Through a ministry of proclamation & reconciliation we seek to help the Bambaras, Fulanis, and Moors hear and understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. God has used us in Bible teaching, helping prisoners, famine and refugee relief & church development.
We have lived and raised our four adult children in the city of Kayes and the capital in the Republic of MALI for over 35 years.
Our Redeemer & Messiah Lives! Job 25
The Kayes bridge is open again, so at first opportunity I drove across and out to the Fulani village of Duduya again to see progress on the well. I’m pleased to say they’ve deepened it by over 7 meters since restarting in late July, and, even better, there is ankle deep water each morning :-) The main diggers, Nyama Djonson and his apprentice, were deep down in the hole when I arrived around 11 am, and didn’t come up until about 1 pm, then went down again for an hour or so to set the charges, and we got to watch the explosion around 3pm. We visited around homes while waiting for work progress. Being the middle of the day most men were out in fields or out with their cattle, so we greeted mostly the women and I played with the kids.
I had brought out the local Malinké pastor, Marka Fofana, as he’s expressed interest in working among the Fulani and also seeing the village for some time. I had Madu Aan, a local Fulani teacher, come along, too, to have more time with him and understand his growing faith. We played a couple Way of Righteousness tapes while there to village friends. I want him to learn a way of witness that comes naturally from the Bible using the stories in the Bible order. Two other men were along, long time friends who have not yet heard the gospel in their hearts, Baba Dramera and Vieux Diarra. Please pray for each one mentioned. On the way out I picked one bad section of muddy road where trucks had made deep tracks, and got stuck, but having four men along to push backwards while I put it in low four-wheel drive, we were soon moving again. There was deep water in two other places, but that’s not a problem for the Isuzu!
The chief, Hamet Diallo, was pleased to see us, but since this was in the midst of the daily fast during this month of Islam Ramadan, nothing was cooking. They gave some of us milk to drink, and later some rice and peanut sauce came along anyway. I had to hold up my hands and hold my nose; oh those peanuts they love to try to make me eat! Some more sour milk came to stir into the rice, so I had a snack anyway. Rain threatening, we headed back to Kayes by 4 pm. Oh, it is so nice to just go and come back in one day now!
Just been playing around this evening with blogging. Google has created a pretty good one here on blogger/blogspot and there's a lot of things I can add or modify to make it my own. I even added the countdown clock for our anniversary next month! I'll add some more posts from my journal and even from my devotional notes. Danielle's has some cute things like favorites .... or what if ... or I'm thankful for ..., so I can try that kind of writing, too.
We had a quiet day after last nite's big rain. The well digging has made good progress this week, but the men are on their Friday day-off today. Benjie took this shot two weeks ago when we first got the compressor to Duduya and tested the equipment. They've deepened by 6m the hole of hard rock since then.
Today was also the beginning of Ramadan, so for the next 30 days people will be asking me daily "i sunnen be?" or "adda hora?" in Bambara or Pulaar to find if I'm also fasting. I gave a Wolof friend a cassette in his language about fasting; I might have some of the same lessons in Pulaar, too. We want folk to understand that true fasting is in the heart, Isa 58 speaks of this, and that physical fasting is only good as a discipline and way to focus on God, not for any actual accrual of gold for the kingdom of God.
What a trip! It's not the mud, nor the rain, nor the African roads, but the ferry crossing of the river at Kayes. Sekou and I were all loaded up to visit the Fulani village of Duduya to see progress on the well and to bring in some supplies, fuel, and tools. On a good day I've made it from my house to the village, only 20 kms (15 miles) over the dirt road in less than 40 minutes. Monday it took three hours just to cross the river, and a further hour to navigate the mud and stream crossings. I had thot in the morning we'd get out there, stay for lunch, and come home by night fall ...... Well, when we finally got all organized and loaded and to the river at 2:30pm, I realized then I'd be staying the night in the village.
The bridge has been closed since May for rebuilding and resufacing, and now that the old ford is hidden under water, all vehicles, motos, people, and goods go by ferry or local pirogues (sail boats). Because one ferry couldn't handle the traffic the Malian military brought in a second larger one real fast recently. But, because the banks are steep the trucks keep getting stuck or even fall into water at the edge! At least five a week have break failures and crash into something as they slam downhill. At last we were permitted to load onto the wide military ferry, but then had to wait while the soldier's trucks hooked cables onto a tractor trailer in the water and righted it, to the cheers of hundreds of on-lookers! I picked up Ousman Diop at his aunt's home, finally connecting with him in spite of repeatedly missing each other, and got moving to Duduya.
The road was muddy, very muddy, but my four wheel drive made it, even at one stream over two feet deep, PTL. The village, especially Mr Hamet Diallo, their chief, and the well digging team were all very glad to see us and the supplies. We checked out the well, a whole five meters deeper than two weeks ago, and heard they've even had a bit of a trickle into it, PTL. The chief decided to butcher a goat for us; that takes a while to cook, so Ousman and I visited around to see friends. The first Brazilian team had come out here with me often, so the ladies especially were asking how is 'Fatimata', 'Kumbel', and 'Asiata'. They were ticked pink to hear that two of them have since married. Everyone also asks about 'Baril' the Malian Fulani evangelist, and about Solomon, the Beninese Pastor who was with us a while.
Back at the ranch, indeed for about three hundred cows sleep there at night in the village center, as well as innumerable goats and sheep, we chatted over tea and listened to the radio while many in the village dropped by to greet. I pulled out the Bible scarf with about 40 Bible story pictures on it and asked them if they knew the stories; many did. It was good way to get a some conversation going about the gospel. Ousman and Sekou were also both quite interested in the MegaVoice players with bible stories and chanted Psalms. The goat was finally served around 10 pm, and soon after we had mosquito nets up for a long rest. The diggers even gave some of their nets and mats as we hadn't been prepared to stay.
I was up by 6:30 and found that the diggers had already started the compressor at 6 am and two were down in the hole digging away for the next two hours! Then they spent an hour setting the nine charges and being sure the wires were all connecting. Finally about nine they came out, the men cleared away the pulley support, moved the compressor away and then touched the wires to a battery ... BOOM! Some pieces flew out as big as a soccer ball and one as big as a sewing machine box!
Got lots of pix :)
I had expected to leave after the boom, but the chief told me another family had sent over a goat for lunch to honor us, so we had to stay, again .... it takes awhile: lots of tea, chatting, and resting. The diggers slept over an hour while the dust settled and air got back in the hole, afterward as they were to descend, clear the debris, and drill some more ... they wanted to do one more explosion by night fall. Ousman & I had ample time to chat about his theo studies in Cameroon and his upcoming marriage to a Cameroonian Fulani believer he's engaged to marry soon, etc.
The photo show Ousman helping skin our meal:
We headed out just after 3pm, made the river bank in Kayes Ndi just after 4 pm since the roads were a bit drier, and then waited and waited for a stalled truck to be pulled up hill, for another barge to unload, and for our ferry to load, problems in both directions for some vehicles. I noted that there was another truck in the water on the Kayes Ba side, another victim of bad breaks :( We cleared the Kayes side at 6:30 pm, and I left Sekou off at his home and returned home for a needed shower and Jenn's supper and an old TV movie to zone out.
It was a good trip overall, in spite of the ferry and mud, pleasing to the village to see us, and pleasing to me to see the progress, and a good time with Ousman and having some chances to witness a bit of our Savior and the Kingdom of God to the Fulanis.
May they have both well water soon as well as living water from above.
Last evening I put in ten hours of ministry! And that was after a morning of email, money, visitors, computer maintenance, and typing a bit! We held a further meeting about the radio possibility in the Kanyaga area, and so Klaus, Siggi, Levi, and I understand better what is possible and what is available in equipment and money. We might meet with Oumar and Mamadou Traoré this afternoon so that all actors will finally meet and know each other.
After that I went to chat with Houseni and a friend for a while and then attended the ministerium’s once a month Friday night prayer meeting.Only five were present, not even the hosting pastor, and with two from outside Kayes, so we were a bit disappointed at attendance.I feel it was a good time of payer and worship led by David Sogoba anyway.Houseni has an ongoingleg problem which hurts quite a bit and limits his walking a working.He’s already been to a guerisseur a couple years ago which probably did him more harm than good.One doc says there’s a crack in the femur bone that might need replacing.He’s getting cortisone shots regularly now, too.Perhaps a pin or screw would help?We prayed, but I want Him to know there’s no guarantee and also that he must obey the Lord and seek His face not just religion.I get very frustrated at these friends who turn to faith healers and not to the Lord first.May the Lord manifest His power and grace among my friends. His friend was Mamadou, Amadou Ba, who had helped me a couple years ago to translate the booklet ‘ElHadji’s Journey to Faith’ into Pulaar.He’s a teacher living in Atesan, near Duduya, so we might go see him soon.
The Kayes bridge is open again, so at first opportunity I drove across and out to the Fulani village of Duduya again to see progress on the well. I’m pleased to say they’ve deepened it by over 7 meters since restarting in late July, and, even better, there is ankle deep water each morning :-) The main diggers, Nyama Djonson and his apprentice, were deep down in the hole when I arrived around 11 am, and didn’t come up until about 1 pm, then went down again for an hour or so to set the charges, and we got to watch the explosion around 3pm. We visited around homes while waiting for work progress. Being the middle of the day most men were out in fields or out with their cattle, so we greeted mostly the women and I played with the kids.
The chief, Hamet Diallo, was pleased to see us, but since this was in the midst of the daily fast during this month of Islam Ramadan, nothing was cooking. They gave some of us milk to drink, and later some rice and peanut sauce came along anyway. I had to hold up my hands and hold my nose; oh those peanuts they love to try to make me eat! Some more sour milk came to stir into the rice, so I had a snack anyway. Rain threatening, we headed back to Kayes by 4 pm. Oh, it is so nice to just go and come back in one day now!
His friend was Mamadou, Amadou Ba, who had helped me a couple years ago to translate the booklet ‘ElHadji’s Journey to Faith’ into Pulaar.