Laurie's Page

What a Difference a Year Makes

2011-02-22T13:54:00.008-05:00

For those of you who have heard our love story, you know that everything for us really began last year when we were both in the village of Ngonine with the team from Providence Church, West Chester, PA. (For those of you who haven't heard our story yet, hopefully we'll have time someday to share it with you - it's pretty amazing, really!)

Well, here is a picture when Philippe & I were "just friends". What I remember is Philippe asked to have a picture taken with me, saying that he wanted to send it to our friend, Darla... which, by the way, he never did... hmmm...

And now, here we are ENGAGED one year later!

Wow.

(and, yes, I seem to be wearing the same shirt in both pics...what can I say, I obviously like to wear this one to the villages. :-)

Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T17:55:00.003-05:00

Look at what my love had made for me for Valentine's Day...

And, yes, it tasted as good as it looks!

Nob naa la, mon prince

May 21, 2011

2011-01-31T07:15:00.002-05:00

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Engagement Photos

2011-01-28T11:19:00.007-05:00

courtesy of Mike Morby

Philippe & I LOVE THEM ALL!

It's Official...

2011-01-23T12:47:00.006-05:00

I'm getting MARRIED... to Philippe Sadio!!!

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Reserve de Bandia

2011-01-22T17:21:00.011-05:00

My parents arrived this past Wednesday to begin their first visit to Senegal & to see me! I've been having a good time so far showing them around my hometown, Thies, so they can get an idea of what life is like for me here. They've been spending lots of time with Philippe & I, as well as, my friends & CW teammates. This day we ventured outside of Thies to visit a nearby animal reserve, called Reserve de Bandia. Since my mom is an animal lover & likes to talk to any & all animals (much to my chagrin!), I knew that they would really enjoy this park & seeing the African animals up close & personal. Here are some of the animals that we got to see...

after seeing the animals, we ate lunch at the restaurant in the park

a great time was had by all &

there ends the Senegalese version of an African safari!

Wishing You...

2010-12-24T07:20:00.007-05:00

Candlelight dinners

2010-12-09T17:57:00.010-05:00

Candlelight dinners are...

romantic, yes...

but also a frequent occurence for Philippe & I

as we've been experiencing many daily prolonged

power cuts that force us to light the candles at dinnertime

bet you wish being romantic could come as easy for you in the US, huh?!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T10:16:00.005-05:00

Even though Thanksgiving isn't a recognized holiday in Senegal, those of us Americans here in Thies didn't miss the chance to get together & celebrate the holiday with lots of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pies, & more! We had a great time together & experienced just a little taste of home. :-)

check out this spread!

and, yes, that's real ham...

from the States :-)

let the eating begin

nap time!

but, wait, there's still dessert!!!

hope you still have room...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tabaski

2010-11-17T16:23:00.009-05:00

Tabaski - this most important holiday is celebrated in honor of the sacrifice Abraham was willing to make in fulfillment of God's will. Interestingly, Muslims believe that it was Abraham's son, Ishmael, whom he was willing to sacrifice, not Isaac, as the Bible clearly tells us. The importance of Tabaski to the Muslim community is very much like the importance of Christmas to the Christian community. To celebrate this holiday, the head of the family often saves up for months in order to afford a ram to be sacrificed. If possible, each Muslim family sacrifices a sheep ("mouton" in french) in remembrance of Abraham's sacrifice. After morning prayers at the mosque, the head of the family slaughters the ram by slitting it's throat and letting the blood into a hole in the earth. After he skins it and divides it among neighbors and family, the women prepare a big feast.

Nov 17, 2010 was the date of Tabaski this year and I was invited by some friends to partake of this special feast with them.

this is Asstou, the neighbor lady who invited me

this is the head of the family

this is Seynabou, one of Asstou's children

this is Asstou's son, Bamba. He & Seynabou are twins

these are some more of the neighbor kids, Mamadou & Usman

Seynabou was enjoying the first taste of meat when I arrived.

Mind you, I was very careful to time my arrival for after the sheep was slaughtered. :-)

This is what was left...

then, the women began preparing the feast - here Asstou is cooking the meat over the fire

& lots of onions

(the Senegalese sure do LOVE their onions!)

and, Voila!...

dinner

After eating dinner with the neighbor family, I made my way to the house of my friends - Marie, Ndeye, Fatou, & the rest of their family. They also invited me to share in Tabaski with them.

this is Marie

Here I am with Fatou & Ndeye & some of the kids that live there too

this is Fatou & her brother, Chekh.

On Tabaski, the young people get dressed up and walk around with their friends visiting neighbors & family. The children also get dressed up and go from house to house asking for money as a gift (kind of like Halloween!)

Dinner for Two

2010-11-07T12:18:00.007-05:00

Ever since I began dating Philippe, people have been telling me what a good cook he is. Granted he always helps in the kitchen when we make a meal, but last Sunday was the first time he gave me the chance to really taste his wonderful cooking skills! He made fried chicken (done Senegalese style) with a tomato sauce & it was Yummy! Sorry I don't have pics of the final product - there wasn't time for pictures cause it looked & smelled so good - but I do have some pics of my baby in the kitchen making dinner just for me. :-)

And, believe me, this man can cook! He's definitely a keeper!! :-)

Ewww...a Spider!

2010-10-27T12:03:00.006-04:00

Check out what has taken up residence outside of our apartment....

Please pray that it stays OUTSIDE!

Stateside

2010-10-11T11:51:00.003-04:00

On Sept 15th, I boarded a plane headed to Washington DC, ready to spend a 2 & 1/2 week whirlwind of a trip visiting friends & family in Downingtown, PA. The time went by so incredibly fast, but I was able to do so many things & saw lots of family & friends. I truly had a blast and came back to Senegal on Oct 2nd feeling so encouraged & blessed to have had the chance to go home, even for such a short time. The neat thing about the timing of this trip, was that I returned to PA almost exactly a year since the day I left for Senegal last year (I arrived in Senegal on Sept 18, 2009)! What a year my 1st year in Senegal has been! It was such a treat to be able to share some of my experiences in person with my church, my family, & my friends. I put together some pictures from my time home, which I hope you enjoy. Now, I'd appreciate your prayers for me as I begin my 2nd year in Senegal! Thanks & stay tuned!!

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Four Days in NOFLAY

2010-08-18T14:05:00.003-04:00

From August 9-12, I was in the village of Noflay w/ a team from Bunker Hill Community College, which is in Boston, Massachusetts. The team was in Senegal primarily to work with Philippe Sadio & David Bies. Philippe & David are best friends & partners in a sports ministry project that they created called, "Sport Life & Blooming". I really just came along to hang out with the kids in Noflay... & to spend time w/ Philippe. :-) David brought his family too - his wife, Mimi & two of their 3 kids, Jacques & Germaine. Below you'll see pictures of all the fun we had...

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The Rainy Season

2010-08-14T08:48:00.007-04:00

For those of you that have been wondering what it's really like here during the rainy season, below are some pictures so you can see for yourself...

when the rains come

the front of our apartment becomes a river
l

that we have to wade thru in order to get to the street

and the newly formed river spreads all the way down the street

and around the side of the apartment

which makes travelling by foot quite...umm, interesting

Kids Camp at Mbodiene

2010-07-27T11:27:00.008-04:00

World Vision sponsored a 4-day Christian youth camp that recently took place in the coastal village of Mbodiene (m-bo-gin). About 115 kids came from 4 different Serer villages (Kedougou, Kaffrine, Fatick & Kolda), some travelling an entire day or more just to get to the camp. Philippe & his friend, David, were asked to come & organize the kids games throughout the week and it was my privilege to tag along.

My time here definitely reminded me of the days when I helped out with the middle school youth group at my church in PA. Apparently, youth retreats are pretty much the same, no matter what country you are in - just plain FUN! :-)

Check out these pics & videos to see some of the fun things we did & learned during the week...

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"Holiday" with Tanja

2010-07-27T11:26:00.008-04:00

At the beginning of July, Tanja Baumann, an 18 yr old girl from Germany, came to Senegal for 3 wks of holiday with her family. Instead of spending the entire time with her family at the beach, Tanja chose to spend 2 wks in Thies hanging out with Philippe... and me too. :-) You see, Tanja, loves soccer or I should say, futbol, and plays on a women's team in Germany. She has been playing futbol since she was 3 and is definitely passionate about the game. Philippe also has a love for the game & was able to provide Tanja with many chances to play & train with the boys at the local futbol school that Philippe actually attended when he was playing himself.

Tanja was so great and I, personally, had a wonderful time hanging out with & getting to know her! We had a lot of fun together & a cool thing was that she was here during the World Cup, so the 3 of us ended up watching the final games together & watched Germany clinch 3rd place. This picture here is actually of us having dinner at Massa Massa after we just watched the final game between Spain & Netherlands.

Below are several pics of Tanja at the CNEPS school doing a training session for the young boys with Philippe. Tanja doesn't speak any French, but apparently the language of futbol is universal. :-)

one of my favorite pics from the day... 'water break'...

She also had several opportunities to train & play with the older guys. She definitely held her own, impressed some of the guys (I think!) & made us proud! Check out these pics...

During her last visit to the field, Tanja & Philippe, were able to donate lots of new soccer balls, sports gear, & first aid kits courtesy of Sports Life & Blooming.

On a side note: I don't know if I can explain to you just how excited I was to see green grass when I came to the field for the first time! Grass has never truly been so beautiful to me before. It reminded me so much of home, that I actually told Philippe that he is going to have to bring me to this field every so often so I can get my fill of green grass & a small taste of my home in PA. With the grass, I was also so excited to see the first real lawn mower I've seen in Senegal, that I just had to take a picture... :-)

Spending the Afternoon in the Village of Yenn

2010-06-20T11:19:00.003-04:00

On Friday, 6/18, I accompanied my friend Philippe & some of his colleagues to the nearby village of Yenn. There is a Brazilian missionary couple working in this village & they invited us to come for the afternoon to help play with the children & hand out some gifts, t-shirts, & baseball hats. As always, I so enjoyed hanging out with the kids there & have attached some pictures & a video so you can witness what I got to experience.

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KidsGames Closing Ceremony

2010-06-17T07:13:00.008-04:00

On June 16th, I helped out during the KidsGames closing ceremony program that was held here in Thies. Children from five local schools were involved in the program, which included lots of games, dancing, and award presentations. The KidsGames sports outreach programs, that the local Baptist church, Sport Life & Blooming, & MIS (Mission Inter-Senegal) organize for the school children, began this past January. This day was the culmination of these programs. KidsGames is a sports & values based program for 6-14 year olds where companies, churches, schools, community groups, sports organizations and local governments can all work together to serve children in the years when the Summer Olympics and World Cup of Soccer occur (according to http://www.kidsgames.com/).

The staff did a great job organizing this program...there were balloons, soccer balls, music, dancing, singing, awards, & lots of games too! Take a look at the pictures & videos here to see what it was all about. Enjoy

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Koulouk-Mbada village

2010-06-15T06:32:00.004-04:00

During the week of June 7-11, I tagged along with a short-term team as they ministered to the women & children in a local Serer village called Koulouk-Mbada. There were some special things that set this team apart for me - 1. they were coming from my home-turf, the greater Philadelphia area; 2. the team was made up of 7 women & 1 man & they came specifically to teach & minister to the women & children of this village; 3. this particular village is actually the home village of Docor, a very good friend of mine who is a translator with MIS. I was able to spend 3 days with the team in this village and had such a blast!! It was also such a blessing for me to be able to meet & spend time with Docor's family - his wife & his 3 kids. To get a glimpse of what our time was like in this village, please see these pictures & video...

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Helping at Barthimee Hospital

2010-05-12T11:13:00.008-04:00

Recently, from May 3-12, a special group of devoted nurses & doctors performed cleft lip & cleft palate surgeries on over 50 patients - both young & older, male & female. These surgeries are funded by an organization called Smile Train and take place twice a year here in Thies at the Barthimee Hospital. In order to receive the proper funding, each case must be documented, complete with pictures of each patient before and after the surgery. That is where I come in. I was actually asked to help by taking these before & after pictures of each patient & while I was in the OR, I actually had the opportunity to videotape a surgery as well. It was such a neat opportunity for me & definitely something I never thought I'd being doing here in Senegal! Check out some pics from my time in the OR and some of the people I got to meet and work with.

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New Additions

2010-04-15T12:21:00.002-04:00

We've added some new things recently that have helped to make our apartment more homey.

Things like this dining room buffet or hutch (whatever you want to call it) handmade by a local carpenter.

Our new kitten, Rocky

And, our long-awaited living room furniture.

This just might be my new favorite room.

Here are 2 pics of me wearing the new Senegalese-style dresses I had made.
(Mom, these are for you :-)

Felix travels to Senegal

2010-03-25T04:19:00.011-04:00

My cousin, Rachel, is in 2nd grade at a school in Pennsylvania. She recently asked me to help her with a project her class is doing in order to learn more about the world & geography. These days, the kids read a story about Felix, the rabbit, and the adventures he takes around the world. I think it used to be Flat Stanley that kids would send around the world, but now it happens to be Felix, the rabbit. Well, Rachel sent Felix to me recently and I had the privilege of taking him with me on a couple adventures throughout Senegal these past few weeks. I thought I'd share some pics of our adventures...

1. Our first adventure took us to the village of Ngonine. Here we are with our friend, Mami...

2. Then we headed to the beach! This is the Atlantic Ocean, from the African coast (not NJ)...

3. The ocean water was really cold, so we opted to lounge by the pool instead...

4. This is the bus, called a Ndiaga-Ndiaye & pronounced "jig-n-jive", that we rode around in from one adventure to another (it's a very popular form of public transportation for the Senegalese)...

5. Here we are with many of the children we played with in the village of Baback...

6. We also attended the Sunday church service at the church in the village of Baback...

7. It gets really hot in the village, so we had to make sure that we drank LOTS of water...

8. And, we all know that when you drink lots of water, that means you eventually have to use the restroom, right? Here is the bathroom that we used in the village of Baback...

9. Felix got to work with Dr. Inez Stoltzfus as she helped villagers in the village of Diandoum who were hurt or sick...

10. The village of Diandoum is a Serer village so most of the people do not understand English, but instead speak Serer. Jean-Baptiste was the translator that helped Dr. Inez to communicate with the patients who came to see her. Felix also got to spend some time translating with Jean-Baptiste...

In the process, Felix learned how to say "Thank You" in Serer...

Jook a jal

Joyeux Anniversaire!

2010-03-07T17:06:00.009-05:00

Happy Birthday to...

Davi, Isabella, Sheri & Malachi!!

(within a span of 1 wk, 4 of my teammates celebrated birthdays... Davi - 2/27; Isabella - 3/1; Sheri - 3/4; & Malachi - 3/4)

Village of Ngonine

2010-02-27T12:32:00.004-05:00

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A short term medical team from Dr. Mike Carnuccio's practice in Thorndale & Providence Church in West Chester came to Senegal this past week. I had the special privilege of spending some time w/ the team while they were here as they loved on the Senegalese people. And, since these guys come from my hometown area, I was so excited to see some familiar faces and just get a small taste of home. The pics you see here are from the day I spent with the team in the village of Ngonine (pronounced: Go-Neen).

It's the Little Things in Life...

2010-02-10T16:00:00.009-05:00

that are BIG blessings here in Senegal. Little things like Bagels...

(these are homemade by a Senegalese woman, named Oureye)

complete with none other than real PHILADELPHIA CREAM CHEESE!!

(FYI, this container of cream cheese cost me about $6, but it's been worth every penny!)

And, of course, I can't forget to mention our new WASHING MACHINE!

Stay tuned because Lord-willing, a Microwave will also be coming soon... :-)

Day with the Talibe Boys

2009-12-11T11:46:00.008-05:00

The day after Thanksgiving, I had the privilege of helping out with a medical clinic that targeted the local talibe boys here in Dakar. Volunteer medical staff from the Bartimee Hospital in Thies came to the capital to help with the clinic held at the Beacon of Hope, a missionary guest compound. UWM missionaries, Tad & Jane Hampton, head up this ministry which focuses on taking care of the 100+ "talibe boys" that are a part of 4 or 5 nearby Islamic daaras (communal homes made up of 25-30 boys). Talibe boys can range in age from 5 to 16 yrs old. They are sent from their homes by their parents to study the Koran under the supervision of marabouts (Islamic teachers) in these daaras. More often than not, they actually spend more time on the streets of Dakar begging for money for their marabouts, instead of studying the Koran. If you'd like to read more about who these Talibe boys are, World Vision has a good site at the following link: http://www.worldvision.ca/ContentArchives/content-stories/Pages/questions-and-answers-talibes-of-senegal.aspx

On this particular day, the boys came to the BOH to shower, undergo a medical checkup, receive medication or special medical attention (if needed), receive vaccinations, eat a nutritious meal, and just hang out & play some games. To put it simply, they came to be the children that they are and receive some good tender-loving care for a change. Below are some pics of the boys at each of the stations that were set up for them to go through this day...

weigh in...

the pharmacy...

special care for injuries or infections, etc...

vaccinations...

(Clearly not their favorite station. And, unfortunately, for some it was the first time they ever received a shot & some really DID NOT like it! We tried to make it better by promising them a lollipop afterwards. :-)

I was in charge of stamping their medical cards, giving them a scoop of lotion, as well as, the promised lollipop after their shots...

since they got showers here (not an every day occurrance), the lotion is for their skin, which dries out quickly because of how dry it is here...

then, time to fill their bellies (also not an every day occurrance, sadly)...

and time to just play & do things that kids should do...

Incoming!!!

2009-11-29T13:30:00.007-05:00

If you've ever talked with me on Skype, or plan to in the future, there is a good chance that our conversation has been & will continue to be interrupted by the loud noise of an airplane landing at the nearby Dakar airport. I found out pretty quickly my first night here in Dakar that the airplanes fly VERY close to the house as they approach the landing strip. I've been wanting to take a video of this so that you all can see just how close these planes are to my house. Unfortunately, my little digital camera doesn't have the capability to capture the VERY LOUD sound these planes make as they pass overhead, but if you want to Skype sometime, I'm sure you'll find out....

Some of My Favorite Things

2009-11-24T06:33:00.006-05:00

In the spirit of Thanksgiving this week, I'm thanking God for each one of these...

Justin

Leah

Madox

(w/ a soft pretzel stuffed in his mouth!)

Mikayla

and.... Grace (of course!)

I miss them all so much!

Pictures from my trip to Europe... finally!

2009-11-23T07:51:00.005-05:00

Last month Sheri & I spent two weeks in Europe. Our first day of travel on our way to Geneva we had an 11 hour layover in Lisbon, Portugal. Amazingly, I actually have friends in Portugal, so we got to see them and didn't have to spend all day in the airport, which was a huge blessing! I met Steve & Julie at my language acquisition training in Colorado this past May. They are in Portugal doing their language training to learn Portuguese before they move on to another part of Africa themselves. Anyway, it was truly a picture of God's Sovereignty & Providence because they were able to meet us at the airport and then took us downtown so we could actually experience & see some of Lisbon. So cool!

After our long layover, we were on our way to spending the 1st week in France. We had a blast driving around the eastern part of France that lies right along the border of Switzerland. A missionary couple who lives in a quaint town there invited us to come for a week and visit this beautiful part of the world. Sheri & I had such a great time exploring on our own, driving along Lake Geneva, and just simply relishing the fact that we got to see France in the fall - it was beautiful!

The 2nd week we spent in a small town at the top of the Alps in Switzerland to attend CrossWorld's All Europe Conference. Now I know you're probably wondering why we were attending the All Europe Conference since Senegal is very obviously NOT in Europe. Well, since we have yet to coordinate an All Africa Conference, we were blessed to be invited to share in this conference... and who would deny this opportunity... especially since it was in Switzerland! The mountains were absolutely breath-taking and there was many a time that I found myself walking around just completely amazed at the fact that I was in Switzerland! It was also so great to be able to meet so many wonderful people who have such big hearts to serve God. They were all so inspiring and truly encouraging... especially for me, since I'm just starting out. What a gift & a blessing!! Hope you enjoy my pictures.

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No Running Water

2009-11-22T12:12:00.009-05:00

I just wanted to post some pictures to give you an idea of what we had to do those couple of days when our water reserve decided to temporarily cease replenishing itself with fresh water...

First, we were filling these 10 liter jugs and carrying them up 3 flights of stairs to the roof to fill the tank over and over again...

then, Sheri, being the bright girl she is, figured out a way so that we didn't have to keep going all the way down there to fill up the water jugs

and then back up these stairs to the roof

...introducing Mighty Woman!...

Needless to say, you can imagine how delighted we both were when we saw the water tank full of water once again after 5 days!

Canadian Thanksgiving, Senegalese Style

2009-10-15T18:21:00.005-04:00

So my roommate, Sheri, is Canadian... and this past Monday (Oct. 12th) was Canada's Thanksgiving Day... so in honor of the holiday, she made a special meal... yumm, doesn't it look good?

So sorry, but no, this is not a turkey... we had to settle for a small chicken instead. At least it was already dead & plucked featherless! We were both very thankful for that! And, our utmost thanks to allrecipes.com! Sheri gets great recipes from this website, including the one for this meal. The veggies were absolutely delicious, but none of the million or so reviews that this recipe had told us just how "tough" (literally) a Senegalese chicken is to eat! We sure had to work for our dinner that night... at least for the chicken! Well, to Sheri & all my other Canadian friends out there... Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

The Journey Continues... or better yet, it is Just Beginning...

2009-10-01T09:21:00.002-04:00

Sept 17, 2009

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He Reigns!

2009-10-01T07:59:00.005-04:00

This is a video of the dance I was a part of at my church on Sept 13th... what a special experience it was to dance for Jesus on the same day I was officially commissioned to serve Him in Senegal!

song is "He Reigns" by the Newsboys

My Commissioning & Send Off

2009-09-30T07:48:00.000-04:00

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Senegal Intro...

2009-08-18T14:26:00.000-04:00

Senegal slideshow

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Chinese Rose Garden

2009-07-24T22:40:00.007-04:00

If you don't learn anything about Portland, OR... you must learn that Portland is known as the City of Roses... and nothing shows that better than the Chinese Rose Garden. Here are some of my favorite pics from the day we spent there....

Parlez-vous français?

2009-07-09T17:35:00.004-04:00

This is my attempt to learn some French before I leave for Senegal...or at least get some vocabulary words in my head now. I'll sort thru it all later, I suppose.

Spending the Afternoon with Mikayla

2009-07-09T16:25:00.005-04:00

This past Monday, Mikayla came to visit and spend the afternoon with my mom and I. She just turned 1 and is still working up the courage to begin walking on her own. It won't be long now...