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.