Blessings

There are many hard things about being a missionary in Africa, but there are also so very many blessings.  I have been thinking a lot about this, this past week.  I have been thinking about so many blessings that our kids have been afforded.  Our kids in the almost 5 years of being on the field, have experienced 6 countries - Mali, Senegal, Gambia, Kenya, Spain and Portugal.  They have been on 2 safaris while in Kenya. They have eaten in homes of Africans. During our safari the kids saw a cow being born. They have met Masaii Africans. They have visited the bush of Africa.  Zach has painted a church.  There is so much more, but all in all it has been a pretty amazing experience for them and for us.  The hard part is being away from family and friends.  But God is so faithful.  This year we were out in the Masaii Mara for Easter - definitely a different experience, but oh so very amazing.  Surrounded by God's creation was an experience our kids will NEVER forget and for that we are so very thankful.  We love our family and friends in the States, but thankful to God for this experience.

It is hard to believe that we have been back in Dakar for over a month.  It feels like we never left (in a good way).  The community here has welcomed us back with open arms and has made us feel like we have never left.  The kids have transitioned well back into their classes and dorm life. 

Zach tried out for Les Miserables and won the part of Javier - so that is a big time commitment on his part.  He also has been very committed to working out with some of his dorm brothers as well as tutoring one of our dorm girls.  So, he is pretty busy, but loving every minute. He was on the mural team during our outreach to the village of Baad.

Luke is in a new dorm and is loving his dorm parents.  They let him make doughnuts by himself (very brave of them).  He did great - had flour everywhere, but they tasted good.  He says that he wants to be a chef, so he loves to be in the kitchen.  He is playing volleyball right now and is enjoying that.  He had some ankle pain after we arrived, so he had a hard time.  But it seems to sorted itself out.  He instantly got involved with his class, helping with their fundraiser.  He has a lot of good ideas. At the outreach he was on the kids club team - and did great.

Faith was thrown into middle school, so she has had the hardest adjustment.  Learning how to use a combination lock, changing classes, homework and group projects have been our life for the last month.  But she is growing and learning.  She decided not to do any sports right away since she is still trying to figure things out.  She loves being with the dorm girls and hanging out with them. 

We jumped right in and hit the ground running with all of our previous commitments - student senate, volleyball, bible studies and such.  So we feel that time has flown, which has helped us with the homesickness.  We know that we are supposed to be here, but at the same time miss being away from our family and friends.  Below are some pictures of the kids during our Olympic days - Zach won 1st place in shot put and Faith won 2nd for shot put and discus. 

It is a whirlwind between now and the end of the year and we will try to post as many pictures and info as possible.  Thanks for sticking with us during this journey.  Love and miss you guys!

Life in the States

We are sorry it has been so long since our last post - life is flying by in the States.  We have traveled lots and put lots of miles on the van.  We have been traveling up and down the East Coast.  It has been fun meeting new people at different churches.  We also have been visiting colleges for Zach. Currently Ron and Zach are visiting Liberty for a program called "College for a Weekend" where Zach stays in the dorm for the weekend, going to classes, eating in the dining room and hanging out with college students.  He has been having a great time, and so has Ron.  Louis Giglio spoke at chapel and they said that was awesome.  Also the band Switchfoot was there.  They seem like they are having a good time.  We only have 2 months left here in the States.  We are going to be spending a lot of time with family and friends and stocking up on supplies we are bringing back to Senegal.  We are very excited to be able to spend Christmas with our families. 

We will try to be better about posting on life in Senegal and sharing different aspects of our life there!
Here are some pics from the summer:

Happenings

We continue to be busy, busy, busy!  We have 30 days until graduation and 34 days until we fly out - it is going so fast.  Kids are doing great.  Zach is currently playing a brother in the musical Joseph.  Luke is playing intermediate basketball and Faith just turned 11.  We are heading into our birthday season and it is hard to believe that Zach will be turning 16.  We are going to celebrate with some of his friends by going bowling.  Here are some pictures of the kids:

Coming Home

In 76 days we will touch down on American soil for the first time in 3 years and 8 months. We are very excited and are ready for some touches of home! We have so missed our family and friends and can't wait to just hang out and relax. Our kids are ready too! They know that they will miss their friends here, but are excited to see their family and old friends. In asking what they miss most of course they say "family and friends", but they are also looking forward to seeing green grass, fast food restaurants and movies. I am most looking forward to walking through Target, being able to shop off the rack and not through a pile of used clothes. I have missed being able to shop for clothes and running to Target or Walmart for something quick. I look forward to being able to get a fountain diet coke and not have to think twice if the ice is okay. There are so many great things about living here, but there are so many things that you have to deal with it will be nice to not have to think about some of the inconveniences for awhile.

Our time here is going well. School continues to be great and we still love what we are doing. The girls are great and our transition has been smooth. The kids are doing well - Zach is doing great with grades and is going to be one of the brothers in the upcoming Spring musical "Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat", Luke is also doing well with grades and has recently started basketball, Faith loves being in the dorm and also is doing well in school. Her transition to the dorm has been great and loves being surrounded by so many big sisters.

We passed our language evaluations, but still have a strong desire to speak better. When we are home we are going to be looking for ways to learn and practice our speaking. Upon returning we are going to restart language lessons.

So here is our plan: we will come home June 10th into Dulles and be living in an apartment supplied by some awesome people from our church. We will be traveling quite a bit through North Carolina and up the coast. We will home school the kids due to the traveling. We want to be able to see as many people as we can and reconnect with our churches. We will stay in the US through the beginning of January and then head back to Senegal for the second semester.

The current news in Senegal is that we had a peaceful election and a new President was elected. Pray for a peaceful transition of power. The current President has called for peace and has asked all of his supporters to be at peace and cause no problems. That is a huge answer to prayer for this country!!

We are so thankful for your prayers for our family and look forward to connecting with many of you!!

Hellos and Goodbyes

Our team from Northwest Baptist Church from Reisterstown, Maryland arrived on January 18th. Their main mission was to facilitate and lead the Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW) for the entire school. We showed them some sights and then that Friday we whisked them off to the bush for 2 days. They worked on different teams and experienced the bush in every way. When we returned home, they were knee deep in preparations for SEW. Every day part of the team led middle and high school including the music and then the other part led the elementary kids. It was a huge undertaking and they did it well! We were so proud of them and the impact they had on this school. Northwest should be proud! Here are some pics from the week. (not in the correct order)














The next few months 5 to be exact are going to be very busy for us. School is jammed pack with lots of activities.

The kids are doing great in school and are looking forward to being home for a few months. But are enjoying lots of fun activities and making great friends. Will try to be better about posting pics.

Wow - hard to believe it has been a month!

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!!