Christmas blessings to you all!  Katie, Emma, Molly and I are at home waiting for Corey and Wheaton to return from Dakar bringing our best and biggest Christmas gift this year: my daughter, Julie, and her husband, Jeremy!  We will have our gift exchange tomorrow.  We plan to pack a lot into that time: 3 days in the village, some time in Kaffrine, and a little vacation time all together as a family at a hotel near Dakar.  All this packed into two weeks!

December has flown by.  We had a week’s trip to Dakar for SIM team meetings and Christmas Party!  Corey and I took a trip to the American Embassy to get the police clearance needed for my residence visa, and were in and out in 15 minutes!  We need one more paper that Corey needs to print out and we will have everything that we THINK we need to get my permit.

The girls did an excellent job in doing school on Saturday and we completed our entire schedule in good time.  Emma and Molly have completed 16 weeks of school.  Wheaton, because she attends the French school in the mornings, is continuing school through the holidays and is on week 12.  She has read her first book and is well on her way to being a reader!

I have resumed Wolof lessons with a local lady named Aunt Angel.  She was the girls’ teacher at the French school the first few years they attended there and a well loved friend of the family.  The hurdle I have to get over is learning Wolof – in French!  Aunt Angel speaks Wolof and French and I speak English…  So I get long and detailed definitions and descriptions of vocabulary and grammar in Wolof or French, and when that fails, we use the language of “Charade” and act it out.  With little and short encounters with Wolof people, it is difficult to remember the things I am learning.

Pictures will follow shortly!

I pray Christmas Blessings on you and hope that you will experience the joy and grace that Christmas announces.

Prayer Points:

Christmas Holiday: Praise that Julie and Jeremy were able to come!  Please pray that they will be well rested and that our time together will be a good time of renewing relationships and growing closer together as a family.

Residence Permit: Praise for the ease in getting the police check at the American Embassy.  Please do continue to be in prayer for the completion of the paperwork and processing of my residence visa.

Wolof Lessons: Praise for Aunt Angel as a teacher.  Pray that I will retain what I am learning.  Also pray for time and opportunities to reinforce and practice what I learn.

Health Concerns: Please continue to pray for my breathing and congestion to be healthy and settled.

Homeschooling: We will have an extended break from regular school until Julie and Jeremy leave around January 8.  Please pray for our continued good progress when we resume school in January.