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MY ROADMAP TO SENEGAL
HE LED ME ALL THE WAY
Joshua Mead – CB I ‘99, CB II ‘02
Missionary At the age of 7, I received a VHS tape from my grandmother entitled “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” The film was a thirty minute cartoon adaptation
of the book written by John Bunyan. I must have watched that film a million times that day before going to bed. After what seemed like hours
of restlessness, I climbed out of bed and told my mom that I needed to be saved.

Several years later, I found myself in Mexico on a mission’s trip. At that point in my life, a full-time career on any field was the last thing on
my mind. I was simply enjoying the unique experiences of being in a foreign country. God had other plans. On the final day of our trip, God
touched my heart. As we made a final prayer, with my head bowed, I felt in my heart with undeniable surety that this is what I was going to do with
the rest of my life. God wanted me to be a missionary. Curiously enough, I almost knew immediately that I would be a missionary in Africa. There
was a yearning in my heart to go to Africa that I could not explain, until God called me to missions.

I was 16 years old when I attended CAMP BIMI I in 1999. God used CAMP BIMI to reconfirm in my heart and mind the calling of God for
my life. I loved every part of the experience. I was a teenage boy, so I had no issue with Mrs. Baughman insisting that we eat everything on our
plate. I took in everything I could. I loved the classes and the time spent with veteran missionaries. In a way, I felt that I was where I belonged. I
felt at home. CAMP BIMI, and especially the Baughmans, left me with a confidence that I would not only have a great support system as a future
missionary with BIMI, but that I had a family who would encourage me along the journey.

God used my second trip to CAMP BIMI to confirm the ‘where’ of my part in the puzzle of God’s Will. During my freshman year at Bible
college, a close friend of mine and I decided to randomly pick a country to go to as missionaries. Our mission class had an assignment where every
student chose a random country from a hat. We were then tasked with creating a missionary presentation which would be presented to the class
and would count as a significant part of our grade. My friend and I decided that whatever country he chose would become our future mission
field in real life! The only pre-requisite I had was that it had to be an African country. We also wanted it to be a country with limited Gospel access.

The country he chose was in Africa and was a pioneer country. However, it was and is closed to open missionary work. There was a country
near the border of this closed country that was open to missionary work despite being a majority Muslim country. We also discovered that there
were very few missionaries serving in this country, only one serving with BIMI. This BIMI missionary was living in the north in a city which
bordered our original country of choice. We made plans to move to St. Louis, Senegal and work with the BIMI missionary serving there.

That summer, I attended CAMP BIMI II ‘02. The first missionary to speak was Bro. Ron Bragg,
who was the African Director at that time and had served for seventeen years in Senegal. We had
told no one of our plan to go to Senegal. We wanted God to confirm this decision. That evening,
Brother Bragg read his text and announced the title of his sermon. “I want to preach a message entitled
What it takes to be a missionary in a country like Senegal, West Africa.” My eyes widened as I leaned
forward in my seat. How did he know our plans? He proceeded to preach a message that covered every
topic we had discussed during our school year that had led us to choosing Senegal. That evening, I felt as
if God placed His Hand on my heart, reassuring me that He approved of our plan.

My family and I have been serving with BIMI since 2006 as missionaries to Senegal. CAMP BIMI
played a large role in my preparation for the field. I wouldn’t trade my experience at CAMP BIMI for
anything. Sarah Briggs
~ CB I ‘11a November 03, 1993 — May 17, 2018
This World Is Not My Home. I’m Just a Passing Through.

“I have grown up in a Christian home and have always known what salvation is, but until I was 7, I never really accepted that one
man could die for all of mankind. We were visiting a church that Sunday and I had felt God pulling at my heart for a while before that
day. When the preacher started to tell how Jesus came to die for all of us to save us from our sins, I burst into tears because I didn’t
want to go to hell. My dad took me up to the preacher who then led me to the Lord. I accepted Jesus’ Gift of Salvation that day.”
(Above is Sarah’s testimony written in her own words on her CAMP BIMI 2011 application.) Sarah’s
mom shared this after her Home-Going: Sarah understood and believed the promise of God when He
said, “Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Her faith in this Scripture
promise gave her great peace and enabled her to face death without fear.

From the time of her salvation, Sarah desired to serve the Lord. She felt God was calling her to be a
missionary or a pastor’s wife. In preparation for a life of serving the Lord, she started playing the violin at
an early age, worked with disabled children, taught Sunday School, worked in the nursery, was involved
with the church choir and orchestra, went on mission trips, attended Crown College of the Bible, and
became a CNA. She loved helping and serving others. Sarah is the 8 th CB alumnus to enter Heaven.

CAMP BIMI
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