Christmas in Africa

Merry Christmas from Senegal!

It's always hard to be away from family on big events/holidays like yesterday. And I honestly have been a little sad lately about not seeing my favorite 5 people this Christmas...



But, this Christmas season has been so nice. And yesterday was a day full of happiness and no sadness at all. And I can honestly say, I'm so glad God allowed me to spend my time here in Dakar this December.

Here's a little taste of what I've enjoyed this December/Christmas season...

I watched Christmas programs and concerts full of some of my favorite kids :)



I decorated my classroom for Christmas.

 
 

We had a lovely Staff Christmas party at school.

I did all sorts of fun Christmas crafts and activities with my students.

  

There were class/club Christmas parties with "my" kids...

  

 

  

There was Christmas with my fellow AG-ers.

I had the joy of Christmas tree shopping with a co-worker new to Senegal, which was a super fun experience, full of more laughing than I honestly think I have ever done before :)

 

I went to quite a few Christmas movie nights with friends and co-workers...

I went to an International Fair with friends, had a delicious lunch, and even bought myself a Christmas gift or two :)

 

I went out for a fancy schmancy lunch with some friends and had the most amazing ceasar salad, lamb & mashed potatoes, and créme brûlée ever, with this fabulous group of ladies :)

I even cooked a bit more than usual since I was on Break and not in a fog of exhaustion like I usually am at dinner time each night during the school year :)

 

 

I celebrated Christmas Eve with a big group on a co-worker's roof, singing Christmas carols and worshipping together, freezing in the 70 degree windy evening's air, with the local mosque's call to prayer blaring in the background.

I was blessed to spend Christmas with a family that didn't mind taking in a "stray" like me for the holiday, who wrapped every item in my mom's package of goodies, so I'd have wrapped Christmas gifts this year both under the tree and in a stocking, making it extra special :)

 

My mom made sure I was loaded down with goodies, sending a box full of my favorites all the way from sweet home Alabama. And so between my mom and my friends, I racked up quite the Christmas loot this year :)

 

And we had a yummy Christmas Dinner with friends. Our dinner included turkey and all sorts of other deliciousness! My contribution was a banana pudding :)

 

All in all, I'd say this Christmas Season has been a nice one. And for that, I'm grateful!

What's Up Wednesday

Happy Wednesday Everybody!

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

 

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

The questions are...

 

What am I eating this week?

I had a few friends over for lunch today. I made fried rice and (modified) butter chicken and rice.

What am I reminiscing about? 

Christmases with family...

What am I loving?

I loved having my classroom all decorated for Christmas! It was so festive and fun :)

What have I been up to?

Resting

What are you dreading?

Construction noise - It's been almost every day since April, with various projects going on in my apartment building. I miss sleeping late. I miss peace and quiet during the day. I miss going home to quiet. And while I do appreciate them wanting to make our campus/housing look nicer. Still... Can you tell it's getting old? ;)

What am I working on?

Raiding my missions budget - I only need $390 more in monthly commitments to have my fully budget raised. Interested in partnering with me to raise this amount? Send me an email at enichols85@gmail.com for more info.

What am I excited about?

While everyone else was taking semester exams, we spent the week before Christmas Break doing all sorts of fun Christmas-y things. We baked and decorated cookies. We watched Christmas movies. We did Christmas-themed school lessons/activities. We made things and wrapped things. We opened presents. And all the while, we learned the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of Jesus. And y'all... Seeing the excitement on my students' faces throughout it all made me excited as well! I loved it!

What am I watching?

I watched Sweet Home Alabama the other evening while finishing report cards. I love that movie! 

What am I reading?

Here's the stack of books I checked out to read over Christmas Break.

What am I listening to?

Christmas music as much as possible :)

What am I wearing?

I'm wearing some pretty painted toes. Past that, I've been wearing pajamas as much as possible. It is Christmas Break, after all ;)

What am I doing this weekend?

It's Christmas! It's definitely hard to be away from family on the holiday, but thankfully, I'm spending Christmas with some awesome friends. 

What am I looking forward to next month?

School starting back

Getting back into a routine

A new fun Photo a Day plan

New Year's Resolutions I'll hopefully stick with

What else is new? 

A friend and her family moved away, and I may or may not have cried quite a few tears over that goodbye... :(

So what are YOU up to this month?

Learning from Winnie the Pooh

Christmas has had a feeling of being bittersweet this year. 

I love Christmas.

It's the holiday where I celebrate the birth of Jesus.

There's no greater holiday.

I love being with ones I love.

I love teaching my students all about Christmas.

It's a sweet time of year for sure.

And again, it's the birth of Jesus! That's huge y'all! It is!

But at the same time...

This will be the first Christmas ever spent away from family.

And that makes me feel sad.

...very sad.

...and lonely.

And I'm not going to lie. That part of Christmas this year is tough.

But I was reminded of that Winnie the Pooh quote the other day, where he says, 

"How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." 

And you know, that's true.

How lucky (or rather, blessed) am I to have a family who makes saying goodbye or I miss you so hard...

How blessed am I to have a group of people to miss like I do.

I fully realize not everyone is as blessed as me.

And that is what I try to remember when homesickness creeps its way in.

That is what I try to remember when sadness over missing Christmas with family creeps in.

And I do feel I need to end by once again giving a bit of an FYI to anyone reading who may think otherwise, assuring them that... 

I so very much love what I do here. I love that I am here in Senegal, teaching at my school, following the call of God on my life. I know I'm doing what I need to do - what God wants me to do. So don't confuse my sadness over missing family with negativity toward the calling God has placed on my life because I promise that's not the case :)

CURRENTLY

Happy 1st Wednesday of December Y'all!

Want to know what I'm currently lighting, spending, choosing, sending, and singing?

I'm currently LIGHTING this beauty every morning when I get to school. I love seeing the excitement on my students' faces when they see the lights twinkling. This is their new favorite spot to read and do work during the day. I love it! :)

I'm currently SPENDING more time in my classroom than at home. It's true I work a lot outside of normal/typical school hours. But that's not it. Even if I'm not working, I'll be watching movies or tv, reading, whatever... It's something about those Christmas lights, I think. And since I've yet to decorate at home and may not do so at all, (probably because I'm at school more than home - ha!), I'll just keep doing what I'm doing.

I'm currently CHOOSING to write a lot. It's therapeutic. It's such a fun way to get my thoughts out and share my heart. And whether that means writing in a journal, writing on my blog, or writing on a secret writing project I've undertaken, I'm still writing... And I'm definitely enjoying it.

I'd like to say that I'll be SENDING Christmas cards to family and friends and missions supporters, but that isn't going to happen. Plus, I just sent out a newsletter this past month. So my new plan is to wait and send out something towards the end of January or beginning of February. 

I'm currently SINGING Christmas carols, of course :)

And since this is my blog and I can do what I want... :)

Here are just 3 of the reasons I'm CURRENTLY in a happy mood.

Today I'm joining Anne and Catherine for their December Currently link-up. Want to join? Click one of their names above and join the fun :)

My Grown Up Christmas List

Happy Monday Y'all!

Today I'm joining Victoria, Emily, and Sarah for their The Most Wonderful Time of the Year link-up, where we're sharing our Christmas Wish List.

So, what's on my Christmas Wish List?

~ one ~

The #1 item on my Christmas Wish List is to raise my missions budget. I still need $390 in monthly commitments and $3890 in cash donations to be fully funded. I love that God has called me to Senegal and has blessed me with the privilege to teach such an incredibly amazing group of kids. 

Want to know more info on how you can financially partner with me to raise my budget and get the #1 item on my Christmas Wish List? Click HERE.

~ two ~ 

Past that, I'd probably say books would be fairly high on my list. The 4 (5, if you count the study guide that goes along with one of them) are at the top of my list at the moment...

Sisters First by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush

Mustard Seed by Laila Ibrahim

The Silver Music Box by Mina Baites

Uninvited (book and study guide) by Lysa Terkeurst

~ three ~

Since I'm in Senegal and don't have access to all the yummy comforts of home, I'd probably also add a few food items to my Christmas Wish List. Things like...

* ranch seasoning * taco seasoning * dill weed * peanut butter * yellow mustard * white chocolate Reeses * candy canes * flavored water mixes (not grape though) * pepperoni * spam packets * tuna packets * chicken packets * canned turnip greens * dessert mixes * strawberry cake & strawberry frosting * muffin mixes * hershey's kisses with almonds * almonds * pistachios * peppermints * twizzlers * hot chocolate mixes * 

And yes, to anyone local reading this... You can purchase some of these items at the American Food Stores here. But oh my word are they expensive and not something I can justify splurging on due to their high costs and other things being far more important.

~ four ~

And if I'm being 100% honest, I would love nothing more than a free flight home to Alabama for Christmas. I'd have about 10 days to be at home from the time school gets out here 'til I have to leave for our AG Conference in South Africa. But I just could not afford a trip this year. Oh what I'd give to be able to see my family... 

And yes, I'm grateful to be going to that conference. I'm grateful to be here doing what God has called me to do. I'm even grateful for time to catch up on sleep and work. But y'all... I can't explain how much it hurts to know I won't be with family for Christmas this year. I honestly feel sometimes as if my heart's breaking from the sadness of this. I can't lie. This is tough. So very tough...

30 Days of Giving Thanks Outside the Box

Usually in November, you'll see an influx of Giving Thanks types of posts on Facebook. People spend the entire month, daily posting things for which they are thankful.

I'm no different.

But I did tweak mine a bit this year.

But, instead of doing the usual list I always seem to repeat year after year...

I decided to try and think outside the box a bit this year. 

So what made my list?

Days 1-6

1. I'm thankful for Education Professors who taught me that being flexible is sometimes the key to running a successful classroom. 

2. I'm thankful for laughter.

3. I'm thankful for a school that values "play time" as much as educational learning time.

4. I'm thankful for wifi at home.

5. I'm thankful for the person who invented ceiling fans, especially since I live in such a hot place and the electricity to run an A/C is ridiculously expensive.

6. I'm thankful for a borrowed desk when I can't work at my own.

Days 7-12 

7. I'm thankful that I work in a Christian school, especially on days when I can teach a kid from a Musl*m home the meaning of grace and the love of Jesus.

8. I'm thankful for random acts of kindness.

9. I'm thankful for a good teacher bag.

10. I'm thankful for mail. Shameless Plug - Want to send me a card or letter? It only costs about 3 stamps from the US. And it's such a bright spot in my days :)

11. I'm thankful for friends (and friends that share their delicious food).

12. I'm thankful for technology, especially when it keeps me connected to my family and supporters too back in the States.

Days 13-18

13. I'm thankful for surprises.

14. I'm thankful for the help of others.

15. I'm thankful for grace - even if that means giving myself a bit of grace on those hard days.

16. I'm thankful I live on campus, especially on nights when I have to work so late that it's dark when I leave school.

17. I'm thankful for the end of Hot Season in Dakar.

18. I'm thankful for my life here in Senegal. I'm thankful that God saw fit to call me here to do this incredible work.

Days 19-24

19. I'm thankful for educational resources online. Having no set curriculum requires me to put in a lot of extra work. But I seriously Praise the Lord over the wealth of resources online.

20. I'm thankful for weekly dinners with our AG MK's.

21. I'm thankful for relationship building, especially with our non-Christian families. I love being able to share the love of Jesus in this way :)

22. I'm thankful for school breaks and long weekends, because as much as I love my students, it's still nice to have a break every now and then :)

23. I'm thankful for my AG family here in Dakar

24. I'm thankful for rest. 

Days 25-30 Collage

25. I'm thankful for neighbors.

26. I'm thankful for missionaries and the work they (we) do around the world.

27. I'm thankful for the fresh fruits/veggies we can get here in Dakar.

28. I'm thankful for memories. I miss my dad a lot. But I'm thankful for all the memories I have of him. I was blessed to have him for just shy of 30 years. 

29. I'm thankful for my students. 

30. I'm thankful for my family.

And since I'm talking about giving thanks, I must share a big thank you to those who read my #givingtuesday post earlier in the week, those who shared it with others, those who have sacrificially given, and those who are continuing to sacrificially give, all to partner with me to help further God's Kingdom through education. I still have quite a bit of money to raise. But we serve a big, big God, and I know He's still got big plans for me here. So I will continue to be thankful in advance for how He'll help me raise these funds.

Not sure what I'm talking about? Want to read the post I referred to? Click HERE. 

Want to give to support my ministry here in Senegal? Click HERE. 

Want more info about my ministry? Send me an email at enichols85@gmail.com.

Now, what about you? 

Think outside the box. 

What are you thankful for?