From Observer to Participant

Mary Tinley loving the children in Sierra Leone.

My husband, Ron, and I have been blessed to be able to travel extensively during our 42 years of marriage. We have gone to countries all around the world and have camped, on several occasions, in many states in the American west. On these trips, I have seen many wondrous sites, from breathtaking natural formations to impressive man-made structures. Though I gained a lot from these experiences, it wasn't until I went on an Operation Classroom trip to Sierra Leone and Liberia in 2007 that I changed from an observer to a participant. Being part of the daily lives of the people we worked and worshiped with on that trip taught me things that I could never learn just being a tourist. I had to go back. In 2008, I went on another OC trip to Sierra Leone. In 2011, Ron and I had an amazing experience with a team that Bonnie led to Africa University.

 In August, we sold our house in Indianapolis and moved in with our son and his family in Mt. Juliet, TN while we wait for our new house to be built. On October 15, we will close on our house in Mt. Juliet. During the rest of the week, we will be moving. On October 20, we will be leaving on a trip to Chile and Easter Island, a trip that was planned before we even thought about selling our house in Indianapolis.

 This upcoming Ubuntu Journey excites me. I look forward to getting to know each of you on the team and to connecting with our sisters in Sierra Leone.

 Blessings to each of you,
Mary