It's Christmas Time

Living here in West Africa you don’t experience the Christmas Season the same way you would in America; in fact it's a lot different. There is a small population of Catholics here in Kolda and also in Senegal, and you could also say there is an even smaller population of “Westerners” so Christmas is something they are aware of. Actually from what I hear most about the Muslim people here, they have a celebration as well. They have it one the 24th and from what I’ve found out from the few people that I’ve asked they just use it as an excuse to party and have no idea that it’s a day to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

I wanted to share one of my favorite Africa nChristmas stories so far. It was Saturday morning and I was doing probably what a lot of Americans were doing at that time - I was Christmas shopping!!! If you haven’t seen an African market, it’s just filled with people, and many people walk around just selling the things that they have in their hand, kinda like the vendors when you go to a football game. Anyways, I was talking to someone in the market and I look over my shoulder and I see a dude walking with two inflatable Santa Clause. It just seemed so out of place, it was the first Christmas thing that I saw since I’ve come to Senegal. I take a second look at the Santa and then I laugh to myself, but then it hits me….I WANT ONE OF THOSE!!!! So I start walking in his direction trying to catch up with the dude. So after about a block and a half I got his attention and bought one. He even gave me one that wasn’t blown up so I could stick it in my bag and wait till I got home.

I paid a little more than 2 dollars for it and I wouldn’t even see myself wanting to have one if I was in America, but here in Africa it gave me a great smile and gave me a little Christmas sprit.

***I don’t have one at this time but I will try to get a picture of the Santa up here in the next couple of days.***

MY BEST FRIEND!

Some of you back in South Texas or even one dude in South America might think from this title that I am about to talk about you in this blog. Even though I do think of many of ya'll as my really good friend, this blog is about an African. I call him The Sheriff, and I met him about my second week here. He has helped me greatly in my language and I would call him my closest friend here in Senegal. Yes, my closest friend here in Senegal is a 30 year old, single, metal worker. He is a very heavy smoker and can speak 6 or 7 languages, but he can’t read in any of them. Most importantly, he does not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Over time Sheriff and I have gained a huge respect for each other. The friendship is a true friendship. Sheriff has shown an interest in knowing what I believe, and I have presented the Gospel to him. We have had many talks about the differences of what we believe. Through the time that we share, you can tell that he has a curiosity of the things that I have told him but you can also see that as of now he has no intention of changing his beliefs, changing his lifestyle, and proclaiming nothing other than the faith that he was born in to.

Please pray for Sheriff. Sheriff has been given an opportunity to hear and talk about the gospel. He is now in a position that only he can change. Please pray that he will seek the truth and not seek the acceptance of his family members or his neighbors (including his white friends that live around the corner). Pray that he will seek something bigger than what he’s found on this earth. And also pray for me as our relationship continues to grow and we continue to learn, and understand more about each other.