“A little further to the left Tabitha!” Dr. Soh shouts. It is 2013, we are on the empty site that he has just bought for the construction of the hospital. We (Maria, Tabitha, Simon and Jan and Dr. Soh) are each on a corner of the empty plot so that we can see the size. […][...]
Archive for the ‘Church’ Category
Malnutrition in the slums
Alioune* sweeps the floor of the Koranic school, the room that we use for the church’s malnutrition program in this slum area in Dakar. The beautiful coastline in the distance stands out against the sea of corrugated iron with wooden huts. The sun-drying fish attracts a huge pest of flie[...]
October 28th, 2018 - 08:08 § in Church
Protection and Proclamation
“…. But then I heard Mamadou call me to look for his bag, and then I knew he was still alive!” It is the rather funny ending of a dramatic experience. Two of the evangelists, that had travelled some hundred miles from up country were in a serious bus accident. The bus had to deviate […][...]
April 17th, 2018 - 19:41 § in Church
Dutch Discipleship: cheap and direct
As I stand by the water and look out over the ocean and the palm trees beach I wonder whether Pastor Pape does not have some hidden Dutch blood. He always has bargains (like the location of this church retreat, literally on the beach, but cheaper than what we would pay in Dakar) and he […][...]
Christian Medical Care: a national network
“A Christian hospital does not exist”, states the medical director of the only Protestant Mission hospital in Senegal. Confusion arises in the room of this first national conference for Christians working in healthcare.” The over 60 participants wonder how they can make a difference and a si[...]
Washing the dishes with Fulani women
Aminata shines when she talks about her daughters. They both go to school and one is the best in her class. She herself has never had that opportunity. Growing up as a shepherd’s daughter in a small village there was no school to attend. This Easter Sunday we wash the dishes together and chat in [[...]
Twenty white coats in the green south
“It’s really not far away, let’s just walk” says the nurse as he takes me to show me the clinic. Right behind those trees over there. The sun burns on my head while I’m walking from orange tree to mango tree, saluting everyone on the way as we try not to trip over chickens and [...]
February 1st, 2016 - 12:15 § in Church
A Christmas struggle…
Cheers rise from the crowd; the more than one hundred inmate boys scream with loud voices. The wrestler representing cell 4 has just thrown his opponent on the back. I’m in the boys’ prison in Dakar where we organize a Christmas program with the international church. The boys are incarce[...]
October 5th, 2015 - 08:45 § in Church
Safely home; the story of Veronique
“Would we arrive home safely today?” I can’t help but wonder as I’m spending the last few hours with some colleagues stuck in traffic. We are returning from a prayer meeting at another mission clinic in the far suburbs of Dakar. We had a great time encouraging our colleagues and spending tim[...]
September 13th, 2015 - 20:26 § in Church
Downpours in downtown Dakar
It’s a Sunday morning and Jan is asked to preach in a church in Northern Dakar. It has been raining last night and our street is covered in water. The children put on their rain boots that match their Sunday’s best fashionably well. It appears to be a good choice: almost all Dakar turned in [&he[...]
