Lehar, Lebou, Manjaku

Yes. Yalla baax naa. Always. We have been having good days here. I will first update you all on what I know of the work in the South. Let's see.... Rachel and Chris were sick. Now they are good. Ryan was healthy. Now he is sick. God was good...and He still is. I believe I have already shared with you about the long Manjaku church service that the team attended. Since then, they have gone to several villages and talked to important people there. Their main mission has been to gain a better understanding of the Manjaku worldview. This, they have done. It is also said that in some of the villages, our SBU students have attracted quite the crowd by merely kicking a soccer ball around. Then, crowd gathered, they lead the children (at least 20 of them) in singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and then through "Jesus Loves Me." I don't know about you guys, but to me, it appears that the trip has already been quite successful. Tomorrow will be the last day that the team will spend in Sedhiou. I believe that they will be driving back to Ziguinchor tomorrow night in order to be there in time for their 9am flight on Thursday. Likewise, tomorrow will likely be our last day spent in Mbour. We will likely drive back to Grand Yoff on Thursday morning to reunite with the rest of our team. The last couple of days have been spent visiting with the peoples of the Ngaparou and Terokh vilages. Ngaparou is quite near to Mbour...Terokh is very far away. Yesterday, Papa and I took Chelsea and Kesha to Terokh. It took us almost exactly 2 hours to get there. It was quite an experience for the girls yesterday...their first time with real Senegalese transportation. We took septplas' from here to Thies and then from Thies to Tivaouane. From there, we took a taxi to Terokh. A septplas (French for "seven places") is a small...very small...station wagon. There is room for the driver and 7 others. Well, I shouldn't say there is room...I should say...they hold the driver and 7 others. It is usually a tight fit...and usually not all that comfortable...but, it is cheap...and it is reliable. We lucked out a couple of times during our travels and were able to rent out an entire septplas for just the 4 of us. This was a little more expensive, but definitely worth every CFA. The taxi from Tivaouane to Terokh...doesn't spend much time on paved road. We are very quickly taken onto...a goat path of some kind. It then takes about 10-15 minutes to get to Terokh. If ever there was a place in the middle of nowhere...this is it. In Terokh, the girls helped the women of the village with cooking and laundry. They also entertained the children. Papa and I walked around the village and talked to people, and gave them books. We also told them some Bible stories. Yesterday we had Ceebu Yapp for lunch, it was basically plain rice...oily plain rice...and some beef. It was tasty though. Today, we had Ceebu Jen. And today, there were vegetables and sauce with the meat and rice. It was also quite tasty. Oh, before I forget, the trip home last night was an adventure. We had planned to leave the village at 4:30. We had told our taxi driver from the morning trip to come back for us at that time. At 5, we realized that he probably wasn't coming...and Papa began to search for a horse. He found one, and we left on the sarrette (a cart...type thing...that is pulled behind a horse) at about 5:45pm. Remembering that it took us about 10-15 minutes to get to Terokh from Tivaoune yesterday morning, it is more...funny (I guess)...that it took us 30-45 minutes to return to Tivaouane by sarrette. It was then nearing 6:30pm. We attempted to find a septplas to take us to Thies. But...there were very few that were still running.... So...we took a mini-car. It is not what it sounds like...it is not a car...and it is definitely not mini. It is more like an oversized 15-passenger van. Ours had 31 people in it on the way to Thies. It was quite an experience. The girls weren't the only ones in for a treat this time...I had never ridden in one either. I would not suggest that everyone try it...but it really wasn't that bad. I say that...but I had a window seat. I realized that the more of my body that was out the window, the less of it there was taking up space inside. Therefore, I endured the journey with my left arm hanging completely out of the vehicle...and sometimes my head too. It was fun. The girls were not so lucky...they were crammed in the row behind me...with far too many others. However, they survived, and joyously too (hmm...those girls just don't seem to lose that joy). We were able to find a septplas in Thies...but by this time it was nearing 7:30. The mini-car was cheap...but it was also slower, and it had to stop every little way to let someone out. We ended up arriving back in Mbour at about 8:20 or so. We were quite exhausted and quite hungry. Luckily...dinner was still a little warm...thanks to the Johnson's stove. We devoured our barbecue chicken greedily. It was good. Today...we did things a little bit differently. We left about 15 minutes earlier (9:30 as opposed to yesterday's 9:45), and we returned earlier (4:45 as opposed to yesterday's 8:20). Today, our activities in the village were very similar, the girls washed and entertained, and Papa and I talked and told stories. Also, at the end of our visit today, I prayed for the chief and for the whole village. He then prayed for me. It was a very blessed time. Pray that the people of the village will be open and curious, and that they will want to hear what we have to say. They already are quite fond of us. They told me that their village is my home, and that I can do whatever I want there. I believe that this is because they remember me from last January. It is quite a blessing to be so graciously welcomed by people whom I've met only once...and whose language I do not even speak. As far as the trips to Ngaparou go, they are going quite well. David and Cheryl say that upon saying that they were leaving today, an hour passed before they had actually left. This was due to everyone wanting to talk to them before they left. In Ngaparou, the Johnsons have been storying and the girls have been playing with the children. Tomorrow, all of our team...and Papa will return to Terokh. We will tell more stories...and we will answer lots of questions. Pray that we might have wisdom and strength and that the villagers might have understanding and a desire for God. We are all looking forward to Thursday when we will be reunited with our brothers and sisters, but tomorrow is likely to be one of the best days that we have yet experienced. Pray that God will burst into the village like a flood. I thank you all for the support that you have been giving to all of us. You are all great friends. Begg naa la. Jere-Jef. Ba benen yon.