Mud oozed over the sides of my sandaled feet and small burrs clung to the edges of my robe as I made my way down the rutted path. Tall stalks of millet, heavy with grain, protested my progress, leaning over the trail to slap my face and shoulders. A heavy wind had roared through that morning, battering the stalks to nearly horizontal positions. Most would right themselves within a few days and go on to be harvested, but many were broken and already being trampled on the path. Such a storm presents a real concern to farmers, for whom every stalk is important. Unlike many places where hundreds and thousands of heads of grain are harvested at once, in The Gambia, heads of grain are harvested one by one, using a special instrument, carried by hand... Read More.

"Wednesday afternoon I hopped on a bus (squeezed on, was pushed on, may describe the event more accurately) with my bag of supplies to meet some people in their ger for language practice. I'd put my glasses on to easily read the bus numbers, but once inside they fogged up, and I couldn't see anything. Pickpockets are notorious on the buses so I was on the lookout. In addition, one woman said something to me in English and looked at a couple of scruffy teen boys. I was warned. To get where I was going, I had to count the stops. I couldn't see, needed to pay the fare, hang on to my bag, hang on tightly to the overhead bar so I wouldn't land in someone's lap, and watch out for pickpockets. At one point I felt my jacket hike up in the back... Read More.

"We will be able to reach many unsaved who would never accept an invitation to church." "A Crisis Pregnancy Center really could work in Ukraine." "I can see how this model could be used to reach many with AIDS in South Africa." "I think our Women's Resource Center could include such a ministry." Similar comments were heard throughout the week as missionaries representing 13 countries met during ABWE's annual Missionary Enrichment and Training Conference. The central focus was, "How can we reach the unsaved in the country where we work?"... Read More.