July 2 2011
The rains have continued to come, often with fierce sweeping winds, but they have also come gently a few times. Today we got a gentle rain, and not a great amount. Two nights ago we had deluge! It rained long and hard for several hours and in the morning there were 5 inches in the bucket that I had left sitting on the porch. That is a LOT of RAIN!!--and no one seemed to think it at all remarkable. Does that tell you anything about what we are in for in the coming months??!?!? --they do call it the rainy season.
Gardeners are at work all around us. I can look to the west in the early morning and see a neighbor tending a large garden plot on that side, or lean over the wall at the other side of our base and see the soil outside our wall being tilled and planted. Up the hill we are beginning to see neat rows emerging from the ground as the maize comes up in those gardens. Seven year old Bakary had shown me several days ago where the “kaba”(ears of maize) was hanging in the protection of our truck shelter's roof peak. (We think that he is about seven-- they often do not know their age or birth date, so Claudia has assigned a birthday based on when they came into the family here.) It was still a surprise to see him out with Daouda planting a little patch of maize. They had carefully weeded and tilled the soil by hand, then planted their little handful of seed and placed a protective ring of stones and concrete pieces around it. Joseph, one of our “not-yet-a-man-18-year-olds”(that's another story, lol), had planted a stretch of maize about 2 weeks ago, and I wondered about it, but didn't give it too much thought. He had not removed any of the stones or trash that littered the ground, merely planting seed between them But here are 7 and 9 year old street boys who know how to save and plant life-giving seed, and they go DO it, all on their own initiative!.
I was awed again by this demonstration of the sharp reality for these children. Theirs has been a subsistence existence. I am even more anxious to be blessing them and to be able to share with them what I have learned about gardening and growing things over the years, as well as the soul lessons gleaned from that gardening knowledge. Doris Foust, Connie McCarty, Gerry Matre & I did a series several years ago that we called “Lessons in Soil & Soul”- (do you remember them, ladies?) They will be applied here for sure, better as I learn the language.
I have gotten my fingers dirty, too. With the help of one and another of the older boys, we have prepared 2 plots and planted corn, green beans, cucumbers, squash and eggplant. We planted. God has watered abundantly!! Now we need to prepare a place that will not get too wet, and I will hope to soon get some tomatoes in the ground. My attempts to start tomatoes in tin cans on our concrete roof deck were not successful, although we have gotten a sprouting mango seed to push upright and grow!! I also took the initial plot that I was planning for a garden and have converted it into a compost bed for this year. The soil there was the equivalent of hard, red Georgia clay over bedrock lol, and needs some improving, so we are teaching about compost—(NO plastic, aii yi-yiii!.) :))
We saw what looked like mint tea being sold at the market, so I bought a bundle and have tried to start a patch. It is slow going and only 1 piece has grown--(if you know mint, that is hard to believe, isn't it?) I will get some more, and maybe another kind, and make several patches. When the boys start using it for tea, I want to make sure it does not all get ripped out.
The boys are growing wonderfully. We have had some confrontations, to be sure-- but that is not unusual or unexpected for a house full of boys. We are encouraged by the response to firm but loving discipline. Just like in your home, set boundaries will be tested...and tested...and tested. When the fence does not move they can lean against it with confidence that it will hold them securely. So it is everywhere. Some of the “fences” that Claudia had built here had fallen into disrepair in the last little while and are being re-established and strengthened. And it is good.
Wherever you are, in your family, in your soul garden!
Be blessed and be a consistent blessing.
Mim in Mali
July 2 2011
The rains have continued to come, often with fierce sweeping winds, but they have also come gently a few times. Today we got a gentle rain, and not a great amount. Two nights ago we had deluge! It rained long and hard for several hours and in the morning there were 5 inches in the bucket that I had left sitting on the porch. That is a LOT of RAIN!!--and no one seemed to think it at all remarkable. Does that tell you anything about what we are in for in the coming months??!?!? --they do call it the rainy season.
Gardeners are at work all around us. I can look to the west in the early morning and see a neighbor tending a large garden plot on that side, or lean over the wall at the other side of our base and see the soil outside our wall being tilled and planted. Up the hill we are beginning to see neat rows emerging from the ground as the maize comes up in those gardens. Seven year old Bakary had shown me several days ago where the “kaba”(ears of maize) was hanging in the protection of our truck shelter's roof peak. (We think that he is about seven-- they often do not know their age or birth date, so Claudia has assigned a birthday based on when they came into the family here.) It was still a surprise to see him out with Daouda planting a little patch of maize. They had carefully weeded and tilled the soil by hand, then planted their little handful of seed and placed a protective ring of stones and concrete pieces around it. Joseph, one of our “not-yet-a-man-18-year-olds”(that's another story, lol), had planted a stretch of maize about 2 weeks ago, and I wondered about it, but didn't give it too much thought. He had not removed any of the stones or trash that littered the ground, merely planting seed between them But here are 7 and 9 year old street boys who know how to save and plant life-giving seed, and they go DO it, all on their own initiative!.
I was awed again by this demonstration of the sharp reality for these children. Theirs has been a subsistence existence. I am even more anxious to be blessing them and to be able to share with them what I have learned about gardening and growing things over the years, as well as the soul lessons gleaned from that gardening knowledge. Doris Foust, Connie McCarty, Gerry Matre & I did a series several years ago that we called “Lessons in Soil & Soul”- (do you remember them, ladies?) They will be applied here for sure, better as I learn the language.
I have gotten my fingers dirty, too. With the help of one and another of the older boys, we have prepared 2 plots and planted corn, green beans, cucumbers, squash and eggplant. We planted. God has watered abundantly!! Now we need to prepare a place that will not get too wet, and I will hope to soon get some tomatoes in the ground. My attempts to start tomatoes in tin cans on our concrete roof deck were not successful, although we have gotten a sprouting mango seed to push upright and grow!! I also took the initial plot that I was planning for a garden and have converted it into a compost bed for this year. The soil there was the equivalent of hard, red Georgia clay over bedrock lol, and needs some improving, so we are teaching about compost—(NO plastic, aii yi-yiii!.) :))
We saw what looked like mint tea being sold at the market, so I bought a bundle and have tried to start a patch. It is slow going and only 1 piece has grown--(if you know mint, that is hard to believe, isn't it?) I will get some more, and maybe another kind, and make several patches. When the boys start using it for tea, I want to make sure it does not all get ripped out.
The boys are growing wonderfully. We have had some confrontations, to be sure-- but that is not unusual or unexpected for a house full of boys. We are encouraged by the response to firm but loving discipline. Just like in your home, set boundaries will be tested...and tested...and tested. When the fence does not move they can lean against it with confidence that it will hold them securely. So it is everywhere. Some of the “fences” that Claudia had built here had fallen into disrepair in the last little while and are being re-established and strengthened. And it is good.
Wherever you are, in your family, in your soul garden!
Be blessed and be a consistent blessing.
Mim in Mali
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