A Couple of "Firsts"

When I was little, I loved watching storms on the porch with my Dad. Now, I am 21 years old and I'm still getting excited about storms...only this time, they're made of dust, not rain...

I've experienced a couple of "firsts" over the past few days in Boubon: My first African dust storm, my first African rain, and my first African sunburn.

The dust storm was by far one of my favorite experiences I've had here. (What can I say? I'm easily entertained.) It was literally this WALL of dust stretching so far up into the sky and so far across the ground...Me and Emily saw it coming and rushed into our house and immediately got out our headlamps and cameras (yes, we took pictures!!) The whole world turned ORANGE! Yes, orange! It was phenomenal.

After the dust came the rain. And with rain comes cooler weather. (Hallelujah!) Today it was 90 degrees outside, but we could've sworn it was in the 70's. THAT was a good feeling. :)

However, just because cooler weather came, that does NOT mean that the sun went away. I'm proud to say that I made it almost ONE FULL MONTH IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA before getting sunburned. Kudos to me. :) Now for those of you who are going to freak out momentarily, it's really not that bad. No blisters, I promise. I've doused my arms in aloe and the redness is practically non-existent now.

At the moment, I'm wondering how many of you actually care about this information, so I guess I should write about something substantial for a moment.

I would really like you all to pray about something for me (along with everything else as well, of course!) Most of you are aware that we're living in the same compound as the chief's family. Folks, his kids are probably the most precious kids EVER and I love 'em to pieces, and his wife has been so kind and patient with us (which I am SO grateful for!) Needless to say, this family has found a very special place in my heart. I really would love for you all to pray for them specifically. Pray that they will come to know and love Jesus and follow Him. Pray that God will bless them abundantly for the kindness they have shown us. And pray that we will be able to continue to grow in our relationship with this family as a whole.

Thanks (as always) for the prayers and happy thoughts you're sending our way! And thanks again to everyone who is taking the time to read this--it means a lot that you care enough to keep up with us! :)