Ebola

Yep, it's scary.  Not gonna lie.  But thankfully the one case we have had here in Senegal was contained, treated and made a full recovery.  And really AIDS and Malaria are a lot more deadly here in the bush.  But, now that Mali has it's first case it effects us because of so many parents that board their kids here are serving in Mali.  My heart goes out to the family of the little girl (in Mali) because they are going through such a heart breaking and scary time and with the whole world pointing fingers at them.  It's just not a good situation any way you look at it.  So please join us in praying for them and for all of those that are effected by this and for those that will be working on containing this horriable plague.

lions!

We went to Fathala Nature Reserve here in the southern part of Senegal and walked with Lions!  Mike stayed back at the hotel with Monroe.  It was incredabile!  The walking sticks that we are each carring is what signified to the lions that we were the ones in control.  They are treated so well there, with such respect and love.  I often feel sorry for animals when they are on display but these lions were very content and very well cared for.

Family visit

Since the start of 2014 I have had London and a family visit to look forward to.  My Mom, sister Angie and niece Alexis came and have now gone.  And school is about to be out for the summer so that means everyone is making plans to go back to their country of origin (Canada,USA,Brazil,Korea,Japan,England,Germany and all around Africa).  And then there is us who will hold down the fort.  Mike will be working hard on his dissertation for his Doctorates in Leadership.
So what are the kids and I to do?
I have some things lined up for us.  Such as french classes, travel around Dakar more on our own, help out at the talibe center, develop deeper friendships with the people that are staying here and do cooking classes with the kids friends.  I have been taking a lot of pictures this year so I will soon be posting those as well.

But I have to admit I'm depressed.  I am not looking forward to the heat, as well as the electricity and water cuts, and the craziness that comes with school and all the activities that go with it will be gone so the campus will be silent.
But, enough of my whineness.
God is great!  During my family's visit we got to go to a local talibe center and a village 3 1/2 hours from Dakar and got to see amazing healing and how God works through others.  I will post pictures from the village in another post but because of the subject matter I won't post any from the talibe center.  If you have any questions about the talibe kids and how it works you can look it up on wikipedia.  The talibe kids are a constant here in Senegal, they are all around and several groups have set up a center or "home" for these boys so they know they have a safe and loving place to come and take a shower, food, medicine and can even play a little bit and just be a kid.  The boys are brought from their villages at about the age of 5 to 15 where they go out on the streets and beg for money.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talibe


It has been an amazing year.  God has shown me so many things that my mind is still scrambled and trying to make sense of it.  But I wouldn't have it any other way.  Mike and the kids have learned so much as well. It's definitely been a year we will never forget.  So for now we will enjoy the summer and see what next year brings!

England

We are back.  I'll admit it was very hard to come back.  Not just because of the vacation aspects of it and the beautiful scenery but because of the lightness there.  It's just very different here in Dakar.

Here are some differences:

 They have a McDonald's

They have huge road signs 

They drive on the other side  (Mike took to it really well, even with the gear shift on the left)

They have a really big clock

A large Ferris Wheel

Their guards wear really big hats

They have amazing castles

Great photo ops

A great subway system 

And a beautiful bridge

As you can hopefully see by the pictures we had an incredible time!  It was a little chilly the first few days we were there and it was great because I didn't realize how much I missed the colder weather, I kept thinking we were there at Christmas time.  

This trip was exactly what we needed, it really did revive us. We know God brought us here to Dakar and we aren't done here yet but God willing this won't be our last visit to London.