I'm home!
I arrived home safely yesterday morning despite a period of anxiety over whether I would be able to board my flight. I stood in the check-in line at the Dakar airport for over an hour only to find out at 1:30 AM along with 30 other people that the flight was overbooked and no open seats remained. Eventually two folks in front of me were invited to go through, leaving me as the next in line. What a bummer! I couldn't wait to see my family after being away from them for 10 days. Just as the airline began making hotel arrangements for us, an airline official informed me that there was one more open seat so I could pass through to board. Major relief! Not only was I invited to board, but I was upgraded to business class which made for a super comfortable flight home!
I spent my final two days in West Africa in Dakar, Senegal. All the churches in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Senegal are currently located in more rural villages so the denomination is making plans to establish a city center church in Dakar that would strategically plant other churches in urban centers throughout West Africa. A highlight for me was visiting a girls home associated with the denomination. The girls who live in this particular home are taken in because they are deemed to be at high risk for being sold into the sex trade or other forms of slavery. The home is located on the lower level of where the president of the denomination and his family live. One of the churches also gathers there for worship on Sunday mornings. It was a special moment watching the girls receive school supplies and others gifts from churches in the U.S. These girls are being cared for and loved beautifully by Jesus' people.
There is so much more I could write about my trip, but I'll have plenty of opportunities to share in sermons and other communications in the coming weeks. I am incredibly grateful for the experiences I gained during my time in Senegal and Gambia. I look forward to going back for sure. We are one people in the family of Jesus with our brothers and sisters in West Africa. We are engaged in the same work of church planting and making disciples as they are.