It has been a long time since my
last update so for that I’m sorry. I hope that you are in good health and that
you have been blessed.
These past weeks have been an
amazing time of seeing God at work, and of personal growth as witnessing to
complete strangers becomes easier and easier, and now it’s normal to jump right
into talking about spiritual things within minutes of meeting a person.
A brief summary: Since last time
we've visited the island of Eloubaline where we experienced traditional African living for three days, and also witnessed the miracle of rain in the middle of the dry season (the first time in 30 years). This island is home to three or four Christians, and there is a very strong presence of the fetish there. We were able to pray there with the Christians, and we were truly blessed. We’ve done at least 10 open airs since my last update, prayed for healing for countless people, shared the Gospel
and shared personal testimonies more times than I can count.
There have been many highlights during my time here, and one has been visiting with a Muslim
man named T., and seeing a friendship develop. It started off just us going
for tea and giving the occasional “this is what we believe as Christians”. But
it has become so much more than that. Now when we go for tea it’s not just us
talking with one guy but at one point talking with seven or so Muslims. And we
were able to preach the Gospel in that place and continue to do so.
This has to be one of the lessons
that I’ve learned here, that you need to be willing and able to share the
Gospel with everyone and anyone at anytime and this is what I look forward to
doing once I’m back home. Develop a relationship with somebody because they are
a person that you want to know better, and then share the most important
message of their life.
Here is very different from home
obviously but human needs remain the same, the longing for relationship. And
you can give that. At first on a human level, but you can then lead them into
the much more important personal, spiritual relationship with God.
I hope that you will be in prayer
for me in this final week here in Africa and more importantly for those that we
have had contact with and shared the Gospel.
These past
two days some of the team has been fasting in preparation for a time of prayer
at the Talibe Center in order that we can pray for God’s guidance in that
place. It has been an intense two days because it started out with us going to
the hospital to pray for people and then coming back and having a time of
prayer at the base here, and then going to the church for a night of prayer. I
have never experienced prayer like this before and it has been an amazing experience.
This final week has been both exciting and sad. Exciting because of the growth and because of the connections that have been made here and sad because I'm leaving and there is very little chance of me returning, at least in the near future.
Friday was our last day at the Center and so we were able to share one last open air just for the boys and the staff there, and it was a special time. We took photos and bid our farewells and it was a really sad moment. I pray that each of those boys comes to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, not just because it's the right thing to pray for, but because it's very personal for me.
Today as I and some others were bidding our farewells to one of the many people we've met here in Senegal, I remarked that I'm leaving a part of my heart here with the people. I said it with out really thinking, but as I was walking, I realized that it's a very true statement. Part of me with remain here in Africa and I pray that I can return (hopefully speaking better French) and can again meet some of these wonderful people.
Thank you again to all of you who are supporting me financially and with prayer. I look forward to talking with you soon face to face and recounting some of these amazing stories, and experiences that I've had during these past six months.
God bless you.
