Jesus Loves the Little Children

Well, my Senegalese family now has two babies. Pop is no longer the little one. In fact, he is getting to be quite a big boy. This last weekend when I was there, he started crawling. At first I didn't realize that this was his first time because I haven't seen him in awhile. But, the family was so excited and kept tossing keys in front of him to chase. I was glad I got to be a part of one of his firsts.


Here's Pop in the propper pre-crawl stance. What kind of safety devices do the Senegalese use to keep their children out of things when they get to this stage? Lots of aunts and uncles!

Here's the little man revving up his engine. Look out everyone, baby on the move!

Now, the new baby. One of the women in my family had a little girl a few weeks ago. It was so much fun to see the newborn. She is so light compared to Pop. Babies are so much fun!


Now for the close-up of the baby. Hopefully, I'll get this little one's name soon. I asked but couldn't really understand the answer. Maybe next week I'll get it.


Here is the mom with all of her younger children. Can you say, "One tired mama!"

What a WAIST!!

A week ago, I had the opportunity to play some softball with a group of missionaries in the area. Most of them had some connection to Dakar Academy, the school I teach at. It was a lot of fun, and I got to meet several people that I didn't really know before.

The name of the tournament we played in was WAIST (West African Invitational Softball Tournament). There were teams from all over West Africa. We were a last minute team named "The Leftovers." Even though we were just thrown together at the last minute, we did pretty well, winning second place in our league.

The tournament lasted three days, and it's a good thing. I don't think we could have lasted much longer. There was only one person on the team younger than me, and many of them were injured. By the end of the tournament we were putting in slightly injured people in for our more injured people. It's like everyone had to rate their pain. As I told someone, leftovers are only good for so many days before you have to throw them out.

Well, it was fun! (And good exercise.) Maybe we'll get to do it again next year.

This is the team of "leftovers." Second place isn't too shabby for a group last-minute players who haven't played in a few years. (I'm the one in tights.)

In the league we played in, you had to have 3 girls on the field at all times. It worked out well for me. I had fun playing with "the guys" although I must admit I was a little nervous about fielding some of the big boys hard hit grounders. Thankfully, I'm still in one piece.

Thank you Coach Hand for teaching me to bat. I actually got some good hits. (There were some bad ones, too.) Pop-ups right in front of home plate are good for my humility. Thank you God for your grace!

Look at all of that American candy! This was one of the best parts of the weekend. Reeces are my favorite, and they had plenty! It was great!



Girl with a hotdog and Doritos and American candy spending the day playing softball right next to the ocean. Really? What more could you ask for? Great weekend!