First month back

First month back

by | Aug 1, 2023 | Picture Galleries, Praise report

We left the U.S. one month ago  – although it feels like we have already lived several months since then!

It was hard saying goodbye to Emma, Molly, and Wheaton but each of them is in a really good place and is opening a new and exciting life chapter – and technology allows us to stay connected in ways that weren’t possible when we first came to Senegal – so we are grateful!

The trip across the ocean was uneventful and the boys handled it superbly. Jet lag and all the newness made it hard to get to sleep for the first week but they have adjusted to the time change now.

We spent about a week in our new home in Dakar, the capital city, before driving out to Kaffrine (where we used to live) about four hours inland. Our week there was intense physically and situationally as it was extremely hot and we had a lot of work to do to sort through our things in storage and load a truck to bring to Dakar while also reconnecting with folks we hadn’t seen in two years, both in town and out in the one village where we had the closest relationships last term. The Lord gave us strength and we got the work done and we also had some really good conversations with old friends.

We saw God’s incredible timing in two situations too as we were there to help one friend in a moment of need at just the right time and we were with another friend when she got the awesome news that she passed the bac exam. (This means she has completed high school and will be given a spot at university! Only 3% of the population of Senegal attends university and passing on the first try, like our friend did, is rare!) We also got to talk to her parents and later on July 20 she came to stay with us for a month or so in Dakar which is a lot of fun (although we all wish Wheaton was here too since they are such close friends!).

After another week settling in to our new place, Corey took Will and Jake and hopped on the bus and went back out to Kaffrine with a short-term team from a partner church. The team has developed relationships and worked in one particular village for many years; on this trip they did some fun soccer times with the village kids so Will and Jake were excited about that. Unfortunately, Corey got hit with food poisoning on the trip out so was down a couple of days, but the team took the boys with them to the village  anyway so the boys got to play lots of soccer. Corey did recover before the trip was over and was able to help out, and they are now back from Dakar.

Meanwhile, I have been in New Teacher Orientation at Dakar Academy all week getting to know the other new teachers and some of the school leaders. I have a key to my classroom and I know which 5 class periods I will be teaching French to which grades (I will have some 1st through 12th graders!) although there are some vital details still to work out about levels and curriculum. School starts August 16th so I covet your prayers for me to feel ready by then!

Many of you are aware of the demonstrations that have been going on in Senegal – we had a bout of them about two months ago and then things calmed down, but this weekend events kicked off again. We had some rowdy crowds that damaged banks very close to us and even burned a bus right in front of Dakar Academy. Due to the violence banks, gas stations, and many stores are closed down now. Follow the news about Senegal and pray for peace.

We know so many of you have been praying for us – thank you!!!

Please continue to pray:

  • for good health

  • for each family member’s adjustment to this new chapter. Pray specifically for good friends for each of our kids who is in a new place. We are trying to help Will and Jake relearn Wolof and connect them with boys their age in the neighborhood. Wheaton heads to Chicago today Tuesday Aug 1 and will start at Wheaton College shortly after. Molly will begin her second year at the Coast Guard Academy after traveling (to northern Europe and California!) with the Coast Guard all summer. Emma is living with a family in CT; she is about to finish up her nannying job and next month she will begin online classes through Grand Canyon University.

  • Pray for peace in this country from now through the presidential elections in February.

  • Pray for clarity and wisdom about my teaching assignments and for good resources to help me teach well.

  • We have had several opportunities to share about Jesus or to help someone download the Wolof Bible app recently; pray for God’s Spirit to work in our relationships and ongoing conversations.

Would you pray for our friend?

Would you pray for our friend?

by | Apr 26, 2022 | Uncategorized

I was able to talk with a close friend in Senegal earlier this week. It had been quite a while since we had spoken to each other “live” since leaving WhatsApp voice messages is the norm between friends in Senegal (rather than talking live which requires both parties to have good internet connection at the same time).

After catching up on family news and the weather (it was 113 ℉ there one day this week!) this friend told me about two dreams they had two months ago. In one dream, Jesus was reaching out; in the other, His voice spoke. But after sharing about these dreams with close family members, the family reacted with anger and expressed a desire that our friend move out immediately. My friend has been unsure of what to do and how to respond, struggling and praying since then. They said they had been praying that I would call and give advice!

I said that the one thing I can say for sure is that God wants this friend to believe in Jesus, to follow Him, and to become part of His family. I can’t say how their earthly family will react, but the Bible tells us to “Seek the Kingdom of God first…and He will give you everything you need.” I suggested my friend go talk with a local believer in town that we both know.

After I hung up the phone, I prayed and wept with joy that Jesus is so clearly calling this friend to come to Himself. As I prayed I could picture this friend singing in church and I cried and prayed with fervent hope that this friend will get to experience the sweet fellowship of belonging to His family, will get to know and walk with our beloved Jesus, and will have the peace that comes with assurance of salvation. Will you pray that this vision will become reality?

Citizens!

Citizens!

by | Jan 27, 2020 | Praise report

Coming out of USCIS office – we went in two Americans and two Guineans, and came out four Americans!

We did it! International adoption for Americans living abroad is no joke, people. But it is done! We had our first homestudy in 2013. The boys were born in 2014. We were matched with them in 2016. We went to Guinea to get them and they legally became our sons in 2018. And now, in 2020, they are finally American citizens and this process is complete! AND their full names are spelled correctly on their certificates of citizenship, can you believe it? We did not do this alone — we have had a whole army of you along with us, praying and helping us in a million ways throughout the whole long process. Thank you and woo hoooooo! And thank you, Jesus!!! <3

Prayers and Praises

Prayers and Praises

by | Oct 16, 2019 | Praise report, Prayer request

We appreciate your continued prayers. Here’s what’s happening with us. 

  • Praise God for his protection as the passenger side tie rod of our vehicle snapped suddenly on Sunday. Thankfully, Corey was in town and only going about 20 mph when it happened – it could have been much worse if they had been moving at a higher speed. He and our son Jacob and two Senegalese teachers from the Kaffrine Christian school were all in the car when it happened and no one was hurt. Pray for our vehicle to be repaired soon and well; we have been without a car since Sunday, making do with just Corey’s motorcycle to take the boys to preschool, etc. which is not ideal. 
  • The community garden project idea that Corey was investigating is not going to happen. Pray for wisdom and God’s leading as we pursue another idea for a project to help in this village.
  • Praise God that most times when Corey visits the village, he ends up doing a Bible study with someone, often with someone who has never read any of the Bible before! Pray for those he is following up with, that they would want to read more and that the Holy Spirit would open their eyes and give them understanding and faith.
  • Praise God for several donations to the Kaffrine Scholarship Project. The Scholarship account had gotten down to essentially $0 and school started up again this month so this is a big praise! Pray for God to bless and work in the lives of each of the Scholarship students.
  • We are still waiting to hear from USCIS – pray for them to give us an appointment for our boys’ citizenship interview before the boys’ visas expire at the end of February.
  • Pray for wisdom and grace to parent all of our kids well. Pray for our three girls at boarding school, and for the two oldest (Emma and Molly) as they make decisions about college during the next two years. Pray for patience with our boys and good connection with them.
  • Pray that we will not be discouraged. We’re saying goodbye to our teammates the Gallaghers as they leave Kaffrine next week heading for a new role in the US. Also we were surprised to learn that our Senegalese pastor here in Kaffrine has been relocated by his denomination. He has been a friend to us and an invaluable ministry partner here in Kaffrine for the last nine years so this is a sad loss for us. He and his family moved yesterday. Pray for the new pastor and the new school director who will be sent out by the denomination. 

Thanks for praying with us for the Kingdom of Light to advance here!

Sometimes God’s answer is ‘no’

Sometimes God’s answer is ‘no’

by | Oct 5, 2019 | Event report, Prayer request

The meeting that we had tried to schedule for yesterday afternoon did not happen. Katie and the boys and I went to the village in the afternoon and greeted at the village chief’s family’s house. Then Katie and the boys stayed there chatting and I went to try to connect with the six men with whom I was hoping to meet. I was able to see all but one. One man was quite angry and yelled at me a few times. Another of the men told me that an “older brother” among them had come to visit him to get them all in line with his view that no one should even talk about the garden project we were considering. I suspected we would not be able to have any kind of meeting but went and waited at the meeting place anyway from around 5 to 6:30. I had some other good conversations with others who were just hanging out there, but did not get to talk about the project with the group of six men. At this point there is nothing to do but drop the project. 

I’m not disappointed we aren’t able to do this project – there are some legitimate reasons not to do it that I can think of – but I am disappointed that we couldn’t talk about it. I had wanted to get together and talk about the issues, and see what solutions they could come up with, but even that was too much.

What I have been thinking about as I’ve been talking with these men is that there are a lot of broken relationships and broken hearts in these villages. They do project a sense of peace and of tranquility, but there’s a lot hiding under the surface. The broken pieces of those hearts can be jagged and hurt others as they get close to them. These folks need a way to be able to forgive each other for past hurts and have a new start. As we continue to visit this village, our prayer is that God will let us help them understand how they can both have and give forgiveness through Jesus.