The End of the Beginning

Last week, we were urged to enter a photo contest in which we could submit four photos. Four photos that capture my Senegal experience? As I sifted through the hundreds, I found nearly two dozen that jumped out at me. In the end, I came up with these four, and I feel like they do a nice job.

Mangos: To me, this represents new experiences. Senegal was my first time outside the US. I ate new foods, met new people, went new places, and spoke new languages. I ate the first mango of my life, and experienced true community the eve of that first taste. Check out the maafe in the background – another new food, had in abundance. The colors are bright, the fruit itself is juicy, the rice dish full of flavor. Life is exciting. 

 Waterfall: This is beauty and adventure. It’s independence and awe. It’s freedom and satisfaction. God crafted our world so wonderfully, it’s simply remarkable. That day was so hot, but the water was refreshing and cool. It served as an oasis in the desert land, a reward for taking a chance.

Rooftops: This is the simultaneous smallness and largeness of the world. As a student at a college of less than 1500, I was amazed that I could be in a city of 1.5 million and feel like I was at home. I walked along the street and chatted with so many; they knew my name and learned my schedule. They noticed when I wasn’t there, or when I came late. And yet, there was so much I never saw. Looking out from the roof, I can see so much more than I will ever know.

Attaya: If I had just one image to capture Senegal for me, it would be this one. It’s everything: Dakar time, nit nitay garabam, teranga, friendship, learning, tasting, seeing, smelling, no ko bokk. I’m on the ocean, watching the waves ripple out for miles, but seeing the same water crashing on the rocks right in front of me. I sit under the sun, with warm attaya on my knee, with a now close friend at my side. Attaya is the art of spending time with one another; it is not just the tea, it is about the person you share it with. I made attaya nearly every day here, and am really excited to share that with some of you. It was such a huge part of my life in Senegal, and I have my attaya pot ready to go.

My facebook album for the last week here was entitled, “the end of the beginning”. This trip really did a lot for me, much of which I don’t know how to put to words. I feel so much less afraid of things now. I feel so free, like there are a million possibilities out there. I know a lot more, and I know that there’s a lot more that I don’t know yet. I gave a speech at my high school where I shared this little story: My friend Matt and I studied and practiced our French together. When we were first learning, we said to ourselves, “Man, if only we knew the past tense, we would be so competent”. We learned the past and soon after began thinking, “Ok, now we know this, but how do we talk in the future?” The future was mastered and we said, “But what we really need to know to gain fluency is how to say that we ‘would’ do something”. And on we went. With everything we learned, we found that it did nothing but reveal what we didn’t know. And that’s kind of how I feel about Senegal. Everything I learned has gone to show me that there is so much more waiting to be discovered. And that excites me.

For those of you who have been praying for me on this journey, thank you very much. This has been an unforgettable experience, and has helped shaped me into the person I’m going to be. I learned so much about the Lord here, and I am forever grateful for His gift of abundant life through Christ to me.

So, my bags are packed, and later tonight I’ll be catching a flight back to my first home. I say first home because, to borrow from some friends, “home is where your toothbrush is” I had an incredible home for this first part of 2012, and I know I’ll have a couple more the rest of this year. I am sure that what I learned in Senegal will continue to reveal itself as I transition back into the US.

Next time you hear from me, I’ll be stateside.