Sunday 24th February

Today we went to an African church service! There were 3 land rovers full of people from the ship going so we went in convoy. Well, driving through Conakry is certainly an experience!! It's a bit like being on the dodgems at the fair. It's just crazy. It's pretty much a free for all. The rules of the road change all the time. One way streets just randomly change direction depending on time of day, how the policeman feels at the time and how everyone else feels. Roundabouts are crazy. People coming onto the roundabout have right of way, well that's the plan anyway! Cars are just hitting each other, car horns are constantly going. The taxis (of which there are thousands) are just covered in dents, many have broken lights or just no lights at all, most windscreens have either massive cracks or smashed windscreens but they just drive them around. There are police and army people around in uniform everywhere but they don't appear to do anything! Buses are just vans with holes cut out the back for ventilation and they are often so full that people are hanging out of the back! No health and safety here! 
There are people everywhere walking around, carrying all sorts on their heads, selling stuff by the side of the road and rubbish absolutely everywhere. It's difficult to take photos of all this when we are out as the people don't like it and the police can take your camera away which is a shame cos it's got to be seen to be believed. 

We finally made it to the church and everyone was waiting outside. Some of the kids from the orphanage greeted us with handshakes and cuddles. The church was very basic - just a shell with plastic garden chairs, hand painted murals on the wall, real basic electrics with a generator, household fans fixed to the reinforced steel bars welded together to form the rafters to support the roof. A very dodgy sound system that kept going really load then off!, a keyboard and some drums and a couple of microphones. 

The service started with like a Sunday school for adults. Thankfully there was an interpreter to translate everything as some people spoke in English, others in French. Then we did some singing - more tame than I was expecting and quite out of tune at times! They danced to the front with their money offerings which we had to join in with!! Then we had the sermon, more singing and praying. The service lasted for 3 hours!! 

After the service we went next door to look at the school which was very basic - just wooden benches, two blackboards and that was it. 

Back at the ship we had a tour of the top half of the ship and watched the sun set.