by Katie Garrett | May 31, 2018 | Praise report, Prayer request, Uncategorized
- It has been a very busy six weeks – we were able to go to Guinea to pick up the boys and have been getting to know each other and connecting as a family since then! We know many of you were following on Facebook and praying with us; we were so busy with the boys we weren’t able to get a real Prayer Log update out til now. We are so thankful for how well Will and Jake are adapting to all the change. Every day they learn so many new things – new foods, new words, new games, new rules, new relationships, new experiences! They are kind and sweet and playful and tough and so small and tenderhearted. Their hunger to love and be loved almost breaks my heart as I know they have been missing this kind of family connection for years now. Thank you for your prayers. Continue to pray for the Lord to knit us together as a family of seven!
- We still have not been granted a visa interview appointment by the US Embassy in Dakar. Online we just saw today that the Embassy has marked our case “Ready” (There’s a tracking number so we can check on the status of our case, just like you check on the status of a package) but it also says to wait to get an email from them with an appointment date and time. Please continue to pray that we will get an appointment soon and that the Embassy will grant our boys’ visas with no problems. We are so ready for this long bureaucratic process to finally be over!
- Continue to pray for our team’s work in the two “new” villages, specifically that the Lord will draw us into relationships with the people He wants to call to Himself and that He will prepare people’s hearts so they will want to read the Bible for the first time.
- As God allowed His disciples to perform miracles and healings to confirm the preaching of the Gospel many times in the New Testament, in the same way, pray for the villagers to see the Lord answer the prayers we pray for them in Jesus’ name to confirm that what we are teaching about Jesus is true. One of the couples who have been the most welcoming just had their 5th miscarriage even though we prayed for them to not lose this baby. Pray for God to show them His power and His love and to give them a healthy child. Pray too for those who are sick, that Jesus will heal.
- On Friday (June 1st) our team is going to a different village where a Senegalese brother from the church here has been doing Kids’ Clubs with games and Bible stories every week. We are helping him and Pasteur give Samaritan’s Purse shoebox gifts to the children and show the new version of the Jesus film in Wolof on an outdoor screen with a projector run by generator. Pray for this village too and for the seeds that have been sown there over the last year-plus to bear much fruit. Pray that there will not be any technical difficulties with our new sound system and that people will come, watch, understand, and be drawn to Jesus.
by Katie Garrett | Apr 11, 2018 | Praise report, Prayer request
Jacob and Willy
Dear Praying Friends,
After more than four years of paperwork and pursuing adoption, we are finally about to meet our sons! You can imagine that our hearts are full of many emotions — we are relieved, excited, hopeful, and nervous all at the same time!
And we have so many questions: How are William and Jacob feeling about all this? How much do they even understand about what is about to happen as 3- and 4-year olds? What are the boys’ personalities like? What will it be like meeting them for the first time and what will we say? (“Bonjour, je suis Maman,” seems very strange!) How long will it take for us to adjust to one another?
There are also a lot of logistical details that still need to be worked out. We have purchased our tickets but we don’t yet have a confirmed place to stay in Conakry. We plan to be there April 19th – 26th. Then we need to have medical checkups for the boys and schedule our interview at the US Embassy in Dakar before we can bring the boys home. In the midst of all this, our adoption agency’s Hague accreditation just expired and the government accrediting body has quit so our agency is trying to cope with that and we are hoping that this won’t affect us since we are so near the end of the process.
We covet your prayers for us at this time. Pray for all the final pieces of the process to be completed. And most importantly, pray for the Lord to tenderly shepherd Will and Jake through the coming transition, to give us wisdom and grace as we learn to parent them, and to knit us together as a family of seven!
With rejoicing and trepidation,
Katie and Corey
by Corey Garrett | Jan 19, 2018 | Praise report, Prayer request
We had a good meeting on Wednesday afternoon, a very warm and open talk with the chief and his son. We talked over some village happenings and also our plans for helping with diabetes and high blood pressure sufferers. The village chief gave his blessing, so we will now start going out to this village regularly to conduct a village-wide health survey to find out who is suffering from diabetes/high blood pressure, and also gain a sense for what the other widespread health problems might be. Pray for this ongoing work as we move forward that God will bless with good relationships and we would have our eyes open to where God is working in this place.
Kody and I will be going out to continue selling scripture in the village markets this evening in a new village to us. Pray also for this work that we would be aware of the Spirit’s moving as we interact with people.
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!
by Katie Garrett | Oct 13, 2016 | Praise report, Prayer request
I ended up going to an Urgent Care center in Connecticut on Monday evening, October 3 because my three hip wounds were infected, red and swollen. They were healing well until I had an allergic reaction to some band-aids which caused them to reopen and get infected. I had gotten an antibiotic the Friday before but I had an allergic reaction to that (!) which left two-thirds of my body covered with an itchy red rash. The Urgent Care doctor we saw that night was a Christian and a huge encouragement and help. He gave me an IV with a cocktail of meds for the rash and a new antibiotic. He also suspected I might have scarlatina so he tested me for that; later, that test came back positive, which means a lot of my rash is caused by strep/scarlet fever. We got home from Urgent Care at around 2 am.
Armed with my new meds but splotchy and itchy, Corey, Wheaton, and I got up at 2 am the next morning to leave for Senegal and traveled until we arrived in Senegal just after 1 am EST (5 am GMT/Senegal time) on Wednesday, when we crashed into beds at a guesthouse in Dakar and slept. On Sunday we traveled to spend the day with Emma and Molly at their school and had a wonderful time with them. On Monday we made the trip home to Kaffrine. We were warmly welcomed by neighbors and friends.
Tamxarit meal from a friend–millet couscous on the bottom and a separate dish of meat and vegetable sauce.
Tuesday night was Tamxarit, a Muslim holiday, so three different neighbors brought us bowls of millet couscous and meat sauce, which was a sweet homecoming gift.
Prayer requests:
- It is in the high 90’s and extremely humid. I still have itchy rash all over my neck, torso, arms, and legs so I am pretty miserable. But the three infection points are now well healed. The doc said the scarlet fever can take several weeks to clear up. My main prayer request is for health and strength: for the itchiness to stop!
- We thank God for bringing us back to Kaffrine and for our guard and househelper who kept our home, our dog, and our rabbits in good shape during our four months away.
- We are beginning to gather what we need to do another homestudy update for our adoption. We are going to do the update without a home visit this time. The agency said that USCIS might accept this or they might require us to find a social worker to do another home visit. Please pray that we will have everything submitted by the Dec. 4th expiration date, and that USCIS will extend our approval without requiring another home visit. Pray too for things to move forward on the Guinea side!
- Pray for our readjustment to life here. It is hot and humid and there are many challenges in day-to-day living. We have less emotional and spiritual support here than we have in the US and the needs around us are myriad. There is so much work we want to do — please pray for the Lord to guide us moment by moment into His priorities for our time and energy.
- Wheaton and I started her 6th grade schoolwork on Wednesday. Pray for her transition back to homeschooling and for a good school year for us, as well as for Emma and Molly at their school.
- Pray for the Sanderfers and the Gallaghers as they work to come join us in the work here. We praise God for calling them and pray that He will bring them to Senegal very soon!
We are so grateful for and dependent on your sustaining prayers; we are so weak…
Katie
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