God already knows

Wolof:  Buleen jàq. Gëmleen Yàlla te gëm ma

French: Que votre coeur ne soit pas troublé; vous croyez en Dieu, croyez aussi en moi

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God trust also in me. John 14:1

French and Wolof will be the two languages we will be learning in order to communicate with the people in Senegal.  This morning I wrestled with learning another language again.   Some of you may know that I have a degree in Spanish and put in a lot of hard work to be able to communicate to Spanish speakers.  As I sat on my bed this morning for my quiet time, my heart became anxious as I thought about the work, time, energy, and embarrassing moments that would go into learning these two languages, not just for me, but for my kids also.   How do I help them learn what I don't know?  

I opened my Bible to the above verse:  John 14:1.  As I pondered this verse, I heard God's comforting whisper, "Holly I already know French and Wolof.  I will help you." What a blessed joy to serve a God who is limited by nothing.  So although my French consists of "we", (which I probably spelled wrong) and my Wolof consists of "ummmm," I take great comfort in God who already knows, not only the languages, but the people who speak them and He knows how to best help us as we take on this challenge.  

Why are we singing??????

While at church this morning, we were all standing singing a hymn as is pretty standard for our morning church service.  All of a sudden I feel a tap, tap, tap on my arm.  So I lean down and Gabby whispers in my ear, "Who are those people up there?"  I look up and realize she is pointing at the choir.  So I lean back down and whisper to her, "That is the choir."  I stand back up and continue singing.  A few seconds goes by and I feel another tap, tap, tap on my arm.  I bend down once again and Gabby whispers, "Then why are WE singing?"

You Are What You Eat!

If this old saying is true, then here is our family today.

Holly and the kids came in to Lexington today and we all went out to eat at a West African restaurant.  It was pretty tasty.  Each order came in a bowl with rice and you would choose what went on the rice.  Each of us got a stew on the rice made of meat and potatoes with peanut sauce.  Holly and Samuel got goat meat, Gabby and I got chicken, and Rebekah chose the fish.  On top of that we had an order of fried plantains.
The man who runs the restaurant is from the country of Guinea, which is not too far from Senegal.  The food in the two countries is quite similar from what I understand.  At least it was as close as we could get in Lexington KY.

Imagination is the key to winter fun.

Fun Indoor Winter Activity #2:  Use your imagination.

The girls enjoy playing with their horses.  You can't see in the picture the sleds, (a.k.a. bins) they have attached to the horses. They were all going on a camping trip and had to take their favorite toys.  The stuffed animals are a part of every game they play (from left to right:  Rinty riding Midnight, Roarey riding Rainbow Cupcake, Yellow lab riding Rainbow, and Lucky riding stars, Jeller is the last horse).   Yes, I am sometimes quizzed on the names. I do fairly well, unless of course the animal has recently changed names. 

Samuel chose to build a fort with his legos.  The big blue area is the barracks, the first room in the gray area is the hospital, and the room diagonal from the hospital is the safe.  It is difficult to see all the details in this picture, but in person the fort is intricately designed and contains all the necessities.   Winter fun is all about imagination. 

Uneventful Dentist Appointment: Just how we like it

It was that time of year again for the kids and I to visit the dentist.  Crazy how six months just flies by.   There was a little apprehension since we were visiting a new dentist, but all went well-no cavities, and his receptionist was kind enough to copy the joke posted so I could share it with you all.  

My phone number is 911

Ok, so this isn't actually a picture of me.  I got transferred from No Duty to Light Duty as of yesterday.  (I think Holly was ready for me to get out of the house.)  So they have me in dispatch handling the incoming 911 calls.  Let me just say I would not want to do it full time.  Hopefully I will be back to patrol in the next 6 to 8 weeks.  In the meantime lets just hope I don't have to talk anyone through delivering a baby.

Fun indoor winter activities

Indoor activity #1:  Build a giant fort with all the blankets in the house.  Use chairs to create the height, library books to hold them down, and clothes pins to attach the edges.  Have fun!

How not to prepare for the mission field.

1.  Call your local post office and in a language you understand, ask about making an appointment to get your children’s passports.  Have her agree to meet today and get all three done within a half hour’s time.

2.  Show up at the post office with both parents, all three birth certificates, and one expired driver’s license.  Have the postal worker say that she will be awhile taking care of the forms and she thinks you can get your license renewed in that time.

3. Drive five minutes through traffic that is organized in a logical way and park in front of the building.

4.  Walk in the building, see the sign clearly indicating which door to take, and have the woman nicely ask for your expired license.

5.  Take a seat in front of the camera.  Smile.  Listen to the machine making your license.  Say thank-you.  Walk back to your car.  And drive the 5 minutes back to the post office.

6.  Smile at the postal clerk as she emerges from the back with your family and thank her for allowing you the time to get the license renewed.

7.  Sign papers.  Take an oath.  Pay money.   And have the clerk tell you that they will take care of checking the tracking number and you don’t need to worry about it.

10.  Get back into the car with the three kids and drive home thinking, “That was easy.”

They say experience is the best teacher.  I wonder how closely the mission field will resemble this experience.  Ummmm.