Transportation

Travel in West Africa is definitely not the same as in developed countries. In the rural areas there are no delivery options or mail service, so we get creative and rely on lots of national helpers. Everything involves a little more planning and a lot more time, but God works it all out and many times provides some adventure or stretching in our faith along the way. 

This week our Adult Literacy classes are preparing to resume and they needed their supplies. Exercise books, math lesson books, pencils, erasers, pens and more needed to be delivered to the homes of our class facilitators in 5 different rural villages. I am not familiar with many of our nearby villages and I wanted to take this opportunity and catch a ride with our national driver to explore and be a part of delivering the supplies and re-connecting with the facilitators. It took about 3 hours to go about 20 miles roundtrip on what could loosely be referred to as “roads”. It is dry season so the roads were manageable although there were a few times the bush vehicle bogged down in the sand. There are no road markings, but our driver and our literacy worker knew the best ways to go. I bumped along in the backseat trying not to get car sick or hurt myself when I went airborne on the bumps. I did learn the Wolof word for “buck” (like a horse trying to get you off) as they described to me that was what was happening with the car as we navigated the huge ruts in the road. We safely and successfully made our deliveries and I got a great tour of my surroundings as I continue to pray for where the Lord will lead the new ministry. 

Next week we have some visitors flying in from my sending church in North Carolina. They will take a 35 minute drive in a van from the church to the airport, leaving at 0630. Then, they will have three different flights plus an additional stop where they don’t have to get off the plane and hopefully they will arrive  in The Gambia about 33 hours after they met at the church. 

Those 33 hours just get them to the airports. For them and their luggage to travel within the country we needed to utilize this multi-purpose bush vehicle in the urban area and it was also time for an oil change (the mechanics are in the city). Praise God for drivers so I did not have to make an extra trip to the city. We had a national employee take the vehicle to the dealership for service and then it should be at the guesthouse ready to pick up our visitors a few days before their arrival. Once they arrive they will pile into this vehicle and navigate the construction of the urban roads before they finally make it to our guesthouse and a comfy bed. 

A few days after their arrival I will leave the village to meet up with them in the city and bring them to the rural area. I am praying that I can take a ferry to meet with them, but we have had several days lately with no ferry boats and I may have to be carried onto a small boat to go across the river. Once I arrive we will get up early the next day and make the decision to take a chance on the ferry boats running or take a 5 hour drive (most of it the opposite direction we wish to go) and cross the river at the bridge. When I tell visitors it takes 3 days to get to my house from the US, I am not joking. 

Transportation is not easy. Praise God for the vehicles, for all the helpers, for our safety and for handling all of the logistics. Please be praying for this team in all of their travels and hopefully it will be better than the last group from my church who arrived in the village at 2 am after waiting all day long to get across the river!