Thursday January 26

Thursday
January 26
My alarm woke me from a dead sleep at 7:15 this morning, I would complain, but I did sleep nearly 9 hours and didn't get woken by a mosque! Lynn and I are sharing a bedroom in the Cafe at John Huffman. This was originally built as housing for the school, but gets used for the various housing needs through FIDES, John Huffman and the EBT (Evangelical Baptist Church of Thies).

After breakfast we went upstairs to start the day with worship. The conference began with a presentation of all the villages the EBT currently work with. Each village profile told us the population, how many believers (men, women and children), how many children attend Kids Club when Awa visits and other various pieces of information. Although fascinating I'll admit I was having difficulties keeping my eyes open! Charlotte had fun teasing me about my nodding head. I must not have been the only American fighting the warm dark room, because they asked Awa to lead us in some Kids Club activities to wake us up.

She is a very talented young woman, and after hearing her report and experiencing her energy, we have invited her to join us in our trip to Kaffrine to run a Kids Club in Diagle! We are so excited to have her join us! Kids Club consists of song and dance, a games and a story, whenever she can make it out to a village. One of her challenges is that transportation problems prevents her from visiting regularly. Please pray that she can expand her ministry so she can serve the children in the area more regularly.

It was easier to stay awake this afternoon, first because it was beginning to be "normal" awake hours at home and because we broke up into small groups to discuss some questions on how to better communicate with FIDES and EBT.

After dinner was most exciting, we got a chance to meet with EBT representatives about sending missionaries to Kaffrine! Sitting around the table was Robert (Director at John Huffman), David Yanon, Todd, Patrice (a director from EBT), Jeff, Pastor Salu Diouf, Adama Djouf, Pastor Francious (EBT), Sidi (our translator), Lynn and me. We are all in agreement that although Kaffrine is far from Thies, and that creates several challenges, the villages around Kaffrine are ready for the right people. Some names have been proposed for the position of Missionary, but EBT wants to be very prayerful and intentional about the decision. So it does not look like we will be meeting our future mission workers, which is a disappointment, but we all agree, they need to select the right person/persons for the job.

"The water is freshest inside the crocodile's mouth," is a phrase we've heard many times today, basically, to get the best stuff, you have to face adversity. If winning people for Christ was easy, we wouldn't be here. Things easy to obtain are often easily forgotten and lost. This is difficult work, but it's worthy.

Today we praise God for our new friend Awa, for a comfortable place to sleep, excellent food and strengthening relationships with the people here in Thies. Please pray that our bodies adjust to the timezone quickly, that we stay healthy, and the right doors to the right conversations are opened.