November 26: Turkey Bowl

An annual D.A. tradition is Turkey Bowl, a half-day of flag football and food! The junior class serves the food, and as junior-class sponsors, we kept busy working and playing! (More pictures are available upon request, let us know and I'll send you the link!)

November 23: Dan, Liz, and Erik!

We enjoyed a quick two-day visit from Pastor Dan and Liz, and Pastor Erik from our home church. They had been in Guinea leading our SIM team in a Spiritual Life Conference, and then spent two days in Dakar visiting with the missionaries from our church who serve here. We packed a lot into those two days- a movie night at DA, softball games, time at the beach and a soccer game! (And we had to drive through a herd of cows on the way home from the beach...) The highlight may have been the bonfire on our roof with music led by Pastor Dan... but all the time was good.

We are thankful for the time they spent to encourage us here!!

November 16: Meg and Cara

Meg facilitated a session at the annual Senegal Women's Retreat, titled "Help, I'm Married to a Travelling Man!" It was a blessing to have her as part of this year's retreat.

Cara is from our home church, and is a missionary in a smaller town here in Senegal. It was fun to see Meg and Cara connect at the retreat!

November 9: Dennis and Meg

Dennis and Meg came from Boston to facilitate leadership training as part of our WAFA Council meetings. We enjoyed hosting them, and look forward to the next time of being together! (Somehow I forgot to take pictures during their teaching times, but they looked very professional! We managed to find time for a fun walk in the park as well!)

in meetings...

This week we're in council meetings each day, and the women's retreat is beginning Friday... Hopefully I'll be back after that with notes and pictures!

November 5

It feels very strange to be across an ocean from the U.S. on election day! I'm so thankful to be a citizen of a country where we are allowed to vote, and to voice our opinions freely. Now that the election is finished, I'm praying that we will move on, trusting God's sovereignty.

" I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1Timothy 2:1-4).

I really appreciate Justin Taylor' s words today

No matter who you voted for--or whether you voted at all--it's important to remember that, as President, Barack Obama will have God-given authority to govern us, and that we should view him as a servant of God (Rom. 13:1, 4) to whom we should be subject (Rom. 13:1, 5; 1 Pet. 2:13-14).

• We are to pray for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
• We are to thank God for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
• We are to respect Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7).
• We are to honor Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:17).

His entire post is worth reading.

October 30

Ghana conference: I was thankful for time to consult with others involved in the "people care" aspect of living overseas. I was thankful for time to consult with skilled and trained counselors, with coaches and encouragers. I was blessed to be able to take pictures of ocean-sunrises for five days. I enjoyed sessions of learning more about depression, anxiety, healthy sleep and other topics-- and am looking forward to integrating the material into my life and work here. I was blessed with reunions with long-time friends, and developing relationships with new friends. I'm more encouraged and motivated for the work of the days ahead! Thanks for your prayers!

Note!

My time in Ghana was very special. I'll write more in the next few days, but meanwhile, I've been posting some of the pictures on my "lifesights(plus)" blog if you are interested! May God bless you with His peace and joy today!

October 16: in transit!

Yesterday I flew from Dakar to Abidjan (Ivory Coast) , and from Abidjan to Accra, Ghana. Today I'll go by road to the conference center where I'll spend the next five days at a retreat and consultation for people involved in support and care roles for overseas workers. I'm excited about the people who are part of this time, and looking forward to spending time with them, in consultations, worship, and times of refreshing together!

(and I'm loving the guesthouse garden!)

October 11: update

Dear praying friends and family,

Greetings from Dakar! We are blessed and thankful to be based in West Africa, working with SIM. We long to see joyful overseas workers effectively spreading a passion for God's glory in West Africa, and to serve them by offering quality leadership and administrative support. What has that looked like in our lives over the past weeks?

October 9: Joey

Joey used frequent flyer miles and took a quick trip to MN this week-- where he had surgery to repair his collar bone. We are thankful for Aunt Tracy and Uncle Lee, and for Dr. and Mrs. Cole-- who helped him so much in different ways.

We are praying for him to recover full strength and agility in the days ahead!

October 4: normal Dakar scene

Construction in progress. Big houses or apartments, built using rudimentary equipment. Satellite dishes galore. The horse near his cart, having some down-time. Sand. Concrete. Trash strewn everywhere.

October 2: softball pics

Just a couple pictures for you to see some of the faces that make softball special to us here in Dakar!

October 2: bullet-point update

What's been happening this week?

• Dave has been in Ghana for Mobile Member Care Team board meetings. He left on Sunday and will return (Lord willing) on Friday evening.
• Junior varsity softball has started. I recruited a few girls who are needed for the team, and have been enjoying watching the practices and supporting all the kids (especially the girls!) Dave will be one of the coaches when he returns.
• The last day of Ramadan was celebrated on Wednesday, it was a no-school day for D.A.
• Joey's collar bone: upon review by an orthopedic doctor, surgery is recommended to align the bones correctly. (They are now overlapping each other.) He'll fly to Minnesota for the out-patient surgery next week with a surgeon we know and trust. What a blessing!
• It's been busy for me in my job at Dakar Academy, and our househelper has been on vacation so it's been extra work at home too.
• One of Jacob's teachers at D.A. resigned, and now the administrative leadership are working to get teaching arrangements worked out... lots of complication!
• We have had electricity almost every night for the past week, although it's been off between four and six hours per day. Being able to sleep with fans/air conditioning is a huge blessing!