Love so Amazing!!

So, I've been home from project for almost two months now and I've finally decided to start reading Crazy Love, a book that I started while on project but never finished, again. And WOW there are so many amazing things about Earth and the lives we live that I've never really thought about, much less meditated on. How can God know exactly everything about everyone on the earth, down to how many hairs on their head, and yet still be big enough to have not only created more than 350 BILLION galaxies, but also know what's happening on those galaxies. I can't even fathom the awesome power of God! In so many ways reading this book makes me want to go back to Senegal again and shake some of the girls I met and try once again to tell them about the amazing wonders of God. I know it may not change anything, but then again, maybe it would change EVERYTHING! I mean, He sent His ONLY Son to die on the cross specifically for them! I can't remember who it was, but I had a friend say it or read it in a book, something that said even if God knew no one else would believe except me, or maybe just you, whoever. He would still send His Son to die just for that one person. He loves each and every one of us that much! How AMAZINGLY AWESOME is that!?!

Magic Land and Prayer Requests

Hey everyone!

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated this, but we didn't have internet for a bit. So, much has happened since my last update, I don't even know where to begin.... Well first off I just want to ask you to pray for my team. Several us have been sick lately and while we're all on the mend we need all the prayers we can get!

On a happier note though, I love it here! Don't get me wrong, once it's time to go home I think I'll be ready if nothing else just because there are so many people I miss, but if I ever get the opportunity to come back here I think I would. People here, while frustrating at times, are so very friendly. I have made several Senegalese friends who I will be very sad to leave when it comes time, they are all such sweethearts. Speaking of which we're having a dance party at our hotel tomorrow that I'm pretty excited about! It should be fun to teach them some of our dances from back home, mainly the Cupid Shuffle and maybe the Cha cha slide.

My team and I are having so much fun, minus the sickness, here. It's a pretty exciting place to be. Last Saturday we went to a sketchy amusement park to celebrate one of the guy's birthday. We had so much fun at this park that probably would have been shut down were it in America. One of my favorite things there were the bumper cars. They went so fast and with no seat belts of anything like it to hold you in the car it was very interesting. I can't wait till I can upload my pictures and put them on here! I also rode a mechanical bull and managed to stay on for a lot longer than I thought I would, though I did eventually fall off...

Like I said I love it here, but please continue to pray for my team, especially the guys right now. Out of 10 guys about 5 of them aren't feeling well, so just pray that they are strengthened and start feeling better soon. That's all for now! Hopefully I'll update this again soon and tell you all about the dance party and other fun weekend plans!

Toubabs Fish Eyeballs, and Hand holding...

Alright so really quick I want to play two truths and lie, just to see if anyone can figure out what my lie is:

1. Senegalese men like to hold hands with each other

2. I have eaten a fish eyeball

3. Toubabs are a favorite Senegalese snack

Which one did you pick? Well you're going to have to read the rest of this to see which ones are true and which is a lie....

So much has been happening here and I already have so many stories to tell you all when I get back! Where to begin...well I have been learning so much about this culture and these people! I guess this is something that tends to happen when you live in a different culture for a bit, but still it's so different than what I imagined. The people here LOVE American music, I'm not really sure why since the majority don't know English, but it's a common thing to hear Beyonce or Akon or Chris Brown on the radio. Actually, I hear Abba on the radio today which made me giggle. Haha.

The people here are also very touchy, not between men and women, but between the same sex. For example when walking on campus it's a very common occurence to see two guys or two girls holding hands. The STINTers warned our guys that they may want to hold the strap of their backpack or put their hands in their pocket to keep this from happening. It's such a weird thing to us and I can't wait for one of our guys to be caught off guard just because I think it will be amusing. Actually, Annie and I were walking around campus the other day and I saw a guy with his hand in another guys back pocket. It was completely unexpected, but also pretty amusing and the boys on summer project have now been trying to catch each other off guard by doing this, like I said, it's pretty amusing. On a side note I have a real cute picture of a couple of the boys holding hands that I'll try and put on facebook soon.

The food here is also pretty different. There are a few "western" places that we go to that are fairly close to American food, but they're also pretty expensive. Expensive being $10 or so. On campus the meals are on average about 500-600 cfa (which is about $1.00 to $1.20 in American money). I think the prices of meals when I get back to the states are going to be crazy for me. The first restaurant I go to that's $10 I'm not going to know how to react. As for the Senegalese food, I'm not really a fan. I mean it's okay and I don't mind it, but if I have another option I'll take it. The restaurants on campus are certainly different from those on campus back home though (once again I'll try and put pictures up soon). One of the restaraunts on campus is pretty nice, a bit more expenisve though (this means it's like $5 maybe less haha). This restaurant is the one where I ate the fish eyeball, surprised?!? And in case you're wondering fish eyes don't really taste all that bad, they just have a strange texture to them, in fact they don't really have a taste at all...

So, let's see those were my two truths, now for my lie a toubab is actually a white person. So, this is a word I hear ALL the time, probably at least 10 or so times a day, I kid you not! I'm not sure if it's supposed to have a negative connotation to it, but it usually does, which honestly just amuses me more than anything else. As a team we tease each other and call each other toubabs. In fact on our way to dinner tonight when we told one of the guys he was being a toubab because he was walking in the middle of the road (as a side note cars are NOT afraid to hit you if you're in the middle of the street) he laughed and said "you're mom's a toubab," which you are mom, if you're reading this. :-)

Well, I have effectively wasted my hour, mostly writing this blog. But it was a lot of fun updating you all on how things are going! Thanks again for your support and keep my team, the STINTers, and I in your prayers! Oh and as a very important side note Dayton, one of the STINTers, had a guy come to Christ yesterday, which we are all very excited about! So, thanks again and God Bless!

A Whole New World....

Hey everyone!

So, I haven't had the chance to blog in FOREVER so I have a lot to say, but the battery on this computer is going really fast so I'll just keep it fast. As a side note one of the girls just found a lizard in her pile of clothes, which is pretty amusing, I'm real glad it wasn't me though....

Where to begin....well Saturday morning we flew out of RDU (Raleigh-Durham) to JFK (New York Airport) where we sat for about four extra hours before flying to Senegal. We finally got here at about 8:00 Sunday morning, so we just stayed up for the rest of the day. It's so different here as I'm sure you can imagine, but it's absolutely nothing like I thought it would be!

We're staying in a pretty nice hotel, well nice for Africa at least I'm sure most people would NEVER stay here in the US, but like I said things are a lot different...

This is hard there are so many things I want to say, but so little time, hmmm....well today was our first day on campus after some training Monday and Tuesday and just getting to know the city the past few days. I actually got to go talk with some girls I met at an event last night. There are 9 or so of them sleeping and living in one little room, it's pretty crazy. It's probably about half the size of my dorm room last night but being shared between that many people, however, the girls are sweethearts and I love them to death! We talked together about our beliefs, they explained some of the Islamic faith to us and we explained Christianity to them.

We also just talked about our different cultures and the kinds of music they listen to. They taught me how to dance to their national music called Mballa (?) and let me tell you I'm not good at it, of course I can't dance to our music in the states either. Despite all of this fun, all of these girls have had hard lives, much harder than I can ever imagine, so please pray for them because I have come to care for them so much even in this short amount of time!

Other than today though like I said we've had a lot of training and such just about how to approach situations and things like that. We've also been immersed in their culture eating Senegalese food (which isn't bad and I think I'll come home gaining more weight...), and walking around Senegal learning things are, as a side note women in Senegal are considered very worthless. As a white woman in Senegal there are certain things that are hard, but everything is much easier as well. For example many comments are made to us (mostly in another language so I have no idea what they are), but more people are willing to approach us and talk to us. In short I like it here a lot and I'm learning and experiencing so many things! Thanks for all your support and I love and miss you all! God Bless!

Briefing, Trip Tomorrow, and Other Random Stuff.

Tomorrow afternoon at 12:55 pm (I may have previously said a different time if so, sorry!) my team and I will begin our flight to Dakar, Senegal (the picture on the left). I'm so excited about this, and a little scared, I'm not a big fan of planes I don't think...we'll see... Like I previously said please just pray for the safety of my team and I.

For now though we're still briefing and getting to know each other. It's a really neat experience so far and I've made 25 new friends. The past few days we have been sharing our life stories, as a side note when 25 people share life stories it's a very long process though it's also very interesting! We've also had a few team building exercises and some other fun ways we've been getting to know each other. I

Already God is showing me so much about myself, and though I'm fairly reserved when I'm around people I don't know, I'm already beginning to come out of my shell and share things with them as if we've been friends for months or even years. It's so awesome to watch all of us from completely different backgrounds and places in life come together to serve our God! I can't even describe it! Because of this already amazing experience I'm so very excited for Dakar and even the plane ride, (though like I said before many more emotions are associated with this as well...) only one more day!

Oh and some new stuff I've learned/tried that I want to throw out there, and as a warning this is COMPLETELY random!

1. Bojangles (which I'd never heard of till Chicago) is pretty tasty
2. Akkon is from Dakar
3. UNC and NC State are NOT the same place!

Well that's all for now! Thanks for all the prayers!

Countdown!!

Well it's finally starting! I made it to NC yesterday after a very long, but not to bad car ride with mom, Bethanne, and Noah yesterday. I've met all of the people going on project with me and we've been breifing all day over what to expect once we arrive in Senegal. I'm starting to get pretty nervous and a little overwhelmed with it all, but I'm still really excited! Please just continue to pray for my team and I. Pray that we have a safe trip (we leave on noon Saturday, fly to New York, then to Senegal and should arrive around 4:30 Sunday morning). Pray also as we get to know each other that we just click and make awesome friendships. Thanks so much for all of the prayers and everything! And I'll update you as more happens! Did I mention I'm SUPER excited?!?

What to Expect?!?

I can't believe I leave in the morning. It's so crazy to me, and I still have a million and one things to do... It still doesn't seem real to me though, and honestly it probably won't till I'm boarding the plane. I've always been able to at least have an idea of what I'm going to do the next day, but this time. I have absolutely no idea what to expect. I mean sure I've seem movies, read books, watched TV shows, and whatever else about Africa, but I'm so not prepared. And kind of scared, it will most definitely be an experience. So please, pray for the safety of my team members and I. Just keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the course of the next few days and I'll keep you updated on what I'm learning and experiencing! Oh, and also pray for my family members, especially my mom as I prepare to go, I think she's more okay with me going but I also think she's pretty nervous about it. Thanks everyone and wish me luck!

Thank You

I can't believe it's finally happening! I leave in two days to drive to NC and begin debriefing for Senegal. I'm so incredibly excited and also really nervous. But, as I begin leaving I realized I'm so blessed to have so many amazing people in my life who have helped support me both through donations and pray. Without them I would certainly not be going on this quite possibly life changing trip. Just through raising money I've experienced so many awesome and humbling things. For instance today I had my hair cut and eyebrows waxed and at the end my hair stylist told me not to worry about paying her and gave me money for my trip. It was just a simple thing, but still it was so touching and pretty much made my week! So thank you to all of you out there who have either helped me financially, or are praying for me, I greatly appreciate it!

The Wonders of the World

Today I went to Bernheim Forest with my grandpa, and it is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places I've been. It's so peaceful and while I was looking around I was remind of God's glory and the amazing things he can do. It makes me so excited to go to Africa this summer and see even more of God's handiwork, what a great God we serve who created each and everyone of us specifically but also created the sky and trees and flowers and oceans, everything!
I decided today that I will see as many of God's wonders as I can before I die. I want to travel to Ireland, Germany, Italy, London, anywhere and everywhere I can. I'm not quite sure how I'll achieve this, maybe I'll just marry rich, just kidding unless of course that's what God has planned for me. But one way or another I plan to go to as many of these places as possible. I want to see the amazing views they have in the movies and in pictures. And see these amazingly beautiful, yet completely different places. I'm so excited to do this, and can't believe that in just a week in a half I'll be traveling to Africa! Keep me in your prayers because I'm still not sure if I like flying or not and pray that my team and I will display God's love in Dakar, Senegal.

Facing the "mountains"

I decided this afternoon that it would be a good idea to clean out my closet this summer. So I proceeded to throw everything out of my closet and into the floor of my room, only to decide there are much better things I can do with my time than cleaning my closet. Now, however, I have the problem of having a mountain of stuff in my room that I don't really want to deal with. I'm finding more and more lately that there are these "mountains" so to speak in my life, not just clothes, but there are so many things that I decide need to change or be cleaned out, or some sort of project only to quit almost as soon as I begin. It's so frustrating and something I'm trying to change about myself, but I'm finding to be more and more difficult. It's one of my many goals this summer, that when I start a project I'll actually follow through and finish it, starting today when I get up and clean out my closet. Wish me luck!

Preparing for Senegal

In almost a week I will be in Greensboro, North Carolina preparing to leave for Dakar, Senegal. I'm so excited! I have no idea what to expect, although I did find out last night they have no traffic laws which will be very interesting to say the least... But still other than that I don't have any idea what this city will be like, I think it will be quite a culture shock for me. I also think this trip will be one of the most amazing opportunities I may ever have. I not only get the chance to tell people about the awesome God I serve, but I also get the chance to learn about different cultures and to experience life outside of the U.S. So, stay tuned as I begin preparing for this amazing journey.