Saturday Update

It’s the weekend so things are a bit more relaxed, but not for the men- who are hard at work at 7 a.m. as the sun rises. Today we wash clothes before leaving tomorrow afternoon. We walk out of the village through dense groves of cashew trees and find men using machetes to prune the trees and mow the tall weeds and brush. We observe large groups of children playing at each housing compound which includes extended families. No isolated families living here. They experience the blessings and joy of being community with one another.

In the midst of that community, I am struck by the joy and laughter and good times. I am also struck by the way children fight and hurt one another. This happens in our culture also, except here it seems more violent and frequent with children beating one another with their hand or a stick. It makes teaching children in the nursery school difficult.

I learn that children are often given names that in English mean anger, liar, etc. It is thought this will keep the demons from harming them. Imagine if your name was named anger or liar. How would that affect you and how people viewed you. Lots of opportunity for receiving the new names God wants to give us. I can imagine Jesus giving a lot of new names in this village – peace, love, joy, patient, kind, etc.
I listen to a new believer share how he has not yet paid for his wife. His wife’s family has come at least twice threatening to take her back if she is not paid for. He was asking me for money or to help him find a way to earn money so he can pay for his wife. He began the process of payment 7 years ago, but never finished it. The process of determining the amount owed is very complex. It is the brothers of the wife’s father who decide. The wife’s uncles need to agree on the compensation and then each one be paid the agreed upon amount. It would be easy to give money, but it would bring further complications and disrupt the culture. We explored the possibility of helping them start a hog project – offering it to several of the new believers. Beryl feels this would be a very good income making project. There is evidently a big demand for pigs in the area. Doing mission can be complicated and messy – as we also know back home.

The men are working until 2 pm today to try to get as much done as possible.
Our afternoon is full of meetings and saying goodbys. It is now evening, the sun is setting, and we are getting ready to eat. After the evening meal, Judy and I have planned a time of prayer and blessing for each member of the team here. Tomorrow morning is worship and in the afternoon we head to Zinguinchor to catch our flight to Dakar and then the men back to Lancaster and Judy and I on to Rome.

Thank you for your prayers for safety. We will be thinking and praying for all of you tomorrow morning as you worship. Blessings!