April 16: Psalm for the week

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

April showers?

Our friends have mentioned this being a very cold April in some places. I think of the old saying, April showers bring May flowers, not sure what April snow brings! Living here in Dakar, which seems very desert -ish much of the time, April showers are slightly different. When we noticed two drops of rain on Sunday evening, some of us got excited about it!
We enjoyed celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus with a sunrise service, and a later-afternoon egg hunt, dessert and bonfire. Its a blessing to have good friends with whom to share these special days!

We've had a little April shower of breakdowns around our house as well: the door handles won't stay on! The gate lock has gotten almost impossible to open! The compressor in the refrigerator died! (While we were gone for four days!) The hot water heater died... Jacob's bike has broken down...
And yet we know that GOD is working for good in our lives and in this country, and we are thankful for His constant presence with us! We know that He will provide all that we need.

April 13

Because I know and believe that Lord is my refuge, and my strength and a very present help in times of trouble, I don't have to get all riled up when the refrigerator dies while we're on vacation, and the hot water heater does the same. I can trust Him to continue to work for good in my life even when my laptop stops working. He will be exalted among the nations, and in the small details of our daily lives. Thank you, Lord!

truths about God from Psalm 46

God is:

our refuge
our strength
a very present help in trouble
with us

God has:

brought desolations to the earth

God:

makes wars cease
breaks the bow
shatters the spear

GOD WILL BE EXALTED AMONG THE NATIONS

Psalm for the week: Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High God is in the midst of her;
she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
He utters His voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how He has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
He burns the chariots with fire.

"Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!"

The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

thoughts

new thoughts about what to share in this blog...

My idea in starting it was to be a place for family and friends who are interested in our lives to see our pictures and keep up with us a bit. (And that's still true.)

I thought Dave and Jacob might enjoy posting too. (And they still might. Someday. When they're really really old and don't have anything else to do.)

I thought Danny and Joey might enjoy seeing some of these pictures too! (And judging by Joey's periodic appearance in comments, it seems that he does in fact enjoy staying connected, when he's not too busy!)

Now, I think it's time to add more about our life, more about what God is showing us in His Word, more about what we're doing, and we'll see how it goes!

Your thoughts are always welcome... in the comments!

April 8-14: what's going on this week?

Easter Sunday: Resurrection Day!(see more photos here)
Early morning sunrise service with friends, bring food and juice to share.

Quiet dinner at home with Dave and Jacob: roast chicken, cranberry-orange relish, baked potatoes, fresh green beans.

5 pm-- Easter egg hunt with families at Adamsons, potluck appetizer supper, bonfire.

9 pm-- host two MK's whose flight back to Senegal from Liberia was changed from Tuesday to Sunday, and their dorm isn't open until Monday.

Monday: last day of Spring Break for Jacob.
grocery shop.
guys play soccer at 4:00.
B and T supper here before they return to Guinea tomorrow: 3-bean chili, veggies, fruit, lemon bars and choc chip bars.

Tuesday: first day of school.
team prayer time: hear about SH's trip to Asia, pray for our colleagues in West Africa and worldwide.

Wednesday: Ladies Bible Study here, both groups meet together for our once-a month time of fellowship, (the two groups meet separately on the other Wednesdays of the month.)

Jacob: youth group in the evening.

Thursday: end of term review?

Friday: meet with DA Guidance Counselor re: Jacob's schedule for next year

Saturday: Senior Cafe at Dakar Academy.

In non-scheduled time, work on completing Coaching and Counseling class, facilitate progress in orientation modules for WAFA Member Care Orientation, plan/prepare meals, start to think about home assignment plans, DON'T PANIC, talk to Danny and Joey, assess PoohBear (cat 1) as to whether his breathing is getting worse and whether he can be comfortable with only the cortisone shots, how often would he need the shots, PRAY for a renter for our house during our home assignment, pray for support needed for Joey's short-term trip to N. Ireland next month...

vacation pictures

I still want to post more vacation pictures on this blog, but I haven't had the chance to get them organized and edited yet. In the meantime, if you'd like, you can view this links (on my photo blog) to see a few more pictures from our time in N'Gaparou!

beach day one

beach day two

beach day three

beach day four

last day at the beach

April 7: Aliens?

Can you guess what Jacob, Mitchell and Uncle Dave are up to?

(Jeremiah, these pictures are for YOU!)


For the rest of you who didn't talk to Uncle Dave on Skype yesterday, these pictures are of the guys "Paintball" expedition. They went with about 30 other guys and had a wild time with four teams... amazing that you can do that here in Senegal!

March 30-April 3 vacation: GAMES!

Many games were played during our four days at the beach! Varieties of football, soccer, volleyball, badminton... as well as favorites like Rage, Settlers of Cataan and even Axis and Allies!

March 30-April 3 vacation: Gorgeous sunsets!

To me, each sunset was unique and beautiful. "Some" people made fun of me for thinking each one was different than the last! What do you think?

March 30-April 4 Vacation: Guys having fun doing random things...

bunch of young guys together listening to Uncle Dave teaching during worship time...


















Dave and Bruce cooking our supper... (burning it a bit?) while having deep conversations!











Jacob having fun flying a kite!

Vacation April 3: Go-Karting!

April 2: fun pic from vacation

This was a funny sight that Dave and I saw as we took an early morning walk on the beach!