More Bricks

The process is slow and tedious. All the mixing of sand, cement, and water is done on the ground by hand. It takes careful, measured work. Packing the moulds and arranging the bricks is an interesting art as well. Here are some pictures of the latest progress. I am again in Ziginchour, trying to get more money to buy materials. While here, I have a good fast internet connection so I will try to add some pictures to my previous messages where applicable...

Progress

Well today we started construction once again. Things worked out with the permit after a few days; there were a couple of snags but all seems well for the moment. Yesterday was spent negotiating prices for materials; we will purchase most of the materials in Ziguinchor, which is about an hour drive from where I am living. It is not an easy process, and I had some trouble getting money from the bank. So for now I bought 4 tons of cement and three trucks of sand, for brick making. The workers cleared the site more thouroughly removing weeds and brush to make room for all the bricks. They will use a form to make each by hand and lay them in the sun to dry. Then they must pour water over them once in the morning and once in the evening for three days. If they do not the bricks will dry out and crumble easily. I will be there later to make sure all is well; now I am in Ziginchour trying to get access to more money. It may take some time, but thenI can purchase the rest of the materials. Please pray everything goes well

New disciples

There are a few guys in particular I have been focusing my evangelistic efforts on, and God has been doing some cool things. When I was here in March I made a couple of contacts with two guys in high school. They both came around because they were interested in learning and practicing English. (I kept touch over email while in the states) One is Damien and the other Ishmael, and I see them almost daily. They stop by to talk between classes, as I live across from the school. I have been sharing Christ with them and they both prayed to start a relationship with Jesus. I gave Damien a bible and told him to start reading the gospel of Mark, I encouraged to be asking God to speak to him through it. The next day he came over and shared how God spoke. He got a really cool revelation. As for Ishmael, God talked to him in a dream, and said he was not to be a part of animistic worship, or following the Mirabou (which are Islamic holy men) So we have started going through the bible together.

Reality check

I think at first the progress of things was deceptive. Now is a taste of reality in Africa. As I have been trying to take care of the details to get a building permit, some interesting things have hindered the process. We quickly got a man to do a survey of the land. He then needed to do a drawing and send it. Although he did it in two days and sent, there was some miscommunication with the mail or something and Marcel never received until a week after it arrived here in Oussouye! Next we needed a letter from the church to go with this document. That was done the same day, however the power went out, so we could not make the necessary copies needed to submit it. The next day power came back on and we were able to submit everything. As Joe followed up to see if everything was approved, he talked to the guy in charge, and he said everything looked ok. All he had to do was type another document and sign it and send it off. However, his printer was out of ink! So he could not do it. Then he went out of town, so here we are. If all goes well he will be back Tuesday morning and I will get a copy of his file and print it from a different computer, where there is a printer with ink, and then bring it back to him. This is of course no guarantee. The whole process is confusing to me and helping me develop even more patience. The reality here is time is not too important, they do not believe time is money, time is one thing they have in abundance. Pray things can get moving. Of course I have had more time to build relationships, do evangelism, and minister.

Spur of the moment...

I was going to pray for a sick girl with my friend Gerard, but got stopped along the way. We ware talking about evangelism, and then we met up with a friend of his. I felt prompted to share about Christ with this kid and we prayed he would start a relationship with God. God gave me a word for him that was encouraging too. We didnt make it too much farther when we reached another of his friends, and he asked if I would talk to him too. I was able to share and pray with this man as well. God gave me a word of knowlege for him, and Gerard said it was true, because he knew this kid for many years. When we finally made it to the sick girl, it turned out she was not sick anymore, she was feeling fine. It was cool because I was talking with Gerard about joining me for evangelism, then it just happened and he was really excited about it, and wants more.

Feasting requires killing!

Well the church here had its official dedication ceremony. The new building looks great and there were over 200 guests in attendance. They invited all sorts of town officials and Christians travelled from all over Senegal to come. Remember there are not too many, so this was a big event. I think this is the biggest Christian church here. It was cool to see how God has provided for them in this whole endeavor. Almost all the money for the project came as donations from outside sources, as the people here are poor. They shared the testimonies of Gods amazing provision and the service was an exuburent time of celebration. They had a huge feast for everyone that lasted a few days. They killed 2 cows, 2 goats, 2 pigs, and 2 chickens (sort of a reverse of the Noahs ark story!) I was a witness to all this butchering, it took place on the grounds where I live. It was a lively time of fellowship, as everyone joined in the process of hacking up meat. I had an opportunity I could not refuse, they asked me to kill one of the goats, so I did. It was an interesting experience and I even skinned and butchered it, with some help of course. I continue to try and fit in and make the most of my African experience. The feasting was really really good. Now lets hope the project moves ahead this week....

Harlem

There is a large group of kids in their twenties, some younger, that live in a section of Oussouye called Harlem. Except in French you never pronounce an ‘H’ so it is sounds like Arlem. Anyway, since UCF has been taking trips to Senegal we have taking time just to hang out with some of these kids, just talking, playing games, and sharing life. Most of these kids are muslim or animists, and really don’t know anything about Christ. Since I have been here, I have just picked up where we left off. There are two guys in particular who speak English well, so I have been able to connect with them. When I go to the neighborhood, we just sit around and one of the houses in the area, and play cards or just talk. Usually someone makes some strong, sweet tea that you drink out of shot glasses. It is part of muslim culture to drink this tea. Anyway, one day in particular we were just sitting around talking and I was talking to God (silently of course) I asked ‘God if you want me to talk about you, show me the time and how’ About when I finished that prayer, out of nowhere a girl asked me if I had ever seen God. I took this as a sign and opportunity to share. At first we were just talking, because she really wanted to learn English and practice. Now my two friends, were in on the conversation and translating. They were also very interested in the topic. There was a small group that entered the discussion and a cool door was opened. They know why I am here and they wanted to see the building site. I got to take them there and show them and we just sat there on a stump and talked for a long time. A few days later they introduced me to one of their friends who was deaf, I asked if I could pray with him and he quickly agreed. I am not sure if anything happened (thats up to God) but the kid was happy I prayed for him and I know I will get another opportunity. I would love to see him hear ! As for my two English speaking friends, Moussa and Fabacary, things have opened up. After I prayed for the deaf kid, Moussa said to me ‘I want to talk more with you about speaking to God’. A couple days ago Fabacary left to go to University in Dakar for the year. Before he left I got to pray with him, and give him a bible. He just emailed me from there and said he started reading the bible and really liked it, he also asked me to keep praying for him. After the first time we talked about God he had a powerful dream. I continue to spend time with Moussa and all the other kids in Harlem. I am teaching them some new card games and they are teaching me some as well. As I mentioned in a previous email these are the kids that gave me a nickname in ‘Jola’, their local dialect. The name is Ehoum-ba-lay, it roughly means someone who brings joy. I thought that was pretty cool, I hope to really share the gospel with all of them. Pray for Moussa and Fab and all the kids in Harlem to be open and hungry for Jesus.

Slowing down

Well, the progress has slowed for now. The good news is it has not been raining, so we should be able to make blocks soon. Also trucks bringing the materials for this process will not get stuck in the mud. There are some other details we need to take care of before we forge ahead. We had a survey done of the land and are waiting for a drawing. We will need this to get building permit. It is not really a permit but that is the best way to describe it. It has to be official with the town here. It was strongly recommended this be taken care of before we forge ahead full steam. It seems they gave a Frenchman a bit of trouble when he built a house here without informing anyone. So for now we wait for African beurocracy. I am hoping this moves along quickly, but hey it is Africa, time takes on a whole new meaning, particularly for busy Americans. Our whole concept of time and being on time and schedule, is not really shared by much of the world. Africans are really not so time focused. Sometimes church here is 2 hours but last week it was 4! I am learning to see things differently. The best way to learn this lesson here is travel, but I wont get into that now. Pray things move.