2011 News, Newsletters

May in Senegal 2011

SLC was GREAT!

We all had a lovely time at our Spiritual Life Conference.  I am assured anyone can see the pictures on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150138985398235.282877.609863234&l=81a826790b

It was a great time of teaching, fun, good food, fellowship, rest, reflection, and worship.  It is hard to describe how significant this sort of retreat is for missionaries in primitive living arrangements in isolated spots to get to fellowship with others of the same kind, and in a pampering environment.

EASTER

Easter was a special time of trying to reach out with the story of Easter to those who have not heard it and worshipping together with the few and scattered Christians in the greater Kaffrine area.  Good Friday service was held in Wolof in a nearby village and Easter worship was in French and Wolof here in town.  The 3 missionary families gathered together on Thursday to dye eggs together and then on Friday morning we all went to the Catholic school ground to have a grand egg hunt with the dyed eggs plus plastic ones filled with candy.  This also was a great success and we had a time.  Unfortunately, we were all having such a good time hunting for eggs, no one thought to take any pictures, so I don’t have any to share with you.

Alexia with the kids in French class

FRENCH

We have really enjoyed having Alexia here to teach the kids French in the mornings.  Thursdays she comes in the afternoon and has class and some fun additional activities.  So far they have made a cake for Carla’s birthday, colored pictures, and prepared a special presentation for the parents on Easter.  We all love Alexia and are sad that she left last week.

Laying out the streets in our town

SCHOOL

We have tried to get some usual school done as well as some not so usual things!  We took advantage of Carla’s birthday to learn some computer skills to make birthday cards for her.  We also have been working on hands-on map making and city planning by making a town in the school room.  We found some great houses to make ( http://www.kobe-np.co.jp/sukusuku/dl.html ) and are thoughtfully planning our town.  Katie and Wheaton continue to work on homeschool – even when Wheaton isn’t feeling too well.  We have also started having a special day each week.  So far we have had Crazy Hair-do Day, Dress-up Day and Wear Primary Colors Day.

Molly and me with our Crazy Hair-Dos

FUN STUFF

At Easter all three girls stayed one night with me so Corey and Katie could transport more folks to the worship services.  We had green eggs and purple pancakes for supper, along with as much silliness as you can pack into 24 hours.

I have been sewing a bit and completed a top for Emma’s pink fairy skirt, and to celebrate she had her hair curled.  I also finally finished the matching outfits for Wheaton and Katie that were Christmas gifts.

Emma and Molly have also decided they want to crochet, so we have gotten some yarn and they each have a chain of crocheted yarn yards long!  This week we will start on some simple projects to make.

Last week Corey and Katie went to Dakar for about 5 days leaving the girls and me home alone.  They went to pick up two new interns, Jacob and Scott, purchase a new generator and water heater along with other goodies we can only get in Dakar, as well as have a date or two in town.  There is NO where to go out with your sweetie in Kaffrine.

Please take some time to view the pictures of our activities this Month on the Pictures page!

LOOKING AHEAD

In addition to the two new interns coming in May, we will be saying goodbye to the three interns we have now.  Alexia returns to France in June, Silas returns to Switzerland and Josiah returns to the USA in July.

We have 2 more weeks of curriculum to finish and then we will be officially done with school till September.  However, we will still have some fun units in science, library science, the history of Senegal, sewing and piano lessons, reinforcing those addition and multiplication tables, and other fun and educational activities to keep the summer busy.

We are looking forward to visiting another missionary family who serve in southern Senegal below the Gambia.

We are also in the midst of the hottest and driest time right before the rainy season starts in July.  It is getting hotter, we are having dust storms, the humidity is rising, so it is a pretty uncomfortable time.

Through all this for the last month at least, I have had some trouble breathing, and lack energy.  Thankfully constant lotion and wearing shoes in this dusty place are keeping my skin from drying out.

The most exciting news is that Beth Drury will be coming to visit in June!  It will be so good to see her and show her all the “sites” in Senegal!

PLEASE PRAY FOR:

  • Molly.  She made her first conscious decision to choose to follow Christ last week during our Bible reading.
  • The adjustment of the two new interns.
  • Praise for safe travel for Corey and Katie; that they had a good time of couple enrichment, successful purchase of new generator and water heater and other purchases.
  • All our summer plans for travel, ours as well as Beth Drury coming
  • Good finish, evaluation, and growth from the experience for the three interns who are leaving as well as safe travel for them all.
  • Good rainy season so crops will grow and Corey’s farming projects would produce helpful results to benefit the farmers and open more opportunities for spreading the Gospel.
  • Good end to school year and fun learning for summer
  • Continued good health for me; complete healing for breathing problems