Faces

On my walk to and from school every day, I pass a lot of people...

1. Astou -- She lives in a building near mine. I'd went with a friend to check out the building the other day and met her. The day we went, I said very little...just a "hello" when we got there and a "have a good day" wen we left. But every day since then, when I walk by, Astou waves at me, smiles, and says "Hello Elisabeth." She's this sweet older lady with the most beautiful spirit. She seriously makes my day! And even though my French is not the greatest, we exchange greetings, waves, and smiles.

2. Tapha -- He owns the boutique (little "shop") near my apartment. He is very friendly and is helpful to those like me, whose French is not so hot. Most of our conversations are a mixture of French, Wolof, and English, which usually causes us to end up laughing at ourselves. Tapha is a Muslim, but always asks for us to pray for him. He's such a kind-hearted man.

3. Fruit Man -- I don't know this man's name. But he has a little cart he wheels around our little community with all kinds of fruit on it. He usually parks his cart outside the gate of the school, hoping to make a sell from the toubabs coming out. :) He always smiles, says hello, and asks how I am. And when do buy fruit from him, his eyes light up and he picks out the best fruit and tells me why they're good and when's the best time to get them, and all kinds of other random info. And even though I understand what he's saying, I can't always find the words (French) to offer a good reply. But he is patient and even helps me find the right word.

These are only 3 of the many faces I see all the time. These faces remind me of the good in the world. When I get aggravated about all the sand, my constant dirty feet, the extreme heat, power outtages, lack of "conveniences"...all that stuff...I remember these faces. I remember...that's why I'm here. I'm here to help spread the Gospel. God called me to come to this truly wonderful place and meet these truly wonderful people.

** Don't forget to take the time to notice the faces around you...

Random Wonderings...

I was taking a break from the massive amounts of schoolwork I have to do, and started thinking... P.S. I'm not crazy...I'm just in brain overload right now! :)

1. Who thought of the term potluck? Where'd it come from? What'd it originally mean?

2. Why are they called jelly beans? Is there jelly in them? Was there ever jelly in them?

3. How do they decide how many different kinds of nuts to put in mixed nuts? Is there a certain percentage of each nut?

4. Why are Greenland and Iceland named what they are? Greenland is covered with ice and Iceland's covered with green. Go figure.

5. Why do we say we're "writing" a paper, when in reality, we're "typing" it?

John 10:10

...such an awesome verse!

Going from :( to :)

I got the news in late February that my parents were voted in as the Senior Pastors at a church in Kansas and would be moving in March. And even though I was very excited for them, I couldn't help feeling a sense of sadness. I felt like that girl that would sit with her little brother while they comforted each other each time their family had to move again. But I didn't have that. I wanted to be with my mom and dad and help them pack, load the U-haul, say goodbye to friends and family, etc...but I couldn't do that. I was here, in Senegal, my new home, doing what God's called me to do...which I love.

...but I couldn't help feeling sad. Towards the middle of last week, I started experiencing major homesickness. I shied away from friends. I didn't even go to a friend's birthday/pool "party," opting to go to dinner with her and a few others that night instead, because I couldn't handle the thought of being around so many people and feeling so sad. I would wake up sad and crying, wipe my eyes, and get ready in a "fog." I would come to school feeling sad, but the minute my students arrived in the classroom, I pushed my sadness aside. I taught them and went about my day as usual. I would tell people that I was feeling "fine." ...when in reality, I wasn't. I was feeling sad. I would go home in the afternoons, try and stay away from everybody, and just be sad.

Saturday I spent the day with a fabulous missionary and woman of God (and friend) just talking and hanging out. I poured my heart out to her, told her what I've been feeling, and she gave me great advice... It's ok to feel sad. Just turn to God...spend more time talking to Him, more time devouring His word, more time in reflection of Him. After all, He wants to take control of my life and love and comfort me. I need to let him. I came home Saturday feeling better about things. I went to dinner with my friends to celebrate one's birthday and then came home, called my parents, telling them how much better I felt.

I went to church the next day, where this fabulous missionary lady's husband preached on the deserts of life and how God is there to help us through them. I felt on such a "high" leaving church. I was telling my friend walking with me that I felt he was preaching just to me. It was as if God knew exactly what I needed to hear when I needed to hear it. It was awesome! I was smiling and happy and couldn't wait to call my parents and say hey, I'm fine. I'm doing well. I'm not all sad and in that "mood" anymore.

I spent that afternoon to myself, doing homework and then just relaxing. That night, I went to a friend's house and watched a movie and had a great time being with everybody. I was feeling great. I came home that night and got on Skype to call my parents. They were on the road going somewhere, so they didn't have great cell service and my dad told me they'd find somewhere to pull over and to call back in 5 minutes. So, I hung up and bawled my eyes out. I mean I cried HARD. I couldn't believe it. I lost it all because of something "silly."

After composing myself enough to call, I called back. I talked to my mom and told her how I was so excited to call them that night and tell them how much I enjoyed my day Saturday and the sermon Sunday morning...and how I felt the Holy Spirit moving in such a mighty way and how the sermon just totally ministered to my heart. But the whole time I'm saying this I'm crying and my mom finally says..."Elisabeth, you've got to stop this. You're letting the devil rob you of your joy." And it was true...I felt so amazing after church. I felt a new sense of joy and I let the devil sneak in and snatch that joy away from me. I ended the call and sat there on my couch, crying like a baby for a few minutes before going to bed completely exhausted.

I've spent most of this week in that same "fog." I've kind of spent my time just doing the motions, not really feeling like myself. I've talked to friends, my parents, my brother, even the counselor here, gotten advice, and asked/received prayers. I was told I needed to quit telling myself to simply "get over it" and it'll be fine. I needed to allow myself to grieve and to just be sad over this change in my life.

And that's what I did. I cried and cried and cried some more. And when I was finished, I took a deep breath and made a plan. I know that I already spend a lot of time with God, but not as much as He truly deserves. Therefore, I, Elisabeth Nichols, would start, at that very instant, spending a lot more time with my God. I would spend even more time in prayer, fasting, reading (or rather, totally devouring) God's Word, and genuinely seeking God's face.

...and guess what! By doing this I feel better. Yes, I'm still feeling a little bit of homesickness, but not to the extent I was before. And I truly believe that I went through this bought of major sadness, because God wanted to teach me a lesson...
I needed to be taught to rely more on God. Sure, I did before. But I didn't rely COMPLETELY on him. I needed to be taught to STOP trying to "fix" all my problems on my own. God is in control of my life. God wants to help me. So I need to let Him. Simply put, I need to let God be God. :)

I've fallen, but unlike the commercial, I WILL get up.

There's a quote from a commercial ('89-'90) that said, "I've fallen and I can't get up." Do you remember it? I do. Well...I don't remember the commercial, but I do remember the quote.

Lately, I've been feeling like this. Why?

Next week, my parents are moving to another state, in another part of the country, to be senior pastors again. I'm so excited for them, because I know they've been longing to be full-time senior pastors again. They deserve a good church that will treat them the way pastors should be treated. On the other hand, though, I can't help but feel sad. They're moving. I want to be there. I want to help pack and load the u-haul. I want to reminence with them. I want to say goodbye to the house and the community. Plus...and this is me being totally self-centered, thinking only of myself...but now I'll have added expense this summer flying or driving 14 plus hours back and forth between being with them in Kansas and speaking at churches and visiting family in Alabama.

School (both as a teacher and a student) is going well, just full-force ahead. I love it. I love my class. I love my school. I love my co-workers. I love my college classes. I just seem to stay soooo incredibly busy. I keep volunteering to do more and more and even though I usually like staying busy, I seem to be staying overwhelmed right now. I keep telling myself, "Be the best teacher you can be. That's all you can do."

I have always been the type that didn't really care what other people said about or thought of me. But lately, I can't seem to get past other's negative, and sometimes hurtful comments. I know I'm not perfect people. Yes, I mess up. Yes, I realize I don't have the greatest habits. Yes, I still want to do exactly what my parents want me to do. I don't want to buy or do something that I know upsets them. I don't want to disappoint them. And yes, I'm 24, an adult and out of my parents' house and can make my own decisions. I know all this. I don't need you to criticize me for my decisions, though.

Yes, I'm sad about my parents moving. I know I'm out of their house and I'm 24 years old. And yes, I know Africa is my home now. But still...it's hard. Please don't tell me to get over it. Please don't tell me it's crazy to be sad about this. Just let me "grieve." Know that it's hard to have your family go through something and not be able to be with them.

Last night I hit a point where I just felt so overwhelmed that I just felt like I was almost drowning, barely holding my head above the water. I felt like I had fallen and couldn't get up. I was on the phone with my mom, crying my eyes out, and just didn't see how things could get better. And then my mom said something, that helped me. She said "Elisabeth, take one day at a time. That's all you can do."

So I've decided that's what I'm going to do...just slightly modified. I'm going to take it one thing at a time. Right now I'm going to worry about my class (once they're back in the room). I'm going to teach them to the best of my ability. I'm going to love them, nurture them, encourage them, and do my absolute best today to help them grow. Then after school I'll deal with tonight's big dinner. Then after that I can deal with the cake I've got to make for tomorrow. Then I'll deal with homework. Then, I'll deal with the next thing. And so on and so forth.

And it's true...I may have "fallen" right now, but unlike that commercial, I WILL get back up. I have God, my family and friends, my missionary community, and the Word of God on my side. And that gives me such awesome HOPE!

So...when you read this, please take a few seconds to lift me up in prayer. And I know others are going through this as well. So, don't just pray for me. Pray for your family, friends, and co-workers that might be going through something like this. Take the time to simply smile and say hello to them, to ask about their day or their family, to just be there to listen to them.

Tales of Elementary Camp

Dakar Academy held its annual Elementary Camp last weekend. This is an event for 1st through 5th grade students. It starts on Friday afternoon immediately after school and ends at 8:00 the following morning. We had fun games, a yummy snack, a fabulous guest speaker, a yummy dinner, a bonfire for roasting marshmallows, 3 movies, a game of flashlight tag, free play time, and sleep time. **Although, I must say, not all participated in that last event. :)

I forgot my camera, so I didn't get any pictures, but I thought I'd share 3 of my favorite moments of camp (all coming from my class)...

• Daniel came to me during school Friday and said, "Miss Nichols, am I going to be able to read my Bible tonight during camp?" I told him that he would and he went on about his business. When we dismissed the kids for a game of flashlight tag on the soccer field, Daniel comes up to me and asks if he can go to the lunch shelter where it's lit up and read his Bible, which of course I said yes to. This sweet boy read his Bible for about 15 to 20 minutes. All the while kids were running around him playing flashlight tag and other games, laughing and carrying on. When I would've probably gotten distracted and possibly even stopped reading and joined in on the fun, Daniel kept on reading. I felt so proud of this little boy at this moment.
• Mihdi came to me on Monday and opened his backpack to show me he was already packed for camp...which wasn't until Friday. When I asked him why he'd packed so early, he said "Miss Nichols, I've never been to camp. I'm just so excited!"
• Mihdi -- I heard someone yelling excitedly and turned around to see & hear Mihdi jumping up and down yelling, "I'm roasting marshmallows! I'm roasting marshmallows!" I asked him why he was so excited and he said, "Oh Miss Nichols my dreams have come true!"

new address

My parents have recently been voted in as Senior Pastors at 1st Assembly of God in Medicine Lodge, Kansas and will be moving in the next few weeks. Therefore, I will have a new home address in the US. For obvious reasons, I'm not putting the address on here. If you'd like it, you can email me at enichols85@gmail.com and I'll send it to you. Be blessed! :) Love, Me