The village of Badioncoto sits next to Diouloulou, a few kilometers away. It is a village on the "interior," simply meaning that it is not along the road, but is rather in the bush. To get there from our home you have to take a trail through the bush, that then takes you to a rice field, that leads you through an inlet from the river, that leads to another rice field, that then leads to the bush again, and finally to the village of Badioncoto. This time of year the walk seems hot and long, but truly beautiful as everything is green from the recent rains.
Badioncoto is a small village, mainly made up of large Diola families, that has a small elementary school and a "boutique" which is a one room shop where you can buy the very basic necessities of life. There is no church in Badioncoto and no Christians as it seems that most everyone there follows traditional African beliefs.
On several occasions, we and the believers in Diouloulou have travelled to Badioncoto to share the Gospel there and to look for opportunities to witness.
This past Sunday our family spent the afternoon in Badioncoto with some friends. We sat under the shade of a large mango tree, drank tea, ate a lunch of rice and small fish, played with the kids, and made some new friends. (The kids were especially enamored with Matt and Hosanna's hair and could not keep their hands off of it. There is no sensation like having a little child's sandy hands running through the hair on your head and arms while it is around 100 degrees!)
And while we were there we prayed. We prayed that the Spirit of God would begin to work in the hearts of the people of Badioncoto. We prayed that God would work in the hearts and lives of the few believers in Diouloulou so that they would bring the Gospel to their neighbors in Badioncoto. And we prayed for you, that God would burden your heart to pray for the people of Badioncoto. Please pray for Badioncoto and as you do think about what a grand privilege and responsibility it is to do so, knowing that you may be one of just a few people on this earth who are lifting these people before the Lord. Please join us in praying for the Gospel to spread to Badioncoto.
Sometimes I look at a map of southern Senegal and I think, "Where do you start?" Village after village, after village, after village with no missionary, no church, and no Christians. Village after village where the Gospel has yet to go. Really, where do you start?
The answer is that you start with prayer. A few times each month we travel from Diouloulou toward Ziguinchor on a road called the N-5; a road that stretches from the border between Senegal and the Gambia in the north to the town of Bignona. While the road is not particularly long, it represents for us a vast mission field with dozens and dozens of villages along the N-5. While these Diola villages range in size from a few families to over 1,000 inhabitants, there are two things that can be said about nearly all of them: each village has at least one mosque (an Islamic place of worship) and each village has zero Christians.
And we believe that God wants us and the believers in Diouloulou to do something about this! As we disciple and train the believers in Diouloulou it is our prayer that early next year we can begin initial evangelism efforts in some of these villages. Evangelism that is led by equipped Senegalese believers.
But we dare not begin this without prayer. We are starting the "N-5 Prayer Initiative" where we are asking our partners in the Gospel to pray for the villages along the N-5. An initiative where we pray together for specific villages and for the people in those villages that God would begin to open their hearts and minds in advance of our work.
Our desire is to communicate to you regular prayer requests with specific villages and specific people and families that we know and are working with in those villages. Please take a few moments to watch the video below that was taken as we travelled along the N-5 and please feel free to share it with others. Also, we urge you to set aside some time each day, possibly as you pray before each meal or as you have a time of prayer as a family, to lift up the villages of the N-5.
As we think about "all Senegal for Christ," prayer cannot just be a part of our strategy; it must be the foundation of our strategy as we ask God to move in the villages along the N-5. Join us as we seek God for the villages and the people of the N-5.
The village of Badioncoto sits next to Diouloulou, a few kilometers away. It is a village on the "interior," simply meaning that it is not along the road, but is rather in the bush. To get there from our home you have to take a trail through the bush, that then takes you to a rice field, that leads you through an inlet from the river, that leads to another rice field, that then leads to the bush again, and finally to the village of Badioncoto. This time of year the walk seems hot and long, but truly beautiful as everything is green from the recent rains. 
And while we were there we prayed. We prayed that the Spirit of God would begin to work in the hearts of the people of Badioncoto. We prayed that God would work in the hearts and lives of the few believers in Diouloulou so that they would bring the Gospel to their neighbors in Badioncoto. And we prayed for you, that God would burden your heart to pray for the people of Badioncoto. Please pray for Badioncoto and as you do think about what a grand privilege and responsibility it is to do so, knowing that you may be one of just a few people on this earth who are lifting these people before the Lord. Please join us in praying for the Gospel to spread to Badioncoto.
