The Gambia
I was in The Gambia for my YWAM DTS outreach and it was an amazing two and a half months! Outreach challenged me, taught me some important skills, and created friendships that I will forever cherish.
One fun fact about my outreach is that I actually didn’t choose The Gambia to be one of my outreach location options. I was eager and excited to go wherever God needed me to go, but I didn't think that would be The Gambia. When our outreach location was announced I actually had no clue where The Gambia was, so I had to start doing some research.
“Where is The Gambia?” That was the first question I looked up after class got over, and I found that The Gambia was a tiny little country in West Africa that was practically engulfed by Senegal. As I looked into what The Gambia would be like, I noticed that they are known as the smiling country, which I found to be true. One of the biggest lessons I learned from the Gambian culture was how to be welcoming and hospitable. Almost every person that greeted us told us we were welcomed to The Gambia and that was very comforting to hear. It made me feel welcomed and I want to bring that piece of their culture home with me. Welcoming people in every situation and allowing anyone to have a seat at my table. We made frequent house visits in the villages in The Gambia and every time we entered a compound they were preparing a place for us to sit. This act they religiously did reminded me of how welcoming Jesus is. Jesus sat with sinners, He welcomed them to dine with Him even though He knew they would all betray Him. Jesus’ last supper was with men that He walked with for three years, men He trusted, but they all ran when the guards came. I got to see a piece of Jesus’s welcoming heart in The Gambia and I want to carry the same welcoming heart in whatever situation or place I am in.
I loved living in The Gambia, it was extremely eye opening and truly inspired me on my walk with Jesus. There aren’t many Chiristians in The Gambia but when they choose to follow Jesus they are all in. It truly was inspiring to hear testimonies of those living The Gambia. Whether missionaries living there or locals, every story was unique and encouraging! It was amazing to me that the same God I worship in the states is the same God that is being worshiped across the world. God is so personal yet extremely vast, and He is worthy of all the worship!
Worship in The Gambia was always a fun time full of singing our hearts out and dancing until our legs couldn’t hold us any longer. It really was a free feeling knowing that no matter how I sing or how crazy I may look dancing God is receiving it all whole-heartedly! His love for us is worth worshiping and I will worship Him for the rest of my life. Whether that looks like singing hymnals in SD or having full on dance parties in Africa, I will be worshiping God with my whole heart.
My time in The Gambia opened my heart and mind to the freedom God has given us. As Christians we get to walk each and every day without having to fear anything. We get to walk in a confidence that is in the Lord and with Him we don’t have to fear. I’ve been asked if I felt safe in The Gambia and my answer to that is, well, yes. We definitely faced some interesting moments but because of Jesus I knew I didn’t have to fear.. Being engulfed into a new culture can be scary but as you adapt to how locals live life it all becomes a lot easier. Sometimes you just have to let go of your comfort to embrace the situation you are in.
The Gambia got me out of my comfort zone every single day, from bucket showers to simply our schedule. I had a quick realization that I wasn’t in my small town in South Dakota anymore nor was I in Kona. I had to adapt to the weather, the dust, the markets, the food, the bathrooms, the language, the culture, and even to my team. It was a challenge but also was a time in my life that my relationship with the Lord grew the most. I had to rely on Him in every situation I was in, which caused my trust in Him to be restored. The saying “I can’t even go to the bathroom without needing the Lord'' became very real while I was in Africa. I definitely tried to pray away all the flies and other strange bugs I encountered while in the bathroom. Though outreach definitely came with its challenges, it also came with some beautiful God moments.
I got to see God move in some miraculous and amazing ways! We saw healings, salvations, miracles, and lives changed and impacted across The Gambia! One amazing story is from the 2 men on my team (Trent & Tomy), I’ll let one of them share their story:
To start off this story, me (Trent) and 2 other guys (Aaron & Tomy) went together to a shop that was close to the church we were staying in. As we approached the shop we noticed the doors were shut and locked, so we were a little upset that we couldn’t get some food. We turned back to head to the church and while we were walking we saw a man, who was mute, trying to get our attention and signaling us to go a certain direction. We initially thought he was pointing us to another market, but he ended up leading us to his house.
There were 5-6 people at this man’s home and none of them spoke English. So we told them we'd come back with a translator so we could talk.
When we got back with our translator, we spoke with them for an hour and found out they had never heard of Jesus before. So, we shared the Gospel, and our testimonies, and offered them the gift of salvation. Four of the men stood up and gave their lives to Jesus in that moment and it was amazing, but what happened after that is truly miraculous.
We finished praying for salvation when I felt like I should ask one of the men if he would like to receive the Holy Spirit. He said yes, so we prayed and asked God to fill this man and God definitely entered the room. After we prayed, this man told us he had a condition with his leg that when the wind would hit it, he would feel a really painful burning sensation, but the SECOND we walked into the room, the pain was completely gone.
This one interaction led to four people giving their lives to Jesus and one getting radically healed from an unknown condition.
After this trip, all of my doubts that Jesus wasn't real were abolished. It's crazy, and I promise you; Jesus is real, He did die, and He did resurrect from the grave. Now He desires a personal relationship with you.
This was one of the many amazing stories of how God moved in The Gambia, and I can’t wait for there to be more. I hope to go back to The Gambia in the next year or so to continue ministry by being a part of YWAM The Gambia. I have prayed about this opportunity for a while now, and I feel as though this should be my next step after School of Biblical studies this coming fall in Montana. If you would like to partner with me on this journey through prayer, encouragement, or donation please tap the Contact/Donate tab in the top right corner.
While in The Gambia Bella, Alaysia, and I got the opportunity to speak on a radio station, here’s the audio: —>
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Thank You!
Thank you The Gambia for changing my life and opening my eyes to the beauty of this world and the vastness of God within it. Outreach went from reality to memory faster than I would have liked but I wouldn't’ve changed it for the world and I would do it all again if I could.
Thank You!
Thank you Team Gambia for pushing me when I needed to step out, for comforting me through the tough moments, for inspiring me on my walk with the Lord, and most importanly for becoming family. I love each and every one of you so dearly and I could not have imagined outreach with any other people. I love you all dearly!
Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who prayed, donated, and encouraged me as I walked through my YWAM DTS. This experience changed my life and I know changed the life of others as well. Thank you for partnering with me as I got to be a vessel for the Lord in Hawaii and in The Gambia. Every prayer, donation, and word of encouragement helped in big ways and I can’t say thank you enough!
