Hot, Humid and Ramadan-Welcome Home!

We have made it back home...after 36 hour transit starting in Chicago and ending here in our city. Everytime we travel, we ask ourselves "why?" And by "why", I mean "why are we traveling this far, this long, with a 1 yr old and a 3 yr old?" I consider both Jeremy and I to be fairly intelligent people. But everytime we travel I question that assumption. No one in their right minds would travel with so young of kids for so long of a trip. The "why" question continues into the first week of arriving back. We arrived to our house about 5am local time and found out that we were having electricity issues so that no ACs worked and the power kept going off. It is hot season now and Ramadan which basically means everyone is hot and grumpy. Those first couple of days I also was hot and grumpy. Now I am just hot! Our first week has gone by quickly trying to settle back in. Settling means fixing things here. We are now feeling settled and ready to resume our normal lives here.

Yesterday I asked Jeremy if he was happy to be back. He responded with some insights into why living in Africa is so unique and why living here is a blessing:
When we left Chicago we had MAJOR luggage issues at the counter. It is a big, long story which basically came down to 3 things: One, we were overweight on our luggage weight allowance (not our fault, we were given faulty information from our friendly Delta phone service) and we had excess baggage (things for the trike and Little Stars). Secondly, we had to pay for all of it down to the last dollar. Third, there was absolutely nothing they could do-that was the rule. It was a very frustrating hour or so of arguing in which we lost to the rule handbook that is floating around somewhere at Delta headquarters which no one can produce to actually show us the rule and prove there are no exceptions. You ask, what does this have to do with living in Africa?? Well, when we arrived here, we didn't receive one bag. After a few days we received a phone call (actually they called and hung up so Jeremy would call the airport back using HIS cell phone minutes instead of their minutes) that our bag had arrived and we could come and pick it up! Yeah! Jeremy went to the airport 3 or 4 times before we could actually get it-why? Well, even though it was the middle of the day and the man had JUST called, no one knew anything about it! It was hot, they were fasting, and everyone seemed confused that Jeremy had been called. When he finally received his bag, he just points to it and they vaguely look for ID or some sort of baggage sticker and hand him his bag-just like that. So simple. No rules. No times of day. No idea when a good time to go to the airport is. Just come. Talk. Joke. And maybe you will get your bag today. If not today, ok, then, inshallah (hopefully), tomorrow. Simplicity. Easygoingness. No rule handbook, no levels of bureacracy, no complications.
What else is a blessing? Being yourself. In the U.S. there are so many standards that are impossible to live up to-what to look like, what to wear, your job, your income level, your house, your stuff. We are bombarded with how inadequate we are and how to make yourself look better, feel better, better job, more money, more more more, better better better.... Here, in Africa. You are you. Be happy, be confident. No impossible expectations of who you should be or look like. God made you the way you are. There is something natural about that thought.
Another blessing about being here is time. You have time. Time to talk with someone, time to just hang out. Schedules aren't overloaded and too busy. There is very little multi-tasking. If your phone rings, you stop what you are doing-even if you are selling something, and talk to that person. If someone comes to visit, they are welcomed in. You are never too busy to see someone. I forget to implement this in my life at times and sometimes I am irritated by it, but, overall it is a blessing.

So, are we happy to be back? Yes. And sometimes No. I have already had some down moments and tears. And we will. But, there is something fun about Africa. Something different. Something wild. Something carefree and natural. Something to embrace and love.

In spite of the face Ezra is making here, he actually LOVED riding the train at our family vacation with Jeremy's parents!

Mommy & me enjoying the waterpark!

The two of us with Steph's parents, Sandy & Jim

Our beautiful family-the best shot we could get with a 1yr old and 3 yrd old!

Here is Ezra as the ring bearer-too bad he never made it down the isle!!

The rehearsal diner was a tropical theme for the wedding!!

What have WE been up to?????

WOW, I just logged on our blog for the first time in ages...actually since May 9!! I can't believe it has been that long since I added anything to our blog. I have a dozen of excuses for you, but won't bore you with the details!! Here is what is happening in the Clark family!

June: we left hot North Africa to come to hot FL. My (Steph) brother was married. It was a crazy week just coming from Africa, but it was also fun to be able to see all of my family. Ezra was the ring bearer and didn't even make it down the isle, totally broke down when he saw all the people. (See above)

July: We spent a month in Wheaton, IL with Jeremy's parents and had a great time! Ezra loves hanging out with his Nana & Baba and he had a lot of fun with two of his neighborhood friends, Tate & Caleb. We were able to travel and visit some churches on the weekends and we had a great time at a BBQ in Wheaton with friends.

August: We came back down to Fl to help out my mom who is going through chemotherapy right now. She is 2/3rds of the way done with her treatments. We are so glad to be able to help out a little and be around Nana & Pops. Both kids are enjoying the endless opportunities to swim here in FL. VBS out at LifeQuest was a highlight for Ezra, he is still singing the songs he learned. We also were able to see some good friends at our BBQ here.

We will be in the States until Sept 12 and then we travel back to North Africa. I will try to update you more often the next few weeks and tell some fun stories...sorry for not updating sooner!!

Love is in the air, along with a lot of sand!

It happened last week, I was invited to my first wedding here in North Africa. I was excited, although sceptical, about attending. Weddings here are all night deals. And, for anyone who knows anything about me, I am NOT a night owl. When the sun goes down, so does my energy level. Obviously now you know that it is I, Steph, who is writing this blog. So, I drank some coffee about 5pm and geared up for a late night. I was determined to try to leave by midnight. Often, these parties can last until 4 or 5am. I was determined, but also knew that one doesn't leave until it is socially acceptable. We arrived at the house of the bride to find somewhere between 30-40 women lounging around in their bright mulaffas, chatting and waiting for the bride. It was 10pm, the bride was finishing preparing herself and had told friends earlier that she would make her appearance around 9pm. So, we were all waiting...10:30, 11, 11:15. Around 11:30 we heard cars honking and loud voices and everyone started to get excited. The bride was coming!! This being my first wedding, I had no idea what to expect. Now, in this culture, there is usually 2 parties in the traditional wedding-one for the groom and one for the bride. Everyone started whispering and standing up to see the bride come in. Here she came!! Wait a second, she is totally covered and we can't see any part of her, not her face, not her hands, not her feet...she is being led by her friends and family. They whisk her into the back room, where I am informed that her closest friends can take a peak at her face, jewlery and henna (a kind of temporary tatoo). All of her preparation took days and even weeks for some of it. And, according to local custom, she is not allowed to show herself to the public during the wedding. So, there she was..I was bummed. All this waiting, all this anticipation for a cultural experience and it seemed like nothing more than sitting in a waiting room or airport lounge. I told my friend that unless something big was going to happen, I would probably leave soon. We were told that the groom would come, see her in the back room for a moment and then everyone would leave for the party in another part of town. All of the sudden, the mother of the bride was motioning for me and my friend to come to the back room. We fought our way through the crowd of women all standing by the back door, hoping to be invited in. We were able to see the bride and take pictures for them, since they had no camera. It was an amazing privilege to be able to be invited into the inner circle, even if it was only for our cameras and a brief moment. She was so beautiful and happy. I went home excited, although tired. The next morning, as I rubbed my sleepy eyes, drank my coffee to get that jolt of energy and played with my kids, I realized how blessed I am to be a part of something so different from my culture, to experience these events and see other traditions around the world.

Trip To Dakar

Last week we took a trip to Dakar to pick up some things for the gym. Here is our trip in pictures- enjoy!

We stopped for camels...

We stopped for roadside picnics and sometimes just to let Ezra run...

We swam a lot once we got there...

Sometimes the kids were happy...

Sometimes they were not...

But, all that swimming made us all tired!

We ate lots of good food...

And overall, we had a great trip!

Happy Easter!

Easter morning with Ezra and Joy

Easter dinner was chicken alfredo with bacon, fresh broccoli, and fresh mushrooms. Yum!

Ezra hunting for his candy-filled Easter eggs in our front yard.


Ezra painting Easter eggs with some of our American friends.

"Little Stars" Activity Center for cognitively impaired kids is almost official! We have rented the facility and are starting to paint, clean, organize and remodel it. We are aiming for a May 1st opening, although we are not sure if that will happen,remember-TIA (This Is Africa)! Here are some before pictures, I will post some after pics in a few weeks!

On Saturday, some kids came to help paint the center. It was a fun morning and we were able to finish one whole room!

Recently, Jeremy was able to finish the swingset for Ezra & Joy. They LOVE swinging and Ezra really enjoys his "fort".

Elections!

Sunday is an important day for us. It is the first democratic presidential elections in the country's history. Campaigning has a distinct nomadic, Saharan feel to it, as all of the candidates have erected large tents all over town to promote themselves. We have been listening to loud music late into the night, and are enjoying the tangible excitement of the people as they anticipate this historic day.

Truckboarding...

What do you do if you enjoy wakeboarding, but don't have a boat? You go "truckboarding"! We have recently been introduced to the sport and love it! You hook the 120ft rope to a pole mounted on the top of a Land Cruiser, wade on out past the waves and take off! If you look closely, you can see the rider just past the breakers.

Take me out to the ballgame...

In case any of you thought that Jeremy's life is all work and no play (really? nobody thinks that?), here he is pictured with his softball team that competed last weekend in the West African Invitational Softball Tournament in Dakar, Senegal. They were sponsored by the local Mexican restaurant in town, and did pretty well, only barely missing the playoffs.

Happy Valentines Day!

Some call the desert romantic, but it definitely isn't in the Hallmark sense of the word. There are no flower shops, gift stores or supermarkets selling specialty items to mark the day. Someone imported roses last year, but as of yesterday afternoon, there were no roses in sight. So, on this day of love, I decided to make an oversized cookie for my Valentine, like I did on our first Valentines Day in Papua New Guinea in 1995. I love you Steph!

Still Working...

I still haven't finished the playset that was started back before Christmas. But, I was able to work some this week on it, with my trusty laborer Ezra. He enjoyed working with me and "driving" some nails with his plastic hammer! It should be really fun for the kids when it is all done.

POWERGYM UPDATE:

It has been awhile since we have updated all of you on the Power Gym. We have switched women's hours to 3 times a week in the evening. After only one week, it seems to be a good move. The locals are not "morning people" by any stretch of the imagination, and no women were coming in the mornings. Already, we have around 10 new women! I (Steph) am teaching an aerobics class. We hope that this change will help bring in more women and give me more opportunities to develop relationships. The gym is becoming quite popular among men now. Jeremy has had 60 new memberships/renewals last month alone! He continues to enjoy the relationships he has there.