Simplicity of Life

What Is Simple Living?

Simple living — aka voluntary simplicity — has just about as many definitions as there are individuals who practice it. Simple living is not about living in poverty or self-inflicted deprivation. Rather, it is about living an examined life — one in which you have determined what is important, or "enough," for you, discarding the rest.

"Living in a way that is outwardly
simple and inwardly rich."

Beached Whales

Last week while Erin and I were doing our prayer walk on the beach in Kabrousse we came upon a big whale on the beach. It looked like it had been there for awhile. We thought it might be a dolphin or something. When we walked to the other side of it, the whole insides were spilling out onto the beach and it was cracked and bloated. It looked as if the sun had heated up the whale and he exploded. It was very disgusting.

Beached Whales

In pictures: Senegal's beached whales

YOUR PICTURE GALLERY IS NOW LOADING...

More than 100 whales swam ashore in the Yoff neighbourhood of Senegal's capital, Dakar, on Wednesday.

Women's Camp

On Sunday the women in the church prepared lunch and dinner for the church members as a way of saying thanks for all their help during camp. There was still tons of meet left over from killing the cow that had to be eaten. So Sunday was declared the last and final day of the camp.

Erin created a wonderful 20 minute video of the photos and video clips from the camp. The women were ecstatic when they saw it and they were glued to the screen watching the film. What a memento for them to have. The camp will probably not be in Oussouye again for another ten years or so.

As they watched the video they laughed at the photos and the memories that are still fresh with the stories, joining in the songs laughing at each others camera antics. It was a great moment and we all felt we had shared in something during the camp and reliving it through the video that will remain in us forever. Erin and I truly feel a part of their family.

Remember the 80's

Remember in the 1980's when "certain" people wore those ridiculous sunglasses that sort of covered their whole spectrum of sight. I don't remember what they were called, but man were they weird. They have been rediscovered here in Oussouye. Our local church photographer Jean Jaques gave the kids in the church extra negatives from his photography and they have totally colored their world.

Painting

Last year during the rainy season the cement just soaked up the rain and we had mold growing on the walls. So this year one of what seemed like a bigger project was to have the house painted with a kind of sealer. What ended up happening is that a guy from Mlumpe painted the house for us and God opened up some real doors for ministry with our painter. And the house got done over and above what I thought would happen. Last year we had screen doors put on the house with leftover wood from the project. I never got around to sanding them or painting them and Joe offered to do those also. That was kind of a nice bonus. Then he said today, to keep him up to date on how the rainy season goes for us and if we have any future problems we can look into other solutions. That was nice.

The God Smuggler

"But God is never defeated. Though He may be opposed, attacked, resisted, still the ultimate outcome can never be in doubt. Everyday we see fresh proof that indeed all things, even evil ones -- work together for those who are called by His name." Brother Andrew

I just finished reading this book about Brother Andrew who has spent his life on the mission field bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ behind the iron curtain and then on into unreached areas of the world. I have been inspired by His sacrifice and the simplicity of his life. He listened for the voice of God and obeyed. He did not ask for lot's of money or try to figure out what God was doing, he simple obeyed.

At the end of the book Brother Andrew leaves us with this challenging thought: "For the overseas work, Andrew noted, many people today are enrolling as short term missionaries, people assigned brief stays in Indonesia or North Africa or other places with large Muslim populations. Brother Andrew says "First earn the right to get their attention; then show them Jesus-- perhaps not with words but always with actions."

"It's high Christian adventure if your heart is in the right place," he added "Because wherever you are, Jesus will be too."

It's never too late to be a missionary. Service as missionaries takes place with our neighbors, those on the streets and in the villages we live in. Kristina

10 interesting things about Senegal

1. The customer is never right
2. Cars always have the right of way over pedestrians, because they are bigger.
3. Prostitutes have to carry an identity card and have a check up every month.
4. A traffic jam usually involves a car, a motor bike and a donkey cart
5. Being 21 years old with 4 years left of high school is not a shocker
6.When talking about ones brother it is often clarified that you have the same mother and father, or not.
7.It is not unusual for a mother to go to work leaving her two year old child to be cared for by the ten year old child
8. The Cassamance region is consider the Christian region while less than 5% of the population is either Catholic or evangelical Christian.
9. Underlying both Islam and Catholicism is the heavy presence of mysticism and animism.
10. The number one reason tourists come to Senegal is for sex!

Camp Begins

Free Range Beef

Women's Camp

The women's camp is held annually and it is the national camp for the Association of Evangelical Church's in Senegal. Each year the camp is held at a different location. Last year we were in Ziguinchor and this year, Oussouye volunteered to host.

The preparations for the camp included all of the church members. The week prior to the camp there was some skepticism about the readiness of the women and the church for the camp, but everyone pulled together the last couple of days.

The women decided they wanted a tent outside because it would be cooler than the sanctuary of the church. After the immense heat of Sunday church, I am so thankful they decided to put the extra work in. Now it took two days to build the tent. After just having finished putting ten years into building the church building, so I was curious as to why a tent would be so valuable. Now we couldn't rent it because renting one cost 40,000 cfa. Building it, cost everyone in the church two days, and a lot of toil. It was cooler though, and it was FREE!

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I watched a church family pull together to see the women succeed in hosting this camp. I watched the communion of a family. I was moved by the preparations more than the camp itself. I learned so many important lessons through it all.

The camp was important because it was a Christian celebration. In this culture so many events are marked by a celebration where a cow is killed, a tent is built, everyone dresses up and dances, the family all comes together. But they are also marked by making sacrifices to the fetishes. The camp was the Oussouye church's opportunity for all of those things, meat, communion and dancing, in Jesus' name.

I will include photos of the tent making, the cow killing (which served as the meat for over 150 people for a week), the dancing, speaking and camp fellowship.

One note for anyone reading this who wants to be a missionary someday or who is frustrated by the lack of fruit in their current work. When you see all the photos.....remember.....God called missionaries to Senegal, who obeyed, and started telling people about Jesus. Now, however many years later, their is an amazing, fully functioning, national church in Senegal. We all just need to be obedient and do our part, God will do the rest.

The men in my life

The longer I am here in Oussouye, the closer I am becoming to the families around me. They are truly my own family. I am forever thankful to God for sending me here among this tribe and in this particular village.