by Corey Garrett | Oct 5, 2019 | Event report, Prayer request
The meeting that we had tried to schedule for yesterday afternoon did not happen. Katie and the boys and I went to the village in the afternoon and greeted at the village chief’s family’s house. Then Katie and the boys stayed there chatting and I went to try to connect with the six men with whom I was hoping to meet. I was able to see all but one. One man was quite angry and yelled at me a few times. Another of the men told me that an “older brother” among them had come to visit him to get them all in line with his view that no one should even talk about the garden project we were considering. I suspected we would not be able to have any kind of meeting but went and waited at the meeting place anyway from around 5 to 6:30. I had some other good conversations with others who were just hanging out there, but did not get to talk about the project with the group of six men. At this point there is nothing to do but drop the project.
I’m not disappointed we aren’t able to do this project – there are some legitimate reasons not to do it that I can think of – but I am disappointed that we couldn’t talk about it. I had wanted to get together and talk about the issues, and see what solutions they could come up with, but even that was too much.
What I have been thinking about as I’ve been talking with these men is that there are a lot of broken relationships and broken hearts in these villages. They do project a sense of peace and of tranquility, but there’s a lot hiding under the surface. The broken pieces of those hearts can be jagged and hurt others as they get close to them. These folks need a way to be able to forgive each other for past hurts and have a new start. As we continue to visit this village, our prayer is that God will let us help them understand how they can both have and give forgiveness through Jesus.
by Corey Garrett | Nov 2, 2017 | Event report, Picture Galleries, Praise report
Yesterday I spent a few hours out in a village we know very well selling the Scripture portions we have labored over for the past several years. I headed out after having lunch in Kaffrine and picked up a few people on the way to the village who were waiting on rides–one of the people waiting was a friend from our village who was going to sell in the louma herself, so I was able to ask her a bit about how selling works.
Louma time
When we arrived in the village, with the help of some other friends selling in the market, I set up my table in a place in the shade of a tree.
Just after setting up
I had for sale our four books plus our 20 booklets.
Four complete books (l-r Luke-Acts, Psalms, Exodus, Genesis) plus the 18 story books and the 2 primers
Of course immediately I had 20 kids looking at the table–at first they thought I was selling the rulers I had brought to weigh down the booklets so the wind didn’t carry them away!
I had a good time seeing some old friends and catching up, and also meeting some new folks who go around day by day and sell at different markets. In fact some of those are good connections, because if I go to a village where I am not known but am known to other market sellers, that helps me find my way a bit.
A friend selling rice, onions, and other food near my table
Selling batteries in the louma
Many people came over wanting to know what I was selling, so I got to explain to a number of folks what the books are, what is in them, how much they are, etc. There were really only a couple of moments that I didn’t have a crowd of adults around the table. During those couple of times I walked around and talked to other folks in the market.
A page from the primer. Clockwise from top left, the Roman script letter, corresponding Arabic script letter, the Arabic script word and the Roman script word with a picture of the word in the center.
People were very interested in the primers–I sold four of those quickly. They are books that show each Roman script letter, its corresponding Arabic script letter, an example word in both scripts, and an image of the word. As I told people in the market, it won’t teach you either script, but it will help you remember what you’ve learned if you are a bit rusty. Other than that I only sold one booklet, the Creation story. Although I would have loved to sell more, this is not unexpected for the first time out. In coming weeks as I return, I hope to sell more. The highlights were two times that we got into looking into the stories. One time there was a crowd of 10-13 year old boys around the table and I asked who was the best at reading Arabic script. None of the boys wanted to say they could read it well, but one boy volunteered another. He read the first page of the story of the Fall from Genesis 3, and I read the rest of it.
Then shortly after that I was standing in front of the table with a group of about six men and explaining to some new folks what the booklets and the books were. The title of the one I was holding was “God Evicts Adam and Eve from Eden,” and I was showing how the title was the same on both sides, just in different scripts. One of the men asked, “So why did God kick Adam and Eve out of Eden?” I started reading the story out loud dramatically from the Arabic script side. The guys all listened intently, and when I finished reading I started with the questions from Discipleship Bible Study; What did we learn about God? What did we learn about human beings? and If this is from God, how should we change our lives? We had a good long conversation about the story! This is what we’re after: scripture engagement. I would have loved to sell more books, but really getting into the Scripture stories and what they mean is our goal.
Looking at a book with a friend (this shot was set up by a village friend!)
At this point I plan on going back to the louma in this village a few more times, and then going to loumas in some other villages and seeing how things go. Keep praying for the books to get into peoples’ hands and hearts!
Watermelons for sale
Radio repair
Ready-to-wear clothes, underwear, backpacks, lotion, perfume…what else can you see here?
by Katie Garrett | Jan 30, 2017 | Event report, Praise report
All-camp picture with camp t-shirts
We praise God for the third annual Christmas camp which took place Dec. 29-30 here in Kaffrine and which was a great success! I even heard a few kids who have attended all three years say that this year’s camp was the best!
Teaching time
After the camp was over five of us were praying together and we realized that God had answered all of our prayers for the camp that are visible! No children got sick or hurt, the power and water stayed on the whole time, the message of Jesus, the Light of the World, was clearly preached, and everything went very smoothly.
We trust that since the Lord answered our prayers about these visible things, He is also answering our prayers for those things which are invisible: that each child He wanted to come was there, and that seeds were planted which will bear fruit in time…. Thanks to all of you who prayed!
Small group time
It was especially encouraging to see the older students leading the small-group discussion times after each teaching session as it was obvious that the children clearly understood the message.
A highlight of the two days for us was during free time when a few of the camp counselors, teenage guys, spontaneously started drumming on the two djembes and singing Wolof praise choruses and a whole bunch of kids gathered around and joined in singing for a long time.
Free time = worship time
There were many activities which helped reinforce the theme of Jesus as the Light of the World: the kids made star decorations and got glow bracelets after dark, and of course, the camp t-shirts were bright yellow and had the words “Jesus is the Light of the World” on the front in Wolof and on the back in French.
(You can see more photos of the camp in my Facebook album “Kids’ Christmas Camp 2016” if we are Facebook friends.)
Camp t-shirt
The camp ended on Saturday afternoon, and I thought it was really sweet to see that on Sunday morning four of the children who come to church with us arrived wearing their yellow camp t-shirts! And in Sunday School when I handed out the Wolof New Testaments for the class to study a parable of Jesus, one of the girls immediately turned to John 8:12 and read out the camp verse!
Please pray for the children to remember the message about Jesus and to be drawn to His light!
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