The day dawns bright and clear, with only a few puffy white clouds sailing high like full masted schooners on a clear blue sea. Bright sun and clear skies are not a given in Mali's rainy season, so we are thankful for that provision for our special excursion today.
Sunday's special breakfast of “nbuuru”(baguettes or french bread) and hot cocoa is on the menu today, as opposed to the regular weekday breakfast of millet porridge, of one kind or another. Contrary to the usual pattern of sitting around a bowl and eating out of it together, Sundays are different. After morning devotions are finished, a kind of organized may-hem reigns around the table as some of the boys tear the 8-10 loaves of bread for individual portions and others begin to make hot drink. A large kitchen knife has been used to open the can of sweetened condensed milk and it passes from hand to hand as they pour some into their plastic mugs. A container of Nestle's Quik equivalent is grabbed by first one and then another for the couple of spoonfuls of chocolate powder that will make each a cup of cocoa. Using an empty cup, boys begin dipping the water from the large bowl of almost boiling water that has been set in the middle of the table and then pour it back and forth between cups to “stir” it and dissolve the sweet, sticky milk syrup that clings to the cup bottom, before taking their bread and moving away to eat their breakfast.
Depending on the preciseness of the bread-tearer, there is a quick jostling and grabbing to get the larger 'halves' (a “half” loaf for each “big” boy, and “half of a half” for the 4 littlest ones.) It has been very telling to see who takes care to get for themselves, and who looks out for the little ones while getting their own breakfast. There are one or two who seem to always be the first to take their portions, and one or two others who can be counted on to help the littlest members of the family, and the rest fall somewhere in between. Paul, our Malian second-in-command, is an unusually servant-hearted leader, and provides a good model of manhood for them to see and emulate, if they will.
Julie and I requested to have our breakfast upstairs so that we could complete the job of assembling supplies for the special hike and cookout on the 'mountain' that was planned for the 7 oldest boys. “Let's see! Army rations, bananas, bread, firewood, matches, kettle, tea pots, water....” The boys had been told of the upcoming event early in the week, with a few of the details, and I was surprised to hear that not all of them wanted to go. I thought that it must be a communication issue, but when Claudia announced that anyone who stayed home would finish everyone else's laundry while we were gone-- there was quick turnaround, and no further explanation was needed. :)) We had told them that we would make a fire to heat the food and make tea-- and by this morning there was a mounting anticipation and they were ready to go, backpacks in place, before our preparations were completed. (I expect that all you parents who have prepared for an outing or vacation understands that phenomenom.)
Our band of nine, Ray & I and 7 boys aged 11-18, started from our base at 9:30am. On the way out of our neighborhood, several ran ahead and stopped at the home of Rosalie and Dami, our non-resident cook and day guard couple, to tell where we were going-- bragging rights, you understand. Before we got to the top of the ridge we had picked up two tag-a-longs, Dami and Rosalie's son, Daouda, and a friend followed us and made a day of it with us. Shouldn't have been a surprise to me but meant that the food had to stretch a little further. :) Ray asked me to lead the way so as to set the pace, and I did for a while, claiming my option to take a breather part way up the first steep hill. I soon dropped back as eager feet went ahead, and took advantage of the opportunity to share my camera with 15 year old Karim, who took some really good pictures — some of which I have posted.
Up over the rock face of the ridge immediately behind the base, along the rock strewn flat, across a stream of water spilling over huge, flat rocks of rusty red, up another rocky incline and thru brushy scrub. (Do you get the theme of 'rocks' here??) Ray, as lead “hunter”, carried a stout stick to beat back the tall grass and encroaching branches and, hopefully, discourage any snakes from making our intimate acquaintance (with great success I might add. 'Nary a creepy-crawly was seen the whole day.) There were soon a couple more sticks pressed into duty as rifles or snake chasers as we moved on, and the scent of the plentiful "mosquito plant"(citronella) surrounded us. 
We came unexpectedly on a simple track that ran along the top of that ridge, and chose to follow it north and east before cutting up thru a large field of grass, chest high in places, to yet another ridge. My photo buddy, Karim, was one of the young men who took particular care of this 'kooroba' grandmother. At one point I noticed that he was taking extra effort to step the grass down to both sides so that I could see, and wouldn't stumble over, the frequent fist sized rocks that could be serious ankle twisters, hidden as they were in this thick grass. Further on, he got down and moved forward swiftly on all 4s, smoothly plaiting handfulls of grass into a flat rope on the ground under him, announcing as he did so “path-marker”. Obviously, he had done that before! Ray warned me to try to avoid grass cuts from this swaying field of green that reached almost to my neck, and said that when Christian Spindler introduced him to this terrain back in early May, it was just a rocky field, bare and forlorn looking. If I understand correctly, it can reach well over our heads before the rainy season evaporates in October's heat.
What a delightful day we had! God provided the canvas of grass and flowers, rocky ridges and cliff-like 
bluffs that yielded panoramic views of the Niger River- all under a sunny, rain-free sky. We peopled it with energetic 'hunters' (“Lion...monkey”) who were on an adventure. The boys were a delight to watch as they put into practice skills that I didn't know they had. (D-U-H-H, Mimi! These ARE native African BOYS. They grew up in villages and have been on the streets of the city. Of course they know how to cope and make do!) As soon as we chose a spot to make lunch they scattered and brought back an assortment of branches to construct simple, effective shelters to shade us from that same bright, noonday, African sun,...and had a grand time doing it, too. Army rations and accompaniments were parceled out to 9 hungry boys, Kings and warriors as the mood struck them. Kings Darius and Daniel, David and Solomon (from Bible stories thay have studied) ate chunks of bread, grilled beef patties and bananas. Mighty lion hunter, with stick rifle, detected and shot at a lion that lurked in a brushy spot as we trekked past. 'Massake Darius', resting in the shade of an overhanging bush while his 'subjects' scurried about making additional shelters, got out his books and did some studying while waiting for tea. (The tea maker, Flo, got special privileges-- getting to use the rice bag that had served as our buffet table for shade, since fire, and hence the tea, was in open sun.) Amadou was the first to discover a tree that had enticing branches to climb and peer out above. Several others soon joined him and Ray wondered how many boys that small tree could hold before they would all tumble headlong to the ground. As it happened they scrambled up and down a few times over the next hour or so that we camped there, and no one seemed the worse for wear, except perhaps the poor tree. The water that we took along turned out to be inadequate for the tasks assigned to it, but we all survived.
We returned home to the sound of a chanting call, apparently well known as the reply came back strong and clear from the line of marchers ahead. Later, a worshipful song of praise erupted from the trailing warrior. I started taking video of the trekkers ahead, so as to capture the song without scaring off the camera-shy singer.
What a good day we had!! Thank you God! Bridges built and relationships stengthened. Perhaps we can so such an excursion again- but next time we will be sure to take more food AND more water.
