Day 1: Jan 2. Pray for the preparation of our hearts and minds for the task to which He has called us, being ever mindful of the urgency as we await His return. “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:13).

Day 2: Jan 3. Pray that God will care for the families we leave behind, and we will remain faithful to pray for them. “I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscious the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day, longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy” (2 Timothy 1:3-4).

Day 3: Jan 4. Pray that God will guide each person on this journey. Team members are: Kevin Cox, Katie Phillips, Wes Barfield, Brian and Nicole Blanchard and Stan Graham. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him. Then you will walk in your way securely and your foot will not stumble” (Proverbs 3: 5-6, 23).

Day 4: Jan 5. Pray that God begins working in the hearts of Bonice Diatta, and the English Teachers at the Tionk-Essil High School. “Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace be to this house.” If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages” (Luke 10:5-7).

Day 5: Jan 6. Pray for the team’s final preparations, and for good weather for the journey. “Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love” (2 John 1:3).

Day 6: Jan 7. Pray for safe travels to Dulles International Airport, and on the flight from Dulles to Dakar, Senegal. Pray for the families of team members, for their health and safety and for assistance in their daily routines. “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 1: 2).

Day 7: Jan 8. Pray for the team as they arrive in Dakar, pass through immigration and catch a taxi to the Ouakum Guest House. Pray for their adjustment to the time, food and climate, and for smooth business dealings with the Dakar Business Office. “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But, resist him, firm in your faith…” (1 Peter 5:8-9).

Day 8: Jan 9. Pray for the team as they fly from Dakar to Ziguinchor, and catch a taxi to Tionk-Essil. Pray for their smooth and timely travel, and safe arrival at the Campement Abekoum. Pray for the team’s reception in Tionk-Essil. “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the Word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty” (Matthew 13:23).

Day 9: Jan 10. Pray for the head master of the Tionk-Essil High School, for the English Teachers and the students that they be open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that the team be sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit as they teach English in the school and share their faith in word and deed. “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13: 35).

Day 10: Jan 11. Pray that God will open doors to share Truth with all the people of Thionk- Essil that the team encounters. “Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go and join this chariot.’ Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’” (Acts 8: 29-30).

Day 11: Jan 12. Pray for God to bring conviction in the hearts of the people, so they will see a need for a Savior. “…open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 27:18).

Day 12: Jan 13. Pray for insight and wisdom, for continued health and energy for the team. “Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands…” (I Timothy 2:8)

Day 13: Jan 14. Pray for the teams’ last night in the village. Pray for a joyous evening, for lasting friendships and meaningful conversations. Pray that the Gusilay will be released from their bondage. “Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man” (Acts 17:29).

Day 14: Jan 15. Pray for the team as they depart Tionk-Essil for Ziguinchor – for safe travel and good rest in Ziguinchor. Pray for missionaries Lee and Donelle Kauffman who will meet the team in Ziguinchor and for God to make His plans known to those engaged in the mission among the Jola in Senegal. “Finally, brethren, pray for us that the Word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified…” (2 Thessalonians 3:1).

Day 15: Jan 16. Pray as the team flies from Ziguinchor to Dakar and makes final preparations for the flight back to the US. Pray for safe and smooth travel and for a God honoring conclusion to the trip. “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:14-19).

Day 16: Jan 17. Pray for the team’s flight from Dakar to Dulles and for the drive home. Pray that the team find their families well and begin to readjust to Eastern Standard Time and the demands of home. “But I have trusted in Your loving kindness; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me” (Psalm13:5-6).

Day 17: Jan 18. As the team readjusts to their busy lives in the US, pray that God will remind them of His work among the Jola and open their eyes and hearts to ways in which others can participate in the ministry. “And he was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Luke 10:2).