Not American Idol

For a few weeks now I (Jenn) have been singing with the worship group (aka: the choir) at our church. Some of you may be saying, “Wow, Jenn, I didn’t know you sang.” Well…I don’t really. It’s not that I don’t enjoy it, I just don’t claim to have any known vocal talent. I love watching American Idol, but only so I can make fun of the people who think they can sing, but really they get a remark from Simon such as, “I think you just killed every cat in the neighborhood.” It has actually been a really fun experience so far! We sing in French and we sing in Wolof (another one of Senegal’s national languages). We get together as a group twice a week, for two hours at a time, which at first I wasn’t really looking forward to, (just to be honest-we as Americans are too attached to “our time”, and that’s not always easy to break!), but now I have developed closer friendships with the group. Of course it’s great practice for my French as well. Our choir director doesn’t mess around, either. We have to do breathing exercises (not an easy chore for a semi-asthmatic), stand up straight, hands at our side, and if you don’t like it, feel free to find a taxi and head on home. I’ll see if one of these days I can take a picture, or even get a video of us together singing/”making a joyful noise” to Jesus, (Yessu in Wolof).

"Dawg, what language are you even singing in?"

Brandon

Shipping out with a heavy load!

We appreciate your prayers for Shawn’s brother Brandon who left last week for Afghanistan. He will be there for one year serving with the US Army.

Choosing Truth

Can you imagine being told by your very own father that you are no longer his daughter? Can you imagine an entire lifetime of friendship and belonging being tossed out the window just because you stood up for what you believe?  Can you imagine the feeling of not even being welcome in the neighborhood where you grew up, a place where all of your memories were made, just because you chose to follow Jesus? This is the present reality for our Senegalese friend Di, and for many others throughout the world. She made the bold choice to go against what her family and her culture want her to do, say and believe. She is going against the flow, no matter what hardships are ahead of her.

Pray that she will hold tight to the love, peace and assurance that Jesus offers: something that her former religion never offered.

What are you willing to sacrifice to be a Jesus follower?

On the Roof

People, including ourselves, do their laundry on the flat rooftops. It doesn’t take long for stuff to dry up there!

View of the city from our roof.

2 cultural things you see often: making tea and braiding hair.

Package Surprise

There is nothing more thrilling than walking into the mail room and seeing a package with our names on it! Last week we received a box from one of our sending churches in Ohio. It was filled with some of the things we miss from home: peanut M&M’s, coffee, coffee creamer, gum, gravy mix, canned meats, etc.

Thank you Fairview for thinking of us!

We also received some Christmas cards this week. It doesn’t matter if it is almost February, we loved it!!

The 1st package we received in Senegal!

Our God

It’s been neat talking to some of our Senegalese friends who were raised in other religions, but are now Jesus followers. Here are some neat things about our God:

• Only in Christianity does God die for man. What grace!
• He’s a God that pursues us. What love!
• Jesus wasn’t a guide to point us to truth, Jesus said He was the truth.
• He is both a judge and a father.
• Religious people say, “I’ve got to do enough, to be good enough, to get into heaven.” In Christianity we say, “I cannot be good enough.” By faith we trust what He did for us.
• As Christians, we have assurance of our salvation.

  

  We don’t worship out of fear, we worship because HE IS WORTHY.

  
  

Liver Sandwich

Just a funny little story from the other day:

First of all, the ONE food item, on the face of the planet, that Shawn does not like is liver. You can call him picky if you want, but that’s that. In fact, it’s almost annoying sometimes because he really will eat (and love) almost anything, and sometimes I think that he should just be “normal” like me and not like something, so that I’m not alone in my dislikes of unknown meats, or odd vegetables. Anyhow, the other day Shawn returned to the apartment after visiting his friend James, and right away I noticed that there was something in his pocket. Before I could even ask what it was, he pulled out a 1/2 eaten sandwich.”Why on earth do you have a 1/2 eaten sandwich in your pocket?” I asked. Come to find out, Shawn’s friend James had given him a liver sandwich to try, and not wanting to be rude, he took it and ate the first 1/2 with a smile on his face. James quickly had to leave and go find his brother and with that, he and Shawn parted ways for the afternoon. Walking back to the apartment, Shawn quickly “hid” the liver lunch in his pocket so he could discreetly slip it into the trash as soon as he got home! PB and J…here I come!

Village Visit

The village we recently visited. It's only 2 hours outside of the city of Dakar, but two hours makes a big difference. We spent the day meeting people, eating lunch with them, and with the help of a translator (from French into their local language), we shared with them a little bit about what brought us to Senegal. The church in this village is actually a church plant that our church in Dakar started, and they take a trip out once a week for discipleship and encouragement.

A bunch of kids gathered around to greet us...and to have their picture taken. A village favorite!

Important Message

A little girl listening closely to the story of the greatest gift EVER given: Jesus!

Joyeux Noël

 

Our pastor and his sister.

A sweet gift, literally. Caramel sauce and hazelnut flavoring.

Jenn with a friend

All dressed up for the party!

Shawn invited our friend Jean to the party. You can see that this Christmas was a warm and sunny one! The temperature was in the 80’s.

Last year I (Jenn) started collecting Christmas stockings. They are festive yet easy to trasport! They were hung around the apartment in early December.

Christmas day we enjoyed a big meal with some friends. The day after Christmas our church had a party with lots of food, music and a message.

Our tree with presents “under” it.