Coconut Treat

REFRESHING!

Shawn trying to get the best price.

The coconuts

This is a little refreshing treat we like to barter for on the street side.

@ the guesthouse

A pretty flower tree near the guesthouse in Dakar, Senegal.

Our temporary living space at the guesthouse. It's definitely cozy!

Some of the missionaries here in Dakar made a welcome basket for us!! What a blessing!

Shawn was snapping pictures of Jenn in front of a big tree before leaving to go visit our hosts. Yes we have a host family and a host church now! Our host is also the pastor of our church. They are very welcoming and we have been spending lots of time with them and eating most of our meals with them since we arrived.

NEW ADDRESS for LETTERS!

Shawn or Jenn DeAtley

B.P. 1166, 18523 Dakar

Senegal, W. Africa

We Made it!

Us with tickets in hand

We just wanted to fill you in: WE MADE IT TO DAKAR last night around 10pm. 

We had about 20 friends from our neighborhood come to the airport to wish us “bon voyage” and to say goodbye. It was sad to leave friends, but only God knows what the future holds, and just why He had us come to Guinea for the four months that He did. We can rest assured that HE KNOWS BEST! 

 We are staying at the mission guesthouse here in Dakar until we find an apartment.

Good news: we now have an African host family and church. We plan to spend the day together tomorrow learning more about them and talking about our NCLA (National culture/language acquisition) time together.

More PICTURES to come!

Last 2 Days

Relocating to Senegal on Wednesday!

Shawn with pastor Leno

Jenn at church with Esther

 A big thanks to all who have gone out of their way to encourage us as we get ready to move to Dakar. Despite the craziness of packing and organizing our things, saying goodbye to friends, and thinking ahead to a new start…we are encouraged with the many things God has done for us, and the things He has already arranged for us.

Moving to Senegal

Taking a step of faith is really like jumping off a cliff!

Hello from us again.

 

We wanted to inform you that we are moving to Dakar, Senegal even sooner than expected. The US Embassy here in Conakry has strongly urged all US citizens to depart from the country at this time. We have purchased our tickets through Air Mali and we will be leaving Wednesday, October 21st for Dakar.

 

Thankful that nothing ever takes God by surprise,

Shawn and Jenn

BIG Changes

Dear friends,

 

As all of you know: life is unpredictable! We have found that we learn a lot about faith and a lot about the character of God when change is thrown into the mix; although it is never easy.

 

Right now, we as missionaries in Guinea are facing some big changes. Two days ago our field leadership presented us with the idea of moving us to Dakar, Senegal to continue with our NCLA program (national culture and language), and it turns out that we will be making the move. We will continue in Dakar for a year (depending on our level of French/culture knowledge, as well as our involvement in our host church), and from there we will begin looking at village works throughout West Africa. Our goal of moving to a village to be involved in tribal church planting has not changed at all! It’s just a detour we have to take in order to get there.

 

Why the big move, you ask? Well, while at the moment things appear to be calm, there is still a lot of political tension between the military and the citizens, and even between various people groups within the country.  Elections are scheduled for the end of January, and there is no guarantee what will happen between now and then, and even after. If things take a turn for the worse, Conakry is the last place we should be.  Our mission feels that it would be a wise move to down-size to essential personnel only, such as those who are already in the middle of Bible teaching or Bible translation.

 

So what does this mean for us personally? This means that we will be leaving behind relationships that are very dear to us, and relationships that we have spent the last four months developing. That is the hardest thing for us to wrap our minds around! Also, we see the financial ramifications that this move brings to the table. We already owe our mission some money due to the set-up fees and moving expenses we had when we first arrived. It’s always expensive to move- especially when you’re moving to another country! We have furniture, a fridge and freezer, a car and some other items that we will either have to sell, store, or find a way to ship over later.

 

We realize that faith is in the details: we would have to fly to Dakar ($500 per ticket), possibly sell our car (it’s too far away to drive, and our car is too old to come into the country), we would have to pack up all of our things (again), find an apartment, a new host church, a new host family, etc.

 

 Wow- big changes, huh?! We know that you guys are good friends that care about us, and we know that you will pray on our behalf. This is an unexpected change for us, and it’s a bittersweet, stressful and exciting time. Thank you in advance for your prayers!

 

Always on the move (literally!!),

 

Shawn and Jenn DeAtley

Holding Hands

Billy and Shawn

A sign of friendship

Wow.  There are just some cultural customs that are hard to get used to. One of those customs is that here in Guinea, MEN HOLD HANDS! You can imagine how I (Jenn) have been waiting for this day to come: the day where I would be able to capture Shawn holding hands with another man. There’s something especially comical about two “tough men”  walking down the street together, hand in hand. Here it signifies a true friendship between two men. I guess I have one question: are you man enough?

Monday Morning

Shawn getting ready to drink his instant coffee. We can't wait to try the new Starbucks instant coffee!

Sitting on our balcony. The sun is bright!

The view of the morning traffic from our balcony.

Preparing for the hot and dry season!

Press Release

Conakry was calm yesterday.

There do not appear to be any organized protests planned, however there is still quite a bit of tension , as a result of the events of September 28.The president of Burkina Faso has been called by the Economic Community of West African States, to act as a mediator between the government and the opposition leaders in this situation.

 

All NTM-personnel in Conakry are safe in their homes, the interior of Guinea remains calm, and all NTM-personnel there are safe and continuing in their ministries.

 

Please keep praying for peace and stability in Guinea  as we are instructed by the Lord in 1 Timothy 1:1-4, and with the confidence we have in Him described in 1 John 5:14-15.

Situation in Conakry

Please pray for the situation in Guinea. On September 28th, a march and rally organized by those in opposition to the current government were held in Conakry. Government security forces responded with force against the assembled crowd, resulting in a large number of deaths and injuries. There are varying reports as to the actual number of fatalities and injuries.

The situation since the 28th is calm but tense. Security forces appear to have the situation under control at the moment.

 

The interior of Guinea has not experienced any unrest up to this point. All of the unrest has taken place in Conakry.

All members of NTM in Conakry are safe and well. Many foreign embassies have encouraged their citizens to remain at home until the situation returns to normal and so the families are following that advice.

Those who work in the interior are continuing on with their ministries as normal.

 

I Timothy 2:1-4