Saturday, July 12. Family History

Roland Suluku picked Dave and Alaina up and took them to the village where his father lived, about 12 miles off the paved road. More African massages were given along the way by the bumpy road including going 4-wheeling to avoid a larger flatbed truck.  At age 5, Roland’s dad was taken by a United Methodist missionary to receive an education including university.  He returned to his village to start a school and remained as a schoolteacher until his death.

On our way to Njala, we stopped by Senehun, home to at least 5 UMC officials including at least one bishop.  We met the village chief and invited her to church in the next village the next day.  We arrived at the guest house on Njala University to discover each room has A/C and a hot water heater.  The catch is that there is no water, and the power is only on for several hours a day, so Alaina is getting to experience the art of Sierra Leonean cup dipping showers. 

We learned about a Sierra Leonean named Amidu Matturi who graduated from high school at age 11 and went to the University of Western Australia where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree.  He started a master's degree and three months into it was invited to start a doctoral degree.  His research led to the founding of Benemix, a mixture of beans, rice, fish, ground nuts (peanuts), and sugar, which is now a staple for expecting mothers to eat, giving them a much better opportunity to deliver a healthy baby.  He was eventually awarded a DSc 15 years later from the university. We had some divine pineapple before turning in for the night.

Your Brother in Christ, 
Dave Brewster