"It is just the same with our mind and our emotions. There is a pressure against us for self-expression, and when it is expressed our life flows happily, and when we tend to hinder it there is stagnation. The creative impulse must create something or we are unhappy. All art, all invention, all creativity flows from a Divine source through the emotions and the intellect, and we do the best we can with it, blunderingly. Everything that is worthwhile is an effect of the feeling back of it. Back of all creativity is the pressure of our own Divinity to come forth into humanity that It has created in order to enjoy the full-ness of Its own expression."
— Ernest Holmes, Creative Living
"Technology has given us the modern conveniences that we all enjoy, but he world is more insecure than it ever was because it has detached itself from the spiritual center and wanders alone and is lost in the midst of unbelief. Therefore there is something missing in the accomplishment of human endeavor."
— Ernest Holmes
Saturday after getting our stand-by tickets… we had to look for a place to stay for the night. All the local hostels were full-due to the holiday weekend. We decided to stay in the airport. Shannon and I got stuck in the seeming hamster cage side of the airport looking for mantas (blankets) to purchase, which they had none of. Once we got back to the other side of the airport where michael was watching our stuff we gathered up carts and made a fortress in what we called homeless ally, next to a woman who seemingly has been living there for a while. Laying our clothes out on the ground, to separate ourselves from the marble floor, proved helpful to keep warm…though cuddling with shannon for body heat really worked the best.
The few hours we had the next day, before our flight, we used to take the subway into the Sol Plaza in Madrid… we roamed around got some food and good cafe con leche. There were couples making out everywhere…maybe cuz it was Valentines day?
We got on our stand-by flight from Madrid to Dakar, PTL. :) I quickly figured out that every one around me only understood french… which I know nothing of. At one point, with the language barrier, I tried to offer this girl ibuprofen cuz her head was hurting.. i think she was scared of me… along with everyone else in her group. Needless to say, her headache continued. …My favorite moments of the flight were when the ‘fasten your seat belts’ light came on, and it became like cocktail hour, everyone getting out of their seats and standing up, talking to each other.
We arrived at the airport, only to find one of the three pieces of luggage we checked. It was hot n humid. Men working at the airport all wanted to help you with your luggage, to get paid, and were very forceful about it, So we kept in close proximity to our bags and waved the workers away… “no, merci”.
Driving to the missionary, Amy’s, apartment, a few things I noticed: no lines on the roads and a notable ‘free for all’ that applies to people and vehicles. Literally, even though the city has built cross walks to go over the freeways, the people still run/walk across the freeways making the need for drivers to be really aware.
Once shannon and i actually got out of bed this morning.. at 12:44pm … we quickly got ready and left the apartment with Amy, the wonderful missionary we’re staying with and working beside for the next couple weeks. We jumped in Amy’s toyota truck and rounded the corner through a narrow dirt ally, passing nicely dressed men in button downs and slacks (some in T-shirts and jeans), piles of trash, stray dogs, and horse drawn cart. :) A different world for sure. Because it’s a city, there are people dressed from traditional west african garb to modern-esk garb in the US/Europe.
I learned some survival wolof today! the other common language spoken here, besides french.
I also found out that we are going to be painting most of the time that we’re here!!! Which is very exciting. We are going to be doing some alphabet charts and other visual aid to help while teaching at a school for deaf children, along with some fun murals if we have time. There’s a YWAM center ‘Teen Bi’ (the well) for children ages around 5-16 where we will be doing murals of african animals to brighten up the outdoor play area, as well as anything else we have time for. We will also be painting a mural of Noah’s ark in a smaller village outside of Dakar…
I didn’t realize that there would be so much painting to be done.. It’s intimidating but so exciting knowing that you can provide something that people need/want. The women that I’ve talked to, at the places where we’re going to paint, are seriously so delighted that we are here to help bring more life visually to the kids environment. I’m praying that the work we do is inspiring, encouraging, and hope-giving to the people who see it.. I know God can use anything.
Shannon and I had so much fun this afternoon teaching the older girls at the ‘Teen Bi’ this bollywood dance that we learned via youtube work-out session.. They loved it. :)
Al Hamdulilaay! (‘Thank/Praise God’ in wolof)
(2/13/10) Saturday morning in the am we flew into Madrid. We had a nine hour layover so after maneuvering through the airport, getting cash, changing clothes and checking our bags in a locker—-we headed by train into the city. It was a beautiful day! Sunny and perfectly cold.
We had an awesome time with Tim and Kim, who live here and met us for lunch in Sol! It was so amazing being in Spain on a crisp winter morning and taking in all the architecture and sites! I was loving being in the European Union! We had chocolate churros, visited an spectacular cathedral and walked around the city.
We gave ourselves plenty of time to navigate the metro back to the airport and get our luggage out of the lockers so we could check in. In high spirits, we went to the assigned ‘check in’ counter for Iberia air but no one was there. We kept checking back until it was about 65 minutes before boarding. At that point we figured we needed to find out what was up with the gate at the information desk. They told us there was a mistake on the airport monitor and that the check in gates were actually a few corridors down.
We walked over thinking we had plenty of time, since we were still an hour out. We approached a Iberian Air gate agent and she sternly told us we could not check in, that they closed check in time five minutes earlier and there was no way for us to get through. Shannon went into negotiation mode, urgently explaining the mistake of information on the monitors, requesting for her to call the gate, call a supervisor, call somebody! Nope…this is not america kids…this is iberia air where they send you out onto the madrid airport marble floor with no blanket, no answer and no plane ticket!
When it was all said and done, they told us we would have to buy three new plane tickets and the airport MIGHT reimburse us in five weeks IF they decided it was their fault. This DID not sound good! All the possibilities of no one wanting to take responsibility for the faulty information and me being in the US in five weeks trying to sort it out.
While walking to our 5th or 6th counter to see about new tickets, we prayed. It was emotional and stressful. Shannon and I were talking about how God is not surprised by things and ultimately, he supplies what we need in all kinds of ways. Fifteen seconds later an old Spanish man (antonio) walked up to us. He asked shannon if we spoke spanish and I said “a little”, I asked him if he spoke English and he smiled and said, “a little”. He looked at shannon and said in Spanish, “speak spanish?” and Shannon said, “Hola!” (I smiled) “Come estas?”. He answered her, laughed, and asked how I was doing, my response was “asi, asi” (meaning ok, not well). He asked why, and as best I could communicated our situation…PTL he understood and we had new tickets in our hands for free. yessss. God is so good! Such an answer to prayer… thank you jesus.
After the whole ordeal, we were ALL delirious and sleeping on a marble floor in the Madrid airport.
also a fun note…
We made some friends and received a gift of Italian chocolates and a calendar from benito for helping him figure out how to use the internet….
TEXAS! well… for the first however many hours we were driving in it, there was nothing. It was mountainous and beautiful, but no real civilization.
I tried stopping at gas stations to get UNsweetened iced tea. failure. there’s was none to be found. i actually found a fountain type machine with unsweetened tea….when i tried gettin some out, it was like syrup. bleh :(
Um, we ran out of gas saturday when driving. :) PTL we were only about a half mile from the exit sign/gas station when it happened.
During a photo shoot, it started down pouring… the people being photographed were able to be under various types of covering. Shannon and I got soaked. :)
Also… it’s a weird type of humid here… yesterday was foggy [which i expected it to be cold when i got outside] and warm. Really kinda gross feeling.
I feel like it’s popular to be “Christian” over here. Woman [at least in New Mexico] where extremely chunky jewelery.. seriously, shorter chunky necklaces with a big 2x3in cross in the middle. :) All sorts of bling on everything. Lots of cowboy hats&boots. Woman with lots of makeup and hairspray [of coarse not on everyone]
Also, some people who take church, Christianity, and politics as one big lump of the same thing. :)
The wheat bread, that i’ve come across is really processed, enriched wheat flour…
I feel like it’s more difficult to find healthy unprocessed foods. Also, good coffee is difficult to find. :)
In new mexico i met a rodeo champion who had her own lit up arena at her house! :) I got to ride her #1 Barrel Horse ‘Wizard’. :) It was awesome.
Anyways, all to say, I’m having a good time experiencing parts of America I’ve never experienced before. :) Tho, it kinda sucks cuz i don’t have a phone right now.
