The Rain is Gone

Hey, folks! Greetings from soggy Savannah. Yes, up until Sunday the 24^th, we have had 14 straight days of rain. When the sun came out Monday, we didn’t know how to act. You should see the mushrooms growing on the lawn. Hopefully, spring has finally arrived where you are, and that all is well with you and the family.

This is just a short update to our last installment, because not much has been going on here. When we left you on the 17^th we were still in Charleston, S.C. Well on Monday the 18^th, we took a Gullah tour of the city with Alphonso Brown. This man is a living encyclopedia and a native Gullah speaker. He’s published a very interesting Gullah guide to Charleston, which is written in both Gullah and English (by the way, we ran across a Gullah glossary online which you can examine). Brown’s guide makes for interesting reading, and if you get to Charleston, take his tour. You can get information about his tour and tickets at the Gallery Chuma. We really enjoyed it, and we learned a lot. Mr. Brown drove us all around the downtown and waterfront area and pointed out many of Mr. Philip Simmons’ gates as well as making a stop at his home and workshop which is being restored by the Philip Simmons Foundation. There is another brother who gives a Gullah Tour to the islands as well as Charleston. Mary, at the Gallery Chuma also said he gives a very informative and entertaining tour as well.

Other than slowly starting to furnish and doing some cosmetic work on the house, we didn’t do much for the rest of the week because of the constant rain. On Sunday the 24^th, we went the 10:30 non-traditional church service at New Covenant Church in Savannah.. It was….well, “different”, especially for a congregation that is a “United Methodist Community.” The “praise and worship” portion was contemporary music accompanied by a multi-media presentation. In place of the usual sermon, Rev. Drew gave a biblically based instruction on good and productive parenting practices, which we figured was nice, but a little late for us. The approach taken may have been intended more for younger parents in the surrounding community, and that type of information is sorely needed. New Convenant has a “traditional” service from 9:30 to 10:15 as well. We may go back to attend this service – but can you image a 45-minute service in the African American tradition? We’ll let you know about that experience when we attend that service. To their credit, we have already received a very nice follow-up letter from the pastor.

So, that is what has been up with us. As promised this is a short entry. Until next time, stay well. Peace.

Jo and Jesse

P.S. Did we mention that the Nigerian-born ower of Gallery Chuma has a sister who is a hat designer? Well here are some of her hats...and they are fab-u-lous. Makes Jo want to wear a hat.