I'm back from my little "mini vacation" to N'Gaparou. It was nice and relaxing...then one day the four of us (Barb, me, Lisa, and David) went on the "Acrobaobob Adventure" which consisted of a ropes course, ziplining, and climbing baobobs. I've never done this stuff before...but I completely loved it! Anyone up for doing more of this when I get back to the states!?

This was part of the adventure...I think this was about 15 meters up in the baobob trees.

How much fun was this!??!

Yeah, there is some perspective! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DAD AND BRENNA!! I love you guys...and wish I could be there to give you HUGE birthday hugs. Soon enough. :)

But not on a jet plane as planned. I am heading out today for the beach where I will stay until Thursday, Lord willing! I am excited to get away from DA, from Dakar, and from technology and just hang out with God's creation at the beach and with friends whom I love dearly.

Ah, I am learning so much...I picked up a new book over the weekend and am nearly done with it. Read an interesting chapter on "Wrestling with God"...I might have to share bits of that later after I have digested it some more. It did my heart good to know I'm not alone. :)

Anyhow, I hope you all have a lovely next few days.

Happy Easter!! He is risen, indeed!

I just got back from a lovely sunrise service out on a field overlooking the ocean. I love the sound of the waves with the moon still visible singing praises to God. :)

Have a lovely day.

Congrats to my good friend Derek Oldenkamp and Karalee...today is their wedding!! I'm sure it will be beautiful. Have fun, kids. I'm praying for you and can't wait to see you. :)

This morning I was woken up by a phone call from my friend Barb. She said, "There was a plane crash." In my still foggy mind, the first thing that went through my head was Joel, but then I quickly realized that he is not going home for awhile yet and that we were safe on that front. So I asked rather groggily "OK?? And..." She replied, "And our tickets to the Gambia were canceled." I just sat there and laughed. I didn't know what else to do. So my plans of going to the Gambia went out the door this morning and I just sat there and laughed to God saying "Ok, You were serious about that whole "don't plan for tomorrow thing, huh?" I'm not upset at all...and that's a new thing. Just shows what God will do in a person's heart.

As I found out later today, it wasn't a plane crash, just a broken plane. And we may have other plans figured out to get out of Dakar, but I'm not holding my breath on them working out either. :) God's in control. That's all that matters. He knows our threshholds and takes care of us when things don't work out as we plan...and even when they do work out that way.

Laughter truly is the best medicine. :)

"This too shall pass."

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:38-39

This verse is one I cling to when things are hard. I was thinking about this this morning as I was walking to school. Two parts stick out to me in this present moment: "neither the present nor the future" and "nor anything else in all creation". There is nothing in my present that can separate me from the love of Christ...no harsh words, no uncertainties, no feelings of mine, no thoughts...regardless of all of those things, I am still His and in His arms of love. When I think of it that way, why do I ever feel the need to have another thing in life? That kind of love is all I need...I just wish it always felt that way. But God is good and that will never change. We call out and He hears us. He sees our hearts and feels what we feel. When no one else can understand or relate to what you are dealing with, Jesus can...because He came here and walked in our shoes. NOTHING can separate us from His love.

1. Nearly everyday on my walk to school the same taxi man walks half way across the street to call out to me, "Taxi?" To which I politely shake my head no, smile, and say, "No, merci." You would think that after nearly 8 months of this he would get the idea, but you gotta give him points for effort. :)

2. There are these cars that drive around with a speaker/pa system thingy (ok, I'm not a techy) on top of their cars. Sometimes they play music, sometimes they sing, and sometimes they are just talking (though I have no idea what language it is because its all muffled). The other week Cori said that we should get one of those things and just drive around singing. How fun would that be? The "American Sisters" (as we are now known in our apartment building...poor Cori, she's Canadian) driving around singing for all to hear. :) That would definitely add some spice to life!

I listened to an interesting sermon today that I downloaded sometime ago. And as always, I wish I would have listened to it back then. I'm not going to go into all the details, if you want to hear it yourself, email me and I'll send you the link. But here were two things that really caught my attention.

"We pray more for the sick than the lost...it seems we are more interested in keeping the saints out of heaven than the lost out of hell."

and

"Never mistake the moment for the man."

The first was interesting to me because it seems that God is really impressing the lost on my heart. The second hit me because of some things going on in my life. I guess "the moment" isn't clearly defined, but I think its more than just a few seconds...it could even be a matter of months. God doesn't work overnight. If you are in a crisis of faith, the growing process could be ugly and last awhile. I know some friends who are going through that and I am as well. Ultimately, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks of us but God. He knows our heart. I am so thankful for that. Because I know that He loves us beyond measure...and as before, He never changes. I love that.

The promise I cling to.

God is good. All the time. And He never changes.

I love that.

Today we left Dakar and went to Bandia Game Park where we got to see lots of animals. :) This is Sarah, David, Lisa, me, Barb, and Tammy in front of a baobob.

Just to give you an idea of just HOW BIG these trees are! If you want to see more pics, email me and I'll send you my ofoto page. :)

Spring break is FINALLY here. Today we had conferences and then curriculum development until this afternoon. I worked on writing a paper for an application all afternoon and now feel that my eyes are crossed and my head is going to explode. I am going home to get food, hang out with Cori, and then put her on a plane to the States with a lot of my stuff...including this application...pray that this job comes through...if it doesn't, I'm not sure what to do. :) But I know God knows...and I rest in that. Good night! :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day! In honor of the day, here is a pic from the land o' green, itself. I found this place when I was sitting in the library waiting for my kids...this is known as the "Giant's Causeway"...I had never heard of it...it's pretty cool looking, check it out! :)

"If the word "God" were written upon every blowing leaf, embossed on every passing
cloud, engraved on every granite rock, the inductive evidence of God in the world would be no stronger than it is."
--Dr. E.A. Maness

I love when missionaries are getting ready to move back home. They sell stuff for pretty cheap and/or give it away. :) Today after school I picked up 3 movies for a dollar each. Ok, so I will also be going home in 2.5 months, but I'm just thinking of Cori. ;) Actually, now I will have something else to take up some time over the first week of spring break. It's good to be easily excited. It was the highlight of my day...the movies? It's a Wonderful Life (I know, Christmas is over, but I love this one!), Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Men in Black. Haha. I'm excited. (I think I already said that!)

This is the one place in the world I long to go. I was talking with a friend today about all the things we have gotten to experience by being overseas...yet this is the one place I wish I could go and stand there and just be in awe. I've been waiting a long time to go...I've always wanted it to be with the right person, things are always sweeter when you can share them with someone who knows you well. But I think maybe I ought to just go. Life is too short to wait for things to always be picture perfect. I long to see this place and say to God, "Wow, You are amazing. You did all of this and yet you still know me intimately."

Sipi Lyn. Most of you have seen me use the name, or have seen it as my screen name for MSN and wondered about it. Well, welcome to Sipi Falls. The waterfall in Uganda that we got caught under. If you look closely, you will see me in the middle of the pic in dark pants and a white shirt trying to move, but frozen by the freezing pins of water falling on me...the guys somehow managed to get out of the worst of it...:) Hence, the entire team often calls me Sipi Lyn. :) Such good memories...those are the ones that you think of and just smile.

Because the man at the Mobil station was throwing large rocks at him...so he crossed over to the Shell station where the man shooed him on down the road. The poor cow was just hungry...trying to feed one of its 7 stomachs with the lucsious green leaves that were to be found no where else in the desert.

Cori and I sat at lunch today laughing really hard while watching this poor cow cross a very busy intersection twice, stopping all traffic...just looking for some food. Our question...who's cow was it and do they know where it is? Dakar is a funny place. Cows in busy intersections...its completely normal.

"If you are going to cheat, at least cheat well!" These were my words to Cori when she came in and showed me some papers of a student that she suspects of cheating. I looked at them and discovered what she was saying, the one student had simply taken the other student's paper, cut her name off of it, and written her own name on it. That's not even creative! I guess we should be thankful that our students aren't sneaky enough to cheat well, and it is disappointing that they would cheat at all...but at least if they are going to do it, they could make it a challenge for us to figure out! Ah, sixth graders...may they never learn how to cheat well.

You're glad I came when I'm gone, but you wish I'd leave when I'm there.
It hurts when I help. I stretch when I strengthen.
Who am I?

When is enough enough?

i don't think i can do this anymore.

Daffodils breaking through the ground.
Buds on the trees.
Green grass growing.
The cold disappearing.
A smile from a face you love.
Tenderness in a hard situation.
Strength renewed.
A reason to keep on going.

The love of a Saviour that overwhelms, renews, strengthens, and brings this hope.

Wait on Him--24:7 Band

Confusion abounds, its dark all around
Your soul is undone as the new depths are found
The look in your eyes, it’s not hard to realize
Hope sings a song, that’s not very long

He knows your need
In Him you can receive
A love beyond comprehension
Through all your tears
Is He really near, my dear?
Just hold on a bit longer

Wait on Him
Through the fire your learning to see what is stronger
Wait on Him
For the healing begins when you run to your Maker
Wait on Him
For the weight of the world rests well on His shoulders
Wait on Him
Soon the fire of your anguish will fade to a smolder

Brokenness brings, bittersweet things
The pain may remain as His sweet presence sings
To you now again, just trust Me and then
In time you will see, how this story book ends
But it’s hard to see what sadness you keep
Release, to the God all comfort
Through tormented fears, He will be near, my dear.
Just hold on a bit longer

Wait on Him
Through the fire your learning to see what is stronger
Wait on Him
For the healing begins when you run to your Maker
Wait on Him
For the weight of the world rests well on His shoulders
Wait on Him
Soon the fire of your anguish will fade to a smolder

Disclaimer: I may have a few lyrics not quite right...you know how it goes.

Three months from today, Cori and I will be boarding a plane to start our journey back to North America. I don't know if I should be happy or sad. I guess it is a bittersweet thing. I'm so ready for the peace and rest of home but will so dearly miss those here who have become my family. So in honor of this...here are the three things I love most about this place and will miss dearly...

1) Cori (and other friends...too many to name here!)
2) The beach and ocean (random beach days)
3) Crepes and the yummy pastries

How do you know if you are where God wants you to be? If you are in a place, do you assume that is where He wants you? And if you are simply trying to honor Him with where you are, then is it possible to be where He didn't want you to be? And if you aren't where He wants you to be, if that is possible, then how will you know? Will your ministry be fruitless? Will you be miserable? Or will something more dramatic happen, like some rare disease that takes you back home? And if it is simply misery and fruitless ministry, do you walk away from your commitment and go home or do you stick it out and stay where you are? And what if you honestly don't know anymore if you can stick it out and stay where you are? What then? How do you know when you have reached the end of your rope and God wants you to just go home? And what if you are doing more harm than good where you are even though you are trying to honor Him? When do you get on that plane and leave? When do you throw your hands up and say "I'm done. This is not where God wants me."? How do you know these things?

Yesterday I met someone who was vaguely familiar. I knew I had seen them somewhere years ago. And I remembered that it was not a pleasant meeting. I was thankful that this person was no longer in my life. This person was a person full of anger and bitterness. She was full of meanness and harsh words. I was thankful when I no longer had to deal with her. But yesterday, out of the blue, she appeared here in Dakar. As I watched her come on the scene, I cringed. I knew she wasn't up to anything good. I knew she would only cause pain for those around her. I knew that I should just keep my distance from her. And as certain as the day, as I watched her, she tore people down with her words. She was full of that same bitterness and anger that I saw in her about 6 or more years ago. She had nothing good to say and nothing positive to think. She is a horrendous person that no one should ever have to deal with.

Do you know her? Yeah, you do. You see, this person is me.

I'm thankful that God's grace never empties. I'm thankful He has counted me worthy of struggling like this to become closer to Him. I never want to see her again. And with His strength carrying me, I pray I never will.

Have you ever just had one of those days where things just keep going wrong? Sometimes its funny, sometimes its not? Yeah, welcome to my day. I woke up determined that it would be a good day...but something is working against me pretty hard. But here is what I find the most bizarre...you know how there are certain laws of nature and all that? Well, I am teaching my kids about electricity and we are talking specifically today about how opposites attract and similar charges repel. Or so it is supposed to be. I tried this balloon thing where you rub one balloon and they are supposed to attract...what happened in our experiment? They repelled. So then I went ahead and rubbed the other balloon as well and they were supposed to repel. What did ours do? They attracted. Can anyone explain this one to me!? Talk about confusing. Then we tried another experiment...something most every kid has done successfully. Rub a balloon on your head and stick it to the wall. Easy, right? Not today. We rubbed this balloon with hair and it didn't stick. We tried clothes. It didn't stick. We tried wool. It didn't stick. So out of frustration I said to the kids as any good teacher does, "Put away your books, its time for math." I got hit in the head today, too by a pretty hard shoulder...it was right before these experiments, maybe that has something to do with it all? So much for laws of nature and the like. :)

"The pain passes, but the beauty remains."
-Pierre Auguste Renoir

I pray that this will be true.

Wacky Tacky Day...ok, the pony tail on the side of the head is one style that should definitely stay dead. Cori and I agreed that had I worn normal clothes, I would still be takcy because of that!!