Easter in Senegal

On Good Friday, the view of the crosses on

the roof of the library at Dakar Academy.

In Senegal, Easter isn't really that big of a deal. A few stores may have a few "Easter-y" items for sale - the foil wrapped chocolates, plastic eggs, and pastel-colored decorations - but it's nothing close to what you see in the states. And while the Senegalese, world-renowned for observing every holiday they can (no matter with which religion it's associated), actually DO take Easter Monday off, it is nowhere NEAR the production they undergo in observance of Muslim holidays like Tabaski or Korite, during which nearly one million sheep and goats lose their lives as almost every family in Senegal engages in a fête (feast) for celebration. And while some Senegalese (even Muslims) will use this holiday as an excuse to have a feast, even without acknowledging the REASON for it, life will generally continue as normal here, despite the fact that we are observing the most important event in all of human history.

The DA community will have a sunrise service out on our school's basketball court. In traditional Senegalese fashion, we will be sure and crank our sound system as loud as it goes (just like the Muslim prayer calls we hear five times a day, including at 5 a.m. each morning). That way it won't only be the missionary community that joins together that morning to celebrate our risen King, it will be the whole neighborhood!

We continue to love being out here. Easter isn't the same old thing year after year. It's not over-commercialized. It hasn't lost its meaning. After all, how could something lose its meaning if most people here haven't found its meaning to begin with? Our work is not done in Senegal and we continue to live with the belief that "greater things are still to be done in this city."

As our school year comes to a close we become nostalgic of things past and hopeful of things to come. It was a good year, marked with significant change to our school and improvements to our campus. It's been a hard year with unprecedented power cuts and Mindee's knee surgery. But there is hope. Generators and batteries are allowing us to function fairly normally at work and at home even when our power company fails us, and Mindee's knee is on the mend.

Mindee is 4 1/2 weeks post-surgery and well into recovery. We flew to South Africa over spring break where she had ACL reconstruction and a torn meniscus repair. Since then she hasn't been allowed to put ANY pressure on her right leg, but in 1 1/2 weeks, she can slowly begin re-introducing that leg to walking (20% body weight per week). We look forward to June 7 because that is the day she'll be allowed to walk brace and crutch free. However, an additional 6 months of rehab are required before she's back to full strength. Thank you for your prayers and support on her behalf. It's a long, slow road to recovery, but we're glad we were able to start down it now instead of having to wait until summer.

We will be heading to the states this summer for a brief visit with friends and family. We will be in Klamath Falls, Oregon, for most of the month of June, then Pensacola, Florida for almost 3 weeks in July, during which Mindee's younger sister, Amber, will be getting married. We look forward to catching up with many of you in person during this time.

We'll be back here in Senegal on July 22, ready to start another year of school and ministry. Thank you so much for all you who support us in prayer and finance. We cherish your generous gifts and couldn't continue doing this without you.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend celebrating the incredible gift we have in Jesus.

Mike and Mindee