Hi friends and family!
I’ve been having a little difficulty emailing out my prayer letters because the documents are too large. So, I figured that for some I would post them here on my blog. 
Obviously, there are some I can’t post on here and would gladly email you the content and maybe do a picture post? I don’t know. I’ll figure it out. 
So, here is January’s.
Many of you who might be reading this blog might not even be considering doing a Short-Term Internship (STINT) with the organization I work for. Even if you aren’t, please bear with me and read this post. I think we could all use a little encouragement in setting a fire in our hearts for evangelism and also lighting a fire under our feet to move us into action in going forth to all nations with the hope of our Lord.
This past week we had our annual mid-year conference in Nerja, Spain. Let me just show you a picture of the scenery so that you can get a glimpse of how refreshing this past week was:
Nice, huh?
At this conference, over 200 STINTers from all over the world gathered to debrief hard things, be encouraged by staff, encourage other teams by what God is doing within their ministry, and come into Christian community. I was so encouraged to hear about amazing things God is doing in countries I had never even heard of before STINT. How faithful is He?! This week I was encouraged by many other teams that are working in locations like ours, that God is beginning a movement in Senegal. That’s what we are there for: to develop a fully student led evangelistic ministry on our college campus.
What God has been doing in Senegal: We’ve seen weekly evangelism with students initiating and sharing the gospel, many for the first time. One of our students, Israel, has a new nickname: Soul Winner. Literally every time he shares the gospel, someone gets saved. Our student meetings (much like Thursday nights for you UTC/Lee people) is almost 100% student led. Last week, one of our students, Kante, led the message on humility! And Israel and Stanislass led worship. Amazing things are happening in this country that is known for being super hard to the gospel. 95% of the people in my country do not know Christ. They do not have forgiveness of sins. They do not have assurance of salvation or hope. But, God is faithful. We’re beginning to see steps towards a movement of around 10 students taking the gospel out to a campus of 65,000. Slowly but surely! or in Wolof, Ndanka danka moy jappo golly ci ney (Little by little we will catch the monkey in the forest). I mean totally applicable in your context, right….
Really, what I’m wanting to say is that we are praying for you.
Whoever you are, wherever you are, you are being prayed for by hundreds of STINTers and international staff from all over the world. There are people in the regional offices who are praying for you. There are people who don’t know Christ in countries I can’t even name who are crying out to God for people to share with them who Jesus is. You are being prayed for.
The last session at our conference was taught by a man who had lived in an unnamed country for 12 years. He had this to say (paraphrase of course):
Building a movement in a foreign land takes blood, sweat, tears, energy, and sacrifice. If you don’t believe me, look at Jesus’ ministry. Right now there are 8,000 unreached people groups. Unreached doesn’t mean your neighbor who has never been to church. Unreached is where people do not have access to hearing about God for whatever reason (living conditions, government control, etc). People who will not have access to information about Christ unless people are sent.
Here’s the great news: movements are launching in places where there have never been Christian movements before. Think Senegal. God uses college students in most of the significant movements worldwide. Revivals that lead to missions starts a lot of the time with college students. I think you guys are the most daring. Way to go! You are unique. There’s only 1 out of every 50,000 college students that would STINT. I wish there were more, but as of right now, that’s it.
And the last thing he mentioned:
“We need you. If you don’t do it, who will? There aren’t 1000s of people lining up to do this… We want to invite you into that, but the Lord has to lead you.”
I love that so much. Again, I wish that there were 1000s of people lining up to follow Christ to the end of the world, to share the gospel, to build up believers, and to send them out with the same mission. That isn’t the case. But I don’t believe it’s due to people being selfish. I think it’s because no one has ever presented the opportunity to go to the nations. Maybe you’ve never been encouraged to pursue that. Maybe you wouldn’t know how to. Please, talk to me about STINT. If you’re in college and there are Cru staff at your campus, talk to them about possibilities of STINTing.
I want to let you know that I am not perfect. I am not holier than anyone else because I’m a STINTer. I’ve been redeemed with the same blood you have. When God looks at you, He sees the same Christ that He sees in me. There’s no difference. So, if you’re thinking, “I’m not good enough…” or whatever those phrases in your head are, you’re right. You’re not good enough. But Christ is. And good news, Christ is in you. He’s the only one who can change hearts and bring His lost home. He wants to use you to do that.
So, here’s a few questions I would love for you to process through:
Again and again, like this man said, I want the Lord’s plans for your life. I don’t want you to feel pressured to serve internationally overseas if that’s not where the Lord is leading you. I want you to follow Him faithfully wherever that is. If it’s to Starbucks every morning, a daycare, to India, wherever! I want to follow Him and I want you to also. I do want to let you know that I had to be challenged to go on STINT otherwise I never would have considered it. So, I want to let you know I’m challenging you to go to the nations because I am so thankful someone challenged me.
My heart is for you to walk in obedience and sometimes that obedience is staying until He says go. So, just know that we (people scattered all over the world) are praying for you. You who are reading this, I’m praying right now that the Lord would give you clarity on what is next for you. I love you and let me know how else I can be praying or if you have any other questions.
Mary.Smith@uscm.org
In Senegal when you’re asking about someone’s family you ask, “Have you the news of ___?” We frequently hear from our precious friends here, “Have you the news of Whitney, Rachel, Paige or Michelle?” And we know they are asking how they are, what they’re up to, and if they send their greetings. If anyone asks you in America if you have the news of Mary, here’s what you can say:
The old, broken A/C unit in my bedroom has come back from the evil snares of hell and is blissfully kissing my sweat-soaked skin with a cold breeze. Have I died and gone to heaven? Sorry, I just fell into a joy driven daydream about my A/C unit. That’s awkward… We have air conditioning in one room and we’ve already established boundaries to it. Considering the high cost of electricity, we don’t want running it to be the norm. We don’t wanna become too luxurious here. But tonight’s our first night with it so you better believe I’m busting out my comforter and pretending like it’s really fall (Side note: It’s been in the mid to upper 80s every morning with a heat index of over 105, pretty much daily. Sweating is a new hobby. Eat that, water retention!).
There may have been tears of joy.
Okay, news number 2:
I’ve decided that I am the world’s worst about daily disciplines-whether that’s spiritual, being intentional in relationships, taking malaria medicine/bringing it to Senegal at all, working out.. Wait, did working out just come out of my mouth? Yes. I am now an active member of the “Let’s Get Fit” club. Okay, so that club doesn’t really exist that I know of, but all the girls on my STINT team love exercising in the morning. I am now working on developing a workout schedule for every day of the week to help become more disciplined. So, if you follow me on Pinterest and you see 329,487 posts about fitness, don’t be alarmed. I’m just trying to find workouts I like, will actually do, and ones that are creative and fun.
News Number 3:
Katie and I are quite excited about next weekend. Why you ask? We were asked to lead a seminar at a women’s retreat for missionary women throughout Dakar, Senegal, the Gambia, and outlaying countries. And what’s our topic? Fashion.
I think we’re wanting to address it in a way that isn’t, “Hey ladies, come fit into this box because that’s what the world says is cool.” That’s just not my thing. As Tullian T. says it in his book Unfashionable, Christians don’t do the world’s styles as good as the world does. We’re made to be different. Embrace who God has made you. If you’re a J.Crew girl, get on your sail boat and rock it. If you’re a I-wear-so-many-layers-that-sometimes-make-I-look-like-a-hobo, look like a homeless man for the glory of the Lord (#ilovethelayeredlookalittletoomuch…).
So, that should be interesting. We’re planning that this week. I’m excited to see what we come up with. I’ll let you know how that goes.
With all that said, I’m now going to go into our bedroom that we’ve all newly nicknamed Narnia. It’s like we’ve stepped through the wardrobe into the wintery lands of Narnia! Until next time.
Bonjour à tous!
Hello to all! We have safely arrived in Senegal and are all doing so well. We are still working on getting fully settled into our apartments and getting adjusted to the humid, hot heat. Although we only experienced two weeks of fall in the United States, I’m missing chunky sweaters, boots and lattés already. Fortunately, our boss Pascal makes us Starbucks coffee before every training session. It will never be too hot for Starbucks.
Thank you to all of those who have been praying for our team’s safety and adjustment here. I feel like the new STINTers are adjusting wonderfully! They are full of questions, eager to learn and are so flexible and willing to try new things. It’s been very encouraging seeing them step out in faith and try new things everyday. We might still be in the honeymoon phase, so I would love for you to come alongside of us and pray against intense culture shock. I know it’s going to hit all of us in different ways, but I pray that our team would find hope and security in the culture of heaven and not in our native culture. Would you be praying for wisdom for the returning STINTers on how to help the first-year STINTers adjust? We can’t make Senegal easy for them, but we would love to walk through the ups and downs of cross-cultural living with them. So, please be praying for that.
Ministry Wise:
This past week our team went through ministry training with Pascal. It was so informative and refreshing to cast vision for what this year will look like and how to accomplish our goals. Pascal is really great at helping us learn culture and what does and doesn’t work here. We’re so thankful for him!
Today we did language learning with Pascal. I love learning French; note: my college French professors would probably argue with that statement. Je ne suis pas un maître de français…
Lastly, us girls hosted a welcome back party with some of our friends from last year. I think around 15 girls came. We’re excited for what the Lord will do in these women’s lives this year and how He’ll use our new team!
At the airport headed to Senegal!
Wow guys! Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve blogged! A ton of new things have been going on. Let me just inform you of a few:
1. I learned how to scale and gut a fish. I’m so Senegalese.
That water was once clear.
2. After much prayer, I have decided to come back again to serve God for another year in Senegal. I’ll be back in America in July to raise more financial monthly support and should be back in Senegal by September.
3. We hosted our first women’s bible study on campus. Bad news, we were down-wind from where all the sewer waste was. The hot air, wind, and the staunch of poop really hit hard. We need a new location.
4. My friend, M, prayer to receive Christ last week!
A, Paige, M and me about to eat Yassa Poulet.
5. We rescued 12-day-old abandoned kittens from the harsh, cruel wild known as Piscine Olympique. For about a week I became Cat-Mom. I fed them warm milk out of a zip-lock bag. I gave them baths. I changed out their poopy sheets. Then I got violently ill for about 8 hours. I was absolutely certain that I caught a bug from the stray infested felines. In my desperation and weak voice, I ordered John-Mark to get them out of my sight. So we no longer have kittens. Everyone lies to me and says they see John-Mark and Mary (their names respectively) wandering around our neighborhood being happy little kittens. I hope they aren’t lying.
6. God is showing me more of Himself and growing me in so many ways. I can’t even begin to describe how; we’d be here for hours if I began to explain.
7. We hosted a Youth and Sexuality conference for the students at UCAD. Over 100 students came and were given a book about abstinence and how they can recieve God’s free gift of grace in Jesus. We’re following up with these students to share with them the Good News of Christ in the next few weeks. Pray eyes will be opened to the truth of Christ.
8. We have received a finalized list of people coming on short-term missions trip to Senegal to serve with us. Over 20 students from America will join us in May-July in sharing the hope we receive in when we invite Jesus in as our Lord and Savior. I am excited because I know about 6 of the students coming. Praise God! Two of the staff members coming, Ben and Dayton, STINTed in Senegal for two years (2009-2011). I am excited to have them with us. I already know they will be such an encouragement because of Michelle’s view that Dayton thinks Dakar is like Narnia. I don’t see it, but that’s encouraging that he feels that way about Dakar.
I don't see it.
http://sebtswomenslife.blogspot.com/
http://godsgurleternally.blogspot.com/
10. Did I mention that I love you readers? Cause I do.
As we are preparing to depart for our mid-year conference in Europe, my heart is heavy. We’ve never left Senegal before. We’ve never not seen our friends here. What’s it going to be like when we for certain leave in July?
Yesterday Katie and I met with a sweet friend, DiaDia. We have shared the message of hope and love with her numerous times before. But yesterday was different. I know that I am not guaranteed another day in Senegal let alone this world. The sense of urgency was there to tell DiaDia that Jesus is God, He died for our sins, He is the ultimate sacrifice and we must turn to Him in repentance and receive Him as our Savior and Lord to become children of God. My heart longs to see sweet DiaDia come to know the God of the universe.
My heart broke when she walked away still not having received Jesus as her savior. My heart broke when she cried because we were leaving for two weeks. My heart breaks knowing that in a few short months, I might be saying goodbye to DiaDia forever. I trust God with her, but my heart breaks that she is in bondage of self-works and striving for the acceptance of God when it is so freely given.
I am comforted by God’s immense love for me and all the people He is calling to himself. I am thankful that God has promised me an eternity with Him because of what Jesus did, not anything that I can do.
Please, continue praying for Senegal during this election period. Please be praying the Gospel would go forth and for our sweet friends like DiaDia to come to know the amazing grace He has lavished upon us.
Cultural context: Senegalese people take extreme pride in their appearance. Wrinkles, stains, and sloppy clothes are not okay. People will skip meals in order to afford presentable clothes. And most of our students dress up when they come to meet us because people think Americans are rich, dress nice and care about our appearance the same way they do. Well, I’m just going to say that when I was packing to come here I packed a few cute things, but knew that hand washing clothes would ruin a lot of my good clothes. So, I packed v-necks, tee-shirts and stuff that I wouldn’t mind leaving behind. So, there’s some background context.
Here’s the story: One day we had a ministry party and one of our girls who is the most Western, fashionable cutey came in wearing a long baggy v-neck and a long bohemian skirt. Conversation started after the party and someone mentioned, “So-and-so, didn’t look herself today. Normally she’s so fashionable but today she looked frumpy. What was up with… OH MY GOSH. She was dressing like us!” Ha, yup. We realized that we might need to step up our game and try to fit in with the culture a little bit more by being more presentable.
Here’s a video: So, I was watching some videos on YouTube and I stumbled upon this one that pretty much made me laugh at my long skirts and v-necks. [I don't really understand the latter half of this video, so if this is all bad words and such, my sincere apologies.]
So there’s this YouTube video that I love. Here’s the video. Watch it before you read any further.
Did you watch it? No? Go back and watch it.
Okay, now that that’s done we can advance onto more serious talk. I just love that video for various reasons. One: the kid is so stinkin’ adorable. If I ever have children, I hope our everyday conversations are like that. Two: This video is ridiculously catchy. I bet you’ll find yourself quoting this video. “Wow, daddy! Wow!” Three: what a sweet, patient and trusting relationship this kid and father have. I really just love the patience the father displays and the trust the kid has in his father to protect him from the claw!
So, I didn’t just post this blog to show you that video (although that would be okay in my book!). I just wanted to update you from the last blog that was maybe, slightly depressing and not so encouraging. Sorry about that. I’m human. Go figure.
This past week some of our parents were able to visit us in Dakar. Whitney, Michelle, and Paige’s parents came all the way from America to see what our lives look like here and what God is doing. We hosted a small party for some of our friends to come over and meet our moms. Fifteen girls came! It was ridiculous how great of a turnout we had.
Our moms were able to share their stories of how and when they gave their lives to Jesus, what trusting God with their daughters means and how their daughters being away has strengthened their walk with the Lord. It was super encouraging to hear how each mom had made a decision to receive Jesus, give God their lives and follow Him.
We then played a game where each Senegalese girl took a piece of paper that was either green, red, blue, or white. We had corresponding questions with each color. Although we didn’t really plan the conversation to be about us, many people got the questions, “What has one of the American girls taught you?” or “Tell the moms something about one of the Americans.” I think we were thinking people would answer, “This one time we went shopping and [blank] happened. It was so funny!” or “They taught us how to make pizza and muffins.” But that is not at all how these women answered the questions.
Several of our girls said things like, “Your daughters have taught us how to know God and taught us about Jesus.” Others said things like, “Your daughters have taught us how to love.” And one in particular stood out to me, “Your daughters teach us that Jesus died for our sins and made a sacrifice for us. Your daughters left family, parties, and other things to come here to tell us about Jesus. They made a sacrifice too.”
These past few weeks I’ve been feeling so terribly dry. We have been praying, laboring, and hoping to see people come to a saving faith in Jesus and there hasn’t been any fruit that we could see. My discouragement levels were at an all time high and I had just been wanting to escape from this mission God gave me. All of that was true of me until yesterday.
Yesterday, I was sweetly reminded that our labor is not in vain.
Although I may never see DiaDia, Awa, Fatou, Koudu, Aissatou, or Oumy come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, our work is not in vain. People are hearing the good news of Jesus for the first time. The glory of God is being proclaimed to the nations. And some girls really are beginning to understand. My eyes do not have to be the judge of whether or not God is working. Sometimes I’m fully convinced that if I don’t see God moving, then He isn’t. That’s not true. It’s great to see God working and to be reminded of that, but my heart can’t rest in what I see. It needs to rest in the truths of God and in Him alone.
There’s a popular quote, “If I only see one person come to know Christ in all of my years of ministry, it will all be worth it.” I hate that dumb quote. To me that quote inadvertantly implies two questions: What if I spend all of my days serving Him and I don’t lead anyone to Christ? Was it worth it?
Serving God isn’t for me. It’s for His glory and honor. It is true that people coming to know Him through faith in Jesus brings Him glory and honor. Lives transformed because of what the Spirit does brings God and immense amount of glory. But my work for God is always worth it because He is worth it, not because of the results that I see.
It took me being discouraged from what I haven’t been seeing to appreciate the small steps I did see yesterday. And the work I saw God doing in the hearts of our girls yesterday reminded me that faith is not dependent on what I see. God is good and wants these women to know Him. God sent us here to proclaim the gospel and to shepherd the lost to Him. God has a purpose for our lives here even if I don’t see it. Giving up holidays with family, comfort in the U.S., my hair straightener (trust me, that’s been a hard one!), and wonderfully brewed Starbucks for a year to serve God isn’t a sacrifice. It’s an honor.
I’m still amazed at the patience God has with me. I am taught the same lessons over and over again. They are always like onions in that once you get through one layer there is another. I love that God sweetly teaches me to trust Him and gives me a glimpse of what He’s doing. I’m thankful for His patience and love and the fact that He leads us if we let Him. Sometimes you follow and serve and don’t see anything. But the times that He does give you a glimpse of His plan as a reminder of His faithfulness it just leaves you saying, “Wow God, Wow.”
Life is not a bubble.
As much as I try to create a comfort-friendly, safe-zone that happens to be flimsy, translucent and encircles me, life is not a bubble.
We spent New Year’s Eve with German, British, Irish, and two other American missionaries who were all so fabulous in every unique way possible. I loved investing in them, getting to know them and sharing our deep love for the Savior with them. I loved praying in the year, singing worship songs, and aligning our hearts to seek Christ in all things in 2012. But that sweet, little, enjoyable bubble I created didn’t last.
Let me back up a little. Can I be totally honest here? Of course I can. This is my blog. I didn’t want the Europeans to come over on New Year’s Eve. I thought, “Thirteen people? Here? I can’t entertain that many people. What if they have an awful time and hate us?” Anxiety set in. Of course, these thoughts were highly irrational. I usually am able to humble myself and admit this after I’ve had a rare case of irration-ability (yes, I made that word up). Nonetheless, this was not the first time that week that fears, anxieties, and undealt with emotions have had a foothold/stronghold effect on me.
Sometimes here, I have a fear of going outside. Sounds crazy huh? Just wait, it really isn’t that insane. It is easier to stay inside than to see the faces of the women who are living, begging for food and money on our street. It is easier to hide from the hundreds of Talibe boys who grow up without family, who beg on the streets, and who are often sexually abused. It is just easier for your heart not to break for the people here who do not know the name of the One who brings salvation.
[So, insert bubble.] Last week, my bubble was my home. Once that bubble was burst, I recreated it briefly with our new Euro-American city. Now that they have all left Dakar, and we’re back to work, my bubble has burst once again. And this time, it is good. It hurts, but it is so good.
Bubbles don’t work. They are not reality.
My reality is that I serve with a team of eight Christ-followers in a nation where 95% of people do not have hope, where up to 12 students live together in one dorm that is smaller than my kitchen, where friends have been kicked out of their homes for giving their lives to Jesus, where friends do not know where their next meal is going to come from. I am serving God in a place where He is. Despite the circumstances, despite what my anxieties, fears, and failures try to tell me, God is here and He is good.
The reality is that God wants to use me here. I’m realizing that ministry is going to look different in Senegal than I thought it would three months ago. And that’s okay. I am learning that I’m here because God lead me here. He wants to lead me still. Despite my expectations of what everyday “should” look like, I am praying that I would follow faithfully in every moment. I am praying that I would surrender to the Spirit’s prompting even if it doesn’t fit into my schedule. I pray that I would put His will before my will in all things. I pray that I would commit to trusting Him for my security instead of running to things I feel I have control over.
My security and comforts are being gently removed so that the only thing I have left is Christ. And I pray the same for you. I am being beautifully broken in the sweetest way possible. And all I want to know is Christ and Him crucified.
