Senegal

A two-week break from life at the Bible school -

I added a few more stamps to my passport, ate heaps of rice, and (unlike last summer), actually have pictures to prove I was there.

- - -

You guys, this family...

I can't even tell you how much they have been to me.

It's largely because of them that I learned to love Senegal.  When all was still unfamiliar and unsettling, they welcomed me into their home and family, giving me unbelievable grace as I bumbled through that new world.

They taught me about friendship and loyalty and love and family and courage.

Such gifts.

- - -

This is Lac Rose (or "Pink Lake", because of the algae that turns the water pink during certain seasons), about an hour's drive from Julien and Angèle's.  I'd never been there before, so we went one Saturday with her parents and siblings and spent the afternoon there.

Picnic, Senegalese-style -

We ate rice, onion sauce, and most deliciously marinated pork.  Then we had fruit salad and drank juice.  And tea.  And more juice.

It was all so calm, so lovely, so different from the city.

Afterwards, we walked along the lake and saw piles and piles of freshly harvested salt.

Someone even gave me a little free sachet to take home - so now I have Senegalese salt sitting on my counter.

I'm not sure there's any significant difference from non-Senegalese salt...I've yet to try it. :)

One day while I was there, I'd gone to visit a friend and took a taxi from her house back to Angèle's.  The taxi driver took a route that wound right through my old neighborhood, the road I took every day to and from French class for nearly two years.

A thousand moments of everyday life came flooding back -

Sun beating down on me
The screech of a bus breaking for a turn
Sand on my feet
Laughter of the ladies at the vegetable stand
Boys with rusty tomato cans asking for a few coins
Dust and sweat clinging to my skin
The mosque's prayer call blaring from the loudspeaker
The click of heels and the swish of stiff basin fabric
Horse carts rattling past
The smell of the trash heap
The smell of the bakery
Stray kittens playing in the sand
Bougainvilleas blooming in every color imaginable

And I remembered.  I remembered how hard it was, yes, but mostly I remembered how good God was.

I wish I'd seen that more while I was there before.

It made me realize this - I want to see God's goodness as I'm going through things, not just after the fact. I want to have my eyes open, to look around and notice His goodness to me right. now.  I don't want to miss His hand; I want to have a heart of thankfulness.

The following sequence cracks me up so much -

There's more to tell, but that'll be for another day. :)