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!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Life goes on
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.
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.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Our crate arrived!
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.
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!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happenings....
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:
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!
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!
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