WE MISS YOU! It has been more than a year since our last team visited the Center. We are grateful that sponsorship is growing and Skype has returned. However, we know what an important role travel plays in The Raining Season, and we are just as anxious as many of you to get our feet back on the ground in Sierra Leone.
We are consistently evaluating when it will be safe to resume travel to our Center in Sierra Leone. We know our teams miss traveling. Our kids and staff miss it, too. It has been quiet at the Center - with the exception of the everyday hustle and bustle of nearly one hundred children going about their daily lives! For many months, they missed their teachers coming to the Center. They missed the visits their family members would sometimes make to see them. They missed welcoming teams, trips to the beach, and the one-on-one attention that teams give our children. As we look to resume travel, many factors are considered. Our staff, both in Sierra Leone and the U.S., consistently meet to evaluate where things stand.
First and foremost, the safety of our children and staff is a top priority. We have many vulnerable children with various health issues, and possibly exposing them could be devastating. Secondly, we consider you, our travelers. We do not want you to be exposed or become ill while traveling in a foreign country. Finally, travel protocols internationally, specifically in Sierra Leone, make it challenging. There are various COVID testing requirements upon entering and leaving Sierra Leone. We do not want to impact what makes the travel experience so special without a plan addressing these hurdles that stand in the way.
We are hopeful that we will see teams travel before the end of 2021, and when the time comes, you will be the first to know! However, until we feel confident that it is safe and in the best interest of our children, staff, and teams to travel, we will dream of enjoying a cold Vimto at dinner, endless games of soccer with the boys, painting nails with the girls, snuggling babies in the toddler apartment, and nightly devotions outdoors with the sun setting.
Join us in praying for wisdom and guidance for our leadership staff as they evaluate when it is safe to resume travel. We pray for an end to COVID-19 worldwide and the continued threat of Ebola in Sierra Leone. We pray for our children and staff's health and safety and that they will know our love and commitment to them, even from afar. Finally, we pray for the day when we will all be together again.
Many blessings,
The Raining Season