Getting Settled

(Psst--Click here for a suggested soundtrack for this blog post!)

To everyone who prayed for my preparations, travel, and arrival in Senegal--thank you! I wanted to provide an update on life since my arrival in mid-October.

On the ride from the airport to a hotel in Yoff where I would spend a precautionary two-day quarantine, my taxi driver asked me what I thought of his country. The Senegalese (and West Africans in general) have a lot of pride associated with hospitality ("teranga" in Wolof), so I told him a story from 2019 about a man who had stopped on his commute on his way home to help me and my friends. It was peak rush hour on a hot day in downtown Dakar, and we were having a lot of trouble finding an available taxi at a reasonable price. The man was obviously on his way somewhere, likely going home from work, but he repeatedly refused to go on his way until we were on ours. In the end, he was probably with us for more than 30 minutes, and I still think about his generous efforts more than two years later. It's proof of how seemingly small acts of kindness can leave a big impression on those we encounter!

After quarantine, I stayed in another hotel in
Point E for several days on "COVID Restrictions".
I had a nice view of the surrounding buildings
(and a few sheep) from my window.

Me, Valerie, Chelsea, and Becky out for a roommate lunch on
a Saturday.

Two days and one negative COVID test later, I was in another taxi with my coworker Chelsea. I was seated behind the driver, alternating between admiring his headrest adorned with some sort of furry covering, and gazing at the vaguely familiar buildings rolling by outside the car window. As a man on the radio spoke animatedly in Wolof, words and phrases rose up from my not-so-distant memory. Salam alaikum ("peace be upon you" a common greeting in many Muslim-majority countries, although the spelling and pronunciation may vary), nanga def? ("how are you doing?"), and of course jërëjëf ("thank you").

We were heading to Point E, a neighborhood in west-central Dakar where our team is working out of an apartment. A few of us are involved in the pre-ship Medical Capacity Building programs that are currently running in Senegal. But mainly, in our respective ways, we are all responsible for the preparations leading up to the arrival of the Africa Mercy in February. 

My apartment team spent a couple evenings
helping to prepare supplies for the eye patients

The patient selection team is already travelling around the interior and meeting with perspective patients, some of whom are returning after having their surgery cancelled last year (yay!). Likewise, the eye team has been in-country for a short but intense project, supporting a small team of Senegalese ophthalmic surgeons at a local hospital, as they screened and operated on a number of cataract patients who had been scheduled for surgery before the AFM left last year (double yay!). 

Dakar, the City of Cats

The HR team will be processing hundreds of Day Crew applications, and preparing for the interview stage. And we are always attentively liaising with our partners from the government, the port, and local businesses to build relationships and collaborate on many details to make the ship's return a success. The meetings I have attended in the weeks since arriving have centered on fuel, waste management, and confirming our berth in the port of Dakar. With the February deadline fast approaching, three months feels altogether too short!

Although I know my way around the city fairly well from the previous seven months spent here, I knew that working apart from the ship was going to come with different rules, rhythms, and responsibilities. After being the person on the ship to whom many people brought their questions, I am now the one who isn't quite sure where to find extra post-its, how to submit a receipt, whether I'm using the printer correctly, and where to drop off a letter for the port commandant. It's humbling to need help with so many little things, and I'm grateful that my teammates have welcomed my questions with an abundance of grace and patience!

I personally brought very few expectations on what this period would be like. But still I came expectant, prepared to offer my efforts and see what God would make out of our work--and see what He will do beyond our imagining.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." 

-Ephesians 3:20-21

I'll update the prayer requests on the side bar, but just to highlight a few:

• Praise for safe and successful screening so far! We keep hearing positive updates from up-country.
• Also thankful for the patients who were able to have cataract surgery.
• Pray for patience, wisdom, and confidence (and a good memory!) as I'm learning this new role.
• Pray for safety for our team in Dakar and up-country.
• Pray for the continuation of positive relationships with our various partners. We cannot do this without them!

As always, thank you for reading, and for praying, and for partnering with me in this work! I'm sending hugs from Dakar, and a few bonus photos to sign off:

On a fall bike ride in MN with dad in early October.

And I'm off!

Being back in my favorite fabric store
was a highlight of last week!

On a visit to the Ministry of Health