January 24: softball game

You may know that Dave is coaching Jacob's softball team, and playing on another. We spend a lot of Saturdays watching games!

This game was special for another reason: Dave was watching with Burt! Moses K. is on Dave's team, and we are happy that Moses's parents were able to watch him play-- he's a great player.

And the reason they were able to watch him? They have relocated from Guinea to Senegal, and Burt is working with Dave on the WAFA Leadership team. These are days of transition for this team!

January 22: update on outreach

Here's an update from the D.A. Chaplain about the outreach-- we're so thankful for all that God is doing!

Dear Parents:

We know you guys were praying for us on this last outreach weekend so we wanted to send you this little update. It seems like each time, these outreach weekends get better and better. God blew us away on this one. We were able to minister to over 3500 people in 10 different villages through the ministry teams involved: medical, Bible clubs, drama, and evangelism campaigns. We are thrilled to report that over 100 people responded to the message of salvation! Please pray for the national church leaders now as they follow-up with these people. Some of our ministry teams were the first ones to ever present the Gospel in some of these villages! We praise the Lord for His safety and protection as we traveled in 10 different vehicles, chalking up a combined 4000 kilometers in all! We were able to complete 3 other projects in 3 different villages:

We roofed a church in one village.
We laid a foundation, dug the hole for a septic tank, and made 690 bricks for a church in another village.
We painted a mural on the front wall of a church in a third village.

Our medical team broke a new record and was able to minister to 280 people. The highlight was when we were able to worship on Sun. morning in a church that we built last year with Evangelical Christian Academy in Spain. It thrilled our hearts to hear the national church president testify that there were over 200 people attending that church now, and 50 believers had been baptized since we built that church last year and evangelized in that area. He went on to say that through the efforts of the students from Dakar Academy, there has been a spirit of revival that has enveloped the entire region. In fact, one of the reasons we laid the foundation in one village was a direct result of the response to an evangelism campaign we held in that village last year.

None of these things could have been possible without the prayers of God's people so thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayer support!

January 21: Bible study girls

I've had the privilege of meeting with these girls on Wednesday afternoons to study God's word together, pray, and share our hearts. What a blessing they've been in my life!

January 20: S.E.W.

This week is Spiritual Emphasis Week at Dakar Academy. We've got a great speaker, and are praying for rich times of worship and teaching, and refreshment in the lives of students and staff.

January 15: outtreach weekend!

Jacob is heading out today for a weekend outreach in an area of Senegal about four hours from where we live. We are praying for the high schoolers and staff to be blessed and to be a blessing as they minister.

Here's a note from the DA Chaplain about their plans: "Last year, a group students and staff from the Evangelical Christian Academy of Madrid, Spain joined us for an outreach weekend to Sass where we evangelized and laid a foundation for the church there. A small group went back a month later and roofed the church. Now, just over a year later, we are able to return to this region to minister once again. Not only will we be evangelizing in a number of villages in that area, but we will have the opportunity to invest in 3 churches: 1) We will be painting a mural in the Sass church that we built last year. 2) We will be able to lay the foundation to a new church located in a village where we evangelized last year. 3) We are going to roof a church in a third village. We will be doing evangelism campaigns in 3 different villages in the evenings, working closely with the national church leaders in that area. Once again, we have about 120 students and adults going. It will be a logistical challenge transporting the different teams to the 3 different villages, as well as feeding everyone. However, it's exciting for us to be used by God to further His Kingdom here in Senegal. As always, we covet your prayer support!"

January 13: international friends

These are some of the students that our family enjoys spending time with. We are blessed by living in an international community! They are from Rwanda, Ethiopia, Mexico...

January 11: coming and going...

We managed to see Holly and her mom as they arrived from Cote d'Ivoire-- hours before Joey left to return to the States. Life for missionary families means many good-byes and many fun (even though short) reunions...

(When you see Holly and/or Joey--and/or Seth for that matter, even though he's not in this picture-- ask them to tell you about the pelicans!)

January 10: attaya on the roof

Our traditional end-of-vacation bonfire on the roof... one last round of attaya by Joey! It's been a great break and we're so thankful for the good time of being together!

January 5: campement sunrise

January 4: evening at the campement

January 3: campement

January 2: on the way to "the camp"!

As we head out for a few days at a "camp" between the ocean and the Senegal river, here are a few uniquely Senegalese sights for you.

Danny and Leah!

We were very happy to receive a phone call from Danny on January 2nd, letting us know that he and Leah got engaged on January 1! They are planning a July wedding.

We have known Leah for several years. Danny met her when he went to Miami in June of 2004. She is the niece of former Abidjan missionary friends of ours...

This is an old picture and I'm waiting as patiently as I can for a new one!

January 31: end of year celebration

We enjoyed celebrating New Year's Eve as is our tradition with families and friends, and fireworks on the roof of the Hengers!