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Since 2007, small groups from Mountain View Presbyterian Church in Marysville, Washington, have periodically left their family and jobs for a couple of weeks at a time to travel to a small African village called Diaglé (Jog-a-lay).
To follow along and get updates from the next team this October, follow our MTVPC Senegal Community Outreach facebook page!
senegal stories
Little Nafy is 7 years old, loves the color blue, and hopes to one day become a lawyer. She attends Bethesda School in Kaffrine, Senegal, one of Mountain View’s ministry partners there. Read how Nafy and other children are thriving in Christian schools - how they will be the next generation of change.
If you would like to read Nafy's full story as a part of our first 'All God's Children' newsletter, please click here.
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If you ask them, building relationships and spending time with family and friends, helping each other, joking, talking and more talking are top priorities for the Wolof people, especially those in our sister village of Diagle (Jog-A-Lay), Senegal.
So when we visit (Mountain View has made 11 trips in seven years), our Senegalese brothers and sisters surely wonder why we're there, why we come so far to be with them, why we nurture friendships and desire to build new ones, why we pray with them and help where we can.
“We hope they ask us,” says Mountain View Pastor John Mason, who has traveled to Senegal six times, “because we’re looking for opportunities to give the answer, we do these things because Jesus would do them.”
In a country that is 94% Muslim and 5% Christian, such a statement has even greater impact when it and other messages of God’s hope are shared and modeled by someone who is Wolof and part of the local community. Three years ago, along with our ministry partners, Adventure of Faith Church in Port Orchard, Washington, and EEBT - Evangelical Baptist Church of Thies (Chess), Senegal, we created and filled this position. This local missionary is an ongoing resource as well as our “on the ground” representative to schools, village residents and surrounding community.
Every Mountain View Travel Team that goes to Senegal looks for God at work: God in dark places where no miracle is small, God moving within Team members, God revealing Himself to the Wolof people. “When you first make the trip to Senegal, almost everything has a WOW factor. So many things are unlike our Western culture and surroundings,” says John. He explains he hopes every Team (even veteran members) will look for WOW - "May we see God's hand if our plans change unexpectedly, when there are difficulties, and in the chance encounters."
Building a health clinic
Over the last 10 years visiting Senegal, and the countless relationships made and projects accomplished, one of the main focal points of our relationship with Diagle is a partnership approach that focuses on self-sustainability. A shining example of this is our current project, a health clinic. A plot of land was donated and some funds have been raised to start building a medical clinic large enough to serve not only the village, but also the surrounding area.
The closest reliable facility is about 40 minutes away in a vehicle, ore more likely, an hour and a half long donkey cart ride, on rough dirt roads. Since only visitors from the city arrive by vehicle, a person in need of medical attention will typically be placed on a horse or donkey drawn cart to make the long trek in to see a doctor. Imagine a woman who is 8-months pregnant, quite possibly in labor, traveling via cart on a bumpy dirt road for over an hour to a doctors appointment. As a result, most women don't see a doctor their entire pregnancy nor do they have a trained professional at their birth. The infant mortality rate in Senegal is 5 times that of the US, and the maternal mortality rate is 23 times greater.
The health clinic will fill a great need. It will be staffed with trained Christian medical professionals who can not only offer OB care for moms as well as newborn care for babies, but also provide medical attention for many more preventable illnesses and deaths. Basic first aid and immunizations will also be provided. This clinic is partnered with a Christian based hospital that focuses on serving God through medicine and healthcare. While much progress has been made, the building is currently unfinished.
Several months ago Mountain View began a fundraising campaign to cover phase one of the health clinic. It was estimated that we will need $45,000 to open the clinic. Through the gracious giving by the people of Mountain View, we have raised $35,000! This only leaves $10,000 to complete phase one.
Phase one includes construction and completion of the first level of a two story building. This includes a labor and delivery room, two consultation rooms, and a small pharmacy. Phase two will add a second story with space for additional consultation rooms, an office, and living quarters for long term health care workers or short term missionary teams.
Our goal is to have phase one of the clinic up and operational by January 1st, 2019.
Join Us
When you reach out as part of the Senegal Connection, your efforts are magnified because of the number of people participating in this ministry. And the more who join, the broader and more effective your reach. We really can’t do this without people like you.
There are no registration forms to fill out, no membership cards. You join the Senegal Connection simply by doing one thing or many things through this ministry. How you participate is your choice. Whether you are participating as a Travel Team member or are simply praying for the Travel Team, or you choose to sponsor a student or donate toward school supplies you are making a vital difference for families and individuals waiting to hear the message of God's hope.
Here are some opportunities for connecting with Senegal:
Pray
You can pray in general for this ministry; you can participate in the Prayer Vigil while a Travel Team is in Senegal; you can pray for specific requests that will be posted from time to time on this website; you can pray for a child from our sister village Diaglé (Jog-a-lay) or sponsored children, whether or not you’re a sponsor; or you can pray for our American and Senegalese ministry partners.
Give Your Time
Your actions speak louder than words! You can help provide transportation for a Travel Team to and/or from Sea-Tac Airport. It is a great joy to give our team a great send off and welcome home! You can assist the stay-at-home families of the team members by providing rides, meals, and helping with scheduled activities. You can share notes of encouragement for the travel team as well as help shop for specific items requested by the team as the prepare for their trip and provide other assistance as necessary.
Give a Financial Gift. A tax-deductible donation of any size helps further this ministry.
You can make a tax-deductible donation online using the 'Make A Donation' button below.
You can also mail a check, made out to Mountain View Presbyterian Church, with a note that it is for 'Senegal Connection' to the church.
Supplies and gifts
Your financial gift can help with supplies, building projects and other essential needs in our sister village of Diaglé (Jog-a-lay), as well as nearby Bethesda School in Kaffrine, Senegal. Bethesda is a private Christian school that provides elementary-level grades and Bible education.
Sponsor a child
In partnership with GO on the Mission, Mountain View can help you sponsor a child attending a Christian school in Senegal. Your gift helps pay for the student's tuition, uniform, supplies and nutritious food. The long-term goal is to break the cycle of poverty in the child's life.
As a sponsor you make a monthly donation ($35), pray for the child and exchange letters and photos. When a Travel Team goes to Senegal, you also have the chance to send along a "gift bag" (crayons, small toys and other items) to your sponsored child. Sponsorship opportunities open up periodically.
To learn more, contact the church office or email Vicky Hardt at rvhardt@yahoo.com.
Travel expenses
A Senegal trip costs each Travel Team member close to $3,000. Your gift will help ease this personal expense.
Become a Senegal Travel Team Member
This is a small group that makes the 12,000-mile round trip to Senegal. It’s generally a different group each trip, comprised of new and veteran members. You’ll have a firsthand opportunity to serve, pray, and build relationships with students, families, and individuals, including our ministry partners. Each team member is responsible for their travel expenses (generally about $3,000), which can be augmented with donations. Travel Team members begin meeting with the Planning Team a few months to several weeks prior to a trip for orientation, team building and planning purposes. If you are interested in becoming a Travel Team member, please contact Todd Leighton at leightonfamily@comcast.net.
Become a Senegal Planning Team Member
This is the core group that handles all the logistical, planning and administrative aspects of the Senegal ministry. The Planning Team generally meets one to two times a month. For questions or additional information concerning this particular team, please contact, Todd Leighton at leightonfamily@comcast.net.
