Charades

Charades…this is a game that I have resorted to playing with people here.

At orientation in VA, a guy came to talk to us about how best to learn a language. He said that we’d get frustrated and start pulling out words and phrases from any other language we might know in order to communicate. I had hoped this would mean I would pull out from the depths of my brain the French I so earnestly learned in high school. Unfortunately it has meant speaking Spanish (which I only know three words), charades and even….wait for it…..sign language….yes you read that correctly…. Last night I tried to spell something for someone in sign language who wasn’t deaf and who only speaks Pulaar.

Fortunately I have started language school so hopefully this won’t last forever. Otherwise this will be the longest game of charades in history…maybe I could get into the Guinness Book of World Records? Food for thought!

African life

We have been in our city for a little over a week now and I must apologize for not getting to this sooner. We have had a little difficulty getting internet in our house and have been busy with orientation and getting acquainted with the city. But I am determined to not let another week go by without updating my blog so keep checking!!

It’s kinda surreal being here and I’m not sure I am fully grasping the extent of how long we will be here. B described it yesterday as still being in the honeymoon phase. Everything is hunky dory for now, but I’m sure the day will come when we are frustrated at our town.

So now for the good stuff….People in Africa have never seen a dog on a leash let alone a small dog on a leash! The first couple of days when we’d take our dog out to the bathroom (our yard is concrete for the moment!) they’d swarm her and watch her do her business. It’s hilarious!! Then they’d stare at her business after she left!! So we left her with a teammate and their children while we went to a nearby town (well 3 hours away) to get some things we can’t get here. The kids took her for two walks on her leash and then later that night they noticed that the neighborhood kids had caught a stray dog, tied a rope around it’s neck and then another rope to that one and were walking it down the street! For everything we are trying to do to be more like them, they are doing the same to be more like us!

Lesson learned: Be very careful at all times to imitate the One who created and loves us because that is whom we represent. The people here are always watching us and if they will imitate us walking a dog on a leash, then they might also imitate a hateful, disrespectful, or bad attitude. So we must try to walk in Him every day, every moment so that if they see and imitate anything it’s nothing but Him.

Week 7

Washington DC is where these shoes took me this week. We went hoping to meet and witness to people from our people group. And we did!! We met a guy from our country who owned a little shop (where I promptly bought a purse and some earrings!) and Brock was able to talk to him about Christ. Musa (the owner) didn't really want to talk, so Brock just talked to him about what we were going to do and about sports. Then we met a guy from Eygpt, Ghana, and Mali. We ate at an Ethiopian restaurant which was great! All in all it was a good trip and a great way to spend the day!!

Week 6

Contingency training is where my shoes took me this week. Scared to death!!! But it was actually really great. We talked for 3 days about what to do if you were taken hostage, kidnapped, or detained. So now we are prepared to "Stay in our box!" (I can explain if anyone wants to know)

We also learned this week about our personalities and I'm an ISTJ which means I'm an introvert (go figure) who is a practical organized thinker. Brock on the other hand was an ENPF which means he's an extrovert who is a theoritical spontaneous feeler. Talk about opposite's attract!!!

Week 5

This week my shoes took me to a West African restaurant and then to Colonial Williamsburg. The restaurant was GREAT!! Peanut chicken, spicy beans and rice and fried plantains. Yum! In Williamsburg, Brock and I spent the day walking (and yes I did wear the black shoes!). The restaurant we went to was Ma Musus and she was from Liberia. She is an award winning chef and spends her extra time teaching young girls how to cook from scratch. I asked her if she could teach me and she said I was too old!!! All I can say is...Great week!!

Week 3

These shoes took me to downtown RVA where we enjoyed the Civil War musuem and a great walk on the canals with my husband. It was nice to get away this weekend and just enjoy the weather, walking (and not sitting!!) and my hubby.

We also enjoyed some Veggie Straws (tastes better than it sounds)

and coffee gelato!!

Great end to a good week!!!

Week 2

It is amazing how much God is already working in our lives, showing us where we need to improve and refining our sense of who He is. Entitlement has been a big word this week and I've come to realize that I am entitled to nothing. Not my shoes, not my health, not shelter and not even my husband or my family. Everything I have is because of Him who loves us and I have to let all of the above go in order to fully follow Him. I have to being willing to never have cute shoes, never be guaranteed healthiness, never see my family again and possibly lose my husband. If I'm not willing for all of this to happen, then I'm not fully surrendered to Him.

I promise, though, that this has been a GREAT week! I'll post more later!!!