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More Driving (and Ticket) Fun!

Driving here in Dakar continues to be a deep well of opportunity for cultural experiences. A few weeks ago I was heading home from some errands with the kids when I was once again pulled over by a traffic cop. It is hard to explain this here, but I was pulled over for crossing between two paved roads through this little packed down path of sand about 5 meters long. This path is well worn down because (and I don’t think I am exaggerating here) thousands of cars drive over it every day. There is no sign saying it is illegal to make this cross over. It is not paved, but most roads here aren’t so that doesn’t mean much. And you can see the worn in path because so many people drive it. If you are familiar with the term “desire path”, “social trail” or “cow trail” this is much like that, only with vehicle traffic rather than foot traffic.

Anyways, on this particular day there was a cop sitting right next to this path and he pulled me over and was insistent that what I did was illegal. As I sat there I counted more than 25 cars drive past me on the same path, but that didn’t deter him. So he wrote me a ticket and took my license which meant I would need to go downtown the following day to get it back. I will admit that it was one of those days when I was just feeling frustrated with some of the everyday struggles of living in Dakar, particularly with driving. So after this happened I confess I was far from being in a cheerful mood or having an attitude of gratefulness.

Anyway, the next day I went downtown after work to the police station to get my license back. This is the third time I have done this and each visit has been a totally unique experience. This time when I walked in, the place was practically empty. Usually there are about 40 guys sitting in the lot also trying to get their licenses back, but this time I saw only one other guy there. So I walked up to a police officer and asked him where I needed to go. He pointed me in the direction of an office, but before I could go another officer came up and asked me for my ticket. This is a rough recollection of how our conversation went from there:

Cop: Ahh, the athlete!
Me (while laughing totally confused): Huh, who is saying that?
Cop: I am!
Me: (still laughing uncomfortably while having no idea what he is talking about) Ah ok. I do try and stay in shape.
Cop: Yeah I see you running every morning.
Me: What? Really?
Cop: Yeah in Hann Maristes (the neighborhood where we live)!

From there he went on to tell me how he also lives in Hann Maristes and regularly sees me out running in the morning near his house and near where he takes his taxi every morning to come to work. In a city of more than three million people these types of encounters are very rare as you’d imagine so I was totally shocked. We ended up chatting for a few minutes and exchanged names and I told him to yell at me next time he sees me out running!

He then went into an office (a different one than where my license had been the previous two times so I still have no idea what their system is) and brought me back my license and told me I didn’t need to pay anything. All in all I was at the police station for probably less than 10 minutes which absolutely smashes my previous record at this station!

This experience felt like such a pointed gift from God after the mood I had been in the day before. I left the police station thankful for having the opportunity to be there that day and make this new connection. It’s a good reminder to me that God is at work in all the small details of our lives and that when I hold too tightly to my expectations/desires/timetable, I risk missing what God has for me in that moment, whether that be something to learn, an opportunity to grow or a new relationship to form. I am thankful I serve a God who doesn’t rely on me getting it right in order for Him to accomplish His plans. And I am sure I will have another opportunity like this (i.e. get another ticket) in the not too distant future 😀

– Adam

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Grace Upon Grace

I had a very wise mentor remind me a couple months ago that God gives us “grace upon grace”. She was expressing this as something the Lord had been reminding her of at the time, but also as an encouragement to me. At the time of this conversation I was entering the first trimester with baby no. 4 while also tackling being a first time homeschooling mom living overseas. As a seasoned homeschool mom herself she was speaking from experience that there is certainly a learning curve to the homeschool life just as there is with anything. Given our life circumstances she was offering it as an extra encouragement to rest in God’s grace, especially when things didn’t go exactly as I planned or hoped with homeschool. A big part of this seems to be weighing out my expectations for myself as a teacher, for my kids as students, as well as what we can reasonably accomplish each day with a 1st grader, preschooler and a 1 year old.

“Expectation” is a theme that just keeps popping up as I can find myself trying to “measure up” to expectations in other areas as well such as who I should be as a missionary. Whether it’s from assuming our supporters have certain expectations of me or comparing myself to the other missionaries whose newsletters show up in my inbox it can be a vicious game and one that does not take into account God’s grace or sufficiency in my life. In each area of life I am guilty of playing this game – mother, wife, teacher, homemaker, language learner etc. etc. etc.

Suffice it to say that I need to be regularly (like daily? or hourly? or minutely?) resting in the Lord, who He is and who I am in light of who He says I am. I am a chosen, adopted child of God whose sins have been forgiven. I’ve been given new life and a new identity. My worth is not measured by how well I’m meeting expectations or by what I can contribute (a truth I often forget –> I’ve contributed nothing, Jesus contributed everything). In this God has been reminding me to abide in Him, to rest in Him, to find peace in Him. And in this I’m also being reminded that I can’t do everything, but I can be faithful in the areas God has called me to for each season of life.

So what does this season of life look like? It’s a season of finishing well and preparing for change. As I type this we are coming to the end of our first term here in Senegal. We have been away from the States for 3 years. We have made two international moves, had a baby in Africa, started homeschooling, learned (*are learning) a new language (we’ve discovered this is a process), made so many connections with Senegalese people as well as our expat community here, discovered how long and slow cultural acquisition is, grown lots in our marriage and parenting, learned more about who God is by seeing Him through the lens of other cultures and also seen our faith get deepened tremendously through trials and triumphs, homesickness and creating a home, high highs and low lows. We’ve barely scratched the surface on what it means to do ministry and life cross-culturally and we are so grateful we get to walk this, at times heart wrenching and exhausting while simultaneously beautiful, life.

We are excited for our upcoming time in the States to be close to family, to share about the past three years with those who have invested so much for us to be here, to have our baby, to rest well, to get further equipped for the work ahead, to show our kids the city and state we grew up in and love and so on. We are also already so excited for our return to Senegal at the end of the year! What will our second term hold? Each season in it’s time.

For these final three months before our first home assignment I am seeking the Lord for what He has and am resting in His goodness each day. May I walk faithfully the path He has – all glory be to Christ my King.

– Selina

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50 Newsletters!!

God is truly faithful. I am a big journal-er and one of my favorite aspects of it is getting to look back on how God answered prayers or taught me things or just reminded me of who He was regardless of what I was going through. I know God is faithful, but what a gift to see this SO tangibly through journal entries of pouring my heart out to Him and seeing how He responded. Our newsletters (and now these blog posts) are like a form of journaling and have proven to yield the same awe of God that journaling does. When I look back at where we started as brand new parents just seeking out which agency to choose to joining Avant to taking a vision trip to Senegal to departing for language school to arriving in Africa to having our two week old hospitalized for sepsis to this point of having lived for nearly two years in this beautiful, challenging place, I am amazed. God is faithful.

We have prayed for leading and He has led. We have prayed for Him to grow us in Christlikeness and painfully, tenderly He has. We have prayed for relationships to share the gospel and He has brought them in ways we never expected. We have asked Him to provide – finances, friendships, peace in heartache, a home, a car and on and on – and He has provided, in His timing. We pray that He is glorified in our lives and that we would be willing vessels for His purposes for the sake of His Name and the eternal state of the people of Senegal – we know He is and will faithfully do this.

Reading through old newsletters I thought I would share some of the entries that made me smile and reminded me of God’s faithfulness. Notes added today are in italics.

Newsletter 5, August 2020

“…we had planned to go to a training in Kansas City [with Avant] last month and, by God’s grace, we were able to attend… and are delighted to share that as of July 17th we were officially appointed with Avant! Praise God for His timing and providence in leading us to this awesome organization.”

“Since returning from our training we are jumping into developing our ministry team. …We are excited about the prospect of connecting with many different people to share our heart, vision and plans. It is a new season of life and one that is interesting to balance with Adam still working, having two small children and dealing with a global pandemic. We are thankful though for God allowing us to walk this journey during this time as He teaches us to fully rely on Him. To Him be the glory!”

Newsletter 6, October 2020

“We had originally planned to take [our vision] trip early next year, but about three weeks ago Adam and I were challenged to more intentionally seek God in prayer which made us realize that when we had talked about a vision trip in the past we had simply assumed that trying to go in the fall was not possible. Convicted that our assumptions were not something to base decisions on, we began to seriously pray about moving the timeline up. God has been so faithful to open the door from plane tickets to childcare to time off from work for Adam. We are even going to be able to attend an English camp during our time in Senegal which will give us a neat look at the ministry we would be joining! 

This trip is really important in our missions process because it is one of the biggest things that will help us finalize Senegal as our location. It will allow us a glimpse into the culture and everyday life of Senegal. We will also be able to meet and get to know the team who is currently there and they will get to know us.  And as an added bonus to going in October – we will get an idea of whether or not we can handle the hottest month in Senegal 🙂 (Adam isn’t sure that this qualified as a bonus) *this line is especially poignant as I type this on October 3rd and the heat is ramping up

Our prayer is that God will give absolute clarity about if this is where we should be headed and, if it is, that He will begin to grow in us a love and passion for Senegal and the people there.  This whole process has been one of seeking Him and trusting that He knows where we will end up and when. In that, we have such peace and anticipation for how He will lead! What an amazing God He is!”

“Since our last newsletter we have been keeping busy with meeting people and building our ministry team. God has brought so many people into our lives who are not only partnering with us prayerfully, financially and with connections to others, but who have been pouring into our lives with such excitement and encouragement! We continue to see God’s faithfulness as He develops this team…We are also super excited to share that we have officially passed 50% of our monthly budget raised! This is much faster than either of us expected, especially with Adam working full time still! We are praising God for His provision and for the generosity of so many people. Once we return from our trip we plan to jump back into meeting with people.”

Newsletter 7, November 2020

“After getting the approval needed from our agency and the team on the ground, we are now officially assigned to Senegal! Even as I type this it feels a little surreal.”

“While we have always been open to the idea of homeschooling, we are super excited to have [Dakar Academy] as an option for schooling down the road, as well as a great place to build community.” *thankful for the year and half Mia spent at DA and to now be a homeschooling family and definitely thankful for our Christian community through DA!

Newsletter 19, December 2021

“In 26 short days we will be boarding a plane to move to France! This past month has been a frenzy of selling things, spending as much time as we can with people, organizing, selling some more, packing and…more selling…..We wanted to share all of that to try and relay how we are doing in this final month in the States. My mind often feels scattered and yet amidst these ups and downs and many emotions in trying to leave well, I see God’s steadfastness. I am so grateful for this experience. Through it I feel I’m seeing a side of God that is so tender – my heavenly Father holding my hand as we walk through the unknown and the grief of so many difficult good-byes. He truly is so worthy.”

Newsletter 23, April 2022

“We are officially less than one week away from our first [French] exams! While we envisioned a couple weeks of pretty intense studying leading up to our exams, our productivity has been severely limited due to more illness. Adam had a stomach bug last weekend which knocked him out for a solid two days. The day after he started to feel better I began to feel sick and then both kids came down with fevers and coughs which we are still dealing with (poor Desi is on day 6 of a fever). Thankfully Mia seems to be coming out of it and we anticipate Desmond won’t be far behind her. This round of sickness was especially stressful since it was compounded by anxiety over the upcoming exams and heightened homesickness (mainly for Selina).

This round of sickness has also brought a clearer picture of how dependent we are on God and how we want what He has for this time, even if it seems at odds with what we think is best (i.e. studying). With those thoughts we have felt a lot of peace and have been able to enjoy lots of extended snuggles with the kids when they weren’t feeling well. While we have still been studying whenever we can and have plans to study hard these final days leading up to the exams, we are grateful for this perspective shift and we entrust the outcome of our exams to the Lord.” *if this doesn’t sum up language school I don’t know what does

Newsletter 30, December 2022

“Somehow it is December and we have only 18 days until we move! The next time we send out a newsletter we will be living on a new continent! That’s wild!

Our final stretch of school has not looked the way we expected as we have battled various colds and illnesses for over two weeks which then culminated in positive Covid tests for Adam and I this past Saturday.” *see what I said about sickness defining language school?

“…we are thankful that God is not at all surprised by any of this. He has always known what our time in France would look like, including our final weeks. We trust His plan in all of this as well as what He has for each remaining day in Albertville. We also continue to praise Him for the community He has placed around us here. We had so many sweet friends who generously provided meals, groceries, baked goods, coffee, toys and activities for our kids and encouragement during our quarantine. We will truly miss the friendships we have here!”

“We recently found out that our housing in Dakar has been approved with the landlord!! This is such a huge answer to prayer – thank you for seeking the Lord on our behalf for this.” *and we just received word that our landlord approved us to have someone live in the house during our HMA next year!

Newsletter 35, May/June 2023

“Evie Grace Matzke joined our family Tuesday, April 25th. She weighed 8lbs 13oz and made a memorable entrance via unplanned home birth! Since her birth she has had two additional hospitalizations…The most recent one was quite scary as she was very sick—her initial bloodwork upon being admitted revealed she was septic…Thankfully, after five nights in the hospital, she began improving and has since continued to make a full recovery at home. 

In addition to Evie’s illnesses, everyone else in our family dealt with fevers and other maladies in the first few weeks after Evie’s arrival. Her initial three weeks was honestly one of the most physically, emotionally and mentally exhausting times our family has ever experienced.

Yet we are SO grateful. Amidst all that I just mentioned we felt the Lord’s presence – sustaining us, encouraging us and providing for us as He always does. And we have been so blessed by all of you! Thank you for all of your prayers and encouraging messages. Your ongoing support of our family is a continual way in which we feel humbled and encouraged. Thank you!”

Newsletter 42, January 2024

“We have officially lived in Senegal for a year! And what a year it has been. God is SO faithful…We wanted to say a massive Thank you to all of our supporters. As we reflected on our first year in Africa we were blown away by God’s provision through the highs and the lows. You are a huge part of that provision. Your prayers, emails, messages, physical letters sent with Adam’s mom last month, time spent reading our newsletters and blog posts as well as your financial support are all means for us to be here and to continue on. We feel that our first year was one not just of surviving, but of thriving. Thank you for all you have done on our behalf and in response to God to make this so.”

If you’ve read this far, kudos to you! Do you sense a theme? God is faithful. May this blog post be an ebenezer marking His faithfulness. Excited to reflect again at 100 newsletters!

Much love,

Selina

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New Friends in the Neighborhood

If you’ve followed along with our journey then you know that we have a heart for our neighborhood and long to connect with our neighbors, but have found this more difficult than we expected. Culturally it’s been hard to figure out how to connect, especially on a deeper level than brief conversations on the street.

This has been a huge prayer point since we moved here. Fast forward to last weekend when our neighbors had a party. Parties here go all day and late into the night and involve a big tent in the road, load music, drums and plenty of dancing. At one point the dancing was in the road right outside our house (see the video below) so we watched from the porch for a bit.

Some partygoers got a kick out of our kids dancing on the porch and it apparently drew the particular attention of some kids who were at the party. Funny enough this was actually our first security breach as Mia had been the last one in once we were done watching the dancing and I (Selina) had forgotten to double check that she had bolted the door securely. She had not. So you can imagine my surprise when, at 7:30pm, after one ring of the doorbell six or seven young girls in fancy dresses walked right into the house wondering if our daughter could come out to play with them! At this point our kids were already in bed so I told them to come back the next day. In all reality we didn’t think they actually would return, especially because we weren’t sure if they were from the neighborhood or had travelled to the area just for the party.

The next morning was a Sunday and we ended up staying home from church after Adam had had some really strange heartburn through the night and wasn’t feeling well (side note: he’s totally fine now!). Around 10am (a time we would have normally been at church) our doorbell rang and a little nine year old girl (we’ll call her G) from the neighborhood asked if she could play. At first I just had Mia and Des play on the porch with her, but eventually asked if she wanted to come play inside. She ended up spending five hours with us that day!

G came back the next day as well and even brought a friend at one point. We ended up being so grateful for those two days with her, especially after finding out that she was leaving for a month for a trip to a village outside of Dakar. We pray she comes back to visit when she returns!

We thought at that point that perhaps that would be the end of our visitors for awhile since G was clearly the most comfortable about coming in and hanging out with us, but apparently word got around and later in the week two more young girls stopped by asking to come play and one even brought her two year old brother! It has been so sweet to see our kids playing with these Senegalese children as this is something we have longed and prayed for, but have struggled to establish. We are prayerful that these friends will continue to come back to play, that our kids can build relationships with them and that we can also get to know their families. 

Three things of note:

  1. These opportunities have been plausible mainly on account of us homeschooling. We have the availability and the flexibility to grow these relationships, especially since we know our time with these kids will be more limited once October comes and their school starts back up. We had prayed that homeschooling would allow greater opportunities for ministry as a family and already God is answering this prayer in cool ways!
  2. Mia in particular has been very anxious about interacting with kids who don’t know any English. We think some of this anxiety may be connected to the year she spent in French school when she was unable to communicate at all. Even at our church she gets quite nervous to be around the Senegalese kids and has no desire to go to Sunday school since it’s either in French or Wolof. By God’s grace, and again in response to lots of prayer, she has had no hesitation at all being around these kids even though they only speak Wolof and a little bit of French.
  3. I was talking with a friend from Ghana who noted that the way these neighborhood kids (even the two year old) are comfortable being out and about and in our home is largely connected to the culture. In this we are so grateful to have found a way to open up our home to neighbors even though it is not something we would have thought up on our own!

Please pray with us over these relationships. For wisdom when interacting with the kids, opportunities to share the gospel and also for connections with their parents. This last point is a particularly interesting one as we’ve had four different kids over and have only met one parent so far, G’s mom. She was super nice, but only spoke Wolof so communicating was basically impossible past initial greetings. At least we gathered that she didn’t mind G being at our house, but we would love prayers on how to navigate this wisely.

-Selina

Dancing outside our front door around 6pm (the party had started in the morning).
The party still rolling at 11pm 🙂 Thankfully our kids are used to these noises and aren’t bothered!
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What is Home Ministry Assignment (HMA)?

The role of a missionary is split between time on the field and time in one’s country of origin. The work on the field is what typically comes to mind when you think of a missionary – sharing the gospel, church planting, discipling, language and cultural acquisition etc.
The work on the home front is what drives the work on the field. Avant describes HMA as “an opportunity to reflect about your time on the field and look towards future ministry” by addressing four key relationships: with God, the Avant family, Ministry Partners and Those We Reach.

With those in mind, here are some specifics for us:


1. Connecting with Our Support Team (Ministry Partners): This will be a huge part of our time in the States. As much as possible, we want to connect with those on our support team – both churches and individuals. We literally could not be on the field if it wasn’t for the generous finances, prayers and encouragement that so many of you give! We are very excited to be able to connect face-to-face with our team, especially since we will have been gone for nearly 3.5 years by the time we return. There will be a lot to give updates on!

2. Raising More Funds (Ministry Partners): Between normal attrition, the addition of Evie to our family and general increases in costs, including significant increases in our health insurance costs, we need to raise more funding. While we can do some of this online (many of you will remember that we initially did support raising during 2020 so we found ourselves meeting with many of you online), it is much easier and realistic to do so in person. The fundraising journey has been one that has humbled us, taught us a ton and blessed us beyond what we could have ever expected. We are excited to see how God will provide!


3. Home Office Check-In (Avant Family): We are required to pass through Avant’s HQ at least once every five years so we will definitely be planning a trip to Kansas City while we’re back. I might be using the word excited too much, but it’s applicable here as well. We love Avant HQ!


4. Training (Those We Reach): We don’t know what this will look like yet, but HMA can be used as a time of equipping if there are things you want to learn or grow in that you may not have the space for or access to on the field. We know at a minimum we want to include maintenance of our French.


5. Rest and Connection (God): Finally, HMA will allow us time to rest and evaluate how our family, marriage and personal walks with the Lord are going; connect with our family in the States; and let our kids get to know grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We will happily take advantage of the free babysitting family provides to capitalize on dates 😀 We also look forward to worshipping in English at our sending church and connecting with friends.

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The Ups and Downs of Driving in Dakar

If you ever come visit us here in Dakar (and we hope you do!) one of the first things you are sure to notice is that the rules of the road are a little different here. With an overabundance of cars, motos and people on the roads combined with driving rules which are often treated as optional, driving here takes some extra attention. I like to say that you need a cautious aggressiveness to drive here. While there is a lot that could be said about that, I wanted to share a recent experience to give a glimpse into one aspect of driving here.

Last week as I was returning home from work, I came up to a divided road that has a large median and bus route dissecting it down the middle. I needed to go left but in order to do that I first needed to turn right and then make a U-turn at the next intersection (a Michigan Left right here in Dakar 😀 ). I made the needed right turn, but as I was approaching the next intersection, I saw there was a “No Left Turn” sign. This, however, was the left turn I wanted to make and also what Google Maps was telling me to do at this intersection. Google Maps is not always a trustworthy source of direction here in Dakar, but neither are street signs.

For example, on the autoroute on the way to the airport they have signs warning you to watch your speed because there are radar cameras. These cameras don’t actually exist and I don’t think they ever enforce speed limits. But even in the city there are also many street signs and even traffic lights that no one follows. So my rule of thumb when in a situation like this is to always do as those around me are doing. I figure my best way to not draw attention to myself is to do as others are doing. Usually this works well for me, but unfortunately not in this instance.

Many cars were doing the same thing I wanted to do, including the car directly in front of me. So I made my left, crossed the median and then made another left to get back on the same road but in the direction I needed. However, as soon as I did this a cop on the side of the road signaled me to pull over. He came over to me and after exchanging some greetings he asked me why I turned left when it is not allowed. I said that I was following all of the other cars that did the same thing. He again asked me if I had seen the sign that said no left turn. After telling him that often signs are not followed here in Dakar, which he agreed with, he said that I needed to follow this sign because if I had caused an accident I would be at fault. He took my documents and walked away from my car. While he did this I sat there and watched some 10-15 other cars make the same turn I had just made. When he returned, I mentioned this to him but he just repeated that I needed to follow the street sign. So, as is the process here, he took my driver’s license and gave me a little yellow slip of paper so that I could go downtown the next day, pay a fee and get my license back. The police officer was firm, but not unkind, nor did he ask for any payment to get out of the ticket which is quite common here.

The tickets are not expensive (about $5), but you do have to go downtown and wait at the police office to be seen. The other stressor is just hoping they don’t lose my U.S. driver’s license. Needless to say, I was somewhat frustrated with all of this.

So the next day, I went downtown to the police station but I brought my secret weapon: two kids! So the three of us walked into this outdoor courtyard which had probably 20-30 guys sitting around in it, all with the same little yellow slip of paper that I had. I was the only white person in the room and the only one with kids. As I walked in I started asking around for who was currently last in line. I learned from the last time I got a ticket that this is the official system for determining order :D. So, after finding who was last in line, the kids and I went and sat down on the ground. After waiting for just a couple of minutes an officer walked by and, seeing the kids, asked why I was there. I gave him my ticket and he told me that because this happened just the day before we’d need to go upstairs (the previous time I had gone in an office on the 1st floor).

So we went upstairs and asked another officer what office I would need. He pointed to some chairs and told the kids to sit down and that he would find out for us. He came back about a minute later and escorted us into the office of the person who would have my license. We had been there for maybe five minutes at this point. This officer greeted the kids and made sure they had a spot to sit down in the office which was packed with probably another ten people. He then looked through a list on his desk but couldn’t find my name on it. So he called the officer who had given me the ticket and found out that he hadn’t brought my license to the station yet. He told me the officer was going to the Mosque to pray soon (it was almost 2pm on a Friday which is the biggest prayer time of the week) but that after he would bring it over.

So the kids and I went back downstairs to wait. We were sitting on the ground in the shade and another officer came out of her office and brought a chair for the kids to sit on. A few minutes later yet another officer came by to see if we had been helped yet. After about 30 minutes someone came down and escorted us back to the 2nd floor office. When we got there, sure enough the officer who gave me the ticket the day before was there with my license. However, on this day he greeted me very warmly and with a big smile as if we were old friends. He then gave me my license back and told me that my infraction had been forgiven because of my kids and that I didn’t need to pay! So after being at the station for just a little over a half hour, we were on our way home again with my license and for only the cost of parking.

It was a bit of a rollercoaster of an experience. Because of the system here, or perhaps more so the lack of a consistent system, it is hard to know how things are going to play out. Sometimes this is to your benefit and sometimes it isn’t. But I’ve learned that when in doubt, bring your kids with you!

-Adam

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Visit with Papa and Dani

With the recent visit of my Dad and Dani we have officially had visits from each of our parents here in Senegal. We are so thankful for this blessing and for the immense support our family has given us, though we know it is no small sacrifice on their part for us to be here.

My Dad and Dani came for about a week, but wasted no time jumping right into life here. School was out for Adam and Mia and the trip actually fell on the Muslim holiday of Tabaski so we enjoyed uncharacteristically good traffic. On the actual day of the holiday we did a driving tour of the city and happened to go out as Senegalese families sat on their front porches and in roads slaughtering and cleaning their lambs for the meal later that day. This was certainly a cultural experience!

We were able to take them to our church Sunday as well which was very special to share with them despite the fact that it’s only in French and Wolof so they couldn’t understand anything. This was also Father’s Day so we enjoyed a lunch out to one of our favorite restaurants Eric Kayser (my dad is a huge fan of baguettes and they have the best ones in town!)

Later in the week we visited the Western-most tip of Africa (and were allowed access to it despite it being privately owned), Gorée Island, one of the more ornate mosques on the ocean and The African Renaissance Monument (which we climbed up to for the first time). We also took them to Hann Park and even walked through the Zoo.

In addition to these big outings we had lots of time together: we ate lots of different foods, drank A LOT of coffee, played Euchre (we miss this!!!) in the evenings, watched a movie (Dune 2), bought souvenirs, enjoyed the roof, drew together, read lots of books and played Playmobile (some of the kids favorite activities these days).

We cherish these special times with family and are so thankful for the sacrifice of time, money and energy that so many of our family have made to visit us in France and now in Senegal! What a gift to show them this beautiful country we call home.

– Selina

One of my favorite things – an early morning coffee date on the roof, just me and my Dad on our final day
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Thoughts from Travel in Europe

Our family had the privilege this summer of travelling for three weeks. We spent the first in Cyprus at a resort for a conference. While the amenities were luxurious in many ways (A/C, pools, someone else cooking and cleaning everything etc.), there were also similarities to Senegal as far as heat, power outages now and again, no access to certain types of food and a major language barrier (worse here since we can at least communicate in French in Senegal).

Our following two weeks however were spent in Denmark and Sweden where English is spoken by almost everyone, the weather is cool, many of the foods we miss are plentifully available, craft coffee is a staple, green spaces and parks (AND DISC GOLF!!) are abundant, walking around, biking and public transportation are all super accessible (we stayed in capital cities) and everything is SO clean!

Disc Golf in Copenhagen
Flat White and a Latte from Coffee Collective in Copenhagen

There were moments of longing for some of these things and moments of grieving our kids getting to explore nature or walk down a street with ease. Adam reveled in his cool weather runs to amazing places around Copenhagen and Stockholm. I relished having windows open to fresh, crisp air and the ability to cook in a cool kitchen with ingredients I miss. The trip actually brought on a lot of homesickness for me and longing for our family in Michigan as well which I wasn’t expecting.

Our first Airbnb in Copenhagen
One of the *many* parks we visited, this one was in Stockholm

Mixed with these emotions though, and overwhelming them, were feelings of deep gratitude. What a gift it is to live in Senegal and be growing in our understanding of the people and culture! And as an extension to that work, what a gift to then explore and experience three more cultures and countries! One day Mia figured out that at 6 years old she has already been to 10 countries! What a gift to be a part of an agency that prioritizes member care and allows time for conferences which strive to encourage, refresh and bring unity to it’s members. What a gift to have so many people and churches on our support team, invested in our family and the things God is doing in West Africa.

By the time we were wrapping up and heading home we felt that we had been thoroughly refreshed and, though a bit apprehensive about returning to the dust, heat and noise of Dakar, were ready to be home.

On that note, a cool story. We have often commented on the smell we encountered the first time we visited Senegal in 2020. As soon as we stepped off the plane it hit us. It wasn’t a bad smell, just a very distinct one. We’ve come to learn that it’s the smell of the dust in the air. As happens when you live anywhere, smells like this become a part of life and you don’t notice them anymore. When we got back home from this trip, however, we were again struck with that smell. The first time we experienced it, it was new, unfamiliar and strange. This time, however, it brought feelings of peace and comfort. We were home. This in itself is an answer to so many prayers. Senegal, especially as a location for ministry, is not an easy place to be, but it is where God has called us to be and it is home. We are so excited to be here and to see what He has in store in the months and years to come. 

-Selina

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Some Highs and Lows of International Travel with a Baby

Before leaving for Michigan I prayed a ton about the people who would be on the planes with Evie and I. Our travel to the States included a several hour flight, a ten hour layover in Paris and another several hour flight. Our travel home to Senegal was a short flight then an overnight from JFK to Dakar. Needless to say, this was daunting to anticipate, especially for someone who had never flown alone before. Throw in an 11 month old who’s teething and you just don’t know what you’re going to get.

God was so gracious to answer my prayers with amazing flight attendants who were exceptionally kind and helpful, particularly on my first flight out of Dakar, as well as neighbors who were understanding, sweet with Evie and patient with the, sometimes frequent, crying. In fact I can’t think of a single person who even side-eyed us or grimaced when Evie was struggling. That being said, it was still a grueling experience as anyone who has small children and has flown can attest to. The layover in particular felt a bit like a time warp where I just sought new positions and places that might lead to Evie napping without my back being wrecked.

There is something to be said for the energy that is produced out of excitement though. Despite the difficulty of travelling and the lack of sleep I felt very motivated to keep going and press through because I knew that, on my way to Michigan, family and friends I hadn’t seen in over two years were waiting and, on my way back to Senegal, Adam and the kids were waiting (this was the longest I had been apart from any of them).

One story in particular is worth sharing. Let me preface by saying that before I left Mia kept saying that she was praying for me to be able to share about Jesus with the people next to me on the planes. After our first flight I felt like that was going to be a long shot. I wasn’t talking to my seat mates, I was just surviving and trying desperately to prevent Evie from kicking them or chucking toys at them.

However, on our final flight which was the seven hour overnight from JFK to Dakar I had just that opportunity.

Unlike all our previous flights in which we sat in rows with three or four seats this final flight was just us and one other seat (Evie was on my lap for the flights). As each person boarded and came our way I wondered if they might be our neighbor for this trip, the unlucky person to be trapped against the window by a mom and her baby.

A young woman around my age approached with a kind smile and slid in beside us. We shared some small talk before settling in for the flight. It was quickly apparent that she was a very laid back and kind woman, interacting easily with Evie and chatting freely with me. She asked how Evie did flying and I shared about the exhausting journey we had had to get to Michigan two weeks prior. I told her about how Adam and I had travelled with two young kids before but it was easier because, even with more kids, you always had a second person to help. To that she replied, “Let me be your second person for this flight.”

And she was. Anything I needed she was happy to help with from keeping my meal and coffee on her tray since I couldn’t unfold mine with Evie sleeping on me (something that had caused me to skip the meals on previous flights) to helping me collect all my luggage after we had gotten off our flight (for reference: I had two bins, two suitcases, a car seat and a stroller to collect on top of all of the things I had with me on the plane which included a diaper bag, a laptop bag, a carry-on suitcase and Evie in a carrier).

After eating Evie passed out and stayed that way for several hours which was no small miracle and I found out our kind neighbor wasn’t able to sleep on planes and was open to chatting so we got to talking about our lives.

I found out she is from Israel and was headed to Dakar for a work trip. She’s married to a man from Africa, but they are living in New York City, a dream of hers. I shared about our life in Senegal and why we were there. We spent a long time talking about faith. She is a secular Jew, but vividly remembered meeting Christians for the first time on a short term trip to Haiti and her husband is actually a Christian. We talked about the hurt and brokenness in the world, so clearly apparent in places like Haiti and her homeland right now. I shared about the hope I have in Jesus, for this life and for eternity. We talked until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. It was such a sweet time and so unexpected. I’m staying in contact with this awesome lady and hope she continues to ask questions about the gospel and that one day she might know Jesus personally as her Savior.

God provides in the coolest ways!

– Selina

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We Have a Car!

Since arriving in Senegal one year and four months ago we have always said that we knew we would get the right car at the right time, that being in God’s time. With this mindset we’ve had a lot of peace in the waiting.

Initially we found that the funds we had raised for a car were not enough to cover the type of car we need here as used cars (and new) are very expensive here in Senegal. To illustrate this, in our adult lives Adam and I have purchased four cars before this one. We paid more for this car (a 7 year-old car) than those other four combined!

Through the gracious giving of many supporters we had reached an amount at the end of last year which allowed us to expand our search, encompassing cars that fit the criteria we had.

A couple of months ago we were pursuing a car that seemed promising. Adam was actually in final talks with the owner as far as negotiating price and other details, although for some reason we didn’t feel total peace about the situation. The week that we were set to move forward with paperwork on that car we bought a desk from another missionary family in our community. 

They drove over to drop the desk off at our house and I stood outside talking with them for a bit. Adam was just arriving home from an errand and walked up to join the conversation. Off handedly the husband of this couple mentioned that they were thinking of getting a new car soon and would likely be selling their current one. Amazingly, their car was a very similar type to the one we were about to buy! We chatted for a bit about how serious they were on selling and expressed our deep desire to buy a car.

Adam immediately put things on hold with the first car and proceeded to go through the process of evaluating if this new car would be a good fit for us. Buying a car here is a much more complicated process than in the States but we are so thankful for this other family (the previous owners of the car) as well as other friends who are good with cars and were able to be a more informed pair of eyes in looking at it.

After several weeks we decided to move forward and this family felt good about selling. Adam and the husband reached a fair price and negotiated the details. We are immeasurably grateful for the smoothness of this process as both our families desired to protect our relationship with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ above haggling to the lowest (or highest in their case) price.

About a week ago we officially bought the car and feel like we are in a renewed honeymoon phase! There are too many ways to list why this car is such a huge blessing to our family, but one of the biggest is making us feel so much more settled here in Dakar. We are so grateful.

If you are someone who has supported us on an ongoing basis, through one-time gifts, in response to our specific request for car funds last year or through prayer for a car…THANK YOU! We know it is God who provides, but we are so thankful for the many people He chooses to use in that provision.

Much love,

Selina