It is cold in Ohio!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers! I am safe and doing well! My travels went much smoother coming home than going to Burkina. Each of my planes were delayed; however, I was still able to catch each of my flights. Again I felt God walking with me through each step as I made my way home. One really neat thing was that when I was in the Ouagadougou airport waiting to leave, I turned around and saw two familiar faces. Here a French couple that I met in Casablanca on the way to Burkina in October, were again going back to Casablanca with me on the same flight. What are the chances? God is so good! They don't speak much English, but I knew that they were genuinely sweet people. My plane was supposed to board around 2:30am, and at 4:00am we finally heard an announcement....except it was in French. I didn't know what I should do since some people were leaving, but since that couple just stayed seated, I did too. I was thankful because the plane arrived about 30 mins. later. I arrived to Casablanca and only had about 2 hours to wait around...it flew by considering I was there 16 hours on my previous experience. I arrived in JFK and had the longest layover, but I was still going on adrenaline as I talked with family on my cell phone for the first time and realized that I would see everyone soon! Also, a major excitement was the grand site of WENDY'S!!! About an hour before the plane boarded I crashed; I felt like I was going to fall over. Starbucks thankfully saved the day! Once we boarded there were several small things that kept delaying us. So, finally I arrived in Pittsburgh on Saturday evening around 11:45pm. My sweet mom was waiting for me! I ended up not going to bed till around 4am because my adrenaline returned by seeing my mom and Lexie. Lexie is now a horse! She is double the size from two months ago. I can hardly imagine what she will look like in another few months as the doctor says she still has a year to grow! She is so much fun and a total joy to be around even though she never calms down and never ceases to slim you after a drink. Also, all of my clothes now are covered with Lexie hair. She is worth it though and a great addition to our family. Speaking of additions....while I was in Burkina, my brother's baby arrived. I am now an aunt to Dylan! Last night my brother and Stacey went out on their first real date since Dylan's arrival, so my parents and I got to babysit! He is so precious! I already am nuts over him and am dreading leaving in a few weeks.

I am truly loving my time at home. Besides just spending time with family, I have been busy baking and helping my mom prepare for Christmas. It has been absolutely freezing here! I still have not adjusted to the temperature and cannot get warm.

Today was Dana and Zach's wedding. Dana and I have been good friends since we came to North-Mar Church about 7 or 8 years ago. It was really strange seeing one of my close friends, who is younger than me, getting married. How has life passed so quickly? I am so excited for Dana and Zach! The wedding was beautiful and the reception was a lot of fun. I got to see lots of friends and dance the night away. Also, I was the lucky girl to catch Dana's bouquet! The boy who caught the guarder was about 9 or 10...Drew's little brother. It was pretty comical. I would be okay being the next to get married but I think I may need someone just a tad older...and taller! haha! Well, it is late, and I am getting pretty tired.

I probably won't post on here as frequently, but I hope to keep some updates. Thank you for your time and for your love and support.

Merry Christmas! :)

Teaching, a second Thanksgiving dinner, and some goodbyes

It is already Sunday night…how did that happen? I only have five more days here, and there are mixed emotions. I have loved my time here, and I love this country; however, I am very excited to see my family and spend Christmas with those I love most. Eight weeks seems to be a good amount of time to travel…it is long enough to get an idea of the true life somewhere, and it is enough time to miss those you love.

So now to catch up..

The rest of last week went really well in the class. I taught full time still even though Sheila was back. I was glad to have her around again! She seems to be doing well.

Thursday evening I went to youth group and met a short term college team from Las Vegas. They were really nice…and there were two really cute boys. (Single boys seem to be a little rare here)! I really enjoyed talking with the group. During the high school session there was a random discussion time, and one of the questions was, “Do you think that guys should be the ones to initiate relationships?” Wow! This was quite a heated topic. There were all different types of people represented…all with very strong opinions. It was actually pretty hilarious to listen to high schoolers’ thoughts and to think that that was me a few years ago.

Friday evening I went to the school with Sheila for Cinema Night. We showed Wall-e which I thought was really cute! Megs, I thought of you! :)

Saturday I went to the bank to exchange money for the last time. Then, I walked a few streets over to meet Tyler and Liz. Tyler is a missionary here, but I didn’t get to meet him the last time I was here. He just arrived back this past week and will be here for another year and a half. Liz is a missionary in Tanzania and here just for three weeks. After meeting Tyler, the three of us headed to the main road to catch my first Burkina taxi to Leanna’s house. All of the taxis are lime green, so they are easy to spot. We found one immediately, and it was a pretty low-key experience. Leanna started a Thanksgiving feast tradition last year where the singles come together for a giant feast after Thanksgiving. It was wonderful! Hands down, the best meal I’ve had since I’ve been here. Tyler, Ben, Leanna, Liz, and I did a little preparing and just hung out for several hours till it was time for dinner. There were twelve of us altogether. After dinner and dessert (a choice between five different pies!), we watched Fred Claus which was really funny! I ended up getting back home after midnight and felt like a 21 year old again. It was a great night, and I really enjoyed getting to spend time with these people who all were single and around my age. Oh, I almost forgot a very important detail. Another tradition to this meal is that the guys clean up! It was awesome. They took care of everything and then served us dessert. I took a picture of them washing dishes in the kitchen so that I can show the men in my family for Christmas! :)

Today was my last day at church. I was sad about this just because I love this church so much. As I experienced last time I was in Burkina, I got a true sense of what the “Body of Christ” meant. It is a beautiful thing. I will miss their worship…a lot. However, I am so excited to sing songs that I know. For those who know me well, you know that I am always singing. Well, here I have only sung a few times since I usually don’t know the song or the words in French. I have tried to compensate this by listening to my music each night as I go to sleep. I can’t wait to just sing loudly. Mom…I think Christmas cookies and Evie are calling our names! Back to church…I think that this time was easier for me to leave because I feel like it is not forever. Last time I didn’t really think that I would ever be back. But, I feel like someday, God will again bring me back (whether that is for a week or for years I don’t know). I thought that I would have to say goodbye to Elizabeth and Marie today, but they told me that they want to come and get together one more time this upcoming week. I hope that works out!

Well, there is a possibility for one more update before I return. We will see. Thank you for those of you who have emailed me and have been reading these entries. I appreciate how you are interested in my life and what God is showing me. I can’t wait to share more with you in person! :)

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas...in my heart!

I think that today was the last day of me being Sheila. She is planning on coming back to school tomorrow. The doctor seems to think she is ready to come back, so that is great news! I will be glad to have her in the classroom again. This has been wonderful experience for me as I have been full time in and out of the classroom; however, I wish it was under different circumstances (Sheila not being sick).

Sunday I went to church with Alice and the kids. Church was wonderful as usual. After church I went with Pete and the two guys left from the team that I met last week, to Dorkus House. This is a new project that the CMA has started to help women. Here woman do not have much status. Prostitution is a way of life for many…it is survival. This facility is in the middle of a remote village, seated on a lot of property. There are currently fifteen women from the age of 15 to 35 living there. Eventually, they want to house around 60. These women learn basic skills such as cooking, cleaning, hygiene, etc. They also are educated in school and taught some type of a profession like raising goats, growing crops, sewing, and others. The hope is that the women will stay here around a year to get on their feet and then go back home being able to survive financially, emotionally, and spiritually. The fifteen year old girl was there because she had a baby a month ago, and her family disowned her. This girl was so young. I tried to let the thought of a fifteen year old taking care of this baby alone in Burkina sink in. Thank God that there is a place that she can go and find the Lord. I was touched greatly by this ministry.

Monday after school I went to the orphanage for the last time since next Monday is Tabaski, and the students are off school. It was really hard for me to leave knowing that I may not see these kids again. Even more so, wondering if they will find a family…someone to love them. I think that the orphanage has broken my heart the most since I have been here.

This evening I met up with Marie and Elizabeth at the school. We ate dinner at the school’s restaurant. As I was waiting for them to come, I did some planning and then played the guitar. The other K/1 teacher has one, so I figured that it was time to break it out. The soreness of my fingers is a good indicator of how long it has been since I’ve played! Dad, I can’t wait to have some jam sessions with you! : ) The girls came just a few minutes after seven, so we were able to have a good amount of time to talk and eat. Elizabeth asked me if I wanted to sing a song with them in church in two weeks. I told them that this Sunday would be my last Sunday, so they asked for some paper, and we quickly got writing in French and English. We are going to sing “Give Thanks” which is one of my favorites. They have studied English, so their pronunciation is great, but my French pronunciation is HORRIBLE!! So, most of the time was spent breaking up the words for me. Once we sang it once in French, they said that I was ready to sing it. Here they wanted me to sing alone in French…yeah right! I kind of just made up the words as I went along, following them. So, I explained that with the short amount of time, we should all sing together. So, who knows! I am excited to sing with them and to give thanks to God for all that He has done on my last Sunday here in Burkina.

Well, I am not far from bed. I hope that your week is off to a great start. I can imagine that it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas there...not so much here! However, I am getting in the Christmas spirit by listening to lots of Christmas music. How I love it! : )