this isn't my last post on africa….
but on our last night we were taken to River Number 2.
i heard it was a beautiful beach but i didn't get my hopes up.
we arrived at night.
you could hear the ocean but with all i had seen that week…i couldn't imagine what we'd wake up to.
i was amazed yet again.
it was like we'd been transported to another world.
how could this be here…so close to where we'd been?
we were grateful for a quiet place to decompress a bit.
talk about what we'd seen.
think about what we would do when we got home.
cry.
i cried….i don't know if anyone else did.
the rooms were still primitive…one room had no pipe at the bottom of the sink.
you could get water but then it just poured onto the floor.
their shower didn't drain either.
so they were going to use ours…but i was the 3rd person to shower…
and the water ran out just as i put on the conditioner…about one minute into my shower.
it was out for the rest of the day.
at least she'd gotten in the ocean earlier.
that was it for the rest of the trip…30+ hours left of traveling to get home…with no shower.
conditioner in my hair.
lovely.
this was a perfect beach…shallow and warm…green and turquoise.
mountains and palm trees.
it was lush.
i got to talk with sally.
she told us about her family, her heartbreak, her walk with with God.
i cried some more.
meals were in the hut.
our time here was short.
i would have loved another day….
maybe when we go back.
Amy Mumaw - I sent Amy Butler an email about you and your group in Africa , this is what I got back
Dear Amy,
Hello and thank you for contacting Amy’s studio. We have received several emails about this blog and it lifted our spirits here at the studio. Amy was touched and has been in touch with the lovely women who went to Africa. Thanks for taking the time to make sure we saw this blog. What an example, so inspiring.
Have a great weekend!
My best,
Linda Sandin
orders@amybutlerdesign.com
http://www.amybutlerdesign.com
(740) 587-2841
From: Amy Marinello
Date: March 15, 2010 7:53:46 AM EDT
To: amyb@amybutlerdesign.com
Subject: Amy Butler Designs in Africa
Amy,
I just wanted to share with how your designs are helping others. I follow many blogs, and many bloggers adore your designs.
The blog Whatever by Megan Duerksen ,has mentioned your designs and books several times. Megan recently had the wonderful opportunity of traveling to Sierra Leone and while on her mission she helped others learn to sew.
She brought along your book and they made the clutch while in Africa. I thought that maybe you would be interested in seeing your work in action.
If so, here is the link http://megduerksen.typepad.com/.
Thank you ,
Amy Mumaw
546 Longview St.
Pickerington, OH 43147
Janera - I’ve just told my senior English students to come over and take a look at your beautiful blog. We read “A Long Way Gone” together, and they were strongly moved. I know they will love seeing your photos and reading your reactions to Sierra Leone.
sarah - How beautiful is that place ?!
What a great time for you guys to just relax and reflect.
DreamGirlLisa - What an amazing trip…hard to believe such beauty and such chaos all side by side…what an experience for you and for your family to experience through your pictures. Thanks for sharing it all w/ us 🙂
Jacci - Meg, I went to Jamaica years ago on a trip with Habitat for Humanity. It was the same there – gorgeous resort locations just minutes from destitution and extreme poverty.
Suzanne Gallagher - Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, your pictures are just wonderful. I have enjoyed viewing them with my children.
Mindy Harris - that beach looks exquisite. glad you had a little time to decompress before your return home.
i was elated to see you at the zoo today–you are a celebrity. thank you for remembering me and Wilder.
linda lou - what a treat to walk on the beach…reminds me of california (: which i went last summer and ready to go again…but instead we are going to branson,mo to our condo may 23 to 30 now if anyone would like to rent for $425 i have another one we can visit just email me.
lindalouwerries@cox.net hope this is ok to say
if not sorry!!!! has in and outdoor swimming pool and rec center and close to the shows.
tasha roe - that is a dreamy beach!
love all your posts on Africa!
makes me want to go!!
I dont know if my heart is ready though.
thanks for sharing!
Mike Thomas - Your blog has been recommended to us as a interviewee’s favorite blog!
We would like to do an interview with you about your blog for
Blog Interviewer. We’d
like to give you the opportunity to
give us some insight on the “person behind the blog.”
It would just take a few minutes of your time. The interview form can
be submitted online here Submit your
interview.
Best regards,
Mike Thomas
Tracy - BEAUTIFUL doesn’t even begin to describe this wonderful looking beach, Meg! I am really enjoying all of your posts and learning so much and just seeing the devastation that these people live in on a daily basis really breaks my heart. I look forward to your other posts about Africa and your visit. Big hugs! :o)
Esther Harper - what a blessing….tears are running down my face as I remember my homeland Cuba, just the same as Africa now. I loved the pic with the footprints on the sand. Thanks for sharing and keep on sharing PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hugs~ Esther
Kate - Wow. I wish I had better words… Amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing experience.
Courtney Walsh - If you hadnt’ told me this was Africa, I really wouldn’t have known. This is not the Africa I have in my head. This is so amazing and beautiful. Wow.
Oh, the stories you will forever have. 🙂
Molly Pearce - Beautiful beach! Sally is gorgeous! I bet her story was just as beautiful!
~Molly P
angela - …….so, you’re going back.
How could you not?
Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - So glad you got to have this day! What a perfect place to think about all that you had experienced.
Poor thing with conditioner in your hair all day. That had to feel gross.
I love your heart Meg.
Lori - Meg, I haven’t been commenting on your posts since you got back. By the time I finish reading and absorbing the amazing things revealed in your photos, my head is too full to express my thoughts. Sounds lame, but it is the truth. You have such a gift with your photography. Not to mention your sewing skills…as always, God knew what he was doing in including you in that group! Thanks for sharing.
Sophie - What an amazing place. I love the colours in the photos. Your posts sound like you have been changed forever.
Diana - wow, when i saw that beach, and all the loveliness… that was my thought, too… HOW can that be there with all the OTHER going on?! so totally at odds.
and yet, so wondrously beautiful… Africa has so many faces in its land.
♥
Christina - There is so much to take in, the juxtaposition of it all…I’m glad you had the time there (on that beach) that you did.
And to arrive home with such very soft hair! 🙂
I’m sure you will be processing it all for a very long time. Again, thank you for sharing your experience with us, and the people there.
I think all the time how crazy it is that a place that is so nice can be right beside total poverty. I live in one of the most affluent areas in the country (please know I don’t say this to brag…we actually can’t afford to live in our neighborhood, but live in a church house, so we are able to, make sense?) and yet there is that point where you know you’ve crossed into one of the poorest areas in our nation. It doesn’t make sense.
Well. I don’t really know what else to say. There is a lot to think about and even more to do, no? Prayers said for your transition back home.
Andrea Howe - love all these posts. what a blessing to get to experience something like this. must really be life altering.