Yangi Noos?

"Yangi Noos?" (pronounced nos) is a question I've been hearing a lot lately. I don't think we have an equivalent expression in English. 'Noos' means you're living large; enjoying spending your money; you don't really work that hard but enjoy nice things; you're always looking to have a good time; spending money and having fun are your priorities. So, it has become a greeting in Wolof where someone asks you, "Yangi (Are you) Noos (ing)?"

It has really started to bother me. Because of the color of my skin, many times a day people (ones that I know and don't know) will start with the normal Wolof greeting and then always jump to the question, "yangi noos?" I mean, what do you say to that? At first when I didn't really understand the full meaning and depth behind the word 'noos' I always replied yes, very much, because I thought it meant 'Are you having fun?'. But, as I've learned and experienced this phrase more and more I've realized the significance of it. 

Our neighbor, Seynabou, brings up the fact that we are living 'the life' and have tons of money EVERYTIME she sees me. It is SO frustrating and annoying and I still don't have a good come-back yet. It is totally appropriate to be extremely nosey in this culture. Seynabou constantly asks me questions such as "Where are you going?", "Where did you just come from?", "What are you doing now?", "Don't you have work to do?". It's so hard because our view of work is so different than her view of work. If I am sitting and working on English lesson plans in my home, it totally counts as "work" for me, but in her mind I have not left and gone somewhere else to "work" in an office, another location, or even working to take care of our home. So, I think that's what's fueling her idea of us 'noos-ing'. I get so caught up in what people think about me. Often I fear what she thinks of me. As she asks me those prying questions every day and if I answer "going to my friends house", sometimes I feel so guilty. Although at that friends house we are having a meeting which is work related, but I feel like I don't really want to constantly justify myself. I'm continually working through this....

Money...been thinking about it alot lately. It is often a struggle for me here to live in this neighborhood and live like we do. It's funny because compared to most other ex-pats or white people in this country we live very simply. We don't have a tv, dvd player, stereo, washing machine, microwave, etc. We came here with just our suitcases. But, in comparison to many of our neighbors we have so much.  There is a balance. Some have given us the advice that whatever it takes for you to be able to 'survive' in this context- in regards to your home, your haven, you should buy whatever it takes. I'm not sure if I completely agree with this advice, but I see their point. We need to be able to retreat to some extent to our home. 

I (we) fully believe in incarnational ministry, living with the people, contextualizing our ministry. However, it is challenging to know what that looks like in our poor neighborhood. We have a very nice apartment which we're very happy we have. When we first got to Dakar we wanted to live community with others and thought we would like to share a courtyard with a Senegalese family. As we saw and experienced more, I'm just not sure we would be able to do it. Life is so different - totally shared - no privacy - everything is a free for all. 

We've talked about how even if we lived like some of our neighbors do with cement walls & floors, without water or electricity, we may appear to be more like the Senegalese but in reality we will never be able to become like them. Even if we were stripped of all of our possessions and lived in this way, we still carry an American passport and have the financial means to buy a ticket and leave the poverty. That is what separates us - they don't have that choice to escape the poverty that they are in. It's crazy how different perspective is: If you get off a plane in Dakar with a backpack and a passport, you are rich. If you get off a plane at JFK airport with a backpack and a passport, you are a bum. 

It's a hard balance for me. I struggle and think about it alot as we enter into our apartment and our neighbors sit outside on our tile to escape the sun. I turn on the tap water and water comes pouring rather than carrying it on my head for miles, i flip on a switch and have a fan blowing on me, and I am able to buy things at the store because I have a refrigerator. All these things show how blessed we are. 

I don't know why God has chosen to bless us in this way. 

We have done nothing to deserve it. 

I don't know why people have been so generous to send us here and continue to support us. 

I don't know why I was born in America with an amazing family. 

I don't know why I got to attend private school for so many years and receive excellent education. 

God has been so good to us. May His glory be revealed in our lives. 

May the way we live in this neighborhood radiate God's light. 

God is good and He has called us here for such a time as this. 

Heart Strings

Last week I was talking to my dad on skype. I hadn't seen or talked to him in over a week. It was so good to chat and catch up on what's happening with their new church plant. He was being silly and offered to play me a song on the piano over the webcam. He asked me what song. I said "Like a River Glorious." He set the computer down and began to play. About 10 seconds into the song I just began to cry. I didn't know why, but I did know why. This sound of the piano brought so many emotions, memories, and feelings into my heart. It made me miss home, just that feeling of my dad sitting and playing the piano. It made me miss my Grandma, who is with the Lord. She taught me piano lessons for over 10 years of my life. Grandma always loved to sit and play and take many hymn requests. Even as we spent time together as a family before she died she sat and took our requests and played them beautifully. 

Saturday night we visited a missionary family here in Dakar. The man is very sick with typhoid fever. After we prayed over this family we decided to sing a song. At first I thought, this might be awkward if we can all hear each other etc. But, the minute we started singing I just lost it! It was unreal how much the song "Great is Thy Faithfulness" was speaking to my heart. Just saying those words and hearing the tune brought back so many memories of home. It was very powerful to pray those words to the Lord and experience His presence in that moment. We really never get a chance to sing corporately with others in English either - and it was just such a God moment. 

I guess I never really realized how much music is such a huge part of my family. Especially hymns have been so sentimental and present in many family functions. Growing up, we always sang a song every day before dinner. I love the current worship music, especially Misty Edwards, Jason Morant, and other Hillsong United stuff. But, nothing can replace the deep, rich, beautiful hymns that I was raised on. It's not that they're just sentimental - they are so crazy spiritual and powerful. 

These two emotional moments with music have made me realize that nothing really ever feels sentimental here. It's strange. Back home there are so many different events that give me warm fuzzies: high school football games, a bonfire, going for a walk, cookouts, and family get togethers. It's weird but even some of these same physical experiences feel SO different and "non-fuzzy". Ryan and I went for walks when we lived in Wadsworth last summer. It was so awesome to walk in the crisp, summer air. We can do the same activity here and encounter such completely opposite things that create an entirely different feel - 10 different children asking us for money, every taxi honking at us as he passes us thinking that white people wouldn't ever choose to walk somewhere, dead cats on the side of the road, sewer pipes broken with feces laying in the road. It's just not the same, to say the least. 

I feel like I'm living each day just numb to everything that's going on. It's easier not to think about anything - life, our happy moments here, our struggles, our families etc. But, I don't think that's what the Lord would want for us. I am striving to live life to the fullest even though facing the realities are sometimes harsh. I'm realizing how much richness there is to experience that God is showing us here and I need to awaken my emotions to feelings that are different from what I'm used to. 

I'm so thankful for all that the Lord is teaching me. I'm thankful that he gave me these two experiences in the past week to feel a bit of home. I'm thankful He has given me such a wonderful heritage. I'm thankful that He is walking every day next to me. Thank you Father for being such a compassionate Father. 

I want to share some verses from 2 Corinthians that touch on what I am feeling: 

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

2 Corinthians 1:8-9 "We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God who raises the dead."

2 Corinthians 2: 14-15 "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among [the Senegalese] who are being saved and those who are perishing."

Mother/Daughter Event

Alot of the girls in our center (Teen Bi) have been begging me to let them come in our house. This might sound really strange to you reading, thinking, why don't you let them into your house? I thought the same thing when we moved here and thought there would be no problem with people coming in and out of our house all day long. However, once we moved here and realized there were over 100 kids in our center that are dying to step into a home that is much different than theirs. Please understand, it's definitely different with adults coming to visit, obviously that's great, but it's hard to handle hundreds of kids in our house.  It was pretty much mad chaos our first couple of weeks because of constant doorbell ringing, kids pounding on our doors and staring in our windows etc. [hence the fact that we now have a guard]. Anyways, I was trying to think of some way that the girls could get the 'mystery' of seeing inside our home out of their system. I thought, well, if I get them into our home WITH an older sister, adult, mom, aunt etc. that would solve the problem. They would have supervision and I would get to meet their moms too! 

So, I planned a mother daughter event. I talked to my great Senegalese friend Patricia who is a very strong believer. We talked about important and pertinent topics for young girls and mothers. We decided that the topic of respect covers alot of different areas: child to mother, mother to child, mother and child to family, mother and child to their own bodies, and ultimately respect for God. 

We set the start time of the party for 4:00pm because we knew that it probably wouldn't get started then until 5:00pm (usually good to say an hour earlier). Well, I guess this situation showed me just HOW much this time orientation is different. Our first person arrived at the house at 4:40. The second came at 5:30. Remember, it started at 4:00. The bulk of the group started flooding in at 6:30pm. 2 1/2 hours later than the start time! I guess I was just blown away. I had no expectations going into the event so I tried not to at all be bothered by it. 

We were all PACKED into our living room. 

I did a short greeting in Wolof and then Patricia translated from English for me. Then she did her talk on respect. The women and their daughters were surprisingly very quiet for her whole talk. I was so impressed and excited by how serious they were taking it. After her talk we opened it up for others to share. Two other ladies talked for quite awhile about the importance of respect. 

We moved out back to our courtyard and began to distribute the food. I think the main reason we had so many show up (between 80-90) is that we had food. It's very important to the Senegalese at any event that there be food offered. We had fataya (deep fried mini-hot pocket type thing) with tomato onion dipping sauce, beignet (doughnuts), peanuts, chocolate cake, & bissap juice. 

Overall, it was very great. I've gotten alot of feedback from the ladies in our neighborhood. I feel that they have opened up even more with me. We have this small bond now. Many of them keep saying thank you for the party. 

I think it was a great stepping stone for future gatherings to share further about the love of Jesus. I'm thankful for the women in our neighborhood. I'm praying that within the next year and some months I will be able to share my heart and share the amazing story of Jesus with them. 

For pictures of the party and other June events : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2053471&id=161500513&l=4ed5aef6fb

Rufisque Women's Prison

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go to the women's prison in Rufisque (a neighboring city). The morning got off to a 2 hour late start just because of typical slowness of the culture here in Africa. There were 8 of us that went in 2 taxi's from the Temple Evangelique de Dakar. 

When we arrived at the prison the women immediately started to gather under the tent that they had rented for the party. They all sat on the ground and had huge smiles that we were here with them for the day. I'm not sure how they typically act but they all seemed so excited and happy that we were going to spend the day with them. 

We started with alot of singing. We sang alot of worship songs in Wolof, but the djembe (drum) player was just amazing! So the women were all up on their feet dancing away while we praised the Lord. During that time of worship, I just felt such a strong God moment. Here I am in Africa, dancing with 40 women prisoners to amazing beats, proclaiming that Jesus is Lord! It was just an amazing, overwhelming feeling. 

The ministry team did skits, mimes, and other special music. Then, a missionary told the story of the Woman at the Well. She tied many similarities to their life story. 

We had an AMAZING lunch. They had bought a sheep the day before and had it killed for the party. Wow, it was delicious. They brought out cokes for everyone and rounds of attaya. Then we had cake. I was so stuffed. 

We gathered into small groups to talk about what they experienced that morning and to see if they had any questions that we could share further with them. I was given two women to talk to, one spoke very good English and the other spoke only Wolof. We had a good conversation and I was able to communicate some in Wolof with the other woman (who will be released after 2 1/2 years TODAY!). She has been around prison ministry for some time and said that she believes that Jesus is her Savior. YAY! We prayed together and asked the God would help them to sense His presence in that lonely place. Each of them received a New Testament and tracts. 

Sad and moving moments like this I feel so grateful for so many things. Grateful for the freedom we have in Senegal to share about Jesus. Grateful for my family and what amazing people they are and the heritage they have given me. Grateful for the opportunity to experience and see into the lives of these 'forgotten women' in society. Grateful for the life that God has given me. 

I guess I expected to see mean spirited, hardened women in the prison. Instead, I saw happy, glowing faces that were soaking up the Truth, loving a full meal, and dancing their hearts out. God loves them so much and my hope is that they felt His embrace yesterday. 

Yesu Baax Na! 

Restaurant Nightmare

So we decided to go out to eat to this really fancy restaurant in Dakar for our 3rd anniversary...The Lagon 1. It is beautiful and we've passed it out along the corniche many times. 

On the moto ride to the restaurant, I started to get nervous. I don't know why, but I just thought...wow, we're going somewhere actually nice....and they are going to be speaking polished French.....what if I mess up....or don't understand etc. I mean, we get around fine with French but the crowd we roll with is alot less educated so it's not a big deal if you butcher all the grammar (which is good for us, bad for our French). 

The place was gorgeous. Amazing. It's a pier out over the ocean. We sat down and said to each other, wow, we don't fit in here. It was all the high class. I'm not sure where they hide in Dakar but apparently they're here, somewhere! 

The waiter was in a big hurry and instructed us to hurry up. He was talking really fast (in French) and was not listening to what we were saying. I ordered 'Pate aux fruit de mer' (seafood pasta, about the cheapest thing on the menu). The waiter proceeded to tell me that it was for 2 people. I assured him that I could eat alot and I would take the leftovers home if there were some. I didn't fully understand everything that he was saying.... He came back later and rattled off a bunch of stuff and I just said "ok" with a smile....no idea. 

A lady brought out a rod iron tray with some dippings and bread underneath it. We said to each other, hmm...wonder what that's for. A couple minutes later out came this ENORMOUS tray. When I saw it coming I just thought, there is no way. He set it in front of me and all I could see were sea urchins THAT WERE MOVING!!!! yes, they were alive. I really had no idea what was going on and figured there must've been some miscommunication. However, I thought, well, you never know, this is Senegal, maybe this is their idea of seafood pasta. So, I began to eat the top two shrimp (the largest I have EVER seen..it was like cutting steak they were so beefy). I attempted to eat a clam (or whatever it was) but I gagged and had to spit it out. The texture mixed with the mouthfull of salt water just didn't work for me. 

I decided to tell the waiter that I think maybe he misheard me. I told him that I didn't like it and that I ordered the pasta. He looked at me in disgust. Meanwhile, if he had actually listened to me! He took the plate away and told me he would lower the price but I'd still have to pay some since I ate the two shrimp. What was I thinking?! Eventually he started to suck up and act really nice I think so we wouldn't get mad. 

Drum Roll Please: 1 tray of Fresh Seafood = $50 USD

Oh my word, to sum this up quickly, we ended up paying $25 USD for 2 SHRIMP! I decided not to order anything else because I was too humiliated and frazzled. We left shortly after. Had we been in the States things would've gone down much differently. 

I LOVE language barriers!!!!! 

So much for a wonderful, romantic dinner....Although I went home and had some great snacks. 

Happy Anniversary! I love you Ryan Joseph. Thanks for giving me 3 wonderful years as your wife! 

For pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31730628&l=b1877b4f84&id=161500513

Guédiawaye

My trip to Guédiawaye (pronounced Gauge-a-why)

My closest friend in the neighborhood's name is Ndeye 'Fatou' Fall. We've done quite a bit of stuff together and I'm feeling more and more comfortable around her. We spent time together just about everyday. Her older sister was getting married so she invited me to go to the 'mariage'. Fatou had already left for the mariage early in the morning but she arranged for me to travel with Ndeye Fall (her mom-it's very common for everyone to have the same name which makes things SO confusing). Fatou let me borrow some 'Yeere Wolof', Senegalese clothes, for the occasion. I went to their house to change and off we went. It was a hilarious feeling to have two women tromping through 5 inches of thick sand in dress clothes searching for a car rapid. A Car Rapid (seen in picture) is the cheapest form of transportation here. It's basically a mini bus with tons of people crammed in it. It was about an hour long trip. 

Off we went. Pretty much the entire time I didn't have anywhere to put my arms b/c everyone was so close.  My body was so sore from being so scrunched. Everyone stared at me the entire time because it's really rare for a Toubab (white person) to ride a car rapid. Also, a Toubab dressed in African clothes gets lots of stares. Our driver was absolutely nuts and people continued to say 'I wonder if this is his first day driving.' (real reassuring!) Along the way he drilled/scraped the entire side of a semi truck trailer that was parked on the side of the road. Everyone yelled obscenities at him, but he continued driving like nothing happened. We reached a certain point and got off and got into an unmarked car parked on the side of the road. I guess it was like a Taxi, but not like a real yellow one.

We got to the house and went up 5 stories of stairs. There was a room full of older women all beautifully dressed with their headwraps wrapped to perfection. I was the only white person the whole night. Everyone was sitting in the circle, looking at each other. Many women held their prayer beads and their lips were mumbling. Many were chewing on sticks, which they use to function like a toothbrush. I sat and tried to act like I wasn't uncomfortable and eventually struck up a conversation with the ladies sitting next to me. Everyone has the huge fatuation with white people speaking Wolof, so I drew quite a bit of attention which is really embarrassing for me. 

The afternoon continued and eventually a woman came out and started saying a bunch of stuff. She was speaking really fast in Wolof so I didn't catch a ton of it, but I think she was giving blessings and saying a bunch of nice things. 

At this point, I honestly had no idea what was going on. I mean, where was the bride? Where was the groom? Why weren't there any men there? Why wasn't Ryan invited? What was this anyways? 

She handed out Benyes (little doughnuts) to everyone and everyone was also poured a glass of ginger drink. WHEW! I nearly gagged mine down because it is SO spicy and hot....some people really like it but I don't and I had no option but to drink it. The lady next to me asked me, "Nekk na?" (do you like it, is it delicious?), I replied "Dafa metti" (it is painful, or it hurts)! Oh my word they all howled and she told everyone in the room what I said and they thought it was so hilarious. Yes, I'm a wimpy white girl!

The talking continued and eventually a couple hours later a woman walked in with a spotlight on her and everyone clapped. She was covered in makeup and apparently THIS was the "bride". She didn't say a word but people spoke blessings onto her. Djembe drummers came and played. Some people danced. Women would walk around the room and throw bills on your lap and dance in front of you. That means they want you to give money towards the cause. I gave money. I hate giving money at these things because everyone stares at you because you're white and they think you have unlimited resources (which in comparison, we do), but it's still awkward. 

We waited and sat around awhile longer and then it was time for dinner (8:30pm). We had to go to another room to get our plate of Poulet Yassa (amazing chicken dish with onion sauce over rice). It was delicious. I had coke too which is my favorite. 

Soon after around 9:30 we finally headed home. I offered to pay for a taxi so we wouldn't have to face that crazy public transportation in the dark. I was so glad. 

A couple hilarious points: 

- I had never really spoken with the woman I traveled to and from the mariage with. I've seen her around but I didn't really know exactly who she was until I went to meet her to leave together. 

- I honestly don't even know if it was really a wedding or not. I have asked a couple of Senegalese friends and they said it is tradition sometimes to have all the women together and the man sits and home. Then another day the woman will go with all her friends to the man's house and they will have a big party with the men and women together. I have no idea......

- I was speaking Wolof only for 7 hours straight. My head was killing me! I was very encouraged by how well I was able to understand and communicate. 

- I met a guy who lived next door to the wedding named Billy! (hahah it is just hilarious that it's his name here!)

- I totally just act like I know what's going on, when in reality I have no idea. I feel super intimidated and embarrassed sometimes but I just go with it. If you joke back with them, they instantly make you feel more comfortable.

Guédiawaye, Neex naa lool ci man! 

Things I've learned.

Things I have learned.

Senegalese culture is very interesting. Sometimes frustrating, often times intriguing, and always wild and crazy! These are all things that I have learned since living here. I don’t know if these observations are widespread in Senegal. Dakar, being a large city, is very different than most places. Many things have been confirmed by our language teachers.

- When someone has their first baby and it ends up being a girl, people say “I’m so sorry, better luck next time.”

- It is impolite to give or receive anything from your left hand.

- If you haven’t seen someone in over a day, they will say “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!” Replying with, well, I saw you yesterday doesn’t really work J

- You should never walk by someone without greeting them. If you have just recently walked by them and already greeted, you still need to acknowledge them when you walk by and say something like – you are sitting. Make an obvious observation about what they are doing.

- Men and women never show affection in public. However, it is very common to see two men holding hands and walking or two women holding hands walking.

- It is not uncommon for people to suggest your husband should take another wife, even when his wife is standing next to him.

- Many people who live in Dakar may go 5 years without going downtown Dakar. Their immediate proximity has everything that they need and they see no need to go anywhere else.

- You should never respond that you are not doing well in a greeting. You’re always “Here & Above  the work”. Even if someone is in the hospital and is very sick and you ask, how are they now?  Even if they are not doing well at all you answer, they are getting better, the Wolof way.

- Fighting seems to be completely acceptable. Even with young children, parents will watch their kids fight another child.

- If someone compliments you on your clothes you can answer “I will name my shirt’s sister after you.” If someone continues to ask you for your clothes (demanding that you give them, which is I guess totally normal) you can say a couple of culturally appropriate phrases which translate to “I’ll give it to you when chicken grow teeth” or “I’ll give you Zero!”

- People don’t seem to ever put themselves in your shoes. They never think about the fact that we’re white and we speak another language. They assume we should understand everything culturally at the same speed. When I’ve suggested that it is difficult here without my family or it’s hard to understand someone speaking fast they act shocked and have an epiphany about us being foreigners, trying to fit in here. After that, they have more of an awareness of our feelings. 

- It seems like people always have something to say. From inside our house you can almost always hear someone having a heated discussion outside. Most of the time people talk very loud and very close to each other.  Often times it sounds like they are very angry and having a heated debate, but they’re not, it’s just their way of talking.

- Men and Women are usually separated. Groups of men sit around and chat. Groups of women sit around and chat. Usually, at lunch time both genders eat in separate rooms from separate bowls.

- If you go to anyone’s house remotely around lunch/dinner time they will insist that you stay and eat with them.

- Senegalese often feel that if they have not eaten a meal of rice in the day they haven’t eaten. We thought that people would love American food and trying different things. However, they prefer to eat the same dish everyday – rice & fish.

I’m sure there will be more things I want to add later........