~Life in West Africa~

Wow - hard to believe it has been a month!

2011-12-22T14:52:00.002-05:00

We are now just days away from Christmas and I realize that it has been a month since my last post. Here is an update on our lives: Luke got his cast off and his pins removed. It is healing great - most of the swelling is gone and it feels pretty normal. Thanks for your prayers. The outreach was a huge success. There weren't a lot of people saved, but who was saved that made it a success. On our first night, the chief of the village came forward along with 2 young girls. The next night only a few came forward. The following week, we received a text saying that the chief's wife also accepted Christ, so the process begins!! I was driving once again for VBS and we went to 10 villages and saw around 2500 people. It was exhausting as the sand was deep and I felt like I was driving in snow for 2 days! Ron was on the foundation and brick team - they finished the foundation and made several hundred bricks.

Our next outreach is January 20-22 and we are so excited that a team from our home church Northwest Baptist Church will be joining us - can't wait!!

We will be starting our second semester January 11th and that only leaves 5 months until we leave for the States for our stateside term. It is hard to believe it is that close. We are in the process of getting ready - a lot is in place, but still need to work on some details. We are very excited to be able to spend that 6 months in the States with our family and friends. We would love to come speak at your church if you have a missions Sunday or Wednesday - please let us know. When it gets closer, we will post our contact information or you can leave a comment and we will contact you!

We miss you and wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!!

Outreach

2011-11-20T04:02:00.002-05:00

Update on Luke - got another x-ray and the second doctor was pleased with how it is healing. He had the upper part of his cast removed and is awaiting the bottom half to be removed - maybe Thanksgiving morning! Thanks for your prayers.

We are with preparations for our Thanksgiving outreach weekend. This is going to be a big group again this year -- about 140 of us, including a group of 15 students from Faith Christian Academy in Colorado. There will also be 10-15 Senegalese pastors and lay people who will join us in ministry when we arrive in the area. During the days, we will be busy with a number of ministries:

1) the drama team and children's ministry team will be traveling to a number of villages

2) a team will be painting a church in Bikol (the church of which we laid the foundation and made bricks by hand last Jan.)

3) a team will be painting a mural on the front wall of a church in Diofane (the church we built last Nov.)

4) our medical team which will include 3 nurses and a Dr. will minister in Diakhao

5) a team will be digging & laying a foundation and building bricks by hand in Diakhao

6) we will be staying at the YWAM center in Niakhar and a team will be setting up camp

7) a small team will be building 20 benches for the new church

In the evenings, we will be holding evangelism campaigns in the following villages:

Fri., Nov. 25: Diakhao, Gandiaye, Poukham Tok

Sat., Nov. 26: Mbelakadio, Ngouloul Peul, Mbouscene

We REALLY covet your prayers. We will be ministering in an area that is predominantly Muslim and we'll be ministering in villages that have just begun to hear about Jesus. Please pray for open doors and open hearts. Pray against spiritual resistance and that God will prepare the way for us. Pray for protection in travel, both Ron and I will be driving there and Chris will be working with the children's ministry where she will be driving all over the bush in and out of villages and at all the ministry sites.

Sun. morning, we plan to worship on our way home in the church that we helped build last Nov. in Diofane. We're looking forward to the blessing of worshiping with our African brothers and sisters and seeing the results of our labor there last year.

Luke

2011-10-27T16:15:00.003-04:00

We have had an interesting week this past week. It started Friday night during an event called "Harvest Fest", a fundraiser for the Senior class. Luke was in a water balloon battle and was being hunted and ran backward and stumbled and tried to break his fall with his left hand. He proceeded to start crying and thankfully a nurse was sitting right there. They helped him up and got ice and tried to clean him up. His wrist swelled immediately and was very distorted looking. They ran to get us and we took him immediately to the hospital. Thankfully they called ahead because the radiologist and the orthepedic surgeon were waiting for us when we arrived. They did an x-ray and quickly it was determined the wrist was broken. The surgeon spoke ridiculously fast french and whisked Luke away. We panicked and called our mission nurse wh0 came to the hospital but after Luke was taken up to the surgical floor for the doctor to reset his wrist. It was so frustrating to not be able to understand what the doctor said!! We went back the next day and saw the x-ray and found out that he put pins in his wrist - what??? They explained that his growth plate was broken and it needed to be set with these pins. The doctor said that they set it right, but we had a second opinion. The other doctor said that it was set well, but not excellent. We need to go back to get a x-ray Thursday to see if there has been any shifting - if so it might need to be reset. Please pray that it doesn't shift and that the pins hold it in place and that his arm will heal perfectly.

Update

2011-10-19T09:38:00.003-04:00

We are continually amazed at how fast the time flies here. We just finished our first quarter and only a 1 1/2 months until Christmas break. The kids did great this first quarter. Zach received straight A's, with one of his classes being AP French. He is really wanting to be on National Honor Society, so that really motivated him. He was cast in the play "The Curious Savage" and that happens in 2 weeks. He is nervous, but really excited. He was also selected as 1 of 12 high schoolers to be on a peer mediation committee. He had to be recommended by the faculty - we were very proud of him. He continues to grow in the Lord and has quite a reputation for spiritual maturity. Luke did well on his report card - with all A's and B's. He probably won't be the scholar that Zach is, but has so much personality teachers love him!! Luke has really thrived in the dorm. His dorm Mom says that he is her right hand man and is constantly in the kitchen helping her cook. He really has taken an interest in cooking - he even joined the cooking club. Faith loves being in the dorm surrounded by all of these girls. She did great on her grades, earning all A's and B's. She loves her teacher and still loves being in Africa. She is on the junior basketball team and really likes playing.

Electricity has been much improved in the last month. Although we have lots of brown outs, we rarely lose power. That is great! We have heard that this is just until February when the elections are being held. You can pray about that - pray that it is a smooth, fair process.

We are excited to be in the process of coming home for furlough. While we love being in Africa and know that this is where we are supposed to be, there are days it is hard. We are excited to be back in the States and see our family and friends. We are continuing to work on figuring out schooling for the kids, living arrangements, travel, visiting churches, etc. We know that time will fly and we will be home before we know it! We love and miss you all greatly and look forward to when we are hanging out!

2011-09-05T17:39:00.000-04:00

We have finally settled in and really feel like we are in a groove! Our transition to the girls has been a smooth one and we really feel like this is where God wants us! We love being with the girls and love discovering all of the differences between parenting both. School is in full swing and has started with a bang. In addition to being dorm parents, we are also in charge of student senate. We host our first event this Friday night and are hoping it goes off without a hitch. Zach is a rep for the sophomore class and really enjoys being part of this leadership team. Luke is finally adjusted to being downstairs and has settled in to the role of helper. He loves being in the kitchen and helping his dorm Mom and she loves his help too! Faith is playing basketball and learning piano and is doing really well with both. She loves being with all of the girls and is totally included in their lives. She has been given a secret sister and loves writing and receiving notes and gifts. The kids are really thriving here and are growing in their relationship with the Lord!!

We are continuing to plan for our time in the US this summer. We are happy to report that friends of ours are letting us use their mini-van, so our transportation is covered. We are still looking for a furnished apartment or in-law suite, if you know of anything please email us!

Life in Dakar continues to march on - power still has been an issue, despite tons of money being dumped into the economy. The economy still continues to be an issue with the nationals. There is an election slated for February and it promises to be interesting. Our current president Abdoulaye Wade wants to run again, but has already met his time quota. Some want him to continue more want another leader. The people are tired of no electricity and staples being so expensive. We pray that it is a peaceful election!!!!! Many of the staff here have gone through an evacuation and nobody wants that. We are preparing for the worst - praying for the best! We will continue to update as the time gets closer!

We love and miss you all!

School is here

2011-08-14T03:16:00.003-04:00

Our 3rd year of dorm parenting started Wednesday with the arrival of our 12 girls. They arrived with lots of luggage and hugs and giggles. Faith has loved being with the girls - she definitely feels a part of the dorm. We have some younger girls, so that has been nice for Faith. The boys are down stairs and are loving being in the dorm. They have come upstairs often - so that has been nice for us! We definitely miss them being in our apartment though. But the fact that they have amazing dorm parents with 23 years of experience, I think is going to be such an great time of growth.

School started Thursday - so we only had 2 days of school and then the weekend. That was nice to be able to get started, but then have a break to get settled. We are finding the differences between boys and girls pretty great - not that we didn't know that with our own children, but when you have large groups of boys and then have large groups of girls, the differences are vast. The biggest difference of course is food - they barely eat compared to the boys. However, I did discover they can chow down on some brownies!! I have heard that the first week is a little bit weird with nervousness, etc. So hopefully it will increase a little bit once they get settled. Another big difference is communication - in these 4 days the girls have talked with me about missing their parents, periods, nervousness, etc. Boys tend to keep it tucked inside. But so far it is great - we love the girls and think it is going to be a great year!

PRAYER
Here are our girls names if you ever want to pray for them: Erin, Susanna, Akinyi (pronounced like bikini with an a), Yea Lim, Hannah, Rebecca, Heather, Gloria, Ha Young, Grace, Allison, Yea Rang.

Pray that they would transition quickly - especially the new girls. Pray that the home sickness won't last long.

We continue to make plans for our stateside time - pray that the detail will come together.

Thanks again for your support and prayers for our family!

2011-08-06T05:40:00.005-04:00

Zach took this and edited it - the roman aquaduct in Segovia.

Royal church by the palace

Royal palace

In Mallorca

Statue in the park

Went to the bull fighting arena - there are bull fights every Sunday

Streets of Madrid - 11 o'clock at night

In Segovia

Mallorca

Met this priest and his brother who is a baker and baked this bread for communion - they loved Faith!

5 days left

2011-08-06T04:41:00.002-04:00

Well, summer here is officially winding down - we have 5 days until the girls start showing up. We have had a great summer, full of fun and lots of memory making things. Kids had a great summer, but are ready for their friends to come back. Faith is excited

We have 12 girls in the Fall and then 2 more come in January so it is not too big. We have 2 seniors, 3 juniors, 1 sophomore, 4 freshman, 4 middle schoolers. So it is a pretty young dorm. We are very excited to start this new transition and look forward to experiencing the differences between parenting a group of girls versus guys.

The electricity has been a constant source of aggravation for us - it is a little bit better now, going off for 2-4 hours a day. Unfortunately alot of those times are at 10 pm - ugh. It hasn't rained that much for rainy season, so I suspect that there will be a lot more rain coming soon - hopefully it will help the heat - we start sweating the minute we wake up, gross!

We have only minor things to do for the dorm to be ready thanks to our predecessors! We will try to be better about blogging - our internet is a little slow, but will try to post pictures soon.

Our plans for furlough are starting. We will be leaving here around June 10th and flying into Washington DC - we will be in Maryland and also go to North Carolina to visit our friends there!
I know it is a while until that happens, but want to get things lined up - does anyone have a vehicle that they would be willing to let us use/rent for the 7 months we are in the States? We are trying to reserve a vehicle with some of the companies that rent out to missionaries, but they are all booked right now, but will keep looking. We are also looking at some options for housing - anyone have a guest house, missionary apartment or in-law suite (preferably with separate entrance or kitchen)? Please email us if you have any information - we are just starting our planning, but wanted to throw it out here first.

We are starting our planning for visiting and speaking at churches as well, if you would like us to visit your church and speak, please email us!

Summer

2011-07-14T17:20:00.003-04:00

Wow - it is hard to believe that it has been a month since I last posted. We have been jet setting in Spain, moving, taking a French class and trying to relax with the kids by the pool. We had an amazing time in Spain. We started by going to Madrid for 3 days and enjoyed some museums, parks and fast food. We then flew to Mallorca - a little island off the coast of Spain. We rented a car and drove around this amazing little island. We saw beaches and mountains and lots of beautiful countryside. We spent 5 days here and we all felt that we could have stayed longer. The beautiful Mediterranean Sea was absolutely gorgeous. We then headed back to Madrid for another week. We saw more museums, went to malls, drank Starbucks, walked through parks, went to a zoo, and enjoyed amazing architecture. Overall it was an amazing opportunity, one our kids will hopefully never forget.

As soon as we got back, we started a French intensive course at the university. It is 8-12 everyday for 5 weeks. It has been a huge boost in our language, but our brain hurt at the end of the time. We also joined a pool here and that has been fun. We meet the kids here after class and hang out for a few hours to play and swim.

In the midst of all these things we moved to another apartment. Our new apartment was painted, and it looks great. It was a good opportunity for us to clean out some things, go through clothes that were too small and reevaluate what we are choosing to keep around us. So overall it was a really positive experience.

The kids are having a good summer too - they are spending the night at friends house, enjoying some independence while we are at class and love being lazy. Ron has been taking the time to hang out with some of the nationals and practice his French while drinking tea. It has been good to try to build some good relationships.

Well, in the next post I will put up some pictures from our summer. Internet and power continue to be an issue, although this week the power has been much better. The president promised to keep the power better since the last riots and demonstrations. So hopefully it will continue! Enjoy your summer! Drop us a line if you have some time.

Off to Spain

2011-06-14T13:01:00.002-04:00

We are heading off to Spain tonight - we are very excited. We will arrive in Portugal and spend the day touring Lisbon and then we will head to Madrid. We will spend 3 days in Madrid and then we fly to Mallorca. We have rented an apartment and will basically soak up the Mediterranean sun and relax as well as see the museums and culture. We then will travel back to Madrid where we will spend a week touring the city and getting a little Western culture. We arrive back on the 29th and then proceed to finish moving upstairs to our new apartment. We are really excited about this opportunity and will post lots of pics and info when we get back. Thanks for all your support for our family. Love and miss you!

4 more days

2011-05-30T07:20:00.004-04:00

We are winding down the year here and only have 4 more days until graduation. The kids are taking exams as I write this! Graduation is Thursday and then we end the year with a 50th anniversary celebration. Our summer plans consist of 2 weeks in Spain and then a French class at the university. It has been an exciting year for us filled with challenges, but lots of good things as well. Our internet has been less than stellar, so I have been having a hard time posting, so sorry for the lack of communication. We will be sending out an update soon, so be on the lookout for that! But here are some current pictures:

Faith sporting a new hat from Nana.

Zach's soap carving of a Raven!

Faith won the French award for her level.

Luke as Mr. Incredible for a Disney party!

Luke played intermediate basketball this year - he really liked it!

Beauty and the Beast

2011-05-08T17:02:00.002-04:00

Zach was cast as Lefou in Beauty and the Beast this past weekend. We wanted to show you one of his big solos. He had 2 other solos, but this was the biggest. So if you are interested, enjoy! This was more for the grandparents!

8 weeks to go

2011-03-31T12:34:00.000-04:00

The year has really flown by. It is hard to believe that we only have 8 more weeks of school before the we will have completed our second year of dorm parenting. It is amazing how much this job teaches you about yourself and others. We have lots of events that will eat away the time - spring musical, Junior/Senior Banquet are two of the big ones. I know that I will be sitting here with my head reeling in June wondering where the time went. For the past 2 weeks it was Spring break. I sit here now at the end of it and wonder where the time went. We enjoyed a week at the beach at a little villa outside of town and just relaxed and swam and hung out with our kids. It was nice to have that time away.

The electricity has been better and as we speak the generator is being installed. The man installing it allowed us to put a deposit down and we are continuing to pray for the money. It will be a huge help in getting all of the laundry done and not having to walk around with flashlights! The internet has been painfully intermittent which makes communication challenging. It is not strong enough for a decent skype call most times, but hopefully that will improve with time. In a place where the infrastructure is growing beyond the country, it makes it difficult for the country to keep up. I think that is where Senegal is currently. Internet, electricity, water all continue to be a challenge for the ever growing country. It is still our biggest challenge, one that we continue to have to be stretched to not go crazy by it! There have been many days that I would have packed it in, but I know that this is where we are supposed to be so we deal with it!

We continue to miss our family and friends and though we haven't started counting down - realize that we will be back in the US in 14 months for our furlough. We continue to thank you for your prayers and support of our family.

Happenings

2011-03-10T04:46:00.005-05:00

Life continues to be busy here at school - below are some pictures of an event called Sr. Cafe, where acts perform and all the proceeds go to the Senior class. I performed as well as Zach. Zach is in the Chamber Choir and also performed a little medley - both videos are on Facebook.
Also Zach and Faith participated in a 3 school tournament which includes track and field, volleyball and soccer. Faith ran the 800 meters and did so great. She lacks my competitive spirit so we were working on that with her and she got 4th out of 10. She did great! Zach's volleyball team got 3rd in his age group and he played great!

Faith dressed up as a cat for the cafe. The theme was Jammin in the Jungle.

Spring break is coming up for us next week - this is where all of the boys go home to their families and we get to relax for 2 weeks. We are really looking forward to this time to regroup as a family. The electricity has been horrible - last night we lost power for over 12 hours. The day before we only had power for 4 hours. The school is in the process of trying to raise money for a generator for the dorms. When we have no electricity - no laundry gets done, when it is in the evening, the boys have to do their homework by a some lamps. We are currently running a battery setup up but with the long outages they are not able to keep up. We are praying that God provides the money as it is very difficult right now. We are praying that Senelec (the country electric co.) can figure out what needs to be done, but we have heard that it is only going to get worse. It is very trying on everyone's patience!!! The school is putting in a generator today for the school, but they don't have enough money to cover the dorms as well. So please pray with us that the funds will come in.

Thanks for continuing to lift our family in prayer and we continue to thank you for your support of our family!

Fast Food Anyone?

2011-02-22T09:32:00.003-05:00

Here is a ceeb (rice and sauce) restaurant. They are all around - you must bring your own container and you order per person. Here is our former team mate Patty waiting for our rice.

Here is our favorite "fast food" restaurant - not your McD's, Burger King or Hardees, but delicious nonetheless. We order a "meat" sandwich and it costs around $2. It is mutton with onions, spicy mustard, spices on a baguette. This is him preparing the sheep - they use everything. Not sure who eats the rest of it, but we do enjoy the meat part - not the organs, intestines, head or other choice parts!

Video of our day at Accrobaobob

2011-02-16T04:15:00.002-05:00

Here is a simple video of our day shot by one of the guys - he was at the back of the line with Ron and I, so you see a lot of us.

Outreach - Accrobaobob

2011-02-08T10:03:00.005-05:00

It has been an exciting time since school started in January. Ron went to Turkey to finally finish his classes for his Masters of Divinity degree. He is 1 paper away from completing all graduation requirements. While he was gone, a team from Northwest Baptist Church came in to go on outreach and serve here with us for a week. A huge surprise was that his Mom came and surprised us. She has never flown and didn't even have a passport before this trip. After seeing her walk out of the airport, I looked up to the sky and said I was looking for all of the pigs!! She did great here - we were so proud of her. The team - Bob, Charley and Mark worked really hard on outreach and then after observed and helped with our Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW). They are praying that a team from NWBC will come next January and do the same trip.

After they left we had some time to recuperate, but then we had our weekend that is reserved for the dorm students. We went to Accrobaobob - which is a high ropes course through the baobob trees. It was pretty terrifying for an old girl like me. The guys just whipped through and I tentatively made each step. We were so proud of our kids - all of them went through the big course. Zach is not a big fan of things that are scary, and Faith is little still, but both tackled this with no problem. You do the whole course attached to wires and carabiners and several zip lines. When you walk through one area, you unclip each carabiner and attach it to the next wire. Stepping off of the platform for each zip line is a pretty intense feeling. It did get easier with each one and by the end of the course I started to relax, even letting go of my death grip. It was a great day! Below are some pics from January:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2010-12-30T05:14:00.003-05:00

Here are some pictures of our time at the dunes:

We are currently on break and enjoying our free time hanging out and relaxing in the dorm. We have done our annual (okay it is only the second one) trip to the Dunes the day after Christmas and had an awesome time. Our dorm is currently being painted so that has put a little damper on things, but it will look nice when they are done! I am a little loopy as I am typing this!

We will celebrate New Year's Eve with friends and fireworks! New Year's Eve or trente - un is a big deal here with lots of fireworks and festivities. Last year we went to the beach and had a chili potluck - this year it will be in our neighborhood with a soup potluck.

In January, we are looking forward to some folks from Northwest Baptist Church coming over to go on outreach with the school. They will come in a day before outreach and then stay the following week to observe our Spiritual Emphasis Week. We are so excited to have them and show them our country and have them meet the guys and see the work around Senegal.

We hope your New Year is filled with family, friends and the blessings of the Lord - we miss you all! I hope that in the New Year I will be more consistent with blogging!!

Outreach

2010-12-07T15:33:00.002-05:00

Last weekend we went on outreach with 130 other kids and adults to a village about 3 hours from Dakar called Tattenguine. Those 130 people built benches, poured a foundation for a church, harvested peanuts, pounded millet, performed VBS in 10 villages, did drama for 13 villages, did a medical clinic and did 6 evening services. It was a crazy weekend, but was it worth it. The gospel was shared with over 3,000 people and over 700 people responded to the gospel. The pastors in that area have a huge job ahead of them! Zach and I (Chris) were on the VBS (Vacation Bible school) team. We traveled to over 10 villages and performed skits, sang, played with the kids and handed out cookies! We were deep in the bush of Africa. It was really great to be able to see Zach with the kids and doing skits in French. It is neat to see how he has blossomed. Ron was on the peanut harvesting team. Wow was that hard work. He basically had 2 sticks - 1 to lift up the peanuts and 1 to beat the peanuts off the vine. Many blisters were formed in those 2 days. We basically camped - slept in a tent and showered out of a bucket. It was a grueling 2 days but so awesome to see our youth really shine for the Lord! We have another outreach 21-23 January. We have some folks coming from our home church in Maryland and we are really excited to have them join us and see our work. Please pray for their preparations and travel. I have lots more pictures on Facebook if you are interested!

Tabaski Fun

2010-11-15T09:16:00.003-05:00

Tabaski is on Wednesday which means that there are sheep everywhere! You see them in the back of taxis, on top of buses, walking down the street, and being carried. Tabaski is a holiday where the Muslims celebrate God providing a sheep in place of sacrificing Ishmael (Bible says it is Isaac, but they believe it was Ishmael). On Wednesday these sheep will be "sacrificed" in remembrance of what God provided. It is a day full of festive outfits and celebration. School is closed for us so that our Muslim workers can be with their families. Pray for our national workers that one day they will know the truth!

Other tidbits:

Luke and Faith won the movie contest! They were very excited and awarded a fun trophy!

Here is a picture of us with our dorm guys on our latest outing to the beach:

Also, pray for my Dad who is having bladder surgery to remove 2 cancerous tumors on the 23rd of November. Pray that they will be able to save his bladder and that there will be no other signs of cancer! We continue to be thankful for your ministry and support of our family!

Cinderella

2010-11-07T17:05:00.002-05:00

Luke and Faith with some of their friends made a video for a contest here at school. It is called a sweded video - where you recreate another video in a short format. They had 3 minutes to do Cinderella. Except for the editing, they did the whole video themselves!

2010-10-14T08:27:00.003-04:00

Some pictures of some happenings in our lives. Ron toting water when we had use the buckets to shower. We have had some really bad weeks of no water or electricity. We have had to conserve water and deal with the sporadic electricity. But thankfully this week has been great on both accounts so hopefully we are on a better track. Also included is a picture of Luke with his braces - hopefully they will fix his crazy teeth!

We were very blessed to have our 2 days off last weekend. We went to Saly and stayed in this amazing house with a pool and air conditioning. It was very relaxing!

We are gearing up for the next outreach to build a church in a local village. It will be my first time (Chris) since my back was so bad last time. We are excited because Zach will be going since he is in High School! He is very excited.

We are also planning for a team coming from one of our home churches - Northwest Baptist Church. They will be coming in January and we are very excited!!!

Thanks for continuing to pray for our family. Your prayers mean so much and we covet them.

Hiatus

2010-09-30T03:46:00.003-04:00

Sorry it has been so long since our last post - life, electricity, rain, blah, blah! We are in the middle of raining season and it has been a bad one. We are having more rain than last year and it creates such havoc. The roads are deteriorating rapidly so driving is a nightmare. The potholes are sometimes a foot deep and 1-2 feet wide! Driving is definitely an off-road adventure not for the faint of heart! We are thankful that rainy season only comes once a year - I don't think the country could handle more than that. Electricity has been another major issue. We haven't had it so bad, until now. September has had 57 hours of no power so far! The stretches are getting longer - last night it was off from 6 pm until 2 am! Rough for sleeping with no air movement. We are in the process of getting our battery sources set up, so that will help at least with some fans and air moving. Getting laundry done for 17 sweaty people is a whole other issue!!

School is really underway, with all of the sports and school activities. Zach continues to love being in the dorm and Luke has recently told us that he wants to be in the dorm next year.

We recently went on a staff retreat to Saly - our resort town. It was so nice and relaxing. We left the kids here and were so blessed to be able to hang out and swim and relax.

Luke just got braces - top and bottom. He has had a little trouble adjusting to those - cheeks being sore, spots on his tongue from rubbing, no chewy candy, sore teeth. But we are really hoping that they fix his teeth - the orthodontist is really knowledgeable and we really like her!

I am going to post this while we still have electricity - will catch up on other photos soon! Miss you all!

2010-08-29T12:56:00.002-04:00

Ron recently turned 40 and I threw him a surprise party - boy was he surprised! I didn't realize how much time we spent together until I had to manage all of the details for the party. I did manage to sneak away and organize it, but it was hard. It was a fun evening and it was more fun to be able to pull a fast one on him!

Things are progressing smoothly for us in the dorm. The guys are settling in nicely and we are adjusting to life with these guys. It is a different than last year, so we are trying to figure out food, routines, etc. We are slowly getting back into the swing of things. We had a rough start with our cook breaking her ankle and was not able to start back to work. So we were trying to manage cooking ourselves - what a nightmare. We hired a temporary cook - not good. She was trained in a french school and couldn't get the flow. We then hired a cook that worked here 8 years ago and it has been great. She picked up right where she left off and it has been a huge relief for us!

We are in the middle of hot season, so it has been crazy hot and humid. It is also rainy season, so that adds to the chaotic atmosphere too! The electricity has not been too bad this past week due to Ramadan. Once Ramadan is over - we are all a little worried about how much the electricity will be cut!

Zach continues to adjust to life in the dorm. We didn't realize how much we were going to miss him even though he is just right down the hall. He is enjoying his roommate and loving the bonding of being a dorm guy. It is definitely giving us a taste of when he is going to be in college!

Pray for protection of illness - there are lots of infections, boils, colds, etc. Thanks for your support of our family!

Life's Lessons

2010-08-15T12:14:00.005-04:00

As a puppy!

We have had the unique and fun opportunity to rescue a puppy that we found on the street. We were walking along the road and saw 4 puppies in the bushes and were told by the guard for that house, that the mother abandoned them. The kids jumping up and down exuberantly asked if we could take one home! My answer was no, we are not allowed to have pets. But we took one home with the hopes of allowing her to be a guard dog on campus. But alas we brought her home and the current guard dog was none too happy. Our puppy who we named Bella was very fond of Addy and so badly wanted to play. But Addy who is very old, didn't not return the sentiment. She growled and snapped and was generally cranky when she saw Bella. So we had her in our apartment which we were informed that she couldn't stay there. Sad thing was that she would have been an excellent guard dog - all of the kids loved her! Well today we gave her away. It was very sad but upon reflecting our kids shared even though it was sad, it was still good that we saved her and got her healthy. We asked them if we had to do it over - either leave her or love her and let her go - they all picked love her and let her go. Still stinks, but she will be loved by her new family!!

We have started school and are in the swing of things. We have 13 guys in the dorm, 7 which are new! We are busy showing them the ropes and learning how we live as a family. We will be busy but will continue to post the happenings of our family! We love you guys and miss you!

Pictures

2010-08-01T06:09:00.003-04:00

Birthday in the Village

2010-08-01T05:44:00.000-04:00

Sunday we were invited to attend a birthday celebration at the house where I have been teaching English. Birthdays are not usually celebrated since a lot of those days are not even recorded. We went as a family and it was a fun day albeit a long one! We went for lunch around 2, but when we arrived they were still in the throes of cooking. So Faith and I jumped in and went to help chopping, peeling, pounding and stirring. It was fun for Faith although she tired quickly. Finally around 4:30 we ate lunch. We ate separately - a big clash against our cultural mindset! After lunch we hung around for a bit and then we started our goodbyes. The lady whose birthday it was said that she didn't want us to leave and that we had to stay for dinner. Ugh. We said no and then she proceeded to beg and say - do it for my birthday. How do you say no to that? We finally relented and went to sitting while they cooked again. Finally around 8:30 dinner was ready and again we ate alone. The birthday girl did sit with us and eat a few bites, but then left. We asked her what the dish was and she replied, "It is from the sea." It was sea snails, with peas and onions. Interesting. We all ate some, except for Faith for when she tried she started gagging. We allowed her to pass.

Even though it was a very long day for us, it was an honor and a blessing for her for our family to come to her celebration. One that she won't ever forget, nor will we!

2010-06-30T09:32:00.003-04:00

Here are some of the faces from my time yesterday in the village of N'Gor. You can picture these women and children when you pray for the people of Africa.

Look at the little girl's back - she is swaddling her stuffed animal!

This is Abby, one of the college students that live in this house - she is learning how to pour the tea. You have to pour it over and over again - the higher the better - to create a foam.

The one thing that I continue to be amazed at is the hospitality of the African people. Even though they have considerably less than I do, they are so very generous. In Wolof it is called Teranga. The main girl that I deal with would not let me leave before I had dinner - again! We told her that I wanted to be home to see the kids before they went to bed, so I couldn't eat with them. But she insisted that wouldn't work, so she worked so hard in order to have dinner done so that we could eat right after we finished teaching. Amazing. I continue to learn new phrases and just watch the culture. I am having fun with this opportunity and continue to be amazed at their love and generosity towards me.

On another note, we had our first rains last night. It was quite a storm that caused much dirt and mess. Some of the windows where we are staying leaked, so it was a lot of work to get things cleaned up. I think that we are going to be surprised at how much the power is off once we get back to our own house and have no generator!! But for now we are enjoying a break from reality.

English vs. Wolof

2010-06-27T15:17:00.002-04:00

I (Chris) have been going to a village to meet with some ladies and teach them English. I have a dual purpose - I want to practice my Wolof and share about Jesus. There is a college student that is staying there for the summer and I went to help encourage her as she is the only student in the house.

The students are family members of the chief of the village. This chief has 8 daughters, 1 daughter in-law and a haggle full of kids wanting to learn English. The routine for an African home is a little bit different than our culture. I arrived around 12 and the family was just finishing breakfast and getting themselves together. About 45 minutes later we start cooking lunch. It is a good opportunity to talk as we cook and to teach me how to cook Senegalese. So I cut, peeled, watched and tried to stay out the way when necessary. Finally around 4 we ate lunch. It tasted great - maybe because at that point I was very hungry!! After lunch all of the ladies gather together in one of the rooms in the house and talk. Their Wolof is so fast that I understood about 5 words out of 100, but it is good to just listen. The student also helps with some girls that gather every night on the beach to play volleyball. So we head down to the beach to hang out with them around 5:30 until 7 pm. Once again blazing fast Wolof! I feel a little discouraged but know that I am still in the learning process. We go back to the house and start teaching the lesson. I teach the lesson in Wolof and then teach it in English. It is fun to see that they are where I was at - just mimicking what they hear! The electricity goes out and so we are teaching by candlelight, making the process so much more interesting. There are 3 English speakers that desire to really master the language. So I am going to give them Christian materials to read and try to absorb. They also have the assignment to listen to The Message by Charles Stanley. We are praying that they hear something that resonates and they desire to know more Truth! Around 9 pm I told them that I was leaving, but they said I couldn't leave until I ate dinner. They said that it would be served right away. So since they had barely started the dinner, they went to a "restaurant" and bought me a meal. They don't normally eat until 10-11. So I will have to stay until then to avoid having them buy me dinner each week. Overall it was a much more productive day than the last time I went there!

The previous week I showed up and it was a funeral. I had to wear a head covering - not my favorite. I got there around 12 and sat on the mat until 7 pm - bad idea for someone recovering from back surgery!! I didn't want to say anything because I was already a spectacle! We were sitting on a mat and every person that came in stared at us. It was weird when we heard them trying to explain why I was there. I would hear wolof, wolof, wolof, wolof - Djenibah (my African name) wolof, wolof, wolof - all at lightening speed! So I had no idea what they were saying, only that they were talking about me! Uncomfortable!!

So I begged off saying that I needed to get home to my children and my husband. I was supposed to spend the night, but I was going to have to sleep on a mat and I knew that I wouldn't be able to walk the next day if I had done that! Weird, uncomfortable day, but a good opportunity to build relationships and it made it easier when I showed up the next time. I go again on Tuesday and hope to get some pictures this time! Pray that I can continue to soak up the language and retain the words that I learn!

Ron will hopefully going to be going out soon to different village. Pray that an opportunity will open up for him. Thanks again for supporting our family!

Outreach Video

2010-06-12T05:17:00.003-04:00

Below is a video from the outreach weekend that the students of our school did this past year. The money raised from the offerings of the church on campus go towards this weekend.

Click on the video so that you can watch it full screen. We hope you enjoy!

Wow - what a year!

2010-06-07T12:28:00.003-04:00

It is hard to believe that this first year of dorm parenting is over. We had an amazing year with some amazing guys. We made our fair share of mistakes, but overall it was a great year. We have learned a lot of things and we are planning to do some things the same and some things very different. This summer we are going to be doing a little bit of everything. We are going to be working in some villages, relaxing at a friends house, working in the dorm and going to be the beach. Ron will be finishing up his practicum for his MDIV for school and we will be trying to focus on language this summer as well. We will keep you guys posted on all of our summer adventures.

Being in Africa is great most of the time, but it is hard in regards to family. I will miss a big family birthday party this month. My dad and his twin brother are turning 70, and my grandmother turned 95 in April. Although I can't make it in person, I'll be there in spirit.

Fine Arts Festival

2010-05-19T05:50:00.003-04:00

Luke and Zach were in plays!

Luke playing handbells!

Zach won third place for his flamingo!

Luke drew this djimbe (drum).

Zach won an honorable mention for his dragon cup.

This has been a really busy time for us as the semester comes to a close. School finishes June 4th. We have 5 seniors graduating - a bittersweet thing. We are looking forward to finishing out the year, but at the same time will really miss the kids. Pray for our kids as they have grown really attached to some of the seniors graduating. I have some more pictures to post of field trips and other events here on campus. We continue to thank you for your prayers for our family and for your notes of encouragement.

Blessings

2010-05-02T09:19:00.005-04:00

Faith learning to ride a bike after Ron holding on for about a minute! She is a pro now and rides all over campus everyday!

Faith at her birthday party - her class came over for cake and ice cream!

Thank you so much to the Tapestry of Grace home school co-0p for blessing us with a huge package from home! The drawings, cards and goodies touched us so much. We have enjoyed the things from the States lots and lots! Your thoughtfulness means a lot and reminds that we are loved from afar! Thank you so much!

Happy Birthday Faith!

2010-04-16T16:40:00.003-04:00

Today Faith turns 9. It is hard to believe that she blessed us that many years ago! She is a delight to our family and is a blessing to us. She loves to read, ride her scooter, ride her bike, hang out with her dorm guys, and listen to music. She is doing great in school - loving math, reading and art. She is starting to be more adventurous - she signed up for dodgeball today. She did great! She loves Africa but she also loves and misses her family and is excited to see them again.

Happy Birthday to an amazing daughter!

Spring Break

2010-04-07T06:14:00.006-04:00

Okay, I have to admit I had grocery store envy. This is a picture of their big store like Walmart - it is a supersize Walmart. It was huge. They had so many things that we miss from the States. It was nice being able to buy clothes of the rack and not out of a pile! I didn't have to haggle with anyone - the price was right on the clothes!

Spring break is over but we had a great time! Ron and I had time to do a few fun things while in South Africa - we were able to go to a lion park and game reserve. We were able to play with the lion cubs and feed the giraffes. It is amazing to see God's creation up close! The lions in the game reserve were within 10 feet of our car - they were amazing and beautiful.

We came home on Sunday and picked up the kids on Monday. On Tuesday we took the kids to the amazing hotel where they have a large pool and we spent the day swimming and soaking up the rays.

The rest of the week we watched movies, played games and relaxed. We only have 8 weeks before school is over and we will have successfully completed our first school year!

Kids are doing great in school and still love being here! Thanks for your prayers for our family while we are here - we hope you had a blessed Easter!

Time in South Africa

2010-03-18T07:57:00.003-04:00

I am here in South Africa 1 week after my operation and I am recuperating well. I arrived last Sunday, met with my doctor on Monday had an MRI on Tuesday and he operated on Wednesday. It has been a whirlwind to say the least. My doctor replaced 1 disk with a stainless steel artificial one and fused 2 disks together. I stayed in the hospital until Friday and have been recuperating since. I am still very sore, but progressing daily. I am enjoying my time here - it does not feel like Africa at all. There are malls, movie theaters, McDonalds, KFC and lots of signs in English. There are Christian bookstores too. Very weird. The nurses here are great allowing me time to do some retail therapy as well by dropping me off at the mall for a few hours to walk and shop. It is nice to be able to shop in English and not have to barter for the price. I have a follow up appointment next week and hopefully will be cleared to go home next weekend. Ron is coming on Saturday to spend the week with me and celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary. God is good and although I have some post surgical pain, the pain in my back and leg are gone. The doctor is pretty confident that I have not suffered permanent damage in my leg and is relatively sure that I won't continue to have a drop foot after a few weeks. I can notice a huge difference in my walking and only notice my foot when I get severely fatigued. All in all although I miss Ron, the kids and the dorm guys I am so glad I came and had the surgery - it has been a huge success. Thanks for all of your prayers - they mean a lot!

Update on happenings

2010-03-03T07:20:00.005-05:00

A lot has been happening around here - our guys (including Ron) went on an outreach to 2 villages. Ron was part of the medical team - he signed everyone in and recorded their ailments. It was a great opportunity to practice his language and interact with lots of people. He came back with many interesting stories and an encouraging time with language. We also had spirit week at the school - any time that the kids can dress up is always fun. Below is a picture of Faith during the "fake injury day".We also had another event - "Senior Cafe - Night at the Library". They had singing and skits and a costume contest, where kids dressed up as literary characters. Luke dressed up as Quasimodo and Faith dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood. Luke was in a skit where he was Patrick from Sponge-bob. I was once again reminded that I am not an crafty Mom when they asked me to make a costume, especially without a Walmart or Michaels craft store nearby! Ron was in a skit "Ramona the Pest" - It was a really fun night!

Another update is that I (Chris) will be heading to South Africa to have an appointment with a orthepedic back specialist. I have always had back issues, especially while cleaning houses, but just thought it was just part of getting old. Well, about 5 months ago after exercising I woke up and could barely move. I rested it for a few days and it seemed to get a little better. But every time I over did it - it would flare up. It affected my leg as well - numbness in the knee and ankle. I didn't really think it was too serious, but it was still very sore. Well, three weeks ago I played softball in a tournament and things quickly went downhill. First day of the tournament my knee on that same side really started hurting and then the following day, my foot went out on me and I fell and twisted my ankle. We made the championships and I couldn't play - I went to the dr. the next day and he sent me for an MRI and an xray. The doctor said that I have 2 herniated disks and my sciatic nerve is severely impinged. Surgery is necessary. So right now I am walking with a limp because my foot is almost completely dead. My mission wanted me to go to South Africa right away. They choose South Africa because the care is amazing, it keeps me on the field and the care is MUCH less expensive than the United States. We have an amazing group of workers there as well. I fly out of Dakar on Sunday and have my appointment on Monday and have another MRI Tuesday and he will determine the course of treatment. We will continue to update the blog when we have any details. I thank you all for your prayers for a speedy recovery and healing.

So, Ron will be with a dorm full of teenagers by himself for 2 weeks. Our school has a spring break starting March 19th so that will give him a little reprieve. We are not sure what the timeline will be for my being in South Africa. We are not sure if he will be able to visit me or not due to the cost of airfare, etc. but we will see how it all plays out when I talk to the doctor on Monday!

Thanks again for following our adventure!

Olympics

2010-02-12T13:48:00.004-05:00

Our school has an annual Olympic sports event for all the students. Our kids competed against kids in their age groups. Last year we had just arrived from Mali and so our kids were pretty out of shape. This year they trained more, but unfortunately still didn't fare very well. Luke got 2nd in shotput, but Faith and Zach did not earn any awards. Unfortunately our kids are not very competitive - not quite sure how that happened with me as a Mom. They are definitely not built for speed! All in all they had fun and did better than they did last year. Here are some pictures from the day:

Here is a funny thing that happened to us this week. Our cook, whom we have had problems with, doesn't have a clue most of the time. Thursday I had asked her to cook a chocolate cake with frosting. She was very proud of the fact that she went above and beyond the call of duty and added sprinkles. Upon further investigation, she put rainbow sprinkles and bacon bits. They were sitting next to each other on the shelf. Culturally I guess bacon bits is a foreign concept!

Stuff

2010-02-04T02:53:00.002-05:00

Faith had show and tell and she went dressed up in her matching American girl outfit - thanks Aunt Diana. It was a big hit!

We have been busy with the day to day activities of life here in Africa. School started back after Christmas and has been non-stop ever since. We continue to study language, parent 18 kids, manage 4 national workers, seek opportunities to build relationships to share the gospel, grow in the Lord, and nurture our marriage. Life here at the school is rarely dull with many things on the calendar. Our job is to be at the events of our 18 kids and cheer them on, take pictures and affirm them the best we can. Sometimes that task alone is daunting. We are usually running this way and that with all of the events on the weekend, although it is challenging - it is very rewarding as well. We took our guys to the sand dunes and they absolutely loved it!

The boys have gotten into volleyball and really like it. They are doing really well and continue to get better with each practice and game. Luke is a master at serving and is really improving his coordination. Zach is also getting better and really likes the game.

Today and tomorrow are Olympic days. Last year we had just arrived - out of shape and unfamiliar with the things of the day. So our kids did not have much fun being last. This year they have trained and practiced and will hopefully do much better. It is a hard thing as a parent to see your kid disappointed and embarrassed, but they took that and worked hard this year. They are still not the fastest kids, but I think they will feel better about their performance this year. Stay tuned for pics.

Life in Africa continues to be a great adventure. We have learned a lot about ourselves. We are learning how we deal when life gets a little crazy and what areas in ourselves that need to change as a result. Africans in general think differently and I need to adjust my thinking so that I don't go crazy! It is hard when you grow up thinking and acting in ways that you think are the "right" way, only to see that it is backwards thinking here. I see it with our workers daily - different work ethic and non-linear thinking. It can be frustrating at times, but then I just need to realize that my thinking is not right or wrong - it is just different!

In 2 weeks we will go on our first outreach to a village to build a church, host clubs, do a medical clinic and show the Jesus film. Pray for an openness in this village and for safety.

Keeping things in perspective

2010-01-18T17:07:00.002-05:00

We all have disappointments, heartaches, annoyances and other less desirable things in our life that we deal with on a day to day basis. But this week I have been trying to keep those things in perspective with those in Haiti dealing with their unbelievable trials of life. It is hard to fathom the things that are happening over there. We know missionaries there and are reading the tidbits from their blog and can't imagine the things their eyes have seen. All we can do from this side is pray and ask God for ease of their suffering, a glimpse of His Son and provision for their needs.

But, if you are looking for a good place to donate, please check out www.livesayhaiti.blogspot.com to read about their ministry in Haiti.

We love you Troy and Tara and praise God for your work! Keep hanging tough!

Getting back into the swing of things

2010-01-10T13:47:00.002-05:00

We started back to school last week with all of the guys travelling back in from their time with their parents. We have had a fun weekend going to the Brazilian restaurant, an all you can eat meat fest. Many animals lost their lives to feed our guys, and in our case it was an "all we can afford to feed you" instead of an all you can eat. These boys can put away some food. We see that on a daily basis, but when their is a buffet - it is amazing. The spring semester is crazy with many activities crammed in, including an outreach in February. This will be our first outreach with the school and we are really excited to see the guys work and to get our hands dirty building a church in a village. Please begin to pray for that village to be open to hear.

We are starting back with language tomorrow. We took a little hiatus from Wolof, but feel so strongly as to our need to learn and speak, that we are starting back. Please pray that our brains will click and absorb all that is being taught. It is one of those instances that our desire is there, but our brains are feeble. Many times I sit down to study and my eyelids get heavy. Pray for strength and fortitude in studying outside of class as well.

Please let us know if you are interested in coming for a visit. We would love to have teams or individuals come June - August. It is still nice weather, with lots of opportunities to work and see this amazing country.

The Dunes

2009-12-28T14:21:00.005-05:00

The mountain in the background is the one we slid down

This was the owner of the camels - he had so much character!

Christmas Day pictures

2009-12-28T13:40:00.005-05:00

Zach sewed these elephants for Faith with the help of a teacher! They turned out great!

You can't tell, but I had an afro wig on - the kids cracked up when they got up!

A new addition to our stockings this year - fireworks!

Photos of our Christmas Celebrations

2009-12-28T13:24:00.003-05:00

Here are some pictures of the kids in their Christmas pageants. Faith was the narrator in her play and the boys played handbells and sang.

We had a great day on Christmas - no tears or sadness. We had lots of fun opening gifts and talking with family and spending time with friends. We went to a place in the desert with huge sand dunes. We went sand sledding - it was awesome. Pictures up next! Thanks for your prayers for our family. We hope that your Christmas was filled with the love of Christ!

Christmas

2009-12-24T13:13:00.002-05:00

This is our second Christmas since being in Africa. Our first Christmas was in Mali. It was a hard one - without a tree, our own directions and family, and Ron dealing with kidney stones. This Christmas has been easier with our own decorations and a tree and stockings and all the trimmings. The biggest thing missing is family and friends. This is the hardest thing about being a missionary and being away from home. We normally head back to Maryland for Christmas.

We miss going to church with our church family on Christmas Eve and then celebrating with Ron's family and then going to my sister's house and relaxing with my sister, her family and my Mom. We miss waking up and celebrating with the gift frenzy. We miss the big family dinner. We miss opening Christmas Eve stockings with all of the kids from my parents. Although this is exactly where we are supposed to be, this is the hardest part of being here. It is only one day a year, but we love celebrating it with those near and dear to us. We miss spending time with our dear friends the Uhrins and the Murrays. We don't miss the commercialism of Christmas, but miss all of the hoopla of being with friends and family.

We are making new traditions and celebrating with new "family" and it is good. It is hard to get used to wearing shorts on Christmas, but it was fun going to the beach yesterday and the kids playing in the ocean! We went caroling by horse cart through the village, singing Christmas carols in Wolof and English. We will wake up Christmas morning with our usual breakfast casserole and then off to dinner with our dorm staff family. Later that night we will eat again with our supervisor and his family. We will then come home and watch a movie that we have gotten for Christmas.

We do love being here, but know that you are missed. Faith shared today, "I can't wait for Christmas, but I also don't want it to come because we won't be with our family". It is a happy time celebrating our Savior's birth, but if you think about it could you say a prayer for the sadness of not being with our friends and family to not be so great.

We love you all very much and wish you the Merriest Christmas.

Much needed break

2009-12-18T12:09:00.003-05:00

We are officially on break, all of our kids are gone and the dorm is almost quiet. We have our national workers here until tomorrow and then we will officially free. We are very much looking forward to just hanging out and reconnecting and relaxing together. We have a few plans over the break - we are going caroling on horseback in some villages. After Christmas we are going camping in the desert with Moroccan tents, camels and sand surfing. We are also going to be showing the Jesus film in our supervisors neighborhood to the guards in that area. Although is the hardest time of year for us and our kids, it is a fun time for our family to make new memories and experience different things as we celebrate our Saviors birth. We pray that you will experience Him in a new way this Christmas season!

Thanks!

2009-12-15T17:46:00.001-05:00

Thanks to the Mills Family for our first Christmas card and picture. Your note meant a lot to us - thank you for your encouraging words!

Life continues..

2009-12-10T12:22:00.002-05:00

We have been busy here with school and dorm life. Zach, Luke and Chris participated in Turkey Bowl - a flag football competition the day before Thanksgiving. We had a good day. I was very sore for many days - this old gal isn't used to running around chasing a bunch of young girls! But I had a great time. Zach's team won the middle school division, and let's just say the staff team played! It was soooo hot and dusty. The staff team was mostly just gasping for air and desperately seeking water to quench our dry mouths! We won 1 game and we didn't embarrass ourselves - which is always a plus. We had a nice Thanksgiving with turkey and ham. We celebrated with our mission. Zach helped with music.

We have a week left of school before break. Everyone is ready for a break. We will have some down time before Christmas to just reconnect as a family and just relax. We are looking very forward to that! The kids will get quickly bored without all of their friends, but are looking forward to just relaxing too. Senegal is getting into the Christmas spirit - everywhere we looked yesterday on our drive downtown, we saw cheesy trees and gaudy garland. It seems Muslims get caught up in the bling of Christmas. Lights, garland, tinsel, blow up Santas, party hats, and cheap toys are abounding everywhere you drive. Here you can drive and shop at the same time. I haven't yet bought a Christmas tree from my window, but I am tempted.

The kids have finals Monday - Wednesday and then they start tricking out to go home. All of our guys will be headed home by Friday. It will be so quiet around here, that is for sure. I know that I will miss these big lugs!!

Christmas Cards

2009-11-23T16:51:00.002-05:00

We would love to hear from you this Christmas! A card takes about 2 weeks to get to us. Could you please send us a Christmas card and we would especially love it if you could include a picture. Our address is on the left of the blog - it is easy! Please give us a little touch from home this season! Thanks!

Nothing exciting happening

2009-11-17T12:10:00.002-05:00

Wanted to post that we are still alive here in Senegal. We had some down time with my Mom and sister leaving, but are now back in the swing of things. Zach has started playing intermediate volleball and Ron is assistant coach. Faith is the narrator in the kids Christmas pageant. We are busy with the dorm guys and planning for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The dorm guys leave around the 16th of December and leave until the 8th of January. So we are looking forward to a nice break of just relaxing. We have a flag football tournament coming up called Turkey Bowl - that should be awesome. So, nothing exciting, but know that we miss you and appreciate your prayers for us!

Family Visit

2009-10-31T18:34:00.001-04:00

Here are some pictures from the time that my Mom and Sister came to visit. They had a good time, despite the heat. We showed them the sights, gave them African names (Aiwa and Daba). They bartered, walked and generally experienced Africa. My Mom struggled with the "throng of humanity" - just the fact that there are so many people on the roads/streets all of the time. Any time you are on the street, there are people walking about. When they arrived, we headed off for some fun to the resort area Saly. We stayed at a nice hotel and just relaxed, swam and ate fancy French food. They experienced the French with their itty bitty bathing suits - both guys and girls! We went to Bandia game park and saw a few animals. The park had lots of grass so a lot of the animals were hidden. But we got up close and personal with the rhino and giraffe. We actually got out of the truck and walked near them. They experienced some time at the school as well - they ate with the guys in the dorm, went to Faith's class, watched Zach's soccer game and watched him practice his trumpet at band practice. All in all, I think they had a great visit. We will miss them very much!

Family Visit

2009-10-31T12:30:00.005-04:00

Harvest Fest

2009-10-31T12:09:00.002-04:00

Last week the school held their annual Harvest Fest - the theme was the Outback Down Under. The kids had a great time - the boys participated in the Amazing Race.

Crazy week

2009-10-21T14:50:00.004-04:00

We had an interesting week last week with injuries, illnesses and weather. First Ron has been battling his kidney stones again. He spent several days in the past 2 weeks miserable in the bed waiting for the stone to pass. It still has not passed, but seems to be at bay for the moment. Then on top of that he had a stomach issue for several days. He was not able to keep anything in him and he was lethargic and miserable. Then on Saturday night, I was trying to be the cool dorm mom and play soccer with the kids. I was in the goal and a boy took a shot on me and it hit my finger weird and completely dislocated it. At the same time it started to rain - rainy season is over, so that was weird. It started to pour while we were organizing dorm coverage, who would watch our kids, etc. We head off to the hospital and when we were about 1/2 mile from the hospital our car breaks down. We could not find a taxi anywhere, we started walking. We get to the hospital, have an x-ray and confirm that it is dislocated. They call the orthaepedic surgeon. Ron has to walk back to the car to turn off the hazards. Within 5 minutes of him leaving, it starts pouring down rain. He has to stop in a door way with some guards and wait it out. While he was gone the surgeon comes and he sticks a giant needle into my pinky twice to numb it. When it was sufficiently dead, he pops it back into place. Thankfully Ron wasn't there! He sends me on my way and I go to wait for Ron. He shows up 20 minutes later. When we leave, we see only 1 taxi and he said he wouldn't take us to our neighborhood. So we walk and walk and walk. We finally found a taxi and paid an outrageous price, but soon found out why. There were accidents everywhere - standing water up to the door of the taxi and closed streets. We finally arrived home where all was safe and sound. So, I have to keep my finger splinted for 3 weeks and then see how it does. Hopefully I didn't tear any tendons. Ron continues to be on the mend, although we both have colds.

On more exciting news - my Mom and sister are coming on Saturday and we are taking our 3 day break. Everyone is very excited. Will post pictures!

Here are my nasty pinky pictures:

School Stuff

2009-10-13T09:28:00.004-04:00

Here is a picture of Faith at the snack bar - this is a cool picture because she was okay ordering in French and getting exactly what she wanted. Pretty cool to see her branch out! Zach is on the intermediate soccer team. He is having fun! Here he is at the latest match against the other American school in Dakar.

This past week was spirit week and on Sunday, they did a Junior vs. Senior girls soccer game. Our boys got in on the action and routed for the Junior girls. They are with some of our juniors.

Faith routed for both!

School continues. We are halfway through this first semester with only 9 weeks until our Christmas break. Time is flying by. We have settled into a routine and are continuing to progress with our comfort in our job and improving with our language. Some days are better than others, but overall there are general improvements.

Pray for Ron as he has been dealing with kidney stones again. He will hopefully be able to pass them soon, for he is miserable! Love and miss you!

Goreé Island

2009-09-29T11:42:00.005-04:00

Zach went to Goreé Island last week on a field trip with the 8th grade class. I was a chaperone. The island is rich in history. The island is the most famous tourist attraction in Senegal. One of the most frequently visited sites is the Maison des Esclaves (Slave House), a poignant reminder of Goreé's role as the center of West African slave trade. Built by the Dutch in 1776, the slave house has been preserved in its original state. The island was colonized in 1817. As with Manhattan Island, the Dutch bought the island from a local chief for a pittance. Goreé became a way station for Dutch ships plying the route between their forts on the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and the Indies. The Dutch gave the island its name, most probably for "Goeree" Island in Holland, or more fancifully - according to some - for its sheltered harbor, "Goode Reede" (good harbor). Goreé changed hands many times. The British took it from the Dutch; The Dutch then recaptured it, but had to give it up again to the French during French maritime expansion under Colbert. In 1802, by the terms of the Amiens peace agreement, the island became French and remained so until Senegalese independence in 1960.

Goreé was the principal entry point off the coast of Africa for slavers and merchantmen flying the French flag. Thousands of Africans passed through this island fortress on the continent's bulge. After the abolition of the slave trade in France in 1848, Goreé was an outpost for policing the seas. As its role in trade declined, it became a stepping off point for French colonization of the interior of West Africa.

Below are some pictures of the day.

The island is steeped in idol worship. Above is one of the many idols that they sacrifice things to.

Here is the ferry that we took to the island.

Upon leaving these boys encouraged us to throw money to them and they dive for it.

The sign above Zach's head says "cellule de recalcitrants" - it was the isolation cell.

This was a lookout, now it is a home. How would you like living there?

Zach sitting atop one of the cannons. This cannon was only fired once and it sank a ship that still lies at the bottom of the ocean. When we went scuba diving we explored the ship wreck.

Here is our guide by one of many cannons still on the island.

It was a fun day. The island has about 1,200 people that live there. There are no cars or bikes. It is heavily Muslim with a slight Catholic population. Pray that their eyes will be open as new ministries are trying to be started with a storying group.

A few pics

2009-09-15T13:03:00.002-04:00

Here are some of the kids playing football on the field after a rain!

Here is Zach hanging out the van window!

Heat and more heat

2009-09-15T03:34:00.002-04:00

I officially apologize for not posting for so long. It was shared with me that people were officially over the last post! So, here is what is going on - the heat. It has been hot and humid most of the time, with lots of rain. The streets are muddy and alot of flooding in the smaller neighborhoods. The amount of rain has drastically affected the roads - there are HUGE pot holes (sinkholes) in the roads. It makes for interesting driving. Especially when they fill up with water, and nobody wants to drive through any water, so they drive all over the road, sidewalks, etc to avoid water. Some of the holes are dangerous, but most are harmless puddles and their amazing avoidance of all liquids are funny. Especially when the taxis are held together by duct tape and an amazing welder!

Our days are filled with planning, organizing and shopping for the dorm. We are settling in and hope to start back with our language study. We will be starting a French class that will be held at the school for staff. We are excited about that. It is important to be able to speak both French and Wolof and I have been mostly using my French when dealing with the National workers. Right now their wolof is too fast for me to understand, so much of the time they will say it in wolof and then I ask them to repeat it in French. But I know more today than I did when I started, so that is progress. We hope to continue to learn enough to be able to share Bible stories with those that we meet when we are out and about during the day.

That is all for now - much of our life is the day to day stuff of living in Africa - I will try to look for the humorous things and capture those. Here is a funny tidbit: while playing handball Saturday night, a rat (big like a cat rat) crawled onto the court and caused everyone to panic. They were encouraging it to go out one of the rain holes, with no luck. So one of the kids killed it with the handball... You don't see that everyday!

It's Official

2009-09-01T12:43:00.002-04:00

It is official! I am officially over the rainy season. I know all the reasons that the rainy season is important and I am sure that when corn or some other yummy vegetable comes available I will be happy that we had such a great rainy season. But right now I am over it. Rain equates to mud and mosquitoes. I love watching they guys play football in the water and mud, but don’t enjoy the nasty, wet, muddy clothes!

With the rainy season and hot season have come power cuts. I am officially over that as well. Yesterday we had less hours of power than we had power. That is not fun. Trying to get dinner on the table for 20 people with no electricity - no fun! But we made the best of it and all were fed and happy.

At one point after several hours of darkness - I shouted "I am over this" - shocking, nothing changed. But I did feel better after sharing.

I am not sure what my official declaration means, but I felt I needed to share. Right now as I am typing this, probably to spite me, the power just went out. Ugh.

We are told this will only last until November. Every day I say, we are going to get a generator. But I say this as we sit in the dark yet another night - we don't want to spend the money for such a short period of time, but I don't know if I can hold out! Arrgghh!

2009-08-25T12:21:00.002-04:00

The week has overall been good - we are adjusting to our new addition of 15 high school boys. They seem to be getting used to us and we are getting used to and really enjoying them. Our biggest challenge and stressor is our dealings with our national workers. Our inability to communicate well - continues to stretch and challenge us. We are still trying to settle in a routine, but we are confident it will come in time.

On a different note, every Tuesday we have a day off. Today we went scuba diving with our supervisor Cal. It was an amazing opportunity to see God's creation up close and personal. Once we got balanced out and breathing, we were able to explore a ship wreck. There were so many cool fish and shells.

Our kids are doing well. They really like their teachers and are doing well in their classes so far. Life is always bustling at the school, and it usually never lacks for activities. We (Ron, Chris, Zach and Luke) are going to be playing handball (think ultimate frisbee with a small dodgeball) and Faith is going to try jr. basketball. She is not convinced of her ability or desire to play, but she is willing to give it a try. Faith loves having all of these big brothers.

Thanks to Northwest Baptist Church and the Kapus family for our recent care package! We love hearing from you and all of our goodies. Thanks for all of your love and support of our family.

Life as we know it...

2009-08-14T18:29:00.000-04:00

We survived our first partial week of school. Each day was a little easier than the day before. The whole school has had major issues with a storm that came through. Many dorms lost computers, phones, had water damage and many hassles. We lost our phones. So it hasn't gone as smoothly as we had hoped, but it hasn't scared us off! The guys in the dorm are great and we know that this is exactly where we are supposed to be! It is hard to feel so inadequate much of the time. Language has been kicked into high gear with so much communication needed on a minute by minute basis. It is hard when you are normally a fairly competent person, but when you try to communicate you feel like a goof! Our staff is very gracious and patient, but they do look at me like I have 3 heads sometimes. But all in all it is going well, with many funny embarrassing things to come! Below is a slideshow from our time before starting the dorm. We went to a ministry called Malika Monkeys to buy a drum and hang out with the lady who runs the ministry to help street boys learn a trade. We also went to Snake Island to rock climb and snorkel. It was so beautiful and truly showed God's creation. Enjoy!

2009-08-14T18:27:00.001-04:00

Some pics from July

2009-08-08T10:35:00.004-04:00

We went to a village and helped cooked lunch - here are some pics of the day:

Here is the fish frying

We are cutting up the onions

Here is the main lady who cooked

We were rolling up little balls of ground fish

Here is the finished product

Sunset on the coast

Luke with a lizard he caught

These pics were from a restaurant where we ate with the team of volunteers

We have 3 days until the boys start arriving. Wow, has time flown by. We are about 95% ready and just have to wait on others for the other 5%. We are excited, anxious, nervous and scared to admit ready for this next step of the journey. This is what we have been preparing and waiting for, for the past 2 years. We probably have no clue of what we are in for, but we can't wait. We are excited to be able to build relationships with the guys in our dorm. We have been busy with our national workers - oh what a humbling experience. It has been hard with communicating. We have 3 workers and 2 of them want us to speak in Wolof and the other in French, so some days have been challenging. One of the workers giggle every time we talk. So we have been doing a lot of charades and pointing. But so far we survived our first week and nobobdy has quit. I have ordered my first order of food and have planned our first week of meals. Pray that I have ordered enough or I will be fixing a bunch of peanut butter and jelly!

Sorry it has been so long since our last post, I hope to be a bit more consistent. Thanks for sticking with us and continuing to read our blog and for praying for us and our ministry.

We are almost done the apartment - we need to hang a few more things on the walls and organize a bit more, but it definitely feels like home!

Still working

2009-07-28T13:50:00.002-04:00

We have been busy with getting the dorm and our apartment finished before the boys return to school on August 10th. It has been stressful, but it is moving along. The kitchen in the dorm is still not finished. We are closer with the counters starting to be installed. The stove will hopefully get fixed as well as so many other small details. The staff here has been working so many long hours, so pray that it all comes together. Our apartment should be finished being painted this week. It looks so beautiful. We will post pictures when it is done.

We continue to be excited for school to start and look forward to getting to know the boys better. Pray that the transition for them will be a smooth one! Our national workers return to work on August 3rd. We have made some changes, so pray that we will be able to communicate effectively with them and that they will have a smooth transition to new leadership. We want to have a rally the troops meeting when they get here, so we hope that our language communicates that and not something entirely else! It should be interesting!

Well we hope that you have had a good summer. We have missed spending time with our family and friends this summer! But enjoyed seeing and experiencing things here for our first summer away from the States! Love and miss you very much!

An amazing day

2009-07-21T00:19:00.002-04:00

Our supervisors have a team visiting from Alabama. We have been busy helping them and serving with them this past week. Yesterday the ladies from the team went to a compound of one of our believers. They have not been open at all and at times hostile against our believer. We went out to eat and share stories with them. They were very warm and hospitable. We set up a canopy and mats as it was going to rain. While some of the team was helping keep the kids entertained, others of us helped prepare lunch. Was I in for a rude awakening of what it takes to feed a whole compound, plus 10 visitors. We started by pounding the spices, cutting 15 or so onions and carrots, and many other kind of vegetables, and rolling ground fish. This dish we were preparing was called Ceebu Jagga which consists of rice with a red sauce with fish and fish balls and vegetables. In between the cooking there were dishes to wash – hunched over a bucket. Unfortunately it started to rain so the cookers went inside one of the bedrooms to finish cooking. The lady who was cooking was very patient. I did my best to translate to help all of the other ladies take direction from her. It was the most language that I have heard and spoken since being in Senegal. It was a great opportunity to see what I have learned and be able to practice and use the language that I have acquired.

When the meal was served we ate on the mats while the families all ate in their rooms. We ate from a common bowl with our hands. This is the first time that I have not had the pleasure of eating with a spoon. I wasn’t very good at the scoop and scrape into the mouth action, but I get better as the meal progressed. It was hard to believe how much work it was to get this meal together and I was so exhausted.

During the preparations, I was cutting onions. I was cutting out the brown spots and rotten spots and putting them in the sand next to me. After the onions were cut I got the African hand broom and brushed them all into a pile to throw away. Shortly thereafter one of the elderly woman proceeded to get the sifter (it is what they use to do their flour in, but this one was used to collect the trash while letting the sand fall through) and take all of the onions and wash them off and take them into her room. It was humbling to see what was not good enough for my standards are still edible and valuable to them. Another thing that happened was that at the end of the meal, the lady who cooked was washing the dishes. Another woman and I were helping her – I told her to go and listen to the stories that were being shared. I wanted her to hear the gospel! She went and listened to 1 story and then came back to help. When we finished washing, she washed our hands and our feet for us. It was very humbling and hard to let her do – I was supposed to be serving her, but yet here she was serving me. Amazing.

While I was sweating and slaving away at the compound, the men of the team went fishing with some of our supervisors African friends. Although Ron took a Dramamine, he stilled proceeded to feed the fish! The waters weren’t rough, but being out in this African boat (which is like a really long canoe) Ron still felt the motion of the ocean. The other men were able to catch a few fish to give to this African for his family.

After being out all day, the team came back and helped Ron and I organize things in the dorm. They moved furniture, sorted linens and cleaned. It was a huge help to us! Thanks Mulberry Baptist church for your willingness to serve our family. We ended the day with eating fish and shrimp skewers and mango. It was a tiring, but rewarding day. One that I won’t forget!

P.S. I will post pictures this weekend!

Updates

2009-07-11T17:08:00.004-04:00

Faith's ear is doing much better. After going back to the doctor, she determined that she just had a nasty outer ear infection. It is still gross, but it is getting better everyday and she isn't in pain any more. Thank you for your prayers.

We are completely moved out of our other house and are still organizing and unpacking in the new apartment. The school has torn out the dorm kitchen, so the dorm is a mess. Our allergies are a mess because of the dust. We are praying that they finish soon. Once our apartment is finished getting the final touches on it, we will upload some pictures.

We are battling with roaches!! We have had ants before, but never roaches. We are determined to win this battle, so any tips are greatly appreciated. There will be some work done in the apartment in a week, so we will move out for a few days and we are going to do a bomb. We are praying that it helps. Ugh!

We all had our first de-worming treatment (not the first for Luke and Zach). Some of us picked up a little souvenir from the Gambia. But since some of us had them, we decided to make it a family affair! It worked!

All in all, life in Africa continues to go along smoothly. We have a volunteer team that we are going to be helping with - we are excited about that. We will be in some of the villages helping the team. Pray for our time and that we would be able to share the message of the Cross!

We are continuing to get ready for the dorm to open August 10th. We will be busy helping getting the campus ready and the dorm cleaned and set up. Pray that we will be efficient and thorough in all of our planning.

Continue to pray for our language. It is so frustrating to see the lostness of the people of Senegal and not be able to share the good news. We are going to start memorizing stories this week. Pray that we will have an opportunity to practice what we have learned.

We continue to thank you for your prayers and support of our family. While we miss being with our friends and family, we love life here in Senegal.

Random Pictures

2009-07-07T03:50:00.003-04:00

Here is us driving off of the ferry - it was crazy, there were so many people.

This is a picture from the ferry.

Faith and Melodie on the ferry - they were inseparable while in the Gambia!

Don't see this in the States do you?

A guy named Siddie - we shared stories with him many times. Pray for his eyes to be opened and that he would read the Bible we left with him. Praise the Lord for the 8 people that were baptized while we were in the Gambia. Pray that all of those that were shared with will continue to search and find the true God!

A cat strolling around the restaurant we ate in.

The trip home was much smoother than the trip to the Gambia. When we got to the ferry there was nobody in line, so we only had to wait an hour. The border stops were a little interesting - a funny thing that happened was that while we were at the second of 3 buildings where Ron had to get something signed. The kids and I were in the car and there were a group of kids asking for everything they saw in the car. A lady walks up and a girl asks for the bibiron - I didn't know what that was - so after clarifying it was a baby bottle I said no, it was a toy for Faith's baby. They couldn't understand that Faith had a baby. I said to the lady that she didn't need a bottle to feed and she then proceeded to lift up her shirt and squirt me with breast milk, and then she fell out laughing. After I picked up my jaw, I told her she still couldn't have the bottle. She asked if she could "look" at it - stupid me - said sure. She then told me sorry and walked away. She did throw back some "free" cashews. I didn't want to cause a scene at the border crossing, crazy white woman trying to enter the country might not go over to well. We survived, but it might be a while before we go back.

We are now home in our new apartment. We are about 90% moved. We slept here for the first time since moving. Faith has a bad infection in her ear, face and eye. She is on major antibiotics and will go back to the dr. on Thursday. She is miserable and on 24 hour pain meds. We are praying that the antibiotics kick in today. She has had 1 day of them and so hopefully she will turn the corner today.

We have jumped back into language - we weren't ready after speaking english for 3 weeks. We want to be able to communicate better so we will continue to do 2-3 days a week for the summer before school starts. Pray that our language will stick.

Off for now - thanks for all of your prayers. Pray that we will get everything done in this next month before the boys arrive!

Quick Update

2009-07-05T06:11:00.002-04:00

We arrived home safe from our crazy travels on Wednesday and began the arduous task of moving and packing. Ugh! We will post some pictures from our trip soon - our internet is not cooperating to load pictures.

We haven't been able to move into the dorm yet. They have ripped up the kitchen and in the process turned off the cold water. Hopefully they will finish up this week. So in the meantime we have moved, cleaned, and organized during the day and then come home and shower and fall in the bed!

We hope everyone had a happy 4th of July. We missed celebrating in the US! We did have hot dogs, hamburgers, beans and mac and cheese and we heard some fireworks!

Our trip to Banjul, Gambia

2009-06-20T03:27:00.005-04:00

Well this was certainly an adventure - here are some pictures from our trip. The above tree was our rest stop where we ate, used the "facilities" and rested. When we stopped here there was only 1 African watching us, when we left there were 3. I am sure they haven't seen many toubabs peeing out in the bush before. The picture below is a where they do the salt mining - they pull it from the water.

This is what the road looked like much of the trip - and to top it off our air conditioner stopped working as we started the second half of the trip and we had to have our windows down! This is their attempt to help the dust - make it mud!
Here is a mosque we saw on the way. The picture below is while I was waiting at the border. Two men praying for the mid-day prayers. Crossing the border was interesting as well. We have never crossed a border in the car. We had to stop at 4 offices and get a multitude of stamps. It took forever!

Here are some of the "few" kids we had around our car while we waited to get on the ferry. We got to the ferry at 3:00 and finally got on the ferry at 11:15. We really haven't seen corruption while we have been in Africa, aside from one police officer wanting tea money. But this was terrible. Many people came up to our car and asked us if we were wanting to go to the front of the line for a fee for the captain. We politely said no. So what they were doing was, those that paid went to a special line and those that didn't waited in the regular line. So when each ferry came they let a few cars from the regular line and all of the bribe paying line. This went on all day, so that we got on the last ferry across to Banjul. So we sat and waited for 8+ hours. During that time we saw many sellers, kids, animals, beggars, etc. Here are a few pics.

We were stopped in front of a Koranic school and here is a boy with his tablet of arabic.

Here is Faith after we finally made it on to the ferry - she was riding in our friends car - this says it all! We finally made it to the hotel around 1:30 and we fell into bed (after washing away the grime from the trip that was literally caked on our necks).

The hotel we are staying at is gorgeous and I will post some pictures tomorrow - right now I am in the internet room and I am being bit up by mosquito's!

Pictures

2009-06-07T14:27:00.004-04:00

We went to a wedding for a daughter of our supervisors - it was right on the beach!

This is a little girl that was watching the ceremony.

It was so funny - during the ceremony all these vendors walked down the beach!

Here are some pictures from Luke's birthday!

His class enjoying some cupcakes.

These are some pictures of the vendors on the road! I am sure that you thought I was exaggerating!

The kids finished up school last week and we now have an eighth grader, sixth grader and third grader. They all did very well in school - although Zach had the hardest transition. We have been told next year it will be easier as they won't be the new kids and they know what to expect.

Tuesday we leave for the Gambia. Pray for safe travels, as we are told that the roads are horrendous. Pray also for the ferry ride - we have been told that it could take up to 10 or more hours to get a ride on the ferry (unless you pay to get to the front of the line). We are hoping to get there early enough to beat the rush, but it is still a long day. In the training we will be learning how to share a story of Jesus' life - from creation to the cross. It is an English speaking country so that helps, we are also told there are a fare amount of Wolof speakers too. So we are hoping that we won't digress in our language. We not sure of our internet availability while we are there, but will post whenever possible.

In the dorm

2009-05-31T12:57:00.002-04:00

A while back we were asked to take care of the dorm while the current dorm parents take their 3 day weekend off. So this is the weekend. We approached it with reserved excitement and a little bit of apprehension. We got here Saturday morning and will stay until lights out on Monday - around 10 pm.

We were a little nervous, because what if we hated it or what if they hated us? Here we have committed to 3 years of time and what if we found out that it was going to be torture? But, praise the Lord, it has been awesome. We have been basically hanging out in the living room area, which is a little awkward because we don’t have a space of our in the dorm. It also has been a busy weekend with a Junior/Senior Banquet, Senior receptions and other things going on, but it has really solidified our call to this job and this school. It has been really neat to be able to get to know the boys before next year!

So it has increased our excitement for the school year and has made us so thankful to be here!

Life goes on

2009-05-24T12:59:00.003-04:00

It has been a while since we have posted. We have settled into a routine here in Senegal. We continue to have 3 days of language and the kids continue to really enjoy school. With our crate arriving, we have had a few additional forms of entertainment. We dug out the Wii and have enjoyed playing with that! For the most part we left all of the boxes taped up, but definitely wanted to dig out the Wii! The kids love school and are very anxious to get on campus. There is always something going on at the school and they can't wait to be in the mix!

To catch up: Zach played the trumpet again and once again did very well. He continues to enjoy baseball and playing soccer. He has struggled a little bit with the social aspect and having to deal with a bully. He has made some good friends, but unfortunately his closest friend is going on furlough next year. Thus the life of a missionary kid! Luke likes baseball and has enjoyed being involved with floor hockey too! He loves playing in the woods at school, building forts and creating clubs. Not real crazy about schoolwork, but loves the atmosphere at school. Faith loves everything about DA - her teacher, friends, play ground!

Ron and I are still working on language. It still continues to be a struggle. We understand so much while in the class room and then walk out and depending on who is talking - don't understand a word! It is very frustrating. But we continue to progress and learn more vocabulary and can carry on conversations. Our house helper continues to encourage - they other day I was talking with her in French and she looked at me and said - say it again but in Wolof this time. I am thankful for that! It is much easier at times for me to think in French, so I quickly go to that instead of plugging along in the Wolof.

Life continues to be fun here - seeing funny new things each time we head out of our doors! We haven't taken many pictures while driving, but it is interesting what you see while driving. We can do all of our Christmas shopping inside of our car. There are people selling everything imaginable and some not so imaginable things on the road. So far while in our car stopped in traffic we have bought - sun glasses, drinking glasses, a knife, fruit, nuts, cookies, grater, eggs, water, gum, phone cards, and a watch. So far we have turned down - mirrors, clocks, bras, underwear, undershirts, kleenex (personal or full box), toys, posters of various marabouts (Muslim leaders), rugs, hangers, muslim books, muslim beads, french DVDs, books, stickers, remote controls, every cell phone gadget, ball/strike counters, steering wheel covers, flares, cans of fix a flat, key chains, string art, magnifying glasses, razors, hair clipper sets, water boilers, skillet, tupperware, plates, table cloths, clothes pins, and the list will I am sure continue to grow. It is like Walmart each time we get on the road.

The kids only have around 7 days of school left - then we are off to the Gambia for training. We will hopefully put some pictures on soon. Pray for the kids finishing up school and pray for the Seniors as they complete their finals and prepare to head off to colleges.

Our crate arrived!

2009-05-14T04:37:00.002-04:00

Let's open it up and see what we got.....

Where are your books? That is all they were concerned about. Unfortunately the books were near the back of the crate. So, piece by piece they started unloading the crate.

This is Ron talking with the customs officer. Praise the Lord after about 15-20 things were pulled out Ron found a box with some books in it and thankfully the books were a writers' manual and a Rosetta Stone book and not the many, many evangelism books or books on Islam. God was good! The customs officer seemed satisfied and signed off of the crate. We think it helped that we talked a good bit of Wolof with him and he was very impressed (amused) with our attempt to speak with him. So they starting putting all of the things that they took out back in. Only 2 things didn't fit and had to be held off separately. It was fun to see their faces reacting to some of the items they had never seen before. The nerf dart gun, kites, candle warmer, Christmas tree topper - we did a lot of charades! It was delivered the next morning. They had a machine that dropped the whole crate over our gate. We hadn't told the kids that it was here - so they had a huge surprise when they got home from school! There was much shouts of glee and excitement.

Before we left the States, we read a book about a boy who collected his most prized possessions in a special box. So we stole the idea and had each of them collect their most favorite things and put them in a box - it was neat to see them pull each item out and reminisce about the memory or love on a stuffed animal. We gave away a lot of their toys when we left, but these special items helped them forget what they left behind and allowed them to appreciate what they chose to keep!

Happenings....

2009-05-10T08:27:00.004-04:00

Sorry it has been so long since our last post. We have just been doing life! Kids have been busy at school. Here are the latest activities - Zach started baseball, Luke finished handball and started intramural floor hockey, Zach turned 13 (hard to believe), got caught in a parade downtown, had a beach day, survived a birthday party and sleepover with 9 middle school boys, and of course language. Below are pictures of one of the big mosques - this is also one of the Lebou villages where we went and hung out with some of the Lebou workers:

A couple of Mondays ago we went to a compound and hung out with some of the ladies for the afternoon - below are some pictures:

Here is a picture of Zach with his Masaai spear from Kenya - sorry for the weird smile on his face!

Life continues to run smoothly here in Senegal. We continue to love it here and are so looking forward to getting in the dorm and settle in. We continue to grow in the language and are not as intimidated to go out and do things. We went shopping in one of the local markets for some soccer shirts for Zach and it went great! The nationals continue to be gracious and warm in our attempt to speak Wolof. They are so encouraging and receptive, it builds our excitement for the continuous learning - which at times is so draining. We continue to have lots of opportunities to practice with as many people showing up at our gate. Here is the list of our personal sellers - fruit seller, broom seller, 2 fish and shrimp sellers, egg seller, and several strawberry and corn sellers. I think it is like in the great depression times - you get your door marked. Everyone who is looking for money, selling stuff, wanting to wash our floors, do our laundry or yardwork is directed to our gate. So we gets lots of language in by trying to explain that we don't want to buy today!

Today we are celebrating Mother's Day - I was made heart shaped pancakes with strawberry syrup. They were delicious.

We say Happy Mother's Day to our moms - we hope you have a great day! We love and miss you lots!

A post for the Grandparents

2009-04-27T22:14:00.005-04:00

Zach was asked to do a trumpet solo during the offertory 2 weeks ago. He did great! Enjoy! Our supervisor Cal is playing the piano.

Goings On

2009-04-25T04:22:00.007-04:00

We have been busy with school activities and, you guessed it, language. Here is the latest: Faith turned 8 and celebrated it with 11 girls from her class. We had a "Princess Picnic" birthday party at the house. It was a lot of fun.

Zach competed in a middle school "Petites Poteaux" tournament (soccer inside a concrete court - kind of like indoor soccer played on concrete). he also went on a middle school outreach where they painted a wall of a local hospital and cleaned the trash out the ditch in front of the wall. The kids did a great job and it looks great! This weekend Zach is on the middle school retreat.

Luke competed in a handball intramurals (like ultimate frisbee with a ball) for the last two weeks. Luke playing and enjoying the handball tournament is an answer to prayer. He has not connected as much with the kids in his class because most of them love playing soccer at lunch and after school. Luke's favorite memories of soccer in Youngsville are generally the snack after the game each week. So, he tends to hang out with all the younger kids. He is really good at entertaining them, but we also want him to connect with kids his own age. When he signed up for this, we were excited. The first week he didn't enjoy it because no one passed it to him, but this week he was aggressive and active and he did great. He scored 2 goals and was great on both offense and defense. More importantly, he had fun and wants to practice and get better. This is his first real go at athletics, and this is a very sports oriented school - there isn't a whole lot else to do here!

Here is Luke playing handball.

On our ministry outing we went back and visited the public hospital where the boys painted the wall. We went into the maternity building - here is the picture of the delivery room.

Here is a horse cart that carried all of the trash out of the ditch.

The before:

The after:

Here are some local kids getting in on the fun.

Here is Zach at the end of the day - they had a little fun with the paint after they finished.

Zach heading the ball in the Petits Poteaux tournament.

This picture is for Bob Murray - sorry if this offends any cat lovers. This cat is right outside the office where we have language class. For days, we could not understand why it was so smelly. THEN we noticed the dead cat! We are sorry that it is not a scratch-n-sniff picture.

Trash

2009-04-19T15:28:00.003-04:00

There are many hard things to get used to about living in Africa - one of them being trash. There is trash everywhere. I grew up being part of an organization called Children of the American Revolution - a patriotic youth organization where we learned about our country. One area we learned about was conservation. I remember many meetings where we focused on litter. It was drilled into my head not to be a "litterbug". Even if I had wanted to, I could not have even thrown a gum wrapper on the ground. Here, everywhere you look there are little clear sacks, black bags, little coffee cups, bottles and many other miscellaneous wrappers strewn on the ground. You see people eat their snacks and drop their trash on the ground. It pains me. There are whole lots of just trash. When it gets too high - they burn it. On Saturday, the middle schoolers went and worked at an area by the local hospital. They were there to paint a wall and to pick up trash out of the ditch. They had hired some horse carts to removed the trash. By the end of the day, they had removed over 10 loads of trash, for a relatively small area.

We have heard that not all of Africa has this problem, but that it is particularly bad in West Africa. It is hard sometimes to find a trash can outside. I found myself on one occasion throwing my trash on the ground. I felt guilty. It is something I have to get used to, but I know that I will never like it and will do my best to not be a litterbug!

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T06:50:00.005-04:00

It has been a while since our last post, for that I apologize. Nothing very exciting happening and not much to share, but wanted to check in. We are celebrating Easter today in a country that doesn't recognize this holiday, but as a family we celebrated early this morning with a sunrise service at Dakar Academy. What a beautiful sight to behold - watching the sun rise and thinking of His sacrifice for us. We had an Easter celebration yesterday with an egg hunt, tug of war, egg toss and good food. We had to die eggs without the help of Paas! I had no idea how to do this, but thanks to the internet found out you just need food coloring, water and vinegar - who knew?

This past week - nothing much happened - language and life. Our only bit of excitement was that a stray cat had kittens in our yard. One was sick, so we tried to help it. Unfortunately it ended up dying and at the end of the week, and then we couldn't find the other three kittens. We are not sure if the momma took them somewhere or something came and completed the circle of life. It was not a happy ending, but it was neat for our kids to see newborn kittens.

We continue to progress in language and continue to have fun trying to use and learn as much as we can. We went out to a village on Monday and walked on the beach with all of the fishing boats coming in - it was a myriad of sights and smells. It was quite the adventure for me (Chris) - I almost got bit by a horse, run over by a horse cart, stepped on a dead cat and rat and then got into a conversation with a friendly drunk African (talk about a language barrier). For a beach and ocean lover it was hard to see the beach in this way - there are open sewers running to the ocean, trash everywhere, and goats eating trash along the water. At one point we saw a huge sea turtle that they had caught on its back - just waiting for death so they can eat it or cut it up to be sold. The matter of fact here is that it is all about survival. Whatever it takes to eat today - that is essentially what matters.

The kids continue to do well in school. They really like the school and are excited about next year and us living there. We continue to be thankful for being here in Dakar. We can't wait to show our friends and family where we live and to meet these awesome people (hint, hint). We miss you all, especially on holidays!

A fun day trip

2009-04-03T05:42:00.004-04:00

While the kids are on break, we have wanted to explore a little bit off of the peninsula. We went to a little Lebou village outside Dakar where the work there is still developing. In the past, there has not been much response; however a couple of months ago a volunteer team came in and did a medical clinic there. They were well received. We went to visit the beach, but also to stop and visit some of the people who came to the clinic. Our group of nine people showed up in the African homes. We were warmly welcomed and sat for a brief time to greet them well. It was a great day to see a little more of Senegal. The drive out of Dakar is a killer (especially two times in three days), as it is quite a bottleneck and LOTS of traffic. The pics below were taken from the restaurant of a hotel on the cliff on the Atlantic. We look forward to heading back there for an overnight sometime soon. Enjoy the pics!

A day in the village

2009-03-29T07:58:00.006-04:00

All week we have been coordinating with our guard Ibrahaima to go to his village. I had told him at least 3 times - you are coordinating the transportation. We couldn't go in our truck - there wasn't enough spaces, so we were hiring a "bush taxi" - it holds 7 people. All week he said that yes was arranging the car. Well, Friday night I asked him what time the taxi was coming and with a deer in the headlight look said - I thought you were arranging the taxi! Ugh - I thought our communication was clear. Well, we called a friend who called a friend and we had a taxi - albeit at a much higher price, but nonetheless we were all set. It was an interesting ride - he picked up his cousin along the way (who spoke English) so we had a very full car. Our driver was a little grumpy - after agreeing to a price - he tried to negotiate a little more in the morning, but thankfully there were some of our wolof friends there to tell him no. The trip was a little more crazy because that morning my back went out, so the taxi ride was a little less enjoyable for me! We arrived at his wife's village an hour and a half laterto pick her up to take her to his parents village up the road. So we had an eight month pregnant women added to our very full taxi.
We arrived at his village and of course were celebrities. We met his dad who was the chief of their compound and a village elder. They treated us like family. They fed us beignets (little doughnuts), rice and chicken, melon and attaya (tea). The kids had fun with the other kids - the boys played soccer and Faith hung out with the other little girls. At one point I heard some of the girls call for Faith - "Fanta, Fanta" it was neat how quickly they were accepted. Our kids also had so much fun with all of the animals there - the baby goats were adorable! Faith quickly slid into Momma role with them.

We just basically hung out all day - literally sat in a room, but to them we honored them and their son by spending our whole day there. They weren't happy that we had to leave - insisting that we stay the night. But they were appeased as we promised to come back and stay the night. That should be interesting! Overall it was a great day, with the hope of another day in the future.

His dad had a garden - these are papayas.

Ibrahaima and his wife - she was very shy!

A huge Baobob tree!

This was our lunch - poulet yassa.

The kids getting water from their well.

The kids when we stopped at his house to pick up his wife - were excited to see all of the Toubabs crammed in the car.

15 years later - she turns my heart cold!

2009-03-26T08:01:00.002-04:00

Ok, so you got Chris's take and our story. I concur with all of it. However, this year I have found that things have changed and she now turns my heart cold. In Wolof, that is "Sama xool di sedd!" or my heart is cold. Now that we're in Africa, much has flipped upside down! Since it is hot here so much (at least once you get out of Dakar and off of this peninsula), a "steamy" relationship is the norm. What is exceptional is to find someone who makes your heart cold! Ha! Thank God for my Ice Queen!!! I LOVE YOU, CHRIS!

15 years

2009-03-26T07:28:00.003-04:00

Wow - hard to believe that Ron and I have been married for 15 years. Fifteen years ago today, we did not envision ourselves in Africa that is for sure!

Here is our story: In August 1992 I was living with my sister in Pikesville. We lived next door to a family that invited me to their church. I went that Sunday and then was invited by the Associate Pastor to a small group meeting. I decided to go - I was to meet someone named Kristi at her apartment. When I got there, she had brought her friend Ron. We went to the small group meeting and Ron and I clicked - we talked for a long time and agreed to get together again. We then continued to hang out, but only as friends. We built a great friendship and went out at least once a week! Everyone kept telling us that we should be dating, but we each had ruled out the other - he was younger and shorter - I was older and taller! We had tried "dating" but it was weird.

In June Ron invited me to go see "Cats." I thought it was a date, but to him - he was just taking out his good friend. But later that night while watching "Top Gun" he shared that his feelings had changed. I thought "it's about time!" We started dating, but just a month later he had decided that he wanted to not see each other so much, but that didn't last long :) and we were on again. Another month later, on August 19th (his birthday), he asked me to marry him. He was teaching at the time so we decided to get married during his break - so on March 26, 1994 we committed ourselves to God and each other before all of our friends and family!

We are so thankful to God for coordinating that meeting and for all of the others who were instrumental in our relationship. The last 15 years have been amazing - we are truly best friends and for that we are both so thankful! We are excited to see the next part of our journey and what the next 15 years hold!

2009-03-25T17:13:00.004-04:00

We went out to another village this week. We had a great visit with a Senegalese woman - she was a hoot. She danced for us and we had a great time listening to her and our supervisors wife shoot the breeze. We walked along the beach and talked with some kids. Below are some pictures from the day:

This is the view as we come around a corner to drive along side the ocean - it is one of my favorite views - minus the billboard!

This is a Lebou fishing village we walked through - it was cool to see all of the boats that were there.

This was a different thing to see on the beach! Never saw goats along the shore in Myrtle Beach!!

Saturday we are going to our guards village for the day - it should be interesting day full of language and culture. He is a great guy and we are excited to meet his wife and family. Not sure what it is going to look like, but are excited none the less!

Our helper fixed us dinner tonight and she cooked rice and fish. It included the fish heads - ugh. We shared with our guard and he was so excited to get the fish heads! We explained that we weren't a big fan and he said that the Senegalese love the heads. After he asked us what we wanted to eat in the village and we quickly said - no fish heads! Our head had the eyes, teeth, mouth - not ready for that yet!

Pray that we in our limited language will be able to make a positive impression so as to be able to share the gospel.

Cultural Day

2009-03-19T11:46:00.002-04:00

We had our second cultural day with a Sengalese believer. The original plan was for us to drive to his house and pick him up. He called us and said "I am coming", I quickly said "to your house or my house." He said yes I am coming, me - Okay, got that - your house or my house? His answer - yes. So I said - we are meeting you at your house right? Yes I am coming. Hang up. I then tell Ron I think we are meeting Papa at his house, but he could be coming here....Ron calls him and asks if we are meeting him at his house - Yes I am coming...We then determined that he was not at his house, but was going to his house!

After sorting that out, we met him on the street by his house and he told us to park, and we would be using public transportation. Ok.....So we starting walking and went to the main street and waved down a "taxi" called a klondoor - a private car driven as a taxi - we never knew how to determine these, but quickly found out they do 2 little honks. They are much cheaper than taxis and they cram in whoever and drop them on route. So after taking our ride to a market, we wandered around to various indoor and outdoor markets - saw and smelled lots of interesting things. We wanted to eat lunch so we stopped at a "restaurant". It was a room with some tables with a bowl of spoons on the table. They were serving ceeb with fish and yassa. Yassa is normally rice with chicken and onions, lemony. Knowing the fish would be bony or the fish head, I opted for yassa. Well they tricked me and my yassa was served with a whole fish on a bed of rice. Ron had small bits (albeit with lots of bones) of fish. I will next time clarify! After that we got on a car rapide - a van with lots of people in, and then another klandoor. It was a fun day filled with lots of new experiences! We had some good opportunities to practice our language.

I know there are some that wish there were more photos of the things we see and experience. But we hope you can keep in mind that we are the only white people around at times and if we were walking around just taking pictures - we would only be tourists. It is really not easy to take pictures! We will try, but most importantly we want to be culturally appropriate at all times. We don't want to be tourists. We want to be accepted, and we don't want them to feel that they or their lives are spectacles. But we will try whenever possible and acceptable to snap a photo!

Village anyone?

2009-03-16T12:27:00.003-04:00

We went into what we thought was a Lebou village, but it really turned out to was an area where the Lebou worked and hung out. Ron and Cal went in search of the men and Patty and I went in search of the women. We saw 2 groups of women hanging out and went over and introduced ourselves. They were excited to teach me wolof and talk with us while they waited for the fish to come in. Basically these women come to this area 3 times a day to collect fish and then walk it back up to the street to sell. Next week we are going to go down there before the fish come in and the girls are going to do some storying while the women are captive! Ron and Cal are going to be there to help pull the boats in when they come. Please pray for this area and pray for opportunities to share. Continue to pray for our language, this is a great place to learn and listen to Nationals talk.

Jr. Carnival and soccer

2009-03-15T09:17:00.005-04:00

We had a busy weekend with 2 different school functions - Jr. Carnival and a soccer game against a rec league. Zach made the jr. soccer squad and was able to play in 1 game before their "season" ended. The team was basically put together to play in a tournament that was held while we were in Kenya, but they did organize 1 game against a rec league. Zach played well and they ended up with a tie.

The Junior class put on a carnival on Friday - the kids had a lot of fun there. The football team from Wheaton College was here and brought all kinds of American things, so they served bacon cheeseburgers, nachos, american candy. The theme was Lord of the Rings, so lots dressed up in costumes. Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

Here is Zach with Andy Studebaker from the Kansas City Chiefs.

We have a busy week planned - we have started back with language 3 days a week, with another day of culture and language and then a ministry day as well - so all 5 days are full of learning and observing. We never would have guessed how tired we would be at the end of the day. Our minds are always working and processing - you are constantly either studying language, speaking language, translating language, listening, and then thinking about what you are going to say....It is exhausting. We are very ready to have a better grasp on Wolof. We have such a strong desire to be able to communicate and not have that be another stressor! Many of you have asked about packages. We are putting a list on the blog of the things we can't get here. When you mail packages, please ask at the post office for the flat rate international box. You will save a lot more money and it gets here much faster.

A slide show from our trip

2009-03-12T16:15:00.003-04:00

Here is a slide show of some of our adventures. I hope you enjoy!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Back Home

2009-03-11T15:41:00.004-04:00

We are back in Senegal and have gotten back into the swing of things. We arrived dinner time on Sunday and the kids were back to school on Monday. We were all pretty tired on Sunday due to the fact that Kenya is 3 hours ahead of us. But it is now Wednesday and everyone seems to have adjusted well.

Kenya was amazing. It is such a beautiful country. There were so many amazing flowers, plants and animals to see. The artistry there among the Kenyans is amazing as well. We went to 2 different artisan markets and the talent we came across was unbelievable. It was actually fun shopping - exhausting, but fun since it was in English. Kenyan is not a Muslim country, so it was weird to see lots of churches everywhere - all kinds of churches. If you ever have a chance to go - do it!

Next we need to say thanks to many people who made the trip possible. Thanks to our friends, and a donor from SEBTS who gave money to fund the trip for the kids and I. It would have been impossible for us to go as a family without your support. Thanks to the team from First Baptist Church in Durham. They came to love on us and watch our kids while we were in class. They left us with all sorts of games and books for the kids and some makeup for me. A fun thing that we did while there was shop. They had big stores with a lot of American products. We packed very lightly and planned on filling it up. We were allowed 150 kilos and we came back with 151! We stocked up on cake mixes, syrup, Kenyan coffee, crackers, granola bars, and lots of fun things. We are ready to hit our birthday season now!

As for us in Senegal - Ron and I met with an African believer who will be doing cultural training one day a week with us. He took us to a market and taught us more about shopping and bartering. Some of the things we have planned while we are out are: using public transportation - riding the big buses and small vans, hitting some outdoor markets, learning the streets, maybe some storying, eating in African "restaurants". So you can pray that our time is effective, meaningful and safe. Ron went to his house for a Bible study on Tuesday night - it didn't end up happening, but pray that the other believers come next Tuesday. This group of believers were meeting and then stopped - they haven't met for over 2 years. Pray for our teacher's wife that she would be interested in what is being taught and want to learn more.

We recently had 4 packages from home - THANKS
we had one from my parents filled with some Christmas goodies - love that Chop Wizard!

one from a Sunday school class at Faith Baptist Church filled with great ministry items - coloring books and school supplies, Parmesan cheese, drink mixes - thanks Lewis

one from the youth group at South End Baptist Church (a church we have never been to or met) - thanks so much for our Christmas gifts and goodies - we appreciate your creativity!

Thanks to David Hartman for bringing us a trunk of goodies to Kenya - thanks to those that contributed to that package - especially the Campbell family!

Packages take much longer to get here and are generally opened and searched, but cards and letters take only 2 weeks. Our kids love getting mail!

I am putting together a slide show (I know vacation slides, ugh) - but hopefully it will be fun to watch! I should be able to put that on in the next couple of days.

More pics

2009-03-02T05:28:00.005-05:00

This is a 6 week old baby Rhino - he was so adorable!

A few pics from Kenya

2009-03-02T00:56:00.001-05:00

Brackenhurst

2009-02-27T10:21:00.002-05:00

We are now at Brackenhurst Christian Retreat Center where Ron will be taking a class. It is a beautiful place surrounded by tea fields and flowers. Sorry we have not posted since we have been here, but our internet has been terrible and we have had to pay for each minute - so photos would have taken forever. I will try tomorrow to post some pictures - we still have to pay, but it seems to be a little faster here. We have seen some amazing things. To see God's creation up close and personal has been great. We went on a safari, pet some baby elephants, a baby rhino and hand-fed and hugged (Luke and Zach got licked) by some giraffes. It is nice here because everybody knows English, so we have done some pretty good shopping here too! It is much funner to bargain in English, I can let my sarcasm fly!! I was everyone's sister at 1 market and everyone's Momma in another. We were everyone's first customer so we got a good price :) They bargain hard, but I usually won out! Kenya is a beautiful place - so green and lush. On our way to and home from the safari, we saw baboons, warthogs and zebras grazing along the highway. We have seen some pretty interesting things and can't wait to share some of our pics with you!

Kenya

2009-02-19T14:38:00.002-05:00

We have arrived in Nairobi safe and sound - it is beautiful! Everything is so modern and green and finished. We haven't seen an unfinished building yet! We are going to be busy the next few days, but are going to be doing some pretty cool things. We will post pics as soon as possible!

2009-02-16T08:48:00.004-05:00

A Lebou fishing village

Horse carts - they are very common here

Luke found a baby bird that was abandoned. He wanted to keep it, but after reading info off the internet decided to put it back where he found it. We read that it was a myth that if you touch a bird, its mother will abandon it. When he checked back a couple of hours later, it was gone.

Sorry it has been so long since our last post. Since Ron was away while I was working hard at language :) he has been catching up with his lessons. Since we are going to be away for 2 weeks we are going to have to work hard to retain and practice what we have learned so far! Right now we are so in limbo - we aren't great in either language. I struggle with patience in my language learning, but are having more fun learning Wolof than I did French. When we get back from Kenya we are going to be heading into the Lebou villages each week and will get lots of practice talking and listening.

This past weekend we headed downtown, which is a rare treat due the heavy traffic and lots of people. But, this weekend was the annual pilgrimage to Touba. There are several brotherhoods of Islam. One of the biggest ones are the Morides (that may be spelled wrong). There are millions of Muslims in that group. Once a year they head to a city called Touba to worship their leader who lives there. The traffic is great while they are gone and you are encouraged to travel downtown. Also this past weekend was the big softball tournament where several teams from Dakar Academy were playing. It was a fun time of hanging out and rooting for our teams - 2 of our teams ended up in the championship round. Although it was very windy and chilly, it was a fun weekend.

Wednesday we are heading to Nairobi, Kenya for Ron's classes for his degree program. We will take around 9 days of vacation and then starting Friday the 27th he will do his class at a Christian retreat center, Brackenhurst. The kids will play, explore, and do school work while we are doing classes and meeting with the professors and their wives. During our week of vacation we will mostly likely not have regular internet. We will try to check in as often as we can. We are looking forward to this time of exploring the area of Kenya - one highlight that we know we are doing is camping at a game park reserve. The kids are pretty excited about that! We will take lots of pictures!

Pictures from Olympics at DA

2009-02-10T12:23:00.003-05:00

Above are pictures from the Olympics Day at the kids school - they had so much fun. They didn't come in first, most of the time coming in last, but they had a great time and felt so encouraged and supported. Luke had more fun digging in the woods, building a fort, but still liked participating!

An Overdue Post

2009-02-09T15:46:00.002-05:00

YIKES! Has it really been a week since we have posted? I (Ron) have returned safe and sound to Dakar. A quick update on me - if you want it. If not, skip to the next paragraph. No procedure was necessary for my kidney stones, I just have to LOVE drinking water more than I ever have before. The drinking isn't really the bad part - I don't mind so much. The problem is being able to find bathrooms all over town. Our friends told me today to "pee on the wall." Almost everything is walled, so anywhere there is a wall, there is a bathroom. I'm not *that* African - yet. I would appreciate your prayers for the numerous small stones I have to pass soon. The urologist said I shouldn't even know it when they pass - that sounds good to me!

Thursday and Friday were Olympics Days at school for the kids. It was great fun seeing the kids from Kindergarten through high school competing in many events. What a supportive, fun environment. Over and over again, when it was down to just two people in a certain event (for example the high jump), the two remaining were rooting for each other and cheering each other on to do their best. We lazy lumps (called parents) on the sidelines got some sun, wind, and a full-on sandblasting. Several times I wondered what a staff and parents' Olympics would look like.

HELLO to Jack Kapus (and the whole Kapus family) and Maggie Hartman. You both made our day last Friday when we were in the office and checked the mail. Thanks for taking the time to send us a card/letter. It was fun to receive some real mail! Thanks again!

That's it for now - the countdown is on for our trip to Kenya for classes. We leave a week from tomorrow (Wednesday). Wow - that unplanned trip to South Africa really changed my schedule. I can't wait to take another 8+ hour plane ride!!!

Pictures from the weekend

2009-02-02T02:58:00.005-05:00

A shout out to Nana - look what we found in Africa - smiley fries! An old favorite from our days in Maryland. They cost be $6 but they kids absolutely loved them!

Imagine my surprise when I found these still attached to my chicken!

Luke has been loving our tree in the backyard!

Here is a panoramic view of our back yard.

Random Thoughts from South Africa

2009-01-31T10:21:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone! Ron here, in lovely Johannesburg, South Africa. Business first – thanks to all of you for your prayers. I have had positive reports so far on the kidney stones. I do have quite a few in both kidneys, but they are all small at this point. That means there will likely be no treatment, but I will try to drink LOTS of water to flush them out while they are small. I will meet with the doctor again Monday to review results of my lab work to see if there is something I can do to prevent future stones. I am hoping to be cleared to leave, change my ticket and be home by mid week. Please keep praying for Chris at home holding it all together and working on language too!

So here are some bullet point thoughts from my time here so far:

First – BIG bummer – I missed Jena Tager in the airport by about 2 hours when I arrived. Would have loved to give that girl a hug.
Second bummer, not as big and I knew it before coming -but it is still a bummer. There is NO Starbucks in Africa - not even here in Joburg. Someone in Seattle should really do something about that. Sorry to my two favorite Java Mammas, but I figure Starbucks will probably open here before you do. Mugg and Bean has been enjoyable in the meantime.
Being apart from family stinks. I try to let the pain of being away (much moreso the pain of my kids anticipating my leaving Sunday night) remind me of how blessed I am to love and be loved.
South Africa (at least Joburg) is just like America. I have definitely had some culture shock. SO MANY THINGS TO CHOOSE FROM in the Pic-n-Pay Hypermart! Unfortunately, the big city crime is here, too.
It is very GREEN here, and I have enjoyed the rain.
Kidney issues and an 8 hour flight with a window seat don’t mix all that well. I got a scolding look from the flight attendant when we stopped and I got up and raced to the bathroom. The captain had not yet turned off the seat-belt light. I apologized and assured her I would sit down. She didn’t care.
Do you know how much you pee in 24 hours? I do, now! Actually carried my jug around in my backpack as I wandered through the mall! Sorry, TMI – just a funny experience. I couldn’t waste the whole day in my room!
The mall – wow. I have never been a mall rat, but have rather enjoyed it a couple of days this week.
I want to drive on the “wrong” side of the road, just to say that I have! Maybe this weekend.
South African Airlines – bravo, what great service and even good food! If anyone is interested, they are currently having a promotion – 2 for 1 on a round trip flight from D.C. or New York to Dakar (or Joburg)! You are officially invited, and you can bring a friend!
McDonalds – I’m lovin’ it! Not really – I have only eaten there once, but I did have a fountain Coke Light – the best soda I have had since September. I ate at KFC once too – it was good, but not as good as it was in my head before I got there.
As I type this, I am drinking a TAB. I think that’s my first one since the late 80’s! I like it better than Coke Light. Shame – it’s not available in Dakar.
Back to Dr. Fisher, my urologist. He was very thoughtful and pointed out my layer of stomach fat in the CAT scan. That was free! I might have to do some more about that. I’m glad it wasn’t done 20 pounds ago.

Quiet week

2009-01-31T05:07:00.003-05:00

It has been a quiet week with Ron being gone in South Africa. He was supposed to blog from there, but has been having internet issues. So I will put in a blurb for him. Our mission wanted us Ron to go for further treatment in Johannesburg, South Africa. Why South Africa? They are on the cutting edge of medicine, even surpassing that of the U.S. So, Monday off he went. He has gone to several doctors, CT scans and all of that will be reported Monday. He will hopefully post all of the details. But he has said it is beautiful and you can buy lots of stuff that they don't have here - so he has been busy shopping in between appointments!

So here I have been busy with language, kids in school and learning my way around town. I have been going to language classes by myself, so that is 2 hours of me and wolof. I have learned a lot and am praying that it sticks in my brain. I find that in class with the teacher I remember what I am to say and then at night with our guard - my mind goes completely blank. It is very frustrating. They have a wolof saying that you need to go slow, slow so you can catch a monkey in the bush - so I am learning that - it makes the wolof laugh when I say it. I am impatient I want to conquer wolof - now! I need to remember I have to take it one step at a time.

All week the guard has been wanting to do attaya (tea) with the boys. I told him that I didn't want them to not be able to sleep during a school night - so they did it last night. Attaya, or gunpowder tea is strong, sweet tea served in tiny glassfuls in a 3 round ritual. Water is boiled on a little gas stove with a small packet of tea leaves and a full cup of sugar, each round with added sugar to symbolize the growing sweetness of friendship. The first bitter round is for life, the second for friendship and the third is the sweetest, for love. The tea is poured impossibly high from cup to cup, up to a two foot arc without spilling a drop. This creates delicious foam. Sometimes they add mint and eucalyptus to the second and third rounds making it even more delicious.

The guard loves our kids and loves teaching them wolof. Last night he invited them to his village to meet his wife and family and share a meal. They are really looking forward to that. He stays here in town during the week and then on Saturday he goes and sees his wife. She is pregnant with their first child. Pray for him, he is a very devout Muslim. Pray that we can get enough language to be able to share Jesus with him.

Here are some pictures of last night:

Thanks for your prayers - continue to pray for wisdom and clarity for the doctors with Ron. We are hoping and praying that he can come home Wednesday.

Fun at Magic Land

2009-01-26T04:53:00.004-05:00

This lady was in a full covering riding a roller coaster! Later on our way home, we saw 2 women in full coverings jogging! We told our kids - that's different! This is one of the Lebou fishing villages - this was a view from the Ferris wheel.

At the end of the day we had the most amazing ice cream at a store called Nice Cream!

We had a great day at Magic Land - we went with our supervisors Cal and Patty McIntire and their son Dillon. The kids had a lot of fun - they had to change their schema of what an amusement park looked like, but it was still fun.

Today Ron left for Johannesburg South Africa to get treatment for his kidney issues. I will be doing language study by myself for the next week or so - I know my brain will hurt after 2 hours of intense study. Pray that I will use this time wisely and God will grow me and grant me extra doses of patience. Pray that the kids won't miss Ron too much - Faith had her first meltdown this morning. We will update when we know something more about Ron - he has his first appointment tomorrow. He went off loaded down with a long list of things to buy! You can get pretty much everything in South Africa, so he has much to do besides get his stones busted up! He will probably post from there as well!