Funny how a month ago those words sounded so new-- and today they seem so normal to me! We have so much to be thankful for in our first weeks back in Senegal. We are blessed by your prayers and your partnership with us, and want you to know about some of the things with which we are privileged to be involved.
Last week was SIM Senegal's council meeting. SIM Senegal has moved its office from Thies to Dakar, and we were happy to see many of the team members who live out of Dakar during the time they were here for meetings. We enjoyed having ice-cream with many of our colleagues as we celebrated the birthday of five-year old Molly Garrett! Her family lives in Kaffrine, a base from where they (and several other SIM families) visit many nearby villages, developing relationships and sharing the gospel through the "storying" method. Right now, famine is a huge concern for them. They write:
This past rainy season was disastrous for the Kaffrine area. The rains started late and ended early, and many crops didn’t get the water they needed to fully mature. Fields of millet that would normally stand 10 feet high stopped growing at 5 feet, the immature stalks preparing to form grain but then drying where they stood.If you'd like to read more about the ministry in Kaffrine, we are including a couple of links for you to check out.
As a result of this failed rainy season, some organizations are warning of food shortages as early as March. At the moment, if you were to visit Kaffrine, you wouldn’t see any signs of famine. But all the organizations around us as well as in West Africa as a whole are warning of widespread food shortage as food runs out in the next few months. This has been verified as we’ve talked to our friends and local government officials as well as the World Vision office here in Kaffrine. [For more background on the famine in West Africa, click here.
Corey and Katie Garrett in Kaffrine and Kaffrine Famine.
Dave will be traveling to Bamako, Mali and Kankan, Guinea beginning on the 15th of March. Please pray for safety on the trip, and that he would be an encouragement to all those with whom he will interact during that time. He is traveling with our teammate, Mark Tanquist, who will work with him on auditing the SIM-Guinea team's bookkeeping. As scheduled, it will be a short trip-- but many past trips to Guinea have ended up being longer than expected, so we shall see!
Jacob and I will appreciate your prayers as we continue in Dakar. Jacob is adjusting well back into his life and schoolwork here in Senegal, and is very content to be back. We are all enjoying the pleasant warm weather, especially when we read about how cold it is in Minnesota! I'm missing Cub Foods and Sam's Club, though. There are no "one-stop" shopping places here, and the prices of foods have increased significantly during the time we've been away. It's an ongoing challenge to find ways to feed ourselves healthily and economically. I'm also trying to get the readings and papers written for my two classes, and finding it more challenging to carve out the needed time since I'm not yet in a very "normal" routine. Please pray that I would be effective in the required studies, as well as in my interactions with people here.
From the 8th-14th of March the Organization of Islamic Conference Summit will be meeting here in Dakar. There are expected to be at least five thousand delegates, nearly 40 heads of state, and many who are part of the traveling entourages of these people. This OIC Summit has been in the works for the past several years, and many preparations are going on, including construction of new roads and hotels-- not all of which have been completed. We don't quite know what to expect, though we are sure the traffic will be more hectic than usual! Please pray with us for God to work in the hearts and minds of these leaders, and to reveal His truth to them.
We are thankful for your partnership with us as we serve here in Senegal! Please continue to pray that God will help us in the vision He has given us-- to provide quality leadership, administrative support and member care to missionaries here-- to the end that we will be seeing JOYFUL missionaries effectively serving in their roles as part of the building up of God's Kingdom here in West Africa.
Looking to Him who brings beauty for ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit! (Isaiah 61:1-3)
Mary for the Dakar Deckers
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