Growing in The Gambia 

If anywhere sees growth from acorns into oaks it’s among the volunteers who go on the Smile teams, and those who go to The Gambia are no exception. 

A new team will be going out there in conjunction with Iwerne holidays in January when they will be involved in primary and secondary school teaching; helping at a nursery; working within the local evangelical church and doing evangelistic outreach. 

An important part of preparing the team is their cross-cultural orientation in December at All Nations Christian College. Here the team members get to know each other better, discuss the things they may face and consider mission life in an unfamiliar context. They will also meet Gambia coordinator, Steven Musa-Kormayea and Sam Owen, who will be going to the Gambia as a mission partner. 

Says Head of Mission Personnel, Mary Higginson: “We have seen past Smile volunteers grow in their faith, encourage their churches back home and even move on to become mission partners.” 

A previous team’s guiding verse was Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”; appropriate for any wishing to serve and grow in their faith.  

Teaching time in Thailand

In August, a group of graduates from Cambridge University went out with Crosslinks to South-East Asia. Now four of them are working at Noh Bo Academy on the Thai-Myanmar border teaching English to Karen refugees. In their latest report one of the team members writes: “The team is getting on well, good to pray together every morning before breakfast.” 

Besides teaching there are many opportunities for Christian work. They  lead three assemblies a week going through Mark’s Gospel using talks, seminars, group studies, quizzes and games. They are also leading group Bible studies and one-to-one Bible readings for some of the older students. “We’re all well aware of how faithful God has been in providing us with everything we have needed . . . God is doing amazing stuff here, but we see a big need to help the students to become more equipped to read the Bible for themselves.” 

To find out more about smile, click here or call Jez on 020 8694 7631 or email: jwainaina@crosslinks.org

Crosslinks magazine January 2005 index