Every time we return to Senegal from being in the US, it is a bit of an  adjustment. You would think that it would be easy after doing this for 11 years, but it’s not easy. This time not only did we need to leave  our family, including three of our four boys, but also our new  daughter-in-love and granddaughter. It is hard to nurture these new relationships from so far away.  It was a struggle coming back to Senegal, where we were asked to quarantine in our hot house with no air conditioning, and we found ourselves thinking of our loved ones in the US. But the Lord encouraged me with the following message, and I hope it encourages you as you continue to reach out to the world around you. During one of the Major League Baseball strikes, amateur players were allowed to try out in order to avoid cancellation of MLB games.  Although, this led to a whole plethora of problems for the league, for the first time, Little League coaches, college athletes, and others were given a temporary chance to live their dream. They were able to play the game they loved and feel like a professional player. While the “real” players were haggling for more money and better benefits, the temps were just happy to be given this privilege of running after pop flies at practice and standing out in the heat for hours throwing balls. They didn’t grumble because they understood that this job was the best job in the world and it would not last.  Like the amateur players, we are asked by God to do our best at a job that sometimes feels out of our league. We will do this job with joy, knowing that this life is really short, and we are privileged to be able to do a job that is beyond our scope of ability. He gives us the endurance to keep going, knowing that He will empower us to love

and teach the people he puts in our path. Hebrews 12:12-13 “So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.” I was told, during parent conferences this week, that I am helping a mom who has had to home school her son for the last 5 years. She is so grateful that he has a school that will teach him so that she can be more involved in the ministry that she has had to put on hold. I am

also grateful to be this wonderful young man’s teacher!