A Recap of our Time in Senegal

Mercy Street has always dreamed of the day when we would see leaders emerging from within the community of West Dallas to go out and serve the world.  By the grace of God and the help of our partners at PCPC, we watched this beautifully unfold over the past 10 days.  Six of our most solid leaders traveled to Dakar, Senegal to serve alongside Mamadou Diop at the West Africa Theological Institute (WATI).

The students amazed us with their grateful spirits, childlike wonder, incredible work ethics and profound realizations.  As we watched the women at WATI vigorously pounding millet from the fields to convert it into coucous, I heard Sharmonique say, “And we get mad when the microwave takes too long!”  As we drove past the straw huts with dirt floors, they would mention how grateful they were for air conditioning at home and a free education.  The students were keenly aware of the incredible opportunities they’ve been given, and they plotted about ways they could somehow utilize their resources to raise awareness for the needs of WATI and the Senegalese people.   I’m thrilled to see what their brilliant minds come up with as they continue to discuss practical ways they can serve Mamadou and his team from our home base here in West Dallas!

Watching Mamadou in action was one of the highlights of the trip for our team.  He has such a gentle and quiet spirit, yet he’s one of the strongest leaders we’ve ever seen.  He was constantly looking for ways to bless our team; whether that was through fresh mangos, a word of encouragement, a reminder that love is expensive, or a celebratory boat ride.  It was worth it to fly our students over there just to watch the way Mamadou loved those around him and poured himself out for the Gospel. 

                

I think Mamadou’s spirit rubbed off on our students during our time together.  Christoph, a man from the village who was leading our painting project, had been eying Adrienne’s brand new boots from day one.  On our final bus ride home, I noticed Adrienne didn’t have her boots on, and I found out she gave them to Christoph because he needed them more than she did.  She didn’t make a big show or ring bells so all would see; she simply wanted to bless Christoph.  Later in the day I saw Seville give is brand new pair of Jordan’s to our translator, Detchie, and T.O. parted with some dear gifts for our other translator, Songo.  It was those quiet moments that opened my eyes to the deep work of the Spirit in the lives of our students.  I pray we made an impact on the men and women of Senegal during our 10 days together, and I can assure you the Senegalese made a tremendous impact on us.