2 Corinthians 10 says that ‘For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weaponswe fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds’.
Robert has been part of a Mission Leader’s Forum for the past year or so. The group meets every few months and it has been good to get to know others from a variety of missions who are working here. At our last meeting, a few who have been here for some time shared about the lack of believers in Senegal despite missionary presence for many years. Others shared that they felt a stronger sense of spiritual oppression here than in other countries they had worked in. It was a reminder again that we are in a spiritual battle and we thank God for His continued protection over us as a family. We know God is sovereign and has power to demolish spiritual strongholds and we continue to pray that He would do that here in Senegal so that many would come to know and follow the One who has died to forgive us and set us free. Please continue to pray for the people of Senegal!
November 2018 Prayer News
Hi everyone,
Sorry for the lack of news from our side over the last few months. We hope you are all doing well and are thankful for your ongoing prayers and support. Thankfully the weather is beginning to change a bit here. The last few months have been very hot and sticky but it was nice to have some rain. I think in total we had 10-12 rains this year whichisn’t very much but it is nice to have some green around the place instead of sand and dust! It will start cooling down in the coming weeks and we have probably had our last rain until next May/June so the dry and dust will return.
Senegal research:
Robert has been looking into what other football ministry is going on here in Senegal. He has made some connections and, after the New Year will take time to visit these projects and get a better idea of what they are doing and what the needs are. There are others who are keen to be involved in the work so pray for Robert as he leads this process and prays about how Ambassadors can best serve and encourage the churches and missions here. Senegalese people love football and there are lots of opportunities, but obviously we are limited in what we can do so want God to guide us in those decisions. We feel more settled as a family and once we finish with language study we will have more time to be proactive on developing the work here.
Ambassadors:
We have been encouraged recently by reports from the team in Congo. The Football Club won the local championship and has had a significant impact on the other teams in the league. Because of the positive example of the Ambassadors team, Ambassadors coaches have been asked to get involved in other teams and also to help with the League Committee and refereeing games. The youth Academy had 45 kids involved this year and the local authorities have been so impressed with their work and commitment to youth that they have asked if Ambassadors would consider overseeing all youth football under
the age of 17 in the whole Likouala region. This is a real compliment to the team there and recognition of the good work they have done. Praise God for how things are going and continue to pray for Pastor Martial and Dany who oversee the work.
Robert plans to visit Congo early next year and run some further coaches training. The church denomination we attended when we were there have asked us to train more of their churches so it could be quite a big group to train. Please pray for all the plans for this in the coming months.
We are also thankful for the national tournament that took place in Rwanda in August. Praise God for all the kids who were involved in the program. The tournament itself was hugely successful and also raised a bit of interest in the media. It was attended by representatives from the government and football authorities and there are huge opportunities to grow the work. Please pray for wisdom as we think about how best to move the work forward.
Coming home:
We are planning to come home next summer for a short break. The kids finish school at the end of May so we would have June and July at home before coming back for the start of school in August. It would be nice to re-connect with church, family and friends and we look forward to meeting our new nephew Eliab
and just be back home for a bit.
Family:
The kids continue to do well and thrive at school. They are very happy and we are so thankful that they are doing well and enjoy life here. Daniel is now 18 months and has started trying to copy everything we say and is an adventurous wee boy. He is
loving his 3 mornings a week with Mamie and we are thankful that he gets on so well with her. We are really looking forward to having Robert’s parents here forChristmas. The kids are excited and will enjoy showing them around and telling them all about life here in Senegal.
Praise:
For Mamie who looks after Daniel during Kyla’s French classes. Daniel really loves her and we are so thankful to have a Christian lady we trust to look after him.
For Kyla’s progress in her French. Language study is not easy and can often be frustrating, but Kyla is making good progress and her teacher is happy with how she is doing. Pray that this would continue and she would be able to get a good level of French soon.
Praise God for more funds that have come in towards buying a car.Pray:
For Robert as he has started his Wolof language study.
For continued good health and safety for us as a family.
For our ongoing search for a car. The couple who lent us their truck will be back from home leave in January so we need to have something before that. Pray that God would guide us to the right car.
