The Music of Christmas

Miri ("M") and Hannah ("S") performing at International Christian Fellowship in Dakar, Senegal. This was the closing number of their Christmas play performed on December 11, 2011.

Thanksgiving

There is no doubt in my mind that my house is the best smelling house on the entire African continent. Amanda's been busy working in the kitchen all morning preparing for our Thanksgiving meal with several of our good friends here in Senegal. So far she's made (all gluten free, mind you) 2 pumpkin pies, squash casserole and green bean casserole. She also did the prep work on the turkey, which is now cooking at our friend's house. This afternoon we'll head over and have a very international Thanksgiving.

I was thinking this morning about our previous Thanksgivings here in Africa. The first was in 2005, when Americans were a minority around the table. Of the 13 people there, only 2 others besides Amanda and I were from the USA! In 2006 Amanda's dad and girlfriend visited us and made it a very special first Thanksgiving with our twin daughters.

In 2007 we were in the midst of a year in Bamako where we didn't have any American colleagues around us. We invited our Malian pastor's family over for that most American of meals - pizza! - and I got to share (in French, of course) the story of the Pilgrims and why we celebrate Thanksgiving.

In 2008 we were visiting Dakar, Senegal to get immigration visas for the twins to become Americans during Thanksgiving weekend. The following year we were actually living in Senegal and spending Thanksgiving with our new team here. Last year we sat out the community time but we're really excited for spending this time together with so many of our teammates. I know that it won't be all Americans as we'll have (at least) Dutch and Australian teammates there.

I'm so thankful this year for many things. First on my mind is how much Hannah and Miriam are growing - physically, mentally, spiritually. Unprompted, we often hear them praying for our family members that don't know Jesus. We see them excelling in their school work and love watching them grow their personalities. I'm also thankful for the teammates we have in Senegal. This would be a very, very difficult place to be without them. I'm thankful for Amanda and the practical ways she shows her love for her family and I'm thankful for the Lord using us in ministry and letting us be a part of His work in Africa.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Thanks! (by Amanda)

I don’t usually write blogs but I have the time - thanks to our teammates and friends here in Senegal. We have been embraced by God's love and grace though them. We just returned last week to Senegal after three months in the US and they provided meals for the first couple of days and we got several offers from others who were willing to pick up a few things at the store and leave them at the house for us.

Our flight was wonderful and with all the help our transition has been smooth. I have unpacked, sorted and stored all our things from the suitcases. I have a couple of boxes of some gluten free goodies that were on our shipment to put away, but overall I feel at home. We will miss all of our friends in the States and especially our church. We were so blessed by both new and old relationships rekindled. Miri and Hannah have asked about some of the friends they miss, but have already enjoyed getting back together with their friends here. I cannot express the joy I have felt by being a part of the Body of Christ to all of you. Thank you for being examples and lights in this world.

Wrapping Up

Quoting Amanda's Facebook status:

Less than a week left here in Senegal. I wonder if I can get everything I want accomplished?

It's true: we're wrapping things up here quickly. This week I've packed up all the loose stuff in my office, packed my suitcase (well... most of it), and said my good-byes to Heckle and Jeckle*, the two crows that live on my office windowsill.

Yeah, they're pretty big.

A week from today we'll be in the US of A adjusting from jet lag and feeling overwhelmed by all the choices that exist. (True story: last time in the US Amanda started crying in the cereal isle at the grocery store. There were just too many options. ) Thanks for your prayers in our time of transition. See you all soon!

*Yes, I know Heckle and Jeckle were actually Magpies, not crows.

Thank You! (Car Fund Update)

Here's our latest "Car Fund Thermometer". Do you see any blue (unpaid portion) in this picture? No? Look closer, I'll wait...

Still none? That's because I have great news! We received word yesterday that our car has been entirely, 100%, fully and completely paid for! Thank You to everyone who has supported - financially and prayerfully - this project for us! It's a huge blessing and relief for us to be heading to our furlough next week with this taken care of. Again, thank you so much!

Beach Bound

As our clock ticks down on our current term in Senegal we're getting ready for a quick trip out of town. Tomorrow morning we head down to the town of Ngaparou, which is about 70 miles south of Dakar. Because of traffic this is about a 2-3 hour drive, though. With some friends we've rented a beach house for the weekend to just hang out and relax. I'm also hoping to get down to Mbour (another 15 miles south of Ngaparou) to visit some friends that our mission is partnered with. They run an agricultural ministry called the Beer-Sheeba Project. It's a very cool and useful ministry and I'm hoping to get a first-hand look at what they're doing there. Pictures will hopefully be coming next week!

Friday Foto Flashback

One month from today our twins will be 5 years old. Unbelievable. These days they still are wide-eyed at the world, soaking up everything we throw at them. They each read me several books today and Miri was counting the money in her pocket for me (no easy feat in a country where all the coins are increments of 5. ie: 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100).

Here they are last week, playing at the beach.

Yeah, they're growing up fast!

Car Fund Update

See that little sliver of blue at the top of the car? That represents all that's left of our car debt!

Through the end of May, we've received gifts totaling $28,986. Our remaining debt is just $655 meaning we are 97.8% of the way to paying off the car. A huge thanks is due to all who have been so generous bringing us so close to having our vehicle paid for!

Would you be able to help us as we continue to pay for this vehicle and finish this project? We appreciate all the support we've received to-date and it's a great encouragement to our ministry here. If you would like to help with this need there are a couple of options. You can send a tax-deductible gift to:

The C&MA
Thom McMurray Vehicle Special
P.O. Box 35000
Colorado Springs, CO 80935

There's also a secure way to make your donation on-line, through the C&MA's website. If this interests you, click here.

Again, that you so much for your prayers and contributions. We're praying to see this paid for before our upcoming home assignment, which begins August 1st.

Friday Foto Flashback

(click to embiggen)

As I write this, it's exactly 1,291 hours until our plane leaves Dakar to take us back to America for our home assignment! For the non-math people out there, that means we have 53 days left in Senegal before beginning our 3 month Home Assignment. In honor of that, I've posted the 1,291th picture in our photo section here at mcmali.com. This picture was from January 20th, 2010 as the girls were building a fort in the living room. The first thing I noticed when looking up this picture was the girls using their flashlights during the day. I don't think I'd allow that right now! We have too many power cuts these days to use valuable battery time when we'll probably need it that evening. Still, this was a fun picture for me to pull up and look at. I love the smiles on the girls' faces. Their individual personalities really show through. Hannah (on the left) has a more shy, reserved demeanor and Miri is the out-going, up-front spokesperson for the two.

About our Home Assignment, we'll be arriving in Ann Arbor, MI on July 20th and then coming to Lima, OH on the 29th. With the exception of a trip out to Utah to see my parents in August we'll be in the Lima area for most of our time home and we leave to return back to Senegal on November 2nd. We feel so blessed to have our living and vehicle situations already worked out! We've had a couple of inquiries from churches about speaking but we're open to taking on a few more. If you're interested in having us come to your church please let us know and we'll hopefully be able to work something out. See you soon!

Teen Bi Open House

The Teen Bi (pronounced like "TIN bay") Center is where Amanda finds herself each Thursday afternoon. Teen Bi is a center dedicated to applying a Christ-centered experience to an after-school program. At Teen Bi, kids learn about art, music, math, literacy, health care, dance, and more. The majority of the volunteers are missionaries but they're not exclusive. A vast majority, perhaps all of them, of the students come from the dominant religion here. The center provides a great way to influence their lives in a holistic approach.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Amanda and Jeana spend one afternoon each week at Teen Bi teaching arts and crafts to the kids. They have 2 classes, broken down by age groups, and have been teaching them a variety of crafts the past year. Last Friday the center hosted an open house to invite the parents of the children to come and see what they've been doing and what they've learned. Thankfully, I brought my camera along. There are several new pictures in the photo section of our website. Here are a few of my favorites:

A puppet show telling the store of the Good Samaritan...

...which the kids (and parents) loved!

The older girls performing in a flag troupe with a twirler.

The younger boys did a djembe (African drum) concert.

One of the walls inside the center proudly displaying some of the projects Amanda and Jeana have led the kids in doing this year.

Countdown

It is exactly 1,500 hours (that's 62 days) until we get on an airplane and fly back to the US for our 3 month Home Assignment (furlough). Not that I'm clock watching or anything, but the fact that we've only had 8 hours of electricity in the past 36 hours does encourage my mind and heart to drift westward...

So Many Cultures!

I was reading news this morning on the internet and saw a rather thoughtless joke made about Somali pirates. I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it except that we have a friend here in Dakar who is from Somalia and has opened my eyes (and heart) more than they were before. That got me thinking about our friends here in Africa. We have good friends from:

• Australia
• America
• Austria
• Canada
• Chile
• Costa Rica
• England
• The Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Germany
• Malaysia
• Mali
• The Netherlands
• Senegal
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Switzerland

I'm probably missing some. Apologies to any friends I've missed. We also have acquantances from many, many more countries. Additionally, our American friends have grown up in several countries, including:

• Burkina Faso
• Cote d'Ivoire
• Republic of the Congo
• The Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Ethiopia
• Gabon
• Hong Kong
• Malaysia
• The Philippines
• Mozambique
• and many more, I'm sure.

I'm so thankful we get to raise Miri and Hannah in this environment where they understand a bit how large and diverse the world is. They also get to clearly see the 'lost-ness' of the world without Christ and the impact He has on his people.

Mother's Day

We celebrated Mother's Day a day early this year, exploring a part of Dakar we hadn't been to in our first 2 years here: Ngor Island. Ngor is a small island (it's less than 1 mile to walk the whole shore of the island) a few hundred yards off the northern tip of the Dakar peninsula.

We showed up that afternoon at the beach and paid a small fee (about a dollar per person, round trip) to ride the canoe across the distance to the island. Once there we walked, swam, climbed the rocks, and just had a fun, relaxing day with our friends. At the end of the day we stopped and ate at an Italian restaurant overlooking the ocean.

Naturally, I had my camera along. I didn't take pictures while we were swimming but there are a number of other photos of our time on Ngor. You can find them by clicking here. Here are a few of my favorites:

This is the view from the top of the island looking back at the mainland of Dakar.

Miri and Hannah on one of the narrow alley ways on Ngor Island

.

Another picture from the top of the island looking out at the tip of the Dakar peninsula.

View Larger Map

Car Fund Update (Almost There!)

Background information: When we moved to Dakar, Senegal from Mali we knew we'd need to buy a vehicle and we targeted $25,000 as our goal. We felt as though that would allow us to buy a newer small car or an older mid-sized car. After arriving and spending nearly a year riding around in taxis that scraped the ground (and had holes in the floor so large we could put our feet through them and touch the ground while riding at 50 mph!) we got aggressive in car hunting. We purchased the Nissan Qashqai (seen here) in early April and have been blessed to see the funds continue to come in.

See that little sliver of blue at the top of the car? That represents all that's left of our car debt!

At this point, we've received gifts totaling $28,856. Our remaining debt is just $785 meaning we are 97.4% of the way to paying off the car. A huge thanks is due to all who have been so generous bringing us so close to having our vehicle paid for!

Would you be able to help us as we continue to pay for this vehicle and finish this project? We appreciate all the support we've received to-date and it's a great encouragement to our ministry here. If you would like to help with this need there are a couple of options. You can send a tax-deductible gift to:

The C&MA
Thom McMurray Vehicle Special
P.O. Box 35000
Colorado Springs, CO 80935

There's also a secure way to make your donation on-line, through the C&MA's website. If this interests you, click here.

Again, that you so much for your prayers and contributions. We're praying to see this paid for before our upcoming home assignment, which begins August 1st.

Ministry at the Youth Center

From our friend Khady's blog, Senegal Daily, a post about where Amanda spends each Thursday:

I’ve often said that I am not a teacher. Why? Because I am not a teacher. So how did I wind up standing in front of about 40 Wolof-speaking students who were expecting me to teach them French? Good question.

...

The children are from a poor community in Dakar and only a fifth of them are able to go to school at all. This center offers them classes for art, music, math, literacy, health care, sports, dance… And it’s such a cool concept whereby staff and volunteers come from a variety of backgrounds – all with the goal is for the children to learn life skills and biblical values such as honesty, responsibility, repentance and forgiveness.

You can read the rest about Khady's first time at Teen Bi here.

Amanda and Jeana head over there each Thursday to teach arts and crafts to the kids. Many of the older children (12-15 years old) didn't even know how to use scissors when they started this ministry last fall. Just last month they finished this project:

Wow, they've come far!

This is a neat ministry that opens the doors into a neighborhood of people who follow the local religion and impacts youth in a meaningful way. Please keep Amanda, Jeana and Khady in your prayers and they continue to minister at Teen Bi.

Oh, by the way, "Teen Bi" is pronounced similar to "Tin bay". It means "The Well" in the local language.