OK, let me fill you in a little on what's been happening in Sass and the area surrounding Sass where we ministered with you wonderful folks. I think I may have told you about the Christmas outreach where some of us missionaries along with our kids went back to put the roof on the Sass church. We also white washed the walls inside and made a few more benches. In addition to this, we painted the outside of another church in Fatik (the village where the National President worships). It's the village with the gas station where we stopped and then turned down another road towards Niakhar (the place where we set up our tents). When you guys were with us, we had a group that painted the outside of the church in Niakha, the pastors quarters and sewing center. Well, our December group ended up painting the inside of that church as well. The December outreach was a wonderful experience especially for me since I had all my daughters here over Christmas along with my son-in-laws, and they all were able to be a part of this "Christmas outreach". (We did all this the weekend before Christmas.) We were able to finish roofing the Sass church on Saturday night and then we all worshipped in it on Sunday morning. There were about 75 believers who worshipped there on Sunday morning. What a wonderful experience that was. We've attached photos of the finished church, which still needs to be painted on the outside.

Since your visit, good things are continuing to happen at Sass. Guy has told me that he has driven through Sass a number of times and on one occasion saw a bunch of kids meeting for a kids Bible club and then on another occasion he saw about 20 ladies meeting together for a Bible study. On top of that, the National Church President has reported some great things that are happening in Ngoyahem. (Ngoyahem is the village where we had our Evangelism Campaign on Saturday night.) Since we did that campaign, there has been a great response among the people there to the point where the Church President is thinking about having us come back in the future to build a church in Ngoyahem. So, it looks like God used the Sass outreach to build one church and plant another. Pretty cool how God can used a bunch of kids and staff from ECA and DA to build His kingdom in Senegal!

Mike has put together a neat little clip on the Sass outreach to the music from the movie "Holes". I think the song was "Dig it". Anyway, it's an appropriate song with all the digging we did. He's going to try to put it on YouTube if you guys want to use it. We hope to have a complete presentation done before the end of the school year. We are trying to see how we can best put it together with the appropriate music, etc. We will send you the finished product.

Well, hopefully that gives you guys some encouraging news on the impact that you made while you were here. We continue to have great memories of that time and your memories are also good ones. We appreciate so much your willingness to invest in God's kingdom here in Senegal and your willingness to dream big. It's a memory that I will have the rest of my life. On behalf of the outreach program and the administration at DA, please thank Scot once again for allowing you folks to come to Senegal and minister with us to the Senegalese community.

Please give my greetings to "the gang" there at ECA. Our kids here continue to talk about your group with fond memories. It was so special to see how our groups bonded so quickly. Some students report that they are still hearing from your kids through facebook. I'm attaching some pictures of the December outreach. You will especially be interested in the Sass church. If you noticed, the church sign has the ECA/DA logo on it.

Warmly,
Evan

There is now an entry for each day of the trip and the summary video is here! Please continue to pray for us as we apply what God has taught us. Please continue to pray for the church in Sass, the continuing work of the believers there, and the missionaries and African friends who have become so special to us!

The video done by the Dakar team is on YouTube. Watch it here.

THE JOURNAL
Day 1 - Saturday, November 17, 9 am

We made it! So where do we start? So much has bombarded us already! Praise God for his hand in many ways already! Everyone is safe and sound; we pulled into our housing around midnight and bed by 1 am. Spirits are high, the bodies strong, attitudes are good.

Temps are over 80 (28C), humidity is incredible already! Infastructure is nearly non existant it seems, power off, black outs in airport two times as we arrived.... does not seem to bother the locals. Entirely another world as one would expect.

Groups of DA students have been fasting and in repentance this week and are so excited to see what God is going to do over the weekend! We are so excited to see our kids interact with them and experience the power of God at work in their lives! Keep praying!

Uncle Eric and the Senegal 07 crew :)
Specific prayer requests -
Pray for Sarie as she is coming down with a cold, she was not good on the plane - We will see later today.
Strength for all, Gods good hand continuing to be evident, strength for our hosts.
Pray they will not turn off the water in the DA area, this is threatened and would make it a for extra struggle for our hosts, etc.
Continued flexibility for the kids - several twists even in the first 15 hours.

Saturday, part 2 (7 pm)

Basically, where to start? How about last night? We went to sleep after 12 and sank in to our soft and comfy beds! It would have been an AMAZING nights sleep had it not been for the humidity! That humidity hit us like a TRUCK!! But we are not complaining ;) This morning we woke up at around 7. We were graciously served breakfast by our hosts and we're handed out new awesome Senegal '07 team t-shirts. They were well made and have a design on the back drawn by a DA Junior! What talent, what talent.....We were then explained proper market and bartering etiquette. We were told how to cut down prices, find "gangas" and not get manipulatd by the vendors. Then we headed off to face the lion's den of Dakar, the open air market!! We got there and were basically swarmed by vendors. All of them had something fun to sell and all of them claimed to be our friends, brothers and sisters, it was quite funny. They would whisper in our ears telling us about that good price that they had for us, and ONLY for us :D We walked around for awhile, bartered, got ripped off, and had a good time with the men and ladies trying to sell us their goods. Everyone got something, and EVERYTHING was cheap. That is if you bartered down the price.

After our lovely and unforgetable open air market experience we headed back to the guest house for lunch, again provided by our awesome hosts.Then we headed off to the feared Senegalese beach!!! *Dramatic music* It was actually all good. The DA lifeguard, a pro by ALL standards, gave us some tips and tricks and we were on our way. We swam for awhile, hung out with a few DA girls that came with us and played an intense game of beach soccer. While all of us students were doing this, Uncle Paul and Uncle Eric (apparently we're all family now) were busy helping a group of Senegalese fishers pull in their net. It was quite amusing seeing two of our beloved teachers tugging at a rope along with a bunch of Senagelese dudes. I'm PRETTY sure that they enjoyed it. Soon though it was time to go home...We headed back and endured/enjoyed a crazy Senagalese drive through Dakar. There are no lanes, so figure that one out.

We got back to the guest house tired, salty, sandy, and HOT!! Along with this we did NOT complain when we found out that the water pressure was all but non-existent. That left us to find fun and creative ways to "ducharnos." Uncle Paul averaged 16 drops of water per-minute. The ladies found new uses of the pitcher and the cup. The guys kneeled down under the small faucet of the shower and splashed ourselves. You can ask us for more detailed stories when we get back, there are good. After our Mexican fiesta we are now headed to an evening of social drinking (Arabic Tea Party). This involves us, DA students and apparently tea. It's gonna be crazy. But don't take my word for it.....
*reading rainbow music plays in the background)
Until next time amigos!
joe

Day 2 - Sunday, November 18, 8 pm

We all slept better last night or at least got a few more hours of sleep! Some of us had the added excitement of chasing a mouse out of our apartment, just as we were getting ready to hit the hay. Fortunately, Stephanie Anderson, Christina and Maggie were brave warriors and managed to chase it out using brooms to assist them!! After a delicious breakfast of cereal and homemade cinnamon rolls, we headed over to DA for church. It was awesome! The kids were really rocking as we all sang some great worship songs together. A young man that works at the Deaf School, where we will go tomorrow, shared his testimony. It was very moving and I'm hoping he left our kids feeling blessed to be able to practice their faith without persecution. When your kids get home ask them to tell you Jean-Paul's story and how he got his name! For me personally, it was an amazing time to soak in God's incredible mercy in saving me and allowing me to be back at the school that so greatly impacted my life and helped shape me into who I am today. How I pray that ECA is and will be the same for your kids!

After church, we headed back to the Guest House for lunch. They are feeding us way too well! We had lasagna, garlic bread and salad. Our kids aren't used to eating so early, so that has been an adjustment. So far, everyone seems to be feeling fine. I'm the only sicky in the group, but haven't let that stop me. I would just appreciate your continued prayers for me to get better. We have lunch cleanup crews after every meal, so we are all getting a lot of practice washing dishes! we're so proud of how coopererative the kids have been - great attitudes and willing hands to help.

From 2:30 -5:00 we had a joint practice session with all the DA outreach kids. We had no idea going into it, that we were going to be praticing songs for 2 hours! It was very hot in the auditorium, but it was so wonderful to see 120 kids praising God in several different languages. Everyone worked so hard as we all learned parts and harmonized together - Andy you would have been in heaven! I think we are starting to get a clearer picture of what our time in the bush is going to look like. I don't think any of us will have ever seen anything like it.

The kids are quickly making new friends and loving the time when they can hang out with the DA kids. When we are on our own, they are having fun hanging out with each other too. Our biggest inconvenience so far has been the lack of water. We have plenty of water to drink, but the water gets shut of at random, so taking showers has been something we have come to realize we can't take for granted. And we are learning that with a glass of water you can actually get clean!

Right now, we are in a cultural session that some old friends of mine are leading. Then we head back for final preps for tomorrow as well as devotions and a debriefing time. Eric, Stephanie and I were able to run over and see the Deaf School this afternoon, so that helped us a lot. It is going to be a very interesting experience to say the least - we'll fill you in tomorrow! Please pray specifically for creativity as we try to minister to these street kids in a very small space. They also have several work projects for us to do in the afternoon. Though they tell us it is lovely weather right now, we are all pretty hot most of the time. The humidity is high, so we prety much sweat all the time. It does cool off at night, so sleeping isn't too bad.

Until tomorrow! Thanks for praying!!
Sarie

Day 3 - Monday, November 19, 5 pm

The sickness has attacked and invaded. We tried putting up the defenses, but some of the nasty little germs have penetrated our bodies. Not everyone is sick, but it is starting to get to a few of us. We have had a couple people throwing up... (I can actually hear someone throwing up right now - Not exactly music to my ears...) We have also had an injury since the last time you were updated. Daniel sprained his wrist (or something) last night. So he got the experience of an African hospital. I won't go into any more about that right now. Just keep our health and safety in your prayers!

Anyway. This morning we got up bright and early (not so bright, but definitely early) to go to the Talibe center. I don't know how much you all have heard about the Talibe, but basically they are boys that beg on the streets in order to earn money to learn the Q'uran. So we got there and some of our guys helped them take showers while the girls just... sat there. Tough missions trip huh. As the boys went finishing their showers they were fed breakfast and then we split them up into groups and helped them with a craft or sent them to play games. We then did one of our skits for them and taught them our spanish song. They really enjoyed our being there and taking time to be with them. It was quite interesting trying to figure out how to make crafts in such a small room and play games on the roof without anyone falling off. They left to beg around 12:30 and we got started sanding wooden benches to get them ready for painting tomorrow. We worked for about two hours and then we ate lunch. Senegalese style. We all went into this big room and sat on the floor and they brought us Senegalese paella. Kind of. It was rice with meat and vegetables... and it was really good. We also had African Cola. It was a unique experience. So we finished lunch and then worked for about another hour and a half. We were all really tired by then so the number of workers was dwindling as the time wore on. But we all made it out alive, and now some people are showering or siestaing, trying to rest up.

Some of us actually witnessed an accident outside not too long ago. That didn't really surprise me, since there are no lines on the road and people pretty much just go wherever they want to. As a new driver, I am freaked out for the people driving us around! It's like some sort of telepathic game they play.. "If you can guess where I'm going to go next, you can avoid an accident! Ready? GO!" So driving around is an adventure as well.

The shower situation has improved... We now have pressure, I think. So after sanding and painting this morning I am ready for my first real shower! It was cloudy today, so it was perfect weather for working outside. But it is still humid, so you feel stickty and dirty all the time. But it's Africa. It's a good experience for us all. So far I haven't heard any complaining, so we are all being troopers... I will brag on my fellow missions trippers.

In about an hour we are headed to the dorms for supper. That should be cool. The DA students are really nice and welcoming, and a whole lot of fun. So supper there, and then we head over to DA for games and more hang out time. That will be fun too. So it should be a pretty relaxed evening, thank the Lord.

I think that is about all for tonight. I am dirty, hot, tired, and probably smelly, so I am having a mental block, but I'm loving being here! Tomorrow we head back over to the Talibe center to work with the deaf kids there. We saw them today and they are so cute. We took pictures with them and they would push eachother trying to see them. So they love the attention too. So pray for patience on our part, since we won't be able to communicate, and just that we would be a good testimony to them. Anyway. I should probably be off. We will keep you posted! Thanks so much for your prayers!!
lynnette

Day 4 - Tuesday, November 20, 7 pm

We've just returned from a full day at the Talibe center, working with the deaf kids in the morning and painting tables, benches, and shower stalls in the afternoon. As you can imagine, we're a bit tired, but grateful for all we were able to do! The day began at Jane Penney's house. She's the woman who coordinates the Talibe center. She took some time to share more about her ministry with the Talibe kids, then gave us a chance to "go shopping," to purchase crafts made by Senegalese believers. After that we headed over to the Talibe center to work with the deaf students. It was quite a feat to corral them, but once things got going, the kids certainly seemed to have fun. They clearly loved our students! We performed a few skits for them, then did the same craft and games that we did with the Talibe kids yesterday. We had a great time...With a bit of creative gesturing, we even communicated relatively well. :-) A few highlights from our time with the students include - bowling (using water bottles and a tennis ball), thumb wrestling, and giving the students tennis balls at the end of the morning. Apparently, the kids love the "bounciness" of the tennis balls.

After saying (or signing) good-bye to the kids, we spent a short time resting before a Senegalese style lunch (in circles around the common bowls) and then got busy working on the tables, benches, and shower stalls we had started painting yesterday. I must say, everyone was great about jumping in to paint. In fact, several of us were significantly more blue and red by the time we finished with the painting! While the tables and benches remain at the school to brighten the rooms, we, in our colorfulness, had to return to our guesthouse to clean up.

This evening, we're all enjoying some much-needed "down time," hanging out with DA students, walking to the local store to check it out, playing cards, etc. Hopefully, we'll get to bed early tonight since we're going to classes at Dakar Academy tomorrow morning.

Let's see...We continue to need and appreciate your prayers. Thankfully, the 2 students who were sick yesterday are doing better today. They were both able to join us at the Talibe center. A few students are still suffering from queasy stomachs. So, please continue to pray for good health and safety. Pray, as well, that God will teach us about serving Him with joy, despite our weariness. I've been very impressed with the good attitude everyone has had, but I anticipate things may get more difficult once we head out into the "bush." Finally, praise God for the relationships that our students are developing with the DA students. It's definitely encouraging to see, and I imagine the growing unity will help us minister more effectively together this coming weekend.

Thanks to all of you who committed to pray for us as we're here in Senegal...Your role is crucial!

Blessings,
Stephanie K. (for the Senegal '07 team)

Day 5 - Wednesday, November 21, 11 pm

I hope each of you are able to navigate the pictures. We are picking out a few of the best from each day just to give you a brief glimpse of our experiences. They are in chronological order. The pictures really do not communicate what we are seeing or feeling however. We took an hour this evening (after another full and tiring day) to talk through what has happened so far. It is very interesting to hear and see each of them (and us) processing. For me, as a dad, I think about what it would be like to bring my family here. Would I be able to put up with the delays in daily life, water going off every night, periodic blackouts, malaria medicine every day, dirt and sand everywhere, filtered and bottled water, difficult shopping? Even harder would be complete poverty out my back door, lots of kids begging in my neighborhood, Muslim parents who do not allow their kids to go to kids club to hear about Jesus - so many needs everywhere I look. And yet there are so many possibilities. People who have little are so often the ones open to your interest and investment in their lives and to the message of Jesus.

Then I think of What it might be like for my little boys to grow up here. Would they appreciate life more? Would they take as much for granted as their peers in Spain or the US do, or as much as I do? Would they be able to hear more clearly God's call on their lives? Would it be a burden and a sacrifice for us as a family, or would it be a huge blessing? In talking to the missionaries, students and dorm parents here I can see many sides to this issue. The whole question is really meaningless unless God is calling you. I wouldn't want to be anywhere unless He wanted us there - but when He calls, it doesn't mean it will be easy!

Well, enough of that for now. Many students in the group are not as thoughtful as I am. I hope and pray that much of what they see and experience will impact them as it has me, but it won't. God does have His own things He is trying to communicate to them though. Please pray with us that they will listen! Some are fighting it. Please pray for us as leaders that our agenda will not get in the way of what He is trying to do in their lives. Please pray for continued strength and good rest before our exhausting days on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Please pray for a growing sense of unity and purpose with the DA students and staff throughout the weekend.

As a quick summary of today, we fought hard to bring home the turkey trophy but the DA students and staff blocked every attempt - almost. Both the girls and guys did score touchdowns and we are very proud of them. They were good sports. The sun and activity took its toll this afternoon and only a few felt strong enough to go to the center again at 4 pm to participate in the neighborhood "kids club" that Jean Paul has every Wednesday afternoon. For those of us who went, we had a blast! The 25 kids there are so responsive and it was wonderful to see their excitment and attentiveness to the Bible stories and singing. We taught them "Yo tengo un amigo" and they learned it well. Jean Paul says he will use the song and remember us always - he is a wonderful Christian brother and has a deep love and commitment to working with children. He is praying for a christian wife who loves kids as much as he does! We ate in the different dorms again at 6 and then met for our debrief time at 8. Our group is all asleep now - and that is where I need to be. I'll put this on-line first thing tomorrow. Sorry for the delay. We so appreciate your prayers and "active participation" in our trip. Remember that Thursday will be our last update before we go out to the bush - no internet there!!!
more tomorrow - Happy Thanksgiving from all of us - we have lots to be thankful for,
Paul

Day 6 - Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, 9 pm

So today was Thanksgiving Day. I bet many of us were missing our family members on this holiday. We started out the day quite early, not sure whether or not we would be able to go to Goree Island or not. We ate breakfast and waited until finally we got the message that we would be able to go. On the way to the port a couple of us became sick, but were able to pull through in the end. It was probably from the heat yesterday and all that exercise. We all jumped on the boat and began the trip to the island. The cool breeze was wonderful and the water was peaceful. It was hilarious when all the ladies would come up to us on the boat and say something like, "You my sister. Come to my shop. Remember me when we get to the island."

The island itself was exciting. We stopped at the famous slave house on the island. To me it was a bit eery. I stood there, looking out from the point of no return, trying to picture what it was like for the captured Africans who passed through. What it must have been like, losing, not only their country in that moment, but their identity as well. We are so blessed and take so many things for granted! After looking through the rooms and listening to the information given we made our way further, past the many determined store owners so that we could reach the top most point. When we got to the top we looked down at the great vastness and height of the drop. There was also this cool guy who made sand paintings. He even demonstrated one for us. On the way down we did our shopping. Some of the sales people were quite aggressive. Suprisingly enough, we survived.

We were sent to various families in the afternoon to partake in our Thanksgiving meal. It was a good experience and allowed us to meet some new people. I sure did miss my family though. The families were such a blessing for us! I hope they realize what a great service they did. To take strangers into their homes and share a meal with them...it was amazing.

This whole experience has been amazing for me, and I'm praying that others are receiving as much as I am. Not only about here and now, but for the future. I feel that God is continuing to grow a love of cultures in me. I want to reach so many people and I am so excited about tomorrow! We leave at 5 AM and all of us are tired and sunburned. We switched our Malaria medicine to evenings and I have to go take mine before we head off to bed. So I guess I'm y'alls last update until we hit the bush. No internet there. Everyone's prayers are greatly appreciated and I can feel God's hand moving. Please pray for strength and energy. I know the Enemy will attempt to use fatigue against us. You know, right now I imagine that we are taking light into the dark. The Enemy does not want us there and will use anything he can against us. Please pray for protection and for selflessness. Our own agendas can sometimes get in the way of what God is trying to do - from experience I have found this true - pray that we will be completely flexible and willing to do what He wants us to. Thanks again for everything. "With God all things are possible" - Africa is so amazing and I'm thrilled to be a part of what is happening here.
Yours truly,
Christina Jeter

Day 7 - Friday, November 23, late

Comfort is a thing that we've had to give up our first day out in the bush. We woke up at 4:00 A.M. and started on our trip with excitement for a new experience. After several hours of riding in our packed vehicles we started passing many villages with huts that reminded us of the movies. Finally we arrived to where we were going to stay. Tiredly we set up our tents and right as we were ready to take a rest we were ordered to break up into our work crews. Some went to Sass to work on construction, others went to a school to help the kids with medical needs, and others painted a church. When they got to Sass, the construction crew broke up into even smaller groups. Ag couple of groups dug holes. One group made bricks which was frustrating because many fell apart. Also a roof crew spent all day cutting wood and measuring lengths on top of the pastor's house. As tired as these people were, they worked all day in the blazing sun and made lots of progress. The biggest project was building the foundation for a church. Wounds were healed and children were prayed for by the medical team. While these groups did this, the painting group sanded, whitewashed, and painted several buildings. Apart from all these work groups was the VBS (vacation bible school) group. This group sang songs, performed skits, played games, and spoke of Jesus. After an exhausting day of work, everybody went back out to the place we were staying and ate a satisfying African meal. We headed back out to the Sass late that afternoon and the choir sang their songs interchanging with the drama group's skits. The preacher had an alter call after his sermon and many people gave their life to Christ that night. This made us feel like our hard work and our trip was worthwhile. Everything was finally over and we got back and went to bed to get as much sleep as we could for an even longer day beginning the next morning.

Daniel

Day 8 - Saturday, November 24, late

AHHHHHHH..SEQUENIA! Watalateeeeteamoooo!!! OOOOO...HEnah-nah... haha! I've pretty much been singing that our whole missions trip and today was no exception. So, basically today made me fall in love with Africa and the people living here. Of course the living conditions in the bush have been challanging (emotionally, hygenically, relationally...gramatically.) BUT seeing how people have reacted to our different ministry teams has been worth the nastiness and discomfort. Today the painting crew finished painting a parsonage, the building crew finished the foundation, bricks and benches for the churchk, the VBS team had a kids program in three different villiages, and the medical team treated 154 patientents. You know..the usual. Other than that life has been pretty boring...;)

You'll have to ask everyone for the exciting stories from their team, but all I can do is brag about my fun VBS experience. We got to do lots of fun songs and chants with motions and...coughdancingcough. Whether the kids were singing in English, French, Wolof or Sarar (oh yeah! 4-lingual, baby! haha!), they were singing about Jesus and his goodness without reserve, which totally made me smile...you don't get that in Spain. We also gave them crackers, did the "Hands" skit that we prepared, and played games with them using a parachute. My favorite part, I gotta say, was holding the adorable African kids (and by the way, Mrs. Muckle--if I ever get one of those kids through securtiy in the airport, I'm keeping it! You're just gonna have to come to Africa and get your own!)...I just loved how they would smile and wave at me and sit in my lap even though I didn't know one word of their language. Warm fuzzies.

So yes. Today was happy-tiring, but happy. As we drove back to camp and kids waved and ran after us, I couldn-t help but thank God for letting us impact these villiages. :D Well, folks, that's all for now. We're off to go eat another African meal....yeah. Keep praying. hehe JUST kidding. ;) Love!
Stephanie

Day 9 – Sunday – last day

The tired bodies started coming out of the tents about seven this morning, the cool night air was very refreshing as humidity was down. As the sun rose higher, one knew it was going to be a hot day again.  Individual bread loaves with jam and peanut butter awaited, dirty cups with hot chocolate were filled, even Gatorade was made up… home was calling though, just to know in less than 24 hours we will be back in Spain stirred many emotions in us.  I was anxious for the normal creature comforts I took for granted and desired to see my family again but we did not want our time to end with our new friends from DA. 

Tents were packed, Turkish toilets enjoyed for the last time, the trucks were loaded with generators, tools, 55 gallon barrels in preparation for our departure from the bush immediately after church. 

We got in the vans to drive the 5 kilometers down the sand track to Sass for a final worship service with the believers.  I was a bit sad to not be able to sit on the roof safari style for the last time to enjoy the cool breezes but we were a bit more civil as it was Sunday I guess.  

We arrived to find a tent set up in the common area of the village with benches and much needed shade.  The Senegalese believers were dressed in the their finest, little children sitting on a large mat in front, with mothers, babies and men on some benches already. 

The generator ran the sound system as the service began, this time in French, English and Serere.  Early on we were asked to come up and sing our “Yo tengo un Amigo” song one last time… not sure if I will miss that song much?!    Then the Senegalese Choir came up to sing accompanied by 5 djembe drums!  They sang the same Serere song that we sang the night prior.  Oh, the energy they had with the drums and clapping.  Several in the group began to dance.  Such energy.  There was no doubt for the rest of the people in the village that something was going on as it was very loud. 

I could not help but think that someday in heaven I would meet one of these brothers and recall together that church service we had back in Sass.  Wow!

After some more singing the head pastor of the denomination in Senegal, Rafael made his way to the microphone to preach.   He had a terrific blessing and encouragement for our DA and ECA team. He told us he was pleased we answered God's call to help build the church in the Sass area both physically as well as spiritually.  He spoke of the encouragement of the believers to have 140 of us come and minister with them.   He encouraged all of us to walk behind God and let Him lead in our lives.

He then admonished the believers of Sass and other villages with some words, an excerpt of which Paul Madsen wrote down below:

To be a Christian is not to go to church, carry a Bible or a cross. It is to be like Jesus. Every time you do or say something you must first ask if Jesus would do that. Would He offer a sacrifice to idols? Would He wear a fetish (a charm superstitiously believes to embody magical powers) ? You must decide today. Decide for your future and commit to serve and follow everyday. Decide. Say, "I will never go back. I will never return to the idols. I will never carry another fetish."

Bring your fetish and leave it here forever. We will not be dominated by the power of darkness. We want to receive the blessing of God. We decide to leave behind everything which ties us to the power of the devil.

An incredible challenge to them in the world they live in where the spiritual darkness is so real and dark traditions are as well.  I could not help but think of what idols and fetishes were in my life, perhaps not wrapped around my waist like most Senegalese, but what of pride, self sufficiency, and trusting in my pocketbook. 

As the pastor drew the message to a close, he asked each of the Senegalese believers in the crowd to stand and the white believers to surround them and lay on hands.  Each of us was asked to pray for a person that we had our hands on, look them in the eye and commit to pray for them in the future.  He told us that these Senegalese believers had the hard task now of standing firm in the dark land and culture.  It was very impacting.

The Final Log is yet to come!
Uncle Eric

An extract from the sermon in Senegalese service in Sass on Sunday

To be a Christian is not to go to church, carry a Bible or a cross. It is to be like Jesus. Everytime you do or say something you must first ask if Jesus would do that. Would He offer a sacrifice to idols? Would He wear a fetish? You must decide today. Decide for your future and commit to serve and follow everyday. Decide. Say, "I will never go back. I will never return to the idols. I will never carry another fetish."

Bring your fetish and leave it here forever. We will not be dominated by the power of darkness. We want to receive the blessing of God. We decide to leave behind everything which ties us to the power of the devil.

Our prayer for Sass:
Lord, we declare that Sass will be a part of our joy in heaven when we hear of Your good work that has continued here. And we will rejoice together when we hear that they have walked daily with You. But we will cry if they have left the path. God, perserve them and keep them faithful. Do not let them disappoint You. Muliply the work that has been done here for Your great glory. Let us rejoice together in heaven with You for each one who has left the darkness and come to stand and live in the light of Your Word, trusting Jesus for salvation, and witnessing of the power of You, the living God, who has given them joy and great peace in the knowledge of eternal life.

Trip Summary

Thank you for joining us, through prayer and financial support, as we served in Senegal! During the ten days we were there, God worked in amazing ways. While we’ll never know all of the ways God was at work, He did allow us the privilege of participating in the following:

After the trip, the students were asked, “What did God show you through the Senegal experience that you do not want to forget?” Here are some of their responses…