because conditions are not really safe for us.  We could see that they were right.  The pastor showed us his temporary parsonage.  It is a small two room mud brick building with a thatched roof.  This is a small space indeed for his family of eight.  He showed us the foundation for the original parsonage.  This was burned to the ground by the rebels during the civil war.  The church leaders believe that rebuilding the parsonage is the next priority after making the church usable.  Amadu explained to me that most of the funds to help with this will have to come from elsewhere in SL and internationally.  The average offering by the Panguma congregation is only around 4000 Leones, which is about $1 US.  Throughout the village we saw houses and commercial buildings that were destroyed by the rebels.  It is clear that the people here had a much higher standard of living before the devastating civil war.  While we worked on the church, the sounds of the New Life musical team came from a boombox playing one of the CDs we brought.  Pastor Brian, Carolyn, Mark, Beth and led the children in singing the modern praise songs.  Several folks asked us for one of the CDs we had, which we were happy to give them.  We came back to a late lunch that included rice, a spicy meat and fish stew and local fruit.  To me their cuisine tastes like Cajun food.  That's not surprising since I believe many of the African-Americans who are largely responsible for Cajun cuisine came from this part of Africa.  This afternoon we went on a walk through the neighborhoods of Panguma.  We started with the open air market.  It sells a wide variety of food, including fish, fruit and nuts as well as clothing.  We walked toward the hospital and took a brief look at it.  We will tour it later with Amadu.  It was explained to us that it is run by medical professionals similar to our paramedics.  There is no doctor on staff, but doctors in Kenema supervise from there.  There used to be more doctors in SL, but they fled during the war and have not returned.  Once again, we were surrounded by small children as we walked around.  We saw the remnants of many very nice homes that were destroyed in the war.  The conference photographer who is with us, Phileas, told us more about the war.  It started in 1991 and lasted until 2002.  He was in college at the time.  All of the schools in SL were shut down for awhile, so it took him six years to finish.  Many of the prominent citizens of places like Panguma left for their safety and a large number have never returned. We came back and had a light supper of fried plantains and banana cake.  Amadu even had wine for us, a California Chardonnay for those of us who drink wine and non-alcoholic champagne for the non-drinkers.  A great ending to a wonderful day."
 
 
Carolyn Shover - "Our team took a long walk through the village today.  As soon as the children saw us at the "market,"  they followed.  Most of us had two children on each hand and a few holding our forarms.  Pied pipers.  They shout 'pumui' which means white (wo)man.  Even the adults want the respect of being greeted and touched.  The are ALL children when it comes to the camera.  One girl on the side of the road waved to me wanting me to come and touch & greet her.  She's crippled and unable to even stand.  She drags herself with wooden blocks and handles (like irons).  Did not want to be left out or behind.  Pastor Brian tried to hurry and be in a photo of kids.  One poor girl thought the giant white man was chasing her.  We caught up with her.  He felt terrible."

Saturday, Feb. 27
 
 Carolyn Shover - "Big morning...drove to saw mill several villages away...saw woman with no left arm from elbow down...sounds terrible that it is something to see...makes the knowledge real for me...saw mill not operational...govt' ban on harvesting timber right now...no work for factory never mind those who use the wood to produce goods or those who sell them...then drove 12 miles for one hour (yes...it took one hour) and Beth and I prayed the 13 people van over a couple bridges!...to the hydroelectric station...station supplies Bo and Kenema with electricity during rainy seasons (there's another  electric plant in Bo for the dry seasons).  The village closest to the plant receives free power...the appearance seemed a contradiction...our driver (from freetown) looked at hte constant power supply with envy.  Those 12 miles...just when you think you've reached the most remote village there is one more.  I noticed EVERY village suffered destruction from the rebels. No one was left alone.  1 hour to do the 12 miles back....lunch...3pm....Dancers showed up at the house.  Chaos...confusion...celebration.  Denise, Beth, and I danced with the women...The devil showed up (looking like a giant haystack) back and forth....back and forth...we left dancing...the principal gave us a formal opportunity to go, so we took it.  We were one with the crowd in the heat and chaos...The women, the children, the men, three devils dancing back and forth.  Marred once by a fight...a woman was coming to close to Denise, Beth, and I.  One of the men charged with caring for us told her she was too close and sweating on us...He told her to go wipe off.  She slapped him....from there it was confusing....after we came in Iye asked us to pray for her little son...Joseph (pastor Tom's god son)...he has malaria.  Our hearts breaking as we laid hands on him...and prayed...
 
Jim Foster - "Another good night's sleep, though this was probably the hottest night yet.  Our hosts are continuing to spoil us.  Our breakfast included omelets, oatmeal and wonderful fruit.  After that we traveled to a nearby sawmill.  Before the war it was operated by a French firm, but was largely destroyed.  A company based in the former Soviet republic of Georgia operates it now.  One person from Georgia is in charge and most of the other approximately 200 employees are local.  Currently the plant is not in operation due to a government imposed ban on cutting timber.  That ban is supposed to be lifted soon.  I know that many third world countries are concerned about over-timbering because of the damage it can do to the environment. They cut many kinds of timber.  The majority are similar to our redwoods and are used as finish lumber for such things as furniture and doors.  They also harvest a very hard and heavy wood that is similar to mahogany and is extremely valuable. We saw more beautiful mountain vistas on the way.  It strikes me that this country has a lot of potential as a tourist destination, with its beautiful mountains, great bays and stunning beaches. All that is needed is continued political stability and I believe tourist development will come. We then traveled to the hydroelectric plant via a road that (if possible) is even worse than that from Kenema to Panguma.  The plant is only about 15 miles from Panguma on the river.  Unfortunately, the power lines to Panguma were cut during the war and to date have not been restored.  Instead, power from this plant goes to places like Kenema and Bo, much both further distance away.  The plant only produces significant power during the rainy season.  During dry seasons like now, it is largely inactive.  We came back, had lunch, and had just settled down when we heard the sound of music in the distance.   It was the women's vocal group with musicians.  This time they were accompanied by a person dressed a large grass covered costume that covered his (her?) entire body including the head, with an elaborate crown on top.  We were told he represented the devil and the dancers were trying to drive it away.  The devil figure danced and twirled throughout the compound.  Later the devil was replaced by two separate figures, who represented the women of each of the two tribes in the area.  Each of them twirled and danced for an extended period.  Most of the village surrounded the dancers and joined in the celebration.  After the dancing, which lasted around 2 1-2 hours, Beth mentioned that Pastor Joseph's daughter Iye was her with her three year old son Tom, whom she believes has malaria.  We laid hands on them and gave him a toy and some candy.  After all this, we were exhausted, and we had just been watching the dancing.  We finished with a light dinner and devotions.
 
These pictures taken by Beth Notarfracesco. 
  
 
 
Sunday, Feb. 28
 
Jim Foster - "We Americans certainly use a lot of resources.  That fact has been made clear to us here in Panguma.  We had no running water last night and just a trickle this morning.  But we've survived just fine with sponge baths.  The generator that provides electricity usually runs in the late afternoon and for a few hours in the evening.  Flashlights worked just fine for us.  After breakfast, we headed to church.  There was a remarkable contrast between the ruined church with no roof and broken glass, and the vibrant and energetic congregation at worship.  We processed into church to an African beat with Pastor Joseph, the choir, band and worship leaders.  We were introduced to many church and community leaders.  After he was introduced, Fred commented memorably that this Church service shows that skin color means nothing in God's eyes.  The choir led the congregation in several songs. Shawn, Mark, Fred  and I read the scriptures.  Carolyn, Beth, Mark and Denise led the congregation in one of the praise songs they regularly sing in New Life.  Surely the highlight was the sermon.  Pastor Joseph preached while Mustafa, the worship leader translated in Mende, the local tribal language.  But, to call his work a translation doesn't really do it justice.  Pastor Joseph would make a brief statement, and Mustafa followed with Mende words lasting twice as long with hands waving and embellishments that had the congregation in stitches.  At one point Pastor Joseph called what Mustafa was doing "color", and that seemed just right.  Brian gave the offering prayer.  After the service, we passed out to the children the crosses prepared by the JAM kids.  We won't soon forget their words of thanks and the looks in their eyes as they received them. Following the service, we retired to Amadu's house for a buffet meal including many community members.  It was a great opportunity to get to know them better.  Later on, we took another walk through the village.  It seems hard to know what sort of aid would do the most good.  We learned that one boy in high school would just need the equivalent of $150 US to study engineering in college.  However, I wonder if the best use of our resources is to work on community infrastructure items such as the Church and parsonage.  On the subject of infrastructure, one crying need in Panguma is for electricity.  As I mentioned earlier, the community had electricity until the rebels cut the lines.  The poles seem to be largely intact, and they are made of concrete.  It would seem to be very easy to run the lines to the hydro plant, which is just around 12 miles away."
 
Carolyn Shover - "Some of the team have not been feeling well.  Please pray for team health.  Just finished worship...Ready for banquet.  The pastor has a translator that translates to Mende for the congregation.  Translator is loads of fun and shorter than Pastor Stephen.  When he stood next to Pastor Brian to translate for him it was hysterical!  He came up well below Brian's shoulders.  Brian is probably the biggest pumui (poomwe) they've ever seen. This is not for the web....just for you to kid Pastor Stephen about (oh well....I'm sharing it anyways----sorry Stephen).  ...we were served the goat with today's feast.  Poor CHUMly...( he did taste good... :)"
 
Beth Notarfrancesco - some more pictures
 
L-R, Bk to frnt - pastor joseph, his wife, his wifes sister, daughter aye, son francis.   ?, gandsons michael and tom.
 
Water pump - there are several in village, gate around it to have people wait turn.
 
  
 
So today after church Amadu and his wife gave a huge celebration banquet.  Unfortunately I must report that Chumley was part of the feast!  Our team ate inside with Amadu, Pastor Joseph, and elders and leaders in the community.  The church congregation was fed outside in the large community pavillion next to Amadu's. After everyone was finished eating there was a lot of rice leftover so they prepared it in 7 large wooden  bowls.  They had gathered 7 groups of children from the village who were not at the UMC celebration.  They requested us to come out and watch them feed the children.  Many of these kids were the "possee" that have followed us around town and wait for us on the porch.   We have had many emotional moments and have seen and experienced many heartbreaking moments but this tore our hearts right out and plopped them on the ground.  There are not words to describe groups of children aged 2-12 sitting on the ground in groups of 6-8 tearing into bowls of rice after you have just been presented with a feast.  Not to mention where and what we come from and will come home too.  We were asked to photograph them so everyone would know how great the problem is.  They eat rice 1 x per day, some don't even eat every day.  Sure you have heard it before but these are our sons and daughters, sisters and brothers in Christ in our village of Panguma.
 
 
The cell phone shop
 
 
Some houses in the village
 
 
 
More pics from the rice feeding
 
 
 
More rebel damage
 
Monday, March 1
 
Jim Foster - "Dave: I got the copy of the song you sent. I'll play it this morning for the team. I read your earlier message to them during devotions last night. I can't fully express how much we appreciate the support of the CHUM congregation during our trip.  It rained hard in the late evening, meaning that it was cooler than normal last night.  During devotions last night, led by Pastor Brian, I read a long email from Dave Shover that described this Sunday's New Life and Celebration services.  Words aren't sufficient for me to describe how much we appreciate the support we've received from the CHUM congregation during this trip.  This morning I played for the team an audio file of the song "Still" which was sung in New Life yesterday. Last night we made final decisions on distributing the various items we brought to give to the community.  It was a real struggle because the need is so great and what we have so little.  We hope and pray that our decisions were correct. After breakfast, we bade farewell to Amadu.  He is heading to Freetown today because as head of the SL UM Conference Finance Committee, he must chair a meeting there before Annual Conference.  He also took some of our luggage so that we will have more room in the van when we travel tomorrow.  Our first stop was at the Panguma Hospital.  We learned that it was built in the 60s by the operators of the diamond mines, and subsequently turned over to the Catholic Church.  Additional buildings were constructed by the Peace Corps in the 70s.  Catholic nuns ran it until the war, but have not returned since.  The hospital has 140 beds, about 14 nurses and one doctor.  It serves a population of over 100,000.  Before the war, the hospital was a reasonably modern facility.  Since then, the lab has not been open and patients with certain diseases like Lassa Fever have be referred to Kenema.  A German group rehabilitated the hospital so that it could be reopened after the war.  The current doctor is from Holland.  He is supported by a Dutch medical group similar to Doctors Without Borders.  He has finished the first year of a two year term.  They are not sure who will replace him after that.  The major medical concerns in the Panguma area include malaria and HIV-AIDS.  Malaria is much worse in the rainy season from July to October.  Lassa Fever is not prevalent, but it can be very deadly.  This is a hemmoragic fever similar to Ebola that occurs in western Africa.  About 30 percent of cases become serious and in these cases about 5 percent are fatal.  Many of the remainder of the serious cases leave sufferers with lifelong disabilities.  An example is a good friend of Pastor Joseph's daughter, whom we met.  She recovered from her Lassa Fever, but it left her very hard of hearing.  The hospital normally requires a modest charge to treat patients.  This covers costs like restocking their supply of drugs.  Although they do not publicize it much, they do have a discretionary fund to provide care, though they try to receive at least a token payment in all cases.  Some members of our team are interested in possibly raising money for this fund.  We left a modest amount of medical supplies at the hospital.  Overall, I was impressed with the apparently high quality of the medical care, given the very limited resources.  After that, we went to the two UMC sponsored schools.  We had a necklace cross and toothbrush for each student, and some toothpaste for each classroom.  On the way, we noticed that the high voltage line to Kenema only passes about a mile from the village, meaning that it would be even easier to get electric power to Panguma.  At lunch, I asked Amadu's wife Elizabeth about this.  She said the community has to raise a certain amount of money in order to get the power company to install lines, transformers, etc. In the Sierra Leone school system, a large percentage of children attend the first six grades.  Then they must pass an exam to go to junior level secondary school.  After three years of that, there is another exam to attend senior level secondary school.  As a result, there are many fewer students in the upper levels, but they seem quite motivated.  In the upper level secondary school, we went into French, Accounting, History and Math classrooms to hand out the gifts.  After that, the secondary students sang songs and put on a brief play for our enjoyment.  The UM School does not impose a requirement that students belong to a particular religion.  As a result, a number of the students are Muslim.  I was impressed that the leader of the team that put on the play is apparently a Muslim, given his T-shirt from an Islamist society.  We received neckties from the secondary school, which we all put on.  I kidded the other team members that now there's no excuse for them not to come to Celebration service.  Our team has been kicking around the idea of raising money for scholarships to attend the UM secondary school and college, with the scholarships hopefully administered by the SL UM Conference.
In the afternoon we visited the police station.  The regular station was destroyed in the war and they have been housed in a small temporary building for some time.  Crime is very low in Panguma.  It is mostly assaults and domestic problems.
At dusk, just before the evening service, we were treated to another African experience.  Hoards of flying insects came in anf flew around everywhere.  They turned out to be swarming termites, a fairly common thing this time of the year.  Edison said the larger ones are actually a delicacy.   They fry them up and eat them.  Yum!!  The evening praise and worship turned into a case of the best laid plans going somewhat astray.  The New Life Praise Team had hoped to lead the community in some of the songs they sing in New Life.  That turned out to be difficult because the boom box provided to us was not loud enough to be heard by the large crowd.  After a few false starts, a sort of song exchange broke out, with the Panguma contingent singing some of their songs, and the Praise Team teaching them a few of theirs.  Several residents danced with Team  members in time to African rhythms.  Praise Team songs included Awesome God, Days of Elijah and Amazing Grace, which of course the Panguma folks already knew.  The highlight for me was hearing that old hymn sung to an African beat.
 
Carolyn Shover - "It's lunch time for you...We spent the morning at the hospital, primary school & secondary school.  Just ate and am resting before tonight's gathering/singing.
 
Tuesday, March 2
 
Carolyn Shover - "Getting ready to go back to Freetown.  Plan is to leave by 9 am....arrrive by 3 (10:00 CHUM time).  Sad to leave Panguma but one step closer to home. I forgot to write that we gave Tammy Barbush's toy to the crippled girl, Hawa.  7am...we are just dressed and kids are already at the window a foot away reaching and calling through.  No dogs last night but drums and singing from at least 3-5 am...haven't found out what that was about yet......3:44 PM....made it to Freetown...hot...shook...Conference is going to be starting...Pastors and more are marching down the street. Out of the van we go!
 

Jim Foster - "Today marks the start of our long journey back home.  After a long time of celebrating and singing last night, I slept well.  We woke in a rather subdued frame of mind on our last morning in Panguma.  Elizabeth and her assistants gave us another wonderful breakfast including eggs, bread, oatmeal and fruit.  Tear-filled good byes were said as we all piled into the trusty van and made a brief final stop to bid farewell to the paramount chief.  To me, he seemed to be the most westernized resident of the village.  On the way out, Mark asked us to stop briefly so he could leave a journal book with a young boy that had particularly impressed him.  The eight of us rode with Edison, our capable driver, and Pastor Joseph and his wife.  We are giving them a ride to the. Annual Conference.  We passed along the dusty rut-filled road along with others mostly on foot and motorcycle taxis.  After and hour and a half, we reached the outskirts of Kenema and the paved road.  We stopped briefly for gas and snacks there, then pressed on.  Sierra Leone is a land of considerable diversity, with flat plains, mountains, river valleys and bays.  We passed through all of these on the approximately 150 miles back to Freetown.  Gradually we reached the urban sprawl of the capital city, for me the least attractive part of this beautiful country.  Traffic slowed down as we rejoined the crush of humanity.  At around 4 pm, we got to Brown United Methodist Church, the site of the Annual Conference.  We dropped off Pastor Joseph and his wife, then went in to the (gasp) air conditioned sanctuary and listened to a group with a reggae sound rehearse.  Then the parade arrived that we had seen earlier.  It included various UM men's, women's and youth groups, a brass band, the UM Conference leaders and guests, and, at the end, a giant boom box on a truck playing African Christian songs.  We met Bishop Middleton and her husband and spoke to them briefly. After that we got back on the jammed streets of Freetown and slowly made it to the beach front, where we will be staying for the next few nights.  We are staying at the Family Kingdom Resorts, by SL standards a very nice place.  There we reunited with the rest of a conference team, including leaders Jeff and Steve.  We had a relaxing dinner at the Resort and regaled each others with stories of our adventures throughout the country.  While we are sure that Team Panguma had the most rewarding experiences, the other groups have had wonderful ones as well.
 

TEAM PANGUMA ARRIVES BACK IN FREETOWN.....10:44 AM (ET)

 Wednesday, March 3
Carolyn Shover - "on our way to conference...good night's sleep in Sierra Leone "motel."  Mini deer joined us for breakfast.  We waited 5 hrs in the sun today to sing one song for the conference. 2 hours back to the hotel...brutal...still have dinner at Amadu's @ 8pm...11:37...back at room...can't wait to shower before bed...Gotta' wait my turn...Honest "hotel" and feeling refreshed.  Have a day at the beach tomorrow.  Originally thought it unnecessary...but now we really need it. 
 
Jim Foster - "I had a good night's sleep at the Family Kingdom Resort, where we will be staying for the rest of the time here.  We left for Annual Conference at around 8.  Traffic in Freetown is always heavy, due to overpopulation and the fact that even the major highways are only two lane roads.  When a vehicle breaks down, traffic backs up for miles.  We got to the Conference at Brown Memorial Church a little before 10.  The Church has air conditioning, but it is totally inadequate to the job of keeping the Church and many hundreds of attendees cool.  When we got there, the a-c had been shut off and the windows opened.  We waited in the heat inside and outside the church before we were called forward for recognition.  We sang the song "I Have Decided To Follow Jesus" for the Conference.  After that we drove back to the hotel, which took around two hours.  We went shopping for souvenirs in the nearby market and walked on the beach.  In the evening, our entire group were guests of Amadu at his house in Freetown.  We had a great a great night of food, friendship and fellowship.
 
Thursday, March 4
 
**I just received Jim Foster's notes from March 1 and 2.  You will want to go back and read them.  Apparently, Carolyn had a signal for the past few days (AT&T) but Jim and Beth did not (Verizon)
 
Jim Foster - "Today was a day of mostly leisure after ten days of all out activity.  We had a relaxing breakfast, then some of us walked down the beach to the market.  I've been impressed by the spirit of religious tolerance in this majority Muslim country.  At the market, two Arabic looking gentlemen asked Mark and I for directions to the main market downtown.  We put our driver in touch with their driver and got them the directions they needed.
They explained that they are Muslims from south Lebanon on a mission trip.  We explained who we were and what we were doing.  They said they appreciated the work Christians are doing in SL.  I asked one man if he was of the Sunni or Shiite branch of Islam.  He made a face and said they were Shiite, but the distinctions between the two sects are artificial and unimportant.  I responded that we have similar distinctions in Christianity that often seem artificial.  As with the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, there have been many bloody altercations between Sunnis and Shiites.  We parted by wishing each other peace and success in our efforts in SL.  In the afternoon, several of us met with representatives of World Vision.  This Christian charity is doing great work trying to alleviate poverty and suffering throughout the world.  We had our final dinner in SL at the Sierra Lighthouse restaurant on the waterfront.
 
 
Beth Notarfracesco - "My apologies to congregation for no team pics.  This is not my primary camera, just trying 2 give some photos 4 some of the text.  Also aplolgize 4 delay- email down all week, also why there aren't many new pics.  Maybe a group shot 2-nite 4 our sendoff dinnr.  Hope all is well, thanks for tking time to post pics"
 
picture 1 - Umc school room
picture 2 - Giving gifts to pastor Joseph
Picture 3 - Leaving med supply donations @ Panguma Hospital
Picture 4 - A wall calendar @ the primary school
Picture 5 - Some of team with stellar driver Edison after a day on the beach
Picture 6 - The 2010 Team Pangum travel team at farewell dinner
 
     
 
    
 
 
Click here to see a video of the school children welcoming our team.
 
NOTE FROM PASTOR TOM:
 
PASTOR’S PARAGRAPH: TEAM PANGUMA SHARING NEXT SUNDAY
The eight members of CHUM’s Team Panguma were scheduled to arrive in Harrisburg last evening.  No doubt they will have arrived back home after their arduous trip and long journey in need of some well deserved rest and time with their families.  We’ll give them a week to do that.  Then they will be sharing their experiences and pictures with their CHUM family next Sunday, March 14th.  Following the 11:00 a.m. worship services the church will provide light finger foods so that we can all gather in the Wesley Center after worship to hear about their experiences in Sierra Leone.  A freewill offering will be received to cover the expenses of the food.  And remember that Daylight Savings Time begins next Sunday, so that we turn our clocks ahead one hour late Saturday night (spring ahead!).
 
 
Friday, March 5
  • 2:00 - Ferry to Lungi Airport- Team just found out that only 1 of 3 ferries is running today to airport.  The team is rushing as this is typed to get on the only ferry that will be running.  No ferry means no plane.  Next plane out is in 4 days!  Church, let's pray them on board that ferry.  I will update as I get information....good news!  I received a text at 8:20 am(ET).  Team is on the Ferry and on their way to the airport in Kissyport. 
Carolyn Shover - "5:32 am(ET)...found out only 1 of 3 ferries running today.  Hoping to get on between 11 and 1.  10:30 now.  Dropped off & drivers went to get our vehicles in line so we could be 1st on board.....6:39 am(ET) left for ferry...found out they're canceling some ferries today, so rushing to get there.  Miss ferry means miss plane.  Next plane in four days...6:42 am(ET)...Still waiting for ferry.  We got tickets...should be ok, just gotta get our bodies on...8:13 am(ET)...after much anxiety and waiting, our bodies are on the ferry.  Thought we might not make it because Edison jockied us on in a mess of car bumping, yelling, and heat.  Crowded....wouldn't be surprised to see a chicken."
 
Pictures from Beth:
1. Waiting to see if we'll be on the ferry or spend a few more days in Africa
2. Crowed - but we're on the ferry!
3. Crowded - but we're on the ferry!
4. A gas station,  look closely at those pumps!
5. We made it!
6. Back Seat Boys - These guys have literally taken the heat of the backseat sacrificially too mny times to count.
 
   
    
                                                                     Boat is docked!  Don't those two look happy!!
  • 4:00 - Arrive at airport - Team arrived safely at airport at 10:13 am ET (3:13 Africa Time)
Carolyn - 10:10 am(ET) - "Ferry is docked...guess I can take phone out of ziploc now....on drive to airport...10:13 am(ET)....made it to airport...settin' up camp till flight at 11:30..
 
   
Saying "goodbye" to Edison                             Playing skip-bo @ airport.  6.5 hour to dept.  30 hour to home.

Beth Notarfranceso -  "Just found out flight left 1.5 hour late, due in 1 am now.  Should depart about 1:30/2.  If stays this way should still be able to make connection in Heathrow.  Will keep posted . . .
 
1:30-2:00(8:30-9:00 pm ET) - Flight leaves for London - See Beth's note above
2:15 am(9:15 pm ET) - Team has boarded the plane to London.  Pray that they make it to London in time to catch the flight to Newark.  It's going to be really tight.....
 
Carolyn Shover - "4:34 pm...still sweating it out in the airport...6 hours down...4 to go...Can't even conceive of putting on the sweatshirt that's in my bag...please tell me there's snow left....12:22 am still in airport...may leave by 1:45...of course our plane would have to arrive first...What a day!  I'm pretty sure clothes can walk by themselves now...2:15 am....sitting on plane...others still boarding.  Maybe 7 hour flight.  Gonna be tight connection in London.  Phone off in a few....
 
          
 The 13th hour, 24 to go . . .                                  CHUM members digging thru Bishop Middleton's belongings while waiting
                                                                              to board in Sierra Leone - 1:40 SL  time.
 
 
 
Saturday, March 6
  • 4:21 am(ET) - Arrived at London Heathrow Airport 
  • 5:30 am(ET) - Held Plane for our team...On way home!
Carolyn Shover - "4:21 am...on the ground in London...rushing to make connection...would love a bathroom to change clothes, freshen up. etc...5:30 am...They held plane for us...rushed through...paused for security and bag checking...REALLY wanted a few minutes clean up "sigh"...phone off.
 
Jim Foster - "I am told that it takes a long time to do anything in Africa.  That is certainly true for flying home from Freetown.  We left our hotel at about 9 am.  It took almost two hours to get to the ferry dock.  We waited there at a soft drink stand until about 1 pm.  The ferry was full to the very brim with vehicles and people by the time we left.  Our vehicles came off the ferry and we finally got to the airport a little after 3.  We had said our good byes to Jeff at the hotel because he left to catch the early ferry at 9.  However that ferry left early before we got there, so we ended up taking the later one with him.  He left us shortly after we got to the airport to catch his flight to Guinea to see some old friends.  Our flight was not scheduled to leave Freetown until around 11 pm, but we had to take the afternoon ferry to make sure we made it to the airport before our flight.  After we got to the airport, we learned that our flight would be delayed around two hours.After we got to London Heathrow airport, things began to get back to normal.  In all, we spent almost two full days getting back home from Freetown.  I think I can speak for everyone in saying a few things.  First, we are pretty whipped puppies after all of the traveling.  Second, it was an incredibly worthwhile and rewarding experience.  Lastly, we deeply appreciate the tremendous support we've received from the CHUM community throughout this whole adventure, from the planning, the fundraising, and during the trip itself. Thank you all so much!!
 
  • 12:58 (ET) - Arrive at Newark Airport - OUR TEAM HAS LANDED IN NEWARK, N.J.!!  12:58 PM!
  • 2:40pm(ET) - Coach will transport team back to CHUM -  TEAM HAS BOARDED BUS TO HOME 2:40 PM
 
The final leg, less than an hour to go.  Dare some of us say we are cold????
  • 5:00 pm (ET) - TEAM ARRIVED AT CHUM!
 
I will continue to update this page as I get more information.  Please pray for our team as they minister to the people in Panguma.  The team is scheduled to return to CHUM on Saturday, March 6. All who are able, let's gather in the parking lot to cheer our team as they arrive back home! The team is expected to arrive back at CHUM at 6:00 PM. If the above schedule changes, I will attempt to update it as often as possible.
 
if you have questions, contact Dave Shover