September Newsletter 2024
Ministry in The Gambia focuses on building relationships by loving our neighbors and sharing the gospel in everything we do. This past month, we were plagued with daily power outages, surges, fluctuations, and blackouts that could last up to 15 hours at a time. Due to these muddy rainy season challenges, we are grateful for our running generators and the money provided for voltage regulators. Unfortunately, when the power goes out, so does the neighborhood water distribution. Thanks to our water tower and generators, our water consistently flows, but our neighbors do not have this luxury. So, when the taps run dry, they come to us with cups and buckets, so that they can live their daily lives with water. However, with the power outages lasting longer than in recent memory more people knocked on our gate to charge their cell phones more than ever before. We happily turned into the local charging station with a rotation of phones going in and out of our compound.

Two months ago, a neighbor shared that their family struggled with hair breakage and strength so they could barely keep in a braid. Knowing rosemary is great for hair growth—and having a plant of our own—Michele felt moved to help. She scoured the internet and discovered a simple recipe for “hair butter” using all local ingredients—a blend of olive oil, shea butter, rosemary, clove, and moringa. Michele and the family teamed up, each providing half the ingredients, as the family grew moringa on their compound. While showing them how to make the hair butter, Michele took the opportunity to share the love of Christ. They listened closely, and we
pray God will use this connection to lead them toward Him.

They applied the hair butter weekly, and the results spoke for themselves. Their hair grew stronger and longer than ever, and they couldn’t stop marveling at how healthy it looked. Excited by the transformation, they suggested selling the butter to add to their family income. This leads to more time together and building our relationship. We doubled the recipe, and she hopes it sells quickly. Michele offered to guide her through starting a business because Jesus said, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples” (John 13:34). We hope their family experiences the love that God freely gives.
Prayers & Praises
~Pray for Patrick’s father Bruce’s cancer recovery.
~ Pray for God to lead short-term missionaries to take our place while we are in the USA in 2025.
~ Thank God for His continued provision for our ministry
~ Pray that our new generator will come next month
~Pray for God to continue to use us in a mighty way.
In Christ,
The Reeds
Patrick, Michele, Alyssa, Danielle, and Luke
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