Life Update… The email version has pictures… Let me know if you want that!

Dear faithful family & friends

          I apologize for not communicating well over the last few months. Things have been very busy here. Add in the fact that Internet works sometimes and when it does, my blog, of course, doesn’t.

          I would like to thank you for your continued support over these last 9 months. Without your constant prayers, I would not have made it to this point.
These past few months have been crazy! Between traveling to Burkina Faso for a little vacation to changes in leadership, life is anything but normal. Though I would love to be able to share every detail of the past few months with you, but it would take pages. So I will share the short versions only.
          Burkina Faso: what a vacation! The majority was spent at Nazinga National Park where we went on several game runs and saw tons of elephants, monkeys, warthogs, interesting birds and all sorts of other incredible animals. It was quite amazing to be sitting on top of a land cruiser as elephants walked right in front of us. The last part of the trip was spent with a friend of Rod’s named Clark. He owns a large piece of land in the middle of nowhere. There he raises all sorts of wild animals, including monkeys, warthogs, antelope, turtles and even ostriches. It was quite awesome to see all those animals in one place. About as awesome as sleeping under the stars every night while we were there. It was an awesome trip and a much needed mini vacation.

          Abidjan: was I actually in Africa?! My teammate Shasta was leaving to go back to the US, so Chrystal and I decided to accompany her. We took a bus from Korhogo to Bouaké, then from there to Abidjan. We headed to Cap Nord, a shopping mall. Yes that’s right folks, I said shopping mall. We ate cheeseburgers and fries at a lovely little cafe then headed inside to marvel at the enormous grocery store, shoe shop and book store. We even stopped counting white people, there were just too many. After saying goodbye to Shasta, Chrystal and I headed to the Mission Baptiste guest house where we were greeted by the director of the hospital, Dr Butati & Pelagie (one of the most amazing women I’ve met here in RCI). Our time spent with them was fantastic. During this trip to Abidjan, I was hoping for a chance to meet the Young Life Côte d’Ivoire director. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, but God is still moving and I know He has great plans. My eyes have been opened to several different opportunities, stay tuned, this next year is going to be even crazier!

          Leadership changes: ooo boyy! Our fearless leaders Rod & Angelika have determined this will be their last year serving on the leadership team for Benkadi (Journey Corps). They are very involved in several other projects and desire to focus on those more than they have been able to in the past four years. Our other leaders, Phil and Mimi, have been in the US for the past 6 months working on raising support and taking time to see their grandchildren. They have finally come back and I’m so excited. They will continue to lead the four of us who are staying another year.
          Moving: ugh!! After spending the last 10 months in Sucaf, I have moved into a new place. I am living in Ferké a mile or so from the hospital. I’m living with the secretary of the hospital, her 2 crowded but it’s great. Because the room where Hannah and I will sleep in isn’t completely ready, I’ve been sleeping in Madame Sêkongo’s room with her and Grace, the youngest daughter. Every night when Grace gets into bed, she holds my hand, and that’s how we sleep all night. I have to pry my hand out of hers each morning so I can go take a shower. I’m excited to spend the rest of my time here with this family. Pray that our relationships become deeper, that we love it each other well and that we are real with each other.    

          I want to thank you again for your love, prayers and support. You have been a blessing to me in so many ways while I’ve been here. I am half way through my time here, which seems crazy! It’s gone by so quick. You are probably thinking at this point, how is her time half way over? She’s only been there 9, almost 10 months. Don’t worry, I haven’t completely lost it. I have decided, after much prayer and consideration, to return in May 2015. I would like to start school to obtain my RN degree in August/September 2015. Please be praying that The Lord works this all out as applying for schools is always complicated.

          I hope I have given you an idea of what’s been going on these past few months. I will try my hardest to communicate more frequently than I have the past few months.
Much love
Suzi