David And Michelle

Last week we had a huge storm that dumped so much water that many of our staff houses were flooded. Most of the people affected lost everything that was on the first level of their homes. It is quite a sad situation for the flood victims. It is no coincidence that those of you who are in North America are now feeling the affects of Hurricane Katrina. Most of the tropical storms which hit North America start here in West Africa. The bad news: We just had another big storm (not as bad) pass through today so there is probably more rain heading for the States.

Posted by David & Michelle Walker at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Comments

Today was our first official day of "Dorm Coverage" (taking over the dorm for the Dorm Parents). It has been really great.... One of our goals for this year is to step it up a bit with the devotional times at each of the dorms. It is a bit of a struggle since most of these students get a quite a bit of exposure to biblical teaching and if they are anything like me they probably feel like they have heard it all. We are trying this year to maybe get them to take a look at what is really happening with their relationships with God and others rather than just showing that they are "good kids." We are really excited about this and we are certain this will be a great year in the Dorms and at the school.

Posted by David & Michelle Walker at 2:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

We had our first meetings today with Dakar Academy staff then with the Boarding Home staff. It was good to get back into things although the jet lag was starting to catch up to us by the time we were finishing our last meeting. We are excited to get back into things and we know this is going to be a great year here at D.A. Please continue to pray for us as begin this school year...

Posted by David & Michelle Walker at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

We were telling David's brother as we were driving to Dallas/Fort Worth to go to the airport that we really don't know why God blesses us so much. That is not just some "I'm trying to sound humble" kind of statement. It is really from the heart. When we look at our lives and see all the miracles and blessing He does in our lives we are baffled and humbled. We certainly don't deserve any of it and to be quite honest many times we are neither anticipating or even hoping that He will work in our situations. Yet He does it... over and over again. At the end of the day I guess it really comes down to that last statement: "He does it." There isn't really much We can do or even not do as the case may be at some points in our lives that will stop Him from loving us and blessing us if He wants to do that. What we can do is respond in thankfulness and remember all these blessings.

Posted by David & Michelle Walker at 9:11 PM | Permalink | Comments

We have had the most amazing summer this year. We left Dakar in the beginning of June and had 1 day in Lisbon, Portugal which was really neat. After that it was off to see Michelle's family in Ontario, Canada. That was a great time and we only wish it could have lasted longer. We always enjoy our time with Mum and Dad and Chris and Rachel. It was just great.
Then it was off to Minnesota and Wisconsin to see friends and to check in with our church/sending organization Redeemer Lutheran Church of Fridley Minnesota. That time was really great for us and very refreshing. Good friends can really make you feel refreshed and encouraged when you need it most and our friends really did that for us.
After that it was time for another quick visist with our family in Canada then we were off to Texas to visit David's brother in Austin and his sister & brother-in-law in Euless (Fort Worth). That time was so great. All of them were such an encouragement to us and we really do wish we could have spent more time with them. David's brother was able to take time off work and we all just enjoyed each other to no end.
But it did have to end eventually so on August 7 we left from DFW heading to ATL and on from there to JFK and eventually Dakar. All of our flights we really great and all of our luggage arrived in one piece wich is truly a miracle.

Posted by David & Michelle Walker at 8:46 PM | Permalink | Comments