Readers Who Write

Before my wife Kerry and I moved to Jacksonville in 2014, we lived in Tucson for 14 years. One Sunday, our pastor at New Life Bible Fellowship talked about wanting to go to Senegal to help with building a Christian school in a Muslim village. My attention was laser-focused on his every word. But I didn’t step forward. Instead, I remained in the shadow of my insecurity.

A couple of years earlier, I went into atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat rhythm, also known as AFib). It was a long and scary ordeal. By the time Senegal was first mentioned to the congregation, I was no longer experiencing AFib. However, being back in normal sinus rhythm, I thought making the trip was irresponsible and dangerous. What if I went back into AFib while in some remote village? I would be crazy to not talk with my cardiologist first.

I gave my doc a call and explained my concerns to him. Expecting him to recommend that I not travel to Africa in my condition, I was speechless when he said, “No reason you can’t go to Africa! Have fun and I look forward to hearing all about your adventure when you return.”

I didn’t see that one coming.

The following Sunday, the pastor was talking about canceling the trip due to no volunteers stepping up to the plate. That was when he introduced a missionary named Alice, who had spent the last 20-plus years living in Senegal, helping translate the Bible into Wolof (the language spoken by 72% of the population).

Alice began to describe the kind of food the New Life team would experience. Her description of a typical Senegalese meal had my mouth watering. Suddenly I jumped up and shouted, “I’m in!” After spending 30 minutes with the pastor going over some details, it was official — I was now on the African Missionary team, soon to be on a plane, West Africa-bound. At the last moment, another volunteer (Cathy) stepped forward. We were now a team of three.

The drive from Dakar, the capital of Senegal, to our destination in Thiès took hours. The sights of baobab trees and thatch-roofed huts flooded my mind with awe. Finally, we arrived at our building site for what will soon be the L’Institut de Théologie Evangelique du Sénégal — the Evangelical Institute of Theology of Senegal. French is the second official language. Being born and raised in Montreal, my weak Québécois French came in handy.

During our trip, we made bricks with mud and straw, drew water from a well and carried it on our heads, and ate some amazing food. We also traveled to distant villages, being treated like rock stars every step of the way. The kids loved instant digital pictures while the older villagers danced and sang.

I did get hit with a mystery virus that knocked me off of my feet for a couple of days. I convalesced in a home that Alice shared with another missionary named Marilyn. After recovering, it was back to business. We took a safari, visited the Talibé boys of Dakar and finally sailed to Goree Island, where slaves were once shipped off to market.

It was very sobering when I went to Costco after my return home. The sight of ceiling-high shelves loaded with things we don’t need was embarrassing. In 2012 Senegal, the average monthly income was $50, and $10 would get you a gallon of Liberian gas.

Fast-forward 12 years to 2024 and try to guess who showed up as a guest speaker at our church in Jacksonville. If you guessed Marilyn, Alice’s roommate, you would be right.

Yes indeed, it is a small world after all!

Send us your copy So you say you want to write? Go for it. Send us 500 or so words of scintillating copy. Make it funny. Make it poignant. Make it count. Make it any way you want. Just don’t cuss. Don’t be boring. And have a point. If we like it, we’ll run it. Email submissions to community@rv-times.com. Put “Readers Who Write” in the subject line, and tell us the city where you live.

So you say you want to write?

Go for it.

Send us 500 or so words of scintillating copy. Make it funny. Make it poignant. Make it count. Make it any way you want.

Just don’t cuss. Don’t be boring. And have a point.

If we like it, we’ll run it.

Email submissions to community@rv-times.com. Put “Readers Who Write” in the subject line, and tell us the city where you live.