Christmas Eve family photo

Christmas Eve, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

Christmas eve: handsome guys!

handsome guys!, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

December 28: Decker Update

Dear friends,

This has been a very special Christmas week, with our whole family together! We have so enjoyed seeing extended-family members from both our parents sides of the family at Christmas celebrations, and we've all enjoyed the extra-snowy white Christmas! Today seems a bit sad to me, as we prepare to send Danny back to Miami tomorrow. We love being with him, and will miss him again when he goes.

There is another reason I'm feeling sad today-- we have had to delay our return to Senegal.

December 21 Decker Update

Dear friends--

We are so happy to have all our children home! Joey arrived last Friday morning (after being snowed in in Newark on his way home from Northern Ireland) and Danny arrived Wednesday night! Danny's girlfriend Leah is with him as well, and her 2 1/2 year old daughter Alexis-- so we have a full house which includes a toddler-- and it's wonderful!

Many of you have been asking what's happening with our support and proposed return to Dakar-- the 15th has come and gone.

Monday December 10: update

The numbers have changed again! One time gifts still needed: $7,196. Monthly support still needed: $1,672. Deadline: Saturday...

update

The Decker Dispatch below went into the mail today, and meanwhile we have updated information! God is at work, and in fact the one-time need of $12,700 as reported in the letter is down to $9,100 as of this afternoon!

Decker Dispatch

THE DECKER DISPATCH
December 2007

From Darkness Into Light
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.” (Isaiah 9:2)

A colleague of ours in Senegal recently shared about a friend of hers that has heard of Jesus and the Gospel many times, but does not understand. This colleague reports that they have the same conversations repeatedly, yet for this woman the words seem to not even register at all. “It’s as if her ears are literally made deaf,” our colleague reports. We all begin our lives in darkness and, until God intervenes, there we remain. We are so thankful that God has sent his son to bring light into the darkness!

From Minnesota to Senegal
We long to return to Senegal as scheduled on January 7th to continue our work as part of the team sharing the light of Christ in West Africa.

Thanksgiving

Dear friends,

As we look back on several days of Thanksgiving, we are very thankful that we've had this time to celebrate with our families in Minnesota. God has been so good to us! We are thankful for times of worship in our home church, as well as other churches we've had the privilege of visiting, and for the different groups that have invited us to share with them about our work in West Africa.

We are thankful to be a part of SIM's Western Africa Area (WAFA), working in leadership, administration and member care. Our personal vision statement says "Dave and Mary Decker long to see joyful missionaries effectively spreading a passion for God's glory in West Africa. Our aim is to serve missionaries by offering quality leadership and administrative support."

The needs are significant, and the opportunities are many.

Decker Update November 12

THE DECKER DISPATCH
November 2007

Good News
“I bring you good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10) As Christian missionaries serving in West Africa, delivering this good news is, above all else, our desire and our purpose. Yes, there are the poor and the hungry and the sick, and addressing physical needs is imperative as we follow Jesus’ example. But as one of our surgeon co-workers once said, “I have no interest in populating Hell with well-repaired hernias.” Christians have the very best of all possible news to share, and millions across West Africa have yet to hear it.

We want to GO and do our part in delivering this good news. This is God’s work, and we feel privileged to be a part of it. We would like to invite you to share in this privilege with us.

DeckerUpdate November 8

Dear friends,
Greetings from chilly gray November in Minnesota! These cold temperatures and early sunsets are quite a shock to someone who's been in Africa for the past three Novembers! Brrrr!

We are thankful for so much as we approach Thanksgiving day in the U.S.! Today, Joey returned to the doctor and got his cast off. According to the x-rays, the bone has healed correctly! We are so thankful for that! His wrist is very stiff, and he has quite a bit of physical therapy for the days ahead.

fifty and fabulous

fifty and fabulous, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

(Thanks to sister Tracy for the great collage!)

Happy Birthday again!

Happy Birthday!, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

This is the one-year photo of those same twins... too cute not to share!

October 31: Happy BIrthday!

.

These twins, pictured here at age 6 months, turned 50 today! We love them, and wish them many blessed returns! (Know who they might be?)

DeckerUpdate October 6

Dear friends,
A quick note to let you know that Joey's surgery went well. We are continuing to pray for his wrist to heal perfectly, and for his quick recovery from the surgery itself. He was cared for by a nurse who is the daughter of his professor, and she told all her colleagues at the hospital to take extra special care of him, so he is getting some very kind treatment! He is expected to be released from the hospital tomorrow and will take another day or so to recover before getting back to his full schedule. Thank you so much for praying for him.

I'm writing you from Pennsylvania, where my two week training course begins tomorrow...

Many blessings,
Mary for the Deckers

--

Road Trip Pictures

Finally, the link you've all been waiting for! RoadTrip Pictures

This is a set of the best pictures from our road trip!

We were blessed by the grace of God and the kindness of His people on our trip, and hope you will enjoy these with us! For best viewing, select "view as slideshow"!

If the whole set is more than you want to see at one time, you could look at the separate sets that make up the whole set. Here are the links:

Chicago area September 15-17
visits with the Roys, Schlagels, and our Liberian son, Doco's family.

Columbus-Pittsburgh Sept. 18 (including lunch with the Tanquists in Columbus and pictures of the Carter girls you prayed for, who are now very healthy and happy!)

New York September 18-20
Visit with the Cook family, and a day in New York City.

New England/Boston September 21-27
includes Cape Cod, a day in Boston, and Fenway Park!

Trip home: Niagara Falls and Chicago area Sept. 28-30

October 6 Decker Update

Dear friends,
Thanks so much for your prayers and encouragement! We have been so blessed by God's grace, demonstrated to us in many ways during our first several months in the States for this home assignment!

We have just returned from a two-week trip visiting with friends and supporters in Chicago, Columbus, Pittsburgh, New York, and Boston. Many homes were graciously opened to us, and we were treated to delicious meals and pleasant times of conversation.

Decker Update October 1

Dear friends and family,
We just returned last night from our road trip out East, and are trying to get caught up on things around here a bit, but have a quick prayer request to pass on to you.

We'd like to ask you to please pray with us for Joey. (He is our 19 year old, college-sophomore son.) He's having a great semester in Northern Ireland, but had a mountain-bike accident a few weeks ago, and has fractured the scaphoid bone in his wrist. This bone can be difficult to heal, and he has been recommended for surgery by the orthopedic specialist. The plan is that he will enter the hospital Sunday night October 7, and have surgery sometime on Monday October 8. Please pray for the Lord to guide the hands of the surgeon, and give him great wisdom. And please pray for complete healing for this wrist! It's difficult as parents to be far away when a son is having surgery, but we know God is taking good care of him, and that he has been provided with excellent medical care in N. Ireland. We spoke to the professor on- site yesterday, and it sounds like Joey is and will be surrounded by people who care for him, and will look after him well.

Thanks for your prayers!

Mary for the Deckers

hello from Cranberry!

We are really enjoying our road trip so far! We are feeling blessed by the great people God has put into our lives, and by this time to re-connect with many of them. If you're interested in seeing the pics from our road trip, I'll be updating them on my flickr page when I can. (here's the link: road trip photos)

We drove from Apple Valley on Saturday to Chicago. Spent the night with Steve and Susan, he is a former pastor from our home church who now teaches at seminary. (We enjoyed their puppy, Maggie, too! ) We visited their church in Chicago on Sunday morning, and then had a great afternoon in sunshiny Chicago seeing a few of the sights. I went with Dave and Jacob on the Navy Pier ferris wheel, despite my fear of rides and heights it was a gorgeous view.

We spent Sunday evening and Monday morning with Mike and Lane and their kids. What a fun family! We haven't seen them for almost 20 years! He is a family counselor After breakfast we set off for the home of one of our Liberian sons, Doco, and spent the afternoon and evening with him, his wife Alison and their darling baby Kiara. That was another special reunion.

Yesterday we drove more than ten hours. We had lunch in Columbus, Ohio, with our Tanquist connections. We work with Mark Tanquist, and my brother is married to Martha Tanquist, so somehow we are all related! Mark and Martha's sister and her husband fed us a wonderful Mediterranean meal. Yumm!

We drove until 8:30 last night where we spent the night with the Carter family in Pennsylvania. Many of you prayed for the Carter girls when they had their cerebral malaria, and we are happy to report that they are in great health and look beautiful.

Please pray for Joey who is having a great time in Northern Ireland, but has injured his wrist. He doesn't have good internet access so we haven't heard an update but we are praying for it to heal quickly!

Decker Update: September 12

Dear family and friends,
Hello from Minnesota! We are enjoying the early fall-like temperatures, and the sunshine, and so many things about being in Minnesota in the fall. One thing we're enjoying is the return to "routine"-- in that we have started up our homeschool again for this semester. However, after a week or two of routine, it's all going to change again... this seems to be the pattern for our lives these days.

September 3: off to N. Ireland

September 3: off to N. Ireland, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

Today's the day-- Joey's taking off for Northern Ireland where he will spend his first semester of this school year! We are excited for him and look forward to some great pictures in the days ahead.

State Fair crowd

State Fair crowd, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

We enjoyed being among the MANY Minnesotans who spent time at the Fair!

State Fair: cheese curds!

State Fair: cheese curds!, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

Joey,Jacob, Dave and I enjoyed our day at the Minnesota State Fair--we miss this annual event when we are in Dakar!

State Fair: all the milk you can drink!

State Fair: all the milk you can drink!, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

(Joey and Jacob are very tired of getting their pictures taken, but if you look carefully you will see them at the front of the line getting their "all the milk you can drink for $1 at the MN State Fair! ) For Jacob, still living with us in Africa most of the time, it's fun to have fresh milk as opposed to powdered milk!

More State Fair pictures here (on my photo blog) if you're a fan!

prayer card

prayer card, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

And the family picture has been made into a prayer card! (With the help of a graphic-designer and photoshop!

August 20: Family

Family Picture August 20 (1), originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

It's been so great to have Danny with us for these past weeks. He is returning to Miami tomorrow, and we will miss having him here! But we are excited for all that he is returning to in Miami-- including a very special girl and the return to full-time college.

The Cabin

We all enjoyed spending lots of time at my mom's cabin, by ourselves as well as with different friends and family members. If you'd like to see more of our cabin pictures, click here!
(For best viewing, click "view as slideshow"!)

end of the run

end of the run, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

Despite the fact that it was in the 50's and rainy, these guys were not deterred from tubing or skiing! But they looked pretty cold by the end!

tubing

IMGP3645c, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

All three of the guys really enjoyed, both riding on the tube, and driving for others!

another wipeout!

IMG_0873c, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

wipeout!

IMG_0701c, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

Jacob lived through it! (No bones broken either!)

Skiing

Joey, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

All three guys enjoyed increasing their skills on water skiis!

July 24: enjoying vacation

We are still enjoying vacation time at the cabin, with a few visitors and lots of fun in the water! Here's Dave teaching our nephew the fine art of "tubing"!

more pictures from the cabin are online here

enjoy!

July 21: Decker Update

Dear friends and family--

Greetings from "Home Assignment!" It's been awhile since I've written an official update, but many of you know we are now based in Minnesota until early January. The days of packing our house in Senegal seemed very hectic, as we tried to tie up many loose ends before leaving. To this point, our house in Senegal has not been rented, and is being cared for by colleagues and Senegalese helpers. We would love to see someone be able to live there for even a few months, so you could continue to pray for that.

softball game

softball game, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

We enjoyed watching our niece play at her softball tournament, and enjoyed my brother as the coach as well!

cousin Laura

cousin Laura, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

One of the fun parts of the summer was getting to see cousin Laura before she moved to Washington DC!

croquet with Dakar friends!

croquet with Adamsons, originally uploaded by MaryD SN-MN.

The guys enjoyed a game of croquet with our friends the Adamsons, who were with us both in Abidjan and Dakar. They're on home assignment this year as well.

Benjamin

We were happy (especially Joey!) to host Benjamin for a few days in his transition between Senegal and college in Texas!

knee-hockey

One of the first things that got unpacked from our boxes when we got to our furlough house was the knee-hockey equipment! Many tournaments have been played in the basement here, and constantly skinned knees are the order of the day!

July 4

July 4, originally uploaded by MaryD in Senegal.

We are off on an adventure-- taking the train downtown, to enjoy the riverside happenings and watch some fireworks. Danny has joined us, and it's fun to be all together in Minnesota!

June 27

Dear Friends,

This is not a real update-- just a quick note!

We are thankful to have arrived safely in Minnesota after several days in Washington DC (staying with relatives, and sightseeing!) and several days in Charlotte, NC where we had medical appointments and interviews with SIM USA folks. We are thankful for the structure and support provided by SIM, and we will be telling you more about that in the days ahead.

We were happy to be greeted by friends and relatives in Minnesota last Thursday, and have been enjoying fresh strawberries, blueberries, and other yummy fruit we don't often see in Senegal! It's fun to have Joey with us now, and we are looking forward to Danny's arrival next week.

Deckers in Annapolis!

We had a great time visiting with our friends, who rented a boat and took us to see Annapolis from the water! Jacob drove us up the Severn river.


















We enjoyed looking around at the US Naval Academy, and seeing amazing bits and pieces of our nation's history.

Deckers in Washington, DC

We arrived safely, early Tuesday morning. Wednesday, Beth took us to the metro station and we rode into Washington DC. We saw so much that amazed us. The beauty of the architecture, the history, and the words of our heritage carved in marble... it was wonderful. More pictures to come in the days ahead... but for now I'm pretty tired!

packing up...

What goes with us for seven months in the States? What gets stored here for when we come back? What gets given away, sold or thrown out?

June 10: amazing creation

One more day of enjoying God's amazing creation here in Dakar!

fun with friends

Jacob has been enjoying some time with Mitch, and their friend Ethan who has been gone from Senegal for about two years, and is back for a visit.

June 8: sad day

Our little cat, PoohBear, had asthma which was causing progressively more serious attacks, and was not responding to available medication. He had a very bad attack on Friday morning, and had to be taken to the vet. The sad decision was made that it would be most merciful to have him put to sleep, as his suffering would only increase. We loved him, and will miss him.

June 6: update...

It's been feeling a little hectic around here! I posted this picture on my other blog, feeling like we are climbing "the cliffs of insanity"! (Watch Dave's all-time favorite movie to understand the allusion if you don't... oh, you don't know Dave's favorite movie? Not sure what to tell you then.)

Yesterday was Jacob's last final, and this morning was the school awards ceremony. Ask Jacob to tell you about his awards! And tonight is graduation, to be followed by the traditional all-night party for the seniors, and our own traditional party on the roof with some friends who will not be together again for quite a while!

And in five days... we will be boarding the airplane for the States!

May 31: Decker Update (with note from Joey!)

Dear friends,
Greetings from Dakar! We are quickly approaching the end of this term
in Senegal! We will be leaving here in 12 days, and the time seems to
be flying! We are really looking forward to spending some time with
our family and many others in the States.

We are still hoping that someone will rent this house, but at this
point we don't have anyone. You could keep praying for that! Also we
would really appreciate prayers that we will get things here closed up
and well-organized. Seems like many decisions that have to be made!

Joey in MN

We got this picture from Tracy's blog today! She put up a fun mosaic that you will see when you click on the link!

We really enjoy being able to see current, up to the moment pictures from across the world!

We are very thankful for Tracy and her family for hosting Joey! It's a bonus that she is not only a willing hostess, but a photographer, scrapbooker and blogger!

Tuesday, May 29

Joey returned to Minnesota late last night, and we are thankful that God kept him safe through all his travels. He is becoming quite the world traveler, as he noted this is his fourth international trip in the past 6 months! (Without his parents!) Ask him for travel tips if you see him... he has some interesting experiences!

Sunday May 27

Today Joey flies from N. Ireland back to the U.S.—tomorrow evening he will fly back to Minnesota. We are looking forward to hearing more about his trip!

My Mom is traveling right now too, enjoying time in Scotland, Wales and England. They can compare notes when she gets back.

We are entering into the end-of-year round of activities at the school—Fine Arts Festival, Open Houses for graduating seniors, finals, senior reception, awards ceremony, graduation… it’s kind of a whirlwind.

As always at the end of a school year we feel a mixture of joy and sadness… celebrating with the seniors, while knowing how much we (and their families) will miss them. Some families will leave at the end of this school year, for home assignment—some planning to be gone 3 or 6 months, some a year or two years, and as always there are several who will not be returning.

May 23: more amazing pics from N. Ireland

It was really amazing to us tonight in Senegal, to be online chatting with Joey in Northern Ireland, seeing his pictures as he was uploading them! He and his team are having an amazing trip, and he is really excited about it all.

May 21: geometry project

It was so much fun to watch Jacob's work and creativity on his geometry project! He and his partner created a scale model of a theme park... I'm gonna predict an "A"!

Friday: Northern Ireland

We were quite happy to see some pictures Joey has taken in N. Ireland so far! He has often said a picture is worth a thousand words so here are several thousand to give a glimpse of what he's seeing over there!

Friday: expedition!

This was the scene after school today at Dakar Academy, as the high school youth group is off for their annual weekend retreat!