A New Year in a New Apartment

I returned Tuesday from cloudy weather and snow at home to the endless sun and dust of West Africa. After a few hours sleep, I packed up my things from the room I was renting and moved into a new apartment to be used as the mission's office/a student hang out/a few girl's living quarters. For the last several months my teammate has been looking and finally found a place that fits what she needed! We finished moving the office today, so with jet lag, New Year's day and unpacking boxes my first week back has flown by quickly. 

It's hard to believe that my time is over half-way done and I will be leaving before I know it. I pray that this new year will be a time of resting in God and finding my peace in His work in my life. Many unknowns lay before me, but God is faithful and good. 

Bonne Année 2009!!!!

November Snapshots: Pictures tell what words may leave out.

A view from my new apartment

Ndombyout Church Dedication 

Fish Market

Tie Dye Workshop for Women in the Church 

Prayer Request: Pierre's Landlord

Pierre (church-planter) called me this morning and updated me on his landlord who has liver cancer.  Two weeks ago I visited Pierre and one of the men in the room with us was his landlord. At the time I did not know who he was and as we discussed issues related to community development his landlord listened attentively and added in helpful observations.  Later Pierre explained to me that he has liver cancer and does not have much hope for recovery.  

Today Pierre told me that he has been at a hospital for a week and a half and can only drink liquids now.  He needs to come to Dakar to be treated but does not have the means to do this.  He asked Pierre if I could help him with the cost - close to 600 USD.  I didn't know what to say, but I said I would pray for him. It's not the first time I've been asked to help someone out with medical expenses and I know it will not be the last time.  

Please pray for Pierre's landlord as he faces the reality of suffering and sickness; ask that God would give him the strength and faith to put his trust in Jesus. Pray that God would not only provide for his financial needs, but for his physical, spiritual, and emotional health. Please pray for wisdom and encouragement for Pierre as he seeks to minister to him and his family.  Thank you. 

 

Today 

Amani Ya Juu

Today is my last day in Kenya before I travel 10 hours on a plane back to Dakar. I've loved my time here, but I am ready to go back to my life in West Africa.  This morning I visited Amani Ya Juu (Peace from Above), started twelve years ago by a missionary who desired to help refugees with work.  The founder began by helping 3 women with a sewing income generating project and today there are around 60 women who work with Amani Ya Juu.  These women are uplifted through their work and encouraged daily in their walk with God through devotions and prayers. It's a beautiful testimony of God's work in and through the lives of women. 

Charity gave us a tour of the sewing workshop and office; as we walked in one of the sewing rooms the women stopped their work and began welcoming us with a song of praise to God - it was beautiful.  On the back wall they have a mosaic that each one of the ladies of the center added a tile as a symbol of their unity in their work. Below it is written 'Pamoja Tunaba Dilishiwa' (together we are changed). 

After the tour Hayden and I looked around the shop and talked to Maggi who sews in between helping customers. Her face brightened as we told her we are working with women in other countries of Africa and always are interested in learning new ideas.  She said she loved ideas and started talking about the different products and ideas she has seen being at Amani.  It was encouraging to see her enthusiasm and excitement for the work we desire to do where we live. 

The shop has beautiful handcrafts - quilts, table linens, jewelry, clothes, etc. and their outside cafe is nice with wonderful coffee and snacks.  It is definitely a place I would go to often if I lived in Nairobi:)

 http://www.amaniafrica.org/

 

Quick Update on My Trip to Kenya

Kenya has been amazing - beautiful landscape, cooler weather, delicious food (lots of African tea and coffee shops) and wonderful people. The workshop on dialogue education training was stimulating and challenging in my thinking on new ways to develop and improve my work in economic training with the West African churches. The highlight of the week was definitely the encouragement and network of experienced believers who work in and with local churches in community economic development. 

Godaguéne Well

Godaguéne is a little village (2,000+ pop. in 2003) located three hours from the city in a predominately Muslim community with little access to roads or electricity.  In 2005 a church was started yet has remained small despite the initial draw of curiosity. On my first visit to the village to discuss 'economic development' they shared with me their desire to have a closer well in their village. The well is 1 km away and the women spend 4 to 6 hours a day just walking back and forth from the well.  In the past they thought an outside organization would help them but nothing has ever happened.  

I agreed to try and help them have a closer well put in if they would find the land, hire an experienced work crew and take care of them for the duration of the well construction.  They agreed to this and obtained permission from the village chief and found an experienced crew to  dig the well.  Now they need outside partners to invest in the cost of the well construction ($3, 150) If you would like to donate to the Godaguéne well, please send donations to MTW P.O. Box 116284 Atlanta GA 30368.  Account #95959 

Thank You!

September Prayer Update

“I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.”

Isaiah 45:5-6

It is the season of Ramadan.The beaches are desolate; the public pool is empty; and, hours of offices are shortened. From sunrise to sunset the majority of the population in the city abstain from food and drink. At dusk the bakery lines extend out the door as people buy bread to break their fast. 

I’ve been in West Africa for almost 15 months, and while I feel at home here, I have many areas I need to continue to grow in - language acquisition, culture sensitivity, ministry responsibilities, limits in generosity, etc.

I thought I would be spending a couple of months in a town closer to the villages, but Ndeye who I was going to stay with has been sick for the last month. She continues to struggle with her health.  Please lift her up in your prayers.  

In the month of August two training events occurred related to economic development. The first was a  roof top garden training for twenty-one women in the local community of one of the Presbyterian churches. So far it has been a success! The women trained have done a wonderful job taking care of their garden and have already started to sell their produce. The desire for the project is to provide an on-going opportunity for the church to engage in their community. Please pray for the Gospel to go forth through this project.

The second event, towards the end of August, was a training of 16 church leaders in project management. Daniel who attended the Chalmers Institute in Ghana and works with World Vision graciously offered to teach this seminar.  Management is an important aspect of the practicality of the church that is not always addressed - especially in this culture.  Pray for the development and fruitfulness of the church leader's management skills and their project ideas. In the coming months I will be following up on the participants to help them carry out some of their projects.  

Thank you for your prayers and partnership with me in West Africa.

Photo taken by Sarah E. at Virage Beach 

First Harvest

This week the Bon Samaritain women's group harvested their first batch of lettuce and mint -only a month after they set up their gardens.  They sold 4,550 F (10.70$ +/-) of produce on their first day of sales.  A bundle of mint and a head of lettuce sell for 100 F each (0.25$). The word is out in the neighborhood and now kids are sent to the center to buy fresh mint and lettuce! The micro-jardin project is a great example of how the local church can connect with their community in a tangible way that demonstrates the Gospel in all of life.  Pray for this women's group to experience the transformation of God's grace in their lives.

Risks

Last week I sat around a bowl eating with my hands as the little girl next to me coughed on the food.  The next day I sat around another bowl with another little girl sitting next to me coughing on the food.  Many times I have to live by others values and even when I know the consequences such as coughing spreads germs! Now I have the flu and have been in bed recovering.  

Snapshots

Visiting Deba's Children with Pastor Moussa 

David, Francis Lisse and Rachel Flying a Homemade Kite

Samba with Paul's daughters - Camie and Mary Madeline 

Samba is doing great! Thank you for all of your prayers!  Her wound is healing well and a doctor in the village checks on it daily. She is staying with Paul's family and hopes to go to school in a few months. Sadly, she is too old to go back to public school unless a judge changes her age. Here it is actually possible to go before a judge and ask them to lower the age on a child's birth certificate so he/she can continue his/her education. This can be complicated and expense, and there are private schools in the area that Samba can attend. There is also a center near Paul's house that provides practical skills for young girls who dropped out of school. Right now this looks like the best option for her. We walked by the center as I was leaving the village and Samba started talking about all the different classes they offer. She would love to go back to school. Please continue to pray that God would provide all of Samba's needs. Many of you have already given generously to Samba's medical expenses. Thank you!  She still has some expenses that need to be covered. If you would like to help out, please drop me a line. Thanks!

Needing Faith

This week I spent time with four pastors each in different regions of Senegal.  I ate fish and rice or millet and talked about different aspects of their ministry. They each have different visions and challenges in their work but share a passion to advance the Gospel in their communities. We talked mostly about development projects - since this is my focus of work, but also talked about their struggle to make ends meet.

The support they receive is not sufficient, neither is their church capable of taking care of them.  They desire to be self-sufficient and to provide well for the needs of their family, but their present conditions do not foster this. At the same time, they carry the burden of responsibility for their church members and mercy needs in their community. As I talk with them and they ask me for assistance, I join in carrying their burdens, but I also do not have sufficient means to satisfy their requests. 

This afternoon I went with Pastor Moussa to visit a widow who recently moved to Mbour. She lives with her children in a squatter community near the church. When we arrived at her hut, we found her four children left to themselves while she was washing clothes in Mbour. Her older children recently arrived in Mbour to stay with her during the school vacation. They live in a one room hut with dirt floors. It is an improvement from their first hut that was thatch and did not protect them from the rain. One of her sons has a serious sore on his head probably caused from their living conditions. 

When Deba’s husband died she was obliged to marry another relative, but the arrangement did not work. To fend for herself and her children she left her village to search for employment in Mbour. Her present house can be taken from her at any moment that the landlord returns. Moussa has asked me to find help for her - a permanent place to live and temporary support until she can have a more stable source of income. Truthfully, I want to say to him that I have too many other projects that need funding. I don’t think I can find enough money for this too.   

At the root, I lack faith that God can provide for ALL the needs and requests that people ask of me - funds for projects for the pastors, their churches and communities. Though as I write this I am reminded of Ephesians 3:20 "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

AIDSFAM and Micro-jardins

Bon Samaritain Groupement 

Hammering 

Enjoying posing for a photo

Pape (literacy teacher/groupement facilitator), Pastor Ibou and Marie Agnes (Ibou's wife and literacy teacher)

Mixing Subtract

The first week of August, twenty women of the Bon Samaritain group at the FM church's center were trained in "micro-jardins" - hydroponic vegetable gardens. Now there are twenty vegetable tables on the roof top of the center and soon vegetables to sell! It was a joy for me to watch this women's group come together and hammer nails and boards to make these tables. The women in the group are mothers in the community who have participated in the center's literacy classes. 

The overall objectives of the project are to encourage the FM church in their ministry to these women and provide the group with a new skill and income generating activity. Thanks to a generous donation by AIDSFAM (http://aidsfam.org) this project was possible! Pray for these ladies to be faithful wives, mothers and stewards of the gifts they have been given. Ask that God's truth would change their lives. 

Fatou Guèye and the ëmb project

Fatou Guèye inspires and motivates me in development. She is a widow, a mother, a friend, a leader, a hard worker and a beggar.  I met her on the street when she asked me for money and through our friendship we started a small group with other street women.  Together these women, professional beggars, have saved money and received small loans for income generating activities.  This year five of them learned how to sew and now have a new skill they can put to use to earn money for their families.  In collaboration with a local women's association, we started an income generating project called ëmb ("bundle" in Wolof).  

The goal of ëmb is for members of the women's association to produce and sell handcrafts locally and internationally.  We are in the beginning stages of this project and currently selling table cloths, tie dye cloth bags, and change purses.  We hope to expand and improve our product line in the future months. Please contact me if you are interested in ordering any of these products. All the proceeds go to the women's association to be invested into future projects and to support the women. 

Goree Island

"From this door

        for a voyage without return

      they went, their eyes fixed

    on the infinite suffering."

Kayaking to Goree Island with Katie (summer intern) her last week

Answers don't always arrive in the expected package of our desire or provide the solution we longed to obtain. Nevertheless, time moves forward and it's either sink or swim. My sinus headaches continue to bring fatigue and I need wisdom in knowing how to live in God's grace. Please pray for strength in knowing how to cope with this constant struggle.

Questions

I've been thinking a lot since I've come back from my trip home what I want this next year to look like. Several ideas and questions come to my mind that I am mulling over. One question that needs to be addressed is my health - what do I need to do about my lingering sinus infection? Today, I felt achy along with a sinus headache and congestion and a colleague suggested I have elders of the church anoint me with oil and pray over me. When I came back home this evening my neighbor told me I should drink local tisanes and juices to clear my sinus and boost my energy. Another idea I'm looking into is purchasing an air filter and looking for a new apartment that is not on a sandy street. I go back and forth about moving...I love my little neighborhood and would be sad to leave all of the kids who run up to me every time I go out and shake my hand (and sometimes even curtsey). Sunday I found out that my neighbor had a baby girl and named her little Anna "Anna Ndaw." So I am torn... another factor is that I would like to be closer for a while to the village churches to be able to visit more often and understand their economic constraints and opportunities. Another potential opportunity is for me to study French in France for a month to have an intense time of sharpening my language skills to be better equipped to train church leaders. I may not go if a training opportunity comes up in economic development. To throw into the mix a female intern is coming in November and would like to live with someone, and I am planning to find a place with her. Adding to this most of my teammates are returning to the States for a few months and I will be mostly by myself and thought it would be nice not be in Dakar as much and mostly stay out in the village area. I've found a place I can stay for a while in a city near the villages and my colleague has offered to let me store some of my belongings in her apartment. But then the decision comes back to my health and maybe I need to have a procedure to clear up my infection - I'm waiting for the doctor to find out about this. Well I'll save my other questions for the near future. I could use prayer for wisdom.

If you read this and understood my rambling thoughts, I'm impressed. If you have advice feel free to comment.

"Once a bright point..." Article from IHT

Interesting article about the discontentment in the beacon of West Africa.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/18/africa/senegal.php?WT.mc_id=rssmostem

It's a little ironic because I just read this article after having an 8 hour electricity cut.

A friend sent me this quote and verse in her prayer letter and I wanted to share it with you. Will you pray for transformation in my life and the people I encounter in West Africa?


'Give a man a fish and he has food for a day (relief)
Teach a man to fish and he has food for a lifetime (development)
Empower a man to think about fishing in new ways and his life will be changed forever (transformation)'

Old Chinese proverb adapted by Scott Allen and Darrow Miller

Romans 12:2

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Ghana

One of my favorite aspects about Ghana was the Presbyterian church we worshipped at on Sunday at 7 a.m. in the morning (the sun rises at 5 a. m. and they only have one English service). The church building dates back to 1902 and on the morning we went it was packed. It was beautiful to be in such a large church of a few hundred people when I am use to going to small churches, sometimes of 20 people.




The first morning in Accra I took a long walk and found the advertisement signs amusing. Maybe you can explain to me the meaning of this sign.



This was the first time I've seen this written on an ambulance and thought it was picture worthy.

Ghana

I spent this past week in Ghana at a Christian Economic Development Institute facilitated by the Chalmers Center. It was a privilege for me to see my professor, Dr. Brian Fikkert and meet Christian African leaders from Kenya, Brundi, Rwanda, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, Malawi, Uganda, and other African countries. It was a reminder to me of God's presence in Africa and the history of the church. In this picture I am sitting in between a Togolese Pastor and Ghanian Pastor who were at the conference and are involved with our mission's theological education program. We stayed at Salvation Army hostel that had the bare minimum but that worked fine for a week.