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)