APHC Thies Senegal

Pictured below are the students, leaders and support of the Advanced Primary Health Care class that spent 3 months in Thies Senegal. They will now begin their 3 month medical outreach into Senegal and Mauritania. This blog was proud to report on this remarkable group of international students. God Bless each on of you as you touch the nations with the hands of Christ.

Craig and Taylor Returning to Centralia - Connie to follow

How do we sum up 60 + blog posts from Senegal West Africa and countless others that time didn't allow?


How do we say Goodbye to good friends that were total strangers 3 months ago?



How do we thank the school leadership and class instructors, that volunteered thousands hours of their time to train 12 people to Go and Do Likewise?




How do we thank the people of Senegal for their warm hospitality and kindness, showing us what it truly means to be called an African?




How do we think our parents and sisters, aunts and uncles, niece and nephews and cousins for their encouragement and support?



How do we thank all of our friends, co-workers and Brokers at Coldwell Banker Kline for encouraging us to follow our dreams?




How do we thank all of you for your help in getting us here, care packages, and prayers that truly sustained us?




How do we thank our children that kept the house from burning down and supported us in going, even during Christmas?

It's Impossible

Thank You All

This is not the end of something good, but the beginning of something even better.

To be Continued..... :)

Thies Senegal - French Bread Delivery

Every morning before dark, a couple of cool Senegalese guys deliver our daily ration of French Bread. This bread is such a staple, that the government controls it's price. Most of the time they are on-time at around 6:45 AM. We wait outside until they arrive in a fancy bread car.

Check out the car lights. Power photography.

As you can tell by the clothing, it is winter in Senegal. It was probably down to 65.

The bread is precisely arranged in the back of the bread car and delivered house to house. The driver wanted his picture taken with me as well. We get 6 loaves for breakfast.

The Secret Behind Connie's Famous Cornbread

It was our turn to cook this weekend. We made (Bisquickless) pancakes and scrambled eggs for breakfast. Soup and cornbread was on the dinner menu. Mama Cecile ( a great cook) gave Connie the secret lesson to great cornbread. I am now sharing it with you. The secret is:

Triple sifting

Connie sifting the cornmeal x 3

Triple Sifting Residue

Disposal of Foreign Matter

The Final Product

I'm sorry, the cornbread was grabbed before I could get a picture. It was served with fresh Mali honey (Thanks DeeAnn, it was great)

Pictures by: Taylor Anne Kline

There is DUST in the Air

Jean Baptiste and Craig walking to Tabaski

Tis the Season to be Dusty. I will never complain about fog again. This season of dust happens every year, lasting for a few long months. The source is the Sahara Desert, just to our North.

There is good news; Senegal is geographically located in the Sub-Sahara, so it could be worse. Even in the Sub-Sahara, this stuff is nasty and gets into literally everything. Josiah came in the other day from playing outside and I thought he was a Toubob.

There is bad news (For Tim, Lin and others - Mauritania, is in the Sahara. As seen in the following photo, dust blows in from the Sahara desert. By the way, meteorologists claim that the Sahara dust is responsible for the non-eventful hurricane season in the US and neighboring countries last year. Your welcome!

Coming Soon - APHC Outreach

Outreach Planning Meeting

Twelve weeks of lecture from Immunizations to Malnutrition. Evenings spent memorizing drug therapies and Malaria protocol. Midnight cramming for exams. Hands on IV, teeth pulling, cardiology, dental hygiene and physical exams.

Now it's time to put it all to work. The next 3 months, these trained, compassionate imitators of Christ will provide basic health care for Senegalese villages and a major city in the neighboring country of Mauritania.

Following are pictures taken when Tim and I accompanied Dr. Adamson to the village of Naikhar, North of Fatick and East of Mbour. Another team will be located in the Casamance region of Senegal, in the village that Aliou (snake charmer and barista) is from.

Typical Roads between villages

One of the medical clinics APHC will be staffing

Typical Rural Village

APHC Students will be living with families in these villages

These women are pounding Millet into what will eventually be Couscous.

A Staple of the Senegalese diet.

Grain Storage

A typical source of water is the community well

The Mauritania team will be residing in a major city. Mauritania is a closed nation to the gospel. It is illegal for a person to convert from the Muslim faith to Christianity. It is also illegal to proselytize in any manner. Mauritania is located in the Sahara Desert. I have had the honor of meeting Mauritanian missionaries coming through Senegal. They love the people and the country. They work under constant persecution - WITH JOY!

Please pray for all of the teams, for safety, and wisdom.

Garbage Eating, Tea Drinking - Bull - Thies Senegal

A few weeks ago we had problems with our garbage being scattered all over the dirt by nefarious nocturnal aliens. So I (not Tim) built a garbage can from stray bricks. I was quite proud of myself. Tim is the appointed maintenance man but lacked the structural engineering skills to put this project together.

One afternoon my perfect garbage receptacle was attacked by a monstrous, arrogant, aggressive Brahma bull (with gore capable horns) - see picture below. Our garbage was a perfect dessert to the dead brush he had been eating all day. Tim "took pictures" as I rode this beast out of our compound. Once again, he took a picture as I approached and failed to capture the ride.

By the way, in Senegal, Bulls also like tea after dinner. Observe the tea bag that he was sucking on, now hanging from his lips. The tea really mellowed him out. You can tell by his smirking face. It was immediately after this photo, that I rode him out of the yard.

I told maintenance man Tim, "look, the least you can do is figure out some way to keep the bulls from running to our garbage every day". I must admit, he did a nice job of securing the receptacle. The only problem, it takes 30 minutes to open the lid.

Tea Party for Men ( NO TEA CUPS HERE!! ) Thies Senegal

The evenings are cooler in Senegal. After dinner a group of men head to the front side of John Huffman School for tea. Many of you guys think tea is for girls (no offense to the British). This tea has been known to keep grown men awake for 36 hours. After I drink, I can't blink for two hours. Tonight's drinkers, left to right, Tim (Storyteller), Dimba (School security), Jean Baptiste (Antagonist), Craig (Professor of Wolof), Ailou (Barista)

The tea is boiled in a small teapot over charcoal. The process takes about 20-30 minutes from start to finish. The charcoal is lit with grass from the field. A good wind helps. Course cut tea is added to boiling water. Not just a little tea. The pot is filled to the top with tea, then boiled for at least 10 minutes.

Sugar is added to the boiling tea. Not just a pinch. Enough to make some men ADHD positive.

Cuppa Joe's has fancy foam makers. Aliou does it the old fashioned way. He is known throughout Senegal for the quality of his foam. We are honored to have him as our personal barista. Go ahead all you fake barista's, try it. The foaming goes on for several minutes. Intermittently, the tea is poured back into the pot until the barista says "yes"!

One nice thing about Senegalese tea drinking. The clean-up is easy. The glasses that make the foam, are the drinking glasses. What does it taste like? Very strong sweet tea. If you are offered tea, it is an insult to refuse. Two hints for future Senegalese tea drinkers. Take the first pull. In other words, if you want to sleep anytime during the next 12 hours be first. Once you drink, the cup is refilled from the pot and passed on to another drinker. If you get the 3rd or fourth pull from the pot, it's all over. You are wired. Secondly, know when and how to say "no". If you take your first serving and do not correctly pronounce "that's all for me" in Wolof, you will be automatically served another cup (which cannot be refused).

Look at the foam on that tea.

Tim, get a new hat!

The best part of Senegalese tea drinking is hanging with the guys, telling stories of the day, laughing, and just doing nothing. There is a saying in Senegal. "Toubobs have watches, Africans have time". I will miss this time very much, when I leave my friends in Senegal, just a few days from now.

Where Did all the Sheep Go?

Sheep, Sheep and more Sheep

Then on the 31st of December

Tabaski!

Jean Baptiste invited Tim and I to participate in Tabaski with his Muslim family. We arrived just in time to participate in the "early meal preparation". We sheepishly tried to lend a hand, but were quickly replaced by more experienced youth. Within an hour after the process below, we sat down for a delicious breakfast meal. Mr. Fall served heaping plates of fresh sheep liver, onions, ribs and french bread. A New Years breakfast I will never forget.

This is Where all the Sheep Went (Below)

Tim is posing. I am helping

Tabaski is a Muslim Holiday celebrated on the 31st of December. Tabaski is the Wolof name for Sacrifice. According to the Qur'an, Allah asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son. Before Abraham made the sacrifice, Allah told him to sacrifice a sheep instead. This holiday is held in remembrance of Abraham's offering. A sheep is killed by each family, after morning prayers. Everyone wears new clothes. The day is spent eating with family and sharing the meat with others (in this case - us)

After breakfast we felt we should return home. Our hosts insisted that we return with our wives in the afternoon. Mr. Fall picked us up and brought us to his home where we met all of his family including his 5 day old newborn son. Mr. and Mrs. Fall served us a meal of sheep, potatoes, carrots, french bread and a refreshing smoothie type drink.

Pictured above are our gracious hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Fall along with Jean Baptiste (left), our class interpreter. Mrs. Fall is Jean Baptiste's niece. Mr. Fall is a retired Senegalese Military Officer who served in Desert Storm for the U.N.. He is currently involved in Senegalese politics, working for one the presidential candidates for the upcoming National elections. Senegalese people are known for their hospitality. We agree!

Jody Leaves Thies Senegal

Jody Returns Home

Jody loves the roof. She would catch rays, listen to music, read and pray on our roof. It is only appropriate that her departure picture is rooftop. Jessica, look how far she is in Dostoevsky. In the background, students are returning from Dr. Allen's Cardiology class.

Jody arrives in Seattle at 11:30 PM New Years Eve. Please pray for her safe travel. We escorted her to the plane in Dakar last night She had to leave a few items because of weight restrictions including world famous Fingers. Too bad for you. OK with me. The Nutella did make it however. Jody - Email when you get home. Much Love from Mom, Dad, Taylor and all your friends in Senegal