Showers of blessings

Monday was a delightful day spent with Nema.

We kinda got a late start…imagine that! : ) There was quite the excitement when on our way to the van a local fisherman showed up with 10 kilos of fresh JUMBO shrimp!!! Needless to say Joseph wanted his fair share of “gumbo”! NeNe provided a wonderful evening meal for our Nat’l team!! It was quite the treat for Antionne, Sebastian, and Immanuel. Of course, Joseph needed to purchase a few kilos that he could dry and take back to his family. For those who remember the incident w/the Palm oil…I gave him strict instruction that the shrimp was not allowed into the van. It needed to be in a sealed container. Monday night I slept fairly well but kept waking up to an “odor”. Due to all of the rain I was beginning to wonder if we had some sewer issues. Well, not to worry…it was just Joseph’s shrimp in the kitchen. Ugh! :0 Of course to Joseph, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. We just had to laugh and add it to the list of “making memories” with my African son.

After loading the van we headed out to Kounyan-Mancagne to visit Nema. We parked the car near the school and walked back to her village. Our fellowship was sweet. Nema had attended the women’s conference in Mbour with Elizabeth. Nema shared the things she enjoyed most. The lesson that spoke to her heart was the importance of tithing. She continued to explain that if you make 100 cfa (25 cents) you should tithe 10 cfa. She requested that we pray for her to be obedient in this lesson stating that she had been faithful in tithing for almost a year but recently it had been a big challenge. Mbabou is still in Guniea Buissau so we weren’t able to see her.

God was so gracious by calming the rains for us to have our time of fellowship. While walking back to the van the flood gates of heaven opened and the water poured down. It gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “toad choker”!!!! We were drenched!!! It just added to our fun. I’m sure there are several of you that would pay good money to see the pics…I’m saving those for our next funraiser.

Gary, we’re going to have to stock up on the Ibuprofen and vitamins. Everywhere we go people are sing “Head and Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”.

We had a quick meal at the river house and then went to see the Prefect. As always, we were welcomed with gracious hospitality. He was eager to do what ever he could in assisting our medical team coming in January. Yeah God! Our next step is to meet with Dr. Kunte and the President of Rural community in Bambali. Please be in prayer over these upcoming meetings.

Tuesday I had an invitation to go to the local prison. To be quite honest, I had no idea what to expect and was a little out of my comfort zone. Yet I knew this was an open door and I needed to walk through. Pastor N’gor and I went and had a nice time. I was very impressed with the top ranking officer. He expressed his love for the inmates and said they usually became family. It is his desire to see them rehabilitated in order to become productive citizens of Senegal. They have 52 male and 1 female inmates. Several of the men were weaving “bath towels” to sell at the market. Another was making a weave that fits directing around a jar. Upon selling these items the inmates are able to keep the money for themselves or send back home w/their family. I was very pleased with the efforts being made their.

Dad was quite surprised when I returned to the river house and informed him that he was scheduled to have a teaching session at 3:00 on Wednesday afternoon for the officers and inmates. They have requested for Dad to come and teach on anger management, tolerance and forgiveness, work ethics, and hygiene. Please pray that God would give Dad words to speak that these men need to hear.

Afternoon we attempted to go to Dianke’s village. Unfortunately the road was too bad for us to get there. I was so disappointed. We will try later in the week once the road has a chance to dry. So, we turned around and went to Bamacounda and visit w/the chief. The women were in the field so we weren’t able to see them. I took Dad on a little tour of the clinic and we called it a day.

Our evening developed into a combination of discussions based on a wide variety of topics, including “bioethics”. Dad loves exchanging views and ideas with our African team members. When we were discussing funeral traditions of Americans Joseph, Antionne, and Moussa were “astonished” at the thought of cremation. As Antionne said “We learn many, many things!!!!” : )

This morning we will adventure out to Bruno. Please pray for safety of the vehicle as we travel on the muddy road. This afternoon will be the time of teach at the prison. Please pray for an open door to share the gospel of Christ.

To our families, we miss and love you very much. Sis and Karen, I wish I could bottle up some of my experience w/Dad to bring home and share w/you!!! You would be so proud your buttons would be popping off!

Again, electriticity is so limited and pictures require a lot of time to post. I will try to post some when we return to Dakar.

For His Kingdom,

Cindy

“We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love everyone of you has for each other is increasing.”
2Thessalonians 1:3