What we did in 2010: by the numbers

1: woman of the Soninké tribe discipled through weekly Bible studies and baptism preparation. (Jennifer)
1: Christian FM-radio station launched by a Malian Christian NGO with help from UWM (we have provided facilities and electricity, and helped them to find equipment); they currently broadcast about 18 hrs/day.
1: semester served on board of Dakar Academy. (Jennifer)
1: graduate class for education degree. (Jennifer)
1: son graduated from Dakar Academy, with honors.
2: new missionaries recruited for MALI, in a seconding agreement with WEC.
2: evangelism and medical teams to the Moors (about 15 participants all told, to 8 villages altogether).
5: meetings of the Malian Assoc. of Evangelicals attended by Jim, where he is serving on the Committee of Reconciliation to head off a split in the organization.

6: men taught in Bambara language Bible school (in partnership with Norwegian Lutheran Mission).

10: meetings with the local Christian school committee (see pix).
10: ESL teachers whom Jennifer observed and trained in Bamako during 2 weeks in January.
15: meetings in churches last summer, and we were featured at the Missions Night of the Annual Conference of the Church of Christ (Holiness), an African-American denomination, in St. Louis.
22: visits to disciple new Fulani believer in Kayes (who came to Christ through the controversial "Common Ground" method of evangelism). (Jim)
27: women trained in leadership seminars (in partnership with Marcie Harris). (Jennifer)
28: years celebrated married to same spouse!
35: Christian Fulani leaders hosted in MICCAO annual conference in Kayes for one week
30: visits to Fulani villages for outreach and supervision of the well project in Duduya. (Jim)
40: meetings with the Kayes Pastors' Cooperative for prayer and planning of joint evangelistic events. (Jim)
49: shows of original Star Trek watched!
52: beggars helped on our front porch by prayer, food, Bible reading, cash, work, clothing, loans, empathy, medicine, counsel, etc.

75: visits drinking tea to do friendship evangelism among mostly Fulani friends, often playing Bible story cassettes or mp3 players like the Megavoice. (Jim)

150: radio broadcasts managed in the Fulani & Moor languages (on 2 different stations).

12,000: miles traveled June-August in the USA & Canada to facilitate partnerships, raise funds, promote ministry, and keep in touch with supporters including many visits with churches and dear friends.

Jim's Journal from June 22nd - Staying with the 'Devil'

I feel I’m sitting in the house of the devil! Idi’s Moor friend whom we are visiting is a renowned marabou healer, Mohammad Siby, in Yelimané where his son, Bassirou, has been staying for several months: he’s transformed and sane and calm! Idi says he was terribly violent last year, insulting, angry, suicidal, depressive, and for the first months here he was attached by chain to a log! You wouldn’t believe it for seeing and chatting with him now. There’s several here like this, near thirty, mostly healed or in process (none in view are chained). A man’s daughter wouldn’t talk for over a year and hardly ate: OK now! Another young man, a truck driver, violent and out of control now calm and friendly. Idi says the marabou, our host, gives each a ‘special secret only they know’ and this heals them. I’m sure it’s a combo of traditional medicine that affects them physiologically, as well as psychologically, and there are Islamic incantations of evil nature and compacts that affect them spiritually. It’s a success story! And people send cases from miles around, even from BKO, DKR, and France! May God give us wisdom in the face of such magic, and may he have mercy on these folk for believing such lies.

chatting n drinking tea

We arrived after a three hour trip, 175 kms from my house, after short stops in Medine for meat, a commission in Keresignané, and greetings to Brehima Konté in Djoni. BK had heads the transformed eye clinic now that Andrew and Cilla have retired and left back to England. Emma ‘Guindo’ also works there as an aide and evangelist. They said they can do most treatment that Andrew did except cataract operations. For that they save up a list of candidates and have the Kayes eye surgeon come every so months; just last week they did around forty. J Tito S, Salomon, A, Idi T, Benjie, and Idi’s youngest son, Brehima, are in the car which got us here smoothly with no tire or mechanical problems yet. I pulled out a MegaVoice Hassaniya mp3 player (recently supplied by LeRoy), and our host and two others are still listening to it two hours later. May the Gospel of Truth bring bright Light to this home! I was able to show them an SBC Bible Storying scarf and explain in Bambara the stories of Adam, Cain, Noah, and Jesus for about half an hour, PTL. We brought Fulani literature, as usual, but this is a Soninké and Moor home so Salomon and Tito can barely communicate here! We also have some DVDs and tiny players (sent by Gordy last year), in Bambara, French, Fulani, and Hassaniya, so we’ll see how they work this evening. [We showed the Hassaniya Jesus film to a small audience; the battery kept going until the Upper Room story. Perhaps if on battery some parts can be skipped so the cross and resurrection can be shown in full. [The Hassaniya DVD also has a Wolof soundtrack, one on each channel of stereo, but since this player can’t control balance we had a mixed voice, but no one complained.]

pix says 'house of Mamadou Sibi: demon master':

Early on Sunday morning we drove back down the highway to near Keresignane and then turned north to Davou, it turned out to be 45 kms off the highway right on the north country border. We think we even stopped in a north country village to ask directions. Our host was a cousin of Idi’s wife and his mother had recently passed away, so Idi was up there to express condolences. He has lived and worked in France for years, and on this six month break he’s rebuilding his home in concrete. He was very gracious, and after a fine meal he showed us all over the small village. I think his brother is the chief, but he was away. They have a brush arbor school house and a pump well, but not much else yet. We were able to show the new “Gidli Baba O” (love of the father) movie in Pulaar of the Prodigal Son. Again we used one of the small DVD players, and this time we got thru the whole movie. A few Fulanis bought some of our literature. I forgot to get out the mp3 player, so I’ll send one up via Idi soon. We left around 5:00 pm and made Kayes by 8:00 pm after driving thru a driving rain storm.