Me and Wayne standing in front of the house where we stayed.
Wayne and I arrived home early last Sunday morning. Thank you for praying for us throughout our trip. Our time in West Africa training both current and future pastors was fruitful. This past week was a busy one so I'm just now getting around to writing up a recap.
When we arrived at Dulles Airport in D.C. at the beginning of our trip, we met up with Frank, a former missionary in West Africa who now serves in a director role with our denomination's global missions agency. The three of us arrived in Dakar, Senegal early in the morning on Saturday, July 30th. Since we had almost a 12 hour layover before our flight to Banjul, Gambia, the President of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Senegal showed us around Dakar to help pass some time before our flight.
Worshiping at one of the churches in the Presbyterian Church in Gambia.
Hanging out during lunch on one of the days of the preaching class.
Me teaching on preaching at the Bible school.
Wayne leading a devotional before class.
We arrived in The Gambia Saturday evening. Pastor Abou, who preached at City Church last year, picked us up from the airport. We exchanged money, bought groceries, and settled into a house in the village where we stayed for the week. On Sunday morning we visited one of the churches in the Presbyterian Church in Gambia. I had the honor of preaching in the service with a translator (I found out I would be preaching just before we left for the service!) In the afternoon we traveled to some of the villages where churches are being planted. It was encouraging to hear about how Jesus is at work establishing new churches and drawing people to himself.
The week was spent teaching both current and future pastors. I taught a class on preaching called "Proclaiming God's Story." The goal of the course was to help students grow in their ability to preach sermons that are centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Wayne led devotionals three of the days and also shared about his journey in preaching Christ from the whole of Scripture in one of the sessions. The students took the exam for the class on Thursday, and on Friday, each preached a sermon from an assigned passage of Scripture.
The week was challenging, yet fruitful. It was hot. Teaching all day was exhausting. But God was good. The pastors in The Gambia are in great need of training. It was an honor to be with them to help them grow in their preaching. They were so appreciative of us being there. Pray for them as they continue classes over the next few weeks. Pray for them as they minister in a difficult context in which the predominate religion is Islam.
Thank you again for praying for us. Wayne and I look forward to sharing more about our trip in the City Church worship gathering on August 28th.
Pastor Jason
The students taking their preaching exam at the end of the week.
Me and Wayne with the university student who watches over the compound where we stayed.