Hello again from Dakar, Senegal.  It’s been a few days since our last blog.  That is primarily because in the last 10 days we had electric power outages lasting from 6-12 hours.  We would have electricity in the morning for a few hours then it would be off until late afternoon, then on until 7-8 pm, then off until somewhere around midnight to 3:00 am.  It is challenging trying to see and do ministry on these hot, humid days with no fans much less sleep well at night (don’t even think about air conditioning)!  In addition to traveling and seeing/doing ministry, we also helped with the preparation and cleanup after meals, try to wash clothes while we had power ( one day our water was off), etc.  All this factored into our time issues and not keeping up with our blogging in a timely manner.  It was rumored that there wasn’t enough fuel to run the electric generators for Dakar.  Praises though because for the last 2 days (and nights) we have had electricity. I can run my laptop and recharge batteries, etc.  We are seeing first hand some of the issues that the missionaries here have to deal with.  Their faithfulness is inspiring.  As a team we are working through the “shock” of all of this and I believe handling it fairly well.  Our “comfort zones” have been wiped out but God is faithful.

During the last part of our first week, we continued having language lessons in Wolof in the morning then going to look at various ministries.  We saw a boutique run by one of our missionaries, they sell various items and have a library with Christian books, bibles and literature upstairs. 

On Friday the 21^st,  we traveled to Thies and had lunch with our missionary there, Mary Yuille.  She has served over 30 years and is retiring soon.  We fellowshipped with another short term team from Gordon College in Massachusetts.  Then off to Diourbel to spend a weekend at rented house and observe ministries happening in the nearby villages.  Diourbel is a small city east of Dakar in the interior of Senegal.

Saturday morning, the 22^nd, we traveled to Touba to the take a tour of the mosque located there.  It is one of the major centers for one of the five sects of Islam found in Senegal.  On Fridays our tour guide told us that upwards of 10,000 people come to worship there.  Please pray that God would break the spiritual darkness in this place.  That afternoon, we traveled out to the villages of the Serere people.  We visited three villages and spoke to the pastors of the village churches located there.  These nationals are going out and witnessing and winning some the people to Christ.  After seeing the spiritual blindness in Touba, it was a blessing to hear of the ministry these men have and of the times God has blocked resistance to their ministry by local Islamic leaders.  Please pray for the ministry of these pastors to the Serere people and that God would send finances/help so they can continue to spread the gospel.

Sunday morning, the 23^rd, we went back to one of the villages for church service.  It was translated for us by the pastor’s brother who spoke 3 languages (French, English, and Serer).  I even got an opportunity to speak a few words!  The rest of the day we spent back at our center in Diourbel relaxing.  Our missionaries there, Marilyn Escher and Mary Ann Lattin (both with over 30 years of service) came over to visit.  They had a question and answer session with us about being a missionary.  It was wonderful to hear them share the wisdom and insights God has given them over the years.  Another reason we were there was to move all the furniture and stuff out of that house we stayed in for Mary Ann on Monday.

All last week from Tuesday the 28^th through yesterday the 29^th we ran a Kids Club in the morning and a VBS in the afternoon.  We assisted Steve and Laura Newkirk run a Kids Club at their house in the mornings.  Laura had canvassed her local neighborhood asking the parents she knew to let their kids come.  Since all but one of these families are person (one being Catholic), we had a prayer walk asking God to touch hearts.  He answered!  We had 30 kids, which was all the Newkirk’s yard could handle, come out.  A friend of theirs, Phillipe, came over from Thies to lead the activities and do the bible study segment as the kids spoke only French or Wolof.  One of our team, Jeremiah, got to share his testimony with Phillipe translating.  We had charge of the crafts and helped with the games.  As the week went on , the kids really warmed up to us and they were a delight to play with.  Please pray for Steve and Laura as the now have the job of following up with the parents of these kids as doors have been opened.

(A sidelight to this Kids” Club is that we took a taxis to and from the Grudda’s house to the Newkirks’ house.  It was an “experience” as our drivers navigated in and out and around traffic, goat herds and whatever was blocking the roads!  It seems I can’t get away from road construction no matter where in the world I go.)

In the afternoons we ran a VBS for the MK’s here at the Grudda’s house.  We had about 7-8 kids.  The team organized and setup the whole thing.  Again, I believe that God blessed our efforts.  Please pray for these young hearts to continue to be tender to God and that they would grow strong in him.

Well, I know it’s a long read but we have seen how God has been working in many different ways despite resistance so I wanted to fill you in.  Please pray that we will continue to have power for our last week here.  Blessings.