Troy, Gerri, Chole, and Cora visited two Yalunka villages on February 9-13, 2015. Keep reading to hear about their exciting experiences!
We left Kedougou as a family on Monday morning and, after stopping to pick up Pastor Mamadou Barry, arrived in the first village without any travelling problems. We were warmly welcomed by our host at around 5:45 pm. We chatted with them for a while; the Chief came by and greeted us as well. He was happy to see us, and agreed to attend our evening Bible reading. An elderly gentleman came to us for prayer for his asthma. We prayed for him and explained what we were doing there and what God wanted to share with them.
After prayer, Gerri and the kids were engaged with our host family and fitting in nicely, so Pastor Barry and I went to find a certain believer who lives on the edge of the village. We greeted his family, but he was still not back from his field. We left word with his family that we would be teaching that night. After supper, we were able to teach from John 4:5-26. In attendance that night were four men and about eight women, including the village chief. It was a good time and we finished at around 10:30-10:45, feeling both tired and blessed.
On Tuesday morning, Gerri did some first-aid for a young man who had gouged his ankle with a shovel. After that, I (Troy) was able to read a passage of scripture in Yalunka (John 4) to some men who came to visit us. It was a real test of perseverance for me, as it was a long passage, and my Yalunka reading skills are somewhat limited. I was able to finish and they told us that they had understood – a HUGE answer to prayer.
We then took a prayer walk around the village. We visited and prayed for six families during the walk as well as briefly meeting the Civil Administrator of the village. After we returned, Chloe and Cora engaged in some soccer fun with about 20 of the village children. It was a joy to watch their interaction!
After supper, we again taught, this time from Acts and Romans. Only one of the men returned for the second night, but there were about 15-20 women who came along with about 20 children as well. Also, during both nights of teaching, a gentleman translated from the Bambara, which Pastor Barry speaks, to Yalunka, as many of the women do not understand the Bambara as well. This was a real blessing for them and us as we continue to study the Yalunka language.
On Wednesday morning, we said our goodbyes after breakfast and prayed for our hosts. We got on the road around 9:30-10:00 leaving with them our desire to return. They said come anytime!
We arrived in the second village in the afternoon, but they still had lunch for us. What a kind people they are! We went right to work fixing their well pump so they could get water. We were able to get it working again and it was a real blessing to the families who live there. We repeated the same teaching from John 4 as we did in the first village, but this time I (Troy) led the way with the scripture reading in Yalunka. They were so pleased to hear the story in their own language! It was a good evening of teaching and talking.
On Thursday, we continued to work on language and visiting with the people in the village. Gerri and the kids spent time with the ladies and the children – chatting, playing, and working together.
During supper, a bush fire popped up! It was a little disconcerting as it was not too far away. We all decided to go ahead with the teaching. It was a good time, but we ended up cutting it short as we needed to attend to the fire. One man had already sent his sons to check it out as it looked to be nearing his field a little over a kilometer away. After we ended the teaching, I went with several other men to see if we could help with the fire. When we arrived, we indeed found it nearing the field. Fortunately, the breeze was on our side, and we were able to stop it at the top on the edge of the field. After a couple of hours we were satisfied, and we walked back, arriving around midnight, happy to rest in peace.
On Friday morning we said our goodbyes and headed for home around 10 am. We finally arrived back in Kedougou at around 4. On our way back, we asked our girls “What did you like most about the trip?” They both responded “Definitely the people! They were so kind!” We couldn’t agree more. We love making these trips because the people are so good to us and so kind. What a day it will be when we see the increase that God will surely bring!
Please pray for the Yalunka people we met on our trip, and that we will meet on future trips.
