Today is a holiday in the Muslim world of Dakar, Senegal. On this day, celebrants slaughter a sheep to commemorate the biblical story of Abraham, who was on the verge of sacrificing his only son Ishmael (the father of the Islamic people) to obey Allah’s command when Allah interceded by substituting a ram in the child’s place. Sometimes families must save up for months to afford the ram. The sacrificed animal is divided into thirds and given equally to family, friends, and the poor. After several hours at a mosque, the rest of the day is spent in prayer, eating great food, and celebrating with family and friends. It’s rather festive, and just like Christmas in the states, most people probably don’t think about the meaning behind the holiday or the reason for the sacrifice. Of course, our very typical students enjoy a day off of school for whatever reason.
I’m sitting here in the office working, though. Our web and mailserver residing in the states has disappeared off the face of the earth – no one even answers the phone when we try to call. So my co-worker and I are in the process of recreating our website on a different server, along with about 225 e-mailboxes. We’re hoping that most people won’t even know there was a problem when they return tomorrow.
We are enjoying our new apartment, even though the pipes have burst in 3 other apartments within the same building in the last 2 weeks – in the middle of the night! All of us are trying not to think about the possibility that we may be the next ones to get soaked.
Because of the relationships they have built up with some of the Senegalese, some of our DA staff friends will have the opportunity today to share about the once-for-all sacrifice. They have asked that we pray for their witnessing opportunities, so I share their request with you.