Short and Sweet

This was our last day with the children and it is bittersweet. Just like our goodbyes, this post will be short and sweet as we have to get up at 5:00 am to start the journey back. God has shown Himself to be powerful and mighty in ways that we could have never imagined. Every step of the way He provided for us and I have no doubt that the rest of our trip He will continue to provide. Tonight was full of tears as we hugged our new friends and covered them in prayers. Its amazing how close you can get to someone after a little over a week with them. God brought many hearts together and we will all meet again, whether it is on this earth or with Him in heaven. My prayer is that I will get to return to Africa someday and get to fellowship with these incredible m's again. As soon as my feet hit the african ground I knew there was something special. It only took me being here a very short time to fall in love with the country, people and the presence of God that is so strong among His servants. I am not sure when, but I will return. God has began a good work here, there is no doubt about it. I am simply in awe that He would allow me to be a part of what He has been working on here in West Africa. Our God is personal and He loves to bless His people when we are obedient. It doesn't have to be going across the world to Africa, however the simple act of obedience to what He is calling you to do will reap blessing on you and others around you. I have been so incredibly blessed by this trip. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. God is so good.
Ok, so this wasn't exactly short and sweet...but am I ever? ;)

Dynamic Dinner

One of my favorite times is the dinner that we get to enoy with the m. families every night. We go to their houses and eat delicious Senegalese food while being surrounded with sweet fellowship. Stories are swapped, pictures are taken and lessons are learned from these great men and women. Oh, and the children are adorable as well. :) Tonight we ate Fatiya which is like a hot pocket but 5x larger and stuffed with an onion sauce which is out of this world. I have learned so much just by sitting under the roof of some of these ms and getting to learn about their passion for God and His people. We have one more day with these precious children and their dedicated parents. It will be a sad time when we have to leave them, I am sure. However, God has everything taken care of and we don't have to worry about any of it. What a comfort that is. We serve an incredible King who comforts and leads His people. What a friend we have in Jesus.

PRAISE!

Praise Report! All over heaven the angels are rejoicing as a new soul is added to the kingdom. After praying with a man last night and then meeting with him again today, he has come to accept Jesus Christ and is now our brother in Christ. What an experince to see the fruit of our labor here. Thank you for all of your prayers and support. God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.

How Great is our God!

All will see how great is our God! As we close out another crazy day here in Africa, we were reminded of exactly how majestic our Lord is. Whoa. How He could pain the sky with such vivid colors, arrange the clouds in their specific design and orchestrate the rate the sun would fall just blows my little mind. I am so glad to serve a God who is living and active and not a statue made of wood, stone or another temporal object. "Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God You are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty, You cover Yourself with light as a garment and stretch out the heavens like a beautiful curtain." Psalm 104:1-2.

Morning crafts

Today we are teaching the children about loving and respecting their parents and people in authority over them. They are making heart cards thanking their parents for all that they do for them. One little boy remarked, "I want to thank my parents for loving Jesus so much. He is all that matters." Straight from the mouth of a child comes such thanksgiving and dedication.
 I would like to thank my parents for allowing me to travel halfway around the world to serve my King. Also to my awesome siblings for doing extra dishes and more laundry in order for me to be here. ;) Love you!
The day is just beginning here (its about 10:00 a.m here and 4:00 a.m back home) and we have got lots more planned for the children today. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers! Thank you for everyone who has prayed for our team and the people here. We appreciate it more than you could ever know! :)

Prayer is Powerful!

As we are nearing the middle of our trip, please pray that we will take every situation the Lord gives us and rely on His strength. Thankfully none of us have gotten sick so far, the Lord has blessed us with incredible energy and His unfailing strength. However we need to continue to rely completely on Him for all of our needs as the devil is throwing things at us left and right. Don't take lightly the spiritual warfare that goes on among men and women of God. It is real and it does happen. But our God is also real and will overcome Satan. Please pray for the m.s that we are working with. As they are learning more, the devil is attacking more. One family in particular is really struggling. As prayer warriors, please keep them in your prayers as the devil and all of his demons are trying to stop the spread of the gospel. The lesson that we taught the children today was about prayer. What an encouragement it was to be able to tell them that people in the states were praying for them. Please continue to join us in prayer for the rest of our adventure here.

Sunday Services. 9:15 there, 3:15 here. :P

"Don't turn your back on God. Worship and serve Him heart and soul! Don't chase after false gods. There's nothing to them. They can't help you. They're nothing but a lie! God, simply because of who He is, is not going to walk off and leave his people. God took delight in making you into his very own people." 1st Samuel 12:21. This picture is a symbol of what is happening here. Idols are being destroyed and strongholds knocked over. God is at work in a huge way. But with work comes warfare. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we are up against Satan and his army. However, our God is greater! We had the opportunity to worship with some of the most spirit filled people that I have ever been around. Every time that I took a breath - I felt the Holy Spirit. Every time I sang - it was purely for Him. Everytime I felt Him speak - my heart was lifted. There aren't even words to describe the power, purpose and passion that filled that simple room. No elaborate stage, flashing lights or top notch sound equipment. Just the sound of a group of believers worshipping the One true God. Men, women and children all together worshiping the God that was, is and is to come. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I watched little children dance for their King while singing "How great is our God." The Word was taught in a real and practical way. Prayer was lifted up to our Creator. He was praised and magnified through all that went on at that service. What a blessing that God has bestowed on me and the rest of the team to be around and learn from such awesome m's. We will not return the same, I can promise you that. "Greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city!"

Sometimes I wish I were African...

We were fixing to go to bed when we heard this screeching whistle and a bunch of loud drums. Cindy comes to our door and tells us there are people dancing outside. Being the curious person I am, I threw on a wrap skirt and bolted out of my room with my camera in hand. After sneaking behind a building and hiding in a bush, this is what I found...

Parachute

We pulled out the parachute after a swim and some lunch. It was hard to find an open area without trees or huts, but we manged to find a small spot to play. After blowing up a beachball about as fast as the speed of light, I ran to help them and all they could say was "Aunt Amy! Come play!" How it fills my heart with joy to hear the happiness in their voices and hear the contentment in their laughter. :) 

Early afternoon pool time

Laughter abounds from the pool area here as the children are getting a special treat. Cannonballs, bellyflops and games of sharks and minnows are happening as I type this and it is such a joy to see these children who sacrifice so much getting to be able to enjoy something as simple as swimming. What a blessing to be able to serve and build friendships with some of God's most dedicated servants. He is working in so many ways here and its a joy to be able to love these kids! Jesus loves the little children, and how great a privelage it is to be able to be His hands and feet being used to wrap His love around them. We serve an incredible God. We are off to eat lunch now!

A taste of African culture

 After lunch, Cindy and I went to the market. Greeting people in French and Arabic (two of the most common languages here), we moved through crowds of people but always stopped to make conversation. We even ran into an english teacher at a college here. However, what I find interesting is that instead of going from primary school to middleschool to highschool to college, the people here go from what they call primary school, to college, to highschool, to university. So its a bit different than in the states, but the teacher wanted to talk to us in english for a long time. We talked to him for a while but had to continue on. The ladies above were selling tomatoes and peppers. There was so much color in everything there. It really was an awesome experience.

They use this to mash onions to make a delicious onion sauce that can be eaten with just about anything. We tried it with some bread (which is incredibly yummy) and some chicken (which was incredibly spicy) and it was just great! Senegal is the peanut capitol of the world so there is never a shortage of peanuts and peanut oil, but for this sauce they use lots of peanut oil and saute`d onions that they cook for a long time. No calories at all, I am sure. ;) But who counts those things anyway? :)

A few pictures of our first day

 Marcella starting off the morning with a fun game with the children. We have an awesome room that the children are learning in. Today was the story of creation and we made a "7 days of creation" poster with each of the children and hung them all over the room. What a sight! We got to see all of the ideas stored up in these brilliant childrens minds on paper. When I say brilliant, I mean brilliant. There is a 7 year old who is fluent in latin, english and his tribes language. I was blown away! These children are teaching us so much and its incredible what God is doing for us and through us. God is so GOOD!

 We took the M. kids to a fellow M's house for some pb and j sandwhiches, chips and fruit. This typical American lunch was greatly appreciated as the children are used to typical Senegalese food. What a blessing they have been to our group!

Danielle (in blue dress), Cindy (with sunglasses) , Kimberly (bandana) and I (the blonde in the red) eating chebby jem (Fish and red rice) from a common bowl. They were teaching me (a newcomer to the common bowl) the proper way to eat, what to eat when, and the spices I should avoid. We used spoons this time, but it might be with our hands next time. Made with mostly red rice, this dish also contains lime, spices, two different types of fish (complete with the fish heads) carrots, cabbage, potatoes, and other UFOs - unidentified food objects. ;)

Jesus loves the little children of the world

We can't drive anywhere without people running up to our van, trying to sell us stuff, wanting water, attempting to get in through the doors and bringing their babies up to the windows. The last one is the hardest because those little ones are so precious and their mothers are begging for food and pointing at the baby they have on their hip. It really tears your heart up. To be completely surrounded by people so desperate and so hungry (both physically and spiritually) is simply gut wrenching. All we could do was pray for them. Please continue to join us in prayer for God's children in Africa.They are precious in His sight.

Compare...Chicago to West Africa. Reality check?

We have arrived safely to our destination! Praise God! Our plane landed at 5:00 am, then we boarded a bus for the next 7 hours, rode on a ferry for 20 minutes after a 2 hour wait, then continued in our bus for another 8 hours. We were more than happy to arrive safely and eat a nice common bowl meal with friends here, shower and stretch a little bit. However we did stop several times for potty breaks, thanks to the generosity of Rick. :P Here is some of what we found...

 In Chicago, this toilet automatically changed the seat protector after every use. Seriously, we are over pampered.

This toilet (squatty potty) had absolutely no protection on the seat, or anywhere around it for that matter. You pick up your skirts and go with it...no pun intended. ;) I haven't slept more than a few hours in the past two days, cut me some slack. :) Oh, and we had to PAY to use the squatty potty! Hehe...we weren't laughing then but its pretty funny now! :P

Our first stop...Springfield airport.

We have arrived safely to the Springfield airport and have all of our luggage taken care of. Now lets continue to pray that it gets where it needs to go!

Today is the day!

"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24 :)

As I prepare to leave there are so many thoughts that cross my mind. Thoughts of worry, thoughts of excitement, thoughts of utter amazement that God has allowed me to serve Him in such a incredible way. However, there is one thought that has never crossed my mind; doubt. Not for a single second did I doubt that this was God's plan for me. A feeling of complete surrender has taken me over and I am exeedingly thankful for all that my King has done for me.

We are prepring to go as lights into one of the most spiritually dark places in the world. Please pray that Christ radiates through our actions, thoughts and words as we will be sharing His unconditional love with others.

I have been told that the internet connection will come and go there, so this may be the last post for a little while, but I am praying that we are able to post often. As prayers are answered, people touched and opportunities taken I will be taking you along with us our great adventure. Better hold on, it could get a little crazy. :P

For His Glory,
Amy Kate

ONE MORE DAY!!!! :):):)

If the title doesn't convey my excitement, i don't know what will. ;) We leave in a short 21 hours...and I am not even completely packed. Yikes! I am looking at all my stuff and wondering "how in the world am I going to fit all of this without ripping my bag?" Maybe this is a subtle hint from God not to pack as much. :P Please keep the team and our families in prayer as the devil will try to attack us more now that ever before. We need our Savior fighting on our side and we need to cast all of our worries and fears on Him for He alone will sustain us. Please continue to pray for protection from sickness as I know I am beginning to fight a cold and I haven't even stepped a foot out of Missouri. However, as with everything in life, may God's will be done. He is our King and we will serve Him for as long as we live. In Christ alone my hope is found. :)

For His Glory,
Amy Kate