Travel Begins

Last month we kicked off our travel with a trip to the south part of Senegal. It had been close to a year since our last trip out to any of our village contexts. I left first on the trip to meet with the teams and help them with their language learning. It was so good to be able to visit people again and to see the progress that is happening. It is great to be able to keep up with the teams by phone calls but it is not the same as visiting and seeing first hand what is going on.

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A few days after my arrival, Joel joined me with a consultant who was there to help with the overall strategies of the teams. We spent one day together out in a village meeting with the elders and leaders of the village. Then we drove to the nearest town and spent 4 days with the teams in meetings. We discussed the things Gods has been at work doing, the challenges they are facing, possible ideas for moving forward and we spent time in prayer.

We were blessed as well to have someone come down with us and help with the kids while we were in the meetings. This was such a blessing and really allowed the families to get the most out of the meetings.

We praise God for how he worked out the details of this trip and were reminded again of the importance of gathering together. As I write this Joel is on another trip to visit our teams in Guinea. We are thankful that travel is possible and that we can visit people in their locations, however it is not without complications. The length of each trip outside of Senegal has to be increased by at least 4 days to accommodate the needed COVID tests for the return flight. We also have to fly in to all countries right now as the land borders remain closed. All of these pieces add new layers of complexity. We continue to take things one week at a time and are praying that God will continue to direct us in each step of our ministry.