Although members of First Baptist Church, Columbiana, went to the African nation of Senegal on a medical missions trip to assist in an optometry clinic, they are the ones who had their eyes opened to what God is doing in the predominantly Muslim country.
Mike Miller, pastor of First, Columbiana, said it was obvious that the Lord had orchestrated the events of the August trip long before the team arrived.
Originally the 10-member team planned to travel to Venezuela for a missions trip but had to cancel in May because of political unrest in that country.
The team still wanted to go on an international missions trip so he made a few phone calls.
“I contacted Cal and Patty McIntire, missionaries in Senegal who used to attend our church, and asked if they could use our help,” Miller said. “They told me that another church group and an optometrist from Texas were coming to run these eye clinics but they had just called and said they might have to cancel because they didn’t have enough people to come and help. It turns out that it was the same week we had planned to go to Venezuela so were able to join them. God had planned this all along.”
Life-changing trip
Miller said the trip was life changing for him and the team, men and women ranging in age from 18 to 60. “It was the first international missions trip for all of us,” he said. “It gave us a world view and better perspective of how people live in a third world country.”
The team spent a week working with the Lebou people group, fishing people who live along the coast outside the capital city of Dakar. Miller said it was heartbreaking seeing so many people with physical problems. “They would line up outside the clinic at 5 a.m. waiting for us to open,” he said. “They would wait hours to get in and we weren’t able to see everyone. So many of them were going blind and needed surgery.”
The team set up stations in the clinic to determine the various needs of the people. “We would check their eyesight to see if they needed glasses or medication,” he said. “We had lots of donated glasses to give out.”
The team put together 400 health kits to hand out at the last station. These included toiletry items such as soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss and also a cassette tape that presented the gospel in the native language of Wolof. “They didn’t have these basic items. In fact, they didn’t have a clue what floss was, but most of them had access to tape players,” Miller said. “The kits were well received and appreciated since these people don’t have much,” he explained.
Besides the obvious physical needs, Miller also said there was great spiritual need among the people. “There’s a stark difference in their spiritual perspective from Americans — they are living in spiritual darkness,” he said. “Ninety-five percent of the country is Muslim and at night we’d hear the Koran being read out loud and broadcast from a loudspeaker at a nearby mosque.”
The McIntires recently alerted Beverly Justice of the need to pray for a local man, Babacar Diouf, whom the team worked with on the trip. At the beginning of last week, Diouf planned to tell his Muslim family about his conversion to Christianity, and was apprehensive of their reaction. He told his mother, who simply said she did not understand. As of press time, Diouf had not told the rest of his family.
Miller said neither he nor the other team members felt threatened or frightened by the people. “They were friendly and sociable and they knew we were there to help them,” he said. “We did, however, see some decals of Osama bin Laden on cars that called him the world’s ultimate freedom fighter.”
This was the first missions trip for Patricia Arledge, a member of First, Columbiana. “We corresponded with the missionaries before we went so we sort of knew what to expect as far as poverty and how much the people needed,” she said. “This is a dry, desert area so the color of the country was the people. They were so friendly and warm. But because of the dry land and all of the sand and grit that blows around, these people had very damaged eyes.
“I worked in the registration part of the eye clinics,” Arledge said. “We didn’t open until 8:30 or 9 a.m. and a couple of mornings it was scary because of the people pushing to get inside.”
However, Arledge wasn’t left with a negative impression. “It was a rewarding trip and the Lord blessed our team so much,” she said. “I know we planted seeds and I hope to see fruit later.”
What they saw and experienced in Senegal also impacted two other team members, Bill and Beverly Justice.
“They gave me the nickname “Jonah” because at first I didn’t want to go,” Bill Justice said. “Another team member said the airplane swallowed me up and spit me out in the desert. I’m glad I did go now — it was a great experience.”
He manned the visual acuity station at the clinic each day. Even a simple task like reading the eye chart was challenging because of the language barrier. “We used an eye chart that had all Es on it,” he said. “They were turned in different directions and we had to teach them to respond based on what they saw.” Communication also made presenting the gospel a challenge for the Alabamians.
“The local church members would witness and tell their testimony. Their idea of American Christianity is what they see on TV and we were able to dispel those myths. Even though the people were Muslim they were open to the Word.”
Beverly Justice worked in the clinic and was the trip’s official photographer. “It’s so good for Christians to see other cultures and remember that everyone isn’t American,” she said. “So many need to know about the Lord and photos remind us to pray for the missionaries and people of Senegal.”
The Justices have two sons, ages 11 and 12, who did not go on the trip. However, next year, Beverly Justice says they plan to return with the boys and minister as a family.
Miller says he believes the church will send a team back again next year. “God is leading our church toward an Acts 1:8 approach towards missions,” Miller explained. “We are developing a plan where we will empower our members to be involved at home, within our nation, and to the ends of the earth.”
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