We Made It!

 We made it … through the last weeks of packing up in Connecticut, sorting what store, what to pass on for others to use, and what to include in our bulging suitcases.

We made it … to a time of resting, relaxing and restoring with Katie’s family in Maine. This was a real blessing to have time to rest after all the activity, and for good, long final visits with family members.

We made it … through airports, checking in a total of 18 suitcases, boxes and containers, herding six of us through security gates, check-ins and check-outs, waits in airports, long flights (with multiple movies to watch!), collecting luggage, and arriving at our team-mates home where we stayed in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, the first few days.

We made it … through a second round of warm reunions with old- and introductions with new- teammates in the town of Thies, more shopping, and catching up on a whole year of life apart.

We made it … through our last stop to visit with other missionary friends on the way, getting the air conditioning repaired on my car, shopping for groceries, and driving the remaining 4 hours to Kaffrine.

We made it … through heavy rains at our arrival and cleaning up two months of dust from the house I will be living in.

 We are making it….

Bit by bit I am finding my way to settling in this house, figuring out how to arrange the schoolroom, where to stash books and supplies, and where to put the prize box! Corey and Katie and the girls are staying here with me as their house is being prepared for their move. Vacant since last October, their house needs some minor repairs. Corey and Katie are reconnecting with friends in Kaffrine and in the surrounding villages and helping with flood relief while the repairs are being made.

Sadly, the heavy rains that greeted us on our arrival also washed out many of our friends’ huts. Corey and the local pastor are spending much of their time visiting our friends’ villages helping to provide them with relief aid to rebuild their homes. For more information see Corey’s post.

One of the many houses that collapsed in the rain

Unfortunately, some of our school books are in those containers, so I am limited in what I can set up and arrange for school. The girls were excited enough about school to want to start with some things, so we have done a few lessons of math and a little language arts. (Every lesson of math they do now earns them a day of NO MATH during the school year!) Most of Wheaton’s school books are still packed away in storage with our belongings we left here last year, so she has less she can do right now.

All our belongings we left here are still in storage. Since I left Senegal a full month before Corey and Katie, my things are in the back of the storage unit and not accessible until they move into their home. I am trying to use this time as a lesson in patience! We ARE getting in lots of rest, time playing games, and Emma is reading ALL the books in the house!

The bad news is that the repaired air conditioning in my car ($500 worth!) did not even work long enough to get to Kaffrine. The good news is that it has a four-month warranty on the work, but it will be another month before we return to the mechanic. SIM is requiring us to attend some training sessions on Child Safety in mid-September. We will be returning to Dakar for these meetings and will drop off the car on our way and pick it up on our return home.

With all the challenges, we are truly happy to be here in Kaffrine, eager to start our regular routine and get back to work. We are enjoying discovering our new neighbors and neighborhood. We are constantly grateful to the Smiths for letting me use their spacious home for this coming year.

The Inside Story

I have unpacked all the things I brought, and arranged everything. I am glad to be here, but my thermostat is still set to cooler temperatures! I am having to readjust to Senegal, and finding it more irksome than when I moved here three years ago. The heat is difficult for me, and my energy level plummets when I am hot. I still do not like mosquitoes, flies, lizards, spiders or other creeping and crawling things in my bedroom at night.

Since we don’t have all our stuff out yet, and Corey and Katie are in the house I am feeling in prolonged limbo, unable to go forward or backward. We barely get the girls in bed by 8:30 before I race to the shower and flop in the bed myself!

The good thing is that I also wake up earlier (6:00AM or so….) so I am up before most of the house and it is quiet for concentration and meditation. I have one, just one, of the Bible Study guides I brought for these two years. I don’t have to decide which one to use! (The rest are in the eagerly awaited package I mailed to myself!) So I am drenching myself in this study and finding it refreshing.

I can see God’s hand in many of our circumstances and know in that ‘gut-level feeling’ way that this is a necessary part of our time here, and can be content.

Funding Findings

Please continue to pray for my funding to be complete. I still need that elusive 14% or $375 (1375Dh) more per month. In conversation with Corey, the SIM USA Finance Office, through reflection and prayer, we decided that I would come, and trust God to provide what I need. Since I am sure this is what He has called me to do at this time, I can trust him to carry me through. Please prayerfully lift this need to the Father. For further information or to donate click here.

 

For more pictures click here!

Prayers

• Praise for ending well in the USA and beginning well here in Senegal.
• Praise that Corey’s recovery from shoulder surgery is progressing well; pray for continued progress.
• Praise and prayer for my continued health.
• Pray for the repairs that are needed to my car.
• Pray for a smooth transition to new housing for us all; for repairs to be completed well and in a timely manner and internet and phone to be connected soon.
• Pray for new workers to come join the Kaffrine team.
• Please continue to pray for Steve Smith and family, our teammate suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome who is in the USA this year.
• Pray for continued additions to my support to bring it up to 100%.