One month! It is hard to believe we have been in country for a month already. The days get a little fuzzy because we spend so much time in class, studying language, fixing things around the house, and preparing the next meal. We are doing well and feeling at home. We have only had a couple of M’s in for a meal so far, but we are planning to have some of our neighbors soon.
So, we wanted to tell you about our neighbors! We were able to go out last weekend and visit a few homes. First, there was Nane (NAH-neh). She has four older children – 2 boys and 2 girls. She is the first wife of a man. He spends his time between his two homes and two families! We have not met him, yet.
Next, there is Madame Jean (zhahn). She has two children, is married, and is a biology teacher. We did not get to meet her husband either. She is very helpful to us about things in the neighborhood. She is very nice.
Finally, we met Abinatu (ah-bee-NAH-too). She has a little boy who is 3 and a little girl who is 5! Yea for Chase! The little boy’s name is Mohammed and the little girl is Leila. This woman is lots of fun. She is separated from her husband, but she laughs and makes lots of jokes. She wants to teach Crystal how to cook local foods. We’ll see…
Don’t worry, there are men in the neighborhood. Chad had already met Moustapha. He is extremely tall with a very deep voice. He is middle aged, single, very polite, and very well known around the neighborhood.
Answers to pryrs:
We have met some of our neighbors and begun building friendships with them.
Requests:
1) Continue to lift up those we would like know our Father:
Ibrahima, Famorah, Ibrahima D., Elizabeth, Nane, Madame Jean, Abinatu, Moustapha – and all of their families!
2) It seems that we have to fix things about as quickly as we get them in place. We are asking that we will keep things in perspective and not be frustrated. We don’t want all of these little things to keep us from focusing on our work here.
3) We need direction as to which group to join for weekly sharing together.
For pictures and more frequent updates, visit our blog at: http://www.thereynoldsrap.blogspot.com/
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! We are thankful for each of you!!!
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Saturday, November 19, 2005
We're Home!
We are in our home! We thank the Father that we were able to move in on Tuesday of this past week. Everything happened very quickly. We are happy to have our things in one place and to be making our house our home.
Our neighborhood is very nice. It is called Sacre Coeur 3. If you look at our blogspot (http://www.thereynoldsrap.blogspot.com/) you can see pictures of the house. We have met several of our neighbors. We plan to go visiting this evening. That is one of the things people do here. In the evenings, they go around greeting their neighbors.
Chad and Crystal have both started studying French again. Our language evaluations went very well. We hadn’t lost as much as we thought. However, we still have quite a ways to go. Chad studies at the university and Crystal studies with a tutor. We also do an afternoon of around-town orientation every week.
Chase is doing well staying with our helper. He still cries when Mama leaves, but stops after a few minutes. The only problem we have is that Mariama is spoiling him rotten!! There are lots of children in our neighborhood. They are mostly older, though. They love to see Chase. Sometimes they come to the door asking for him. We just can’t let him go off with them until he gets older. So, everyone is content to just talk for awhile. We speak French, English, and Wolof with them. It is often confusing.
The weather has cooled off here, but we can hardly believe that it is time for Thanksgiving! We are definitely thankful, though, for all that the Father has done for us. We hope you each have a wonderful holiday with family and friends. We will be pooling our resources as an M community to have a traditional dinner on Thursday. It will be a great time.
Answers to our pryrs:
1) Crystal’s doctor visit went well. She and Caleb are very healthy! She just has to remember to rest every day.
2) Chase and Mariama get along very well together. He is learning to understand French and Wolof with her.
3) We have moved into our house!
4) Our language evaluations went better than expected.
Requests:
1) That we would develop good, deep relationships with our neighbors.
2) That our language skills would improve quickly, so that we can communicate well.
3) We hope that the following people will come to understand why we are here :
Ibrahima, Famorah, Elizabeth, Ibrahima D., Nane, Abinatu, Madame Jean
Thank you for lifting us up, for writing to us, and for supporting us!!! We couldn’t be here without you. We are lifting you up, too!
Our neighborhood is very nice. It is called Sacre Coeur 3. If you look at our blogspot (http://www.thereynoldsrap.blogspot.com/) you can see pictures of the house. We have met several of our neighbors. We plan to go visiting this evening. That is one of the things people do here. In the evenings, they go around greeting their neighbors.
Chad and Crystal have both started studying French again. Our language evaluations went very well. We hadn’t lost as much as we thought. However, we still have quite a ways to go. Chad studies at the university and Crystal studies with a tutor. We also do an afternoon of around-town orientation every week.
Chase is doing well staying with our helper. He still cries when Mama leaves, but stops after a few minutes. The only problem we have is that Mariama is spoiling him rotten!! There are lots of children in our neighborhood. They are mostly older, though. They love to see Chase. Sometimes they come to the door asking for him. We just can’t let him go off with them until he gets older. So, everyone is content to just talk for awhile. We speak French, English, and Wolof with them. It is often confusing.
The weather has cooled off here, but we can hardly believe that it is time for Thanksgiving! We are definitely thankful, though, for all that the Father has done for us. We hope you each have a wonderful holiday with family and friends. We will be pooling our resources as an M community to have a traditional dinner on Thursday. It will be a great time.
Answers to our pryrs:
1) Crystal’s doctor visit went well. She and Caleb are very healthy! She just has to remember to rest every day.
2) Chase and Mariama get along very well together. He is learning to understand French and Wolof with her.
3) We have moved into our house!
4) Our language evaluations went better than expected.
Requests:
1) That we would develop good, deep relationships with our neighbors.
2) That our language skills would improve quickly, so that we can communicate well.
3) We hope that the following people will come to understand why we are here :
Ibrahima, Famorah, Elizabeth, Ibrahima D., Nane, Abinatu, Madame Jean
Thank you for lifting us up, for writing to us, and for supporting us!!! We couldn’t be here without you. We are lifting you up, too!
Saturday, November 05, 2005
We've Arrived!
Thank you for praying for us and for our families. God has been so good to us. We are thankful to be in Dakar. Our first week here has been filled with many happy reunions with old friends and colleagues. We have also met many new people. Another joy has been to have authentic Senegalese food again. We have really missed it!
Much has changed here in the way of roads, buildings, and stores. However, not much has changed in the way of life of the Senegalese people. Our hearts are still broken for the millions of people who are living in darkness. Since we arrived at the end of the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, we have seen how the people are still in bondage and deceived by thinking that their works will get them to paradise. We long for them to know the freedom and hope that are only found in Jesus Christ.
On Thursday, Chad went with another missionary to a feast celebrating the end of Ramadan. The ‘meal’ lasted nearly 4 hours! It was fun to watch the teenagers drumming and dancing, and everyone dressed in their nicest and newest traditional African outfits. Even the children get new traditional clothes for the holiday. The other missionary had to translate everything since all conversation was in Wolof (Wall-off). We asked lots of questions about why they do certain things, and God really opened doors for friendship. Crystal and Chase will join Chad for lunch with this same family on Monday. Please pray for our time with them.
We have been provided a beautiful home that is perfect for our family. There are a few repairs being made. We have been busily searching for the appliances and furniture we need. We hope to move in soon.
Chase has been doing very well as he has been meeting so many new people. He has mainly been learning to greet them in French. The other day he was saying something we could not understand. He was getting very frustrated with us. Finally, we realized it was a phrase in French! He was just unable to pronounce all of the words correctly in his “toddler-ese.” We were all relieved and worked on some of our greetings together. We praise God that Chase is not afraid to try new words.
Our prayer requests for this next week are:
1) That Crystal will have a good first appointment with her doctor on Wednesday and that all is well with Caleb.
2) That Chase and his potential new babysitter (Mariama) will get along well. She will be doing most everything with us next week.
3) That we will be getting things ready in our house, so that we can move in soon.
4) That our French language evaluations will go well on Monday.
God is so faithful in His provision for us. We thank each of you for your prayers. May you realize God’s abundant blessings in your life this week. Remember to let us know how we can pray for you, as well.
Much has changed here in the way of roads, buildings, and stores. However, not much has changed in the way of life of the Senegalese people. Our hearts are still broken for the millions of people who are living in darkness. Since we arrived at the end of the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, we have seen how the people are still in bondage and deceived by thinking that their works will get them to paradise. We long for them to know the freedom and hope that are only found in Jesus Christ.
On Thursday, Chad went with another missionary to a feast celebrating the end of Ramadan. The ‘meal’ lasted nearly 4 hours! It was fun to watch the teenagers drumming and dancing, and everyone dressed in their nicest and newest traditional African outfits. Even the children get new traditional clothes for the holiday. The other missionary had to translate everything since all conversation was in Wolof (Wall-off). We asked lots of questions about why they do certain things, and God really opened doors for friendship. Crystal and Chase will join Chad for lunch with this same family on Monday. Please pray for our time with them.
We have been provided a beautiful home that is perfect for our family. There are a few repairs being made. We have been busily searching for the appliances and furniture we need. We hope to move in soon.
Chase has been doing very well as he has been meeting so many new people. He has mainly been learning to greet them in French. The other day he was saying something we could not understand. He was getting very frustrated with us. Finally, we realized it was a phrase in French! He was just unable to pronounce all of the words correctly in his “toddler-ese.” We were all relieved and worked on some of our greetings together. We praise God that Chase is not afraid to try new words.
Our prayer requests for this next week are:
1) That Crystal will have a good first appointment with her doctor on Wednesday and that all is well with Caleb.
2) That Chase and his potential new babysitter (Mariama) will get along well. She will be doing most everything with us next week.
3) That we will be getting things ready in our house, so that we can move in soon.
4) That our French language evaluations will go well on Monday.
God is so faithful in His provision for us. We thank each of you for your prayers. May you realize God’s abundant blessings in your life this week. Remember to let us know how we can pray for you, as well.
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