Shawn and Jenn De Atley

African tea and Talks of God

shawn_deatley — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:04:34 +0000

Last month, we spent a Saturday with the college group from our church here in Dakar. It was a full day of French (with a mixture of a few other local languages), sharing a big bowl of rice and fish, and talking about God. It was a nice time for us all to get to know a little bit more about each other. Of course, African tea was made, and that usually gives us all plenty of time to hang out, since it usually takes a few hours to make and drink it. This gathering was especially encouraging for us because the leader asked some very good questions. He asked the group, “Why God? Why did you choose to serve and follow God and not some other religion?” He also asked, “Who is God to you, and what are some attributes that you love about him?” It was great to hear their responses, and the various testimonies that all came back to one main point: our God is GREAT!

10 months later…

shawn_deatley — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:23:11 +0000

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10 months later…and here we are living in Dakar, Senegal! You may be wondering why we aren’t in Guinea. Well, long story short, God had different plans for us. We started out in Guinea, found an apartment, moved in, began building relationships with our host family, church and neighborhood. 4 months after our arrival, the situation in the country grew intense, and our field leadership asked us if we would be willing to move to Dakar to continue with our NCLA program. We agreed to make the move, not knowing what the future would hold for us, or if we would return to Guinea. Through it all, we never doubted that God wasn’t in control of everything that was going on, and we knew that none of this took him by surprise! In less than a week, we packed up and stored our belongings, and prepared for this new, unexpected chapter in our “Africa journey”. It was a bittersweet time, and a time to really lean on the Lord. We miss our friends, and we pray for Guinea as a whole.

Time flies! We have now been in Dakar for 6 months! We have been blessed with a great host family and a host church as well as an apartment. It has been a whole new learning experience as we dive into the culture and language of Senegal.

There’s the “mini review” from the past few months.You can check out www.shawnandjenn.wordpress.com to read more and see more pictures from our time in Guinea, and the big move to Senegal.

LEAVING TOMORROW!

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 04:00:00 +0000

We can’t believe it: the time has come and we are moving to Guinea, Africa tomorrow!

We are nervous and excited at the same time. We know we serve a mighty God who is going with us, and we trust Him as we step into the unknown.

You can pray that:

- We have a safe trip.

- That we will adjust to the new time zone, the heat, the new cultue, foods, etc.

- That we will be relationship focused.

- That our African host family will find a house for us.

We would LOVE to keep in touch with you from Guinea.

You can e-mail us at shawn_deatley@ntm.org anytime.

Flying out tomorrow,

Shawn and Jenn

Preparing for Africa

Thu, 21 May 2009 04:00:00 +0000

The time has come for us to pack up our belongings, apply for our visas, get our shots and fly to Guinea. We have our tickets reserved for June 23rd! We’re certainly staying busy with all of these "to do’s" , but we are excited for this new and quickly approaching step.

THANK YOU to everyone who has helped us cross off some of the things on our needs list! We really appreciate the sacrifice! We still have a few things left on the list that we need to purchase before taking off on this great adventure. To see what has been provided and what we still need, you can follow the link below:

http://shawnandjenn.wordpress.com/needs-list/

Now, if you’ll excuse us, we must get back to, "Let’s see…should we take this book? How about this pair of shoes?"

Your friends preparing to leave,

Shawn and Jenn

You might be….

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 04:00:00 +0000

You Might Be Preparing To Move To Guinea If…
-You don’t take for granted a 99 cent cheeseburger at McDonalds
-You buy socks, underwear and toothbrushes in four year quantities
-People often mistake you for the red cross
-You watch Man vs. Wild…just in case
-You buy birthday presents years in advance
-You try and work up a tolerance for the spiciest of the spicy
-You brainstorm activities that will occupy your time during the long flight across the ocean
-You find it comical when people think that driving to the nearest big city is a long trip
-You are used to strange looks and reactions when you tell people that you’re moving to Africa
-You own stock in multiple deodorant companies, since you plan to be sweating like crazy for the majority of your life
-You begin to sort through all of your belongings singing, “Take, leave, sell or trash?”
-Your ears perk up when you hear someone mention the words, “solar powered”
-You stop and talk to the people selling African drums at mall kiosks
-You’re beginning to think that “Just add water” foods are looking more and more appealing
-You take notes at every doctor and dentist appointment knowing that it will be a good while before you’re back for that “regular appointment”
-You’re always prepared to say, “It’s just Guinea; not New Guinea.”
-You can recite forwards and backwards what kind of work you think you’ll be involved in: even though only God knows for sure
-You’re often tempted to order a croissant with a full fledge French accent
-Getting shots becomes a regular thing like getting the oil changed in your vehicle
-You can recite what the visa process is for the country that you’re headed to
-You can proudly win a packing competition
-You enjoy family gatherings and get together with friends more than ever
-You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, but you are willing to follow a good God!

Ginger Drinks and French

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0000

We spent the day in Columbus, Ohio on Monday. It turned out to be a beneficial time for our French because we visited an African store. As soon as we entered the store, we could tell that we had walked into a cultural event as people spoke numerous languages, bartered for their food and socialized with the others.

We bought some seasonings for a friend, and met some of the shoppers who were speaking French. In fact, the owner was from, you guessed it, Guinea!!

Some of the others recommended the ginger juice. So, we took their advice and tried the ginger juice. It was spicy but delicious!

It was a good opportunity for us to practice our French, and we continue to look for ways to keep the language alive in our minds.

Vos Amis (Your friends),

Shawn & Jenn

A Need Provided!

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Praise God! He has provided the $2,000 we need to purchase a used solar power system, a fridge, and some other household items from a missionary woman who is retiring from the field of Guinea.

Oak Dale Christian church in Moorefield, West Virginia asked if we had any projects that they could be involved in, and sure enough, we did!

This is a huge blessing and encouragement to us as we prepare for Guinea. There are a lot of initial costs such as plane tickets, solar system, etc. and it can be overwhelming at times. Yet God reminds us that He is bigger than all of that.

Yahoo for God, and thanks to Oak Dale!

Your co-workers,

Shawn & Jenn

This Past Month

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:00:00 +0000

In the past month we have wrapped up our French studies, packed and moved back to Ohio. After 16 hours of driving, we flew to Colorado. Two days after being there, we drove 10 hours to Durango, where Jenn’s brother Daniel married Sara Cummins. It was a wonderful wedding!!

We spent our Christmas there in Colorado with Jenn’s family, and had an enjoyable time!

Now we are back in Ohio where we will be living until we leave for Guinea in April. We have lots of travels up ahead, visits with family, friends, churches and supporters. We will also be keeping busy as we prep for our upcoming departure in April. We have to pack, clean and organize what we plan to ship, get shots, and make arrangements.

If you think of it, you can keep us in your prayers as we head that direction!

Surrounded by boxes and messes

Shawn and Jenn

3 Weeks!

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0000

Our time of studying French is coming to an end in just a few weeks. We are encouraged to look back and see the progress that we have made!

We leave Sherbrooke the 12th of December, and then we will be in Ohio for a few days with Shawn’s family, and then in Colorado for the marriage of Jenn’s brother and Christmas.

After that, we will be preparing to leave for Guinea in APRIL!
Happy THANKSGIVING!

Keeping busy with final exams and packing,
Shawn and Jenn

“Back to the Books”

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:00:00 +0000

Well, they say that all good things must come to an end! So, we’re kissing our fun, eventful and busy summer, "goodbye" and heading back to the classroom this week.

We have an afternoon class this semester, a different teacher, and about 15 new students in the French language program. The students are from all over the world, all here with the common goal of learning the French language.

We have been meeting about once a week with our friend Charles who has been teaching us some new verb tenses and grammatical rules that we need to know. We are very thankful for his help!

We will continue to live here in QC and learn French until December.

PRAY that we will make the MOST of our time here!

Jenn with Charles’ wife Rachel and baby Sephora.