A New Table at the Louma

by | Nov 1, 2017 | Uncategorized

In rural areas in our region, a larger village will host a weekly market (called a “louma” in Wolof) where people from the surrounding villages can come to buy and sell. The village where we used to live has a louma every Wednesday. There are tables and small thatched shelters grouped together in the open space at the center of the village and you can find fabric, plastic basins and cups, farming tools and even sheep for sale. Corey is preparing to set up a new table at the louma for the first time today. This is the same village we lived in half-weeks and have done our farming project, sheep project, latrine project, and other interventions over the past few years.

From left to right: Luke-Acts in one volume, Psalms, Exodus, and Genesis

On Monday, we picked up the first few boxes of the new one-volume Luke-Acts written in Wolofal (the Wolof language written using Arabic script) at the print shop in Dakar. Thanks to all of you who have prayed for the transcription and publishing process over these last years! We now have Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, and a single-volume of Luke and Acts in Wolofal and now Corey will turn his attention from typesetting and printing to distribution and evangelism. He will have some of each book available at his table in the village today, along with some alphabet primers and sets of twenty small Wolof/Wolofal chronological Scripture story booklets.

The four published full books above and the 18 story Arabic script/Roman script booklets plus the two primer/alphabet books below

We have never done this before so we are not sure what to expect. But we take heart when we read God’s words in Isaiah 45:18-19, 22, and 23b:

“I am the Lord,” he says,
“and there is no other.
I publicly proclaim bold promises.
I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people to seek me
if I could not be found.

Let all the world look to me for salvation!
For I am God; there is no other.

Every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will declare allegiance to me.

As messengers sent out by God, we want to boldly and publicly proclaim His message of love and forgiveness and grace; we don’t want to just whisper the good news about what God has done through Jesus in our homes while all around us people are lost and without hope. We are confident that the Lord wants more Wolof people to seek and find Him and receive His gifts of salvation and joy. Will you pray that Corey will see evidence that God is with him at the louma today, and that He is drawing Wolof people to Himself? Would you pray for many people to be interested in reading God’s Word and for them to have the courage to buy a book or booklet? Thanks! And we will let you know tomorrow how it went!

Grab the buoy!

by | May 3, 2017 | Prayer request

The final proofread of Luke and Acts is underway! At 9 am this morning, our Wolof friend and co-worker parked his horse and buckboard in front of our house and now he and Corey are sitting at the table in our living room hard at work. Our Mslm friend is reading the Wolofal (Wolof language written in Arabic script) text out loud in the sing-song chanting style that is traditional for religious reading here, while Corey follows along in the original Wolof text (Wolof language written in Roman script a, b, c’s) to make sure every word is the same. The transcription and typesetting are done. This final proofread should take about 5 full work days. Then Luke and Acts will be ready for the printer! It will be published as a single volume. Please pray that God will shepherd this process, protecting every dot and letter of His Word and allowing these Scriptures to be printed perfectly.

This morning as I was praying for God to use this format of His Word, I thought of the millions of Wolof people who have never yet had the opportunity to read any part of the Bible. I remembered Romans 1:16 where it says that “this Good News about Christ is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes” and I suddenly pictured someone standing on a boat throwing a lifesaving ring to a person thrashing and drowning in the water. Pray with us that many will grab hold of the lifesaving news about what Jesus has done. There is power – power sufficient to bring a corpse to life – in the message of this book!

Prayer Points

Prayer Points

by | Apr 22, 2017 | Uncategorized

  • Recently, along with some others, we were able to visit three different villages on three different evenings and show movies that point people to Jesus. In one of the villages, an elder gave a speech that surprised and touched us, saying that even though he is a Mslm he knows that we Christians are living in the light. Pray for many from these three villages to be drawn to the Light!
  • Praise God for two young Wolof men who say they are ready to be baptized. They have studied God’s Word for years but have hesitated to proclaim allegiance to Christ because of their Mslm relatives. Pray for conviction leading to boldness.
  • Pray for the two little boys we are working to adopt from Conakry, Guinea, and for our adoption process to move forward quickly. We got to talk with the boys via Skype for the first time ever during Easter break while Emma and Molly were home from school – what a joy!
  • Pray for our family’s witness in our neighborhood and for our little church’s witness in Kaffrine. Katie continues to write new Sunday School lesson plans each week and teach the children. Pray for the Word to take root in the kids’ hearts and minds.
  • Continue to pray for the Wolofal Luke/Acts publication that Corey is working on. Pray that God will shepherd the whole transcription, proofreading, and printing process and use this format of His Word to draw many Wolof people to the Light.