The Crawford Chronicles: 2021

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

The Crawford Chronicles #14

“Return to Senegal”

December 14, 2021

Prayer Requests

1) We are back! - Thank you for all who prayed for our travels. Everything went smoothly.

2) IT Guy - Graham's co-worker in the IT department (Matt) is leaving and the end of this school year (June 2022). Pray that Dakar Academy would find another IT guy to work alongside Graham next year.

3) Transitions - Austin has struggled a bit transitioning back into life in Senegal. Pray that he would find friends and connection here in Senegal.

4) Health - The boys both developed colds in Canada before we left and are having trouble getting over them. Pray that they would both be feeling better soon.

Austin checking out Dakar Academy South

We loved how green the school campus is

Staff housing

Austin loves playing in the sand but only without his shoes

Duncan enjoyed his visit to Dakar Academy South

Austin made a new friend

Austin and Graham at the Dakar Academy Christmas Staff Party

Blessings,

Graham, Kathleen, Austin and Duncan Crawford

Online donations can be made at https://www.sim.ca/graham-and-kathleen-crawford/

The opinions expressed are our own opinions. They are not necessarily the opinions or views of Serving In Mission (SIM)

Friday, November 19, 2021

The Crawford Chronicles #13

“Better Early Than Never”

November 19, 2021

Prayer Requests

1) Trip out West - Praise the Lord for a great trip to Western Canada! Graham was able to visit with family and friends and speak at 4 different churches in Alberta and BC. Can't wait to come back for another visit!

2) Grace Period - As many of you will know, Canada is requiring people to be fully vaccinated to fly in airplanes. The original deadline was for October 30th but a "grace period" has been put into effect until the end of November. Since Kathleen has decided not to vaccinate while nursing Duncan, we took this grace period as grace from the Lord to allow us to travel back to Senegal as a family. We received our airline tickets a few days ago and we leave for Senegal on November 28th!

3) Back to work - Please pray for Graham as he settles back into work at Dakar Academy in their IT department. Pray that he is a blessing to the staff and the students there.

4) Settling in - Pray for the boys as they settle into life in Senegal. Pray that the transition of time/temperature/environment is easy on them. Pray that Senegal will feel like home quickly.

5) Ministry for Kathleen - Pray for Kathleen as she takes care of the kids and looks to see what ministry she will be involved with when she is done her maternity leave.

Blessings,

Graham, Kathleen, Austin and Duncan Crawford

Friday, October 15, 2021

The Crawford Chronicles #12.5

“Complications”

October 15, 2021

Prayer Requests

1) Kathleen's vaccination status - With the recent news of air travel being restricted for unvaccinated Canadians, we have run into an issue. Kathleen is currently unvaccinated. Kathleen is concerned about taking the vaccine while nursing Duncan. Feeling like she now has no choice but to be vaccinated in order to return to Senegal has her very troubled. Please pray with us as Kathleen decides whether or not to get the vaccine and if she does that both her and Duncan would remain healthy.

Blessings,

Graham, Kathleen, Austin and Duncan Crawford

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

The Crawford Chronicles #12

“Go West Young Man”

October 13, 2021

Prayer Requests

1) Western Canada Trip - Pray for me (Graham) as I will be traveling around Western Canada visiting family and friends. I will be speaking at various churches over the next 3 weeks. My itinerary is as follows:

October 13-16 - Fort Saskatchewan, AB

October 17 - Fort Saskatchewan Fellowship Baptist Church

October 17-18 - Calgary, Alberta

October 19-21 - Fort Saskatchewan, AB

October 22-23 - Fort McMurray, AB

October 24 - Northlife Church in Fort McMurray

October 25-26 - Lumby, BC

October 27-28 - Langley, BC

October 29 - Courtney, BC

October 30 - Parksville, BC

October 31 - Parksville Fellowship Baptist Church

November 1-2 - Parksville, BC

November 3 - Clearwater, BC

November 4-5 - Fort Saskatchewan, AB

November 6 - Fly back to Fredericton, NB

2) Kathleen - Please pray for Kathleen as she remained behind in New Brunswick with the boys. Pray for her as she will be very busy taking care of them.

3) Duncan Update - Duncan is almost 3 months old now. His weight is up to about 10lbs now. He is doing well and the doctors have seen no medical issue with him thus far. Praise the Lord!

4) Remote Work - Supporting the school remotely continues to go well. I was speaking with my co-worker (Matt) who is alone in the IT Dept on Campus at the school. We had noticed that we are starting to feel "caught up" as things were very busy at the beginning of the school year. I'll be taking some time off this month as I want to try to make the most of my time with family and friends while I am out West.

5) Covid in Senegal - Senegal currently only has 28 active cases in the country. This is in a country with 16 million people. Pray that the Lord continues to protect the people of this beautiful country. We Praise the Lord for the low case count which allows the school to continue to operate normally (with some restrictions).

Austin buried in his work

Duncan enjoying the lovely fall weather

Blessings,

Graham, Kathleen, Austin and Duncan Crawford

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

The Crawford Chronicles #11

“Premature Celebration”

August 3, 2021

Prayer Requests

1) Duncan Emerson Crawford - Duncan arrived on July 16, 2021 at 10:46pm via unexpected C-section. His due date was September 6th so he was born 7.5 weeks early. However he was born at a decent size of 4lbs 11ozs and 45cm. He is doing well as has continued to grow under the care of the nurses in the NICU. Please pray that he would be able to leave the hospital soon so he can be introduced to his brother, grandparents and friends (only Kathleen and I are able to visit him due to Covid restrictions).

2) Vaccinations - I’ve (Graham) felt privileged to have access to a covid vaccine while in Canada. I had my first dose in July and will receive my second dose today. Kathleen will be getting her vaccinations in the near future. Pray that we will not experience and side effects from the vaccines.

3) Remote work - I am currently and will be working remotely to support Dakar Academy’s IT needs until we return to Senegal in January. So far things have gone well. Pray that this would work well and that there wouldn’t be any major catastrophes while I’m away. Pray for my co-worker in the Dakar A ademy IT department, Matt Johnson, as he will be the only IT person on campus and will be very busy while I’m away.

4) Covid in Senegal - Cases are on the rise in Senegal. Last time I checked there were upwards of 14,000 active cases in the country. This will of course be putting a strain on the limited medical resources the country has. Pray that the Lord would intervene and ease the suffering in the country.

5) Trip to Western Canada - Please pray that I would be able to plan a trip to Western Canada while we are here. My hope is that I will be able to travel out west during the month of October. I’ve been waiting to be vaccinated and for things to calm down a bit with Covid restrictions, etc. Unfortunately, the whole family will not be coming, just me. However, we are praying that this will be a good time to reconnect with family, friends, supporters and churches during a time when a lot of people have felt disconnected from those things.

Austin has been enjoying his time spent at his grandparents house in New Brunswick

Duncan says, “Thank you for your prayers! I’m looking forward to going home soon!”

Blessings,

Graham, Kathleen, Austin and Duncan Crawford

Thursday, June 17, 2021

The Crawford Chronicles #10

“Crawfords in Quarantine”

June 17, 2021

Prayer Requests

1) Safe travels to Canada - Praise the Lord we made it home safe and sound! I don't ever recommend traveling during a pandemic. It's not fun. I don't think I've ever carried that much paperwork with me while traveling. Everything went smoothly though. Thanks for your prayers.

2) Quarantine - We are now in Geary, New Brunswick for our 14 day quarantine. Please pray all goes smoothly. We've had a number fo calls already from the government to check in on us. We were very grateful we got to quarantine together with Kathleen's parents. It just makes things easier.

3) Vaccinations - Praise the Lord I (Graham) was able to get an appointment to receive my first dose of the covid vaccine. Hopefully this will make this easier for potential travel to churches/family/friends out West later this year.

4) Kathleen's pregnancy - Please continue to pray for Kathleen and her pregnancy. She had some bad news during her last doctors appointment. There is some fluid building up on her cervix which could cause premature delivery. The good news is the doctor believes this is what happened when Kathleen was pregnant with Austin. We never knew why he was 6 weeks premature, so this was an enlightening appointment! Pray that the pregnancy continues to go smoothly and that no added pressure occurs as we are hoping for a full term delivery this time around.

5) Travel in 2021 - Many of you are probably already praying for this, but continue to pray that things would start to get back to "normal". I (Graham) am hoping to make a trip out West sometime this year. Much of this will be determined by how quickly things open up. Pray that the covid situation continues to improve in the country.

6) Dakar Academy Staff - Pray that the Dakar Academy staff would have a restful summer. It was a very taxing year on all of us with unique challenges. Pray for refreshment for all.

7) Work - Pray for me as I will begin working remotely for Dakar Academy in July. Pray that I would be able to do my duties well even though I am not physically present. Pray for Matt Johnson, my co-worker in the IT department as he will be "flying solo" at Dakar Academy during the first semester of school.

Video Update

Waiting for our plane with our friends the Ibsen's in Dakar, Senegal

Austin playing in the Montreal Airport

The Montreal airport looked abandoned.

Reverse culture shock. I hadn't seen one of these in 10 months. They don't use them in Senegal.

The quarantine crew

Blessings,

Graham, Kathleen and Austin Crawford

Saturday, March 6, 2021

The Crawford Chronicles #9

“Nap Time Update”

March 6, 2021

Prayer Requests

1) Health - Please pray for continued protection against Covid at Dakar Academy. We’ve only had a handful of cases so far this school year. Pray that continues.

2) Pregnancy - Pray for Kathleen and baby #2 that both would remain healthy during the pregnancy.

3) Jobs - Pray for both Kathleen and I (Graham) that we would be able to show the love of the Lord to the kids at Dakar Academy as we go about our everyday duties.

4) Travel plans - Pray that we would be able to finalize our plans to travel back to Canada in June. It’s become rather complicated to travel during the pandemic.

5) Protests - Please pray for the current unrest in Senegal. Pray that things would get resolved peacefully.

Austin also wanted to say hi!

Blessings,

Graham, Kathleen and Austin Crawford