Thanksgiving, Christmas, Birthday!!!

ok......i know it's been a looooong time!!!! So just some photos to recap the last few months.

Thanksgiving was awesome....lots of feasting and catching up with people. 3 of us jmen went up to the capitol to celebrate with other friends and to go to a conference where we were able to meet up with some of our friends all over West Africa....I saw some sheep that were almost as big as baby cows as a Musim holiday approached and this was commonly a form of their transportation.: Happy Thanksgiving!!! The feasting: Hanging out with friends from all over WA at a small conference:It was awesome....Off to Burkina Faso i went to see some friends from last year...Maman Ye and Debbiethe Bon Berger churchAlimaAnd yes it's true! my mom and some great ladies came from my church back at home and one of the other jman's dad came to work and visit and they got here on my birthday! woohooo!!! They were fantastic....And I was sad to see them go...But we'll deal with it...Thanks for coming. Yall were wonderful and I am so grateful for getting to see what doors He opened through yall. He is so good!Pray about coming....or for some of you....returning!!!

You wanna see the harvest???

I know this just looks like a big mound of twigs, but in reality..... It's a huge mound of peanuts that were planted and pulled up by hand when it was ready. more importantly, I just wanted yall to see just a couple of faces of those who have become part of the harvest as those we pray will be in the near future. Here in the picture above is Sara, a woman who came to accept Jesus just in the last year or so. She is in a village I go to frequently and thank God, understands most of the time when I speak. She is a wonderful lady and I just want to ask yall to lift her up. That she would be able to withstand those who don't want her to grow, and that she would see that what she believes runs deeper than she realizes and that she will run after it. I have started to realize how much i love this woman but sometimes, i still don't know how to best encourage her and love her. Please lift us up. Another person I would love for yall to lift up is Indii. She is a good friend in town but it is very difficult to start and keep her in spiritual convos as a lot of the time we have together is filled with many people and lots of noise. Please ask that my hesitation in the midst of noise would be pushed away and that she would see the quietness and peace of the Spirit in me that would make her ask questions. And please lift up...... Well, actually, i have no idea who this guy is but he wanted to be part of the picture takin too. So please lift up.....Joe. That he would be love to Christ by those in the big city around him and that he would find hope that is final and full.

I love yall and with you were here. Thanks so much for praying to the Lord of the harvest with me.

I can relate.....

A friend, whom I look up to and encouraged me so much through training, wrote this recently so just wanted to share it with yall. It made me laugh straight out loud!

The One

I stare at you from across the room.
I know you are watching.
I sit, still, wondering.
Will you be the One?

You've been watching me for sometime.
Debating how to make your move.
Part of me has forgotten you
But I question again, will you be the One?

You want to rest your hand on mine. You try.
But I do not want you.
You ignore my rejections, which come even violently.
And I have to wonder, will you be the One?

I wish you would just go away
I know what you want, but I cannot be that for you.
Nevertheless you stay, and I wonder
Will you be the mosquito that gives me malaria?

Thanks Jennifer. you're amazing. To all of you who can relate, here's to us!

thanks so much for all of your prayers during this past week when I had malaria. Your prayers, attention, and e-mails were such a blessing. Yall are great.

The blessing of community..... and more

Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement as I went home to see my family in October. The visit was a short 9 days but it was an amazing time that God provided to see family and go through some of the grieving process. Although we miss dad, we are abundantly, overflowingly grateful for how His goodness and generosity still showed through the difficult moments we had, and continue to face at times. We are grateful for the healing He continues to provide. I took this picture with my dad before I left for Senegal last year on our last round of golf together.....=) Being back at home was an incredible time with many friends who took time out of their days to listen and love on me generously before I came back to Senegal. Aside from one crazy day, I did not really go away from my home town and i know I missed some of your wonderful faces because of that, but we'll just have to wait for another day.....I have missed yall and it was good to see a few faces. I appreciate so much the breath of fresh air He breathed into me by your loving attentiveness. Thank you, thank you thank you.

some highlights:
mmmmmm....facial AND ice cream.....it was magical getting beautiful beautiful flowers from a great friend... seeing another great friend and missing some.... and eating a DELICIOUS meal
While I was home, a friend in Austin reminded me about how deeply important and Biblical communion with other believers is. For those I have here in Senegal, I am so grateful. But I am also deeply moved by the community I found at home on this last visit. I was amazed to find so many who spent the short amount of time I saw them pouring into me, listening, encouraging, and praying for me. Thank you so so much for that. Yall are absolutely fantastic and I look forward to coming back and seeing yall again at some time. until then.....

A connection from a loved place to another....

This past Thursday, BBC said "Happy birthday! The world's oldest man Tomoji Tanabe, left, is congratulated by the local mayor Makoto Nagamine on his 113th birthday Thursday at his home in Miyakonojo on the Japanese island of Kyushu."

Well......as i bragged about it to my supervisor here, he told me that BBC is missing out because there is a person that's a 120 years old in a village near us. He's so old he can remember when Islam was brought to their village!!! I bet you'd like to see his picture. I would too but i've never been to this particular village so we'll just have to settle with Mr. Nagamine!

The real thing....

A tradition that runs deep into the heart of the Casamance, the Kankouran is some sort of guardian of boys that are circumcised. Depending on who you ask, they protect them from those like sorcerers who would try to harm them after being circumcised. Some boys are known to get infections as well as die from it. After the boys are circumcised in the forest/or house, the Kankouran often comes to lead them down to the river where the boys will have a ceremonial washing and then be presented back to their families. (it's a good thing i can take pictures from my roof!)
Although this in itself sounds harmless, the K is often aggressive and has an intense dislike towards women. At weddings and baby naming ceremonies it is normal to see the women dancing, celebrating, away from the men (since that is what is acceptable in the culture), but rarely do i see men dance or get excited about anything but soccer. But this brings out a pride in men that I have never seen before, also laced with aggression as they whip those that come near with the long sticks they are carrying.
For some of the Mandinka women, just hearing the approach of the Kankouran is enough to make them hide in their homes; so much so that sometimes their family will miss dinner since she never came back out to cook. For others like the Fulakunda where the tradition is integrated and not fully respected, the women will dare to come out to the streets and follow at a distance until the Kankouran runs towards them and the children.
Sorry this is shot sideways. I'm not a computer tech so i have no idea how to rotate it. In this video, one of the guys actually gets in an argument with the Kankouran and those around him. Also, you can see the crowd behind, following and dancing.
I know this one is far away but i was trying not to be the white girl in plain view making everyone upset by watching AND taking video. He's in the front dancing in front of the guys. I would also encourage yall to see "Le Kankouran Trailer" on YouTube which is put together very well...

Although it is not a frequent occasion for me, spiritual oppression and dread accompany me when i see this. please pray for these people. those who invoke the Kankouran as they dress in their wood-stringed cape, and those who choose to trust in it's power to protect there children and know nothing about the power that is in the name of Jesus alone.

The rendtions of a Kankouran... (part 1)

After getting off of a plane and entering the Casamance last year in December, the last thing I expected to see in the dark as we passed through one of the small towns/villages was a man covered in massive amounts of brown material, slamming two machetes together in the dark, alone. "What is that?!" I yelled to Julie from the passenger seat, panicked, but grateful we were in a passing vehicle with the doors locked. As I later found out, this is a spiritual guardian like creature with its roots from the Mandinka people group in the Casamance.

There are different descriptions of the Kankouran and please know that my description of it is VERY LIMITED AND STILL DEVELOPING. Some say that he comes to scare away the evil spirits from those who are circumcised, some who say that he is a spiritual guardian which "embodies the spirit of the bush and is sent out to impart with the elders the secret doctrine of the tribe to the circumcised boys (from another blogger's site)". When school is let out and August approaches, it is the official time when the Kankourans begin to come out, going through downtown, through neighborhoods, and villages followed by proud young men guarding him as the Kankouran does his dances and scares those who dare to come near. Although it is from Mandinka origin, it is now somewhat adapted and integrated into the Fula culture although not taken as seriously and kess understood of its true significance.

The mock Kankouran can be pretty hilarious, such as this particular child running around slamming her fingers like machetes...


The young boys just about to be or just circumcised dressing up like a Kankoran , and asking money from those they entertain, passing by on the road, ie: me...



but the real thing, the real thing elevating the pride of young men like nothing else I have ever seen,

the real thing, that terrifies and restricts women from approaching too near,

the real thing that causes intense apprehension and wonder,

will be the next update on this blog. =)

thanks for keepin up. love yall.