The title of this post means "Thank you" in Pulaar, which is spoken in the region we traveled to in south eastern Senegal, along with some Wolof and French. It was honestly one of the most incredible experiences of my life, and I'm going to tell you all about it.
This book, I mean, post is going to be divided up into chapters:
Chapter 1: Jehova Jireh (God, my provider)We take the night bus, arrive in Kedougou, and get settled in.
Chapter 2: Li Lan La?. We take a caffe caffe to the national park, see animals, and go swimming in our clothes.
Chapter 3: Welcome to the Oasis. Arouna helps us find a sept place, which we ride to Dindefallo and almost immediately head to the waterfall. It was insanely amazing.
Chapter 4: Dafa Tang For Real. We arrive back, hang around the village, and have some early morning mishaps.
Chapter 5: The Bus Leaves When? We get the run around trying to find a bus, but end up in the deluxe huts and have a relaxing evening.
Chapter 6: Greet Everyone and Their Grandma. We had a horrendous bus experience and finally ended up in Dakar, 16 hours after our scheduled departure.
Chapter 1: Jehovah Jireh
We arrived at the Baobab Center around 5:30 to wait for Pape Samba, who is notoriously late, but proudly showed up saying "I am in time". So after one last bathroom break and a group photo that I don't have, we headed off for the bus stop in a taxi. Our adventure started early when one of the taxis got stuck. We were not to be derailed, however, and we arrived to a mess of sewage water between us and the bus. Oh well, who wants clean feet anyway? We sat awkwardly with a bunch of Senegalese people until it was time to go. We boarded the bus and got excited when we saw the bus wasn't full. It was actually very spacious, and the breeze flowed well. We were shocked when our 8:00pm bus pulled out and 8:12. Not to worry, moments later, we stopped again - for nearly 3 hours - while cargo got loaded and we were hassled by people trying to sell us cds, belts, and flashlights. We decided it would be a good time for the dinner we'd packed and before we knew it, we were off. I personally found that I didn't do much reading, iPoding or sleeping on the way down - I mostly people watched. I think we all got our own seats for at least some amount of time, which was great. I couldn't keep my eyes open for the morning leg, however, and missed a lot of the villages we drove through.
As we got off the bus, we asked someone for directions to Campement Chez Diouf.
The first person we asked apparently sent us in the wrong direction, but Arouna, who works at the campement overheard and helped us get there. We were so happy to be there, but as we asked for our rooms he told us, "Your rooms aren't ready. The people who were supposed to leave haven't yet" After a moment of panic (us), he added, "But there's room across the street". Phew. Even though the cases weren't as nice, they would serve us well. Next up: lunch. We totally failed at finding a place to eat and just got refreshing sodas at a boutique before heading back. We were met by Souleman, who would help us arrange to go to the national park the next day, which would require 4-wheel drive. We asked him about lunc helped h and he us find a restaurant that my mother would never have eaten in. But it was satisfying and delicious. Next on the agenda was getting water from a market, showering, and chilling. It had been a long day, and it was really hot, just like everyone said. We found some dinner, thanks to a little boy eating just what we wanted outside the boutique that sold it and ate together. I also had my first ever mango, and Addie and I REALLy had a good, if not slightly deranged, time eating them when everyone went to wash off and crash. We commented at how faithful God had been providing Arouna, Souleman, housing, and food. "You are the God who has saved us we will rise to praise You"
For all the peoples walk
each in the name of its god,
but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
forever and ever. Micah 4:5
Chapter 2: Li Lan La?
We rose up at the crack of dawn and met up with Bruno, our 4-wheel driver. He is like a movie character. He's a frenchman who moved here 8 years ago, and lives in a tree because the village life is too busy for him. Him and Souleman were great buddies and guides. We got to the park pretty easily and saw some animals and such. It was a lot of driving, but we got to get out then and walk around. We saw the Gambian river, and realized how hot and dry it really was around here! We had a picnic lunch with some guests - naughty monkeys! When we were so hot and tired, we got to a point where Souleman and Bruno started undressing (swimtrunks underneath) and jumping in the water. None of us were wearing swimsuits, but we all decided to jump in in our clothes, a wonderful decision indeed. After a long day, we drove back, paid, and said our farewells. We again got dinner and thought about arrangements for Dindefallo, which we were told would not be a problem, all we'd have to do is visit the transportation office. Yeah, we'll see about that. We also learned there was not bus on Saturday, like we thought, so we decided on leaving Thursday. Or so we thought. "There is no one like You there has never ever been anyone like you"
And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail. Isaiah 58:11
Chapter 3: Welcome to the Oasis
Since I am the early riser, I volunteered to check out the transportation office, however it was closed. Too early I guess. Addie and I went back later and were told we're have to go to some garage? We went to talk to our friend Arouna, a crazy friendly guy who may have run the campement, and we took his moto bike to negotiate a sept place deal. We had a little time to pack before the driver got there and we were off to Dindefallo, about 35km away. It took an hour, and our guide for the day, Moussa, met us and led us to Campement Villageois. We changed into swimsuits, and chose maafe for lunch, and headed to the falls. It was about a 2km walk, and then we felt it. It was so cold compared to the dry desert heat. We stripped our clothes off right away and jumped in. Nothing has ever been so beautifully, wonderfully refreshing. It was the kind of experience you read about in travel magazines. We couldn't believe it. After a lot of splashing around, we dried off and ate delicious lunch on the rocks, along with more mangos. Yum. We took pictures, hung out, and enjoyed the cool air. Then, it was time to head back. It was easy to tell the difference, as it was terribly hot as we got back. We were offered sodas, and we gladly took them. After some hanging out, we were ready to explore a little. Moussa took us around the village, and we even got to meet his family, who gave us a bag of mangos and taught us a few words in Pulaar. I was sitting there, and just thinking "I love the village. I love the village. I love the village" I told Val I was moving there. I really did enjoy it, minus the difficulty of getting water. We headed back and were waiting for dinner, when Addie asked if there were women who worked there or if the men cooked. They told us there were women and invited us to sit down around the fire with them as they cooked, and made attaya. We sat under the stars and chatted in Wolof and French, and teased and made jokes. We ate dinner, filtered some water we'd grabbed from the falls, and got ready for bed. In the desert land, we'd found peace. "When somebody's hand hold me up, helps me stand, You are good, so good"
but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 4: 14
Chapter 4: Dafa Tang For Real
People had told us it was hot. Nothing could have prepared us. There was no air flow in the case, and no fan like there was in Kedougou and it was hot. Around 3am, Angeline, Debbie and I realized we were all awake and quickly decided to go outside, despite the fact we were just in little shorts and bras. We were deliriously hot and dehydrated though, so out we went. We did realize we were the only ones there, and chatted about when Disney was still awesome (late 90s/early 2000s) and sang parts of the Freaky Friday soundtrack. We moved locations slightly, and put on shirts for the occasion. When workers started arriving, around 4:30, we went back in the case and attempted to sleep, which we did for a few hours before breakfast. We were served hot coffee and tea, which we only drank because there was water. The sept place came an hour early, but we didn't mind because we wanted to get back to Kedougou, where water and refreshments were plentiful. We were grateful to see Arouna again, and "Tony" our friendly supermarket worker. What happened next, though... "You're it, you're the ultimate. It's automatic I'm sure of it no lie, so don't even try to tell me that you're not the guy...you're it, you're the ultimate you"
Chapter 5: The Bus Leaves When?
After we were hydrated, the mission was to get bus tickets. But someone had told us the bus didn't leave today as we thought, and our bus line was going straight to voicemail. So Angeline and Val volunteered to see what was up. They ended up running all over town, to 3 different garages where they were finally told they could purchase tickets for 8am. Tomorrow. Debbie, Addie, and I were incredibly anxious and nervous so we ended up praying for them, the situation, and for God to guide us and to help us be grateful for His timing. Once that was settled, Addie and I went to get a refreshing lunch and chatted it up with Tony, which lifted our spirits. When we got back, Angeline, Val, and Debbie and explained we'd need rooms, and after lunch we were led to our luxury cases. We showered, and hung out enjoying the fan and the refuge. It turned out our bus issue wasn't so bad after all. Addie and I enjoyed walking around the village market; it was so different from Dakar in that people weren't constantly hassling us to buy things. We got back and planned another nice dinner and ice cream session, and prepared to leave. I slept well until 4 am, when I couldn't sleep anymore. When everyone else was up, we bought breakfast and snacks for the road, paid up (we had to wake someone up, even though we'd said we were leaving early) and headed to the bus stop. This bus was significantly more crowded, hot, and cramped than the first one. We also didn't leave for nearly 2 1/2 hours because they wanted it to be full. But we were so looking forward to Dakar. "This dry and desert land, I tell myself keep walking on. Hear something up ahead, your water falling like a song"
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 63:2
Chapter 6: Greet Everyone and their Grandma
Although the bus "left" it wasn't for long. We stopped almost immediately to pick up one last person, who turned out to be an incredible annoyance. He tricked Angeline into letting him use her iPod, hassled us and everyone else for food that got passed, needed a smoke break every 10 minutes and made the bus stop, and could not stay out of everyone else's space. "That guy" fortunately got off at Kaolack.
During the first bit of the trip, we made obnoxious amounts of stops. Our bus driver seemed to find it necessary to greet EVERYONE, if not verbally, by slowing down and beeping the ridiculous horn loudly in succession. Then people would come on the bus and greet others and ask how their family was. We even stopped an hour for lunch, which was probably the highlight because we got to drink bissap and baobab juice. The bus itself was smelly, sweaty, and uncomfortable, making it difficult to sleep. Addie and I amused ourselves by playing "What's the longest we can go between stops" (A little over an hour. There was a time where it was 4 minutes, 7 minutes, 11 minutes right in a row). We also played "What's your favorite part of every book of the Bible" We only made it through Daniel, but that's pretty impressive, considering we were speed reading every book. I listened to music, including Desert Song, and realized that this was a great time for worship.
As night fell, it got cooler, and we were able to catch a few zzzzs. We were in touch with Dakar,and got excited when we made it to Mbour, Rufisque. Addie got cranky and listed all of her complaints, after which we just laughed "We stopped one thousand times and bought cookies for the bus and greeted everyone and their grandma and let that guy off for a smoke break whenever he wanted" We got dropped off in the middle of nowhere, and it was hard to tell because it was dark. We caught taxis and eventually made it home, right around midnight. I took a shower and headed straight to bed. "All of my life, in every season You are still God I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship. I will bring praise, I will bring praise, no weapon formed against me shall remain"
In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. Job 1:22
IN CONCLUSION: I really enjoyed break, and I don't think I even have words to explain why. I loved the simplicity of it, and all of the wonderful provisions and blessings, which is why i say Jaramma.
Kedougou!
Dinner time. Peeling those eggs was strangely satisfying
Beautiful, isn't it?
Going home :)
No comments:
Post a Comment