Being prepared

Had any guests in your house lately?

Ever had 16 guests show up with little notice – and stay two weeks?

That’s the ministry of Dean and Trudy Hess in Senegal. And that’s the easy part.

Dean and Trudy run New Tribes Mission’s guest house in Senegal. This is where new missionaries stay when they first arrive, where missionaries come for a break or meetings or shopping, or pass through on their way home. It’s where visitors to NTM ministries get their first look at the country and the work.

Recently a group of 16 missionaries had to temporarily evacuate from their ministries in Guinea due to unrest. With little advance notice, Dean and Trudy swung into action to prepare for the missionaries’ arrival. Their guests ended up needing to stay for two weeks.

And it’s a cross-cultural ministry with challenges of its own.

Dean and Trudy strive to make guests from a variety of nations, cultures and backgrounds comfortable. They do so while working with a team of Senegalese people to navigate the sometimes complex routes to supplies, equipment, repairs and services. All while also ministering among the people in their neighborhood.

It’s not a role people often think about when they consider church planting, but it’s one of the many ministries like ours that are vital to the task. Thank for the role you play behind the scenes with us, and thank you for the opportunity to be your co-workers in planting churches among tribal people who have never had the opportunity to hear the Gospel.