J & D's Travels

Intro to Teaching in Indonesia

2010-07-02T00:47:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Seoul, Korea. This is Darwin and I am hijacking this blog for journey to Surabaya, Indonesia. Unfortunately Janet is not with me; she is sipping a latte on Kailua Beach instead.

I am off to Indonesia to lead a Pastors Retreat on the Spiritual Formation of Young People and then teach a Foundations of Youth Ministry class at Alethia Theological Seminary.

The journey across the Pacific was uneventful. The accommodations provided by Korean Airlines were excellent. (Though I was jealous of the 1st class section.) I did loose thirteen hours of my life which I trust I'll gain back on the return trip.

dg

A few moments before leaving

2009-06-21T15:27:00.000-07:00

I must include this picture because through the car window we see a window into the life of these little boys. The begging children are always about with round soft eyes and open fingers. Because we do not want money going to the local Imam, instead of money, Marilyn will often give the children fun animal shaped vitamins. This was met with mixed reactions.

There was much for us to see in Senegal, challenging conversations, eye-opening encounters, and the privilege of being readily welcomed into stranger's homes and lives.

Thank you to family and friends for following us on this journey across the ocean and thank you to family and friends who welcomed us across the ocean.

And may you have Joy in your Journey.

Last Day in Senegal

2009-06-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

Darwin managed, even in a faraway land, to find a missionary buddy, Geoff, who was willing to ride 100 miles of Senegal beach and Dakar streets. He left happy and excited, and returned filthy and exhausted, but alive.

Marilyn and I had a different adventure. She took me to the shanty town (my first ever) to visit her little 'adopted nephew', Assan. Although I had seen pictures of such a place in the news and movies, it is different to walk into the such a place without confidence and leaving having learned a little bit about community -- and possibly gratitude.

The home was large enough to hold only a few items, and we sat on the largest, a bed, which I believe was made out of crates and covered with a blanket. (there was also room for a little tv...)

We shared the joy in the announcement that Assan is doing very well in his school work - eighth in the class. And I received the warm hospitality of their acceptance of me in their space.

Malika Monkey moments

2009-06-21T14:47:00.000-07:00

We watched these fellows put the final touches on the drum we eventually purchased, then they enjoyed a little jam session - enjoying the fruits of their labor.

Darwin examines a teak fountain which he eventually purchases.

We enjoyed a short respite from the afternoon sun beside the pool and then visited Chaco - a real monkey.

Malika Monkeys

2009-06-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

We are at the home base of the Malika Monkeys. http://www.malikamonkeys.com/ They are not actually monkeys, but they do have a monkey which likes to eat dried cranberries -- don't try to trick it by mixing them with raisins.

Darwin and I have spent the day here in the home of Herrema, a brethren missionary, who opens her home to street kids once a week - for a shower, food, games and Bible story. She also has young men and boys who daily come to her shop to learn trades with mechanics, wood working, drum making, tailoring and other high quality crafts....that will be us walking off the plane with our own handcrafted Jambe - and Darwin's new handcrafted fountain pen. The men call themselves the monkeys.

This is a restful oasis, a place Marilyn comes to relax when she is doing checking of translations with her assistant. We had a colorful, flavor filled meal served in a common bowl. We sat on the floor and shared the dish with our spoon. You can't really eat with people if you are made at them, it encourages conversation around the table (or floor).

Dakar tomorrow - errands, shopping and lunch for Marilyn and me. Crazy long motorbike rider for Acrabaobab Man - uh, Darwin.

Janet and the Camel

2009-06-18T15:10:00.000-07:00

Watch Janet's first experience with a camel, it is delightful.

Views of the desert

2009-06-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

The desert is a very peaceful, pleasant place in the evening and morning - it is even cool. But the days are hard and harsh. We developed a more acute understanding of the Old Testament stories of the Patriarchs, their travels, lives, camel smells and some of the imagery. It was powerful.

Our desert home away from home

2009-06-18T10:35:00.001-07:00

We had a grand, faraway feel, vacation at the Camp du Lampoul. We were greeted by a truck in the little town and they drove us into the southern tip of the Sahara Desert. We were the only guests in a camp that could accommodate 40 people. We were treated well. We had a large tent made from hand woven material and furnished with hand made beds, a leather trunk and table. The tents were marked with oil lanterns which also guided us at night to the facilities...

Not to be neglected is Mbuy Turre, our camel guide. He is a 19 year old nomadic man - very competent and pleasant - who made initial overtures to marry Kristin. He saw a picture of her on my camera and offered to sell all of his cows and sheep as a dowry.....funny thing about that, is that he wouldn't have anything left. Darwin was interested, of course, in pursuing this, but I said that she was busy, and not available, thank you.

Marilyn brings color to the desert campsite - in her clothing and personality.

Camel Rides at Camp du Lampoul

2009-06-18T09:37:00.001-07:00

Marilyn felt that we had not had enough adventure here in Senegal so she took us for an overnight camping adventure on the edge of the Sahara Desert. We arrived in our Mauritanian campsite, washed up (notice the outdoor calabash sink and mirror surrounded by a dried eucalyptus fence) and were invited for a camel ride.

Up the Baobab and Back

2009-06-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

Janet leads the way up the last tree. Darwin follows.

Marilyn thinks twice about the challenge, but bravely follows -- with some friendly family 'encouragement' :) How high did she get anyway?

Post Baobab Adventure and an excellent lunch of steak and frites we left the beach after an attempted scam by a fictitious water man claiming that our water would be turned off and we needed to fill reserve pans for two days. Hey, since when do we get a warning that services will be disrupted? Does he have an ID? He's gone. We packed our truck, warned the neighbors and left. We may not be back to this beach, but Marilyn will.

Some Lagoon Pics

2009-06-18T08:38:00.000-07:00

Meet our very pleasant water tour guide. He showed us hiding birds, interesting species, the Senegal President's 'beach house' and an oyster farm, but my favorite moments were when the birds took flight. Here are some Cormorants and Flamingos in flight.

We had a very satisfying bird viewing time while the youth appeared to have a nice time on the beach.

Acrabaobab

2009-06-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning we set out for the boabab forest for some high adventure activity at Acrabaobab Adventures (you can find them on line). It was a very good ropes course high in the baobob trees. We were the only patrons at the time so we enjoyed a cup of tea (very strong and minty) with our guide.

Marilyn and Darwin cruise between the trees 60 feet above the ground.

Marilyn claimed to be afraid of heights, but you wouldn't know...is that a scream of glee I hear? From high up on the platforms we could see farmers working the dry fields with their rakes and a shepherd boy with his sheep. They must have thought we were crazy.

For all of my yoga friends out there....the balance practice is paying off.

Afternoon Bird Lagoon - and two free lessons

2009-06-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

Loading pictures very sluggish in this afternoon heat. So I will attempt at a later date. Our Senegalese honeymoon with electricity and the internet is over. Electricity just disappears for short or long periods of time at somebody's command. It went out last night while we were cooking so we ate by candle light and went to bed early. It was off all morning also. And the stove and bathroom door also broke this morning. It doesn't seem to flap Marilyn much -- just do what you need to do. Darwin had fun trying to fix some of these things without his usual tool kit. I even saw him using a hang crank drill. :)

Another fun principle we are experiencing is that nothing is ever free. We were searching for an internet connection several nights ago in hotel row. A very nice young man told us that he knew where we could get it for free. We should have known better at that point. But we were led on a long walk through dark streets to an outdoor 'fast food' restaurant. It turns out that we did need to make some purchase, so we bought a round of Fantas. That did not seem to be enough to please the proprietor so Darwin also ordered fries (with mayonnaise). Then we were unable to connect because the restaurant server was down. We eventually attained the login for a neighboring hotel - which was so weak, we could not sustain a conversation in gmail. Our 'informant-guide' had kindly waited to return us to our car, so we needed to tip him, then he insisted that we tip the fellow who connected us with him. That little episode did not break our budget, but that faulty internet connection was not free.

Darwin also encountered (or rather was encountered by) a shell hawker. When we were walking to the beach to get a boat for our bird viewing lagoon excursion. This fellow thrust shells into Darwin's hands as a gift.....then he wanted payment. The man would not take the shells back. D tried to give him 50 francs which was totally inadequate. This started some activity. We finally gave the fellow another 50 francs. Then it seemed that he was unhappy that we were not pleased with our free shells. So, he gave me another - free - shell.

We eventually boarded a small motor boat with a very friendly guide - he was the fellow who gave his name to Fred E. He drove us gently through the water and we crept up on Herons and Great White somethings, very large Pelicans, and spectacular Flamingos - which we also set to flight. It was so pleasant.

more wildlife interaction

2009-06-17T06:48:00.000-07:00

We had an opportunity to get close to many of the animals. There did not seem to be many rules about getting out of the truck to get closer...We thought it was very funny that we were traveling in an open truck on a safari trak and the guide was talking on his cell phone..... Darwin thinks they have better cell reception here than we do in Michigan.

Note, too, the skulls in the base of the baobab tree. Evidently the Praise Singers used to be buried in these trees. You may translate that however you please...

Animal Park

2009-06-17T06:05:00.000-07:00

We slathered on sunscreen, loaded up with water, put on our hats and started out for a drive through the aminal park. There are no elephants or cats in this park because that would require much more land, and elephants are quite destructive. But we enjoyed close up views of so many other animals and we did not miss a thing.

To the mision beach house

2009-06-16T23:39:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon brought another flat tire in the heat of the day, so we were fairly confident that our flat-tire jinx was past and that our travel to the beach in Ngparou would be flat-tire free. The car was loaded with food, mosquito nets, water and four giddy adults.

We pulled off the side of the road to buy a succulent melon and some honey from one of the countless stands. I was particularly intrigued by these lovely women who represent the majority of women here who clothe themselves in colorful, artsy garments.

The mission beach house (compound) is nicely situated on the Atlantic ocean. We strolled the beach south to an exclusive hotel area primarily visited by Europeans (French esp.)
To the north is a sprawling fishing village were colorful fishing boats line the beach, random animals and children play in the sand. We also encountered a soccer and wrestling camp practicing in the sand.

We have been extremely satisfied with the food opportunities that we have had, but Darwin was especially pleased when we found a bakery that served espresso. He and MaryAnne raise their mugs to a good stout cup of brew.

excuse me

2009-06-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

Oh, uh good morning!

We had the two flat tires fixed, went to church and ate dinner with the pastor and his gorgeous wife from Cameroon. It is very enlightening and an honor to talk with people from many different African countries about the church and issues these countries face. Some are very different than ours, and some are just the same.

The cow part is not the same....

Heading to the beach after a nap. I think we are going to climb some baobab trees and visit a little animal and bird park. Touristy stuff. Will look for an internet cafe. You will know if I find one.

It's a Miracle

2009-06-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

After our siesta we left the house for dinner at the Pascal's - the family who will be continuing MaryAnne's work when she retires in July. We had heard that they had air conditioning, that Nikki was a good cook and that they were fun - we were expectant. But when we stepped out the gate, what did we see but another flat tire. I caught Marilyn and Darwin just staring at it. I exclaimed, "it's a miracle!" Darwin said, "a flat tire is not a miracle" to which M replied, "it is a miracle that neither of these happened on the road....we just took the other car and decided to deal with this tomorrow. Life goes on, but not to quickly.

We stopped by a very nice bakery to purchase fresh bread which they wrapped in (clean I am sure) newspaper for me.

The Paschals were delightful, and the food was superb, squash risotto, grilled chicken, fresh mango sorbet and their own freshly ground coffee - which could be why I am still awake after midnight...

Darwin absolutely loved little (not too shy) Adelaide (as you can see) I think he misses his little girls sometime.

Matt and Darwin 'rescued' the kids from a smallish lizard that was in their playroom. They were having fun playing with the open mouthed creature. Matt said, "Let's see if this little guy will grab your shirt....well the little guy did, and he did not want to let go. She was developing signs of early onset of trauma so we had to remove her shirt...... with the lizard attached.

We had a more sobering time as we mounted the roof of their house to look over the skyline. Right next door is the dwelling of a marabout who has 35 boys who live with/work for him. We could hear them chanting as they were studying the Koran. They are sent out every day and are required to 'earn' 60 francs or else they are beaten. I was told that there are more than a million children who live in this sort of oppressed begging life. Dirty and hungry yet begging for their 'owner'. Now that's hard to live with.

Always Leave Extra Time

2009-06-13T16:18:00.000-07:00

We woke up early to visit the lighthouse and begin our journey back to Thies. And what, to my wondering eyes did appear, a flat tire. It's kind of a mystery to me. But Marilyn says flat tires always happen in 3's. This flat was in the tire she just had repaired last week. I didn't think that was a positive attitude, but was glad that we were not on a crowded Dakar street or long dusty road. Also glad Darwin was there to change it :)

Although were were leaving a bit late, we still took some time to drive to the lighthouse and get a view of Dakar.

At the top we were greeted by three watchmen wondering what we were doing there.

We also had a clear view of the 3.5 million franc renaissance statue that the president of Senegal is building to represent the 'perfect Senegalese' models. huh. That is interesting to see in light of the surrounding major highway traffic jams and poverty.....

Class Photos

2009-06-13T10:34:00.001-07:00

The class ended well last night. We (rather they) sang the doxology in French.

Claude and Jan were the translators for Darwin's lectures. Claude was particularly delightful for Darwin because he laughed at all of Darwin's classroom jokes.

We were all exhausted and dropped into bed, but not before checking the tires on the car - Marilyn said she always checks the tires before a trip. They looked fine.

What's coming Next?

2009-06-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

Saturday - Leave for Thies but stop at a monastery in K. Moussa for Mass.
Sunday - Church in Thies, dinner with Pastor Adama, leave for Mission Beach house in Ngparou (south).
Monday-Wed a.m. Beach, bird refuge, animal park, play and rest, search for an internet cafe.
Wed. - Return to Thies, clean up, check email and drive north to Lampoul (n. of Thies w. of Kebemer) We will spend the night in a desert tent (what is that?)
Thursday - ride camels (the animal), then return to Thies for night - clean up and check email.
Friday - Drive west to Malika where Marilyn will work with her translation checker on I Kings. Darwin and I will participate with (rather watch) the craftsmen at Malika. http://www.malikamonkeys.com/
Saturday - Return to Dakar where Darwin will join the "hairy men" missionary motorcycle gang of men. Marilyn and I will visit Assan (the little boy she had hit with her car a few years ago) in his shanty town.
Head to the airport - Hope we have flights.

Last day of Teaching

2009-06-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

I observed a thirsty bird this morning who was capturing the drops of water as they leached from the bottom of the flower pot. A yellow headed lizard was waiting for his turn...or was he more interested in the bird?

This gentle morning was interrupted with information that the flights out of Dakar which originate in Nairobi (that would be ours) are being canceled until the Nairobi airport increases its safety measures to TSA standards.This sent Darwin and Marilyn to the computers to communicate with the travel agents and the airlines. At this point, our Saturday return flight is not canceled, but we will have to watch it and see what happens. This may be worth a prayer request since we will be in and out of internet access this week.

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch of fish brouchettes, cucumber salad and tiny friend potatoes. We are becoming familiar enough with each other to even share theological jokes. The man on the left teaches Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic here at the Theo. Institute. The next man, Pierre, is the head of Intervarsity here and is a visionary leader of the church. The left two workin IVCF leading study groups. It is pretty amazing to sit with these wonderfully hospitable people who care deeply for the church in Senegal.

Everyone loves a nap after lunch in this hot climate. Even Diago. This table is his favorite place to rest.

Few More Beach Pics

2009-06-11T13:31:00.001-07:00

The computer was too stressed yesterday to post these last few pictures from our beach time. There was a heavy haze over the day - much of it I believe is dust - but it is none the less splendid. Melody with her dog, grass huts to rent for shade and the need to watch out for horse carts. There are groups who gather and play soccer, but not many swimming....they thought we were crazy.

Marilyn had an outfit made for each of us. They fit quite well and are very comfortable.

I could not come to Africa and not try the pizza. We ate lunch in a breezy outdoor patio by the beach. The crust was thin and nutty flavored. It was topped with tomatoes, mushrooms, hearts of palm and fresh cheese. It was very pleasant.

Darwin on the high seas

2009-06-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

We met the Newkirk family today - Field Coordinator - Steve, Laura, Melody and Katie were delightful. They live near the beach, so Steve and Darwin decided to go ocean kayaking. The rest of us tagged along to photograph this adventure. And, it was a bit rough. Let the pictures tell the story.

They spent quite a bit of time outside of the kayak...... and Darwin experienced an extremely strong current that dragged him away from shore (with his life vest and paddle). We gathered quite a crowd of concerned, animated observers who continued to tell me (in french) that this is a dangerous beach. Well, we know that to be true now...

(thank you Melody for getting the kayak that arrived on shore before the kayakers)

Rising hopefully

2009-06-11T10:28:00.000-07:00

Marilyn - as usual is up long before me. I thought I was an early riser. I found her heavily involved in some translation study. But she perked up nicely when we sat outside in the little tiki hut for a breakfast of very fresh french bread, papaya, boiled eggs and Nescafe.

I have been interested in what happens with the trash in Senegal. I have only seen one public trash can since I have arrived...most of the trash ends up on the side of the road or is gathered in general pile. But Marilyn and MaryAnne only accumulate a small amount of garbage for the trash wagon. I was delighted to hear them tell that they give their scrap paper to the neighbor sheep--now that is efficient recycling. Water use is also a challenge. Here at the Bible School they are currently installing 3 tanks to gather water from the roofs to water the plants. It is a good system - but it hasn't rained here for 7 months.

Enjoy a glimpse into a few windows on Goree

2009-06-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

Visit to Goree Island

2009-06-10T12:07:00.000-07:00

Marilyn drove us through the crazy Dakar traffic again this morning to the port where we boarded a ferry (I am understating to say it was crowded) to Goree Island. Goree was historically one of the two major ports in Africa that served as the center for the West Africa Slave trade. It is a very picturesque island with little restaurants, small hotels, craftspeople selling their wares and local residents. The most powerful part of this visit is to the Slave House. The Maison would hold 100-200 people who were separated into rooms for men, women, children and virgins...The people would be weighed, evaluated and shipped across the ocean. It was very moving to stand in the "doorway of no return" through which untold numbers of people were torn from their homeland. http://www.congo-pages.org/senegal/Goree.htm

Darwin's Day

2009-06-10T09:50:00.000-07:00

Darwin wanted to make sure that I showed his French notes on the white board. He is actually teaching teachers/pastors in Africa, and they are quite interested and interesting. We have having very stimulating conversations.

This the closest thing he has found to a coffee shop -- he has actually been decaffeinating a little bit.

He was happy with lunch again today. We stopped at a little shop to get chwarma (like our lamb gyros-fries included).

Sorry the fellow cutting the lamb is lying on his side, internet is slow here and I am not going to take the time to re-upload it upright. Darwin also wanted to include this picture of his lunch. Need I say it was exceedingly more delicious than it looks. The fruit is fabulous here...melons, papaya, mango, bananas, oranges. And the couscous with meat and vegetables is equally scrumptious.

Janet pendulums between fright and hillarity

2009-06-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of mangos, not of my experiences today. I could not get the entire experience in a series of photographs.....even if I had remembered to take my camera.

Marilyn and I decided to go downtown Dakar - which is a essentially multiple blocks of outdoor markets, cars, horns, buses, hawkers and beggars. What a delightfully colorful and funny experience. But we had a task, find a parking space and a shop that sells a certain type of material.
We encountered:
-a man selling pillows - all stacked on his head.
-Two little boys under the age of 5 pushing a broken van out of the road
-colorful women's undergarments (where do they try these on I ask?....)
-sunglasses, phone card, slippers, pots and pans, recycled bottles, fruit, Nescafe carts, baskets of spice, used clothes (much of it from our side of the ocean - I could tell by the sayings --as an aside, there was a man in front of us at church wearing a Bob Marley tshirt)
-we were strongly pursued (acousted?) by several men from a cult who were insistent that we give them money. Marilyn was loudly articulating that, "Yes, we agree, There is One God, but we were not going to give you money."

We finally found a parking spot, but had to pay someone to wash our car in order to acquire the spot. Upon exiting the car we began the search for the perfect fabric, by wandering willy-nilly up and down the streets. Actually, Marilyn, stopped often to ask a vendor where we might find this particular material. We were eventually led to a fine shop where we found the material we liked and began "coming to an agreement" about the price. This, somehow, needed to include finding something in common with the other person or showing personal interest. For us, this transaction ended with the shop owner asking us to pray for his shop. Then he followed us to the car to get a copy of the Wolof scriptures. I could not believe that Marilyn was standing beside our (clean) car with 7 men straining to see the book and listening intently as she showed them the account of Abraham. It was unbelievable. Oh, and then I was very nearly hit by a taxi.

It was a great adventure.

Darwin explores the surroundings.....

2009-06-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that Darwin had earned sleeping in a little bit today....Although I checked on him at 9:00 a.m. because I thought he might have gotten entangeld in his mosquito net.... He had taught for 4 long hot hours last night and then worked on todays lesson with the translator until midnight.

When Darwin did, finally, get up he found me doing actual work (this picture is for those I told that I would be electronically useful here). I was reformatting editorial corrections to the students lecture notes.

We 'enjoyed' a cup of Nescafe - a powder form of coffee. While on this subject, I will say to my friend who told me "surely there will be Starbucks in Dakar". Well, there is not. Infact, there may be only one place in all of Dakar where you can find ground coffee. Here, a coffee shop is a cart with an umbrella and packages of Nescafe. Join me for a plate of coffee.

Nonetheless, Darwin enjoyed a rugged stroll to the beach below us.

Institut Theologique Evangelique du Senegal (ITES)

2009-06-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

This is the veranda at the back of our apartment in which we are staying at the Bible School. There is a hammock and little grass covered table at the front door. We look out at the Atlantic Ocean. I forgot to mention, for Kristin's sake, that I heard that there are spitting Cobras in the rocks in the hills. I think Dad wants to hike it anyway. But, we have our electrical 'zapper' which is supposed to neutralize the poison (that question is for Rachael). The missionaries here swear by it....

A Long Road to the first Class

2009-06-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

According to my sister Marilyn, the obstacles we encountered to day are fairly typical of her daily experiences in Senegal. There was no point in being anxious about any of these 'glitches' we faced because it would not have speeded up the process in anyway. The end of it is that we are in Dakar at the Biblical school and I am sitting in the class while Darwin is beginning to teach about - how to teach scripture, and the learning process of the student - via a french translator. We are in an upstairs room with louvered windows and multiple fans clipped to the walls. The curtains are blowing gently in the breeze and there are sounds of birds and car horns in the distance. We are on a lovely retreat/campus overlooking a lighthouse on the western most point of Africa.

We began our day, already, leaving a little late, just because things take time - going to the boulangerie, talking to the trash collector, making coffee, and we had many things that we needed to pack to bring to Dakar. We needed bug nets, an electrical zapper (incase we get bit by the spitting cobras), fans, water, etc. It is fortunate, however, that we were leaving late because we received a phone call that the printer is not working at the bible school and that we needed to bring our own copies of the (20 page) handout. It took quite some time to get the computer out of the car and reboot, just in time for the power to go out.....Here you see Darwin and Marilyn trying to start the generator.

Oh, here is a picture of MaryAnne and Darwin trying to figure out the error message on the copier which has stopped functioning.

We needed to stop and talk to the trash collector. I guess he is just going to dump that trash on the side of the road somewhere. My paper recycling friends will be happy to know that Marilyn gives her paper to the neighbor sheep - to eat.

We finally began our drive into Dakar - a 3 hour tour (so to speak). Traffic issues are hillarious a unimaginable at the same time. We encountered a cement truck coming toward us in our lane, there were buses stopping to pick up and drop off passengers - from the back of the bus. There were all sort of hawkers of wares, and even those who wanted to wash our windshield-without our consent. It is challenging for any driver, but we saw only one accident.

We finally arrive at the school and Darwin meets with the translators to look at last minute french corrections. Oops. we need to boot up the computer and printer and reprint the 20 pages.......

But we made it, and here Darwin is with one of his translators. Sigh of relief.

Perfect Senegalese Hamburger (for Darwin)

2009-06-07T14:06:00.001-07:00

The perfect burg3r was discovered in Thies. A patty with cheese, a fried egg and french fries all in the bun. Janet ate the whole thing with a smile on her face.

From my car window

2009-06-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

The afternoon drive took us past many little villages - a confluence of grass huts, cement blocks, busy markets, mango stands and meandering animals. It was interesting to note the strong muslim presence. This mosque stands next to the little village.

church

2009-06-07T10:36:00.001-07:00

We drove 90 minutes to get to a joint ecclesiastical worship service. The first hour we followed a paved road then we turned right between a building,a cart and a tree and finished the trip on a dusty path past village and huts. We parked under the tree where early arrivers were waiting. The others walked or came by cart.

Marilyn exemplefies her position that it is the women and children who bring color to Senegal.

Darwin was particularly amused by the children. They also seemed interested in shaking his hand and peeking across the aisle.

The drums are being warmed in the sun for worship singing. Is believe the communion 'juice' was made out of a brewed hybiscus tea.

to market and good night

2009-06-06T15:47:00.000-07:00

I took a few pictures of our visit to the market through the dusty Land Rover windows. I did not take any when we exited the car and walked past the multitudinous sellers sitting on mats and boxes.

They were selling things from recycled cans and bottles to henna, manioc, fried pastries, dried fish and jewelry. It seemed endless - and colorful, delightful.

2009-06-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

MaryAnne and Marilyn - we enjoyed very nice conversation over our noon meal. Hessen, their maid, was of course central to preparing it.

Moroccan couscous for lunch. Spicy and wondrous. Lots of water and now siesta time.

Later we will go into Thies town for some errands and to have Darwin measured for a shirt.

I feel a little buzzy in my head.

2009-06-06T05:33:00.001-07:00

After breakfast Marilyn, MaryAnne, Darwin and I walk 1/2 mile past a variety of buildings, homes and little sidewalk shops to the grassy soccer field where we observed soccer players while enjoying the green lawn.

Darwin and Marilyn try to talk the folks through a skype session. We heard them, but couldn't see them.

First Morning Images

2009-06-06T05:11:00.000-07:00

Marilyn stands at her courtyard door as we enter from the dirt street. Inside the bouganvillea is blooming and I can see it through our bedroom window.

Arrived safely in Senegal

2009-06-06T02:36:00.000-07:00

I was not one bit disappointed as our plane made a bumpy landing on the other side of the world. We stepped off the plane into a comfortably cool middle of the night. The plane stopped on the bumpy tarmack and we made our way to the bus which took us to the terminal. We were immediately greeting by enthusiastic Senegalese men with nametags wanting to help with our bags. I so wanted to take pictures of the others who were wrapped in blankets and actually sleeping on the conveyor belt. This, I discovered, enabled them to wake up when the action started. We came through immigrations and customs without any problems - but as Darwin noted, we felt strangely guilty as we waited for our passports to be stamped....maybe I had done something that would raise suspicion. My recent life flashed before my eyes as the officer scowled at our passports...I guess he did not uncover anything unusual. Marilyn greeted us from across the road as we finally exited the = Senegal International Airport.

It took us 90 minutes to drive the 35 miles to Thies. Although we were on the 'autobaun' the highway was filled with traps and tricky driving, cement embutments which jutted onthe the road, speed bumps, numberous buses with people clamboring to get inside with large bundles, women carrying their burdens on their heads, and men riding on the outside to call out the their destination. There was also an occasional horse pulled cart which we passed anywhere from 20 to 50 miles per hour.

I loved it.

Leaving my Green Yard behind

2009-06-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

On our way

2009-06-05T06:04:00.000-07:00

We are on our way to the airport soon. Kristin has been very helpful - accessorizing me and fixing us a farewell breakfast. My anticipation is high. I doubt that I could be disappointed because I am easily impressed with sensory things.

Pray for my family as we are apart.

We are going to Senegal, West Africa

2009-05-31T19:42:00.000-07:00

Our schedule is roughly as follows
June 5 Arrive in Senegal drive to Thies, June 6,7 there with Marilyn
June 8-12 in Dakar at Institut Theologique Evangelique du Senegal (ITES) where Darwin will be teaching
June 14-16 at mission beach house
June 17 - at the dunes or a park
June 18 - Thies
June 19 - Malika
June 20 - Dakar

If our schedule is anything like this, I will be thrilled. If it is different than this, I will probably be even more thrilled.