Visitor from the US Part II

Amies’s visit continued with her coming with me to Holy Spirit Hospital on Monday. We had a meeting with Dr. Turay, Sister Julianna, the Hospital Manager, and Human Resources. The meeting was mostly about the possibility of other LMH volunteers or Mission Doctor volunteers joining me here in Makeni. Amie wanted to know what kind of doctors were needed and what resources were available in Holy Spirit Hospital to accommodate any doctors who would stay. After the meeting was finished, Amie was given a tour of hospital. After the tour, Amie and I went to the hospital canteen for lunch. While we ate, one of the Nigerian Dramas was on the TV. I found out they’re actually called Nollywood shows, but I just keep calling the shows Nigerian Dramas. The show we watched was called “Virgin Nurse”. We got pretty invested in the plot. About seven people were killed in the first 10 minutes of the episode, and one of them ended up getting ghost powers.

The next day, Amie and I traveled to the southern region of Sierra Leone to a place called Serabu in the district of Bo. There’s a hospital there that could use more doctors, so Amie went there to see what was needed and if she could send any volunteers there. She had asked me if I wanted to come along and I said, “Absolutely!” I want to see as much of Sierra Leone as I possibly can. The southern parts of Sierra Leone are much greener than the northern part where Makeni is. Don’t get me wrong, Makeni’s still green. But the northern landscape is mostly made up of plains dotted by trees. The southern region had forests and even more farmland. We met the Bishop of the Bo diocese while we were there, and he made us reservations at a nice hotel called “Bo Inn”. After dinner at the hotel’s restaurant (which had signs that said things like “Vodka is just fun water” and “Vibe check”), me and Amie looked up more episodes of “Virgin Nurse” and ate some chocolate. We each got our own rooms. In my room there was a TV that didn’t work, and the water didn’t work, but there was air conditioning! I had the best sleep since coming to Sierra Leone! I loved it!

In the morning, Amie and I were driven to a place called “Rogbere Junction” where we split up at a gas station. We shared a few snacks together before my ride picked me up. Her driver took her back to Lungi to the airport and mine took me back to Makeni. I was sad to see her go. It was nice having a visitor and a friend to have adventures with. The one who picked me up was a priest from Lunsar called Father Michael. He had some errands to run in Lunsar before he took me back to Makeni, so we stopped there for a little while. He introduced me to the main priest there, Father Francis. They showed me the school next door and told me about all the projects they are working on for their area. Father Michael runs a program that teaches agriculture to schoolchildren. Father Francis gave me a soda and some pineapple to eat while Father Michael took care of some things. I like Lunsar. It’s by far the most peaceful and least busy place I’ve been to since arriving to Sierra Leone. Father Francis and Father Michael told me I should come back and stay for a few days. I hope I can. I want to see everything in Sierra Leone!