The Fire

Amadou, our guard, friend and dedicated playmate to Cecilia lost his every belonging two days ago when his house burned to the ground here in town. He's an immigrant worker from Mali working in Port-Gentil to send money back to his family each month. We've given him clothes and a place to stay for now, but he's most upset over losing all ID papers as well as his entire additional cash stash from his two years of employment with us. He's very religious, praying 5 times a day, and tells us that Allah not only gives but takes away, so clearly this was Allah's choice for his life to take this turn. It's amazing to see that through all of his troubles, someone who had very little to start out with keeps on smiling even though he now has even less.