Senegal Saga - Eby Family Update #12
Senegal Saga #12
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Greetings friends and family! What a great summer we have had as we returned to the US for our time at home. It has been a busy time of travel and speaking but also a great time with our family.
The churches in Alabama, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia and Kentucky have been so generous and supportive to our ministry. We praise God for all our partners and friends in ministry.
Our son Chris returned from his deployment to Afghanistan with the Army National Guard. He and Cristen and the grandsons came to Nashville where we spent a fun week together. Game nights, movies, water parks, and eating out went by so fast but was like taking a drink of cool fresh water after crossing a desert of time of separation.
Heather has been working in Valparaiso, IN this summer and we had a chance to visit her as well. We got to know her boyfriend, Marc Trembly better and spent some fun days together even swimming in Lake Michigan. She returns this fall to her last year at Olivet Univ. and we praise God for how He has cared for her over these past few years.
Michelle has already returned to Senegal
with Amber and Jonathan who are back in school already. Amber got her driver’s permit this summer so it has been my job to teach her how to drive. She enters her senior year of high school so we will cherish this last year together. Jonathan enters his freshman year of high school this year. He has grown as tall as his mom and is becoming a strong young man. Please pray for our family this year as we are once again scattered across the globe!
This year we rejoice in milestones of ministry. In March, Pastor Dany Gomis was ordained as the first elder in Senegal after completing his masters at NTS online. What a privilege it has been to work along side my brother in Christ and to see him reach this next chapter in his life. As the French literature coordinator for all of Africa and Education coordinator for the West Field, we see God using him to take our institution to new heights.
Our village ministry continues to develop in the Fissel Zone. With the help of the youth of the Dakar church we were able to complete the first training zone center in the village of Baad. With the use of a solar panel and battery we have lights in the center and a battery charging station that is providing a community service to charge cell phones.
The young leaders have been trained in evangelism and how to use the Jesus Film Equipment. They are evangelizing other villages and God is opening new doors of growth. Our youth leader Salomon Diatta is teaching ITN courses at a certificate level and our first class has more than 20 students desiring to be discipled and sent out to minister the gospel.
Pray for God’s guidance and blessing.
To read more about the ministry in Senegal we encourage you to connect to the Africa west field website: www.awfcon.org
After four years in Senegal you would think we could speak French pretty well, but . . . life and ministry has kept me from focusing on language acquisition. So I have decided to take a month sabbatical in Quebec, Canada at the Parole de Vie College in order to focus on language study.
The challenge is that I will be separated from the family for almost 8 weeks before I get back to Senegal. Please pray for us during this time that I will be able to focus on the language so I can more effectively preach and teach in French. Also pray for Michelle as she handles all the details of life in Senegal on her own.
We hope that you will also get involved in ministry here in West Africa. We need more work and witness teams to complete district training centers in more than five countries. Our Barnabas Projects offer you a chance to help start a small business that will in the long term support a local leader in ministry. To find out more please email me at teby@awfcon.org!
My Travels take me on interesting Journeys. See my latest story from the road at our website blog:
http://www.ebyclan.com/ebysite/Tims_Travels/Tims_Travels.html
We are so grateful for so many of you who have prayed for us and given financial support for our ministry!
1.Pray for Heather that she will find the scholarships to finish college and for us as we miss her so much.
2.Pray for Chris and Christen as they reunite after Chris’ return from Afghanistan and for the grandsons! =)
3.Pray that my time in Quebec, Canada for language study would be effective and for strength during separation.
4.Pray that God would send us partners as friends of West Africa to help support more Barnabas projects that support local leaders in ministry.
5.Pray that more work and witness teams will come to West Africa so that we can complete the training centers in 5 countries of West Africa.
Specials for “The Work of Tim and Michelle Eby” should be written out to the “General Treasurer” and mailed to:
Nazarene World Mission
17001 Praire Star Parkway
Lenexa KS 66220
Tim and Michelle Eby
BP 5675
Dakar Fann
Senegal
Phone:
+221-33-832-0385
Cell:
+221-77-518-0897
E-Mail:
What a fantastic time we have had on home assignment this Summer of 2011. We return to the field knowing that God has blessed our family richly and we thank God for all of you who support and pray for us. Thanks a million!
