The weekend was laden with an abundance of small mishaps, from a blown-out tire (with no spare) to a shortage of drinking water to sandy village roads trapping our vehicles up to a dozen times or more! But the kids' attitudes remained chipper and upbeat despite such set-backs, thanks to our Outreach motto, "Be flexible!" Because what's a misspent hour here or there pushing a whining vehicle through mounds of loose, torrid sand in light of the eternal?(Picture: Mike ended up being the runner between various sites - but he only got stuck in the sand twice!)
This was our mind-set as we departed on our multifarious adventures, including millet-pounding, peanut-harvesting, medicinal aid, children's outreach, drama presentations, brick-making and laying the foundation of a new church in the village of Diofane.
I, (Mindee), co-lead the millet-pounding group with a fellow staff member from Dakar Academy. It was an experience that was uniquely African in and of itself. We gathered under the bough of a thick, looming boabab tree and waited as the women of the village went into their thatched huts and brought out three wooden pestles and six mortars. Then, under the watchful eye of a gathering crowd, they showed us how to pulverize the stalks of millet until the chaff and millet corn fully broke away from the husks that they clung to. The women worked two-to-one-pestle and mesmerized us with the rhythmic cadence of their pounding, which despite the brute strength and formidable endurance involved, was soothing and musical in essence. They were even able to toss the wooden mortar in the air at times for a timed clap here or there, still without missing a beat. Then, once they were done, they expertly sifted through the hodgepodge of chaff, millet corn and husks and separated the millet corn from the rest, using only the wind and their swift, practiced hands to guide them. It was impressive to say the least.
Then WE had a turn.
(Picture: the bundles of millet)
By now, it felt like most of the village had congregated under the baobab in anticipation of the "toubabs" participating in their livelihood. Six of our high school girls tentatively took hold of the mortars and took a whack at it (excuse the pun). Good natured thigh-slapping and howls of laughter echoed through the dusty roads of the village as awkward limbs flailed and rhythmless pounding prevailed. After wiping the tears of laughter from their eyes, the women then patiently demonstrated once again how to properly pound the millet and we once again watched in fascination as they made it look smooth and effortless.Eventually we got the hang of it. The awkward thumping ultimately transformed into a steady tempo, although it never did quite have that musical resonance to it. We worked tirelessly as well, although again, I'm sure we accomplished far less than they would have had they done it themselves (I think we completed about one bundle of millet per hour, totalling 13 bundles in all).
(Picture: the millet corn after being pounded & sifted)
Still, I don't really think that was the point. I don't think Fatou or Lois or any of the other women in that village NEEDED us to do a job that they were far more accomplished in doing. I think it was more the fact that we wanted to learn, wanted to help and cared about their livelihood, about THEM. I know those women are still probably getting a good chuckle out of those 'crazy rhythmically-challenged toubabs', but I also hope that they remember the kind smiles, the intense longing to learn and hopefully, and most importantly, the Christ-like love that bled through our actions.
Another truly humbling aspect of this Outreach was the fact that the site that many of the females settled in to stay for the weekend was actually the completed church building of a foundation that I helped lay last year! What an exceptional privelege it was to see the finished product of my own (as well as many other’s) hard labor of love from the year prior. And to top it off, we were able to worship in that very church along with it’s congregation on Sunday morning! Isn’t God awesome? ☺
(Picture: the sifting process)
But I think the MOST awe-inspiring reality of the weekend was the fact that this was the BIGGEST response to the gospel that we’ve ever experienced. 735 people prayed to accept Jesus and at least 3000 heard the gospel message. Wow. What an incredible honor it is to be apart of planting and harvesting God’s kingdom here in Senegal. And having the experience of pounding millet really brought all those biblical parables to life about cultivating and yielding a harvest (a.k.a. the kingdom of God)! Now I know what it means to “let them be as chaff before the wind.” (Psalm 35:5)So thanks for all of your prayers over the weekend. I guess now all that we ask of you prayer warriors is that you continue to do what you do best and persist in praying for follow-up in the area of Tattaguine. We have dramatically increased the work load of the national pastors in the area (which they couldn’t be happier about), but we just want to make sure that the believers that came to Christ this weekend continue to grow and mature in their new-found faith.
Lastly, and what’s especially exhilarating is that it looks like Diofane could actually become an all-Christian village in what is deemed a mostly Muslim country. Don’t we serve an amazing God??
