Our trip to the village part I

Following our trip to a few villages this last weekend, I thought that I would write about our experiences here rather then take up a whole newsletter. I am VERY glad that we asked you to be praying for us, because as it turned out, we would need your prayers more then we ever imagined, especially the first day of our trip.

A little background information on Islam here in Senegal will help you to understand some of what I am going to tell you. Here in Senegal there are several sects of Islam and the biggest and strongest is called the Mouride brotherhood. The Mourides started from their founder who was persecuted by the French for his work in liberating Senegal from the French government, and he was banished to the southern region of Senegal, which back then was VERY under developed with swamps and few people. He was from a town called Touba, and he is buried there, and the Mourides have a big pilgrimage their every year on his birthday (most will say that if you go to Touba enough, you do not have to go to Mecca). They are very syncretized with traditional African Religion that listens more to their religious leaders then to traditional Islam and are very big into charms, religious incantations for protection and worshiping of their dead religious leaders. Theirs is a dark religion full of fear of the spirits, while trying to control those spirits for their own use. They also are less open to toubabs (white people) and their religion then other sects here in Senegal.

My friend A, whose village we went to first, is not only part of this sect, but his whole village, of @ 1000 people, is a Mouride village. I knew he was, and in spite of that, we have formed a sort of friendship and he has been a big help during our time here to become familiar with the culture of Senegal. What I was unaware of was that the whole village was Mouride. As we entered into the village, the first sign that things were going to be different was that almost nobody came out to greet us, even in the family compound. This is NOT normal anywhere in Africa!! Normally white people are followed by a group of children and when you get out of the car you are surrounded by them, followed by the adults that you are their to visit and their friends and family. Instead we had family members keeping their distance, other than A’s mother and a few others. His father did come to greet us, but did not stay around long, nor was he around almost the whole time we were there, instead he laid on a mat right outside the compound.

This was the way that the rest of the visit would go. There were even times that my friend left us alone while he visited briefly with a few friends or his religious teacher. While normally, children will almost fall over themselves to play with William and Mariama; his main playmates the whole time were the chickens and the goats that he chased after. There was one boy who played with him after we pulled out his soccer ball, but that lasted all of about 20 minutes, and then William was seen kicking the ball by himself. When we went to visit A’s friends, we always had to pass by and greet his religious leader, where you could cut the spiritual darkness with a knife. That night, we did not sleep well due to the spiritual activity. Actually, after fighting with sleep for about 5 hours, I asked God to have our prayer warriors praying for us and covering us with prayer, only then did we get any rest that night. So thank you for the coverage and protection.

That next day we arraigned to meet our friends in the next place we were going to a day early. The whole time we were there, both kids were fussy and did not sleep well, not even a good nap. We were only about 2 minutes out of the village before Mariama fell asleep and slept for over and hour, William lasted about 30 minutes before sleeping for about an hour. We later realized that this village is about 1 hour west of the town of Touba. The spiritual arena in this whole area is VERY active and very dark. This was one of the darkest places I have ever been to.

Thank you for your coverage, and if you were one of the ones that God impressed to pray for us on Thursday evening, especially from about 9pm central time on, I would be interested in knowing that. Thank you for your prayers. To see how the rest of our trip went, see part II below.

Our trip to the village part II

The second and longer part of out trip up country went much better then the first day. After leaving the first village, we drove to Kaolack to spend a few days with some fellow co-workers that live there. Our time there was of course MUCH different and was a great time of spiritual fellowship with fellow Christians. We had a great time watching some Bill Gaither videos, singing, and playing cards and eating some great food.

This was the second time that we were blessed with spending time with this couple and have enjoyed every second of it. They have been here in Senegal, working with the Wolof for around 20 years and have some good insights on things. We were able to pick their brains and get some good thoughts on everything from appliances for use here to team work to family life as missys with children in Senegal. We had a great time singing old standards of the Faith while watching the videos and listened to a CD of their home church for house church on Sunday morning. William discovered some new Disney videos and they allowed us to borrow them for a while so Pape can watch them at home in Dakar. They taught us 2 new games and we played them all 4 nights.

On Monday we went to another village to go visit our first househelper, A, who we had not seen in about a year. This village experience was VASTLY different then the first one. This was especially interesting seeing as how A’s father is a Koranic teacher and has several schools through out Senegal. This man came and greeted us shortly after we arrived on his compound, and stayed around us the whole time we were there and talked to us. A’s brother is also a believer and while their father was not crazy about that at first, he now supports his son’s right to choose and is starting to see Christians as people of honor and respect. Pape had SOOOO much fun playing with the children and almost did not want to leave when it was time to go (at the other village, shortly after arriving, he started asking if we could go). A made us one of my favorite Senegalese meals, Yassa Yapp, onion sauce with meat. She even tried to find chicken for the meal, but none could be found. She made this meal knowing it is one of our favorites. We had a great visit with her and her family and we were VERY glad that we were able to see her again before returning to the states.

We spent that night back in Kaolack and had a great meal and a wonderful time playing and visiting and laughing with our friends again. This part of the trip was exactly what I needed spiritually to help get me through the next 45 days or so before returning to the States. Hearing the hearts of our friends, singing, worshiping and having some good time alone to study and seek God’s heart was a great spiritual shot in our arms. You had a hand in that through your prayers, and we thank you for those. They helped us get through the first village, and to get through to the heart of God.

Quotable: How much was that coffee?

"Globally, the average Christian gives 15 cents to foreign missions each week. The average North American believer gives 50 cents; the average European believer, 25 cents. How much was that cup of coffee before church?"

-- missions researcher Justin Long, quoted by Erich Bridges in "As U.S. population tops 300 million, is American church still a global force?" (Please click to read all of the article, it is good.)

TOP TEN SIGNS YOU'RE ON STATESIDE ASSIGNMENT

Most of you may not understand the humor here, but Lisa and I were rolling on the floor when we read these. Mainly because we know that this will be us in a few months. So read these and watch us while we are there and see for yourself how many of these you can catch us doing.

These are from a West Africa regional newsletter called "The Talking Drum" that is sent to all west african missionaries. If you are interested in getting it as well, let us know and we will see about getting you signed up as well.

10. The Wal-Mart cashier stares at you blankly when you thank her in Pulaar (or in our case, Wolof- I did this SEVERAL times last year).


9. You (or your daughter/son) haven't had a marriage proposal in at least a week.


8. You sit at the gas station a full five minutes before realizing you're expected to pump your own gas. (Yes they still do that over here!!)


7. The salesman won't budge on the price no matter how hard you try to bargain.


6. Your children wonder why African Americans don’t speak French (Or Wolof).


5. You get pulled over for an actual traffic violation (which cost a LOT more then just $6), not just because the cop wants you to give him a Coke.


4. At the grocery store, the clerk gives you change in coins, not candy.


3. You automatically load 30 sticks of deodorant into your basket at Wal-Mart…just in case it’s not there the next time you go shopping. (I did this last year as well--after I got over the shock of ALL the choices)


2. You sit at the traffic light for awhile before realizing that you can turn right on red.


1. You take Contingency Training at the International Learning Center and say, “So what? I’ve been to Abidjan!”


Bonus! Your children are fascinated by the strange new wildlife…squirrels!!!

I hope you enjoyed those at least half as much as we did.

Ramadan, from our prospective.

What is Ramadan and the month of fast all about you ask? I will try to explain from my observations about what it means to those who live here in Senegal. During this time of year, the Ms, in an attempt to make up for their sins from the last year, refrain from eating or drinking from sun-up until sun-set. This means of course that, at least here, they stuff themselves early in the morning, go back to bed, then stuff them selves after sunset, and eat a big dinner a few hours after that. During this fasting time, they are supposed to be spending time in prayer with God, but most of them do not, instead they just lie around all afternoon and wait until the next time they can eat again.

You will see even the worst religious person that will lie, steal, cheat and do all sorts of other things you know his religion forbids him to do go through this fast, as they believe that if they fast just right, no matter how bad they were during the last year, God will balance out their record. For them it is not about a personal relationship based on the sacrifice that Jesus Christ paid on the cross, instead it is a works based religion; so the more you work, no matter how you were the rest of the year, the better your record becomes even. It is all about balancing out your good and your bad.

Then at the end of the month, they will sacrifice a goat, the bigger the better to please God, and have a big festival and celebrate what just happened. Of course this almost always becomes about how big your goat was and who saw you with the biggest goat. Sometimes I have a difficult time in seeing how God works into most of this celebration time.

There are some though that will seek after God and be looking for dreams and visions of how to relate and get to God better. Pray for these individuals, as it is often reported that through these dreams and visions, God has lead them to follow Christ into His salvation.

Of course, if you are like me, you see some similarities between them and us as Christians and our festival/celebrations. How many people that “claim the name of Christ” that you know of will spend the holiday season coming up, actually thinking of Christ? How many of our friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and even fellow church members will only be going through the motions, hoping that their seasonal trip to church will be enough to please God, if they even think about God at all.

Pray for us this year as we are praying about fasting with them from day to day this year. We of course will be spending those times instead of eating in prayer for our neighbors and friends. Pray that God will lead us as to what to do so that we are not just going through some motions, but rather truly trying to draw closer to God and to find a way to reach out to our friends and neighbors.

Let us also pray for those mentioned above that may forget about Him this year that they will remember the sacrifice that He gave. Pray for “Christians” in America to wake up and head the call to wake up, for the time is now to get your self right with God. May those on both sides of the ocean come to see the wonderful price paid by The Son of God and accept that and turn to have a true relationship with God this year.

A photo slide show from Togo - Enjoy!!

A blog from Togo-from Mariama's Teachers.

This is from a letter that Mariama's teachers wrote us before we left Togo.

Enjoy.

Richard & Lisa

God’s blessings be on you and your family. Thank you so much for trusting us with your precious Mariama. What a doll!!! Her & I formed a special bond& I loved it. The sweetest thing was when I was bouncing her to sleep, if she was fussy, I would start singing “Jesus Loves Me” and she would immediately calm down, lay her little head on me and go to sleep. It was like the name of Jesus calmed her. I will never forget that. Jesus was in the room with us each day!

It was an added blessing to meet you. Richard, the first night when you came to our table to ask if we would have the nursery on Sunday morning was w God thing. He used that the show us why we were there. The joy on your face at the thought of worshipping with your wife showed us why we were here & how much it meant to the missionaries we came to support. Thanks! Our God is awesome and gave both of us just what we needed.

We will be continuing to pray for you as we did before coming. Our prayers for you are for God to build a hedge of protection around your family, for God to bless you for following His plan for your life & to give you many souls for the harvest is rich.

Again, it was a blessing to take care of Mariama. She is a heart stealer.

With love in Christ

Janice and John (Almquist)

Jer. 29:11 “’For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.’”

Pray for Rain

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NIV).

The rainy season has just begun in Senegal. For weeks, farmers have been preparing their fields and working the soil. The rains have started, but have not become consistent. It is always an anxious time as the villagers wait for the rains to come, and try to time the actual planting with the rains. If they plant too soon, birds and other animals may steal the seeds. If they wait too long, they may miss the limited and valuable water when it falls. If rains delay, there is fear and genuine danger of drought that inevitably will be followed by hunger and malnutrition.

It is a season that reminds Senegalese that they have no real control over their lives, and that they are dependent on God for all things. Unfortunately, they do not really know Him. Pray that God will use this season to remind them of who He is and what He has done for them. Pray that He will reveal Himself in His creation and provision for them, and that the Senegalese, who follow a major world religion, will have access to the truth of the gospel through His Word and other believers.

May they put their faith in Christ and be anxious for nothing.

A word from our team here now!!

Mark Farish is the pastor of Lake Highlands Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, and he and Joe Loving are here for @ 1 week. While here, Mark is writing journals, actually a blog, but don't tell him, he says he does NOT blog. Follow this link to read what God is doing while they are here ministering along side of us and our supervisor, Donny.

Lake Highlands Baptist Church - Dallas, Texas

Continue to lift them up while they are out here. Lift up all the teams that we have lined up to come minister with us.

Prayer needs

Hello there. I wanted to out-line a prayer schedule for you. I am planning on trying to follow this schedule to go and visit/story. I could use your prayers on the nights before the days that I mention, as you will be asleep when I go to visit with these guys. Pray that the words will be given to me from God to share His love to these friends. Pray that their hearts and minds will be open to hear and then receive the Truth. Pray also that these would have dreams and visions as that is a BIG way that God uses to call Muslims unto Himself.

• Mon. Morning: lift up Mommadu
• Tue. Morning: Lift up Dramé
• Wed.Morning: lift up Ba
• Thu.Morning: lift up As
• Fri.Morning: computer work/catch-up house work
• Also lift up Lisa on Thur. afternoons as she goes to visit/story with the Ba houshold.

Pray also for Spiritual protection for us as well as those we will be talking with. Pray that we will be removed and He be lifted up only!!! We want others to see the Truth and the love of God, most of which goes agains all they have been taugh for all their lives.

Expecting resistance

Hello there. Yes it has been a while since I have posted some thoughts, but this week I would like to add some thoughts about warfare. The other day we were at a 4th of July celebration put on by the embassy here, and while watching Pape play, I was standing near some Marines and could not help but hear their conversation. They were talking with another couple that had a family member in Iraq and they were talking about their son and his unit moving south of Baghdad and the mom said that they "were expecting resistance." That was when one of the Marines said "Mame, I sure hope they are expecting resistance. That is what we as Marines are trained for, to expect resistance. If you go into an area and DON'T expect resistance, you become a dead Marine."

This statement first made me fell good that we had solders like that down through history that expected resistance and were ready for the battle so that we have the freedoms that we as Americans, have today. Then I thought about the spiritual implications of this statement, and that was when I started to have somewhat of a heavy heart. Most of us on the Mission field come over, expecting resistance, and that is why we ask prayer warriors back home to be praying with and for us. But then my thoughts went to the church in America, and the training that is given there, on the whole.

A LOT of churches these days seem to be to pre-occupied with making people happy, feel good about themselves or preaching wealth and prosperity to talk about the warfare that surrounds us all. I know because I have sat and heard some of these teachings. Soon the feelings fade and the money leaves. I thank God that for the last 10 years or so, as well as growing up, He placed me in some Spirit filled places lead by some godly men that were not afraid to preach and teach the Truth. These teachings helped to prepare me to expect resistance, both from the world and in the spiritual realm as well.

What kind of resistance are you expecting, if any? Are you experiencing residence now? As pastor Al Meredith from Wedgwood Baptist in Ft. Worth said in a sermon we heard Sunday "If you have never experienced resistance for your witness, you may need to examine your witness." Resistance will come if we are Sons of God. Please continue to lift us up as we face resistance almost daily over here.

Thank you for your prayers!!!

Lisa swinging with mariama. 

Mariama having fun. 

Lisa playing with Mariama at the playground at a resturant here. Mariama is having a GREAT time!!! 

Yes, that is his glass...and yes it says what you think. They searve everyone one of these with their water and cokes. 

This is William's Kids Meal at a resturant. 

New videos!!

Hey there. I just wanted to tell you a little about the next 2 videos that you will see below. They both are "old-school" Christian Rock videos that I found!! I should note that I am NOT responsible for any neck pains that may come about by old head bangers trying to "bang" to these songs!! You know your age and the current state of your own neck. :) If you enjoy them, I have found a few more and will post more in time.


Just let me know if you are interested. The third video is one of William and Mariama playing on the couch one Sunday afternoon after house Church. At the end of the video he stood up and grined and while laughing said "Be careful!!" Then he got back up and started playing again with his sister. See lisa's blog here for the next video. We hope that you are enjoying the videos that we have started to add.

"Jim Morrison's Grave" video Steve Taylor I predict 1990!! Another old-school video!!

Video: Deliverance - Weapons of our warfare- a little old-school Christian rock!!

William and Mariama playing on the couch- at the end he stood up and said "Be Careful!!"

Mariama one Sunday morning- That is me talking in that voice to her.

Another guest blogger!!

This is a friend, Mark Snelling, from Washington that has come over with Tyson and done 3 trips here in the last year or so. I asked him to write a little something about his time here and what they are doing, and he actually wrote something!! (if that refers to you, you know who you are that I am still waiting to hear back from :))

You asked me to write a little blog for your blog so I am adding a couple of things and including some of what I wrote above. Please feel free to edit accordingly.

After two great weeks in Senegal, we made it home with no major wrinkles and having all our luggage. It was a long haul and we are tired but have returned with a real sense of joy, a deepened understanding of what God is doing among the Wolof and ever greater clarity as to how to pray for you and the Wolof. Yes, the obstacles to the launch of a people movement among the Wolof are real but at the same time, our God is more than able to break through. It is a real joy to be part of His work toward that day! This was now the third trip we have made as a team with six months in between each trip. We were encouraged by the missionaries who work in the village our church has adopted to come with that frequency if we are to be able to develop a genuine relationship with the people of the village and have a clear sense of the role we are to play in the process of leading them to Jesus. We are now experiencing the initial fruits of these visits through deepened prayer and more focused projects. We have made it a point on each trip to connect not only with the village but also with missionaries like the Finches working in Dakar and other regions of Senegal in order to have a broader perspective on the whole people group as well as a relationship with the families in the one small village we have adopted. This means adding an extra couple of days to each trip but for our church it is turning out to be well worth the time invested.

Until Alll Have Heard,

Mark

An aroma amongst us.

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A video blog. I think we may start doing more of these as they are much easier and more fun then trying to type to you. Plus this way you can see us and hear us more often.

Video- Jumping and "Yep, I know it!"

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Here is a little video for you of William playing on our bed. His responses to my questions he learned from me. Hope you enjoy it.

SI.com - Writers - Rick Reilly: Nothing But Nets - Tuesday April 25, 2006 2:05PM

SI.com - Writers - Rick Reilly: Nothing But Nets - Tuesday April 25, 2006 2:05PM

OK all you sports fans, click this link to read an interesting story from SI!! Even if you are NOT a sports fan, you will recieve a NET profit from reading this story, (or read it just to get the pun). Here is someone thinking about those that he could easily pass over. See if you feel lead to pass on your nex DVD that you want or to eat a sandwich from home once or twice instead of your favorite fast food place to help out. And just so you know....we helped!

A short video from home

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Audio of William counting for you!

Your prayers and Our needs!!!

We have asked you to be praying over many things over the last 2 years. Some of those needs are on-going and some have been answered. We TRULY are grateful and thankful for your prayers, many days they are what kept us going. We have been truly blessed with friends and family that lift us up often. We also thank you for your e-mails, cards, letters and gifts over the years. These too are tangible reminders of your love and support and every time we see them or look at something you have sent, we feel the love and prayers that go with it.

Life overseas is filled with more than its share of needs for prayer; physical, emotional, mental and spiritual in nature. Then, when certain other issues get thrown into the mix, things can get real interesting rather quickly. So when you take a stressful thing and add the stress of potty training on top of spiritual issues on top of physical things, you have a BIG need of prayer.

Now we are quickly coming to a point where your prayers are STRONGLY needed. One of the more pressing needs concerns our future here in Senegal. There are some issues that have come up recently that may hinder our return to the field as quickly as we were hoping originally. This of course has caused a little concern for us as we have been trying to seek God’s guidance, and thought we had an answer. We are hoping to get a resolution, one way or another, within the next couple of weeks, but in the mean-time, we can use your prayers. Pray that either way that we will remain focused on the job at hand until the end of our time here in Dec/ Jan.

We also have a spiritual need as well. Rich has been feeling some spiritual attacks at night in the form of some disturbing dreams. When he wakes up from them he feels very unfocused for most of the rest of the day. Once, when he woke up, he heard William fuss and when he went to go check on him, fear tried to grip him and made it VERY difficult for him to catch his breath. William was just having some dreams, which helped clue him in even better to what was going on. Rich spent the next hour or so praying over the whole family.

These, along with other issues, can start to have an effect on our family. Pray that we will remain close and rely not only on your prayers, but that we will remain a team, clothed in our armor, and stand strong against the attacks of the evil one!

This is a collection of our time with our friends while we were in the States. Click on image for larger view.

 

Photo collage 1

A photo collage of our trip!!

 

Guest Blogger - Tyson

I spent the last week of October in Senegal. This was my second trip, my first was in March of ‘05. This trip only furthered my view of Senegal as a land of contrasts. March was hot like, Las Vegas hot and it was very dry. There was little vegetation and you could hardly see where the previous years crops had been harvested. October showed us the end of the rainy season and we experienced one of the last rain storms. This storm was more what I would envision a monsoon to be like. It was preceded by a lightening storm for more than a half an hour followed by a tremendous down pour that flooded the sand surfaces of the vacant lots and streets. All this rain transformed the Senegalese landscape from the city to the rural villages. Everything was green. Areas that we saw goats and sheep picking through garbage before, were overgrown with green vegetation. Farmland that appeared to be barren dry land previously was now full of millet stalks, watermelon plants and peanut plants. But for a person from the Pacific Northwest of the United States, this weather came at a price. A muggy, humid, hot and sweaty price! :) The temperature was the same as March but much more humid. I also discovered the importance of sunscreen for those not used to being so close to the equator. A beautiful drive in the back of a truck out to the villages turned into a great example of why I should always wear suntan lotion! My sunglasses turned my face into a pink and white raccoon pattern. I learned that the Wolof have a name for white people that loosely translates into red ears. (Honk-a-nob)

What have I taken away from my Senegalese experiences spiritually? It is often difficult to put into words because so much comes to mind, that I have a hard time getting it out. So I’ll leave that for part II of my Senegalese experience from October 2005. (Rich's note: Hopefully SOON!!)

Tyson P. DePoe

Camel rides at Pink Lake

This is Pink Lake, so called because of the salt content turns the lake a pink color. The foam you see is actually salt foam that has collected on the surface of the water.

We went there with a group of local Missy friends and a Senegalise friend of theirs named Aminata. The other Senegalise are actually Nars/Pulaar, they were our camel drivers.
These guys took good care of us, and the children. William was excited about seeing the camels....but REFUSED to get close to them. So he stayed back with Granpa Dave,as did Mariama, and played with their children. He had a BLAST!!
This is William on Granpa Dave's sholders. This made William happy, finding out he did not have to get too close to the camels!! They LOVE each other!!
Lisa getting on her camel. As you can see there was no room for Mariam, so she stayed behind as well. Thats uncle Carl in front of Lisa, he helps keep things operating machanically for the missys here.Me riding on my camel. They are not NEAR as smooth of a ride as a horse!! It was fun though none the less. That is Aaron, another ISC-journeyman, on the right. Part of the group riding along the beach. That is Carrie on the left (another ISC-journeygirl), Aminata, Lisa and then uncle Carl again.

2 O’clock Prayer Time

As you may well know, here the big prayer time is the pm prayer time on Fri. afternoon. That is like our Sunday morning, although usually better attended. Today, on my way to school to teach, I was driving by several Msq on the way and they all were surrounded by hundreds of devout M.s. At first I was struck by their level of devotion and commitment….. then I became rather sad to see it all. I was asked recently what was the good and the bad about living here, and seeing this sort of thing is among the worst.

Let me explain. You see, as a Chrstn, I am ASSURED of where I am going when I die. I know that because of the cost of Jesus, I am going to enter into Heaven when I die. My friends and neighbors here DO NOT know these things. They are almost all afraid of death, in part because they never know if they have done enough good to balance out their bad. I watch them go through so many things and try to follow so many set rituals to try to get better, all along never knowing if it is enough. They could literally miss Paradise by one missed prayer!! This is VERY heartbreaking to me. This is the worst thing about living here, seeing your friends and neighbors starve them selves for a month each year and live in fear of God all their lives. Especially knowing all along if they would just allow me too, I could help point them in the right direction; to a personal relationship with God.

Unfortunately, most here, as in other parts of the M. world, do not realize they have a choice!!! Will you pray with us that God will give dreams and visions and soften hearts of our neighbors and friends? Pray that they will begin to understand that they have a choice, and that they do not have to fear death. Pray also that we will be the examples that we need to be. Pray that in our relationships with each other that they will see God’s love through us as a family as well as in our relations with them. Let me hear from you about your willingness to help lift us up in this.

Pape goes to school

In case you have not heard…..our son has started school!!!! We took him with us the day that we registered him and that gave him a chance to see all the other kids and meet his teacher while we were there. This was, in my opinion, one big step towards him adjusting so that the next day when we dropped him off, he did not cry!!! Instead all the kids ran up to him and one boy shared his sucker with William, while he was eating it. Then they all went out to the little courtyard area and started to play before starting class.

His class is small, there are only about 15 students in the whole school, but we like that. This allows his class itself to have about 6-7 students and so the teacher can offer more one-on-one time with the children. Most other pre-schools, and large schools alike, can have anywhere between 25-45 children per class.

Now, a week or so after starting, he absolutely loves going to school. When we walk through the gate, at about 8am, he gets REAL excited and we have to try to stop him from running off to play with his friends just to get our kiss good-bye. They play outside until about 8:30, then they go inside and have a memorization time, art time, play time, snack time and rest time. He gets excited just seeing his vest for school. He even has his own little back-pack that he takes with him and a water bottle with juice to drink.

audio post from Shreveport