My Last Trip

I will soon be taking off on my last research trip. With all the great times that I have had on some of my other trips; it’s hard to say that I’ve saved the best for last. But on paper this looks like it will be a fun one. I will be going to the country to the south, Guinea Bissau. Guinea Bissau is a country of 1.6 million people and it’s said that 30% are Fulakunda. If you want to know more about Guinea Bissau, Google it!

What makes this trip so much more exciting than my other jobs is the amount of research I will try to get in the small time I will be there. I originally planned to spend several months doing the research in Guinea Bissau, but because various different reasons, I’m now going to try to get the most information I can in one trip! I believe I will spend around 15-20 days making this trip, but it could be more or it could be less.

After I come back from this trip, things will change greatly, I will trying to close doors, hand things off, and will be getting myself prepared for another big move. But now I want to focus on my job at hand, which is my trip to Guinea Bissau. Please pray that God will open doors to allow me to share and also he will continue to protect and guide just as he has done on all my previous trips.

I'm Back!!!

I spent two weeks back in Kolda, and then spent 2 weeks with my father. I think it might have been one of the funniest months of my life. When planning for the team from Arkansas we thought that it would be a very difficult time because of Ramadan and a few other factors. But I am glad to say that I was wrong!!!! The 5 guys from Arkansas came and did a fantastic job. I spent a lot of my time just acting as a translator for the 5 or 6 trips to villages that we went on. We presented the gospel a good 2 or 3 times a day! There's nothing greater than the feeling of sharing the news of Jesus with someone who has never heard before!

The night the Arkansas team flew back to America, my father came here to Senegal!!! We spent the 2 weeks he was here just having a blast. We went to 2 different animal parks, a beautiful 300 ft waterfall, we went scuba diving, and went to Goree Island. That was also a blast and below you will see some of the great sights that we saw.

Now that I’m back in Kedougou, I’m looking at my maps and looking at my calendar. In the 2 months that I have left, I have 2 trips left to finish out the leg work of my research. Also in the country to the south, Guinea, there has been a lot of turmoil going on and there have been over 150 deaths. If you want to know more information I’m sure BBC or CNN will have plenty of info. Please pray for the country of Guinea.

Re Visits

The next 2 weeks I get to go back to Kolda! There is a group coming from Arkansas and I get to go back and help them out. They are actually on their 2nd visit to work with the Fulakunda. This church has made a commitment to work with the Fulakunda and while they are here they will be gathering information to take back. There are two different towns that we have decided are strategic locations and we hope that this church from Arkansas can adopt and start a ministry. I will be walking alongside teaching them so they can become more self-sufficient here in Senegal since their desire is to start their ministry with the Fulakunda people. Please pray for this church and this team from Arkansas as they are looking for God’s direction.

The day that they fly back to America, there will be a 2nd re-visitor. On September 10th, my father is coming again!!! I have tons of fun things that I have planned with him I will be sure to keep ya’ll posted!

One more thing... it is currently Ramadan, a fasting and prayer time for Muslim people. Please keep the Muslim people in your prayers as they will spend a month searching for the truth.

the round house

I thought that I would share with y'all a picture of my new living arrangements. As you can see, it’s called the round house. I can’t believe that I have been in this place for almost a month now. I call it my home, but I am also very aware that my time here in very limited. As I’m getting closer and closer to the end of my African adventure I can also see the end of my research with the Fulakunda. These last months I have and will be doing a lot of research, but what do I do when I’m not going from village to village asking questions? Well I have found that I spend my time much different than I did in the past.

I don’t live in a neighborhood like before. I live on a compound with other missionaries. There is one family that lives here along with many people that come and go for short stays, and there’s me. I haven’t decided if I’m here for a longer short stay, or a short long term stay. Because I don’t living in a neighborhood, I don’t know my neighbors. I never thought I would have said this, but at times, I miss all the little kids in my old neighborhood that would bug me every time I pulled my bike out of my garage.

One thing that I do enjoy is that my house is much closer to a restaurant. The way it works here is I walk in with a big bowl, give my greetings and tell the cook that I want one plate. She fills up my bowl and uses a cloth and ties a sack so you can carry the bowl filled with hot rice home. I give the cook a dollar and make the 3 minute walk back home. Most of the time, I don’t even know what’s in the bowl until I get home, but it’s always a yummy African dish which I know that I will miss when I come back to the states.

Before I know it, December will come and I’ll be looking back and thinking of all the things that I miss about my little round house.

A FIVE DAY TRIP IN TWELVE DAYS!

A little detour has kept me from updating you lately, but sometimes when you're in Africa, you just have to roll with the punches!
I got settled into my new home in Kedougou and then decided that I needed to make a trip to Dakar, the capital city. I was having a toothache, I had some problems with my computer and I needed a VISA for a future visit to a country to the south. The trip was supposed to take about five days. I planned to get some supplies I needed and enjoy some good food. But sometimes things don't turn out like we plan and the five days turned into twelve. Turns out the computer spent a full week in the shop and the guy said he spent thirty hours on my computer! Good thing I didn't have to pay that with the American hourly wage rate. The dentist didn't charge me (turned out to be a sinus problem!) and the rest of the trip was great.
This evening I will take an all night drive to get back home and then more fun begins! I have four months left here in Senegal and at least six months of research to do. I have a group coming later in August and my dad is actually coming back to visit in September. December will be here before I know it.

MY NEW HOME

As you know I have been in the process of moving. This past week I said my goodbyes to my friends in Kolda and said hello to a new city, new friends and new team mates. Early Monday morning I put all my stuff on a small bus (including my motorcycle) and made an 8 hour trip to my new home. No sooner did I arrive than I learned my sister had also had a big day in Texas delivering my new niece. Welcome baby Ruth!
Things have gone very smoothly here. Communication is a bit different than I'm used to but I'm being shown taranga "hospitality" everywhere I go. This new home has many more tourists and the Peace Corps has a strong presence. I'm staying at a hotel and should be able to move to my home within a week.
I'm keeping this short because I have much to do. It's cool to have the opportunity to see if I'm smart enough to have learned from my prior mistakes as I settle in a new place and meet new people.
Thanks for the prayers. I have definitely felt them.

Over the river and threw the woods?!?

I was on a research trip to the East, lost as normal! The good thing about being lost is that the Fulakunda people are always willing to help. Also because they’re cattle herders they know the area better than my GPS. I was hoping that I could get to a certain town by lunch time. Everyone I talked to mentioned that I would have to cross a river, but they acted like it would be no problem to get across. So what happens when I get to the river?














I remember seeing some high school kids about 300 yards back so I decide to turn around and ask them about the river. They tell me that the river isn’t that deep and that I could easily pass, just as they did. So I got back to the river to so see if it’s possible to cross. And there is only one way to do that! I leave my ride on the bank and I go in to check how deep it is.

After the exploratory mission of seeing the depth of the river, I decide the water is few inches too deep and didn’t want to take the risk or push the bike threw. If I was on a bicycle, I would have crossed in a second. But as you can see in the picture, it’s a little bigger than a bicycle. So I turn around to find another way around!

A BIG CHANGE!

If you keep up with all the convention news you know that there are some major changes coming. In the month of June will be re-organizing with the intention of better reaching the lost and facilitating missionaries better. This change is affecting me as well as people all over the world.
My direct supervisor, the leader of the Fulakunda team, has been called to oversee a much larger area and multiple people groups. Since my supervisor will be moving in the middle of July, I will need to make somes changes as well.
It's been a while trying to figure out what I can and can't do. I have many things that I enjoy about my job and where I am right now. It didn't take long for me to realize this change means letting go of some of those things. I was initially given some options to work with two other people groups where I could still use my Pulaar to communicate or I could choose a different research job. If you have spent time with me, you know that I don't listen well, so I chose my own option. I really wanted to continue my research while still still respecting the guidelines of my organization. Are you wondering what that means?
In the first week of July, I will be moving to a town about 400 km (250 miles) to the east. Pulaar speakers are not the majority in this town, but they do live in surrounding areas. I will be able to use this town as a base to cover a new area of the Fulakunda and continue the research I've been doing. There are two other families that live and work in this town. I will be a memeber of their team and help them out anyway that's needed, but I will still get to have the Fulakunda research as my main focus. For this, I am thankful!
Please pray for my last month in Kolda. Saying good-bye will be difficult since this has been my family for the past eighteen months. Pray for the transitions of my new and old supervisors and for me. Change is never easy. Also, please pray for the entire orgnaization as we begin making these changes. Pray that we ALL remember that no matter where or when, we still need to keep Jesus as our number one priority.

No GAS!!!!!

The other day I planned to go on a small trip to the east. I had a small route planned out and I knew it would be about 150 kms round trip. Because of the lack of hotels and or larger towns in this area, I had to take my tent and other supplies because I knew I would be spending the night in a village. I strapped all my stuff to my motorcycle or into my backpack and I started to take off. Going down the road I went through the check list in my head to make sure I had everything. That’s when I realized that I’m not certain of the amount of gas that’s in my motorcycle. So I stop, look, and then I make a small detour to stop by the gas station on my way out of town.

I get to the gas station and there’s no GAS!!!! Because I was in the process of switching and had two motorcycles in my possession, I didn’t have enough gas in my container at home. I really wasn’t paying a lot of attention because they told me that the gas had been out for almost 3 days, and since it’s been so long, gas was almost triple the price if I wanted to buy some from someone who was prepared. So what do I do? I go home and I look for something else to do.

The next day I called one of my friends around 2 in the afternoon to see if the gas truck arrived and he told me that it just came in. Iwaited till bout 5 and then went to the gas station. I had to wait in line almost an hour to fill up, and then I went home and got an early night’s sleep. The next day I woke up early and started the packing process all over again!!!

Trip to The Gambia

Most of last week, I spent on a trip where I was able to do some research on a good chunk of The Gambia. For Yall that forgot all the things from geography class, The Gambia the country that in basically inside Senegal. It was a British colony that occupies the Gambia River and a few kilometers north and south of it. Gambia is a different country and it made a very different trip.

For starters I did not have my motorcycle and I used public transportation to get from place to place. I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted to go through the hassle of all the paperwork for a new country. And since 11 different times I was asked by the Gambian police to see my passport, I think I made a good choice. Also with the different country came different money, different laws, and probably the hardest thing for me to adjust too, a different language.

Yall who know about Gambia might be thinking, “They speak English in Gambia???” That would be correct but that didn’t make things easier. For some reason it was very difficult for me to talk to an African in English. Even when the dude didn’t speak Pulaar I still had a hard time speaking only English. And when I was speaking Pulaar that was totally different too, here in Senegal there are many French words that are mixed in with the language. I had an easy time understanding them because they would mix in English words but they had a hard time understanding me because I would use some French word or two that they didn’t know.

All in all, it made for a fun trip and I was able to get everything that I needed. I just had a lesson on one of the first things they teach you when you do this kind of work, be flexible!!! I wonder what it’s going to be like when I go to the country to the south where Portuguese is the official language?? That will make for a real fun adventure!!!

Oh yeah, also when I was there I meet a French man that was riding his bicycle across Africa, I was a little jealous!

Medical Trip

About two weeks ago I had a small bump behind my ear. To me, it felt and looked like a boil was starting, so I didn’t think much of it. I've had a few before. I spent 4 days away from home as I was doing some research to the east. It bothered me a little, but I was able to still do my work without it slowing me down too much. The day that I came back the spot had grown in size, bigger than a quarter. We kept a very close eye on it here, and it looked like it was a huge boil that wasn’t going to drain itself. My supervisor said that it would be in my best interest to go to the capital city and have it lanced by a doctor.

So what does that mean? 12 hour drive to see the doc. The doctor tells me that it’s a cyst that got infected. The doctor drains it and tells me that she needs to see me again in about 5 days to check if the cyst can be and/or needs to be removed. So I had to stay in Dakar for a little bit longer than I thought. Since I was there, I went to the dentist and was able to do some other things that I could only do in Dakar. I spent the next five days just hanging out and relaxing.
I go back to the doctor 5 days later and the doctor tells me that it is healing nicely. She then tells me that the way that this it’s healing it could have been a boil or a cyst. The doctor tells me all the things that I need to look out for and tells me that I can go back home. So I take another 12 hr drive.

After almost a week of being away, it sure felt nice to come back and to see my friends again. But that also means getting back to work….I don’t think I’ve ever been so eager to get back to work before.

The worst road ever!!!

I just came back from a 4 day trip. It was a very productive trip where I was able to find tons of information that will be useful for churches and people like you that want to come and work with the Fulakunda. I was at one village talking to some people about the best way to get to a larger village to the south. One person told me to take the right road when it forks ahead, and the other dude told me to go stay straight because that way would be easier. Then the first person said that his way would be easier. So I asked which one would I see more villages (in case I get lost) and they told me to take the right.

After about 10 kilometers down this road I start to see some really deep sand. And a motorcycle is not the easiest thing to ride in sand. Over time I've gotten really good at riding in the sand and I've learned a lot from the 2 falls that I have had in the sand. But after this small patch of deep sand I look ahead…and I didn’t like what I saw. As far as I can see, deep sand!!! Oh it was fun, at times I had to crawl and when I did get some speed I had to struggle to keep the bike going straight as it wants to go sideways in the sand. And did I tell you that the sand was HOT?!?!?!! Depending on the way that you look at it, it was a fun 20 minutes or a long 3 miles!!!

Sometimes I get in to some rugged areas, and it takes a lot out of me to travel on them. But that makes me think even more about Africans that travel these roads regularly, and they do it by foot or by donkey cart. Africans are some tuff people and many of them are tuff to get to. But their need to hear the Gospel is the same as everyone else. Please pray that the Gospel spreads throughout Africa that it would not be hindered by a difficult road.

Which way do I go????

The other day I was out on a research trip. I was northwest of Kolda and learning all that I can about the Fulakunda in that area. After talking to one village, I decided to go south. After a few kilometers of going on this road, I hit a crossroads. I stopped and looked and my GPS to get a waypoint on the area and also to look at the map to decide which way would be the best way to go. I was coming from the North and after looking at the map I had a really good idea of what I would find if I went east. So I had to decide, South or West????? I picked West. After about a kilometer down the road I saw a cow, and of course the thing started running away from me. I turned a small corner and I saw at least 30 cows-- all running away from me now. I first have to slow down to their speed and then I try to see if I can get around them. But after a few minutes I realize that there are too many cows and it's too small of a road. I wasnt getting around them, I was hearding Cows!!! So then I tell myself….I’m going South. I back track a little (which isn’t the first time I ever had to back track) and I go south and continue my research. It's all in a day's work!

Which way would you go???

I got a roommate!

Back in the month of November, there were two men that came from a church in Pennsylvania. It was a great time as they worked alongside us for about a week and a half. They then went back to their church and they were able to tell their church about the Fulakunda and how God can use people here and other places in Senegal.

One of the two that came in November, has been able to come back and work with the Fulakunda and will be over here for the next three months. Since I have been provided with a very nice house, (thanks to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering) I decided to give him my extra room and now I have a roommate.

Please Pray for Matthew. Pray for him as he continues to learn the language, and the relationships that he will be building here in Kolda. Once he gets settled down he will begin his ministry. He is a talented musician and he plans to use his talent to share the gospel and build relationships with the lost. He also has plans and ideas for worship opportunities with some of the local believers. And also, always pray for the Fulakunda team, that we can still be united under Christ.

New time, new schedule

Over the past year, my basic schedule was going to class in the morning and doing many various things in the afternoon. I was able to use that time to talk to many different people and that time has brought out many different kinds of relationships. Now I don’t have language class and I must spend my time focused on a different task. The task that I came here for. The task of researching and finding more about the Fulakunda people. The research is and will be my main focus, but I will continue to have relationships and teaching opportunities in and around my home town of Kolda. As of now my research trips are in the surrounding areas of Kolda but they will slowly get to the point where I will need to spend more that just a day or two out in the villages.

As of now, I spend about 2 days of the week actually doing the research with a day before and after of planning and documenting the trip. I’m able to spend the rest of my time in Kolda, teaching and looking for opportunities to share the truth. I will soon get to the point where my trips will be taking the majority of the week and I wont be able to have a weekly cycle to be able to have time to meet with people in Kolda. Please pray that I will effectively be able to spend the time planning, researching, and documenting the areas of the Fulakunda people. And also pray for the relationships that I have in Kolda, as time might be shorter. Pray that the conversations and meetings will still be fruitful and seasoned with salt.

A CULTURAL TRANSLATION

Now that I don't have language classes all day, I'm trying to balance the time between my research trips and being in Kolda. I have filled some of that time with a group of people in a village a few kilometers out of town. After about two meetings, I made plans for exact times to meet . I told my three new friends to invite anyone that might want to listen to my stories. Sure enough, there were two new faces on my most recent visit. Just as I started to begin my story one of the original friends started talking about me. He mentioned when I came to Kolda, where I live, how many times I've been to the village, what I've been doing this past year, etc. He kind of introduced me for two or three minutes, then he looked at me and said that I could start. When he did this I couldn't help but laugh as I thought how I would have been introduced in the States. I'm perty sure the introduction would have taken no more than three seconds and gone something like this..."This is Erik. He's cool (head nod)."

Continue to pray for me as I travel. Pray for these meetings I have every Monday morning in the village of PB.

So, what do I do now?

I arrived January of 2008 and have been in language class everyday since, but guess what? I took my Pulaar language exam this Wednesday and passed! No more language classes, so what will I do????
Well, I will begin my research of the Fulakunda people and look for possibilities on where the gospel can be placed in order to reach the most people. I will begin in villages close to the city of Kolda. The better and more comfortable I get, the further away from home I will go. Over the next month or two I don't see myself getting too far away. One or two nights at a time is probably all I will do for a little while.
Please continue to pray for me in this time of transition. At first thought, it looks like I will have a lot more free time not being in class all day, but actually I will be even busier. I'm already seeing that my time is filling up quickly and I won't be spending as much time with some of my friends. I can also tell that I am going to be spending time with new friends. I'm excited that I will be having the opportunity to teach cool things from the Good Book to those new friends. Pray for my travels and that I can remember that God is always in control - even in the bush of Africa.

A PRAYER UPDATE

The time has finally arrived and I NEED your prayers. Yep! It's time for my language test. Meeting the standard on my Pularr language test means I can get to work and do what I came here to do. I will begin the test at 9 am on Wednesday Feb 4th (that's 3 am San Antonio and Corpus Christi time.) No, I don't expect you to get up at 3 am and pray, but I do ask that you throw up a couple of prayers for me before Wednesday morning. I feel good about my ability to speak the language. Just pray that nerves don't get in my way . I'll write by week's end to share my results. THANKS for praying.

MOMADOU

Inda am ko Momadou. (translation: My name is Momadou). That was the name given to me when I was visiting Erik. If you haven’t figured it out yet, this is Erik’s father as a guest blogger. I had the privilege of spending fourteen days in Senegal with Erik. It was undoubtedly the most fascinating and rewarding fourteen days of my life. The people of Senegal are very generous, gracious, gregarious, and loving. I always felt very welcomed and honored to be there.
It was the first time in over a year that I got to hug Erik. For those of you who are wondering Erik is doing amazingly well. He is a little skinny but very happy and healthy. He has assimilated into the culture and is real close to passing his final language (Pulaar) test. Once he passes the test, he will be pretty much be on his own to do his work.
What is his work? Erik’s job consists of researching and journaling the different areas (five countries) where the people speak Pulaar. His research will include things like. Are there any believers in the area? Are the people receptive to hearing the good news? What types of accommodations (hotel, food, supplies, transportation, etc.) are there in the area for those who would like to come and help? I actually got to go on Erik’s first research trip. It was amazing to see how grown and mature he is in this environment. It made mi well tima (me very happy).
How can you help? Of course Erik would want your continued prayers. Once Erik completes a few more research trips, you may want to read his reports and, who knows, you may want to go to Senegal and help out. It would make you mi well tima and you may get a cool name like Momadou.

Do you know what Europeans do?

I’ve had some perty crazy days over the past 2 weeks but I have loved every minute of it. Over the past two weeks we have had a volunteer team of 4 people. And one of the four happened to be my father!!! It’s been a blast letting him see some of those many things that I have never been able to describe with words or even with help of pictures. He got to experience real African hospitality, and now he understands when I say that I have tons of free time but I’m always busy. Also this past week I was able to do one of the most exciting things that I’ve probably done since I’ve came here to Africa, I was able to go on a research trip with my father. We went to a town about 150 or some kilometers to the northeast to do some basic research so that we can share that information with people like you interested in coming over to help and work alongside the Fulakunda. I went in to one of the hotels in the area and I saw some Europeans sitting down doing what Europeans do and I realized something. There tons of people that pay good money to come over here just to see some of the sights of West Africa…and it’s my job!!!!

I’ve always been a little bit hesitant about my work coming up, because of the massive job that’s before me. By going on this first trip and also being able to see things through my fathers’ eyes. I realized that probably have one of the coolest jobs in the world. I still got tons of work, and I know it’s going to be tuff. But now I look at this “work” a little differently. It’s still going to be hard for me to not be overwhelmed by the gynormus area of land in which I will do my research. But now, I am excited to and able to think about not just the research that needs to be done but to be able to focus more on the “real work.” Please pray that I continue to remember these things. That when I’m on my research trips, that I keep in mind the job of the demographic and geography of the Fulakunda and the 5 countries in which they located in but that I’m focused more on the hearts of the Fulakunda and the “real job” getting the Gospel to them.

I will soon tell more about the adventures that I had with my father and many of the other exciting things that he got to see.

and a Happy New Year!!!!

2008 has come and gone. I remember it was this day last year that I got on the plane to go to Senegal. I remember switching planes in Chicago and totally getting lost in the airport and being amazed because there was so much snow outside (and the last time I want to see snow for a long while). I arrived in Senegal on the 2nd and I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. For this blog I just wanted to share some of major events or lessons that I have learned over the past year.

I can communicate in another language and also know how to communicate when there is no language in common.

I have learned how to play soccer in the sand.

I have spent time making something that I would like to have and found much joy in making it myself or with the help of my African friends.

I have 6 hours towards a Masters Degree.

I have seen the Lord open the heart and welcome new believers.

I have seen the Lord close the heart of an unbeliever and had to move on to share with someone else.

I have been encouraged by the many people who have come from America for a short time but yet have the same if not yet an even stronger passion to reach out to the lost people in the world.

I have made many new friends, some who were believers before I came, some who have become a believer in the time that I have been here, and some in which I am still praying that their hearts will open up to the truth.

2009 is here. It’s going to be a big change, and I’m ready. In a few days my father will come and I will spend about 2 weeks with him. After that I will take my test for Pulaar and in February I should be able to start my research, meaning I will be spending my nights away from Kolda and meeting many new people and hoping to plant many seeds.




Here’s the picture of that Santa I promised. It's in front of the Christmas tree at the Bradford’s home, where I celebrated Christmas and New Years.