Mali Sunday May 15,2011
We went to Goro today, a village that is about 23 km NE of Bamako. It takes almost 2 hours to travel that distance, first thru the city itself, past the Africa Tower that marks a center on the south side of the river Niger, then over the New Bridge, past downtown with its tall Hotels and new govt buildings, N along the main road, and finally 3 km off into the bush on a dirt track that seems almost impassable. Last night there was a heavy rain, and few people were assembled when we got to the village. The coming of the rain takes primary attention, which you can certainly understand when your livelihood depends on it. We greeted the family that lives at this cluster of mud buildings, together with its chief who says that he is very old, and his eyesight is not well. (Paul later came over and told us that he is "more than 100". )
Paul loves to pastor these people, and he loves to preach. If I hadn't known that because he had told me so earlier, I could see it in the excitement that builds in him. He is singing praises and worshipping as we drive along the bumpy roads. He welcomes the people so warmly and genuinely as they come in. They arrive in groups of twos and threes and fives, and assemble in a semi circle across from us.
Since it is heavily overcast this morning I hope that we will not get too sunburned, sitting out here in the open at midday. My dress has an overskirt, so I flip the back part of that up like a shawl to shade my arms and neck.
Eventually we started, with singing and prayer. Paul sang a line or 2 and then our boys would respond with an echo or other response. The villagers clapped and nodded, but few joined in the singing as they had at Dara village. Following the message, Paul asked all of us to come & lay hands on each villager, and pray for each one for healing. He had Ray start, and we followed in turn, walking around the circle, placing a hand on a head or outstretched hand of each man woman and child and praying aloud, asking for God's intervention in their lives. Then we left, making our way to the truck thru a cluster who flowed around us, asking for additional prayer for (it seemed) specific healing needs--a leg, a chin, eyes.
On the way back to the main road, we "discovered" several of our boys who had gone on ahead-- to get the mangos that another village cluster were gifting to us. We also stopped to pick some "gifts from God", several wild fruits that are beginning to grow and ripen (see pictures). I ventured into the bush to observe and learn, and stumbled against a nasty thorn bush, pricking my skin on arm and leg. OUCH! I must be more careful! They are long and sharp!
Then back on the main roads and homeward, across the river and thru the city. Incidentally, the "New Bridge" is not to be confused with the newest one- - bridge # 3 that is currently under construction, and which is referred to as the Chinese Bridge.
Dinner, rice and onion sauce, was ready for us at the base when we got back about 2:30, and then the rest of the afternoon was spent in games and relaxation. Julie went out and played soccer with the guys--getting a good workout and coming in 3 shades darker on her front side, where soccer balls and dirty legs more often collided. :,) Claudia had taken the birthday ones for their swimming and dinner treat and arrived back at the base late in the afternoon. A good but exhausting day.
Thanks for the day: I am thankful for family and friends whom I know love me.
What are you thankful for?
Til next time, Be blessed and Count your blessings
Mim
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Saturday May14th, 2011
Mali May 14, 2011
Saturday is a bit different-- well all the days are different, and we are still trying to remember when to be where for what. It is complicated by the fact that sometimes an event is cancelled or delayed because we are waiting on someone to return with a vehicle or supplies or whatnot. But on Saturday the boys are all home from school, after having only 1/2 a day on Friday, which is a Muslim holy day. Worchip services are scheduled for Sat afternoon here at the base, to allow Sundays to be clear for evangelism at the villages. After breakfast teams go out to "evangelize"- inviting the neighbors to come to the afternoon service. The main room--the "dininghall"- is swept out and the floor washed (chores for two of the boys). THere is no noon meal planned for today, fasting and prayer for the service instead. At 2:30 the faithful gather for intercession and then at 3:00 (or thereabouts) praise and worship marks the start of the main service.
Some of the worship songs are familiar to us-- the English translation, that is-- so we try to sing along. Claudia has the words to each song in French projected onto the wall and that helps us. Other songs are new to us, and there are a few Bambara choruses that Paul has written. The cadence of those is very different than the choruses we have known, very African. But the message is fervent and worshipful, proclaiming praise to the name of Jesus, the Lamb of God.
Jeremie has been learning to do the projection, and is doing very well. IT is quite an art to stay with the leader when they do not follow a preset pattern but repeat a verse or chorus as they feel led. I have often wondered how a projectionist can stay on track.
Paul preached today, and interpreted for himself from French into Bambarra and back again. If we could have understood either Bambara or French we could have gotten a good message, I am sure. As it is, we catch a few words, and Paul is gracious to tell us in advance what scripture he is preacing from so that we can read that in our English Bible, at least. We have also been given a Bambara Bible, and we use that for evening family meetings. More on that later.
After the service today there was a Birthday Celebration-- 3 lovely ladies were celebrating Birthdays here this week. Claudia Wintoch, whom you already know, little Sarata (age 6) and Elizabeth, one of our cooks who is a mother and grandmother at age 38.
First there is the bringing in of The Cake. While the birthday gals are turned away so they do not see them, the candles are lit and then the cakes are presented and candles are blown out while the assembled throng sings Happy Birthday. Well, actually this week there were 2 cakes. Claudia knew that with Elizabeth's birthday being celebrated, there would be several extra members of her household added to the usual number of celebrants. One cake would just not be enough, so I baked a banana bread cake (ask me about that sometime)as well as the chocolate cake that Claudia made.
THe cake is cut and consumed, the birthday gals were seated at the head of the table and family members brought their gifts and were rewarded with a bottle of Fanta or Cola. Smaller children bring birthday gifts of a piece of candy that they can buy at the local "boutique", or a mango, or picture they have drawn. Some offered apples, an exotic fruit in this climate. LOL. Adults gave fruit or a specially chosen bottle of nail polish, or a CD or perhaps a piece of money. Claudia received a set of dumbells that she has been wanting for some time. A well thought out gift.
And that is it! THanks are given and then the group scatters. Dinner will be in about 1 hour, rice and a sauce of some type of vegetables cooked into a stew. Sometimes I know what is in it. Sometimes I do not ask!
Til next time, Be blessed and count your many blessings
Mim
Saturday is a bit different-- well all the days are different, and we are still trying to remember when to be where for what. It is complicated by the fact that sometimes an event is cancelled or delayed because we are waiting on someone to return with a vehicle or supplies or whatnot. But on Saturday the boys are all home from school, after having only 1/2 a day on Friday, which is a Muslim holy day. Worchip services are scheduled for Sat afternoon here at the base, to allow Sundays to be clear for evangelism at the villages. After breakfast teams go out to "evangelize"- inviting the neighbors to come to the afternoon service. The main room--the "dininghall"- is swept out and the floor washed (chores for two of the boys). THere is no noon meal planned for today, fasting and prayer for the service instead. At 2:30 the faithful gather for intercession and then at 3:00 (or thereabouts) praise and worship marks the start of the main service.
Some of the worship songs are familiar to us-- the English translation, that is-- so we try to sing along. Claudia has the words to each song in French projected onto the wall and that helps us. Other songs are new to us, and there are a few Bambara choruses that Paul has written. The cadence of those is very different than the choruses we have known, very African. But the message is fervent and worshipful, proclaiming praise to the name of Jesus, the Lamb of God.
Jeremie has been learning to do the projection, and is doing very well. IT is quite an art to stay with the leader when they do not follow a preset pattern but repeat a verse or chorus as they feel led. I have often wondered how a projectionist can stay on track.
Paul preached today, and interpreted for himself from French into Bambarra and back again. If we could have understood either Bambara or French we could have gotten a good message, I am sure. As it is, we catch a few words, and Paul is gracious to tell us in advance what scripture he is preacing from so that we can read that in our English Bible, at least. We have also been given a Bambara Bible, and we use that for evening family meetings. More on that later.
After the service today there was a Birthday Celebration-- 3 lovely ladies were celebrating Birthdays here this week. Claudia Wintoch, whom you already know, little Sarata (age 6) and Elizabeth, one of our cooks who is a mother and grandmother at age 38.
First there is the bringing in of The Cake. While the birthday gals are turned away so they do not see them, the candles are lit and then the cakes are presented and candles are blown out while the assembled throng sings Happy Birthday. Well, actually this week there were 2 cakes. Claudia knew that with Elizabeth's birthday being celebrated, there would be several extra members of her household added to the usual number of celebrants. One cake would just not be enough, so I baked a banana bread cake (ask me about that sometime)as well as the chocolate cake that Claudia made.
THe cake is cut and consumed, the birthday gals were seated at the head of the table and family members brought their gifts and were rewarded with a bottle of Fanta or Cola. Smaller children bring birthday gifts of a piece of candy that they can buy at the local "boutique", or a mango, or picture they have drawn. Some offered apples, an exotic fruit in this climate. LOL. Adults gave fruit or a specially chosen bottle of nail polish, or a CD or perhaps a piece of money. Claudia received a set of dumbells that she has been wanting for some time. A well thought out gift.
And that is it! THanks are given and then the group scatters. Dinner will be in about 1 hour, rice and a sauce of some type of vegetables cooked into a stew. Sometimes I know what is in it. Sometimes I do not ask!
Til next time, Be blessed and count your many blessings
Mim
Hot & Sunny
Another hot and sunny day on the outskirts of Bamako. THe view out my kitchen window is a hill comprised of a tumbled pile of large red rocks interspersed with a few green shrubs growing from the soil at their base. From time to time you can see someone making their way up a winding path to its top, or doing some sort of work at the brim. A few stuctures are beginning to be built on its side-- where they said that no one was allowed to build-- apparently that has changed. Yesterday there was a loud blast that came from the direction of one of those precarious building sites. A large blue truck backed out from the edge of the plateau at the top and made its way down the path to another high building site, partially hidden behind one of the larger outcrops. White grafiitti scrawls across its surface, bold against its red-brown face.
The day started with a haze and some considerable wind, which throws the sand and grit against the hard surfaces of the house walls and roof with a scratching sound. We attempt to quickly shut the windows so as to keep out most of the dirt, but a fine reddish powder still finds it's way thru the cracks under the door or between the window and its sill where there is a gap. The floor, which I washed one afternoon is gritty again by the next day and everywhere the surfaces need to be wiped clean before any food preparatiosn are done.
Tha might sound like a problem, but when I look down from that same kitchen window into the walled yard of my neighbor, I see a multitude of things for which to be thankful.
My spacious apartment is up on the second floor and has a smooth tile floor and walls that WILL wipe clean. I have ample water that flows from a tap in the wall-- not one place but THREE. THere is clean running water at my kitchen sink, bathroom sink and wall hung shower bath. There is an additional faucet that is mounted beside the kitchen sink that dispenses filtered water that I can safely drink. It is often warmer than I would like, but it is clean and potable and always available without my having to go some distance and bring it back to my home in a container on my head or the back of a donkey cart.
What else can I be thankful for? I will share a few now, and will doubtless see many more that I can add to the list as time goes by. I have screens on my window to keep out pesky flies-- in fact, I HAVE windows--AND a door-- that close securely, inside a walled compound with a guard on duty 24/7. I have all the water that I want to use, so I can (and do) shower more than once a day if I like. THAT is refreshing, I can tell you!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Catching up
Today I am going to try to post some thoughts from earlier this wek-- and last. Stay tuned
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
First impressions
The Healing 2 the Nations base here in Yirmadio is a 3/4 acres plot that is rugged and rocky, a skinny right trianle of ground sloping down from the base of a hill to it's north. A stuccoed concrete block wall surrounds it giving a measure of security and privacy. THe neighborhood is rapidly fillingn in around us and homes are even being built on the side of that rocky hill, in places that you would not think of building.
There is a dirt road, rough and potholed, that leads off of NR6, a paved main road into Bamako from here. Pot-holed dirt streets lead off of that path as well, and one has to wind left and right between houses and partially constructed walls, around corners and between people to get here. Once we are in sight of the base the driver toots the horn so that the guard knows to swing wide the gate for our entry. Where we leave the main road to head up toward our base there is a busy market. A plethora of produce stands, general merchandise booths, sellers of pots and pans, hair decorations,and spices vie for space with fish vendors and open air butchers. Early morning shoppers get the best selection of course, and by mid afternoon many stands have closed for the day. Twice now I have "ambulated" with Fanta (one of our cooks)down to that market before 8am, carrying our goods home--hers in a bucket balanced on her head, mine in my red Hale Real Estate shopping bag slung over my shoulder.
I must go now and work with Joseph-- he is helping me to learnBambara and French as I help him improve his math and learn English. A good exchange!
There is a dirt road, rough and potholed, that leads off of NR6, a paved main road into Bamako from here. Pot-holed dirt streets lead off of that path as well, and one has to wind left and right between houses and partially constructed walls, around corners and between people to get here. Once we are in sight of the base the driver toots the horn so that the guard knows to swing wide the gate for our entry. Where we leave the main road to head up toward our base there is a busy market. A plethora of produce stands, general merchandise booths, sellers of pots and pans, hair decorations,and spices vie for space with fish vendors and open air butchers. Early morning shoppers get the best selection of course, and by mid afternoon many stands have closed for the day. Twice now I have "ambulated" with Fanta (one of our cooks)down to that market before 8am, carrying our goods home--hers in a bucket balanced on her head, mine in my red Hale Real Estate shopping bag slung over my shoulder.
I must go now and work with Joseph-- he is helping me to learnBambara and French as I help him improve his math and learn English. A good exchange!
Getting Started
Thanks to Patty Bunn at Jalex Real Estate Services in SHippensburg, I now have a blog!
Thanks Patty!
We have arrived in Mali and are getting settled. The 2nd floor apartment we have here at Healing2theNations is a lovely 3 rooms and bath space, with clean almost white walls and tile countertops. The second floor location gives us a little more privacy and that is nice too. One thing that we did not have are many shelves, cabinets, etc to store our belongings, so that is taking a bit of time to get organized. Hopefully we will be getting the shelving that we ordered from a Malian Cabinetmaker sometime today.
We arrived at the Bamako Airport to a warm 80+ degrees at just after midnight on Wed MAy 5.
While the temps have stayed consistantly hot, we have adjusted much better than we could even imagine-- thanks for al your prayers. THis past sunday was probably our coolest day thus far, following an early morning rain storm, and the low temp dipped into the 70's in the predawn hours (I think-- we need to get a more reliable thermometer than the one candy thermometer that I brought along).
Thanks Patty!
We have arrived in Mali and are getting settled. The 2nd floor apartment we have here at Healing2theNations is a lovely 3 rooms and bath space, with clean almost white walls and tile countertops. The second floor location gives us a little more privacy and that is nice too. One thing that we did not have are many shelves, cabinets, etc to store our belongings, so that is taking a bit of time to get organized. Hopefully we will be getting the shelving that we ordered from a Malian Cabinetmaker sometime today.
We arrived at the Bamako Airport to a warm 80+ degrees at just after midnight on Wed MAy 5.
While the temps have stayed consistantly hot, we have adjusted much better than we could even imagine-- thanks for al your prayers. THis past sunday was probably our coolest day thus far, following an early morning rain storm, and the low temp dipped into the 70's in the predawn hours (I think-- we need to get a more reliable thermometer than the one candy thermometer that I brought along).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)