When I think of the trials and the difficulties that we have encountered since we first came, it seemed impossible to ever feel at home here. But it is possible! After a few months of readapting to the culture and our new apartment and routine I finally felt comfortable a lot of the time. It was weird, almost as if something was wrong because I hadn’t felt this way in a long time. Yet, it was so refreshing not to feel constantly stressed and unsure in my environment. It is encouraging to have friends that I feel comfortable around and that share my same struggles, despite our differences in culture. Please don’t get me wrong: I still make lots of mistakes, I still have lots to learn and I sometimes still feel uncomfortable. Culture and language learning is a life long process but I can now safely say I feel at home here. Praise God with me! 
For Jacob, he still doesn’t feel this way because of the barriers of not knowing the language well yet. Yet, he has been making progress in this direction. He has a new friend from church that has recently taken an interest in Jacob. He still keeps up with his friends from our old neighborhood and that has been really good too. Just yesterday he spent the evening with them. His language helper is also a good friend and big encouragement to him. He enjoyed a trip recently to serve one of our village works. He loves getting his hands dirty. Soon, I hope my husband can say the same thing: I feel at home here as well.
Our kids are doing well: they excel at school and have many friends. Hope is a friendly to everyone and really enjoys being with others. She speaks some words in English, French and Wolof. It is neat to hear.
Praise God with us and pray that we will rejoice yet prayerfully seek Him on how to use our moments comfortable or not. To Him be the glory!