Nineteen-year-old Terrell Starr, of Philander Smith College, a Methodist-related institution in Arkansas, was the youngest of twenty-four participants in a mission study tour to Senegal, December 8-16, 1999. Sponsored by the General Board of Global Ministries, the group included clergy, laypersons, college students, seminarians, and staff of the General Board of Global Ministries.

Terrell told how humbled he was on this, his first trip outside the United States, through the very personal experience of becoming ill and being cared for by a group of Senegalese men that included Muslims.

"When I became sick and we had to stop the bus along the road, I was taken to a community of strangers. Barely able to walk, I was carried to a hut by Senegalese men who cared for me as one would care for a helpless infant. I was too weak to do anything for myself. The Muslims who received me and allowed use of their facilities did not know who we were, nor did it seem to matter to them. I will never forget this as long as I live. They let me rest on the very mat where they said their prayers."

Tyrrell stressed that not only was he moved by the expressions of generosity displayed by the Muslim community on the road, but by gestures of kindness shown the mission group during a visit to the Grand Mosque at Touba. It was during Ramadan, when Muslims must refrain from eating until sundown. Despite the hardship of fasting, the Muslims graciously prepared food to serve their Christian guests. "All that I experienced makes me look with new eyes at the Muslim community," said the young student. "And to know that we are all Africans gives me greater appreciation of myself and of my people. I am a new Methodist who learned about the denomination upon entering college," he said. "The church was very supportive and became a family with the recent loss of the only family I knew, my grandmother who raised me. I keep telling young people that the church is a good place to be. Words cannot express what the opportunity to be part of this mission event has meant to me. I already participate in a lot of church programs in Arkansas, but now I want to become even more involved."

Emmanuel Bisongnyenty, a refugee from Cameroon, was Terrell Starr's interpreter. The UMC in Senegal utilizes Emmanuel as a full time interpreter, from French to English. Photo by David Harsh.

January 27, 2000

See also:

Mission Study Tour Celebrates Evangelical Work in Senegal
Senegal Mission Study Trip Deepens Faith of Young Adults

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