More than 2,200 children in six village churches attended Vacation Bible School, eagerly listening to Bible stories and learning about Jesus and his love. They quickly learned the theme verse and song taken from I John 4:10, "God loved us and sent His Son." They memorized the meaning of the wordless booklet in the shape of a heart, with colors of black, red, white, green, and yellow teaching the children how Jesus' blood sacrifice cleanses our hearts from sin. When challenged to follow Jesus, many older children sincerely accepted Christ, their names now recorded in the Book of Life. What joy! Please pray that the Holy Spirit will protect their fledgling faith of these young believers and strengthen them to be faithful to come to church and grow in their new life in Christ. The children heard that Jesus is concerned for our health, and they watched intently as team members demonstrated how to care for cuts and sores, stressing cleanliness. They were delighted with simple art projects and sports such as soccer.

As the prayerwalkers trekked village paths, God provided “divine appointments” for them to witness, and several individuals prayed to trust Jesus as Savior and Lord. One man asked us to come to his home where he carefully placed two benches under a shade tree, invited us to sit down, and then said he wanted us to help him know how to accept Jesus! Many villagers appreciated the prayers offered up for them, their hearts touched by the love and concern shown by the volunteers. The afternoon soccer matches were a hit and offered the opportunity to make friends and share the gospel message using the evangelistic soccer ball.

During the rainy season this year, rains were heavier than usual, and the Ouémé River quickly overflowed its banks. One day the prayerwalkers found Kessounou village homes, although built to withstand flooding, completely inundated by the Ouémé River! Since it was impossible to walk anywhere, they went “prayerboating” instead, going from home to home in dugout canoes and praying for families suffering under these terrible flooded conditions. A local pastor reported that the local Baptist church had a swift-moving current flowing through it, with the floor completely under knee-deep water. He asked special prayer for the young Kessounou children, petitioning the Lord to protect them from falling into the water and drowning.

We praise God for the Springfield team and give Him glory for all that He did here as they ministered in Jesus’ name. Souls were won to Christ, seeds of the gospel planted, churches encouraged, the love of Jesus shown through hugs, smiles and play with the children, and in the heartfelt prayers for individuals and families.

When the appointed day came, we began with the creation story and continued with Adam and Eve's fall from sin. My friend knew the story well enough that when I struggled with the words in Wolof, he would tell the story to us. He had obviously heard these stories before. I asked him where he had heard the stories, and he said he's always been told these stories. Then I remembered that Muslims and Christians include many common Old Testament stories in their respective religious teachings. After sharing, he invited us to eat supper at his house later in the week.

A few days later we returned to share a meal with my friend. While we were eating, I wanted to offer him a Wolof New Testament so that he could read it for himself, but he politely refused. When I told him that it was a gift from the volunteer group, he did accept it. An experienced missionary colleague later explained to us that my friend did not want his Muslim peers to think that he might be interested in following Christ. When he's alone with me, he'll be glad to hear stories. But when he's with others, he probably won’t want to be perceived as being too friendly with Christians.

So this is a contact that I will definitely follow up on. I have made a goal to practice one story a week, and I'll continue sharing with him, building our friendship together, and practicing my Wolof with him. Pray that the Truth my friend hears from God’s Word will penetrate his heart and cause him to seek a relationship with Jesus.

Since our arrival in Senegal six years ago, we have been praying for “U,” our village brother, to come to know and accept Jesus as His Savior and Lord. He has heard the stories about Jesus countless times, but had never shown any signs accepting what he was hearing and learning as the Truth – until just a few months ago.

Recently, while traveling during a survey trip, we were listening to music from our MP3 player in the truck. Our friend and brother, leaned forward and asked, “Do you have that music from the group called Third Day, the one that we have listened to many times?” We answered, “Yes, why?” He said, “I want to hear my favorite song that talks about ‘the King’.” We searched through the music until we came upon the song that he was talking about. The words from this Third Day song, “King of Glory,” go like this:

Who is this King of glory that pursues me with His love
And haunts me with each hearing of His softly spoken words
My conscience, a reminder of forgiveness that I need
Who is this King of glory who offers it to me?

Who is this King of angels, O blessed Prince of Peace
Revealing things of Heaven and all its mysteries
My spirit's ever longing for His grace in which to stand
Who is this King of glory, Son of God and song of man?

Who is this King of glory with strength and majesty
And wisdom beyond measure, the gracious King of kings
The Lord of Earth and Heaven, the Creator of all things
Who is this King of glory - He's everything to me!

(Chorus)
His name is Jesus, precious Jesus
The Lord Almighty, the King of my heart
The King of glory

As we listened to the words of this song, he smiled and said, “Yes, that’s it – that’s what’s in my heart!”

After the song finished playing, I asked him, “How long were you actually a believer in Christ before you came forward to tell us?” He replied, “For about two years I have believed in Jesus, but I was afraid to tell you or anyone else because you know how it is in our culture – if anyone in my family or my village finds out that I believe in Jesus, they will make me leave my home and my village and they will never let me come back.”

“U” is the only person in his village of more than 5,000 people who believes that Jesus is the only way to God. As a translator, he travels with us to many parts of West Africa to help us with survey work and with volunteer teams and he will have many opportunities to be a Christian witness to other West Africans. Please pray that God will continue to encourage “U” in his faith and give him the wisdom, the courage, and the boldness that he needs to proclaim the name of Jesus to others who have been blinded by false religions. Pray that God will use him as a faithful disciple who will lead other West Africans to salvation that is found only in Jesus!
 

As my taxi ride came to an end, I challenged John to witness to every person who got in his taxi. I reminded him of John the Baptist who prepared the way for Christ. I said, “John, I want you to bring people to a knowledge of sin and repentance, new life in Christ, just as John the Baptist did.”

Ask God to give missionaries who regularly travel by taxi boldness to witness as they go. Pray also for Baptists in West Africa, that they would use daily opportunities like this to share the gospel message, to bring people to a saving faith in Christ and to encourage those who already know Him.
 

I was reminded of these verses recently when I was sitting in a worship service. Seven years ago when I was working in a village, two men there decided to follow Jesus. We began meeting on Sundays - just four of us (there was already one man who was a follower). Two women would sit in the compound, but away from where we were. The children were not present.

Now, seven years later, I sit in a grass hanger in one of the men's courtyards and a child begins the service in prayer. There are at least a dozen children and two women sitting on a mat. The men are on benches. Songs are sung from memory and then one of the men reads scripture and expounds on it. These same men that heard the truth of the Gospel just seven years ago are now leading a service each week. On this day after the service, they discussed a brother in town who was discouraged because of the persecution he was facing and decided to go encourage him.

The Lord is not slow about His promises. He is being patient for our sake. There are still so many people who need to hear the truth of Jesus. My neighbors. Your neighbors. There are entire people groups around the world with no one to share the truth with them. May we be faithful to do our part of "The Task" that God has given us.
 

Now, about a year and a half later, I know the Father heard my prayer. Never has life felt so fulfilling; I can certainly say I have never felt more blessed. When people ask about life here, I simply say, "Everyday is an adventure."

My teammates and I recently took a sunset camel ride into the desert and had a worship service on the Sahara dunes. The next day we took a boat up the river to search for hippos (and saw 11 hippos!). I felt like I was a National Geographic explorer. The whole visit was such a blessing to us and perfectly timed to give us some much needed encouragement. Our Father never overlooks the smallest of details.

The weather is definitely warm here. Some days have hit 115+ degrees. We are now sleeping on the roof of our mud hut. It is great! I really love it. Every morning we awake to a beautiful Saharan sunrise. It is there that I spend time with the Father. It couldn't be sweeter. But not only are we awakened by the sunrise, sometimes it is to the village children who think it's fun to run around our hut yelling our names until we get up to greet everyone! Talk about a new way of life!

A few weeks ago the Muslim community celebrated the birth and naming of their prophet. Everyone had new outfits made, and the night they celebrated the naming, the religious leaders went to the mosque to study the Koran and pray all night, until early in the morning. This event gave me a picture of how deep the roots of their religion run here. It makes our task seem more and more impossible everyday. However, we have begun to parallel ourselves to the story of Gideon and the Midianites. It looked like such an impossible task, but the Father had purpose in it all. He had a perfect plan then, and we know He does even now.

*Believing God by Beth Moore. Published by LifeWay Press, 2007.