12 Years Ago

At the end of this week, it will be 12 years.

12 years ago...

I landed in Senegal for the first time.

So as I thought back to that time, I started to thinking of all the emotions I was feeling then. I started thinking of all the thoughts I was having. And I decided to write a letter to the Me of that time in my life...

Dear 23 (almost 24) years old Me,

Wow! You are so brave! 

You may not realize it yet. 

But trust me...

You are, indeed, brave. 

At this point, you're on an adrenaline high. 

You've had a roller coaster of emotions zooming through your heart and mind. ...from the extreme lows of saying goodbye to your family at the Atlanta airport to the extreme highs of the excitement of landing in Dakar. 

I realize it's scary. 

You've never even lived away from home.

 So I know you're nervous right now.

And while you've got a bit of teaching under your belt, it's not a lot. So your confidence in yourself as a teacher is quite low. 

Trust me... 

One day, twelve years from now, you'll be writing yourself a letter and smile at how confident you now (then?) feel as a teacher. After all, by that point, you'll know you're actually an Educational Rockstar ;)

And yes, you did read that correctly.

I said twelve years from now...

I know you're thinking you'll only be staying for one year (maybe 2 max). But just so you know... God has a sense of humor. So go ahead and get comfortable. You're going to be there a while. And in a few years, when you leave for a bit, you'll still end up coming back.

You're still finding your footing as a Missionary Teacher. 

Many of your missions supporters don't fully get what you do. You'll hear the following question a lot...

"So are you a missionary or are you a teacher?"

And each time, you'll take a deep breath, smile sweetly, and say...

I am a Missionary Teacher.

And then you'll explain what that means.

I won't lie to you.

Sometimes it's going to be hard.

Friends will leave.

There will be hard things to deal with back home in the US.

And the list goes on...

But trust me...

There will be plenty of good.

Today, you stepped on Senegalese soil for the first time. And when you did you instantly felt that you were at home.

Today, you fell in love with the country whose sandy streets and tall buildings, whose colorful outfits and lively music, whose open doors and hospitable people all make it the fun place you love.

12 years from now, you'll be in line at the post office, chatting with the worker, and tell her that while the U.S. will always be home... In a way, so will Senegal. Senegal is where God called you to go AND where you choose to live and the U.S. is where you visit. 

And you love the truth in that statement.

The past 12 years have produced rich memories that will last your heart for a lifetime. Take time to remember them. Take time to truly notice the goodness and faithfulness of God each step of the way. 

Take time to be grateful for all God's doing in your life in the next 12 years (and beyond). 

See ya in 12 years ;)

Sincerely,

35 (almost 36 year old Me)

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 Today, I'm joining Erika and Andrea, for their weekly Friday Favorites linkup and sharing about one of my most favorite topics to discuss - Today's my Senegal-iversary... The anniversary of the date I landed in Senegal for the very first time.

What's Up July

 Happy Wednesday, Y'all

Today, I'm joining Shay, and Sheaffer for their What's Up Wednesday link-up. 

Every month we answer the same list of questions based on how things are currently going in our lives. 

The questions are...

 

What am I eating?

All the shaved ices I can get... Fun fact - It's hotter and more humid here at my mom's house in the U.S. than it is at my apartment in Senegal. Seriously. Another fun fact - The A/C in my mom's truck went out the other day. And since she and I both are using her truck this summer, we're on the road a lot. So shaved ices and their incredible coldness are pretty awesome ;)

What am I reminiscing about?

All sorts of memories made from the years of working in Senegal with these sweet friends... It was such a fun, unexpected gift to be able to get together for lunch last week, to take a few hours to sit and chat, to catch up on each other's lives, and to reminisce about all sorts of fun memories. I definitely consider these three ladies to be sweet sweet friends. What a blessing this time with them was!

 What am I loving?

Having extra time with my Mama. Thanks to a change in the date of my return flight, I was able to have 3 extra days with my mom. I have so enjoyed having this summer with her. I must say... She's pretty awesome. And I'm pretty blessed to call her mine :)

What have I been up to?

This summer has found me spending a lot of time on the road, traveling to speak at churches, to meet with pastors and other missions supporters, to visit friends and family, to attend meetings, etc. I don’t drive in Senegal. So I love when I’m back in the US and able to be back behind the wheel. 

What am I dreading? 

The goodbyes happening tomorrow night/Friday morning... I love being able to follow the call of God on my life. I 100% do. But I absolutely hate the goodbyes/see ya laters that must happen as a result :(

What am I working on?

A blog post about my "Senegal-iversary," which happens later this week... Somehow time has flown by and July 30th will be 12 years from the day I landed in Senegal for the very first time. 

 What am I excited about?

In church a couple weeks ago, my pastor spoke on the first part of 1 Peter, Chapter 1. And it's stuck with me. He asked us the question, "Are you excited?" pointing out how God chose to create us. That, in itself, should make us excited. After all, the same God who created THE ENTIRE EARTH actually CHOSE to create you and me. How cool is that?! :)

What am I watching?

I've been watching very little TV... 

What am I reading?

At the moment, I'm finishing up "The Common Rule" for our required Staff Development book study. It's a good book. I'd definitely recommend it.

I'm also reading "Unorthodox" by Deborah Feldman. The TV series version came out on Netflix a while back, but I wanted to wait to watch it until I'd read the book version. I'm not too far into it yet. But, I can say this... Wow! What a story!

What am I listening to?

I heard Switchfoot's "The Strength to Let Go" on the radio the other day and fell in love with the lyrics / music. 

 What am I doing this weekend?

I will be leaving my brother & sister-in-law's house in the wee hours of the morning Friday, starting my 24ish hours of travel back to Senegal. If all goes according to plan, I should be back in my apartment by mid morning on Saturday. So my weekend will primarily be spent in airports and on airplanes, and then unpacking when I finally get home.

What am I looking forward to next month?

My birthday

School starts back

Seeing my students again

Seeing friends again

What else is new?

I ordered this fun notebook to take back to Senegal with me. IEP Season at our school is at the beginning of the school year. So I thought this would be the perfect addition to the stack of school supplies I’ll be taking back with me :)

And that's what I'm up to this month.

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month? 

Currently

 Happy Wednesday, Y'all

Today I'm joining Anne from In Residence for her monthly link-up, where we share what's currently going on in our lives. And each month, Anne gives us a list of prompts to use to guide our posts. 

July's prompts are...

  * eating *  feeling * going * ordering * realizing *

I'm currently eating lots of fresh fruits and veggies. All sorts of fun things I either can’t get in Senegal or are far too expensive in Senegal. 

I'm currently feeling grateful for all the time I've had with my mom during this break from school. And I'm glad I still have a few more weeks here, too. She really is the best and I'm blessed to be her daughter. 

I'm currently going to be spending the day with my mom and my nieces. Our big plans for today? Coloring in our new sketch books, playing hide and seek, and watching something fun on TV :)

I'm currently ordering nothing. I did recently order this shirt from Amazon, though. It was cheap and fit my roles at work pretty perfectly. So, I thought it'd be a fun purchase. Past that, I still need to buy some supplies to take back to Senegal. But I'm thinking I'll just make a Wal-Mart run the week before I leave and get everything else I need...

I'm currently realizing that taking the time to truly rest is actually okay. This is hard for me. But after getting to the borderline of burnout made me realize I need to help myself more and actually embrace the art of rest. 

 And since it's my blog and I can, I thought I'd share a couple more :)

I'm currently reading/studying all about the Understanding by Design method of curriculum planning, as it’s the topic of my current grad school class. And since my mom doesn't have internet (nor do I have cell service there either), I'm thankful for Jack's and their inexpensive/tasty breakfasts, large cups of ice water, and most importantly, their free wifi for helping me get my coursework completed :)

I'm currently packing for a mini getaway happening this upcoming weekend, when I'll be traveling to speak at a church a few hours from here. I love sharing my heart for the incredible work God has called me to do. 

I’m currently enjoying my time in the States, albeit shorter than I'd prefer thanks to a much longer professional development time than usual before the school year starts. I'm grateful for this time to spend with family, to reconnect with many of my missions supporters, and to soak up all sorts of Americanness, too. I have a few more weeks and I truly intend to to take full advantage of them.

And that's about it for me.

So what about you?

What are you currently up to?