Hi Everyone,
I am going to be using this blog over the next few months to keep everyone updated on everything and anything that is happening that deals with my mission trip to Senegal this summer. As always, please feel free to get in touch with me about anything you are curious about.
First, I have been given this incredible opportunity by African Inland Missions (AIM). There is a ton to say about them. They have an incredible ministry and a wonderful group of people that keep everything running smoothly. There is a good chance that I may be partnering with AIM in the future as I work on developing a practice as a medical missionary. Give their website a check, it says more than I ever could:
http://www.aimint.org/usa
Second, a little bit about Senegal. Senegal is a small coastal country on the western coast of Africa consisting of about 76,000 sq. miles, by comparison, Colorado has an area of about 100,000 square miles. They speak English and since they were a French colony they also speak French. Here is the wikipedia reference for Senegal:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senegal#Geography
Given the imminent World Cup I felt it impossible to ignore that Senegal rejoices around soccer. They didn't make the World Cup for 2010(that would've been too cool for me to handle) but they are ranked 72nd in the world and 14th in Africa. Here is the website for the World Cup in South Africa this summer, with the U.S.'s first match against England in 67 days:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/index.html
I hope this information gives you something to do and in case you have more time I can elaborate on the brief information I gave in my prayer letter. I am living in Boulder, Colorado and going to CU. I am in my third year of studying Molecular biology which I have to say is phenomenally hard but entirely too interesting for me not to enjoy it. Well, I enjoy the learning, not so much the school part. I will be graduating next fall and going to Public Health school for a master's in global health. I also mentioned in my letter that I am frequently in the lab, this is a gigantic understatement because I feel like I spent all my time there. If you are at all interested in what I do in a cell biology lab please ask, otherwise it is too specific, but this is the lab I work in:
http://www.colorado.edu/mcdb/winey/
Have a wonderful day and please find a few minutes for some fun.
Mike
