Hi there moms and dads,

For Easter break this year Marc and I took our two oldest boys to Dakar, Senegal. For many years, we have dreamt of visiting Africa. We expected vivid colors, vast landscapes, and exotic animals. We did not anticipate how attached we would feel to the kind, warm Senegalese people we met. We returned home last week already planning our return.

In Senegal, you don’t feel stress in the air; you feel joy, connection, caring, compassion and gratitude. Babies in Senegal are carried on their mothers’ backs, wrapped tightly in a scarf and you never see a stroller. Women carry heavy items on their heads. Many modern conveniences are not available yet the sense of community and togetherness pervades.

It is impossible to summarize the sense of gentleness, warmth and kindness we experienced, so I will list some moments that stay with me:

When we arrived at our little rented apartment, the gentlemen working the door left his post to walk us around the neighborhood and help us find the market and bakery. Each time we arrived home with groceries or our backpacks he lept up to help insisting on carrying the bags upstairs. In a small payback, we brought him a plate every night for dinner and some cookies and milk. This was my attempt to show the boys how they should be reaching out and helping someone else.

Visiting the beaches of Dakar last week, our buggy broke down. Another truck immediately stopped and helped us jump start the battery. The second truck bore about 40 passengers and they all smiled patiently at us, happy to help. No one was rushed to catch a train or leap on a conference call!

We visited a welcoming center for boys on the street, a school, and an orphanage and were greeted with broad smiles, laughter, and hugs.

Mamas and papas, Senegal might not be in your near future but find a way to surround yourself with caring and compassionate people and encourage your children to do the same. Teach them to monitor their internal “kindness clock”: they should spot out anyone who makes them feel uncomfortable, unaccepted or not enough and avoid that person entirely! They should seek out the nice guys, the helpers and carers. And they should try to stay in tune with how they make others feel. These lessons can take years to teach and don’t get me wrong, Marc and I are right in the midst of it all with our little ones.

I hope I have been able to articulate how valuable this experience was for our family, and I am sending happy, caring thoughts to you and yours.

Melissa

P.S. In another special giveaway this week, we will be awarding one lucky winner a $100 Amazon gift card and contributing $100 to the Sours Franciscaines Missionaries de Marie of Dakar, Senegal.

Weekly Giveaway

Prize: One (1) $100 Amazon Gift Card

Rules:

Enter using the Gleam widget below.

Open to U.S readers.

You must be 18 or older to enter.

You have multiple ways you can enter to increase your chances of winning.

ways you can enter to increase your chances of winning. The giveaway ends on Monday, May 20, 2019, at 11:59 PM (Eastern Time).

Winner will be announced on the widget below within 48 hours after the giveaway has ended.

Weekly Wrap Up Giveaway

