No tene casa! (We have a house)

Somehow, it's just more fun to give things a headline in Kriol. Right now, that's kind of how I see my life. It has headlines, side-notes and subtitles and and they are NOT in English.
The real news is about the decision we made today! We chose a house to live in and we went and signed papers! I forgot to get a picture of the outside of the house, so the Pepto-Bismol wonder that it is will have to wait until another day for your viewing pleasure. :)
This is a picture of Jason with the landlord and the guys from MAFI here who have helped us find this wonderful house. The people in the picture, from left to right are: Adu (I think) our landlord, Pastor Felix, Jason (easy to spot in this crowd) and Fernando. It is House #1 from the Facebook post, it is the one with 24/7 electricity and a yard that will enjoy some improvement. The landlord seems like a really honest guy and has been hoping to find renters with integrity, so I am glad we can both be glad to have found each other. The picture with the 4 guys was taken on the front porch at our house.

After this picture is a picture of our kitchen at the house that we will move into. It's pretty nice and has a huge pantry. I was standing in the hallway that goes from the living room to the kitchen and the bedrooms to take this picture.

The next picture, and possibly the most fabulous is of the infamous shower-toilet. Both clean and efficient. Why perform only one bathroom function at a time? Now there is no need with the improved shower-toilet! Bidet not included, limited warranty. Side effects may include a ridiculously wet toilet seat and no shower curtain.

The next picture is of Jason and Jason Atkins in the machine shop at the Youth Center. The guys are both very technically minded, so this kind of collaboration is great for both of them. I believe they are building a metal door that was engineered by Jason Atkins. If one Jason is awesome at puzzle-solving, then two are awesome-er. Haha. I think these two have been waiting quite a while to get to work on some projects together. This machine shop was something that Jason Atkins built himself from brainstorm state to the present wonder that it is. It houses machines and parts that can perform almost any project you could imagine here. Jason has been a part of lots of different projects throughout the country as his machine shop has proved useful and his expertise invaluable. It's really cool as missionaries just starting out to see projects like this and imagine that we might some day have something like this that's useful to lots of people in many ways. We hope so anyway!

The final picture here is of me with what equals I believe $2 worth of cucumbers when they're in season. When things are in their growing season here, they grow like CRAZY and they are crazy cheap. Bet you can guess what we eat a lot of right now! Sadly, we arrived just after mango season, so we'll have to wait a whole year for mangos now. Unless we want some out of season, which isn't the worst idea. There are also TONS of limes here. They grow really well, and are the best limes I have ever tasted. I made limeade with them yesterday and liked it so much, I bought three kilos of limes ($4-and that was a bit expensive) and will be making LOTS of limeade tomorrow. The funny thing about the limes is that they are about the size of a ping-pong ball, so each one is tiny, but they're good!

Emily Atkins has been teaching me to cook here. She taught me to make this awesome Orange Beef today and it was better than a lot of Asian food I've had in the States. Seriosuly, Emily is an amazing cook and has mastered the art of cooking overseas where things are not available. She doesn't just make-do, she makes masterpieces in her kitchen. It's going to take me quite a while to reach this level of skill in my cooking! We've appreciated her help and the time she and Jason have put into helping us with this transition. They even came out to look at the houses we were debating over to give their input as people who've spent a lot of time here. We're truly blessed and really thankful.

Bu obi Kriol?

People around here are used to talking to Emily and Jason Atkins in Kriol, so they usually don't talk to us unless they know us already. Then, if I chime into a conversation (if I'm picking up what's being said), people look at me and ask "Bu obi Kriol?" and I say yes, but not well.
We had our first lesson in Kriol today with our friend, Fernando. He spent the entire lesson patiently talking to us in Kriol and trying to help us get a clue about what's going on. Even the Kriol that I speak is limited enough that people have a hard time knowing exactly what I mean.
It's the funniest thing to BE the foreigner. You realize that people are being nice just to talk to you because it takes them extra energy to give it a go. You are not the only person around that they could try talking to and it's kind that they even try!
We went to church yesterday and fought sleep. We were very tired to start with because our dog had kept us awake (we fought with Sheba to get her into her bed and off of us all night--we are sleeping on the floor right now) and then we'd gotten up early to go give a friend our baggage tickets so she might be able to look for our bag at the airport in Senegal. There are many things in that bag that we need. Pray they arrive!
We went to the downtown market today with Emily and Savannah Atkins. We got some basics for life in the next few weeks. We'll move into the Guest House in a few days and will spend a couple of weeks there while we get our house in order. During that time, Emily has said I can practice cooking in Bissau (she's been showing me how to cook affordably and with not too much difficulty using what's here) and that way I can come borrow anything that I forgot to get and ease into the process a bit. The Atkins have been a complete lifesaver for us! We are SO thankful for them!
Tonight, we go to our first leadership meeting at MAFI Church and we have no idea what's in store for us there! It should be fun!
We also decided that we should get a small scooter as our form of transportation. We're in the process of finding one right now and will get one as soon as possible. When we do, we'll have to send you a picture!
Tomorrow morning, we will also go look at another house here that is a possibility for us to live in and we will also go to Pastor Felix's house to look at some items that the church has there that we can borrow until we have enough to be able to float on our own. They have a bed for us (well, two twin beds) and a table and chairs and some other things. It's such a strange thing to be putting together a house in another country. I feel like I've done a lot of this in the past few years, but this is a whole new puzzle. I don't know what I even need.
We're going to borrow a stove that's a gas-powered stove and we won't have a fridge for a while. When we do get one, since we're in an apartment with electricity, I think we can get an electric one, but most of the fridges here are run off of propane and you change the propane tank every couple of weeks. I think we're going to need things that I can't even physically identify right now. :) We're really blessed by the people who are helping us get established.

From Africa

I have not written you yet because I didn't know what to say. There's so much to tell you and I want to say it right. Our journey here was one of the most difficult experiences of my life. I cried a lot and have been emotionally overwhelmed. It was an eye-opening experience and we certainly gained a lot by being able to see more of West Africa. We drove through Senegal and Gambia and finally into Guinea-Bissau. The picture in the car was taken at the beginning of our lengthy car trip. West Africa is not all the same, somehow, when we crossed the border into Guinea-Bissau, we felt different, much more at peace and much more secure. When we got to Bissau, I was shocked at how much has changed since I was here in 2007. The roads that were desperately potholed are now driveable, the city has lights at night in certain places and there are a lot of nice new buildings. I was told that since I was here, the city has more than doubled in size. There are a lot of people coming from other countries to here as refugees.
We arrived and realized that our immediate situation is not quite what we thought it would be and have adjusted accordingly with the gracious help of many friends. The picture to the left is of our friend, Emily Atkins and her daughter, Savannah. We are staying on their floor until we have a more permanent arrangement. This will be a few more days. We're working on getting a house and then after that's settled, a full job description. We went to church this morning and everyone there was very excited to have us. Apparently, they've all been hearing about us coming for a few months and are excited. It was quite a feeling just hoping we don't let them down somehow. There seems to be a lot of excitement, but we're still trying to get a really level-headed idea of what our immediate goals and plans are. Take one step at a time....we're here, now. That's a HUGE step.

For anyone wondering, Sheba is doing fine. She handles all the displacement better that us at this point. Pray that she doesn't get any more ticks. There have been a lot at the place we're staying right now, so she's been pretty loaded with them. She has a REALLY high quality tick collar and it does kill them when they bite her....most of the time. But they have to bite her and hang out for like an hour or so. Most of the ones we find on her are not doing too well by the time we pull them out, they're usually mostly dead. :) Sheba has discovered that she is the same size as most livestock here.
We will be blogging more often from now on, I promise, I just needed a week to get my feet and thoughts under me. This transition has been bizarre and fun and emotional and exhausting and exhilirating all at the same time. The picture below is Jason at one of the houses that we are considering renting. We have several very awesome choices to consider.

At the airport

I am waiting to board the plane and thinking about the culmination of amazing events that brought us to this point!
Right now, I am overwhelmed with thankfulness. I can't believe we've been planning to arrive at THIS moment since 2007 and are FINALLY HERE! It's amazing. Each of you has played a vital role and we are unbelievably thankful and excited to go into Africa with you in our hearts. You've loved us and supported and cared for us in ways we never dreamed possible and we've been blessed by so many of you.
We love you dearly and say farewell and thank you! Next blog is from Africa!

Journey ahead....

The map (which is clearly not in English, but is colorful and fun) indicates our route over the next nine days. On August 30th, we set out from Denver in a rental car. Along the way we will visit Jason's grandma and take some time to rest before we jump into the moving picture.

On September 5th, we will fly out of Dulles Airport bound for Dakar, Senegal. It is an 8-hour flight (not bad at ALL, huh?!) directly from DC to Dakar. Dakar, Senegal is a very big hub of activity and industry on the West Coast of Africa. It is an hour-long flight from there directly to Bissau City, but the flight costs about $600-$800 per person and a taxi costs a few hundred dollars total for us and Sheba and our luggage. It becomes a financial no-brainer. We will travel for two days by car to go from Dakar, Senegal to Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. We'll go through three countries: Senegal, The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. The first day of travel by car will be in what's called a sept place. It's a seven-seater car that we can rent along with a driver who will take us halfway. Our first night in Africa will be spent in Ziguinchor (zig-in-shore), Senegal on the border. The border closes at 7pm, so we will stay in a hotel in a compound in Zig that night and we'll wait until morning to cross. The most exciting part of this jurney is where we get to meet our friends, the Atkins!!! They'll be waiting for us in Ziguinchor so we can travel with them the following day.

Finally, we will reach Bissau and will get to see our friends there. Jason will meet his first Guinean EVER on the 7th of September and we'll begin our process of entering the world of Guinea-Bissau and learning their culture and working with the church there.

**Please pray for safe travels for us and for non-eventfulness in the journey! Pray for wisdom and alertness and safe arrival of us and our bags.

Busyness and Goodbyes and Hellos

"When you say goodbye, I hope it hurts. If it does, then you know that you have loved and been loved well." ~Vivian Wilson at MTI

It has taken me several days just to write this. I think it's because it's difficult to say goodbye. I have loved and been loved well, but it's hard to admit that we're closing this time with you. Saying goodbye means acknowledging that I am going through loss. It means that I can't be glib and just tell you that "we'll see each other again" or "a few years isn't that long." While those things may be true or may not, they are not the answer to what I have to do. I have to tell you that you matter and I miss you. You've taken up residence in my heart and I'll feel the distinct lack of you in my life. Yeah, I know there's really good and exciting stuff ahead, I can't wait for it, but this stings. We had our final going away party tonight in Fort Collins. We were SO thankful to see so many friends there, it's like having a huge, wonderful family. The people in our lives embrace us like family and we're so glad for that! It makes goodbyes hard, but SO important to do right. I still don't have the hang of it yet...clearly, or I wouldn't be working on this for days only to erase it and start over after our last goodbye party. I have a lot of work to do yet.

While we were at MTI, we spent a day talking about hellos and goodbyes. They challenged and encouraged us to "say goodbye well." Often, I insulate my feelings when I'm facing difficulty and the risk of hurting. I've done that a lot this year thinking it would protect me, but it just makes me act weird. Jason doesn't like it much. :) What I didn't know is that it's important for us to feel that hurt so we can move through it and into healthy "hellos" on the other side. When we say goodbye and do it well, we are giving the gift of a full-hearted hello to the group we'll join afterward. Goodbyes have a process and a culmination. We have said goodbye to many people at this point and have more to say in the coming days. We hope to convey to each of you just how much you've meant to us and that it will be a personal loss to us not to be able to spend time with you and enjoy the closeness we've enjoyed with you. And we also look forward to thoroughly embracing the hearts of people we don't even know yet in Guinea-Bissau. These are times of great paradox. It involves a lot of the unknown, God's great provision that comes in our eleventh hour, sadness that is sweet, joy that is full and moments that cement themselves to our memory.

"Closing time: Open all the doors and let you out into the world ...
Closing time: You don't have to go home but you can't stay here...
Closing time: Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."

These words are strong for me when I am going through times of transition. I like the comfort of knowing that looking at the end of a chapter means that there's a beginning at the turn of the next page. This is a new beginning. It is a time to be sad and happy. That's comforting in a way because it helps me know that this is all pretty normal.

The song above is beautiful and has granted me deep solace. I know that no matter where I am, He is right there with me and I am not alone. I can stop striving and take rest. Rest is beautiful and is right. Recently, I realized that in the USA, often we can value "busyness"....seriously, when was the last time you talked to someone and asked them how they were and they said "Busy!" It happens all the time. The tone I use when I tell people I've been "busy" sounds like I expect them to be proud of me for being that way. It's like, "See, I've got a lot going on, it's why we haven't gotten together, I am important" and busy-ness becomes a badge we wear. What if the next time someone asked "What have you been up to?" or "How are you?" I said, "I've been resting and allowing myself to recharge," or "I've had fun." Maybe if I'd give myself a chance to recharge and rest, I'd find that I was able to communicate what people mean to me and focus on them rather than hope they notice my "Been-Busy-Badge." What if instead of being busy and important, I said, "You're so important to me and I value the time I spend with you. I'm ready to invest in you in whatever way I can." It's so much easier to want close friends who walk with me through the hard things than to be a close friend who walks with someone through something difficult. If I allowed myself to rest in God's arms, maybe I could be that friend. Maybe being productive and being "busy" are diametrically opposed. Perhaps rest can bring more thorough satisfaction when we do work. God did set a great example by resting one day in seven, after all. Just sayin.

Missionary Flash Mob

We had a flash mob yesterday at MTI. We planned it ahead of time and didn't tell anyone in our class. Our South African instructor, Robin, had no idea we were planning it, but he sure jumped in and went along! You can see that some of the classmates are shocked. :) Much of the material we covered in class was fairly heavy, so when we decided to have fun, we went all out.

The night that we babysat, we also created a video of the kids here at MTI. Give it a watch if you'd like. It's fairly funny. :)