some struggles

I do enjoy the work that I do here in Senegal, and in Mekhe. Lately the weather has been nice. Some days it has been hot, other days fairly mild. It is like a summer in NC during August, and when I was coming I expected much hotter, more extreme conditions. So I really can't complain about the life here.
But what I have been struggling with lately is putting my passionate foot forward. It took so long for language classes to get started, so it seems like I have been learning Wolof for a year now since I have lived here nearly 10 months and worked as a missionary for a year. But I've only had 5 months of classes. They weren't kidding when they told me I would be a life learner as a missionary.
But I'm ready to share with people. Yet after Wolof class, I sometimes feel so tired that I just want to rest. So a struggle at times has been to even go and visit with my neighbors and friends. This is the season of Ramadan, and I'm always greeted with the question "how is the fasting?" When I answer that question, I tell them that I'm not a Muslim, that I am a follower of Christ, so I am not fasting during this season. Earlier this month I was struggling just to say this. But I have noticed the more I say it the easier it comes. I think that is true with most things that I have learned. I simply have to practice it repeatedly in order to learn it. This was a struggle, but now it's coming around.
But my struggle lately has been my passion. It's here, but it's tired! Lately I have been reading a lot about the politics that are going on in America. Deep down I have always wanted to work in conservation, and now that conservation seems to be the wave of the future in career choices, I'm itching to find a job that will pave the way for the future. It would be something I know I would enjoy. I don't get to work with my hands here, and since I see my hands as one of God's greatest gifts to me, often times I wonder how I can use them here. Maybe I am supposed to be doing something else? When I think this way, I realize that satan is reminding me of what I love, but I should be focusing more on who I love.
Another minor battle has been these blisters on my feet. They aren't healing because as I walk I keep breaking the scabs. This is keeping me from exercising like I wish I could, and I do miss the exercises that I grew into the habit of doing.
So I have been battling a little this month with my interests and things that I want to do. I still wish that I could find a balance between these. I enjoy the time I have to talk with friends and neighbors, but gee, if I could work in a lab developing methods of conservation as well, I'd be more satisfied with my work. Maybe this is where God is teaching me that it's not about me, and it's all about his will for my life. I still have a lot to learn. I know that I am stubborn at times. But I know that God is faithful and he will bring me through these struggles. I pray that my joy will remain complete despite them.