America

Home. We are home again. We arrived at Kansas City International Airport at about 6:00pm last night. We are all here, and we have all of our bags. Yalla baax na. The last few days of our trip were quite eventful...but quite quiet at the same time.... Wednesday, we split again. Tim and Kate took everyone except the Mbour team and Meg to Ngor to prayerwalk and to meet people. The rest of us went to Kayar. Our purpose in heading to Kayar was to pick up the small carved boats that several of us had ordered from John Wayne. We did that...and much more. We ended up not leaving Kayar until about 4:00 or so. We arrived before 11:30am. We spent the day playing with children in John Wayne's compound, walking around the village, and trying to find a way for Cal to get up into this "lighthouse" thing. Kayar is right on the beach and they have what appears to be a fireman's tower, but it is a "lighthouse." Cal has been trying for over a year to get a hold of the right people at the right time so that he can get up in it to get a better mental picture of the layout of Kayar. He will have to keep trying. We wandered all over and talked to several different people with the goal of ascending the tower, but it just didn't work out. However, while waiting for one of these several people, we did have the glorious opportunity to stand right next to the spot where all the fishermen dump their fish waste after cleaning.... Looked like tar...but it was composed of old fish parts...just imagine how lovely that smelled.... It was okay though, while there we sang Yalla Baax Na and Beesub Te Ji with some children. We had lunch with John Wayne as well. It was a fairly spicy version of Ceebu Jen prepared by John Wayne's wife. Very tasty meal indeed. Late that afternoon, we piled back into the Pajero and headed back to Grand Yoff. This took much longer than anticipated due to the heavy traffic coming into Dakar. But, we made it. The evening time was spent, once again, with talking, reading, journaling, etc.... Thursday...our last day. It was good. We headed off to Snake Island at about 9 or 9:30. We actually got to the island somewhere around 10:30 or 11. It was gorgeous and incredible. It is an uninhabited island composed of volcanic rock. There is no way I can find words that will aptly describe our time there, or even the view. We all had a blast there though, some for more obvious reasons than others.... We also got to swim in an ocean water lagoon near the spot where the boat dropped us off. The water was a bit chilly, but it was still an incredible experience. We left the island at 2:00 or so. We headed back to Grand Yoff and got our stuff together. At 4:30ish we headed to the airport for early check-in. By 5:30 we were all done checking our bags and had all received our tickets for the trip home. After this, we headed to Cal's house to pick up his family and some things, and then we headed to Caesar's for dinner. It was tasty. We spent a good 2 hours there. We left with just enough time to go back by Cal's house to pick up our carry-ons and then to get to the airport by about 9:30pm. We were certainly through security by 10. Our flight boarded at 10:45 or so. And thus began our trip home. The flights were all fairly uneventful...I think most of us slept more on the way home than we did on the way there.... We spent Friday morning at the Paris airport (horrible place, wouldn't recommend going there) and then we were off again. As I mentioned before...we arrived in KCI at about 6:00pm Friday night. A mere 25 hours after we stepped off of Senegalese soil. After we retrieved our luggage, we huddled, prayed, and left. And just like that...our team is dispersed. 48 hours ago we were all eating together at a restaurant in Africa... now I don't know of any two of us that are together. Such is the way of trip such as this. One moment you are swimming in an ocean water lagoon in an incredibly awe-inspiring place, the next you are shivering in the cold as you type out what is likely the last written recollection you will make of the whole experience. I certainly hope that all that were involved with this trip have learned much...much about God...much about the world...and much about themselves. God is working and moving in West Africa...we saw that. But God is also working here in America, and within each and every one of us. To my team: Thank you, you all were an incredible blessing to me, I can't imagine this trip without all of you. To our supporters: Thank you, there were some days there that I don't know how we would have survived (mentally at least) without your constant prayers. Thank you all so very much...and remember...God isn't the reason for missions...He is the reason for existence. God bless. Meg and a boy in Kayar Meg and her friend (Amy I believe) holding hands Ryan and Chelsea at Snake Island. Snake Island All of us at Bandia

Trials

We have had a very interesting last few days. God is good. There are several verses that I have found to be quite applicable in the last few days. I will place them here, as I don't know how much detail I want to go into about our...trials. "Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything."--James 1:2-4 "These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world."--1 Peter 1:7 We have faced some persecution here...we believe it has mainly been a deception from Satan...a miscommunication. We can only pray that we haven't truly been doing as poor of a job here as some apparently believe. To remind us of our worth here, there is another verse: "So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord's work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless."-1 Corinthians 15:58 Once we have settled with the fact that following God is enough...God is enough...we move on to how we must now handle ourselves in the wake of the destruction that has been done.... "Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong. And everything you do must be done with love."--1 Corinthians 16:13 As we continue on in our work, we have renewed vigor and a great feeling of purpose. Our new creed is to love...one another...the talibes...the missionaries...people on the street...taxi drivers...students...everyone. And, not only to love them, but to let it show through our actions rather than through our words. Anyways, you could pray for us to have energy, high spirits, efficacy, tender hearts, joy, etc.... But, on to what we've been doing. Yesterday...Cal arrived at 12pm or so. We had a nice long talk and prayer time. At 2:00pm, that was finished...and we ate lunch. We had leftover hot dogs and sandwiches. Yesterday afternoon, we went to the highschool to talk some more with the English students. Ryan was attempting to find Junior again.... He didn't. But...as we were walking out to the truck...Chelsea spotted him. We made time for a few more minutes for Ryan to talk with him. I believe that they had a lot of fun. Ryan also found out that Junior is a Christian. Quite the good news. After the school we went for dinner at On the Run again. This time we ordered from whichever place we wanted something (Nando's, Pizza Inn, or Steers). It was quite tasty, I had a "burger"...it didn't taste quite like a burger...but it was good nonetheless. After dinner we came back to Grand Yoff and hung out. There was checking of emails, journaling, and card playing. It was fun. Eventually we all made it to bed...well most of us. I hear that a few spent most of the darkness talking.... Today...was good. Patty came and picked up the girls at 9 or 9:30. They went to Malika to get the drums that several of them had bought. It evidently took most of the day to go there, take care of money, and pick them up...they took and ate sack lunches. Tim showed up at about 9:30 or 10 this morning. After he arrived we all had our individual quiet times. When we had finished, he proceeded to lead us all in a Bible study over the life of Joseph. It was very good and made me think about Joseph in a way that I hadn't ever done before. Without Joseph, Israel wouldn't have gone to Egypt...and wouldn't have been slaves...and wouldn't have been rescued...etc, etc.... It was interesting. When we had finished we headed off to a university here in Dakar. We split off in groups of two and searched around for English speaking students. Ryan and I were together, and it was a good time. We found several who spoke a little English...and then we found this one guy.... We sat down and talked to him for a bit, and soon enough, he invited us up to his dorm. We agreed to go and up we went. We ended up meeting a bunch of his friends on the balcony of his dorm. We sat around and talked with them for as long as we had time to. We were supposed to meet out at the front gate again at 12:15. Ryan and I finally got away from our religious conversations at about 12:25.... Luckily, Tim and the guys weren't too worried. We headed back to Grand Yoff and had some Ceebu Jen for lunch. It was tasty. After lunch, Tim had to leave...and we rested. Cal appeared at about 2:40. Soon we headed for Yoff to medicate talibes. First, we stopped by Cal's house to pick up the girls. When we made it to Yoff, we split into two groups and applied ointment at 2 different talibe houses. The group that was dropped off first...which I was in...finished quite quickly as there were very few boys there, and the boys that were there did not have scabies nearly as badly as the other talibe house. When we finished, we walked over to the other talibe house to join the others and to assist them as they finished. When we were completely done mending their wounds...we returned to Cal's house for a bit...just to pick up stuff for dinner. We headed off to Grand Yoff with the Yassa...on vermicelli. We all ate it in the dining room here. It was good. Vermicelli does get cold faster than rice though.... When we had finished, we sat around and talked and such. Now we are all sitting around and doing various things. It has been a good day. Pray that we will continue to be sensitive to God and to the people for these last 2 days. Thank you all for your support and prayers through all of this. God bless you all. This is the cool spot I keep speakin of with all of the rocks. Just a random pretty flower outside the guest house in Grand Yoff. I didn't mention that we stopped at a market this afternoon to get some stuff.

Sunday

Today was relaxed. We started out with a worship service at 10:45ish...it lasted until almost 12. We sang some songs and talked about several of the verses dealing with how to treat one another. It was a good time. After we had finished, we headed off to the Brazilian for lunch. That was good too. They serve meat on big skewers of some sort, you just select the part you want and they cut it off for you...there was also a buffet section with mostly carbs. I think Meg especially enjoyed lunch...as she was able to speak some Portugese to one of the owners...she grew up in Brazil. After lunch, we all went back to Grand Yoff. Several of us then went with Cal and Maggie to the really neat place that Brea, Erin, and I went to the other day. We climbed out on the rocks again, but today we were prepared, so we ended up soaked. We were safe about it...but, we still managed to get soaked to the bone. It was a lot of fun, and completely gorgeous. After we finished there, we came back to Grand Yoff and cleaned up. We made some hot dogs and french fries for dinner at about 6:30. After dinner we all just hung out, and then at 9:15 or so, we went out and had a praise and worship time, led by Ryan. It was very good. We finished with that about 11:40. Now everyone has gone off to bed. We will leave tomorrow morning at 11:30 or so to go in different directions. Some of us will be going to work with the talibes, some of us will be going to the school that we visited earlier in our trip...to talk some more with the English students there. Please pray for me. I need strength, I need encouragement, I need affirmation. Pray for the team too, that we will be respectful of each other as well as those around us. Also pray that we will be vibrantly displaying God's love in the way we treat each other and the Senegalese. Thank you all and good night.

The Weekend

Hmm...I suppose I missed a day again...sorry. Last night was a little hectic. Tonight was not...yet...I am just now starting this business at 1:40am.... We have a had a great last couple of days. Yesterday...everyone went everywhere. Let's see if I can explain this in a way that is understandable.... The group that was in Sedhiou this week...split into two parts, in the first were Ryan, Travis, and Meg. The second was composed of Andrew, Chris, and Rachel. In the morning, the first group went to the artisan village with Maggie. The second group went to Ngor with Tim and Kate. Our Mbour group, minus Kesha and Chelsea, did something as well...somehow, I can't remember what...I think maybe they also went with Tim and Kate...but I'm not sure.... This is because I went with David to the office to check on some stuff for our flights home. No worries there, but, it needed to be checked. Yesterday, Kesha and Chelsea were both feeling a bit under the weather, that is why they didn't participate in the mornings activities. We all met back at the Grand Yoff guest house for lunch at 1:00pm. We just had leftover schwarmas and sandwiches and stuff. In the afternoon, the Sedhiou group switched. Those of us from the Mbour team, myself included this time, went with Cal to run some random errands. We ended up at the beach in Yoff for a bit while he checked on some rental property he is looking into.... We were planning to go and medicate the Talibe boys...but we couldn't go too early or they wouldn't be there yet...so, when our errands were done...and we had time to spare...we went to a gorgeous place...I don't know exactly what or where it is...but I want to go back. There was a small cliff...and some rocks led down from it...to lots and lots of really big rocks...in the edge of the surf...waves crashed...and filled the entire area with white foam...it was gorgeous. Cal and Erin stayed in the truck up top...but...Brea and I went exploring...we ended up getting a bit wetter than we had intended, but it was well worth it for the view, the adventure, and the experience of it all. We eventually made it to the Talibe house, and the boys were actually there. We didn't bathe them this time, we just applied some ointment...but...I think this time may have been even sadder for me. Some of the boys had so many sores from scabies that their knees were covered to the point that there were more sores than there was good skin. It was really sad...especially when we were continuously bombarded by more and more boys, each time we would finish putting on some medicine, a new boy would stick in a infected hand...or the older boy would hand us another with it all over his legs.... It was very sad.... After we worked with the Talibes, we returned to Grand Yoff for a bit. We all ended up meeting at Papa Sarr's house for dinner at 6:00. It was a lot of fun. It was like a big party with all of our team together again somewhere besides the guest house. Papa had a nice house, we all enjoyed eating there, and the food was excellent too. We had Ceebu Jagga. It is much like the other dishes we've had. It is different in that the fish is ground and balled up and then fried. Also, the dish had some crunchy rice in it also...that had been cooked a little longer. They put this rice in some of their meals to give a different texture...which is a grand idea...I like it a lot. After dinner we all made our way back to Grand Yoff...bedtime wasn't too awfully far off for several. Today...the weekend really began. I remembered it once it happened...the fact that last year we did this same thing...had a weekend where we just relaxedToday, we left just after 8am to go to Bandia, which is a game park. The rides today in the vehicles to and from Bandia and Pink Lake...were...special...and tons of fun. It took probably over an hour or more to get to Bandia. I was in the Pajero...as were 9 others. It was fun. At Bandia, we rode around in modified pickup trucks...they had bleachers of some sort built into the back of them. Luckily...the bleachers were padded...and actually quite comfortable. We spent probably close to 2 hours driving around looking at and taking pictures of various animals in the game park. When we had finished, we made our way to the restaurant that happens to be in the park. We sat around for a bit and had some sodas...and then we noticed the monkeys directly overhead in the trees. Soon after we noticed them...we realized that we had a small bag of peanuts.... I think that all of us ended up feeding the monkeys from our hands. It was pretty spectacular. When we ran out of peanuts, we decided to eat there...we were considering waiting until we finished at Pink Lake...but that would've been 2:00..at least. It was already noon and we were all quite hungry. The restaurant at Bandia has clay oven baked pizzas. They are delicious. We ordered several of those and quickly demolished them. As we ate, monkeys jumped around above us and ran by right next to us. It was quite a fun place to eat...definitely great ambience. When we finished, we moved over to the tent with all of the cushions and pillows...we all reclined immediately. I think some even slept a little bit. We lounged around in there for a while...and towards the end of our lounging...Ryan and I discovered how fantastically fun it was to create static electricty with our heads against the fabric ceiling of the tent.... There was lots of laughter and smiling. We left Bandia just before 2pm. It should have taken...maybe 45 minutes or an hour to get from there to Pink Lake...it took much, much longer. Cal decided to try a new route.... But, we didn't mind, we were having quite a ball in the Pajero. We ended up getting to Pink Lake sometime between 3:30 and 4:00. Once there...we rode camels. This is something that none of us had ever done before...it was quite the experience. We rode for half an hour. It was crazy. It's definitely a fun activity...but...the saddles aren't exactly comfortable. They cause a bit of...chafing...mainly on the thighs...and maybe the tailbone..depending on your particular saddle. However...it was still fun. I particularly enjoyed riding the camels down one of the prettiest stretches of beach I've ever seen. I think the prettiest thing about it was how...untouched it was. We couldn't see too awfully far because of the continued dust storm...but...it appeared to go on for miles. Just sand...water...sky...and 9 toubabs on camels. It was gorgeous...and the water...hmm...beautiful. Several of us just wanted to jump off of the camels and into the oh-so-inviting ocean...don't worry...we didn't. After the camel riding, we returned to Grand Yoff. That was the extent of our plans for the day. Upon returning to home sweet home, we sat around and talked and had some sandwiches for dinner. The rest of the evening was spent visiting and drinking attaya...until shortly after 9. This is when the activity, that Rachel and Meg so selflessly planned for us, began. It was foot-washing and prayer. They washed all of our feet...including David and Cheryl's. For those of you who don't know...Meg and Rachel dislike feet more than anyone else on our team. I think this is one of the reasons that they decided to do this...to show us how much we mean to them...that they would serve us, as Christ did his disciples, by washing our feet in and act of complete humility and service. As one of them washed the feet...the other prayed over the individual. It was quite moving and good. Upon the close of this awesome time, more visiting and whatnot occurred. Then...off to bed...'cept for me...I write a blog ;) Tomorrow...is the Sabbath. The relaxation intensifies. Our plans tomorrow are as follows: worship service at 10:45am, lunch at the Brazilian afterwards, maybe some frisbee or football or something after that.... Don't fret, the work resumes Monday morning. God bless you all, we are praying for you as we know some of you are experiencing quite the onslaught of winter weather. Just some of the giraffes in Bandia. Meg feeding one of the monkeys at Bandia. Ryan after the static.... The camel caravan. Us and our camels by the beach....

Reunited at Last!!!

Hooray! We are all here! Together again! It was quite splendid to hear so many voices speaking at once earlier today. I suppose I should start at the beginning as I usually do. My day started with a knotted stomach. I untied it soon enough though.... I don't remember if I have mentioned all of the mysterious red dots that have been appearing on my skin this week. Either way, I will mention them now. I've been getting red dots on my body this week...mainly my arms. They increased in number by the day. It was weird. They look like mosquito bites. But, they don't itch...generally. I thought last night that maybe it was bed bugs of some kind or something...so I slept on the top bunk instead of the bottom that I had been sleeping on. Today, we found out what was going on. I mentioned to David this morning that I thought it might have been bed bugs and showed him some bugs on the sheets of the lower bed. He said he would spray the bed just before we left Mbour. Soon enough we were leaving. He went to spray the bed...and he lifted the sheets...and...mosquitoes flew everywhere. Evidently...lots of them (think in the 30s..40s...maybe 50s) had decided to make that bed their home. I happened to be their nightly buffet. Now two good things about this situation: A. They don't itch very much. B. I've been taking my malaria medication. More than anything, it makes for a good story...and I look pretty cool too.... I believe that everyone that I mentioned was feeling poorly the other day...has improved...except Kesha. I believe she is still experiencing the odd lack of sensation. Please continue to pray for her. Today really wasn't too eventful. We left Mbour about 9:45 this morning. We arrived back at our house in Grand Yoff at about 12:00 or so. The trip was rather uneventful. The Mandyakou team arrived in Dakar at about 10:30 this morning. They were waiting for us at the guest house. Everyone was inside doing whatever...except for Ryan...he was noticeably excited to see...us...again. When everyone else realized that we had arrived...they all came running outside. There were tears and hugs and smiles and laughs. It was a good time. We spent the next hour or so just catching up, and laughing, and talking, and telling stories. But, our joy was shortlived. The Mandyakou team then had to have a debriefing time. They went with their leaders from Neosho over to the dining hall area of our facility here. They were there for 3 hours. Immediately after they all left...I went over to the basketball court. I had an uncontrollable desire to climb (Those of you who don't know me may not understand...but those of you who do know me...likely do). So...I climbed the basketball goal. It is different than it sounds. The one's here at the facility are not just poles and then backboards, hoops, and nets. There is a...scaffold of bars making up the support.... I climbed up high onto them and watched over the back wall of the compound as the area youth played soccer in the field. I also listened to music...and I prayed...and I thought. It was a good time for me to just get alone and...be. It was somewhat shortlived though.... After what couldn't have been more than 20 minutes, David appeared on the steps of the guest house. He communicated to me that he had been trying to find me, and that when he didn't find me in my room he reminded himself..."Just look up." It was at this point in his thoughts that he came outside and spotted me on the goal. He just laughed and asked if wanted to go anywhere or do anything...as there wasn't much planned while the rest of our team was still debriefing. I said that I'd love to go the beach..and had actually been thinking about it in Wolof ("Hmmm...begg na dem geej gi ci Yoff"). The girls didn't seemed too interested in anything but relaxing and catching up on some rest...except for Brea. She accompanied David and I to Yoff. We first stopped and bought some bananas. We bought 54 of them. No...we weren't that hungry.... But, the Talibe boys were. We stopped at two Talibe houses on the way to the beach in Yoff and gave out 27 bananas at each. They loved it. It was good. We then made our way to the sea. David taught Brea some about the way the Lebou fish and sell their catch. We walked around on the shore...we talked about the rocks that Richie had fallen off of last year.... We just meandered. It was nice. We eventually made it down to an area where a man is building a massive pontoon-type boat, David knew him and went to talk to him and to see the boat (evidently the man is planning to sail it to New Zealand from here sometime in the next couple of years). Meanwhile...Brea and I stayed by the water. Well...we stayed until I spotted the 2 kids playing in the soccer net farther up on shore. I knew I had to do what I first thought...go take their picture. Meg had already taken some pictures of kids behind a net...very precious. I wanted some of thos pictures...so I did what I could. And then...I realized how sturdy the top...log...of the goal was. I also realized that it was within reach. So, naturally, I climbed it. As I sat on top of yet another goal, children spotted the crazy toubab from far away. Soon enough there were about 10 kids hanging around on the net and playing and talking to us. This was yet another of the times that I found it particularly enjoyable to speak to them in English. They gave the greatest confused looks. Once they were over that and had begun to play again, Brea and I took lots of pictures. Soon after, a man came and shooed the kids away. But, he returned quickly with some of them and began posing them. I suppose he thought I was his personal photographer for some reason. But, I didn't complain. Why would I be against taking more pictures of the kids? After we were done at the beach we headed back to Grand Yoff. We figured that the debriefing was over. We left Yoff at 4:15 and arrived back in Grand Yoff at 4:35. The debriefing ended at 5:00 or so. With everyone together again, the stories flowed freely. Eventually Cal and Maggie showed up with some schwarmas. They were quite tasty. We had a staff meeting after dinner...just to talk about the plans for the rest of the trip. Then, we had a really good and long prayer time. It was great. Since then...we've been hanging out all over the place and talking...sharing our thoughts and experiences over the past week...and more. All-in-all, it was a good day. We are quite delighted to be together again...as a whole. Please pray for us that we will be united in our efforts this week. Pray that Satan will find nothing to wedge between our teammembers. Pray that we will focus on our purpose here, and on reflecting only love. God bless you all. These pictures are all from the Lehar village of Terokh. This one is of Addama and me. Erin in Terokh. Chelsea with the kids in Terokh. A father and his son in Terokh. Precious girl in Terokh. I hope to post more pictures tomorrow...but tonight...it is getting late...and my battery is nearly dead. Thank you all for your continued support.

Something more...

I write again. I might have been a bit misleading when I wrote yesterday that we were all doing fine.... In all actuality...several of us were a bit under the weather. I didn't intend to be misleading...but I fear that I was. I didn't begin to feel unwell until after I had written...and the others...I suppose I didn't think of their ailments at the time. I was having some stomach problems...nausea type stuff. It was not fun. Worse than that though, were the stomach problems that Ryan was having down South. He actually saw his food again.... Also, Brea's foot has been bothering her some...and Kesha has come down with the strangest problem.... She has very little sensation...in most of her body.... She can move and do things...she just can't comprehend how she is doing the things.... Please pray for her. I don't know how Ryan is doing today...I haven't received another update from the Manjaku group. Brea's foot is better today...and my stomach problems have completely gone away. Pray for our continued health and safety for the remainder of our trip. Ok, enough about all that. Today was good. But, it was also sad. We visited Terokh for the last time. It was a lot of fun. All six of us went today (Chelsea, Kesha, Brea, Erin, Papa, and I). All of our traveling today was done via septplas...and we had them to ourselves. It was nice. It was much of the same in the village. The girls helped wash clothes and we all sat and talked and played with the children. We gave out several more books and answered some questions. Papa and I told some Bible stories. We revisited Adam and Eve, I talked about Cain and Abel, and Papa told the story of Noah and the flood. Later, the girls told the children the story of David and Goliath and then the story of Jonah. We also sang with the kids. We led them in "Yalla Baax Naa" and "Beesub te Jii." The girls also treated a few of the children who were infected with scabies. We had more Ceeb for lunch. It was a fun day. But, we were quite sad to leave there. I believe that Papa may be making a habit out of going there. That would be very good...so he can answer their questions. After we returned to Mbour (we got back just before 6:00), Brea and Kesha began on dinner. We sat around and read for awhile, and then, Papa and I took Erin and Chelsea down to the beach. We thought it might be our only opportunity to go to the beach here in Mbour, since we are leaving in the morning. However, we didn't arrive at the beach until after dark...so, we will probably go back in the morning before we leave.... It is only about a mile down the road. We have had a very good week here, and we believe that the Manjaku team has had an equally great week. Thanks for all of your support and prayers and please let them continue. God bless.

Lehar, Lebou, Manjaku

Yes. Yalla baax naa. Always. We have been having good days here. I will first update you all on what I know of the work in the South. Let's see.... Rachel and Chris were sick. Now they are good. Ryan was healthy. Now he is sick. God was good...and He still is. I believe I have already shared with you about the long Manjaku church service that the team attended. Since then, they have gone to several villages and talked to important people there. Their main mission has been to gain a better understanding of the Manjaku worldview. This, they have done. It is also said that in some of the villages, our SBU students have attracted quite the crowd by merely kicking a soccer ball around. Then, crowd gathered, they lead the children (at least 20 of them) in singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and then through "Jesus Loves Me." I don't know about you guys, but to me, it appears that the trip has already been quite successful. Tomorrow will be the last day that the team will spend in Sedhiou. I believe that they will be driving back to Ziguinchor tomorrow night in order to be there in time for their 9am flight on Thursday. Likewise, tomorrow will likely be our last day spent in Mbour. We will likely drive back to Grand Yoff on Thursday morning to reunite with the rest of our team. The last couple of days have been spent visiting with the peoples of the Ngaparou and Terokh vilages. Ngaparou is quite near to Mbour...Terokh is very far away. Yesterday, Papa and I took Chelsea and Kesha to Terokh. It took us almost exactly 2 hours to get there. It was quite an experience for the girls yesterday...their first time with real Senegalese transportation. We took septplas' from here to Thies and then from Thies to Tivaouane. From there, we took a taxi to Terokh. A septplas (French for "seven places") is a small...very small...station wagon. There is room for the driver and 7 others. Well, I shouldn't say there is room...I should say...they hold the driver and 7 others. It is usually a tight fit...and usually not all that comfortable...but, it is cheap...and it is reliable. We lucked out a couple of times during our travels and were able to rent out an entire septplas for just the 4 of us. This was a little more expensive, but definitely worth every CFA. The taxi from Tivaouane to Terokh...doesn't spend much time on paved road. We are very quickly taken onto...a goat path of some kind. It then takes about 10-15 minutes to get to Terokh. If ever there was a place in the middle of nowhere...this is it. In Terokh, the girls helped the women of the village with cooking and laundry. They also entertained the children. Papa and I walked around the village and talked to people, and gave them books. We also told them some Bible stories. Yesterday we had Ceebu Yapp for lunch, it was basically plain rice...oily plain rice...and some beef. It was tasty though. Today, we had Ceebu Jen. And today, there were vegetables and sauce with the meat and rice. It was also quite tasty. Oh, before I forget, the trip home last night was an adventure. We had planned to leave the village at 4:30. We had told our taxi driver from the morning trip to come back for us at that time. At 5, we realized that he probably wasn't coming...and Papa began to search for a horse. He found one, and we left on the sarrette (a cart...type thing...that is pulled behind a horse) at about 5:45pm. Remembering that it took us about 10-15 minutes to get to Terokh from Tivaoune yesterday morning, it is more...funny (I guess)...that it took us 30-45 minutes to return to Tivaouane by sarrette. It was then nearing 6:30pm. We attempted to find a septplas to take us to Thies. But...there were very few that were still running.... So...we took a mini-car. It is not what it sounds like...it is not a car...and it is definitely not mini. It is more like an oversized 15-passenger van. Ours had 31 people in it on the way to Thies. It was quite an experience. The girls weren't the only ones in for a treat this time...I had never ridden in one either. I would not suggest that everyone try it...but it really wasn't that bad. I say that...but I had a window seat. I realized that the more of my body that was out the window, the less of it there was taking up space inside. Therefore, I endured the journey with my left arm hanging completely out of the vehicle...and sometimes my head too. It was fun. The girls were not so lucky...they were crammed in the row behind me...with far too many others. However, they survived, and joyously too (hmm...those girls just don't seem to lose that joy). We were able to find a septplas in Thies...but by this time it was nearing 7:30. The mini-car was cheap...but it was also slower, and it had to stop every little way to let someone out. We ended up arriving back in Mbour at about 8:20 or so. We were quite exhausted and quite hungry. Luckily...dinner was still a little warm...thanks to the Johnson's stove. We devoured our barbecue chicken greedily. It was good. Today...we did things a little bit differently. We left about 15 minutes earlier (9:30 as opposed to yesterday's 9:45), and we returned earlier (4:45 as opposed to yesterday's 8:20). Today, our activities in the village were very similar, the girls washed and entertained, and Papa and I talked and told stories. Also, at the end of our visit today, I prayed for the chief and for the whole village. He then prayed for me. It was a very blessed time. Pray that the people of the village will be open and curious, and that they will want to hear what we have to say. They already are quite fond of us. They told me that their village is my home, and that I can do whatever I want there. I believe that this is because they remember me from last January. It is quite a blessing to be so graciously welcomed by people whom I've met only once...and whose language I do not even speak. As far as the trips to Ngaparou go, they are going quite well. David and Cheryl say that upon saying that they were leaving today, an hour passed before they had actually left. This was due to everyone wanting to talk to them before they left. In Ngaparou, the Johnsons have been storying and the girls have been playing with the children. Tomorrow, all of our team...and Papa will return to Terokh. We will tell more stories...and we will answer lots of questions. Pray that we might have wisdom and strength and that the villagers might have understanding and a desire for God. We are all looking forward to Thursday when we will be reunited with our brothers and sisters, but tomorrow is likely to be one of the best days that we have yet experienced. Pray that God will burst into the village like a flood. I thank you all for the support that you have been giving to all of us. You are all great friends. Begg naa la. Jere-Jef. Ba benen yon.

Siesta

Hello everyone. I sincerely hope that you are doing as well as humanly possible. We are doing pretty well here. Today was our first full day as a two-part team. It was fine. I received an email from Travis today...although I believe he sent it last night...and I received another a little while ago. But, before I get to that, I will update you on our activities here in Northern Senegal. Today, we arose at about 8:30 or so. We had some donuts and chocolate and bread type pastries for breakfast. They were tasty. Soon after we ate, we had a closing worship time with the people from our mini-retreat. Then, we all left. As we left, we were planning on not coming back to the Grand Yoff Center during our stay in Senegal. We expected that we would be staying at the guest house in Ouakam once we return from Mbour and Sedhiou. However, our plans were changed slightly, and now, we will be returning to the Grand Yoff Center Guest House instead. This is a good thing, it is much bigger, and has much better facilities. We are quite happy to be returning to Grand Yoff. Anyways, back to our day.... Brea, Chelsea, Erin, Kesha, and I left the guest house with David, Cheryl, Papa, and the young boy from Malika. We first took him back...and then we continued on to Mbour. Papa is staying here with us for the week. We arrived in Mbour about 1:15 or so. Soon thereafter, we had tuna and/or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. After lunch, some of us watched the live video stream from First Baptist Church of Woodstock in Woodstock, GA. It was a very good service. The pastor spoke with authority and conviction. After the service was over...we napped. I don't really know why...but we were all quite exhausted. We napped for a good hour or two. We ended up starting dinner around 6:20. Between our naps and then...and between then and now...we've just been sitting around and reading...studying Wolof...checking email, etc.... It has been a very, very uneventul day. But, as Chelsea mentioned, it has been quite nice. We have been doing a lot since arriving here...it was good to just recouperate for a while. Tomorrow, Chelsea, Kesha, Papa, and I will head off to the Lehar villages (probably Terokh, where Papa and I went last year). Brea and Erin will go with David and Cheryl (or maybe just Cheryl) to Ngaparou. It is another village somewhere around here that they are hoping to start working in more regularly. Tuesday we will switch...Brea and Erin will accompany Papa and I, and Chelsea and Kesha will go with Cheryl. Wednesday and Thursday are kind of up in the air...depending on how the next couple of days go. Ok, now...about those crazy toubabs in Sedhiou. According to Travis' updates, they arrived in Ziguinchour yesterday with no problems. They flew down there in a twin propeller plane. The airport in Zig isn't even big enough for the jets. They actually had to get their luggage out of the plane before they walked off the runway. They were also scammed out of a few dollars by a man with their name...I'm assuming he had a sign or something...they believed him to be their driver...he was not. They paid him a couple of dollars and he ended up just carrying their bags about 20 feet. However, they did find their real driver without any additional problems. They then drove to Sedhiou in a 12 passenger van. It evidently took them 2 and 1/2 hours or so to drive there. I'm not completely sure how they are able to access the internet, but somehow, it has been possible on at least 2 occasions thus far. Yesterday, Rachel and Chris were not feeling very well. When I told David about this today as I was reading the update, he said that one-day sicknesses were very common here...especially among visitors. The most recent update tells us that they are feeling much better today. This morning they all attended a church service at the only existing Christian Mandyakou (which is evidently the more correct way to spell Mandyak) Church. Travis said that the service was great...but that it lasted over 2 hours. Evidently they had several people get up and share messages...which had to be translated from English into Mandinka (which is what they speak down there) and vice versa. At any rate, they seem to be doing very well down there and are excited about the rest of the week. Please continue to pray for us all as we really hit the ground running tomorrow. We will dive in to the Lehar and Travis' group will dive headfirst into the Mandyakou. Thank you for all of your support and prayers. Oh, and I will not be able to upload any pictures during our time in Mbour. There is no router here, so my laptop (where all of the pictures are located) is just a glorified jukebox. Maybe I will give a bonus serving of pictures with my first post once we return to Dakar...we will see. Ba beneen yoon.

From one...there came two.

Today started with sadness. But it was only momentary. We all got up to assist our teammates as they loaded up and left for the airport...at about 8:45am. We have grown so close over the past few months...and especially the past few days, that some were even a bit teary-eyed as they departed. But, as I said, the sadness was shortlived. While we all still feel that a large piece of us is missing, we also have been able to maintain our focus on the task at hand. The pain of separation has not distracted us more than minimally. I haven't yet heard from Travis...or anyone else who is down south. However, I read up on the Mandyak blog (which you may do as well by clicking the link to the right of your screen) and learned that they will be staying at a hotel tonight in Ziguinchor. Tomorrow morning they will travel via van to Sedhou, where they will stay in a guest house for several days. It is also fairly reasonable, according to the Mandyak blog, to hope that they will have access to at least dial-up internet while they are there. Today was fairly uneventful for Brea, Chelsea, Erin, Kesha and me. We had the usual breakfast of baguettes with chocolate, and then we had a short time of praise and worship (the mini retreat is still going on). Upon the close of the time of praise, Bible storying began. It was at this point that the girls and I took the lone girl that was too young for the storying. We entertained her...well...actually...she entertained us. However, we had coloring books, watercolors, volleyballs, and soccerballs. I think we used them more than she did.... But, she was occupied, and it was fun. Eventually it was time for lunch, we had Yassa Poulet again. It was most tasty, and Mae, the housekeeper here, made it. It was spicy, and I loved it. After lunch...when Maggie showed up, we made plans to go to the artisan village. It is a village of craftsmen where many tourists come to buy souvenirs. There are many, many different things there. The most prominent and widespread are the small, carved wooden statues and animals. There are also boatloads of fabrics (for skirts, tablecloths, boo-bous, etc...) and paintings. But, there are many other kinds of items as well. The village is located in downtown Dakar. Maggie and I left with Chelsea and Erin at about 2:30. It took close to half an hour to drive there...in a taxi, due to the traffic in Dakar. The artisan village is a crazy place. We went there last year too. Most of the workers there are very pushy, "Hello...my friend...come look at this...just look...just look." Meanwhile they are trying to direct you straight to their shop. It is a place that can either be very intimidating or very fun, depending on your outlook, and on your demeanor. The key to having a successful trip to the artisan village is to barter well, and to not feel bad for them when they all say, "I am broke today, I have no money, I am broke today, I will make you a good deal." Oh, and most of the people in the artisan village speak Wolof, French, and some English. When you are interested in buying something, and you ask how much it is...they will generally give you a number that is twice what you will end up buying it for. You just have to know that they will do that...if you are prepared, it is fine. I believe we all got what we wanted today. Maggie and I returned with Chelsea and Erin at about 5:00. Soon thereafter, we left with Brea and Kesha. Maggie went both times to translate and to help us get lower prices...most of the people there know her. I went both times merely to maintain a male presence...in case things got a little too pushy. It was rather fun riding all over Dakar twice. I believe that Kesha probably enjoyed the village today the most...she said that it was one of her favorite times thus far on the trip. Whilst we were visiting the artisan village, the retreat continued back in Grand Yoff. In the mid-afternoon, the people here went to treat the Talibes, as sort of a mission project. From what I hear, it went very well. Upon our return from the second trip to the artisan village, we had some leftover pizza (we returned at about 7:30 and everyone else ate at 7ish). Other than that, we've just been sitting around and packing some for our departure tomorrow morning. We will leave sometime before noon for Mbour. We will be staying there until later this week. There are still some people from the retreat staying here in Grand Yoff tonight, and one of the boys is staying in my room...my lonely room...with David and I. So, I must conclude. Please continue to pray for our team as we pursue our separate endeavors this week. We will need patience and peace, as well as wisdom and strength. I will let you know as soon as I hear anything from the Southerners. If it goes a few days and there has been no update email sent out, I will do what I can to send one. Oh, and there are no pictures today, because there were very few pictures taken. Thank you all for stopping by, and God bless.

Geej gi ci Yoff

Today started...with bread and chocolate...but it was donut style this time. The donuts were really more like pastries...but were very good. After breakfast, we went to the school in Yoff. Our purpose in going there was to find the English students, and to talk with them some. So, that is exactly what we did. David and Cheryl dropped us off...and left. It was only the 11 of us...at a school in Yoff. And...we excelled. We split into several groups and managed to find several students who spoke English fairly well. Of course, we drew crowds everywhere we were. We helped the students practice their English, and we practiced our Wolof. It was a very good time for all. It was a particularly good time for Ryan. He made a new friend, his name is...um...well, it sounds like Junior...and we called him Junior...and he was ok with that...so...Junior it is. Ryan and Junior talked for the entire time. Junior was a very, very bright boy, and his English was very good. He is only 10. He wants to study to become a doctor. Several of the students requested our email addresses. We gave them to them. Ryan had already received an email from Junior by the time that we arrived back in Grand Yoff. We talked at the school for a while, Maggie showed up shortly after we did, she was quite a help. After a while, we moved down to the beach...which was only about 150-200 yards behind the school. Begg na geej gi ci Yoff (I love the beach (more literally, ocean) in Yoff). We talked there, took pictures there, played there...for quite a while. Eventually Maggie informed us that Cal was waiting for us by the bank. So..we took a walk..a quite short one. When we reached Cal...and his small pickup truck...we were a bit confused. Nonetheless, we all piled in. I do believe 13 people is pretty much the limit for a truck that size.... We drove over to a different part of Yoff (which David and Cheryl were later dismayed that we hadn't just walked to). We went to the compound of a girl named Fatou. Her family was great fun. We just sat around and talked. A lady there spoke very good English, and one of her daughters was actually born in America...yes...and American-Senegalese baby. She was darling. She liked to play too, I got the pleasure of entertaining her for a while. It was a blast. After we had visited a while, we walked to the fisherman's compound in Yoff. Once there, we sat and talked some more. We took more pictures of cute children and looked at a Pelican...they're way bigger than you would think. Eventually, the fatayas were done. Imagine a tiny apple turnover...filled with beef instead of apple. They were very good. We found out later that they are generally made with fish and not beef...but David had requested that they use beef, because they are tastier that way. After the fatayas, we headed out. We went from there back to Grand Yoff to prepare for the celebration tonight. More than celebration... it was a siesta. We were all quite dead for some reason...even though we got more sleep last night than any previous since our arrival. We did manage to get the house ready. Soon enough people arrived. We are having a mini-retreat this weekend. John Wayne came with his wife. Papa came with his wife. A young man from Malika came. Mbathiou came. We began the festivities with a hamburger and potato chip dinner in the dining room of the Center. The dinner also served as a celebratory party for the arrival of new team members Tim and Kate. It also served as a birthday party for Andrew. He turns 20 on the 8th. After dinner, we sang some songs, and Cheryl and Cal told a story. It was an incredible time of peace and wonder. God was there. After this time, we went to the dining room again...we were going to watch a film...but we couldn't get the projector and laptop to work together. So, the film will be saved for tomorrow. We played some drums and danced on the basketball court instead. After the dancing and drumming was finished, people slowly meandered off to bed. Tomorrow our team will be split. I miss them already. At 8:35 tomorrow morning, Travis, Ryan, Andrew, Chris, Meg, and Rachel will leave for the Dakar airport. Their flight leaves at 11 for Ziguinchor. Once ther arrive there, they will be transported via van to Sedhou. They will work through Wednesday. They will return sometime Thursday morning to Dakar. The rest of us will be staying around Grand Yoff tomorrow. The mini-retreat continues, and there will be more story sessions and probably some more singing. Those from our team who are here will likely sit in on the sessions, and possibly keep any children out of trouble...well...out of the way. If there aren't many children, we will probably take a trip to the artisan village, so that the team may get some kind of idea of what souvenirs they might like to buy. Sunday, Kesha, Chelsea, Erin, Brea, and I will go with the Johnsons to Mbour. We will stay there until Thursday, at which point we will return to Dakar...to Ouakam. At this point, our team will be happily reunited. I am excited, already, for this day. Please pray for our team this week, as we are apart. Pray that we will be joyful. Pray that we will be useful. Pray that we will be welcomed...in Sedhou and in the Lehar villages. Also, please pray especially for the family of teammember Ryan Smith. He received a phone call tonight, informing him that his grandmother had passed away. This was not an unexpected death...she had not been given long to live. However, it is a sourly painful death for one person in particular...Ryan's grandfather. The reason is more than just losing one's wife. This man's daughter was killed a week ago in an accident...by a drunk driver. So, within the period of 1 week...this man has lost a daughter and a wife. I cannot even imagine how incredibly painful that would be. Pray for him..pray for Ryan and his father as well. But, also pray for our team as we work this week. God bless you all. This is us with the students at the beach in Yoff. This is the American-Senegalese girl I mentioned in Fatou's compound. This was the fishermen's compound. Another picture at the fishermen's compound. The girls at the fishermen's compound.

A Pile of Dirt and a Swimming Pool

Hello everyone. You might, or might not, have noticed that I didn't blog yesterday. This was merely because I didn't want you guys to get dependent...and to get excessively worried when a day happened to be missed. So, now there is no more dependency. The last couple of days have been quite fun-filled. Yesterday began again with a breakfast of baguettes and chocolate. Our team was split, in what appeared to be a practice day for next week, when we will be apart. Brea, Chelsea, Erin, Kesha, and I traveled with Cal to the market. We went there for the purpose of buying some new clothes for some Talibe boys. There were 5 boys who had scabies again this year pretty badly. We bought new clothes for these boys. We guessed sizes. It was interesting. I believe that we were the first volunteer group that Cal had actually taken to that particular market...other than being rather far away, I don't see why. After the market, we went to "Score." It is the closest thing that there is to a mall in Dakar. We had actually parked in that parking lot and walked to the market. The 'mall' had few stores. There was a bookstore, a grocery store, a Wrangler store, a sporting goods store, a restaurant, and maybe a couple of other stores. We only went to the mall to eat lunch. We ate at the restaurant, obviously, which was a Caesar's. There are a few locations of Caesar's here in Dakar. They serve pizza, paninis, sandwiches, and some schwarmas too. The food is quite tasty, we ate at a different location last year too. After lunch we headed towards Yoff. We stopped by a pharmacy on the way, to pick up some pills and ointment for the seriously scabies infected Talibe boys. By the way, Talibe is pronounced: tal-ee-bay, just so you know. When we arrived in Yoff, we sponge bathed the boys, cleaning them from head to toe. After they were clean, we applied ointment to every place on their bodies, save their faces. We then gave them their first weekly dosage of 5 pills. After their pills, they received their new clothes...even underwear, which was a novel idea to most of them. The scabies looked pretty bad...and it was sad. But, the boys were quite happy when they realized that they were no longer sore and itchy. They smiled and chased us, laughing, back out of their neighborhood as we drove away. When we arrived back here in Grand Yoff, we began to prepare dinner, spaghetti with meat sauce. It was excellent. Dinner was done about twenty minutes before the other part of the team returned. I suppose I should give you some idea of how they spent their day.... Andrew, Chris, Ryan, Travis, Meg, and Rachel all traveled to Kayar. This is a compound where a friend, whom we gave an American name to last year, lives. His name is John Wayne. He is a very nice man. The team went there to help build his new house. They expected to arrive and to see a mason. They saw no mason, and good thing too. There was no way a mason could've done anything. There were gigantic weeds overrunning everything. It is my understanding that the day was spent digging weeds out, eating some Ceebu Jen, drinking some attaya, and playing drums and dancing. John Wayne was quite thankful for the assistance with his weeds. I believe we will be going back to his compound sometime before we leave here. So, the team rejoined for dinner in Grand Yoff. The spaghetti was great, and the renewed fellowship was even better. Great for a practice separation, but nowhere near the length of our upcoming one. The team will be split Saturday morning...and not reunited until the following Friday. It is sure to be difficult, but wonderful. Today. Today was good. Today, daffa neex na. We started the day again with baguettes and chocolate. We were together again for the majority of today...and it was nice...very nice. We had a meeting time this morning, after breakfast, and then we left at approximately 10am. We arrived at Malika, a drum-making shop/compound north of Dakar, at about 11. When we arrived, we had a tour of the compound, which was quite large and beautiful. We were there primarily to help move and spread out a pile/mountain of dirt. Problem was, we couldn't find the shovels. So, one of the workers was sent after them. The lady that runs the place is from Holland, she was very cool. We looked at some of the drums, several on our team will be buying one. Soon enough, shovels were found. The 5 guys from our team and David moved immediately to the mountain and began to move it. We probably began about 11:30am. The 6 girls from our team...were given some drinks...and then shown to the pool. After the drinks, the Dutch lady said to them, "Okayyy, now it is time to swim!" The girls objected, "Oh, we can't we didn't bring any suits." The reply was more than immediate, "Oh, do not worry, I have some! Wait a moment." The Dutch lady then disappeared and reappeared very quickly. On her reappearance, she was accompanied by a massive wad of swimsuits. She threw them on the floor and commanded that the girls find one for themselves. So..somewhat reluctantly (or so we've been told), the girls obliged her. They swam...and tanned...and talked...and drank lemonade...and swam some more. Meanwhile...the guys moved a pile of dirt...and rocks...with old, broken, beat-up shovels. Lunch was to be served at 1:30pm. The men stopped working at 1:45 or 2:00. By this time the girls were out of the pool and were merely lounging around in the shade. We joined them and relaxed our aching bodies. Some of us even got to dip our feet into the pool. It was joyous relief from our labors. At approximately 2:15, lunch was served. It was Ceebu Yap, common bowl, rice, veggies, and lamb. It was pretty good. Some of us even tried snail. A couple even liked it...I thought it tasted like catfish bait. After lunch we ordered drums. Then, we split again. Chris, Erin, Kesha, and I left with Patty to attend to the Talibes again. The rest of the team remained at Malika. Patty stopped by her house, where she was switched out with Cal. We then continued with Cal to Yoff, to the Talibes. We once again washed them from head to toe, and applied the ointment in like manner. I'm quite certain that we washed many more than 5 boys...but we didn't mind...they all needed baths anyways. When we had finished with the Talibes, we headed back to Grand Yoff. We happened to arrive at the same time as the others. Andrew, Ryan, Travis, Brea, Chelsea, Meg, and Rachel remained at Malika with David and Cheryl when we left. After ordering their drums, they played some soccer, some volleyball, swam, drank attaya..., and ate lemons...massive lemons. From what I hear, it was a very fun and relaxing afternoon. When we all met back up at Grand Yoff, we had a dinner of leftovers. Ever since then, it has been quiet. Quiet reading..some phone calls, some cards. Very lethargic activities. It is now 9:50 and I believe that there may already be several people in bed...I am heading there shortly. We are all quite exhausted after a long day in the sun. Please continue with your prayers, that we would stay focused, stay united, stay smiling. Pray that God will use us as moons, to reflect his light on the Lebou, the Lehar, and the Manjack. Thank you all and God bless. Here is Cal with some of the Talibe boys (the one in the far back left in the navy shirt and blue jeans is one of the ones we had cleaned, medicated, and given new clothes to) That in my hand there...that's a lemon. I know...unbelievable. this is the dirt pile 30-40 minutes after starting. This is the dirt pile 10-20 minutes before finishing. Hmm...looks exhausting.

Day 2

Hmmm...day two...it was awesome. It is quite late here. I am beginning to think that I will leave the update emails to Travis...and I will just update this blog. Yes, that leaves a risk of overlapping information...but I'm sure no one will mind all that much. Day two, it didn't start too much earlier than day one. I believe we left our house at 10:30 or so...mabye 11:00. First, we went to Yoff. Yoff is where we stayed for the majority of our time here last year. Yoff is a...subdivision, if you will, of Dakar. There are several areas of Dakar, Yoff is one of them. Grand Yoff, where we are currently staying, is another. We split into about 4 different groups to prayerwalk Yoff. As we prayerwalked, the personnel here also taught us about the Lebou culture, and about Islam. We walked by several mosques as well as a very prominent religious figure's mausoleum. We prayerwalked the beach for a while...it was beautiful. Blue water...cool breeze...gulls calling...fresh ram skins and trash under your feet.... It was great. Ryan and I met a group of young girls. We were mutually amused. We did our best to communicate, and it went pretty well. The interesting time is always when the children don't understand that we don't speak their language and they just go on and on in Wolof...expecting you to understand. As I told Ryan, and as I soon showed him, it is these times in particular that I propose blabbering quickly back to them in English, to see what they think about that. This particular time, I chose to say to them, "I don't know what you're saying!!" I would repeat this as often as I had to...as often as they bursted out in Wolof. By about the third time...they had begun to mock me. It soon turned from slightly audible to a definite yell. By the fifth time, they were all shouting back at me, as soon as I had finished, "I dunnawatya sayin." It was definitely very cute, and Ryan got quite the kick out of it too. Later on, Ryan had his opportunity to promote the spread of English. He taught a young boy to say, "What's up, dog?" while shaking hands. Very Ryan...to do something like that. After prayerwalking, we made it to a compound in Yoff of a friend of the workers here, and we had lunch...this was at 2:00pm. It was pretty much the best meal ever. Most of our team agreed that it was literally one of the best things they had ever eaten. It was called "Yassa Poullet" or something of that nature. It was another common bowl meal, eaten with our hands again. It was some kind of chicken with a mustard and onion sauce. It was prepared, of course, on a bed of vegetables and rice. Pefect blend, it was indescribable. While at that compound, we also drank attaya...which is a quite regular occurrence. It is served in three rounds, each progressively sweeter. It is served hot and is quite tasty. They drink it all the time. We stayed at that same compound drinking attaya and visiting and playing with kids until probably close to 4:00. After that, Travis and I had some business stuff to take care of with one of the men here, so we did that. From what I hear, the next hour or two were spent, by the rest of the team, with the Talibe boys. That is where we found them when we returned. The Talibes are young boys who have been given to an Imam, and Islamic holy man, to learn the Quran. They are basically street beggars, made to live in poor conditions so as to attract more sympathy, and thus, more money from the people. Last year, they had scabies and sand fleas very bad while we were here. This year...they had the scabies pretty severely again a week or so ago....some of the workers here gave them one treatment of medications and asked the Imam to continue it daily, as they would be unable to return that often. Either he did or he didn't do as they had asked, but either way, they were mostly healed of the disease. There were a few that weren't doing so well, they are getting a trip to the hospital tomorrow. While visiting with the Talibes this afternoon, we talked and played some soccer, as well as bandaging some scrapes and cuts, and sharing some fruit. After we finished at the Talibe house, we came back to our house in Grand Yoff. As I may have already mentioned, the evenings, after dark, are fairly uneventful among the people...as far as our work is concerned. We spent the evening enjoying each other's company, and having some ham sandwiches for dinner...yes...regular ham sandwiches. Meg, Rachel, Andrew, Chris, Travis, and I played some whiffle ball for a while...it was fun. Lots of journaling took place, lots of early reclining took place, but most importantly, a fun and thought provoking conversation took place. It was nothing particularly profound, just a good, real, honest conversation...about whatever came up. Erin, Rachel, Meg, Brea, Frisbie, and I enjoyed this talk. Afterwards, I realized how late it was getting...and that I still wanted to update everyone back home before bed...so here I am...the only one awake...and I don't care. God is good. He is blessing us already in numerous ways. I hope that you are all doing half as well as we are...if you are...you are smiling. God bless. These are just a couple of boys we saw while we were prayerwalking While we were walking the beach, some fishermen were bringing their boat in...naturally, our team helped them out. That is me with some of the kids at the compound where we had our incredible Yassa This is Erin with one of teh girls there at the same compound...they are quite fond of playing with the hair of a "Toubab"...particularly the hair of blondes...it intrigues them...it is different. These are just a very small sample of the Talibe boys that we worked with this afternoon...they love "photo"s

Day 1

Today was an awesome way to start our journey. We didn't get up until after 10am. Following our breakfast of baguettes with chocolate, we had a "staff meeting" with Cal and the bunch. During this time, we took some lessons on Wolof, and also learned how to take a taxi here. It was fun, and slightly funny as a couple of us took turns practicing in the living room. It took until about...hmm...11am this morning...maybe 12pm before the whole reality of being in Western Africa actually sunk in for the majority of our team. I believe that everyone is loving it. Ryan is being particularly exciting...and excited. He was funny today. Today after our practice and staff meeting time, we went and ate next door. It was our first real Senegalese meal. It was Ceebu Jen, a common bowl meal with, of course, rice, vegetables, and fish. It was very good. The place we ate was part of our compound though. We are currently staying in Grand Yoff at a IMB owned facility/guesthouse. It is quite nice. Anyways, back to our day. After eating our Ceebu Jen, we left via taxis (using our previously learned Wolof) to go to the lighthouse in Mammelle or, "Begg na dem phar bi, ci Mammelle." We all arrived without incident. The view from that lighthouse was unbelievably gorgeous. I can guarantee that our pictures will not accurately get the point across. It is positioned on the highest point in all of Dakar. We stayed there for a while and took lots of pictures. Then we took taxis back to Grand Yoff. While here, we just sat...which is what they do here...a lot. We sat and talked and drank attaya in our compound with Papa, a Senegalese friend and translator. Whilst waiting on the attaya, several of us wandered outside the compound and sat out front. It was quite fun, at first we just sat there and took in the experience. Kids would come by and be intrigued by our whiteness, and we would greet them in Wolof, to their surprise. Soon enough, the girls on our team noticed the Senegalese girls that were dancing and playing across the street. They joined in. It was quite the fun experience for them, and fun to watch too. As soon as we finished the attaya, it was time to leave for dinner. So, it was back to the taxis again. We taxied and or drove to "On the Run", they have them in the States, but they are merely gas station/convenience stores. Here, they are restaurants also...several of them. The gas station has 4 eateries inside...I don't even know if there is a gas counter...there is "Nando's" for chicken, "Steers" for burgers, "Pizza Inn" for pizza, and "Creamy Inn" for ice cream. The ice cream place was closed again, just as it was last year when we were here. We had the pizza. It was very good, tasted very much like American pizza, but the cheese is a lot different. After pizza we headed back to the compound...it was already 7:30 or so. So, now we are just resting and hanging out at our compound. We've had a wonderful first day. I'm going to attempt to load up some pictures now, we'll see what happens. Here is some of the sleepiness that existed in the Paris airport...we had already been travelling for a long, long time.... Here is a picture of us all up at the lighthouse, that is some of Dakar in the background, and the African with us is Papa, whom I mentioned above. Ryan decided to take a nap on the lighthouse...he had no idea I took this picture...until now. Here is our view from the front gate of our compound. This is the only child we've had much contact yet as of now...other than the girls that our girls played with. His name is Mousa, he is Papa's cousin. That is Kesha holding him.

Arrival

We made it! We are all here, in Dakar, Senegal. We arrived at approximately 9:40pm WAT (3:40pm CST) on December the 31st, 2006. The surprisingly good news is that we have once again been blessed to make it here with all of our baggage. We haven't even had any mishaps of any sort thus far...save when I almost lost my boarding pass for the first flight.... Regardless, we are here now, and very excited about the work that we will be doing. We have learned from Babacar that we will have the opportunity to do many different things while we are here this year. I will keep you updated more on what those happen to be as our trip progresses. We have just now settled into the guest house that we will be staying at for some portions of our trip. We also just finished celebrating New Year's with some fireworks. It was excellently exciting. We are all dead tired. I think we will be going to bed soon. This guest house is quite large. The guys are staying in the first floor, while the girls are staying in the upstairs. I know that we are definitely very ready to just relax for a while and catch up on some sleep. Traveling this far has drained us all. So, I leave you all in your American eveningtime...so that I may find some rest. God bless you all, and thanks for your thoughts and prayers as we work here in Senegal.