|
|
Mali Time / Temp |
Previous
Updates
07.13.01
In Christ, John & Adam Updates 03.25.01-04.12.01
In Christ,
There is a young girl named Brigget that had a tumor on the side of her face that was almost as big as her head. It had grown so big that it went from the top of her head down into her neck. It was actually cutting off her airflow and she could hardly breath. But today she is in recovery and a completely new person.
Please pray for the staff and the patients that are on the ship. There are local Christians that work as translators and also as disciplers of the patients. Pray that the Lord will open the hearts of the people whose lives are touched. In Christ, John
The problem is that if a fire started and burned
through the sheet metal duct work, it could then move through that duct
work into other parts of the ship. The most dangerous areas would be the
stairwells which would restrict people from getting off the ship. We have
been installing fire dampers in the duct work. If a fire is detected, they
will close and prevent the spread of a fire. These dampers are all installed
in the walls of the stairwells, wherever the duct work is passing though.
I don't know if this make much sense to anyone, but I hope so. Most of If the work does pass inspection, there is plenty more to do. By each one of these fire dampers there is a hole in the ceiling that was cut in order for us to get access to them. So there is a lot of carpentry work as well as many other welding projects that need to be finished. I can see that there is definitely no shortage of work here! I also wanted to share a little about the guys I have been working with. The welding crew consists of five men. Ngugi and Simon are both from Kenya, Ballan is from India, Reuben from Ghana, and Ben and I are from the States. As you can see, we are a very different bunch, but we have had a lot of fun working. I have found really good friends in Reuben and Simon, and we have had a lot of fun. The population on the ship is also very diverse. The people I have met working on the ship come from over sixteen different countries. I do want to ask that you would take some time and pray for Reuben. He is a very exceptional young man. He is from Ghana, another developing country, but he speaks very good English and is very talented in many areas. He is a very good welder, Mason and carpenter. He also does electrical work. He is someone that would be very effective on the mission field. But because of where he is from, he doesn't have the money to do mission work, nor can his church support what he does. I had a very good talk with him yesterday, and he said he is just going to trust God. The ship would like him to stay on and sail with them to Spain where they will be in dry dock for repairs for six weeks. But he would then have to get a plane ticket home, and he doesn't have the money for that. So please pray that the Lord with direct him. Lord willing, over Easter weekend I will be traveling to Ghana with him to celebrate Easter with his church and family. Thanks for your prayers. In Christ, John
Updates 03.14.01 - 03.24.01: Benin or Bust! 03.24.01
This just in................... Hi Everyone! I just wanted to let you know I have arrived in Benin. I had a good flight down here with little trouble. I was afraid my bag had been lost. They said all the bags were off the plane and mine was not there so I was with the police filling out a declaration when a guy came walking up with it. It took so long to go through all that, that I was the last one in the airport (its about the size of the Pipestone airport). Anyway, when I finally got out past security there was no one waiting for me. They had already come and gone figuring I must have not made the flight for some reason. Fortunately, I had the phone number for the people who were to pick me up. I made a call and they were there in ten minutes to get me. It was really so much fun driving into the port and up to the ship. You know, I have wanted to do something like this for such a long time. I was so full of excitement walking up the gangplank. Unfortunately, I will never leave port on this ship, but such is life! Maybe another time, but at least for now, it is a great experience! Life on a ship will be very interesting. I don't even think a road map would help one find his way around. Good thing I have my GPS (Global Positioning System)! I also have to remember to pick my feet up as I walk through doorways as most of them have steps. Everything is small. I thought college dorms were packed! These rooms are even smaller and there are three people to a room, at least there are three people in my room! I'm rooming with a Brit named Jon and an American named Kevin. He is from Maryland and is engaged to a British girl he met here on the ship. Since I was the last one to arrive, I of course have the top bunk where it is impossible to sit up without hitting your headó believe me, I've tried several times. I arrived on a good day. It is Friday and I don't start work until Monday so I should have plenty of time to get used to things here. There is a weight room in the next room over from mine. I like that. I went tonight and lifted weights and rode a stationary bike. It will be nice to be able to do that. Oh, and yes, I'm on the coast and there are waves here, and guess what? The ship even has a surf board that I can use for free! Now I just need to find a surfing buddy! I wish Cam was here. The climate is not bad at all. It is humid but nowhere near as hot as Mali. The ship is air conditioned so I'm not going to complain at all, unless I complain that things are too cold. It was 75 in my room, and I'm used to 95. I was also told that if I would like to, I can travel to a school they have set up for orphans and teach them to weld. That would really be fun! I'm so thankful for this opportunity and so glad I can be here. It doesn't cost me anything to use the e-mail service here as long as I don't print out e-mails, so you can get into contact with me. At this point I will have to go to an internet cafe to send pictures, that is, if I can even find one where I can use my own computer. I look forward to hearing from you! In Him, John Editors note: John will be in Benin for the next month, doing welding as they replace the ventilation system of the ship. The Mercy Ship is a floating hospital, complete with surgical facilities. They provide all kinds of medical care for the poor in the ports where they ministry, and then are also able to share Christ with people. Check out their web site at MercyShips.org. The work they are doing is fascinating! The ship he is on is called the Anastasis. Johnís new e-mail address is Blosser@dtspost.com.
03.20.01 I am back in Bamako for the day. In a little while I'll be leaving for my last trip down to Mana. On Friday morning I will be flying out for Benin and start the second part of this trip. I will definitely miss my time here, and the friends I've made. This trip has been filled with pure joy for me. I've been able to see a lot accomplished for the Lord and I'm so thankful that He has allowed me to be a part of His work here. I have been spending the past week working on another building down by the school we built. As I mentioned before, we had some supplies left over so we built a small office for the teacher that will be working at the school. They are currently looking for a teacher for the school. Please pray that the right person would be found. Hopefully, there will be two teachers. They plan to start classes in September. I also wanted to update you on the pump in Tinkele. If you remember, I sent a letter about going to church there and agreeing to work on the broken pump. We brought the pump into Bamako and bought the parts, put them in, and sent the pump back out to Tinkele. We decided to go to church out there on Sunday to make sure all was working. We also bought 60 meters of plastic water pipe to give to the pastor. His garden is 60 meters from the pump and it is a lot of work to pump and carry all the water there. So we went out there, and saw that they had the pump working very well. We set up a pipeline for him, so now he just has to pump and the water runs right to his house. He was very thankful for what we did. I have to tell you something funny though. On our previous trip out there, Musa asked John Sittner it he would be able to help him get some pipe in order to do this and John said he would think about it. After we had visited a little with Musa on this trip, John told me in English to go and get the pipe out of the truck. While I was gone the pastor asked John if he had thought anymore about the pipe. John, knowing I was coming with it any minute, said, ìNo, I forgot all about it. Letís pray and ask God to provide the pipe.î So John prayed and just as he finished I walked around the corner. It was pretty funny. Musa and his wife were very happy. When we hooked it up and started pumping to see if it worked, I was surprised to see the reaction of Elizabeth, Musa's wife. As soon as the water started to run out on the ground in the yard she went and grabbed some buckets and started watering. She didn't want to see any of the water go to waste. It is such a precious commodity here in Mali.
In Christ, John
03.14.01 Hello Again! I'm finally back in town. I have actually been here a few days but I have been tired enough that I put off writing. But tonight I thought I might as well let you know what I have been up to. As you may already know, I will be heading down to Benin on the 23rd of this month. It is a country to the southeast of Mali, right on the Atlantic coast. I will be spending one month there working for a mission organization called Mercy Ships. I will be spending my time doing some welding on the ventilation system of the ship. So, I only have about a week left here in Bamako, and I've got it full of things to do. When I was back in Mana, John Sittner and I were working on building an office which will be used by the teacher of the new school we built. We spent the last few days down there welding up the trusses for the roof and getting the foundation all squared away. We had a couple of masons working on laying the block and they should be finished soon. So, I will have to make one more trip to Mana to get the roof on that building. All this week I have been working on a new project. There was a need for a storage room for some of the missionaries to store things while they are gone on furlough back to the States. I started on Friday, putting the foundation in. I am working with a group of believers from the area. We will have the foundation finished soon and then I will work on welding up the trusses for the the building. I went down to the market to buy the metal for the trusses today and I had such an interesting time that I just have to share it with you. Buying anything in this country is, in and of itself, a dayís work, but I won't get into all that. I went down to the area where all the angle iron is sold. After finding a friend of mine that works there and negotiating a price, I purchased the metal I needed. Then I had to get it transported. The store room we are building is out in a suburb and the metal was purchased down town. So, I went around the corner to hire someone to transport this metal for me. There are these guys that own old beat-up trucks and they get jobs hauling stuff from here to there all over the city. So I scouted around looking for the nicest looking truck, thinking that it would be the most reliable. In case you are wondering about the moral of this story, the moral is that looks are deceiving! Right away, I spotted this very nice looking truck that didn't have a scratch on it. After talking to the driver and negotiating the price, they started to load the metal. The plan was that I would ride out with them and show them where to unload. So we all hopped in the truck, and of course, that was the first time that I had looked in the truck, and well, it was not what I expected. When I stepped into it, I had to be careful where I stepped so that I wouldn't put my foot into one of the foot sized holes in the floor. Then, when I was ready to sit in the center of the bench seat, I realized there was no seat. It was just the springs with some cloth spread across the top. The door panels were all gone; there were no side windows or back windows; there were no door handles on the inside; there was part of a dash with half the instruments missing, and what was there I saw later didn't work. When the driver sat down he reached up under the dash and pulled out a ball of wires. He then proceeded to give me a lesson in hot-wiring a car. There is really not that much to it! Once we got it running, which was not an easy task, we started down the road. Our first stop was the gas station where we filled our tank with 500 francs of gas which is roughly about 65 cents worth, which doesnít even buy a liter of gas; we bought about a quart. I asked why he put so little in, he said he had a hole in the gas tank. Surprise, surprise! I replied with, "Boy, this is sure a nice paint job." I was finally learning my lesson. But there was more to learn. Next, he opened the hood to reveal the parts that were rubber-banded together and cause the truck to somehow run. The radiator was held in place with long pieces of plastic cut from old tire innertubes. It had no cap. Of course, I had to ask why. And of course, the answer was, ìIt has a hole in it, and I have to stop and fill it so often that it is just easier to leave it off.î Then I noticed that there was no air filter and the entire top of the carburetor was gone. In its place there were pieces of a plastic oil can cut apart with hoses and wires running in and out through little holes cut in the side. How the thing ran, is beyond me. So after gassing up and filling the radiator, we were off again. We got on the highway and gradually worked our way up to our cruising speed, which I estimate was 25-30 miles an hour. Of course, the speedometer didn't work, but guys on bicycles were passing us. So we drove about four of the seven kilometers to our destination and stopped once more to fill that radiator. I was glad of that. It gave me a minute to get out and cool my feet. You see, believe it or not, there were holes in the front firewall between the engine and the cab and the hot air from the engine and the exhaust came blowing in over my feet, making them quite hot. Yes, I said the exhaust. It didn't have a hole in it... it was just plain gone. But we were off again! As we neared our destination, the driver started taking side streets. When I inquired why, he explained that he was avoiding the police stop. You see, he had no license, no insurance, and no registration for his nicely painted truck, so getting stopped would cost him quite a bit. But all his back roads paid off and we reached our destination with no other troubles. As we were saying goodbye, he told me that whenever I need something moved, he was my man. He said he didn't work just in town, he would drive anywhere! The thought that came to my mind was, ìWonderful, as long as I get you started about a week before I want you to arrive!î But that is okay, because this is Mali and that is how things get done! Well, I'll be in touch. Thanks for all your prayers and support. In Christ, John
Update 03.11.01 Greetings,
I was in Bamako yesterday, walking around the market. It was packed with people, all of them in a very festive mood. It was rather sad for me because they were all so happy because they believe they are doing what is right. They believe that the blood of a sheep will cover their sins and right their wrongs. And of course, it would, if that sheep was the perfect Lamb, Jesus. But their faith is not in Christ. Please pray for the Malians and the Muslims around the world. Pray that their eyes might be opened and that they might see that the blood of a thousand sheep could never cover their sins. Pray that they would see the need to put their trust in Christ, and let Him cover their sins. In Christ,
Update 03.06.01
The first thing we did in Mana was spend three days putting in a foundation for a teacherís office which will be built next to the new school building. The school we built with the Denver team is actually in Ouelessebougou, a town about five clicks from Mana. After that foundation was in place, we went to work on putting in a foundation for a new dormitory that will be built in Mana. I think I have already mentioned that the Bible school is very over crowded, so it will be a great blessing to get this new dorm built. Most of the construction work will be done by a team that is coming from Toronto in July. John Sittner and I will be returning to help out with the team, but we wanted to get the foundation in and the first row or so of bricks up so that things will be underway when the team arrives. John Sittner and I were not planning on coming into town, but in the case of building, you tend to spend a lot of moneyó and in our case we spent all of it. We ended up getting a deal on cement so we bought fifty bags, and then we had to buy some other building supplies and we had to pay our workers and we found ourselves sitting in Mana with the equivalent of two dollars in change. So, we figured it was time for a quick trip to Bamako in order to get some more money and check e-mails. John's been away form his family for quite some time now, so it is always nice for him to come into town and get e-mails from them.
We also came into town for another reason, and to explain that, I have to go back to Saturday. On Saturday afternoon, Pastor Musa, a pastor from a small village about 30 minutes from Mana came to see us. He had with him some broken parts to a water pump that is in his village. We had been to church there a few weeks before, and he had mentioned that there were several pumps in the village that were broken and it was making it really hard for people to get water. We asked a few questions trying to find out if there was anything we could do to help. As a result of our questions, Pastor Musa came and asked us if we could help with the pump. The pastors in Mali that live out in the Bush villages are not paid. They are given a little by the church, but they are expected to farm and make a living on their own in addition to pastoring. Musa is a very industrious pastor and put in about a one acre garden. It looked wonderful the last time we were there. He had manga trees and mangos, cabbage and bananas and all sorts of stuff to sell. But when he came to us on Saturday, he explained that his personal well (just a hand dug well about 20 meters deep) had gone dry and he no longer had any water for his garden, and the garden was starting to dry up. So John and I conferred and decided that we would do all we could to fix the pump in the village. We saw that it was very important for Musa to have water and felt it would be a great testimony for the rest of the people in the village. So, we said we would attend church in his town on Sunday, inspect the pump and head to Bamako to get the necessary parts. If you work at the Mana Bible School, it doesn't take long for news to travel and before we knew it, all the students knew we were going to church in Pastor Musaís church in Tingele. And if you are a student at Mana, you don't get to go places too often so when the students heard that we were going to Tingle, they all started to come and ask if they could ride along. Now, it is customary that anytime one of the missionaries goes to church in another village, they take along two of the Bible School studentsó one to lead the music in the church and the other to preach. So it is always nice for the pastors to see us coming because they know they don't have to preach that morning. Anyway, John went to Appolos, the Bible school director, and said he could take three student along, thinking three students plus he and I would be five in the truck, and that is just the right number since John drives a Toyota Land Cruiser. So on Sunday morning, Eve Barkman, another missionary working at Mana, said she would like to come along as well. We thought, sure one of us can ride in the back, no big deal. Then when the students arrived, there were four of them instead of three so we said, "Oh well," and all crammed into the car. The road to Tingele is actually very good, and has pavement most of the way so the ride was not bad at all.Ý
So, we figured we might as well go look at the pump now, rather than wait until after church. We went off and looked at the pump and concluded that it needed all new leathers in the pumping part, and that a new bushing and some welding would fix the rest of it. We loaded up the stuff we needed and headed back to church. There were now six adults, and four of them had arrived with us. So we all sat down to wait. The students did some arguing deciding who would do what. It was finally decided that Jeremy would take the liberty of getting everyone seated just right, Andre would lead the worship and Joel could give the message. But it all started with Jeremy and getting everyone seated. As time passed and more people came, it was clear that things were going to get tight. All in all, there were probably about 35 people present and getting them all under a grass shelter out of the sun is not an easy task. Jeremy sent a couple of guys to get empty grain sacks to tie on one end of the gwa to block the sun. He then started reseating people. He sent the kids all up front, and then had people move benches, chairs and stools in order to maximize the seating capabilities. Now, in Mali, something
you never want to ever do is have a nicer seat than someone that is older
then you, especially in church. Respect is given to age and gray hair,
especially in church. So, Jeremy was making it clear to the kids who were
sitting on the benches that they needed to move to the ground. Then he
had all the kids move on to a mat off to the side and personally told each
one (there were about 25 of them), just where to sit. It was very clear
he had great organizational skills, because by 10:15 everyone was happy
with their seats and they were all out of then sun. So with the seating
taken care of, it was time to move on to the worship. But, first the drums
had to be looked after. They were rather old which means the goat skins
are stretched so they had to be heated up by placing them over a fire in
order to shrink the skins until the drum gave off the right beat. Watching
them turn the drums over a big fire is what I refer to as "warming up the
band." With the drums taken care of, it was time to move to the sound system
which started to arrive in parts on the back of bikes. Now, even though
we were meeting in a 10x10 area, it was still very important to ensure
that everyone could clearly hear what was going on. Church was very nice, with worship songs and prayer time. Then the kids head off to have their own worship service, led by the pastorís wife, and we had a sermon from one of the students.Ý After church, of course we couldn't leave without having a meal with the church people and since they already knew we were coming, they had it all ready for us! It was a wonderful meal of BEANS!!! Yes, beans, boiled in an oil that comes from the ground nut of a the si tree. The oil is one of the most foul smells in Mali. Yes, beans, smothered in oil and onions, What could be tastier? Well, I can think a quite a few things, but when in Mali, do like the Malians. We all crowded around the large bowl of what looked like halfway refried beans and dug in with our right hands. At times like this, I'm very thankful that I can speak Bambara, because if one is careful, he can casually eat next to nothing by spending his time talking about everything from how tasty the beans are, to "look at how many John Sittner is eating."Ý So, in that manner, I avoided as much of the meal as I could. Finally, with the meal out of the way it was time to head for home and, of course, there are always extra riders. There were nine of us on the way home. And that my friends, in a typical church service in rural Africa. I hope you remember in prayer the many pastors around the country, just like Pastor Musa, who are striving to provide for their families as well as to spread the Gospel to the lost. And, of course, please don't forget the missionaries who sacrifice roast beef and potatoes for Sunday dinner to sit and eat beans with the Malian believers. Well, I'm off to Mana to fix a pump and finish a dorm foundation. In Christ,
Update 03.01.01
I spent this week installing electrical wires. We have new wires running to all of the campus buildings and we have also re-located the generator to a more central location. The students did a lot of the work this week. They dug trenches and buried conduit; they are such hard working people. One thing we did find out as we worked on the wiring is that the generator is in need of repairs. It is a very old diesel generator that has been here longer then I have been alive. It is really too small for the job, especially with more dorms being built this summer. The old generator is just not big enough to meet the needs of the school. This year there were so many students, that they have the single students living in classrooms and also in an older building that we are planning to take down this summer because it is structurally unstable. I feel the Lord has really laid the need for a new generator on my heart. We will be looking into what it will cost to have a new generator shipped from either England or the States. We started a fund for a new generator, and I hope you will be in prayer that the Lord would provide for this need. If you feel led to give financially, please send your contributions to Faith Community Church and mark them for the Mana Generator project. The mailing address is 207 6th Ave. SW, Pipestone, MN 56164.
One of these student pastors is a Bozo himself. His name is Adam Sineta. The other student pastor that will be working with the Bozo tribe is Andre Togo. He is a member of the Dogon tribe. The Dogon and the Bozo have very good relationships, and as a result, it is much easier for a Dogon to work among the Bozo than for someone from another tribe to reach them. Please be in prayer for these men and the Bozo people.
In Christ,
02.21.01
We came in to Bamako today
and on the way the truck we were in overheated. We were able to make it
into Bamako okay, but we determined that the water pump went out. So, I'm
leaving again at 5:00 am to head back to Mana to get a new water pump that
is out there. Please pray for my safety traveling I also wanted to share
that we got the roof on the Dialakoroji church. That was the first building
project I was on. In Christ,
Update 02.10.01
Well, I know it has been
a long time since I have last written, and most of you probably think I've
fallen off the face of the earth! But such is not the case. I'm doing very
well. I am back in Bamako for just a few days and then I will be returning
to Mana for about a week or so.
We were so thankful that the Lord was watching out for us throughout the work experience. There was one injury that I ask you to be in prayer about. John Sittner, the missionary that organized this team, slipped and fell at the work side and landed on a large rock that jabbed into his side. No ribs were broken but he is definitely in a lot of pain. Please pray for his continued recovery. We were thankful the injury was not worse. It has been clear that God has been watching over us. We killed snakes three nights in a row. They were spitting cobras, and in all three situations, someone could have easily been bitten. But God is always faithful. On Sunday after church, I took a few of the team guys to town to pick up other guys. I was driving an old Peugeot truck like the one I drove last time I was here. As we were getting ready to leave, I asked one of the guys if he wanted to drive home. We were giving all the guys the opportunity to drive, and this would be the last chance to do so. Juell willingly agreed. As we were coming up to the turn off to the school, he wanted to slow down but there were no brakes! I must say, he had quite a look on his face. He and I were in the front and there were two guys in the back. As we blew past our turnoff and a military police check (thankfully they did not have the road blocks up, which consist of some old 55 gallon barrels), told Juell to try to down shift to slow us down and then we would pull the emergency brake. Of course, by this time the guys in the back were wondering where we were going and pointed out that we had gone right past our turn. But as they looked through the back window they realized something was really wrong when I pulled the emergency brake and NOTHING happened. But then, what would you expect? This is Mali. So there we were sailing along. We had slowed down quite a bit and were just coasting, but we were coasting downhill. My next brilliant idea was to open the doors and drag our feet until the truck stopped. Thankfully that worked, although it is rather hard to do in flip-flops, the shoe of the third-world, which I too have adopted. I was wearing a new pair which are definitely broken in now. Another funny thing happened with the work team. They were checking in at the airport offices, waiting in line with all of their luggage outside the offices. Joe, the team leader, was dragging his luggage along a small brick ledge. Just as he was getting to the door and coming to the end of the edge, he broke the last brick loose which happened to be the home of a million and one big red ants, which were not very happy with the situation. They started heading off in all directions to take out vengeance for the destruction of their home. They climbed on everyone's luggage and most of them headed into the offices. This caused quite a stir. People were picking up their bags and shaking them and dropping them hard, trying to get all the ants off. The floor was just crawling. One of the office staff thought he would solve the problem and headed off for supplies. He returned with two large cans of Temor (thatís Malian Raid) and he sprayed everything down with Temoró and everyone. The casualties were very high. Last weekend I had a great time. We were able to go to Selinga, a village on the Sankarani River. Itís populated primarily by the Bozo tribe, a fishing tribe. I went there with the team for the day. We went for a boat ride out on the river in hand-made wooden boats. We were also able to watch them building a boat while we were there. Something I found very interesting, was that they take old flashlight batteries and break them open and take the carbon out, then they make a paste with it and use it to seal off the wood seams in the boats. On the way there, John had a tire blow out. We determined that it takes nine North Americans to change a tire in Mali. Interestingly enough, the tire was a Bridgestone-Firestone! It wasn't on the recall, at least not yet. I also have to share with you the story of my trip to the gunsmith. As most of you know, I'm very interested in guns. I also found that several men on the team shared my interest. So one afternoon, we went to see the gunsmith. We asked him to make two guns for team members before they left. Every couple of days, we would go back and see how the work was going. It was so interesting to watch the progress. The guns were pistol type muzzleloaders? all hand-made. All the metal parts are made from scrap metal. We had fun scrounging through his scrap pile for interesting things. One thing that was found was an old sword blade. Jim, one of the members on the team, decided he wanted it. So after some bartering, we were able to trade one four-dollar multi-plier tool for one very old sword blade, on the condition a new handle would be made. Both parties seemed very happy with the deal. I must tell you though, it is so interesting to watch them work. The quality of the tools they use are inferior to our own, but they are very clever. What they lack in resources they make up in cleverness. We watched the gunsmithís assistant working. He went over and started digging through the scrap pile, and after a while came back with an old piece of re-bar. He started heating it up and pounding away on it, and as we watched, he transformed the re-bar into a rather nice bracelet. The Malians are such resourceful people!
On Monday, we will be putting the roof on the Jalakoroje Church. Thatís the church that the first work team built. I will also be doing some work around the guest houseó broken toilets and such. I also wanted to update you on Samuel Camera. Many of you might remember him. He was a pastor that the Malian church sent out to the Malinke tribe. My home church (Faith Community Church in Pipestone, MN) and I were able to help provide him with a motorcycle to aid in his ministry. I saw him last week, and was able to spend some time talking. He shared with me a little about what is happening in Sibi, the village where he works. A women thatlives in the village became a Christian. As a result, her husband divorced her, which, in this culture, really marks you for life. Samuel spent many hours talking with the husband and counseling him. Eventually, he agreed to take her back and said he would be understanding of her new faith. He has not made a decision for Christ, but is very open. Please pray for Samuel and his wife and their ministry among the Malinke. There is another Malian
missionary that I would also like to tell you about. His name is Jacob
Dembelle. He is a member of the Bambara tribe, and the church has sent
him out as a missionary to the Bozo tribe.The Bozo tribeís main source
of food and income comes from the fishing industry. Jacob was down at Mana
last week speaking to the Pastors and asked for prayer in four areas. First,
that he would continue to learn the language, second, that he and his wife
would be a good testimony for Christ through the way they live their lives,
third, that the Lord would burden his heart with a desire to serve the
Bozo people, and fourth, that the Lord would meet the physical and spiritual
need of he and his wife as they live among the Bozo tribe.
Update 02.08.01 I've been working in Mana for the past couple weeks.
We are
Here's an interesting note for anyone who
might want to get involved in the work of the Bible school here. The Bible
school trains the pastors for the churches in Mali. There are some students
that don't have the money they need for school. It costs about $30 or $40
dollars for one pastor's tuition to be paid. Anyone who would be interested
in sponsoring a pastor can contact me for more information. Just drop me
an e-mail, and I'll get back to you when I am in Bamako again.
Update 01.20.01
On Saturday, A.J. and I traveled to Mana, the location of the Pastor's Bible School. We were making preparations for the arrival of a work team which arrived today. We will be building a school building in Mana (Above is a picture of the foundation of the two-room school we are starting. The Malian Christians that are helping us are pictured here as well.) This will be something new for Mali; it is going to be a privately-run public school. The educational system is Mali is very poorly run. It is not uncommon for it to take a child 2 or 3 years to complete one grade. Lack of teachers, striking teachers, and lack of school buildings are all hindering the education of the youth of Mali. There was also a desire to start teaching Christianity to the 2nd and 3rd generation Christians. The church doesn't have Awana or other youth programs, so children are limited to Sunday School as their only source of discipleship. This new school, the first of its kind in Mali, will be staffed with Christians that will spend time each day teaching Christianity. Tuition will be charged to pay the teachers salary, but it will not be an overwhelming amount. We believe this is the next step to ensuring the future of the church, by properly educating and discipling the next generation. If all goes according to plan, the first classes will start this fall. At the start, only first grade will be taught and then each year another grade will be added until they are up to 6th grade. We are building two class rooms at a time so in two years another two class rooms will need to be added, and so on. Its a three-phase building project. Another advantage to this school is that the Muslims believe that Christians can do a good job of educating children, and in doing so, ensure them a good future. So far, several Muslims have said they will send their kids to the school. Even though Christianity will be taught, they know their children will get a good education. What an awesome way to witness to the next generation in Mali! There is a work team of six people that just arrived. We will be working with two other missionaries and then a number of Malian Christians, two of which are masons by trade.
Please be in prayer for
the team's safety while we are here as well as for all those who are working
at the job sight. I hope you will also see the vision we have for the school
and be in
In Christ,
Update 01.20.01
We will also be getting things ready for the next work team. They will arrive on Tuesday, and we will all be heading down to Mana. Itís a town about an hour south of Bamako, where GMU (Gospel Missionary Union) runs a Pastor's school. We will be building a set of class rooms down there. It sure has been fun being back in Mali. I've been loving it. I went to the meat market. What fun! It brought back great memories- walking around through clouds of flys with the sweet smell of rotting meat tickling our sense of smell. Anyway, this all reminds me of what my mother said the day she came home and saw me sitting in the living room carving wood and letting the shavings fall on the carpet. She said, "John, you belong in a third world country."
Update 01.13.01
In Christ,
Above is a picture of A.J. working with some Malians this morning. They were mixing cement for the pillars that support the roof of the church. All the cement is mixed on the ground by hand.
01.11.01
|
Hi
Everyone this is just a quick e-mail to let you all now that Adam and I
have safely arrived in Bamako. On our first flight, the one from Chicago
we had 5 seats for the 2 of us so we had plenty of room to spread out.
Our Second flight was not so good. We were descending for our arrival in
Bamako when we were informed that we would bot be landing in Bamako. They
said do to a problem with eh runway we were going to instead fly
to Burkina Faso where we would wait until we could return to Mali. They
expected it to be a 4 hour lay over. When we got to Burkina 2 other planes
had also been diverted there. The already small airport was over crowded
with people but we were able to find some seats and sip on a Sprite while
we waited. In Burkina we found out a plane that was landing in Bamako earlier
had over shot the runway and was sitting on it sideways. They where going
to have to tow the plane off the runway before another plane could land.
So that is what we were waiting on. Tomorrow we will be leaving early
and take the work team on a sightseeing tour to Segou the 2nd biggest city
in Mali. The Toronto team has been here for several days already and this
will be there first day off. Please pray for our safety as we travel.
Hi
all, Today I went to the Dental Clinic that the ship runs in town. I was
going to mainly observe but also help in any way I could. I spent a good
bit of time sterilizing dental instruments while I was there but when I
was not doing that, I was busy watching. I was able to see the removal
of a tumor the size of a baseball off the back of a ladyís head. I saw
numerous fillings and tooth extractions, and at the end of the day, after
all my observations, I was given the privilege of extracting a tooth myself!
It was quite enjoyable holding a pair of lower molar forceps and grabbing
tooth number 
17,
twisting it in a figure 8 motion, and then extracting it. It almost makes
me want to be a dentist. Things on the ship are going good. I've been moved
to the carpenter department as we have finished up our welding project.
I
just wanted to take a few minutes and tell you a little bit about the Anastasis
and the ministry here. As you already know, the Anastasis is a floating
hospital, one of a fleet of Mercy Ships. But each of these ships meets
different needs. The things that the Anastasis does are reconstructive
surgery from the neck up. They are primarily involved in the removal of
tumors, swollen glands in the throat that can get as large as a football,
noma, as well as fixing burn damage. There are 30 beds in the ward and
they are all filled with people. It is estimated that by the time they
are done here in Benin, after a seven month stay, they will have performed
1,200 surgeries. Many of the people they have treated would have never
survived without this help. There are presently 300 people on board the
Anastasis, and I still haven't met them all!
I
went down to the ward last night and spent time with several of the people
there. Although I can't speak their language, we can still communicate.
I spent two hours playing games with some of the kids. That was a lot of
fun. There is one guy that is from Nigeria and speaks English. He was suffering
from noma when he came to the ship. Itís an infection that starts in the
mouth and spreads. It literally rots the skin. He had a hole in the side
of his mouth and no lips. The surgeons took flaps of skin from around the
hole and stitched them together to recreate a mouth and lips for this young
man. His mouth is currently stitched shut, making it impossible for him
to talk. He has a small slit for a straw through which he eats. But he
is so happy for what has been done for him. We spent a lot of time talkingó
me with my mouth, and him with his hands.
It
is wonderful what these doctors are able to do. There is also a dental
team, and part of the crew from the ship is building a maternity clinic
not far from the port. Other surgeries are preformed as the doctors are
here to do them. There was an eye doctor that came on board the ship for
a while and he preformed cataract surgery while he was here.
I
have been on the Anastasis Mercy Ship for a week know and I thought I should
tell you what I'm doing while here. As most of you know I came to do some
work on the ventilation system of the ship. In order for the insurance
for the ship to be good the ship has to meet with the Solas code. Solas
stands for safety of lives at sea. In order to comply with the the solas
code the ventilation system in the stairwells of the ship had to be reworked.
these
ducts are situated up in the ceiling in hard to reach places, but we have
had a good crew working on them. Two other guys and I finished installing
the last damper yesterday. On Monday, there is an inspector coming to see
if we did a good enough job. If all of our work passes his inspection,
then the project will be done. Please pray that as he surveys the work
he will find it all in acceptable order.
This
is a picture of Musa watering his banana trees. As I said, I will be leaving
on Friday and I do not know what kind of e-mail access I will have. But
please feel free to continue to write me. I will not be able to check this
account as often as I would like, but if you want to make sure an e-mail
gets to me, send it to my parents at 
I'm
writing today because I wanted to ask all of you to be in prayer for the
Malians. Today, is an international holiday for the Muslims. Itís called
Tabaski, a Muslim holiday, that is widely observed here in Mali. To celebrate
Tabaski a Muslim must buy a sheep. Its needs to be a perfect sheep. For
weeks now I have seen sheep being forcefully pulled through the streets
of Bamako. They are paraded around town until theyíre sold to a Muslim
at outrageous prices. The sheep is purchased and taken to the home of the
new owner to wait seventy days after the feast of Ramadan, which is when
Tabaski is celebrated. The head of each household will go to the Mosque
and say his prayers and then will return to his home and sacrifice the
sheep as a covering for the sins of his household. The family will then
feast and celebrate. The Muslims believe that God told Abraham to offer
Ishmael (rather then Isaac, the Christian belief) as a sacrifice. But as
we all know, the Lord then stopped Abraham at the last minute and provided
a ram for the sacrifice, Genesis 22:1-14. Well, the Muslims also believe
this happened to Ishmael, and they sacrifice the sheep in memory of that
and as a covering for their sins for that year.
I'm back in town again after spending a few days out at Mana. So much happens
each day that it is pretty hard for me to keep everything straight. But
since I last talked to you last, I spent a few days in Bamako. We
are building a new storeroom here, and I spent a day drawing strings across
the yard until we got it all lined up in the right place. Then we put a
couple of guys to work digging the foundation and John Sittner (the missionary
in charge of the Mana Bible School) and I headed to Mana again.
To
and Na is the main meal that is eaten in Mali. To is millet that is pounded
into flour and then cooked into a porridge. They let it cool till its the
consistency of finger Jello. When they are eating they will eat from a
common bowl, breaking off a clump of To and dipping it into a gravy made
from ocra. This is a picture of one of the wife of one of the Bible school
students. They stir the to until it is very thick. Below Malians watering
their cows.
Now,
in Mali, church starts at 9:00, so we made a point to wait until 8:45 to
leave Mana because that way we would arrive in Tingele at 9:15, because
in Mali nothing ever starts when it is supposed to. And being North
First
came the car battery to power everything, then came a speaker, followed
by another,
Greetings!
I
wanted to update you all on Samuel Camera. He is a Malian missionary, and
about a year ago, I helped raise money for him so that he could buy a motorbike.
He is working among the Malinke tribe, an unreached people group. There
are just a hand full of Christians, and to the best of my knowledge, there
are currently no churches among the Malinke. When I helped raise money
to buy a motorbike for Samuel, he was trying to work in several different
villages and transportation was a real problem. As a result of the gifts
of God's people, a bike was purchased and given to him. It really opened
up the doors of his ministry. He used the bike to travel to all the surrounding
villages and show the Jesus film. Then he was able to go back and do follow-up
in the villages where he showed the film. The Malinke are very unresponsive
to the Gospel and Samuel really has a hard task in front of him. I recently
saw him, and was able to hear about what he has been doing. He has several
converts. One is a woman whose husband was very opposed to Christianity.
Samuel spent many hours talking with him. He had wanted to divorce his
wife because of her conversion to Christianity, but as a result of Samuel's
counseling, the husband has accepted his wife's conversion and is himself
open to learning more about the Gospel. Please continue to pray for Samuel
and his family. I have learned that it is just as hard for a Malian to
be a missionary as it is for a North American. There are many cultural
differences from tribe to tribe. Working as a missionary with another tribe
where there are no other believers, can be very draining for a missionary
family, so please keep these national missionaries in your
This
is a picture of a Bozo village. The Bozo are the fisherman tribe. They
live along the rivers all over Mali and fish for a living. They are a tribe
that is in great need of prayer. There are currently no churches and very
few believers among the Bozo people. The Lord has opened the door for several
Mission organizations as well as several Malian pastors to work among the
Bozo people. Jacob Dembelle and Phillip Sangara are two pastors that are
currently working with the Bozo. There are also several pastors studying
at the Bible School who plan to work with the Bozo tribe when their schooling
is complete. Please be in prayer for these men and their families as they
work with the Bozo tribe. They are one of the most unreached tribes in
Mali. Missionaries have been trying to work with the Bozo for 12-14 years
now, but there have been no results to the work, and the tribe is very
closed to the Gospel. Please pray that as these new Malian pastors go out
and start working among the Bozo, the people would respond to the call
of God.
This
is a capitaine, one of the varieties of fish that the Bozo tribe catch
and sell. This one weighed in at 100 lbs. They grow to be around 125 lbs.
night
so the students can study in the evenings. Most of the wires were strung
above ground from building to building, and most of them short out quite
often or are falling down. Anyway, we have been working on getting them
all underground. We bought 1100 meters of underground conduit and the students
have been working everyday with picks digging trenches and burying conduit.
It has been great fun working with them.
tomorrow
and also for my health. I've had a terrible sore throat the past few days
and on top of that, we have been experiencing Harmattan. This is
when the wind picks up sand off the Sahara and drops it on the southern
half of the country. It has been really bad the past few days. It looks
like fog but it is sand. On a bad day, you can look at the sun and see
just a red dot in the sky because the dust in the air blocks out so much
of it. Anyway, it makes traveling no fun. It is like breathing gritty air
when you are outside. But, hey I still love it here! The Lord always makes
each day new and exciting.
We
went out the day before yesterday and were able to get the roofing on.
The church is just about finished and the people are really getting excited
about begin able to worship in their new church. They have been meeting
for eight years underneath a grass shelter. At the top of this page is
a picture of the church.
I
took these pictures of camels here in Mali. These people are Bellas. They
were traditionally the slaves of the Toregs. The Toregs are the white or
Arab Africans around Timbuktu. The Bellas traditionally herded animals
for them and were enslaved to them. Now it is customary for them to take
a year or so and just ride camel around the area. They don't work, so they
survive off the generosity of those that will give food and shelter to
them. I saw them along the road on their way into Bamako.
I know it's been a while since you all have heard from me. I just wanted
to send a letter along and update you all on what is happening.
One exciting thing happened while A.J. was here. We got to watch a traditional
dance. There is a Christian radio station in the town where we were building,
and Saturday marked the 4th year they have been on the air. In celebration,
they had traditional dancers. It was very interesting to watch. Unfortunately,
there was no one there to explain what we saw, but I do know it is something
not many North American visitors are fortunate enough to see.
Its
been a week since A.J. and I arrived in Mali. It sure has been a full one,
too. We did quite a bit. Today we set the rafters on the church and welded
them all together. I spent the day swinging like a monkey through the rafters
getting them all welded together and tied down. The work team will
be leaving tomorrow night so they are done working on the church. All we
have left to do is to weld the perlings onto the rafters and then we can
bolt the tin roofing on. A.J. and I will continue to work on that next
week.
Things
are going great today! A.J. and I went out to the work site and worked
with some Malians from the church. The work team took the day off and went
to visit the Bible school. They should be back soon, and I will be
taking them to the market, which is one of my favorite things to do in
Mali! I took A.J. to my favorite restaurant for lunch. I think it's the
only place in the world where you can get beef tenderloin steak for about
five dollars. A.J. did his first bit of bartering and shopping today, buying
a necklace and some post cards. He got a very good price (I wouldn't let
him pay any more that what he did). It's the heat of the day here, which
means nap-time. A.J. is already sleeping, so I think I will do the same.
This
is a picture of A.J. and the Pastor of the church we are building. You
can see that he is so happy that we have come to help with the church.
Hi
everyone! AJ and I are doing great. We spent the day out at the work sight
where we are building a church with a work team from a church in Colorado.
We are definitely as red as lobsters, but we feel great! This is a picture
of our work sight. As you can see, a lot of work is done already. I'm sorry
this is so short, but A.J. and I are beat, so we're going to get some sleep.
Greetings
from Mali, This is just a note to let all of you know that AJ and I have
arrived safely in Bamako Mali. Our plane flights were not fun but at least
me made it. We hope to get right into the swing of things in the morning
by heading out to the work sight. The work team that is building the first
church arrived here Monday so they have been working for 2 days know. AJ
and I are really looking forward to getting started.