Senegal Celebration Day 1
Only two were available to help. Ted and Fred arrived at the Minneapolis MN airport in the evening of June 4 to fly to Paris, France, leaving at 8:00. After an 8 hour flight we arrived for an 5 1/2 hour layover, then on to Dakar, Senegal. The airplane taxied to the runway, then returned to the gate to fix a technical problem, leaving an hour later than scheduled. After more than 21 hours of traveling time we arrived at the compound where Herma Bode serves and went to bed.
Senegal Celebration Day 2. We were allowed to sleep in, both of us having a good nights sleep. After breakfast we clean the roof of the chapel building of mostly sand and construction material. Afterward we painted the stairwell and railing that led to the roof, which lasted until the 3 pm lunch. Lunch was prepared by a local gal the was eaten from a communal bowl. The rest of the day was free to nap and make contact back home.
Senegal Celebration Day 3 – Sunday relaxed till meeting area small group.A lot of acapella singing, but accompanied with drums. The rest of the afternoon was free for naps and catching up. After supper at 9 we watched a movie.
Senegal Celebration Day 4 Now to a full work day, but it doesn’t start any earlier. We started out repainting the stair rail and then the walls while others around the compound were putting another coat on the other buildings. When that was done we were called to have a tea break. Back to work was cleaning up leaves and trash that had accumulated. Lunch, a quick nap and then sweeping the concrete platform that will hold the stage as it is arriving yet today. As the work day ended several at the compound decided to make the half hour walk to the beach before sunset. Many people there, especially young ones playing football (soccer) in the sand. All the streets we walked on were made of fine sand. Stopping by an ice cream store on the way back we started a discussion about the street children we saw as one of our group is being called to work with them. It is a terrible system, but unrecognized by the world. Parents give away their children to study the Quran under a marabout, but they become beggars for the profit of the teachers. The talibe children, as they are called, are the most prevalent in Senegal. Look it up, then pray for the Lord to work in hearts, both in the children and the marabout, but also to send laborers into the harvest.
Senegal Celebration Day 5 –Not much to report today as the object was more cleaning. We started out cleaning up an aera where sand, rocks, and discarded container boxes has been dumped. Then we cleaned out what will one day be a kitchen/serving area,. Then cleaning up the bathroom doors. Toward evening we tried to clean the tile entry. Not many pictures taken about the process. The company contined to erect the stage with the shade.
Senegal Celebration Day 6. Our speaker for the celebration and his wife arrived this morning. Speaker is Dr. Winfred Neely, retired from 25 years at Moody and previously 10 years in Senegal. More rocks and trash to move as we started the day. Then we prepared and painted two small walls and put decorative rock around a tree. Later we painted the top of the mop board. Took a few pictures around the front of the compound and during a trash run found a jam session among the locals. You may have to contact me if you want to hear it.
Senegal Celebration Day 7. Found a few more rocks to move from behind a wall. Then went to doing touch-up painting from the day before. The sound system is being set up. Things are coming together. One of the locals changed the paint color of short walls so it matched the major color of the rest of the compound. The major excitement, at least for the local missionaries was the arrival of 75 boxes of Bibles in the Wolof language. This has been an over 60 year process as it was the New Testament was started in the early 1960’s. Raked up some more leaves from under the trees. Most things are completed for this day, so had an opportunity to converse with Dr. Neely as the evening drew close. Also did better at taking pictures today.
Senegal Celebration Day 8. More people are arriving for the celebration. One couple was Tim and Bebe Church. Tim is the son of Eric Church who dedicated his life to translating the Bible into Wolof. He started in the early 1960’s with the New Testament and it was dedicated in 1986, a few years after his death. The work has carried on for the last 40 years and is now complete and published. Tomorrow is a big day. Our first job was to scoop up and move .the sand that had engrossed the entry platform. Our street is very busy and includes many horse and carts, some of which have bells on them. Many different things are delivered by horse and cart. Every day we have a tea time and I finally got a picture. Late in the afternoon the equipment arrived for two more shade canopies and chairs. 500 have been ordered, but there wasn’t room for all of them. One of the ladies had volunteered to cook supper, so it arrived earlier than usual, leaving some leisure time before bed. Tomorrow will start early.
Semegal Celebration Day 9 – The big day has arrived. We were given shirts, tailor made since yesterday afternoon, to designate our work as maintenance. and told to not to do any work, but enjoy. You will notice there are other matching shirts/dresses in the crowd. Others helped to set up conversation groups away from the main attraction. During the day we met several people with interesting connections. Most of the crowd had gathered, it looked like about 200 or more in attendance, and the program started about an hour later than scheduled, with welcome’s from various people, including a village representative. Then an exhortation, addresses by various important people, a couple testimonies and then several studies, mostly from Isaiah 40:3-8. There was a short parade from the back to bring the scripture to the front and rejoice in having the complete Word, and several people involved in the translation work were introduced. One older lady had worked with Eric Church and then others to complete the work. Then to a Senegalese meal with everyone gathered in groups, followed by a concert. Many had an enjoyable time greeting old friends and making new ones. Afterwards there was the usual cleanup and saying good-bye.
Senegal Celebration Day 10. This is Sunday, so the day changes. We are up at the usual time, with breakfast an hour later, leaving plenty of time to prepare for Breaking of Bread. It was enjoyable to see the saints standing around after the meeting just fellowshipping. During the morning and afternoon the crews for the stage and sound packed up, then the tent and chairs. One of the trucks backed into the entrance wall which not only cracked the wall, but caused the gate to be out of alignment. Contact had been made with a pastor, so he came over to talk about his work in the area and had lunch with us. After coasting for the remaining afternoon we went for a walk to see where our tailored shirts were made and passed the mosque where the call to prayer awakens the neighborhood at 5:00 am and has various calls and announcements throughout the day.
Monday, June15, 2026 – Senegal Day 11
Senegal Celebration Day 11. Started the morning checking out the break in the entry way. It is much more serious than expected as a poured concrete post has been pushed out of line. We will need to leave it to the locals to fix it. The rest of the day was used picking a some trash, sweeping a rough basketball court, and coasting. The highlight of the day was getting a picture of colorful local lizards.
Tuesday, June 16, 2026 – Senegal Day 12
Since things are relatively cleaned up we took a day to see some sights in the area. We started the day earlier, making it through the local traffic and out of town, passing by two stadiums built for the Summer Youth Olympic Games. There is much building going on, but the land grew dryer and more sparse. We stopped to fill up with gas prices at 680 Francs per liter or $5.45 per gallon. The fields were being prepared for the coming rains. It rains for 3 months, then nothing for 9. Our destination is Beer Sheba, a ministry that impacts the community by turning 250 acres of dessert ground into an oasis while offering help to the community. Many stories about the Lord’s working, but too long for this report. Contact Fred if you want more information about Farming God’s Way. We stopped on the way back to eat at a restaurant located on a animal preserve, seeing monkeys, crocodiles, wart hogs, and many birds as we ate. Then went to a large farm that had 250 acres of mango trees. This is harvest season for those and onions, which they are shipping out. We worked our way through a major traffic jam as we passed the markets on the way home.
