1 Month A-Z

Today marks one month of my being back in the Gambia. Here’s an A-Z of Month 1:

A   Atlantic: the ocean is nearby, beautiful, fun and even warm at the moment.

B   Bats: fly everywhere as soon as it gets dark.

C   Chicken: have now learned to enjoy the bones and marrow as well as flesh.

D   Deadly: wretched mosquitoes - biggest killer in Africa. Thankful for modern medicine.

E   Electricity: very erratic - never appreciated it so much.

F   Fish: fresh and tasty.

G   Gille-gilles: onomatopoeically named minibus-taxis. One crash so far - no one hurt.

H   Hair: successfully shaved my head without losing any ears.

I    Ill: thankful for only a brief period of “Banjul Belly” on arrival.

J   Juice: love the guy who makes fresh fruit juice on the beach.

K   Kombos: the name of this coastal area where I live.

L   Language: made a start on Wolof. My favourite word is “waw”, meaning “yes”.

M  Mama: so thankful for my African mother full of love, wisdom, encouragement and joy.

N   “No, I’m not married. No, I’m not looking for a Gambian wife.”

O   Oranges: actually green, but a refreshing snack on a hot day.

P   Peanuts: eaten lots, and now know how to open the shells!

Q   Quegshon: how people pronounce “question”

R   Rice: huge portions once or twice a day. Still I’ve somehow lost weight!

S   Sweat: so much in the humidity. I think that’s why I’ve lost weight.

T   “Toubab!”: “white man”. What little kids shout out as I walk past.

U   Uncle: what children call me when they’re a bit more polite.

V   Very hot: it can be.

W   Watermelons: delicious and everywhere at the moment.

X   (E)xtremely hot: it can be.

Y   Yassa: a yummy local dish.

Z   Zoo: my back yard - birds, hens, dogs, cats, rats, bugs…

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While I'm at it, here’s a reminder of a mnemonic I shared before leaving of how people can pray for me here:

G  Gospel Clarity: please pray for clarity and accuracy as I teach God’s word and its central message of salvation through Jesus Christ.

A  Assisting Local Ministry: please pray that I’d learn how to be most effective in helping people here.

M  Meeting People: please pray for wisdom in which people particularly to spend time with, and for good friendships to develop.

B  Battling Sin: please pray that I would honour Jesus and encourage others by setting an example of godly living, being strengthened by God’s Spirit to turn from sin every day and turn to Jesus.

I  Involvement in Church: please pray for wisdom regarding which church to join. It’s been really interesting and useful to visit a variety of churches - particularly to see where my students are (many of them pastors). But it’d be good to settle somewhere soon.

A  Abiding with Jesus: please pray that I would keep my soul satisfied in Jesus every day, remembering that he is everything, and apart from him I can do nothing.