One of the most exciting cultural experiences we’ve had since getting back to Senegal was being here during the African Cup of Nations football (soccer) tournament. This is a biennial international tournament for Africa that dates back to 1957. Over the last 60 years, Senegal has won this tournament just once, which was in 2022.
The tournament structure is very similar to the World Cup, with group play followed by a single elimination tournament for the top teams from each group. Senegal played very well and made it to the finals against the tournament favorite and host country, Morocco, where they won in very dramatic and controversial fashion in extra time.
It is hard to describe what the atmosphere was like here in Senegal, because there really isn’t a good comparison to the States. In the U.S. there are a lot of different sports that are very popular and each sport has their own professional league, and several of these sports are very popular to follow on the collegiate level as well. For me I enjoy watching American football and basketball the most and specifically I am a fan of the Detroit Lions and the University of Michigan.
In Senegal, however, soccer is far and above the most popular sport and no other sport comes close. There isn’t a professional league here either so the big games are always international matches when Senegal goes up against other countries. All of this results in there being incredibly strong support for the national soccer team and a lot of pride tied up in how the team performs. Accordingly, the professional soccer players are arguably the biggest celebrities here as well. Leading up to the championship game tons of Senegalese flags and banners went up across the city and walls, telephone poles, piles of tires, etc. were painted green, yellow and red.
The championship game was on a Sunday night and finished around 10pm. Selina and I went on our roof to watch as streams of people (including tons of women and children) ran around the streets of our neighborhood yelling, blowing horns and lighting off fireworks. Within an hour the president of Senegal had declared the following day a national holiday. The celebrating continued long into the night across Dakar and across the country. I saw many of my students posting on WhatsApp about how they had never been so proud to be Senegalese.
Two days later the team returned to Senegal and paraded into town on top of a tour bus. I taught a class at Engage that morning and left in the early afternoon to return home. I had to cross the parade path and thought the team had already gone by, but this wasn’t the case. Once I realized I was caught in the parade traffic I decided to park my car and get out to watch the team go by. This ended up being a crazy experience! I’ve never been so tightly packed into a group of people. I’ve read about crowd crushes before (occurs when dense, overcrowded, and unmanaged crowds surge in one direction or become severely compressed, causing asphyxiation), but never really understood how they could be possible. I definitely understand now!
The only other time Senegal has won this tournament was during the year we were in France before moving to Senegal, so we just missed out. I am really glad that we were in Senegal this time to be able to experience the crazy firsthand! See below for pictures and videos of the celebrations in the streets and the parade.
-Adam
This is in our neighborhood, which is known for being pretty calm and quiet!Nothing screams party more than a homemade aerosol flamethrower! The crowd of people waiting for the team to come through!I am glad I experienced this, but would not plan to be this close again 😀
Our primary ministry in Dakar is at the English center where I teach. The center is located in the neighborhood of Point E which is in the heart of Dakar, situated close to downtown, the Corniche (a main avenue that runs along the coast) and many universities including Dakar’s largest university, Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD). This neighborhood is ideal for us since many of our students attend one of the universities nearby and travelling across Dakar is often very difficult and time consuming due to traffic and road conditions.
Our current English center is a converted three-bedroom apartment. Two of those bedrooms are used as classrooms and the third is an office. We also use the salon (living room) as a classroom for larger level classes and drop-in classes. We have been located in this space for the last 15 years, however, we have badly outgrown it.
This academic year we have over 230 registered members and nearly 130 students are signed up for classes in our current trimester. Many members who are not signed up for a class this trimester still come each week to attend a drop-in class or simply to hang out or study. At several points during the week we have all three classrooms being used, which means students who are there to hang out or study are forced to sit in the hallway or kitchen. During these busy times it is not abnormal for us to have more than 50 students in our center. We praise God for this! At the same time, 50 people is a lot for a roughly 1,000 square foot apartment! We also turn away students at every registration period because our classes, which are limited by our classroom sizes, are full.
Learning English has proven to be a very effective tool to draw people in and build relationships with them. We use the Bible in every class, exposing our students to God’s Word from day 1 with the purpose of identifying “seekers” who are open to further Bible study outside of class, either in a group setting or one-on-one. From there our prayer is that God would speak through His Word, bringing these “seekers” to believe in and trust Christ for their salvation. We currently have seven weekly Bible studies (four group studies and three one-on-one studies) where our students are reading and studying God’s word. Please pray for eyes to see and ears to hear for these students; that the gospel would be seen and understood not as folly, but as the good news it is!
We want to be able to welcome more students because we know that every student that walks through our doors is going to be engaged with the Word of God and experience the love of God through our teachers. We also want to be able to offer more comfortable spaces (no more having 10 students crammed into a hallway!) where our students can come, hang out, study and experience God’s love. With these desires in mind we are writing this post to share with you a financial need we have.
During the last 15 years in this location, our rent has not been increased once. Once again, we praise God for this! As we have been looking for a new, larger facility over the last year, it has become apparent that we will likely need to be able to afford a rent that is 300-400% more than what we are currently paying. Please take five minutes to watch the video below to see and hear from our students and staff about this need.
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to take Mia and Desmond to watch the final stage of the Africa Eco Race which finishes at Lac Rose, about an hour outside of Dakar. If you have never heard of this race, you are in good company. We knew nothing about it before moving here.
This year there were 156 racers in 121 vehicles (motorcycles, quads, cars, SSVs and trucks) that departed from Monaco on December 28, 2024 with the goal of navigating the 12-stage course through the deserts and dunes of Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal, arriving at Lac Rose on January 12, 2025 (picture below).
We knew some other missionary families that attend this event each year so I thought it would be fun to bring the two big kids to it since they really like a show called Blaze about a monster truck who often does races. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect, but it ended up being a very neat experience!
The final stage of the race has the drivers driving down the coast right on the ocean. We were sitting right at the corner where they come off the beach and turn inland toward Lac Rose. As each vehicle type comes through the leaders are followed by a helicopter which is filming from above. This ended up being the highlight of the day! One time, the helicopter came in super low and even dragged its tail through the sand, which could have ended very poorly if the pilot hadn’t recovered so well. There is a picture and video of this below!
The other highlight of the trip for the kids was simply playing in the dunes. While I enjoyed watching all the vehicles come through, Mia and Desmond spent half their time just playing in the sand. Over the last week and half the kids have not stopped talking about the outing, and I have not stopped finding new piles of sand in our car 😀 We definitely hope to attend the race again in the future!
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 😀
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!
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
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.
One thing that has been interesting here is that there are tons of people out and about selling things or offering services. Men walk around offering to clean shoes, trim toenails (seriously!), sew things, wash cars, trim bushes and so on. Women set up stands in random nooks on side streets and sell produce, fried pastries, sandwiches or nuts. Men stand next to busy roads or walk along the highway, taking advantage of standstill traffic to try and sell all manner of thing; cashews, peanuts, small birds to offer as penance for sin, windshield wipers, dresses, shirts, bags of water, toys, large framed pictures, rugs, cleaning supplies, sunglasses, kites…you get the picture. This is in addition to stands that are more permanently set up to sell fruit and vegetables, clothing, street food and so on.
Door-to-door sales are also very common and if you buy from someone once you had better be ready to have them show up to your door one to three times a week. It only takes one purchase to be considered a regular on their route. For example, we have a “fish guy” named Abdou who frequents our home. We are now in a rhythm of buying a kilo of fish each week from him and are then able to offer him a few moments of respite from the sun in our front entry. We chat for a couple of minutes and he downs a cup or two of cold water. We found out recently that he has 8 children who are 21 years old down to elementary age. His persistence is admirable and also understandable knowing how many people he is supporting.
Recently we added a “citrus guy” to our rotation named Muhammad. He is one of the people who sells things by chanting repeatedly what it is he is selling. Then, once you buy from him once, he comes to your door, chanting in between stops to try and garner new customers. His cry is especially distinct. A loud, deep chant of “Limon, limon, limon!” which is citrus in Wolof. For months our family has loved when he passes because we enjoyed chanting “limon, limon, limon” in our own home whenever we heard him, but we had yet to actually purchase anything from him. Then about a month ago I actually needed limes and happened to be at the front door when he passed. I flagged him down and made my first purchase. Muhammad now stops by two or three times a week and Desi is in charge of giving him 500cfa (about 80 cents) for the little bag of limes.
There are several other people who use the power of sound to indicate what they are offering and to let people know they’re there. For example, the guys who sew things walk around with an old fashioned looking sewing machine propped on one shoulder and shearers in their hand which they make a clacking noise with as they walk so you always know where they’re at.
This has made me think about the idea of proclamation. These people who are selling their wares have found ways to announce beforehand about their arrival so that those they’re approaching can respond and buy something when they come. They herald their arrival and the good things they bring.
As a follower of Jesus I am called to proclaim the good news, to be a herald of the saving faith Jesus offers, the hope we can have in Him. This is done through the way we live and love others, but must also be done with words (sound). Do my actions and words declare the good news and give an accurate picture of the God of the Bible? Am I quick to confess my own sinfulness and need for a Savior? Am I pointing to the hope of Jesus alone for salvation? Am I pursuing spiritual conversations with others and sharing the gospel with them? Does our lifestyle, family dynamic and home leave space to invite others in? Are we loving other followers of Christ well, knowing we’re all a part of one Church? What message is my life proclaiming? What do I need to change to more clearly herald the good news of Jesus?
Just as our kids know the sound of the “Limon, limon, limon” guy, I hope that my life can be marked by the ever present proclamation of the gospel in word and deed.
“You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, ‘Here is your God!'” – Isaiah 40:9
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!'” – Isaiah 52:7
“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts.” – Psalm 105:1-2
“The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ.” – 1 John 1:2-3
After lots of anticipation and preparation, Evie Grace Matzke arrived Tuesday, April 25th at 2:30 in the morning, 5 days past her due date. Many of my worries about what it would be like to give birth overseas never came to fruition as she was born unexpectedly in our home! The full story is below. I hope that through it you see what an amazing God we have: One who goes before us, provides for us and is so gracious. May this chapter in our story, as with all the others, be one that gives HIM the glory! Fair warning: this is a detailed account of the birth and includes mention of all the messier parts of what occurs 😁
Waiting
Thursday, April 20th, my due date, rolled around without significance. I had been checked the day before and was at 2cm and wasn’t effaced at all. I had my membranes swept in hopes that labor would start as a result (as it had with Desmond). But despite this intervention, walking laps, curb walking, spicy food and all the other tricks to start labor, nothing happened.
Saturday the 22nd, Becca (my doula) came and checked me again, but nothing had changed. I attended a friend’s baby shower that day then walked to Mia’s school with the family for dinner, but still nothing. The next day Adam took the kids to church, but I was whipped and decided to rest at home all day.
Is That My Water?
On Monday the 24th a friend came to visit in the morning and shortly after she left I felt a gushing sensation. Those of you familiar with pregnancy know that it is not uncommon to have discharge throughout your pregnancy, but particularly so towards the end. For days I had been having increased amounts of thick, mucousy discharge, but this felt different. Not wanting to rush to conclusions I waited, but over the coming hours I felt more gushes and decided to reach out to Becca. She came over around 3pm with strips to check for amniotic fluid and sure enough it was quickly apparent that my water had broken!
At this point I was only 3cm dilated and still not effaced. I also wasn’t having any sort of contractions and was beginning to feel anxious as I reflected on my birth with Mia in which my water broke, but she wasn’t born for over 24 hours (of hard labor!!). I paced the house and bounced on the birth ball, trying to get labor going. Thankfully I was in contact with a dear friend in the States who was the midwife that delivered Mia and she encouraged me to rest since typically labor will start on it’s own within 12 hours of the water breaking. Becca repeated this wisdom and encouraged me to take a nap. I decided to heed this advice, ate dinner (a delicious Thai peanut chicken that a friend had graciously dropped off…highly recommend this as a good pre-labor meal!) and then went upstairs to our room around 6:30pm.
The Cave
I mentioned in my last Pregnancy Abroad post about the birth class I took prior to this labor. Going forward I will reference it often as it was key in how this labor and delivery went. For starters, one concept discussed in the class is that it is helpful to create a “cave” to labor in. It even encouraged wearing sunglasses and headphones when going from home to the hospital to stay “in the cave” when changing locations.
As I went upstairs to nap I decided to create my cave. I got ready for bed, turned on two fans and a white noise machine, turned off the lights, reread the labor chapter in my Risen Motherhood book (also referenced in the last post!) and then put on my sleep mask. At first I felt too energized to fall asleep so I just rested, but then I began feeling some contractions start. Even though they were just mildly uncomfortable I began working through how I would cope with the contractions and I reminded myself of the different birth verses and affirmations I had compiled ahead of time (see picture below).
I focused on intentional breathing and relaxing my arms and legs (skeletal muscles) so that more blood and oxygen could be directed towards the uterus (a smooth muscle) as it did the work of contracting to move baby down and eventually out. I wanted to be sure to yield to the contractions versus working against them.
I started using visualization to anticipate the labor. I pictured each contraction as a hill. As the contraction built I was climbing up the hill, at the height of discomfort I was at the top of the hill and then as the contraction came to an end I pictured walking down the hill. I noticed, and was thankful, that in between each hill was flat land, the pause between contractions. I was also very aware that I was not managing these contractions alone, rather I saw Jesus climbing and walking each hill with me. I also looked ahead, knowing that the hills would eventually turn into mountains, too numerous to count, which would grow increasingly difficult to climb and which would have smaller and smaller gaps between them. At first this was a bit anxiety-inducing until I remembered that I was not tackling these mountains in my own strength, and I was never alone. “Jesus will never forsake me or leave me to myself, He will always come to my aid.” “He is trustworthy.” “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.” 1 Peter 5:7
Finally, I began thinking through the different sensations and pains that I knew were coming, the increased intensity of contractions, the shorter breaks between them, the rectal pressure when baby is moving down the birth canal and the sensation of stretching (the ring of fire!) when it was time to push. I kept reminding myself that all of that was “productive pain” and “I trained for this“.
Rest and Digest
After some time of meditating, praying and drifting in and out of sleep, I decided to check the time and it was already 8pm! I had been in there an hour and a half and with how relaxing the environment was I could feel that the contractions were picking up so I decided to continue resting. At one point I timed the contractions and looked up what they would be if I was in early labor. They were irregular, ranging from 5 to 10 minutes apart and lasting about 30 seconds to a minute each. After my experience of slow progression with Mia I prepared myself mentally that this was probably very early labor and I had a long ways to go.
Remembering that I should use this early time of still being relatively comfortable to rest and eat, I decided to stay in my room and had Adam bring me up a snack and some water around 9:30pm. After that I fell asleep.
It’s Baby Time!
I remember so distinctly jumping awake with a sharp, severe pain that turned into a full blown, I have to breathe intentionally, contraction at 12:53. I quickly realized that things had picked up considerably as I continued working through contractions and went to the bathroom. At this point my body decided to clear everything out which would have been a warning sign that baby was moving down and nearing her arrival, except for the fact that I had been having diarrhea for much of the end of my pregnancy so I didn’t think much of this time except that I wanted to get back to bed quickly to keep working through the contractions I was having.
At 1:15am I called Adam to come upstairs, feeling like I needed help managing the contractions. At 1:30am Becca also came up. Seeing how intense the contractions were she decided to check me again. I was nearly fully effaced, but still only 3cm. She encouraged us that we should head out for the hospital in the next hour or so, but had some time to labor at home still (which is what I had always emphasized wanting).
For the following 45 minutes Becca and Adam helped me labor through increasingly difficult contractions using different things like the birth ball, peanut ball, make shift rebozo sheet and counter pressure. I remember feeling a bit stressed about if I could handle this since I assumed I still had a long ways to go and had never given birth unmedicated. At some point Adam began putting the final things in our hospital bag so we would be ready to go and he called our friends to come over who were going to stay the rest of the night with the older kids.
At one point I got up to use the restroom again and found it nearly unbearable to be sitting on the toilet. I finished and tried to go wash my hands, but a super strong contraction came on. I tried working through it by hanging from the sink in a supported squat, but this too was very painful. Becca was encouraging me the whole time and Adam ran downstairs to put everything in the car.
After the contraction I staggered back to bed, but already another contraction was upon me. I got on my hands and knees on my bed trying wildly to work through the contractions which were now stacking one on top of the other. I began to feel crazy and terrified! How could I keep going like this? How was I supposed to get in a car and ride to the hospital like this? I wanted an epidural! I began to say, “I can’t do this. I can’t do this! I can’t do this anymore!”
And then it hit me. In my class I remembered learning that when you are in the transition phase of labor you will most likely hit a wall and begin doubting yourself. I was going through transition. I then realized I wasn’t having any contractions anymore which in my class was called the “Rest and Be Thankful” stage between transition and pushing. It seemed too good to be true that I was almost at the end of this. I felt like I was in a trance, in my own little world as I processed this. I was so focused I couldn’t speak.
Then came the pressure and I knew baby must be moving down. It was the pressure I had prepared for. Suddenly I felt the urge to push and managed to mutter as much.
While I had gone into “labor land” and been processing how far progressed this labor was, Becca was trying to get me dressed to go. I was not cooperative and wouldn’t move from my hands and knees on the bed. When I said I needed to push she told me to try not to, thinking there was no way I was fully dilated and if I pushed it could make my cervix swell. When she said that, I utilized another skill from my class and began panting when I felt the urge to push in order to stall pushing.
At this point I felt the distinct sensation of baby crowning and then, as I did the panting breath, she went back in. This happened once or twice more at which point the urge to push became irresistible. With a loud yell I pushed (using my TVA muscles – thank you birthing class) and Evie shot most of the way out. Becca yelled, “You weren’t kidding!!” and helped guide Evie out during the next two pushes.
As soon as Evie was born I was filled with relief that it was over and I snapped out of “labor land”. Evie came out crying and as pink as could be. Becca grabbed the only thing we had near us, a mattress protector, and wrapped Evie in it. We then realized that Adam wasn’t in the room and started yelling for him!
He was coming in from outside and when he heard his name being yelled he thought something must be wrong so he raced upstairs. Instead he walked in to me, still on my hands and knees and connected by umbilical cord to Evie who was in the mattress protector in Becca’s arms. When he came in Becca said, “You have a little girl!”
By God’s grace Becca happened to have some clamps and scissors in her medical bag (which had been in there for years but never needed to be used) which allowed her to safely clamp the umbilical cord and cut it. Becca needed to help me at this point so Adam took Evie and ran downstairs to find a bowl for the placenta to be delivered into.
By then our friends who were staying the night with the kids were already here and had heard my yells as I pushed followed by Evie’s cries. Still, they were shocked to see Adam carrying a baby when he came downstairs!
One of our favorite parts of the story is that when Adam arrived back in the room, with the biggest bowl he could find, I was already about to push out the placenta so Becca had grabbed the closest thing to her as a makeshift bowl to catch it in which just so happened to be Adam’s 2022 European Open commemorative disc golf disc! Upon entering Adam saw this beloved disc held between my legs ready to catch the placenta and was more than relieved to swap it with the bowl just in the nick of time! If you know how much we love disc golf then you can appreciate how incredible it would have been if I had indeed delivered the placenta into a disc. Maybe next time! Ha!
Anyway, after that I finally flopped onto my side and we spent the next stretch of time recovering. Evie was still doing beautifully so we had a golden hour and then some of breastfeeding. Becca assessed me and eventually helped me to the bathroom. Shortly after this though Evie began to grunt and struggle a bit to breathe so we decided it was time to head to the hospital.
We loaded up into the car and booked it there, thankful that traffic was nearly nonexistent in the early morning hours. We actually made it to the hospital in record time – 12 minutes!
Final Thoughts
My final blog post in this series will chronicle the care at the hospital as it deserves its own post. And we’re actually on hospitalization number 3 as I type this so I’ve got plenty of content to share!
Thank you for tracking so far and for reading about Evie’s birth! As time has passed and we continue to reflect, we have become increasingly grateful for how everything happened.
Birth is unpredictable – so many things could have gone wrong, especially in a situation where we had almost no resources, having planned on a hospital birth. Yet, by God’s grace, we have this beautiful birth story to share! Our first birth overseas, getting to fully labor and deliver at home and my first birth unmedicated.
Evie’s name means « life » and her birth story will always be one in which we sit before God in humble awe and gratefulness for the protection of her life and mine in the midst of a crazy, unplanned event which was unknown to us, but fully known to our Father.
Her middle name Grace is a sweet reminder of the good gifts God gives out of His mercy and grace towards us. She is certainly a gift to us!
Thank you to each person who has taken time to read these posts as well as the many of you who have sent me messages of encouragement – your words and prayers for us are so appreciated!
Two weeks ago, at 36 weeks pregnant, I had my final appointment with Dr. Zayat. If things are going normally in the pregnancy then it is typical here to be seen about a month before your due date and then not again until you have the baby! Very different from the weekly visits I’m used to in the final month when I was in the States. We are very grateful for this difference though since going to an appointment here can be quite the extended event.
For example, this last appointment was set for 10 am. Adam, my doula Becca, Desmond and I all went this time (Mia was home sick with a fever). We left around 9:15 and arrived right on time to find the waiting room already filled with people. About two hours later we were seen for our appointment. Then, to avoid having to come back again, everyone else went home, but I hung back and waited another hour and a half or so to have a consultation with the anesthesiologist. This is a standard requirement in the event that you end up needing an epidural or C-section. Throw in the taxi ride home and it ended up being a 6 hour outing.
All of that to say, I’m very glad it won’t be a weekly thing until baby comes!
I’m also very glad to report that this appointment went much more smoothly than the last one. I was very thankful to have both Adam and Becca with me, especially as I was a little nervous to present my birth plan/desires. In the end though Dr. Zayat was very supportive of the things I was hoping for (ie. pushing in a position other than my back, delayed cord cutting, immediate skin to skin if baby is doing well, baby staying with us as much as possible, etc.)
At this appointment I also had a thorough ultrasound and a cervical check. Across the board, all is good! My cervix is at about a 1 and baby is healthy, head down and, as expected, still big! She is already estimated to be nearly 6lbs! We are praising God for such a positive interaction and that everything is looking as it should. At this point we are about two weeks out from our due date and growing more and more excited by the day to meet baby!
Last post I mentioned that I had a very tangible way to show God’s provision through this pregnancy so I wanted to be sure to share that here as well.
Several weeks ago I was having coffee with a friend who off-handedly mentioned that she had heard of a lady who had acted as a doula for another friend here in Dakar. I didn’t think much of it at first since I’ve never had a doula in the past, but as I prepared for this upcoming labor the idea of a doula kept coming back to me. After talking with Adam (who was very much on board) we reached out to the woman my friend had mentioned. Becca was quick to respond and eager to meet.
At our first meeting we got to know each other and talked through the details of her being my doula. It was an instant connection and such an encouraging visit. While Becca has acted as a doula for a couple of women with their deliveries here, her background is actually in labor and delivery nursing. This means that she is very well educated and trained in the process of labor and delivery as well as the postpartum phase for mom and baby! What an incredible gift! Pair that with the facts that she’s lived in Africa for a long time, speaks French well and that some of her past deliveries have actually been at Clinique de la Madeleine (where we will deliver) and it was quickly clear what a great match this was! After going over my birth plan with Becca and having her at this last appointment I feel even more confirmed that she is an incredible gift to us and will be such a blessing when it’s time for baby’s arrival. How cool is God’s provision??
Helpful Resources
The final thing I wanted to share in this post is a couple of resources God has brought my way which have been amazing for mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually preparing for birth. I have always been a planner and enjoy educating myself as much as possible before doing something, but especially so in this situation of delivering in a new country. A couple of months ago I came across a Prenatal Push Prep class online through a workout program I was doing (getmomstrong.com – which I also can’t recommend highly enough!).
My mom gifted me access to the class for Christmas and I have been SO thankful for the many resources it’s provided in preparing for labor and delivery. Here is the link (thebellemethod.com) for anyone interested. In addition to a wealth of knowledge and labor tips (which come from evidence-based research) the class also includes pregnancy pilates classes. I truly wish I would have gone through this course prior to my previous two births.
The final resource is a book called « Risen Motherhood » by Emily Jensen and Laura Wifler. The whole Risen Motherhood ministry (https://www.risenmotherhood.com) has been a huge gift to me as a mom, but this book is a beautiful compilation of how to apply the gospel to motherhood. One chapter is even specifically on birth and was such a timely read for me this last week. I’ll end with a couple of quotes from that chapter as well as some verses I’ve been meditating on as I seek to trust the Lord wholly for this labor and delivery.
“Childbirth is a personal and intimate picture of the gospel for a mother…God uses childbearing for sanctification as it acutely and painfully points out how weak we truly are…The tale of our child’s birth is unpredictable, but our God is not. From before the beginning of time, our God planned a perfect story of redemption for His people. He has faithfully unfolded it day by day for millennia, and it has impeccably gone to His plan. We live in the story, still with sin, need, weakness and imperfection, but we can trust our faultless God…we don’t find our hope in a perfect birth story – we find it in our perfect Savior, Jesus Christ.“
” As you plan…for your child’s birth, remember that God is the giver of life…In our birth experiences God deserves all praise. Amid the decisions, choices, failure and achievements, we can have a steady, unwavering foundation built on our faithful God and His bigger, perfect story for our lives. He never forsakes us or leaves us to ourselves – He always comes to our aid. It is a mercy that weakness in labor and delivery tears down the barriers we build up and gives us more of what we really need – God Himself.”
“The story of the crucified Christ is the best birth story ever told, with elements that parallel the gospel picture in each labor.”
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NLT) ” So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares for you.”
See you next post to share all about how labor and delivery go! Thankful for you all!
