Cool encounter

This Sunday I preached at the church and it went pretty well. There was some good responses to the message. I also played some worship songs on the guitar and sang them in French. I taught on some of the UCF foundational stuff. Again I went out to do evangelism, in the afternoon, with Marcel, Jerome, and Leopold. There was a sick woman who complained of severe stomach pain. She asked that we come and share about Jesus. As we prayed God revealed that she was involved in witchcraft and idol worship. It is pretty typical here for people to visit witch doctors or ju ju men for cures or direction. It can involve animal sacrafice, giving money, traditional worship, and in some casees sexual things. Well we asked her to share more because God revealed there was much more than she was telling us. She told us more details about how she had been seeking all types of cures going to these ju ju men and different shrines and spending all kinds of money. She prayd with us to receive Jesus and turn from idol worship. Again the Holy Spirt revealed there was more going on she was not saying. When asked she confessed she had amulets tied around her (more witchcraft) and was still thinking of going to a shrine in the Gambia. We talked with her some more about giving herself totally to Jesus and left. This morning she was at my door and shared how she had a dream and someone spoke to her and told her she needed to tell us the truth and ask for prayer for healing and forgiveness! She shared some more details, of what she was involved in, I really dont want to get into, repented and we prayed for healing. I believe God did a mighty work in her.

Ground Breaking!

Well they have been digging for the foundation and the trench is almost complete. I am really pleased with the position of building will sit on the site. It is near some large mango trees that provide shade in the morning. In the afternoon there are some nice palm trees that will also provide shade from the hot sun. We have not had rain in quite some time so it looks like the ground will be hard soon. Perhaps next week we can get some materials to the site, God willing!

Ok for now

Things are progressing right now but I know there will be some slow times. It may take a few weeks before we can actually make bricks. I hope to get the footing dug and soon and perhaps get the concrete poured soon. I went out to do evangelism on Sunday with Marcel. It was pretty fun. We went back to the same village and met a bunch of people. I got to talk and pray with a guy who spoke english, he was very open and wanted to hear from God. God gave me a cool word for him and he invited me back to talk more. Then he introduced me to about eight other guys and I got to pray with each of them as he translated their requests. I was asked to preach at the church next Sunday, please pray for this opportunity. I want to be anointed by God to know exactly what to say.

It has Begun

Well it is official, we have started work. You can see pictured here these men clearing the land. They took down two palm trees and another large tree, as well as a bunch of bushes and small stuff. The site is now relatively clear and the building is roughly steaked out.

The Road

Here is the miraculous road I was talking. Some big trucks mysteriously appeared one day and cleared this path through the Oussouye terrain. I am standing at the edge of our property taking this photo, so you can see it leads right to us. This will make it easy for large truck to get to the site. We will need to have deliveries of sand, cement and shells, so we can start making our blocks. The ground needs to get hard so the trucks will not get stuck. We need ten consecutive rainless days, and things shoud be ok.

God amazes me again

This is really cool, Marcel came over all excited shouting with some good news. Let me back up, so far we have had no idea how we were going to get trucks to the building site. It is in an undeveloped area, really the bush. There are only narrow walking trails through peoples yards. Well it seems that today trucks came and cleared a road right to our site! Just in time really. This is so cool, I cannot express how huge this is. The site is adjacent to a new school under construction, and they made another back access road to it. Convieniently, it leads right to us.

Progress continues in the planning. I have been having daily meetings with the builder to estimate all the costs of labor, materials, transport, finishes, etc. Many of the details are coming into focus, pray the costs stay low for everything. If it does not rain for 10 days we can get truck to the site now. We may even start clearing the land next week, God willing. I am amazed at how things are moving, God is literally clearing the way!

On another note, the elders have asked if I would teach bible studies and also travel to some of the newer village churches to teach. So I will hopefully be traveling on the weekends. I am excited to get into more ministry here.

I will end on sharing another cool thing about Africa. There are not many lights at night, no light pollution. It makes for an amazing sky. The stars and milky way are so intensly clear it continues to amaze me. Au revoir for now...

much has happened

Well so much has happened in the last few days. First I had a meeting with the elders of the church here, they wanted to hear more details of the vision of the training center. They were very excited and asked me to share this with the church on Sunday. I spoke and it went very well. People had many questions, and were very happy to hear about this. Some offered to help. Before this only the elders knew of the project. Two of the elders Marcel and Jerome said they would fully commit to helping me get the best prices for materials and workers. Marcel was in charge of the recent building of their new church here. He has contacts for the different building trades, and is familiar with what everything should cost. This is a huge relief, and I know we will get good prices for everything.

Also on Sunday Marcel asked me to go out and do evangelism with him. I was excited, but he does not speak English, and my French is still lame. I Agreed to go along an pray and see what God would do. We ended up going on bikes to a nearby village called sengelene. When the UCF team was here in March, we prayed extensively through this place. Well it was really cool, Marcel was talking and I was just asking people what they wanted prayer for? to see what God would do. We ended up praying for around 20 people, most were animists, and most of the prayers were for healing. I am excited to hear what God will do. I hope to return to some of these houses with Jerome to translate. It was so much fun, and I could sense The Spirit was really responding as we prayed.

Some other random things: I have been to two funerals, helped with some work at the new church, and helped put labels on jam jars. (some ladies in the church have a jam business) I think we have secured a builder for the project as well. I have spent more time at the building site and went there with the elders and the builder to measure the limits of the land. I also had two meetings with the builder discussing prices and details. Today we were calculating how mant bricks were in the building and various costs of materials. Things are moving? more details to follow....

In Zig

I have been in a town called Ziginchour yesterday and today. it is much bigger than oussouye. i had to go get money from the bank and check a few things out. i will return today to try and get things going. Marcel is one of the elders in the church in oussouye, and he just got back from england. he was in charge of the church construction project here, so he knows all the contacts. hopefully we can get things started. I will need to buy the materials in Zig to make bricks. I think we have to wait until the rainy season is over before we can make them though. they have to dry in the sun and the rain would destroy them. i think the rainy season will be over in a few weeks. I hope that means it wont be so humid as well. it has been in the 30s Celcius and very very humid. I think that is like the 90s.

Some cool news, i found out that that sick baby we prayed for was healad. The family is muslim and the mother said the baby has been sick for over a month and always crying. the next day after the prayers the crying stopped and she is doing very well. God is cool. I am still praying for Gilbert the crippled boy. I really want to see him get healed. Also while in Zig Alain introduced me to a man who is the chief of a village called Kagnout. It is not far from Oussouye, near a town called Mlump. He invited me to come there to pray and share the gospel, because there is no church there. I hope to be able to do this some time.

I am getting adjusted to life here, it may take a few weeks. some of my favorite things are: the people, they are very friendly and love to talk. they are poor but generous, always inviting you to join them in a meal. i love the food as well. there is rice and fish in every meal, i have eaten more rice in the last week than i have in my whole life. Yesterday I ate crabs African style, which means you just crunch through the shells suck out the meat and spit the shells on the ground. Another awesome experience is the bathing from a bucket. after being hot and sweaty all day pouring on cool water is an exhilirating experience. of course so is watching out for monsterous spiders. two days ago as i was about to bathe i saw the biggest spider i ever saw crawl out. it keeps you on your toes.

Also today I got my first ever african haircut. i went into the place and was asked which style I wanted. I looked in awe at the posters of dozens of styles to choose from. they were mostly rappers like P diddy and 2Pac. I asked where was the "toobob" which is Wolof for white man. he just laughed and shaved away. a small crowd of kids gathered around for the show. It was an experience. I have more to tell, but later for now....

A good Day

It is really hot and humid here, the last two days there has been heavy rain at night. everything turns into a mud rivre, nothing is paved. The pace of life is very slow, just walkng through the village can take a long time because you have to greet everyone. Today I walked around with Alain and I got to pray for a sick baby and a really crippled kid. Pray God would heal Glbert compmletly; mm

I made it!

Well I made it to Oussouye on Saturday morning, after many hours of travel. Unfortunately the only place here with an internet connection is randomly open and the connection is very slow. If I do not respond to your email, forgive me it is impossible to do anything on the computer here. It took over 20 minutes just to log on. Ok well i arrived in Dakar early Friday morning. I thought someone might meet me but no such luck. With my pitiful French and an Address I managed to get a ride to Roger Diatta's house, our friends in Dakar. One of his sons took me downtown to change money and but a ticket for the boat to Zigunchour. It took most of the day a very slow process. We went back had dinner and a short rest. Then back to the dock to wait to get on the boat. The boat was an interesting experience to say the least. Many people packed on a large ship along with various goods. We left at 9:00pm and arrived in Zig at 10:AM the next day. I slept most of the time. Once off the ship it was a battle to find my bags amidst the throngs of rummaging Africans. I managed to get my stuff and hoped to see a familar face. Well it didnt happen. Again my frech and bargaining skills were put to the test and I found a ride to Oussouye. It is greqt to be here and see everyone. I am excited to get the project started. Today I spent time walking the site and praying. I am looking at the placement of the structure and I want to make sure it is right based on the sun. It is very hot and I want it to be shaded properly. OK hope to keep you posted, but you never know when that may be

Off To NYC, and beyond...

I will be driving down to New York City with Dean this morning. My plane leaves at around 6:00PM and is a direct flight to Dakar, Senegal. Pray there will be someone there to meet me. Communication with our friends there has been difficult to say the least. Once in Dakar I have to find and take a boat to the southern Cassamance region. I think that will take around 24 hours. I will arrive in Ziganchour, and hopefully meet some friends to take me to Oussouye, where I will live. I will try to keep you updated...

a word from zac.....

"Day by day the LORD will take care of you, and you will receive a reward that lasts forever. You will survive through the hard times; and even if there is a famine you will have more than enough. Being someone blessed by the Lord, you will inherit the land. Your steps are being directed by the LORD, and He delights in every detail of your way. The LORD holds you by your hand and you will not fall. (Psalm 37:18-24 - Adapted from New Living Translation)

Senegal