May 29

hey guys! we just finished up week 4 of reading. Reading sessions are going great, some of us got a couple of new readers and its been a blast getting to know them. Tomorrow we are going to a Church that meets at a children's school where Corinne and Trevor read. Some of Corinne's readers are going to the Church with us tomorrow! we had a party today and we roasted some hot dogs, played soccer of course, and made the kids sing some camp songs! it was a blast. We also were able to go to one of Corinne's readers house on our day off and met her family.
Thanks for your prayers and please continue to pray for us!!!!
love team gambia

Second Week Done

So we just had our second party, and finished our second full week of reading. So far they have gone very well! It was nice to finish our first week at the locations we will be reading at for the remainder of our time here. Trevor and Justin both switched reading locations so that we are in groups of two, Corinne and Trevor, Kendra and Justin. The move meant that some of our first-week readers could not continue reading due to distance, but we have picked up more and continue to be finding even more to maintain as many hours reading possible.

The party also was more organized this week, as it was a balloon theme. We had children draw on balloons, the readers play a few balloon popping games, and finished off with a game of football because people here can't seem to get enough of it!

One adjustment we've had to make, which is both a blessing and a struggle at times, is dealing with and having so many children come to us wherever we go. In the compounds we read at, children are always wanting to come and just see us and talk to us, as well as at the party. While it is cool to be able to play with the kids and show them we care and love them, it is difficult to have to make them leave when we need to be with only our readers.

We also have a good combination of readers between all of us. We read with young and old, girls and boys, people from big families and people from small ones, strong Christians and faithful Muslims... It is such a blessing to be able to talk with and hopefully have an impact on people from so many different backgrounds!

Thanks so much for all your prayers as we near the halfway point of our mission, the time has flown far too quickly!

First Social Gathering

After a good week of reading, we had our first party on Saturday. It was a nice get-together and we got to meet and talk to each others readers. That was pretty cool. Two of Kendra's readers are originally from a village right near the village that is the setting of the first part of the book Roots. We got to learn about farming in The Gambia too!

The event was full of conversation and activities. We played soccer and frisbie. We had to teach some of them how to throw a frisbie. And since being here, we have had to associate the word football with soccer. After seeing us playing, a bunch of community kids came to play frisbie and soccer with us. The kids also brought and showed off a fish they caught.

It was a wonderful way to end a week of reading.

first week in gambia

we started our reading sessions.. it has gone pretty good so far, we have 47 readers in total!! which is awesome! the people here are very nice, some of the readers already have a familiar knowledge of God others are still learning. Justin is pretty pumped because he gets to read under a tree! haha Kendra and Corinne got their hair planted (braided) and its pretty nice. trevor is enjoying the little kids and he always starts beaming when a little kid comes up and talks to us. The little kids call us tubab which means white person, so where ever we go we hear "tubab tubab how are you tubab!" haha its quite adorable.


our host family is amazing!! they are very kind and love God. The mother can cook soooooo good! and the kids are nice and they help us get around the village. Yesterday was Corinne's birthday and we had a nice surprise cake and ice cream which was great!!

thanks again for all the prayers and for the encouragement you guys have been giving us.. we love you all!!!

Love Team Gambia

Getting Started

Well we've been here for about 4 days now and are starting to get somewhat used to the culture and living here, as much as possible I'd say! Our host family has been amazing. Isaac Daye, the evangelist here, has opened us his home for Corinne and Kendra to stay, while Justin and Trevor stay just down the street at another church members house. We eat some amazing food cooked by Fatu, Isaac's wife and that has been a huge blessing. They have shown us around the area so we know where the markets are, money exchange, internet cafes, food, etc. Them, along with the team of church leaders have made our transition as smooth as possible. Saturday night we had our information meeting for potential readers. There were about 50 people there with at least 25 that didn't show! Each of us has our schedules set for this first week and we begin reading sessions tomorrow. All of the people at the meeting seemed excited to start reading, and coming to parties which will be held Sunday nights.

We think the Gambia is a great place for LST to come. The people here are extremely friendly, and they consistently stop us on the streets just to chat and welcome us to The Gambia. It is also nice to feel as safe as we do walking around by ourselves. The church leaders have also been very helpful, organized and flexible to make our stay efficient and worthwhile. As well, there is a huge need for English and the word of God in the are. While the official language is English, many who attend Muslim schools, or drop out, know a little English but are not fluent. The only problems we seem to be facing is there is too much need and not enough of us! So we hope and pray that through our time here and with the help of the church leaders we may have an effect on as many as possible in our area.

Church on Sunday was also a great experience. Nearly 4 hours! Yet somehow it didn't seem quite so long. There was lots of prayer and singing, as well as a great Bible study and sermon. They were as excited to meet us as we were to meet them. Thanks again to everyone reading and all of our supporters!

The Gambia 2010

We are here!!!!!

So we all made it to Gambia, Africa safely! It was a great trip! We were picked up from the airport in Gambia by an enthusiastic welcoming committee! Issac and other church leaders took us to their home where they fed us fantastic food and were very welcoming! Corrine and Kendra are staying at Issac's home with his family and Justin and Trevor are staying a two minute walk from Issac's house in James' house! It is warm here and we love what we have seen so far of the country!

The church is super excited to have us here and they have been anticipating the arrival of their first LST team! So we all feel very welcome here and are excited to see what God has planned for all of us!

Thanks to everyone for their prayers!! We are all really excited! Keep checking back for more blogs from us, The Gambia Team! We feel very blessed to be here! Thanks for supporting us!

Love the Gambia team aka. Justin, Trevor, Corinne and Kendra!

We are here!!!!!

So we all made it to Gambia, Africa safely! It was a great trip! We were picked up from the airport in Gambia by an enthusiastic welcoming committee! Issac and other church leaders took us to their home where they fed us fantastic food and were very welcoming! Corrine and Kendra are staying at Issac's home with his family and Justin and Trevor are staying a two minute walk from Issac's house in James' house! It is warm here and we love what we have seen so far of the country!

The church is super excited to have us here and they have been anticipating the arrival of their first LST team! So we all feel very welcome here and are excited to see what God has planned for all of us!

Thanks to everyone for their prayers!! We are all really excited! Keep checking back for more blogs from us, The Gambia Team! We feel very blessed to be here! Thanks for supporting us!

Love the Gambia team aka. Justin, Trevor, Corinne and Kendra!

Hello Mama Africa!

This will be our last post until we arrive in The Gambia, Africa! We'll be leaving the Regina airport in about 20 hours. We fly through Calgary, Germany, Belgium (where we stay for 24 hours) and then The Gambia! This past weekend we met up with the Estonia LST team in Medicine Hat and went through our final GO Weekend training. We went over travel tips, scheduling, getting new readers, information meetings, party planning and scenario walk-through's. Overall, it was helpful and eased any nerves we had about traveling, parties, readers and last minute preparations.

At this point, we're about as prepared as possible and we are so excited to get working with the church in The Gambia! Next time we write to you, it will be from The Gambia! Thanks again so much for all your prayers and financial support, without all of you we could not have gone on this mission! God Bless!