JFK to DKR (with 30% more free)

Greetings from Africa. Perhaps next time I'll throw in some French, but today I will stick to English. It is currently 4 pm Senegalese time. I have been here 10 hours already! I have to admist I had a pretty good entry started on my computer, but I can't connect it to the Internet yet so I will give you some of the rough details. Please excuse any incoherent parts. (chalk it up to jet lag)

My journey started at 3:30 am CDT in good 'ole Neola. I made it to and through Detroit without any problems. Yay! When I landed at JFK, I realized it was a whole nother world in terms of airports. (If you've been there, you know what I mean.) I was waiting in this big open room which was supposed to turn into a check-in area (I was hoping anyway) when a lady approached several of us who were waiting and asked where we were going. I explained I was going to Senegal and she said she was too. She had missed her flight the previous day so she spent the day in the airport. She was originally from Senegal but had lived in the US for quite some time.

Anyway to make a long story short, she was having trouble getting a ticket for the plane and she was having trouble maneuvering around the airport. I told her I'd help her so together we went up, down, to different terminals, etc and finally got a ticket. (Aside: I had prayed on the first leg of the journey that God would bring someone into my life with whom I could get to know on this trip. I also prayed for an uneventful trip. First one check, second one sort of...:) )

Then we started through security. I spotted a Senegalese man in the security line whom we had met in the elevator while on our wild goose chase around JFK. The lady was in a different line so she was unable to communicate with this man but I did my best to motion to him to take off his shoes, keep out his boarding pass, etc. He didn't speak French (well neither do I) but Wolof, the local language.

So what started out as a journey alone was no longer. I now had two companions and we were still growing.

As we started to board the plane, we saw a young mother with her infant son strapped to her back. She was trying to push a bag, suitcase, carry a car seat and something else. She didn't speak English either so I told the woman I was with to tell the lady we would help her carry her things. (The two women had conversed earlier.) So now the woman is carrying a car seat, I'm pushing a bag and carrying my own while motioning to the gentleman that we are boarding and he should come even though they didn't call his seat.

I originally hoped to rest at the JFK airport since I don't sleep well on planes. It was nice though being able to help them. The first lady said God always provides someone to help you. I told her it was so true. I helped her at JFK and she helped me when I landed in Dakar.

So I guess this perhaps wasn't the most exciting travel story, but it was fun for me as I saw our group grow. Helping others really does transcend language.

You're probably wanting to hear about Senegal, my new home. Well I'll probably have to provide more details later as I haven't had time to process it all. It definitely is a different world. Waves of calmness and panic have both come. (It's funny though-even though I'm halfway around the world, I was still able to talk with a friend I met at PFO who now lives in Malaysia as well as talk with a former student. The familiar can still be here even though things look and sound different.)

The traffic is crazy. It makes Chicago look like Neola (or Tipton). Drivers weave, there are no lane markings really on many roads) and people will walk along busy streets. I'm glad to be a passenger. :)
My apartment is nice. It has all the furnishings. We did lose electricity earlier today for a few hours but it wasn't too bad. I could hear several goats outside my window today. They walk in the torn down jail that used to be next to my apartment. (catch the words used to) There are some beautiful trees with bright flowers. Gorgeous.
It has been rainy so it's not that hot today. Humid but not hot.
We walked to the school and I saw my classroom. It's not air conditioned, but I haven't taught at an air conditioned school yet so that's not different.

That's a small glimpse into my life. More details to come. Oh, and I will post pictures later. I want to process more before I start snapping photos.

HAC

No worries...life is good. I haven't left yet, but again I feel compelled to write. (I'm glad my friends talked me into starting one of these.)

I must say I have the most amazing church family ever--Harvest Alliance Church. It is always nice to come back "home" to this church. Today they had a commissioning service for me. The congregation may be small, but it has a heart for missions. Like usual, I started weeping. I don't know what it is, but I always get teary when I talk at church. I think it may be the fact that I can feel their love when I'm standing up front. Seeing my family and members of my church family that I know are praying just gets overwhelming (in a good way).

Well unless I decide to write tomorrow, my next entry will come from the other side of the ocean.
Good-bye!

randomness

I feel compelled to write. I don't know why. I'm tired, really tired. I'm in the middle of the unorganization they described at PFO. Fortunately they described that even organized people go through this time where everything is just everywhere so I'm not going crazy...yet.

I'm ready to go. Really ready. If I could step on the plane tomorrow, I would. I guess that's a good sign. It's a step into the unknown, but yet it seems completely right. I mean, I've been going down this path for four years. It's like I've arrived, but it's still just the beginning.

More to come...most likely from the other side of the Atlantic.

Can it really be?

excited. nervous. ready for adventure. at peace.

When people ask me how I feel about moving to Dakar, Senegal, one (or many) of the previous thoughts run through my head. Can it really be true that I'm moving to Senegal? Sometimes I wonder who signed me up for this. When that thought pops into my head, it serves as a great reminder that the Lord is faithful. He often provides little moments that make me so excited to go. For instance, I was at PFO (more about that later), and I woke up so excited to be working in a Muslim country. I mean, I was really excited. I cannot explain it except to say that God has really opened my heart to these people.

So you may be wondering what PFO is. Pre-Field Orientation is a two-week training program for people going to work at Christian schools around the world. It was great mental preparation as I get ready to leave for Dakar on July 29th. We focused on Third-Culture Kids (TCKs), transitions, culture, and teaching. I also had the privilege of meeting some wonderful people. I got a chance to reconnect with old friends from Spain as well as make new friends. It was such a blessing to be around other people who are going through the same things. Sometimes, I found myself thinking or saying: "I feel the same way" or "me too" or "I'm normal." (well the last one may be open to debate ;)) It was inspiring to be in a room with people that would literally be scattered around the world in a few months. Just among my roomies, we were covering four different continents: Africa, Europe, South America, and Asia.

Well I better bring this first post to a close. I hope to update this site regularly with my thoughts, feelings, and happenings in Dakar. I cannot promise that it will be thought-provoking or an English masterpiece, but hopefully, it will give you a glimpse into my life.

Stay tuned as I touch-down in Dakar on July 30th.