New Sunglasses and Blind spots

So, If you have ever been in my car with me you probably have noticed two things; 1) I like to get where I'm going, to say the least, which means I do a lot of lane changing and 2) I like to ride with the windows down (now, this is may not be something you've noticed because, due to strange/scary events in the past, I used to, as a rule, never put them down, (which is another story entirely) but since spending some time in Africa where you always have your windows down for fear of dying of heat stroke ;-), I've become quite fond of it).
So, with that background in mind...I got new sunglasses the other day! My old ones were cracked, (presumably from the most recent travel across the ocean judging from how crazy my suitcase looked upon my return to the states and the fact that I found them, not in the shoe I put them in for "safe keeping" but in a broken" fanta cocktai"l (african cola) bottle that I have no recollection of packing especially because I don't even like the drink). I admit, they are kinda on the big side, a fad I swore I'd never give into, but, in my opinion, all sunglasses look strange on me anyway, so I just go with whatever's on sale. And, I really like them. They keep the wind out of my eyes since my windows are always down, also they keep the hair out of my eyes which used to find their way in through the gaps in the side. And they, of course, keep the sun out of my eyes which not only prevents wrinkles from squinting ;-) but prevents vision problems that actually do occur from the sun in the eyes of fair skinned people(hello! me!) (both are true! in case you don't wear sunglasses) So, I love them! They meet all the purposes I bought them for, right?

However, I do have a problem....remember I mentioned the switching lanes often thing? well, I noticed the other day that they seem to create a "blind spot" when I turn to check my actual "blind spot" when changing lanes, so I end up having to take them off to change lanes, which is pretty darn often. *sigh...

So why am I telling you about my sunglasses problems? Because I find it being pretty representative of my life these days. I love nursing school so far. I enjoy what I'm doing and am happy to be learning things that I'll actually be using in life. I'm having a great time with my sorority this year, this week is rush week and I'm loving meeting all the new girls. I've even started working with a high school organization leading a group of students interested in traveling, which I, not surprisingly, am super excited about! But, like my new sunglasses, haha, one thing seems to be slacking in my new schedule.

Only one thing though, I mean, I've got all these other great things I love about it...is it really a big deal? Well, is it really a big deal if I can't see who's coming up behind me while I change lanes? If you plan on riding with me any time soon you'd better shout: YES!! If I can't see them, I'll smack into them, ripping off my mirror, damaging their cars, and quite likely hurting myself or other people...duh. This one thing in my life is a big deal...the biggest; with such a hectic schedule of things I love and are great to do, I've been slacking on time spent in The Book, speaking, and just talking with Him.

Having a life that's 95% good things you like to do is still 100% wrong if you're missing the one thing that holds that 95% together.

So, will I get new sunglasses? Probably not, I'll just have to turn more than I normally do to check my blind spot and lift my glasses every now and then. Will I fix the thing slacking in my life? You bet, or it's not a life at all.

Me and L doing some Starbucks advertising in our Nursing scrubs :-)

Some of the girls rushing my sorority and some of the guys from our brother fraternity

Running

It's always hard coming home after a trip. Don't get me wrong, It's great seeing family, friends, and enjoying American things like widely spoken English, Taco Bell, and the always under appreciated AC and toilet ;-), but people, including myself, always seem to feel like they are, in some way, leaving behind what He is doing overseas. I had been thinking about this as I got back into my routine and started school when I went for a run and listened to one of the "Passion" podcasts. They were in Asia, talking about their time in the Philippines and Malaysia. As the main speaker talked about how their current location was a gathering point for followers of restricted countries and heard the followers from other nations shouting from the audience to make their voices heard, it hit me; I hadn't left any of His work behind, I had just changed job sites for a while. Just as these national followers from all over Asia were stepping up to make their voices heard in their nations, this is where He has me now, and it is simply arrogant of me or anyone else to think that them leaving the field will have detrimental effects on His work. He is building up His people to reach their countries in a way any foreigners on a trip never could. Again, don't misunderstand, I'm still excited that, one day, He may place me overseas on a longer-term basis; It's still plain and simple to me, the distribution of followers around the world is still drastically unbalanced, but it is, once again, refreshing to know He doesn't need me and, at the same time, amazing to find that He wants me. :-)

In the mean time, I've officially started the nursing program at my school. It's been a slightly overwhelming first week and a half, but I'm falling into the routine. We've started clinicals working with the community downtown twice a week, as well as two days of classes, and a day of labs which means lots of time spent in scrubs and studying!

Our clinical group riding the city bus to our clinical site to better understand our clients' difficulties in accessing health care

Our group is called "little Egypt" thus... the "little Egyptians"

GIC

This last week was the GIC at my home meeting, which pretty much means that my friend, B and I got to hang out with amazing Ms all week long while we pretended that we were real ones ;-) We got to spend time with Ms we know from Brazil and Canada, future Ms heading to Mozambique, and new ones (to us at least) from New York (Who works with people from Senegal and all over West Africa!), East Asia, the "Far East", Romania, Israel, Brazil, The Bahamas, Our Meeting's own Iranian and Spanish meeting, Savannah, GA, England, Feed the Children, India, and North Carolina.

It was very encouraging to be around like-hearted people all week, share more about Senegal with several classes, hear about what He is doing all over the world, and just see our meeting focused, even more than normal, on one of my heart's passion. I've gotta say, it's one of my favorite weeks of the year :-)

All the Ms set up booths about their work around the center.
We also had lunches together and opportunities to share about our work at several fellowships.


We had our own booths and name tags and everything!

Earlier this week, I made Ceeb Jen for my family, which is an African dish that we had for lunch just about every day this summer. It's basically rice steamed with tomato and pepper sauce, as is the fish and veggies you see in the middle. It's very unique tasting and VERY good! In Senegal, we ate it with our hands, but my brothers and daddy (who all did try it last summer, i must give them some credit) decided to take on the african tradition where men eat with spoons, but Momma and I chowed down African style! The dinner with my family made me both very happy to be home with them again, and very sad that I'm not with my African family in Senegal, but thus is life, and I'm now looking toward the future, which will seem to hold all kinds of interesting days with nursing school starting next week, and who know what adventures after that!

Duma Leen Fatay

I woke up early this morning
My last African day
I see the sorrow in their faces
They know that soon I'll fly away
I hold them tight, trying not to cry
I say a question, I don't know what to say
And so I whisper close:
Duma leen fatay

I will remember
The day I came
And though I must go now
Mariama's still my name
Duma leen fatay

I woke up early this morning
Another American day
I've got no time for breakfast
I must be on my way
Reach in my bag, power on the phone
See what the world has got to say
but the first words I read:
Duma leen fatay

I will remember
The day I came
And though I'm so far now
Mariama's still my name
Duma leen fatay

You showed me a world
I'd never have known
I opened my heart
Love and sorrow's grown
So many won't know
In the red, white, and blue
This world that's followed me
Is looking to you

I woke up early this morning
A Senegalese kind of day
Pack my stuff and head out
My heart knows just what to say
I don't know when or how or why
But I bet I'll be back some day
Cuz I won't forget them...
(or should I say...)
Duma Leen fatay

I will remember
The day I came
My heart, It's still with you
Mariama's still my name
Duma leen fatay

Stateside

So, after arriving back in the states, I was home just long enough to unpack (barely!) and pack again. My family and I then headed up to Lake Lure, NC. We met some of my aunts and uncles as well as my grandma, but little brother and I were the only grand kids able to make it this year :-(

We did a lot of hiking and rock climbing, some sight seeing, and some boating and water skiing. But what I enjoyed most was just spending some relaxing time with my family, enjoying His beautiful creation, and, of course, good American food!!

driving from the airport in Knoxville to Lake Lure, we took a very high road through the mountains, and even though it was so foggy, there were some amazing sights.
Climbing down to the waterfall (despite strategically placed "for your safety, please do not climb" signs)

Little Brother and I on the top of Chimney Rock

Me and the fam, at some falls we found

My family and I at the Biltmore, the largest home in America.

Check out the reflection in his glasses (hint: look for Little Brother!)

Little Brother and I climbing up the waterfall.

Stopping to smell the roses

Tubing with Little Brother on Lake Lure after skiing and wake boarding (or should I say skiing and wake boarding attempts ;-)

Our last hike of the trip, saying goodbye to the mountains.

It was great to see the mountains and spend time with the family that I missed all summer long, but it's good to be back home (even if it is so flat!) and to be staying in one place for a while. So, now I'm starting to get ready for nursing school which means buying lots of books, uniforms, and medical supplies and filling out lots of forms; which I'll be starting as of August 25th!

Faces

I got back to the states on Saturday night. I want to thank everyone for the speaking and support that have been so graciously poured on me over the past two and a half months. They meant and mean the world to me.

Though the trip is over, it's far from the end. Coming back to the wealthiest country in the world after living an "average" life in a third world country for two months is a bit of a shocker at first. At first, you feel out of place and slightly angry, but, having done this once before last summer, I have come to feel blessed more than anything. Blessed to have been allowed a glimpse at what He is doing in West Africa, blessed to have meet some amazing Ms, both career, short term, and summer, but even more blessed because of the people I have meet and the world to which I've been introduced. We've been introduced.


I've been realizing more and more that the world that I love so much, that I've been living in, that we've been sharing through this blog even, does not exist to so many people. Before being assinged to work in Senegal, I had no idea where it was, much less what it was like. I've been blessed with a glimpse into a world that changed my life, and blessed to look upon faces of those who need our Father in a way that is so different, yet so basically the same as everyone in the country I'm familiar with.


So here's a look at a few faces that have changed my life. A few faces that no one else speaks for. That no one else knows names for. That no one else knows exists out side of their tiny village on the coast of an unknown country in West Africa.


This is my African Momma. She is a beautiful woman. She has a daughter who is almost two, and she longs for more. She loves to laugh and dance. She sings while she cooks and hates potatoes. She loves spicy foods and okra. She feels hopeless. She realizes that she does the same thing everyday, cooking, cleaning, breaking up fights between the many kids in the compound, she wants hope. She has heard about my hope, but is still trapped in the false beliefs that entrap the world around her.







This is Absa, but she likes to be called N'day. She is single and works as a nurse at the clinic in my village. She is crazy! She loves to dance to the most modern music from America. She is good with kids and is asked to come in the room when a child is afraid to have their blood drawn. Her favorite distraction to present them this summer was "just look at the white girls, listen, they'll talk to you!". She is worried that she may never get married. She has a boyfriend, but he already has a wife, she would be the second.* Her father is a very devout man and a prominent man in the village. Her family is well known for that.





This is Ndeye. She's 15 years old. She adores me and my roommate. She is African Momma's niece and lives in a different village, but spent most of the summer convincing her mother to let her come stay at our house so that she could see us. She loved the skirt we gave her and had it on almost immediately. She's been having trouble with her hair growing and is very self conscious about not having any and covers her head because of that, not her beliefs. We told her that women in America where their hair very short like her, and that it makes them look smart and sophisticated. She took her head wrap off by the end of her visit.




This is "D". He's a Leader in or village. He has had dreams of Him. One day, after weeks of working with him, he told us about his dream. We had nothing to say but "that is great. that is true". He has an Arabic school that he teaches at. We came twice a week to take care of their medical needs, which were mostly cuts, burns, and fungal infections. That took about an hour, then he liked to sit and talk with us for another. He has a wife and 6 kids. He spends a lot of time in speaking, asking the one he believes in to show him the truth. Ask that he finds it. Someday...

This is Monumbe. He is 12 years old. He is learning french at a nearby school. He appreciates that his family pays a lot for it, but really doesn't like school very much. He wants to be a mechanic like his uncle. He loves to jump rope and sheepishly asked if I had brought a new one for him because the one I gave him last year broke. I had. He loves the card game, spoons, we taught him. We left a deck of our cards there for him. He used to love listening to stories on the cassettes we had. He has one older brother, 3 younger, and 1 younger sister. He takes care of them. He's the only one that can make his 2 year old cousin stop crying.

Please don't forget these faces. Even if you speak for them once after you read this post, that's more than anyone else does. Coming home from the field sometimes makes people feel that they don't know their purpose anymore. Even if all my other purposes in this country fade away, I know that telling others about this unknown world is enough.

Work in Senegal is long and shows very slow progress. But should we give up? never. Progress this summer was telling them there is another way. Loving bratty kids. Sitting and drinking tea. Visiting our friends when they are sick. Telling people why I came back. Loving my family. Explaining why we don't dress like the Americans they see on TV. Why were are learning their language, not French. Showing a leader what followers look like. Putting band aids on kids. Learning to thank Him for meals in Wolof.** And slowly, ever so slowly, showing them Him who loves them right where they are.

*In Senegal, they allow a man up to 4 wives.

**Wolof is the native language of Senegal, though they national language is technically French, the Lebou all speak wolof.

The Twelve days of Senegal

Sung, of course, to the tune of the twelve days of Christmas...

On my first day in Senegal the Lebou gave to me
A big bowl of red cheeb jen*
On my second day in Senegal the Lebou gave to me
Two fields of trash
On my third day in Senegal the Lebou gave to me
Three proposed marriages
On my fourth day in Senegal the Lebou gave to me
Four days without water
On my fith day in Senegal the Lebou gave to me
Five calls to speaking
On my sixth day in Senegal the Lebou gave to me
Six in one taxi
On my seventh day in Senegal the Lebou gave to me
Seven hot fatayas**
On my eighth day in Senegal the Lebou gave to me
Eight power outages
On my nineth day in Senegal the Lebou gave to me
Nine screaming children
On my tenth day in Senegal the Lebou gave to me
Ten roaches crawling
On my eleventh day in Senegal the Lebou gave to me
Eleven goats a bleeting
On my twelfth day in Senegal the Lebou gave to me
Twelve mosquito bites ***


*Cheeb jen is my favorite senegalses dish, rice cooked with a tomato paste sause with delisiously flavored veggies and fish in the middle, eaten, of course, with your hands from a common bowl.
**fatayas are like fried dough with seasoned fish in the middle...so good...
*** This, of course, is all said out of absolute love for the country, the people, and what I do hear, but always still appreciating the little things that make Africa, Africa!

The Call

Hear the call
The knees drop down
The shouts cry out
No hope to be found
It makes everything
Okay to go on
Makes every word
A part of the song

One little girl
Told who she should be
She's growing up blind
Just trying to see
The words pierce deep
In the midst of night
She just wants one
who can hold her tight

Just one more step
maybe one more word
give a little more
maybe i'll get there
And they're crying out
but the pain inside
sticks to their souls
just trying to hide

Each day the same
as he walks the street
a can in hand
prays for something to eat
Learning empty words
an honor they say
but the blows come down
if he cant pay

A shining light
walking down the street
will it pass by
or maybe stop to greet
The wall stands tall
can they see around
with the light to guide
can the wall come down?

Just one more step
maybe one more word
give a little more
maybe i'll get there
And they're crying out
but the pain inside
sticks to their souls
just trying to hide

Not one more step
One different word
He gave it all
For them to get there





We said goodbye to our roommate this weekend. It will now be me and Khadija finishing up our last two weeks.

This last week has been so busy, giving goodbye gifts and saying goodbyes with Mariama M, visiting tons of friends, even went to a wedding (the nephew of our Leader friend who was marrying an American!! He was super honored that we came, don't worry, my roommate has an embarrassing video of me trying to dance Senegalese style in my African outfit at the wedding)

We solved some of the issues we had been having with the talibe, but it is still hard for us, so please continue to speak. We have just under two weeks left with our families, so speak for endurance, open doors, and opportunities to share with them. It breaks my heart to know I will again have to leave the family I love with no assurance of ever seeing their faces again, but we cling to the fact that, though we see few steps of progress now, we are catching only a glimpse of what He is doing. We continue to hold on to faith that, if we follow and obey, it will be for His glory in the end, no mater how trivial our work may seem now. Thank you for your speaking!! Yalla Baax na (He is good)





don't even worry, this lizard is about the size of my forearm, and they do run accross your feet, just like the little ones at home











Me and Khady, showing off the henna we got on our arms this week (she has a flower and I have Africa)













And me and Khadija before we devoured our entire baguette for breakfast one morning.