An Unwelcomed 3 A.M. Guest

What do a roach, my ceiling, and me jumping on my bed have in common? Um…an annoying, embarrassing, hilarious (after the fact) moment with an un-invited guest that occurred at around 3:00 one morning.

My roommate and I had come home in the wee hours of that morning after helping a friend paint her guest room. I groggily showered the paint splatters off, changed into my pj’s and got ready for bed. Then I walked into my bedroom, turned on the light, and saw quite possibly the BIGGEST cockroach ever crawling on my ceiling. UGH!

I’m normally not scared of bugs, but WOW – this thing was HUGE! After some loud girly screaming and hopping around, my roommate came to see what was wrong. Breathless and no longer half-asleep, I shrieked, “Bug! Big one! Help!”

Now, what do you think my sweet and helpful roommate did? Yes she got me something to kill it with and a paper towel to dispose of it with, but FIRST, she grabbed her camera and took a picture of me in my 3 a.m. best hopping on my bed and freaking out like a little girl over this monstrosity of a bug! Nice, Emily. Thanks for that! :)

Anyways…My point for this post (past showing me looking like a mess at 3 a.m.) was to say this...

Think about roaches. They just want to survive. They hide for protection, eat to survive, and procreate to keep their species alive. We should be the same way. We should hide ourselves in the protection of God's grace, feed ourselves with God's word, and we must share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the world (keeping the Christian 'species' alive).

Now, don't get me wrong. If I see a roach am I going to let it live? Uh...NO! But, it does make you think. These annoying little creatures kind of have the right idea, don't they?

Back to School

School started on August 12th. It's hard to believe that almost 8 weeks have past since then. I'm teaching 1st grade this year and have the most adorable class EVER! :) I have children from the USA, Korea, the Middle East, Ghana, India, and Cameroon. I'll get 3 more kids in the next 2 weeks but for now here is my crew hard at work...

Back in Dakar

The main theme of my itineration sermons this summer  was "freedom." Celebrating the 4th of July felt different this year. I know that many times I have taken all of my rights and things God's given me as an American for granted. I guess it hit me this summer more so since I'd spent the last 11 months living in a third world country in Africa. It was so nice to spend the summer with my family, friends, and church families from AL, GA, and KS.

I landed in Dakar on August 6th. It felt a little weird landing on my birthday...not sure why, but it did. I had spent most of my time in the airports and upon boarding the day before crying. I know God's called me to Senegal. And I was definitely happy to be going back. However, it was sad leaving this time. I didn't know for sure when I'd be coming back. I'd already planned not to return to the US next summer and since the cost of flying was on a continuous climb, I didn't know if I'd be able to come at Christmas time. I once heard someone say that this is the hardest part of being a missionary -- constantly saying goodbye to family.

But with all that said, I woke up (from a rough night's sleep in an uncomfortable plane seat) on my birthday with a new outlook on life. I was so happy. I was happy to be coming back to Dakar. I was happy to be teaching a new grade level this year. I was happy to be coming back and seeing my friends and "family" here in Dakar.

And as it turns out, this was one of my best birthdays ever. I woke up to a yummy (small) breakfast on the plane...

I had a yummy snack complete with colorful drink (OJ -- don't freak people) courtesy of the coolest 9 year old (now 10) I know... :)

...At this point, I was running on about 2 hours of sleep and having some issue with my eye. So please excuse how rough I look. :)

And then we celebrated the boss and my birthday (we share bdays) with a bunch of friends that night...complete with a yummy steak and chicken dinner complete with raspberry (for him) and key lime pie (for me) for dessert! :)

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There have been a lot of high and low moments since I arrived back in Dakar. The power has gone out quite a bit. ...but my roommate and I have gotten pretty good at making snacks and meals and playing card games by flashlight/candlelight/headlamps... :)

 

There's been a LOT of rain. ...so much, in fact, that the soccer field at school flooded, giving kids (of all ages) hours and hours of fun. :) ....P.S. These pictures are courtesy of 2 other teachers here at DA.



The 10 Days of Elisabeth's Birthday

Birthdays are not a huge thing in my family, but they are made special for each person. And since we knew I’d be back in Africa on my actual birthdate, my family (and I) decided to have the fabulousness that was "The 10 Days of Elisabeth's Birthday". Check it out…Who knows? You may decide to have a 10 day Celebration as well :)

P.S. The 10 days were not right back to back...there were skipped days in between. ...just for those wondering why I'm wearing the same shirts in a lot of the pictures. :)

Day 1 - Toy Story 3 with my mom -- complete with Dippin' Dots and Coke Icee :)

Day 2 - Family Reunion -- I was especially happy to be at this reunion because I knew that I wouldn't be able to go to next year's, since I wouldn't be coming to the US next summer.

Day 3 -- Pecan Pie Blizzard from DQ -- FYI...The DQ Blizzard is celebrating its 25th birthday as well, so it was a double celebration! :)

Day 4 -- a trip to Coldstone with the family :)

Day 5 -- 25 cookies for my 25th birthday -- celebrating with my brother and sister-in-law

 

Day 6 -- Chocolate Gelato from my favorite brother and sister-in-law :)

Day 7 -- Celebration Chicken Strip Platter and Birthday cake Milkshake from Zaxby's

Day 8 -- Birthday presents from the best parents ever :)

 

 Day 9 -- Surprise Birthday party from my parents' church -- full of yummy American snacks and baskets full of goodies to take back to Africa :)

Day 10 - My favorite meal as my last lunch with my parents before leaving the USA again

Heroes

Everyone has at least one hero. Some people choose military personnel. Some choose firemen or policemen. Some choose their parents or their teachers. When I was little, I chose missionaries.

I can remember being in elementary school and attending the Alabama A/G Kids Camp one summer. A missionary came and spoke to us kids about BGMC -- Boys and Girls Missionary Challenge (where kids raise money for missionaries). I remember her talking to us like we were REAL people…not just kids. She told us how our change helped boys and girls around the world. I remember crying and telling my mom that it wasn’t fair that I had a mommy and a daddy that loved me and fed me and took care of me when so many little boys and girls around the world did not have that. I then told her that that missionary, Cynthia Lucas, was my hero.

This summer, I had the opportunity to speak to boys and girls at the Kansas A/G Kids Camp about BGMC. I told them a story about how BGMC helps boys and girls in Africa. And then I told them how they can help those boys and girls that are less fortunate than them. After the service, I overheard a girl turn to her friend and say, “Miss Elisabeth is my superhero because she tells boys and girls in Africa about Jesus.”

Later that night I turned to my mom, with tears in my eyes, and said, “My dream has come true. I’m a missionary.” Do I feel like I’m a superhero like that little girl thinks of me? No. But I remember being a little girl and looking at a missionary thinking that she was my superhero. And hey…God only knows what the future holds. What if that girl becomes someone else’s superhero one day?