Registration for the Essalam English Center began yesterday, and we are continuing it today...

Lots of young women are pouring in, and I got to meet a few of my future students!

The women here are beautiful and definitely have a mind of their own--most of them are very spirited and outgoing, from what I've seen. They all are eager to meet their teachers (myself, Jessica, and Sarah)--or as they call us sometimes, "professor" (haha!).

I am already falling in love with these people, and I am so humbled and honored by the grace and generosity they've already shared with us.

I wonder, as I look at the faces of the older generation here, what it must feel like to be reduced to this state. They are doing the best they can and I am amazed at the way they've managed to continue having joy despite the poverty and injustice. They were driven from their homes in 1975 by military force, and many, like my host "mother" Barika, or Jessica's "grandmother", surely remember not only the terror of fleeing for their lives, but also they way things "used to be".

How must it feel, then, to be forced to spend over 30 years in crumbling, make-shift huts and tents, eating donated "emergency rations" year after year, and watching your children and grandchildren grow up with such limited opportunities? This is injustice, and it hurts me to see it--how must it sting them?

It is only right to suffer with them--it is only right to come here and brush cheeks with their children, drink their tea and sleep beside them, to try and fight off the demons of despair that have begun to set in.

Last night was a huge blessing to me...we went to the home of Talib, an extremely gifted middle-aged man who was educated abroad in agriculture and who has returned to help cultivate gardens here in the desert. His work is incredible, and vegetable gardens are springing up here in the Sahara--check out : www.notforgotteninternational.org/nfi-programs.html

Anyway, we (Myself, Sarah, Phil, and Jess) visited his family around 9:00 p.m., where we gathered in his tent for a game of cards and tea. His sisters, nephews, cousins, nieces, and brothers all streamed in and out of the tent, striking up conversations in Arabic, Hessiniya, Spanish, and English--sometimes all four in the same sentence. Luckily, Talib speaks English, and is a wonderful help translating and teaching our team. (although Jess knows quite a bit of Hesseniya)

It was an incredible amount of fun. The card game was nice, but the company was hilarious. Everyone was so warm, so welcoming, so full of laughter. We are all picking up more Hessiniya, and Talib's sister is going to tutor me in proper Arabic while I'm here. We drank sweet, minty tea (three 'rounds', which is a huge ceremony in itself and lasts about 3 hours). Sarah and I have already had 18 cups of tea since we arrived two days ago. :)

Anyway, I'm doing well. I've encountered bugs and spiders of many shapes and sizes, and chewed quite a bit of sand along with my rice. But these are small adjustments I need to make, that's all. I feel very blessed to be here. :)

My camera is still unfound. :'( I can't deny I have to fight back tears when I think about it. If I can make one selfish request, please do pray that it is somehow found. But pray also that I look more like Christ, not less, because of this.

Miss you all. Please pray for our team, that we would remain simple vessels of love and grace and sacrifice. Please pray for the Saharawi people--that a new kind of hope would begin to dawn here in the desert.

Grace and peace to you! <3