campus ministry and culture

Our team is getting established in our routines of campus ministry. We are finding there is much to learn! Meeting with students in Senegal is much different than meeting with students in America-- an easygoing sense of time and loose planning here replace the hurried pace and tight scheduling of the United States. Students here have also been generally more outgoing and willing to lend a helping hand.

We are also learning just how tied Islam is to the culture and way of life here. Many Senegalese people pride themselves on the apparent inter-religious harmony here, and there is a certain degree of religious freedom here. However, it seems to me that in many cases, orthopraxy, as dictated by the religious leaders, shrouds spiritual truth.

Please pray that the Holy Spirit would enable our team to speak words that, instead of being persuasive or wise, are full of the Spirit's power (1 Corinthians 2:4), so that these students can hear and receive God's truth.

Being Still

Psalm 46 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at the break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The LORD almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolation he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

Today as we talked with Pascal and his wife about the ministry situation in Senegal, I was pretty disheartened. There is so much work that needs to be done in this culture in order to show the Senegalese people who God is and how He loves them. The task is overwhelming when looking at it through my own eyes. Pascal shared with us about the growing influence of Islamic Middle Eastern nations in Senegal. In an attempt to promote the more fundamentalist Islamic religion, these nations are sending aid to Senegal in the form of orphanages, schools, and providing scholarships to students. Pascal explained how these nations are extremely strategic about seeking to expand their influence here, placing their followers in prominent positions so as to gain leadership. But as I read this passage tonight, I was reminded of the supremacy of Christ. He WILL be exalted among the nations. He WILL be exalted in the earth. Sometimes I need to remember to be still, and know that God is God. Nothing can thwart His plan to bring glory to Himself as the nations come to know Him. He loves the Senegalese people and desires for them to know and walk with Him. He is more than capable of accomplishing His plan and I am excited to be but a small part of it.

Initial impressions

Hello everyone!

After arriving in Dakar on Monday, our team is slowly adjusting to Senegal. Actually, we are not-so-slowly adjusting in some important ways [heat, language, time zone] thanks to the hospitality of our campus minister and two of his students.

In no necessary other, here are some early impression from the city:

1) Dakar is really hot. I'm not kidding. It is almost November and as a Pennsylvania boy, I'm ready for winter jackets and hot chocolate. The sun is unrelenting, but if you get close enough to the ocean, there is a nice breeze.

2) There are more young children begging in the streets near campus than I anticipated. As an American, this is very new. As a Christian, it is disturbing. Most of the children work for local political/religious "leaders" who profit from the children's begging.

3) Senegalese food is good. I've yet to have a bad meal. Mainly egg-based products and breads for breakfast, sandwiches/panini for lunch, and chicken or beef dishes for dinner.

4) The US dollar goes a long way in Senegal. The purchasing power of our dollar should appreciate further as the US economy moves out of recession in the next six month or year.

5) English is more widely understood than I anticipated. That said, we cannot live here without learning French. Right now, we are getting by on the French skills of Ryan, Ashley, and Dayton. Christy and I are learning [more rapidly than I expected---thanks Rosetta Stone and shout out to Bubba Heisler].

6) Our hotel is cheap by western standards [roughly $26/person/night], but expensive relative to anticipated monthly rent. Two weeks of living in a hotel chews through a month's rent; hence our desire to finalize an apartment or apartments soon!

Airport!

As I write this, I think Dayton just landed at Dulles Airport. The rest of us trickle in throughout the afternoon. I arrived the latest at roughly 3:45pm. We leave for Dakar shortly thereafter at 6pm.

On another note, we have some leads on housing in Dakar. Nothing definitive yet, but some real possibilities! Thank you for your prayers on this. I am greatly relieved of anxiety on the matter and trying to rest in confidence in the Lord.

a funny video and a serious thought

Today I enjoyed watching this clip on youtube. (The man speaking French is explaining how the glass panes have been removed from this door for an experiment.)

While this clip unfortunately shows how immature my sense of humor is, I think there is also a spiritual truth that can be seen through this.

The people who stumbled with the door had trouble because they didn't use the door according to the designer's intentions (that is, not pushing on the glass but instead using the handle-- admittedly, rather low in the clip).

I think, when it comes to God's plans, many times I am similar to those people in the video-- I get through the door of God's plans, but it's rough and jerky because I don't fully listen to God's intentions for how to do it.

As I approach leaving for "a whole new world", I find God graciously pointing out to me that I really need to pay much closer attention to His direction, a word that I think can easily apply to all of us. It seemed to me the question He would pose is "what areas of my life would change if I was operating entirely according to the good news about Jesus' rescuing?"

I think these verses do a good job elucidating what the true norm for us should be:

Psalm 119: 128-136

Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul observes them.
The unfolding of Your word gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.
I opened my mouth wide and panted, for I longed for Your commandments.
Turn to me and be gracious to me, after Your manner with those who love Your name.

Establish my footsteps in Your word, and do not let any iniquity have dominion over me.
Redeem me from the oppression of man, that I may keep Your precepts.
Make Your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes.
My eyes shed streams of water, because they do not keep Your law.

Nous avons un jour pour volant á Dakar!

It's true, we do have a date for flying to Dakar! October 25th marks the date of our departure, so 27 days and counting!

Today I read the story of how Solomon asked God for wisdom to govern Israel. (When I realized this was the same man who wrote Proverbs 1:7, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge", it put that verse in a whole new light for me.)

As October 25th approaches, I ask that you pray something similar to the following prayer that spins off Solomon's prayer in 1 Kings 3.


Now, O LORD our God, You have given this team of Your servants this ministry, yet this team is young and new to these experiences, in many ways like little children, not yet knowing the ins and outs of this ministry or of life in Dakar. Your servants will be in the midst of Your Senegalese people whom You have chosen, a great and numerous people. So please give Your servants understanding minds to obey you and to discern between good and evil. But even more importantly, please give Your servants hearts to love Your people, for without such a gift, who is able to love adequately this (or any) great people of Yours? For it is only because You have first loved us in so mighty a way that we can have hope-- and indeed it is a great hope!-- to tackle this Your assignment for us. May you get much praise, Isa al-Masih, for Your indescribable gift of true life!

Messianic Rosh Hashanah Service

Last night, I attended a Rosh Hashanah service at Congregation Beth HaShem. The church meets in Durham on West Club Boulevard, the same site as the Summit Church West Club campus. Some friends from Cambridge Christian Fellowship at Duke invited me. We went to church at 6:45pm and did not leave until shortly before midnight due to a wonderful time of prayer and fellowship after the service.

The church was interesting and markedly different than my typical Protestant church experience. The differences were mainly in language [multiple prayers in Hebrew], custom [Jewish traditions], and liturgy, not in theology. The theology sounded evangelical to the core. I was curious to see how the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament would be used in the service. From what I gathered, the Hebrew Bible is understood prophetically to speak of Jesus and the redemption God would bring through Him.

I thought to blog about the service namely because my team and I will be entering into similar situations in the next year. No, we will not be attending Messianic Jewish services--but we will interact closely with Christian brothers and services who do not "do church" our way. In Galatians 1:6-9, Paul speaks in very direct terms the importance of not "perverting the Gospel of Christ" by either distorting, add to, or subtracting from the Gospel. I look forward to God exposing distortions in my understanding of the Gospel in Dakar through Christians brothers and sisters there.