Last week, a group of six village girls spent the afternoon at our house. They asked me about the toy nativity set in our living room so I told them the Christmas story: how God had promised through the prophets to send someone, Almasi bi – the Messiah, to rescue us from sin and darkness and fear. Using the toy angel, I told how He sent an angel to announce to Mary and Joseph that Mary would miraculously have a baby, a baby who would be the promised Messiah. And then I showed the girls how Mary put Jesus to sleep in the animal feed trough and how poor local shepherds and rich foreign men came to see this special baby. They said they had never heard the story before. It is such a strange and compelling story when you hear it for the first time!

School kids here get a short vacation for “Noël” and many have heard of Santa Claus. In town, many Muslim families prepare a special meal on the 24th or the 25th and there are some decorative lights in the round point in the center of town. But otherwise, particularly in the villages, Christmas comes and goes with nothing to distinguish it from the day before or the day after. Most kids here don’t know what Christmas is….

“Mark” is one of the few Christians from the region of Kaffrine. He is now in his 20’s and attending university in a city six hours away from here. As a child, he heard about Jesus and attended a camp we used to do annually. Now, he wants other kids from this area to have a chance to hear about Jesus and to know the joy of Christmas too. So, for the third year in a row, in cooperation with the local Senegalese pastor and with us, he is spearheading an overnight Christmas Camp during his short break from school.

We expect 100 kids to come  spend two days at the church school – December 29-30. We’ll eat out of 20 common bowls, play games, do crafts, sing fun songs, and hear what Christmas is about. The theme of the camp is specifically: Jesus, the Light of the World. For many, it will be the first time they hear about Jesus.

Please pray for God’s hand of blessing and protection on every aspect of the camp. We are excited that our teammates, Jeff and Amanda, who arrived in Senegal in November, will be coming to visit Kaffrine for the first time this week, so they’ll be able to help out with the camp. There is always plenty of work to do so we’re thankful for the extra hands!