Going in the Backdoor

So, have you been wondering, “What ever happened with the Australian couple?”

Well, Nic and V came. And we have been thoroughly enjoying their visit.

After several unexpected days in Gambia, they took the risk and flew back to us last Thursday. That debarkation stamp that Landing got from the Interior Ministry worked just fine and they were out of the airport with no delays. We brought them to the Phare and they settled into the Kenya Apartment (F!).

Over for dinner that night, Jane and I heard how they are on a break from their work with Christian Surfers of Australia. Nic is in the national leadership with a passion for discipleship and support. For the last few weeks they were in the US while he did course work at Fuller and then they were with friends in Pittsburgh.

Friday they came to school with me. While I watched Jonathan’s baseball game, they got a tour with the Director. (I didn’t know it, but V is trained as a music teacher. I know she is a gifted singer. Our office is next to their apartment and I’ve gotten to listen to a couple of free concerts!) On our way home, we stopped at a grocery store and Nic spied a poster about surfing. When I came to translate, we discovered that Saturday and Sunday was the Senegalese national surfing championship competition. It was to take place on the Island of Ngor, a mile down the road from the Phare.

You can imagine everyone’s surprise. Nic had already walked to the beach down the road and surfed with some guys and met someone who claimed to be the local champion. On Saturday, when they went to Ngor, they found 120 competitors and a crowd watching. Nic connected quickly and when they found out he had his judging credentials, they tried to make him head judge for the competition. No one here is trained in judging! V came home that night a little sun-burned. And Nic, too, for that matter. It’s no joke sitting in the tropical sun all day. But they were very excited. They had gotten to spend the day with the core people in the surfing movement in Senegal, even meeting the old man who started it all in the 60s. Part of “Endless Summer” was filmed here and those guys taught a couple of local teens how to surf. (The story is online somewhere.)

Now Nic and V are wondering if God is asking them to come here, join UWM or another mission and set up a ministry to the surfers. It turns out that most of the surfing community comes out of the Lebou fishing villages, the young men most comfortable with the water. They are a sub-group of the Wolof. And there is no church among them and very few believers. Is this a backdoor that God is opening?

We’re excited about the possibilities. Pray with us!!