Hi friends and family,

I hope you are all doing well! I want to thank you all for your prayers and encouragement- I know things wouldn’t be going this smoothly if I didn’t have your support. Thank you thank you!

I’m sorry I haven’t updated for awhile- I didn’t get to use the computer very much this weekend and this is my first chance of going online for more than a few minutes! This weekend was fun- I went to the market Saturday morning to look for material to make a dress. I found some nice material- turquoise with big circles- and only had to pay $6 dollars for it! Then I went to the tailor and she measured me and asked me to choose a style of dress. The African dresses are actually a shirt and skirt, but put on together they look like a dress. So I chose a style and apparently it will be done by Wednesday! I’m excited to wear it and blend in a little better with the people here! I spent Saturday afternoon with Dr Martin’s 3 year old daughter, Kemi. She told her mother, “Je va partir avec tantie Ann!” (I want to go with Auntie Ann!) Ha, so we spent the afternoon at the Catholic center feeding the monkey, coloring, painting fingernails, and looking at the nuns’ crocodile and puppies! This is the most bizarre Catholic center!

On Sunday I went to church with Dr Martin and his family. The service was very interesting- the first hour the children went to a different building for a lesson and all the adults had a lesson in the church. For the second hour everyone came together and we sang songs and gave offering. Then the third and final hour the pastor gave a sermon and the children left again. It was a long morning but good! I didn’t understand much of it as everyone speaks so fast, but I liked worshipping with the Africans here. They said that dancing comes before singing when they worship and I definitely noticed that! It was fun! Sunday afternoon I visited different families from the clinic with Dr Martin. We visited families with children who have never seen a car or a white person so they were pretty scared of us when we drove up! It made for an interesting afternoon!

Today has been very busy in the clinic. I spent the entire day following and observing the nurses. Today was basically a “normal day” where any patient could come in and be seen for any problem. A few people came in with wounds from motorbike accidents or stepping on things, lots of sick children, and a few women came to have pregnancy tests. It was also a sad day because I had to watch lots of little kids and babies get shots and then scream L. It was so sad and so hard to watch!

Life has been good in Benin! My French is coming along well which is great! I am now starting to have trouble speaking English well- I have to think about it a little before I talk. Weird! I am also starting to get to know 2 of the sisters from the Catholic center well which is fun! They come find me when I eat my meals and we hang out for awhile- so its nice to have some friends!

I will write again soon, take care everyone and God bless!