Sunday, I went to the International Church in the morning which was great--even after just a week in a M'lim country it was wonderful to be surrounded by believers! After church, I hustled over to the Niangs new house (which I could find by myself after only the one time on Wednesday, pretty impressive if I do say so myself). Well, there's ALWAYS something unexpected when you plan a day with the Niangs, as many of you can testify to. So this time, the dad's side of the family was having a HUGE family reunion! I spent the day with 50-60 people I've never seen in my life! But Ndeye was in the country this time, so that was good. The family was very welcoming to the stranger tubob (white person) who had crashed their reunion.
Monday, Patricia and I ventured out again to find Assane & Ousseynou. Armed with the name of the town and a phone number to call when we arrived, we set out at 7am for M'bour. After a raapide, a 7 place (group taxi), and regular taxi, we arrived at the intersection where we were to call. Patricia called and was told they didn't know anyone by the names Fama (their aunt), Assane or Ousseynou (which actually is strange, b/c even if they didn't know the Fama, Assane and Ousseynou we wanted, they should have known other people by those names. You see, there's like 5 names in West Africa and they are just used a billion times over.). So Patricia tried the only other number we had and they said Fama would be out shortly.
As Patricia and I waited by the intersection, I realized that I don't know what Fama looks like and she didn't know what we look like so I asked Patricia how she'd figure out who to look for. In the middle of a town about 2 hours from the capital, which resembles a large village, Patricia looked at me and said, "Nabou (that's my Senegalese name), you're white." I said, oh yeah, and we continued to wait.
Fama came and greeted us and took us back to the house...A & O peeked out from behind a wall, and I could NOT believe it. They were HUGE! And scared of white people. Assane cried and Ousseynou ran away. Good grief...don't these 2 little African kids understand I just spent almost $2000 and flew around the world, took 2 trips to villages to find them which included 2 taxis, a 7 place, and a raapide JUST TO SEE THEM? No. They don't understand that.
Anyway, about 15 minutes into my short one-hour visit, Ousseynou was sitting on my lap and Assane would stand near me. Another 10 minutes and both were sitting comfortably in my lap. The bad news: they now attend a school (probably along the lines of a day care) where they are starting to learn the Koran (I should have taken them back to the US back in 2003) and their dad has not visited or sent money for 2 years. The good news: they are both healthy and happy where they are. I noticed a Christian school in M'bour as we passed, so we can pray they are influenced in some way by another Christian along the way.
After an hour, we had to head back to Dakar so Patricia could get to class and I could make my way to the airport for early check-in. The Yorktown students asked me if it was hard to leave...and I had to say not really. When I left Senegal in 2003, I was leaving home. I was leaving my best friends and my life behind. Now, I was saying goodbye to friends, which is never easy...but I was returning home, where my life is now. It was a good visit and I am so grateful for the opportunity to reconnect...I could tell from my time with friends there that they were so excited I had come back to see them. Patricia said she thought I would just leave Senegal and forget about them. I told her that would never happen...they are my friends. I don't forget my friends. So I pray that my time and presence there made an impact.
Thanks for your prayers and encouragment along the way! Y'all have been great!
Peggy
PS These are the twins now...
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