We’ve been working on a short video presentation for a team coming here in December to help out with the t. center, so I’ve been taking some pictures there. I thought people might be interested in seeing the center, so I’m posting a few here. Julie and I went shopping yesterday and bought a white board and markers, plus notebooks and pencils – we’ve had almost 40 boys working on their letters over the past several weeks and we are running out! It’s amazing to see how much the boys love working on their letters. They are very proud of their work and work very diligently. We’re excited to see how far they might go, learning how to read and write French. It seems a very distant dream, but it’s something to shoot for!
brushing their teeth
playdough
working on their letters
the boys love to sing!
In the meantime, Bill and Bruce are looking for a space to rent, in order to establish an off-campus English center. Yesterday they happened upon a house that is in a perfect location – very close to the university. They are planning on seeing it again next week. It is really too early to think about renting a place right now – there are no funds in place yet to do so – but they would still like to investigate the future possibility. Last week Bill told me that one of the students in the English Club wrote a poem for Bill, Bruce and their third colleague! I haven’t seen it yet, but as soon as I do, I’ll post it here. Bill says it is going to be published in the university paper. It’s great to see the relationships that are growing as the guys spend time with the students.
I’ve had a great Mother’s Day, with handmade cards and a delicious brunch at home, a plant from Caleb and the second season of “Friends” on iTunes from all the kids! Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, especially you, Mom! 
Bill and I just got back from Ngaparou, a beach camp run by a sister mission agency about 2 hours down the coast from here. We were able to enjoy an overnight at the camp while Bruce and Julie kindly watched the Martin brood, to celebrate our 19th anniversary. Thanks guys!
We found it funny that here in Africa it was actually cooler than it was the day we got married in Lake Katrine, New York 19 years ago. We chose April as our wedding month so that we could be sure it would not be too hot… but there was a heat wave in late April, 1990, and the day we got married it reached 99 degrees! It’s gotten hot again here but it was at least 10 degrees cooler in Dakar on our anniversary than it was on our wedding day.
As we drove to Ngaparou, we remembered our anniversary last year, when we lived in Québec. Our friends the Copelands watched the kids for us so that we could experience the once-in-a-lifetime treat of staying at the Chateau Frontenac. The Frontenac is a historic castle in the Old City, elegant and luxurious. It was especially fun to celebrate our anniversary there last year, because my grandparents had stayed there for two nights on their honeymoon, back in 1925. They had paid $12 a night to stay at the Frontenac in 1925. (It cost us twice that just to park overnight.) This year we thought it was humorous that our overnight at Ngaparou cost exactly $12 – 84 years later! Of course the accommodations were not exactly the same…
Chateau Frontenac
Ngaparou
But we had a great time. We even swam in the ocean! It was cold, but fun to be in the water. Afterward, we sat on the beach and enjoyed watching the surf. We went out to eat and had a wonderful dinner, thanks to my parent’s anniversary check – thanks Mom and Dad! The restaurant was along the water – very pretty. We were comfortable sleeping – there was a nice breeze the whole night. We stopped in Popenguine on our way home and had a nice lunch on a terrace overlooking the cliffs. There were lots of pretty little birds but most of them were too fast for me to photograph.
All in all it was a wonderful anniversary. We thank God for bringing us together 19 years ago, and look forward to the next 19!
