October 23: Harvest Fest

The Dakar Deckers were all involved in the 2009 Dakar Academy Harvest Fest Down-Under! Jacob ran a "chicken chasing" booth with one of his friends, which seemed to go over well with the little kids. The bigger kids had fun when the chickens escaped from the pen! I clipped the wings of one rooster, hoping to keep him in the pen, but he managed to jump out anyway. Dave kept busy grilling, relieving kids at their booths so they could get a bite to eat, and selling drinks... while I walked all over the campus helping out and troubleshooting as needed. We had a great time, and we're all tired out now that it's over! We feel privileged to be senior class sponsors, and love working with these students!

October 17: rain!

After three weeks without a drop of rain, we got a downpour last night. Dave and I were almost finished with our nice dinner at a restaurant near our house when the deluge began. We waited about 1/2 hour to see if it would let up, but finally decided we needed to leave. The drive home was a challenge, with flooded roads and a low car. In several places I thought the car would float away! This pic is after the worst parts, but still gives an idea of how much water came down! (It doesn't look as deep as it was in reality but this gives you at least a sense of it!)

October 5: scenes from Liberia

Dave arrived home on Friday afternoon, so glad to be back on his scheduled return-day! This is not something we take for granted when traveling around West Africa!

His trip went well, with many hours of talking and listening to team members. Please continue to pray for their leadership needs! (The acting director is leaving earlier-than-planned because of health concerns.)

He was able to be part of a "men's night out" with the SIM'ers there... they brought sandwiches to the top of the Ducor hotel and got ice-cream afterwards.

He also got to visit with some of our many Liberian friends-- who are the reason we love Liberia so much!