Love to Tell the Story

Guest blog entry by Christopher C Alsruhe,
He teaches about Bible stories like I'd write it and how I teach it.  Used by permission.
He's my bro-in-law in Baltimore. :-)

Maybe the greatest joy a Christian should experience, daily, is the knowing of God (Phil. 3:1 - 16)--being reminded of what we know of Him, and learning more of Him, and becoming like Him.  In our western methods of thought, we like lists; we like things told straightforwardly; we want the short version, not the story--we're too busy, maybe, to enjoy the story (the Bible, certainly Gen. through Acts and Revelation, is written primarily with an eastern method).  Everyone loves stories; but many in the West don't have time for them.  It's a shame.

Using the Bible, how do we learn about God primarily?  More anciently and to the point of this lesson, how did the ancient writers discover the Name (the character), many titles, and many attributes of God?  Was it by declaration?  Or was it by observation?  My conclusion, though I will not write a book to prove it, is that it was by observation.  The direct declarations of God about Himself occur less than the writers' declarations about God, and the latter are primarily gleaned from discoveries through observation of God's works.  Most of the statements giving titles and attributes are subsequent to the stories that reveal them.  The writers had to meditate on the stories, discover, and state the attributes of God.  Stories typically don't give away the answers directly.  We have to think.

Yes, the straightforward statements by God prophetically, and those through the emotion and discovery of writers, are equally important to the stories; but for three reasons, stories might need to be emphasized:  1) God is revealed more by stories than by direct statements of who He is; 
2) The declarations about God by writers come out of stories they knew about God; 
3) The Bible tells us to study and meditate on the stories of God's works.  It is from God's works, stories about God's works, that the historical persons in the stories, and the writers of those stories, discovered God so that they could then produce simple declarations of who God is.

From the Psalms:

77:11, 12--I will remember the works of the LORD; surely I will remember Your wonders of old.  I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds.

(Notice that Asaph does not say he's going to give a textbook declaration and listing of who God is.  No, he's going to tell stories of God's works, and leave it to the listener to meditate on it and discover God for him-/herself.  Read the rest of the psalm, then produce your own list of titles and attributes; discover the fullness of God's Name; that's what the writer is telling us to do for ourselves.  Go on a personal search for intimacy with God.)

The "5's":

105:5--Remember His marvelous works which He has done--His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth.

(One has to know the stories to know this.)

143:5--I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands.

(Get out your Bibles.  Hey, NT Christians, read your OT.)

145:5 - 7--I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works.  Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, and I will declare Your greatness.  They shall utter the memory of your great goodness, and shall sing of Your righteousness. 

(It's okay to sing about facts of God; but songs that tell stories are more dynamic, are easier to remember, and they more easily affect people [ask any country music singer prior to lousy "new country" what makes country music the most popular music of the 20th century.  They will tell you it's because they most easily and effectively touch people because they tell stories.)

96:2b, 3--Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.  Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.

(Salvation is a story told through the entire length of the Bible [The Story of God], not a textbook of fact-memorization.  Salvation is also a story that has continued beyond the first century to our life.  Are we telling God's story in our life?  Do we have a story to tell?)

In other words, learn the stories--theirs and yours . . . and tell them.

Luke 8:39--Jesus said, 'Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.'  And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

What's your story?  Is God in it?  More to the point--Is God Himself your story?  Tell it.

On the cover of one edition of the NIV Bible, the publisher has placed a title (not "The Bible").  It's "The Story of God."  There it is.  That is the true title and whole point of the Bible.  Any other point the Bible makes is rooted in, and springs out of, God's story of Himself.  The whole Bible is stories within the Story, His-Story (history), fulfilling Ex. 33:19, "I will cause all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the Name [character] of Yahweh [I AM] before you. . . ."  This is fulfilled by an experience of observation and declaration in Ex. 34:5 - 7.  But the entire Bible is first and foremost these verses being expanded, explained, and fulfilled in a Person and His story, Immanuel--With Us is Mighty God.  All else is subservient to this, and nothing else has meaning and purpose unless it is founded on this  . . . His Story pre-incarnate and incarnate.

The hymn says "I love to tell the story of unseen things of old.  Of Jesus and His Glory.  Of Jesus and His love."

Tell the old, old story.  And tell yours.  It's the same.  It is God.  It is Jesus.

Jim often asks his students: how many stories in the Bible?  ONE!

Muslim holiday in MALI

Tabaski Festival in Bamako, Mali

---

photo story by Pierre-Yves Brunaud

Please look at this link for a beautiful depiction of the 3 day religious holiday of "Eid al-Adha," "solemn sheep holiday,' here and how the Malians prepare and celebrate it in their homes.

click here: Tabaski Fesitval in MALI

Jenn & I, being newly arrived in Bamako, aren't doing much today. If we were still in Kayes we'd have numerous invitations to come eat some big meals, and we often do three invitations, yes, three meals, in one afternoon!  The Diarras, Cisses, Diops, Sys, more Diarras, Coulibalys, Aans, and others insist we come by.  If we don't, they send some meat by anyway!   Probably by next the holiday in July we'll know many folk here, too, and some good meals.

taken in 1989 - Kayes near the railroad station showing maybe 5,000 in morning festival prayers 

We often even have some time while drinking tea in the homes to show a Bible story cloth, read a kid's story in their language, play a Bible story or portion, and talk of the meaning of the day. The Muslims see it as simply a remembrance of what father Abraham did in sparing the son and being faithful to God.  As Ishmael, 1st born son of model Abraham, is the father of the Arabs, they see this as a founding moment in their all important 'house of Islam,' "Dar Islam." They do not see the sacrifice as a shadow of the cross shining in the light of Jesus the only sacrifice for all men.  We pray they will have their minds and hearts opened.  Many who are in Mecca on the Pilgrimage at this time have dreams or visions from the almighty God above which gets them directed toward seeking Him more. Pray for this.  

Wikipedia's article on the festival is useful for a westerner & fairly complete:   wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_al-Adha festival Tabaski

It also shows the moveable dates to come for several years.

You who live in non-Muslim lands, i.e. America, Germany, or Israel, etc, should seek to visit your Muslim neighbors in their homes during this long holiday.  Invite them to your home, too.  Get to know them as friends.  Break down the walls of animosity by knowing them as people like you.  May our love shine the light of the cross.

Questions to ask regularly of disciples:  such as my friends like Benj & Mamadou & Ousman & Oumar, & Adama, & Modibo, & Samba, & Houseni, etc.

Adama & Samba in Dakar

-What r u reading in Bible?
-Prayer needs?
-How is the relation w/ wife n kids?
-Ministry activities?
-What books r u reading?
-Do u feel close to God?
-Do u feel on fire for God?
-Are u fruitful?
-Is your love for God growing?
-How are u doing in holiness?
-What are your spiritual gifts?
-Are you filled w/ HS currently?
-How r u helping the poor or oppressed?
-Are you being persecuted?
-Can you praise God in spite of health problems?

-What is God teaching you?

Things I've learned in Africa!

Some Things Learned Since Coming to Africa in 1984!
Not all perfectly, of course!
Some (tech items) we all learned during this period, but we learned them while on the field, in Africa :-) 

·         French language

·         Bambara language

·         Pulaar - Fulani language

·         Salutations in Moor, Wolof, and Soninké

·         Raising kids to adults!

·         Diapers and discipline!

·         4-wheel driving off-road

·         Diesel engine maintenance

·         Riding a moto in the bush

·         Living in Africa and the importance of greetings

·         Eating w/ hands (giving a new meaning to eating together)

Oumar, a Fulani evangelist, and two of his kids

·         West African foods

·         Sleeping on hard mats

·         Mali bathrooms!

·         All computer and i-net stuff

·         Networking ministries

·         Reconciliation and dialogue

·         Construction Mali style

·         Well digging

·         Car & generator mechanics

·         Games: Quarto, Phase 10, dames, Trente Deux, Speed Uno, Pigs, etc.

·         Archaeology of Israel

·         Living w/ diabetes and depression

·         Living with shoulder and back pain

·         Mali & WA social and political life and issues

·         Travel in African transport (giving a new meaning to rubbing shoulders)

·         Sahel flowers, trees and trimming them

·         Reading the Quran and Hadiths

·         Reading the Maccabees and all the Apocrypha

·         Staying cool in a hot place!

·         Digital photography 

·         WA history and slave trade effects

·         WA tribes and social structure

·         TEE & BCC ministries

·         Read classics i.e. Augustine, Origin, Knox, Eusebius, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Pascal, Brother Lawrence, Francis, Gill, Carey, Josephus, Jerome, Ignatius, Wesley, Kipling, Bunyan, Beza, Luther, De Sales, Hugo, M’Cheyne, Newton, Fenelon, Polo, Owen, etc.

·         Greek studies and exegesis

·         Liturgy appreciation

·         Church dependency issues

·         Eating healthy

·         College financing

Bala teaching about Abraham's sacrifice
after I showed him how to.

·         Stocks, bonds, mutuals, annuities, IRAs, etc.

·         Cross cultural teaching

·         Development work

·         Refugee help            

·         Mali business contracts & hiring and firing

·         Dealing w/ beggars and the poor

·         Storying of Bible for evangelism and discipleship

·         Sonlife (living with Jesus)

·         Training for Storying

·         Handling short-term teams of many kinds.

·         Digital audio ministry

·         Partnerships with 2/3^rd World churches

·         Partnership w/ WA churches and missions

·         Partnership w/ African Americans, Brazilians, and Chinese!

·         Math teaching and home schooling

·         Sending kids to boarding school

·         Fallacies of Islamic theology and practices

·         Witness to Muslims

·         Islam structure & different groups in WA

·         Bible school teaching

·         Animism theology in WA

·         Language learning techniques

·         Studio building and setup

·         French typing and letter form

·         Solar and battery living

·         Depending on God for support: always

·         Continued learning of Gods’ grace

·         Contextualization of the gospel

·         Teaching contextualization (in other languages even!)

·         Use of OT in SLM evangelism

·         Seeing Jesus in every part of OT

·         Audio recording and editing

·         Difference of  sheep and goats J

·         Navigate in bush w/ or w/o a GPS

·         Geocaching!

·         To terimelike (bartering) for everything you buy, except what has a fixed price, and knowing the difference!

·         Fine tune theo.: NCT & Unfulfilled Prophecy, but opposing Open Theo., Emergence, Preterism, & Prosperity Gospel, etc.

·         Abortion protests and support of prolife positions

·         Alphabetization (Literacy teaching) in Bambara and Fulani

·         Walking in intimacy w/ God

·         Flexibility in ministry opportunities.

·         Prison ministry

·         Christian schooling

·         Orienting new mis’ies to life and ministry in Africa

·         Walking and exercises for heart & back health

·         Christian ‘salat’ prayers to help Fulani believers

·         Field finances and spreadsheets

Pastor Moise getting ready to make a compressed dirt brick

·         Management objectives and vision

·         Casting vision & team leadership

·         Servant leadership

·         Foreign currency handling

·         Living thru a coup d’état

·         Moving family across borders

·         Understanding JWs and Mormons a bit better.

·         Losing parents & other mentors

·         Asking questions of people and scripture

·         Recognition of personal limits

·         Adaptability of media in ministry

·         Tolerance of limits in partnership

·         Allowing expression in delegation

·         Foreign language book sales

·         Film and projector operation

·         Recruiting and training new workers, 17 so far!

·         New 2012: compressed mud brick construction

At least 53 Questions to Ask New Workers to West Africa
re Strategies and Adaption to New Cultures:

Is there a written strategy document?
Do they understand contextualizing the gospel?
Do they understand that not all methods work in all places?  That not all media is appropriate for all situations?
Can they tell Bible stories?  Do they know the seven key characteristics of God useful in SLM evangelism?
Can they do personal witness in another culture setting?
How does their agency train workers for ministry here?  How many months?
What cross-cultural training is done in the home country? 
What training is planned to be done in West Africa?  What cross-cultural orientation will be done?  How often?
Is continuing education encouraged?  Will they be studying while on the field?
What kind of supervision is planned?  What model?  How often? 
Do they have a mentor for spiritual life & growth?  Would they like one?
What kinds of evaluations and debriefing will be conducted?  How often?
How often will they leave the district for conferences and vacation?

Benjie holding a ....... ?

 What language learning method will be used?  Have they had specific training in this method?
Can they learn a language in the field without direct supervision?
Do they understand social structure issues?  Have they had any anthropology courses? 
Do they have any plan for understanding the social structure of the culture in which they’ll work?
Have they considered what effect the discovered social structure will have on their strategy?
Do they understand the stages of culture adaption and culture shock? 
Have they looked at all the possible ways to educate their children?  Would they accept far away MK dorms for their precious ones?

Can they suspend judgment of a culture for the first year or more?
Can they settle beforehand the question of trust in relationships?
Have they studied working on conflict resolution in team relations and also in relations with nationals?
What do they know of spiritual warfare?  Do they practice fasting? 
Have they studied animism and folk Islam?
What is their understanding of revelation, dreams, visions, and God’s healing?
What kind of lifestyle do they expect?  Can they live simply?  What transport?
Do they understand the issues of bonding?  Who will they bond with?
Will they want a village house and also a base house in a larger city? Or just one place?
Have they studied Islam?  Have they studied the varieties of SLM in West Africa?
Have they studied well the concepts of the Trinity, Jesus’ incarnation, God’s grace, inspiration of the Bible, & destiny/fatalism to answer common SLM questions?
Have they read on West African history and current politics?  How many of these 18 countries’ current presidents can they name?  Which ones are French or English?  Which ones are Christian?
Do they have a personal holiness commitment?  Are they intimate with God?  Would there be testimonial references for this available?
Are they able to feed from the Bible and God directly?  What is their practice of study and worship and prayer?
Will they be able to freely worship in other orders of service, sing in other forms, and use other forms of prayer?
Do they practice absolute dependency on Jesus Christ in all areas i.e. relationships, money, protection in bad places, health, travel, family, kid’s education, ministry results, language & cultural ability, etc.?  

Do they understand servant-leadership roles?
Are they comfortable with, do they respect people of other races, languages, education, & economic levels? 
If they are African-American (or African-European), do they understand the special expectations & challenges on them in Africa?
If they are African, do they understand the special challenges on them in Islamic West Africa?
Have they studied issues of poverty and community development? 
Have they worked out concepts & strategies of outreach via development?
Have they studied issues of church dependency?  Are they committed to circumventing it?
Have they worked out how to handle beggars, scammers, the truly needy, and pan handlers in a gracious way?
What skills/jobs/vocations have they trained for?  Business? Farming? Health care? Accounting? Teaching?
How flexible and adaptable are they?  Can they tolerate significant changes in their assignment while on the field?
Do they value networking and partnering with other agencies?
Do they see the value of using the OT in SLM evangelism for redefining God for the Muslim?
Can they tell the difference of a sheep and a goat? 

and here we have two ......  ?

After thirty years in the business, Jenn & I are still learning.  We have some notion of answers on these, and others unasked, but we have yet to answer all fully.  New workers must consider these and set a goal of attempting to answer them as they live and minister among our friends.

Mr. Gbagbo or Mr. Ouattera? What changes?

Open letter to Smyrna Ministries in response to their bulletin (below) for prayer:

Dear friends at Smyrna Ministries,
       We appreciate your ministry for the persecuted church, and we especially appreciate that you sent out a special bulletin about the tinder box situation in Cote Ivoire.   I was, however, somewhat surprised at the tone of your recent bulletin for prayer about Cote Ivoire.  I think Miss Kendal whom you quote has little cultural and historical understanding of the situation.  I believe we have no need to fear "Muslim political domination" in this country if Mr. Ouattara actually becomes the President. 

       My family and I live comfortably and safely in a 98% Muslim nation just north of Cote Ivoire as a Protestant missionaries (as members of UWM of Charlotte, NC), and we have as much if not more freedom of religion, press, and speech in this country than in the United States.  Cote Ivoire is already the same, and that would not change radically under a Ouattara government.  West Africa Islam is not Middle East Islam; the folk here, of many, many people groups, are not as deeply rooted in Islam, and their high value of hospitality precludes much argument about religion.  We never hear arguments about a changed Bible, that we Christians have three Gods, that we eat pork, that we drink alcohol, that we are promiscuous, etc.  Most are happy to discuss and listen to Bible stories and the gospel.  Please do not paint a picture of Islam as solely dangerous and radical.  We do realize there is horrible and much illegal persecution of believers in many Muslim lands, but know there is little in the countries of West Africa, except northern Nigeria.  Paint a picture rather that rather Muslims do see a deficit religion and see the need for stability and morality in their lives, that many Muslims are coming to Jesus, and that God is at work in even the Muslim nations of West Africa to build his church and His Kingdom.
. 
      Personally, I am an unrestricted missionary to similar Fulanis of the ones that persecute the church in Nigeria, but they would not do so here.  I’ve said many times over the years, “All my neighbors are Muslims,” and they are very friendly and would protect me and my family during political unrest. Even when our grade school and high school students were in the midst of rebellion in 2003 in Bouake city in the middle of Cote Ivoire they were never in personal danger because of being North American or Christian.  They were indeed evacuated from the war zone, but not because threats against themselves.
      
      The rebellion was over blocked elections and perceived oppression, not religious factions.  Leave it at that.  Don't polarize the situation into what it isn't.  It includes racial distinctions of peoples in the north and south who happen to be of different religions, but religion hasn't been the issue.  The northerners are traumatized too, fearing a return to oppression from the south and no change after years of struggle and much bloodshed.   

      Don't portray CI as a once Christian nation; it has never achieved well over 50% Christian.  Many of those who are named such are very nominal such as the large independent "Harris church" and the Roman Catholic Church which owns that huge, expensive, wasteful, and presumptuous cathedral built by a megalomania President.  It was not built by the hearts of evangelical believers in Jesus.  Evangelical churches are in every corner of CI, not only the south, and have flourishing ministries.  Muslims have flocked to CI from other poor nations around for the economic benefits and jobs, not to take over a "Christian" country.  Many of the immigrant Muslims are now solid members of good churches, PTL.  Many have moved to CI from Liberia and Ghana, too, but you aren't complaining about them also maybe becoming citizens, are you?  
     
      True, Mr. Gbagbo attends a church, from what I hear, a Protestant church in Abidjan, but we don't see a Christian testimony in his actions!  I understand also that he has two wives!   Do you know that Mr. Ouattara earned a doctorate in economics from Univ of Penn in Philadelphia in the 60s?  And he had the trust of CI's famous Christian founding President, as a young government minister in the late 80s to become CI's first Prime Minister?  Did CI suddenly become a majority Muslim nation then?  There was no talk of it then; there's no real talk of it now.  He is well qualified, he is stable; he is not a radical Muslim.  Many of my friends in these nations are returning home from CI because there is no economic hope there now.  Now 12 years of discord and rebellion and political shenanigans, mostly by Mr. Gbagbo, has left the country a shambles that needs unity and rebuilding.  Because of years of discord the cities of other nations such as Bamako, Cotonou, Ouagadougou, Accra, Dakar, even Lomé, etc., have boomed, and Abidjan will never regain its luster and proud place as the star of West Africa.  

      We need to pray for peace.  We need to pray that the churches will be the lighthouses in a dark world.  We need to pray they will be the leaders in mediation of the political standoff.  We need to desperately pray there will not be another bloodbath with who knows who will emerge to lead.  Pray for God to build His church in the midst of constant political crises in the world,.  The gospel is the only hope for Africa.

God bless,
Rev. Jim Bowers

PS: You have two spellings of Mr. Ouattara's name.  BBC uses 'Ouattara'; you may also use 'Wattara' to help Americans say it right!  Put accent on the 1st syllable, not the second.

On Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 8:20 PM, Smyrna Ministries International <smyrna@smyrnaministries.org> wrote:

Recent elections in the Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) have threatened to bring war to the region and could result in Islamic rule.

 From 1960-1993, Muslims from neighboring regions immigrated into the country.  Muslims make up 38.6% of the official population and 70% of the foreign migratory workers.  Elizabeth Kendal of the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin points out that these immigrants comprise approximately 30 to 40% of the total population and, if they are naturalized, would make the country a majority Muslim nation.  In 2002 civil war broke out between the north (where most of the Muslims live) and the South (where most of the Christians live) over whether these immigrants should be naturalized. 

 Presidential elections have been delayed since 2005, but finally took place this October, with a second run-off election in November.  The Independent Electoral Commission announced provisional results in favor of one candidate, but Ivory Coast’s Constitutional Council announced results in favor of the other candidate.  Both candidates alleged fraud.  Although violence during the voting process reportedly led to at least three deaths, the United Nations is declaring the elections to have been free and fair.

 Elizabeth Kendal writes, “Elections were held on 28 November 2010, with both Gbagbo [a Christian from the South] and Ouattara [a Muslim from the North] claiming victory. The US, European Union and African Union have recognized Ouattara as the winner and called for Gbagbo to respect democracy and step down. Russia meanwhile is blocking a UN statement that would recognize Ouatarra, saying that this is not the UN's role. Ivory Coast's non-Muslims are traumatized, fearing that their homeland -- once the most prosperous 'Christian' nation in West Africa, home to the region's largest cathedral, home-base to most of West Africa's regional Christian ministries -- is about to come under Muslim political domination.”

Ask God to strengthen the church in the Ivory Coast and enable Christian ministries to continue to operate there.  Pray also that the millions of Muslims in the country will come to know the love and forgiveness of Jesus.

Smyrna Ministries International
P.O. Box 16474, Washington, DC 20041-6474, 540-554-8188

smyrna@smyrnaministries.org or www.smyrnaministries.org

a church delegation visits the imams of Kayes Ndi

Yesterday, Nov 19^th, was the 2nd day of the Muslim feast memorializing Abraham's sacrifice known as Tabaski here in West Africa.  So in an effort of fraternity and witness several of us went to a number of different mosques to visit the imams in their homes.  We focused on the Kayes Ndi (small Kayes) side of the river where there is one Bambara speaking church and where I focus my visits to the Fulanis.

As a delegation of two pastors, Pierre and Joshua, and two missionaries, Siegfried and myself, and two other church members, Abel and Benjamin, we visited about ten imams and two town officials: the mayor and the village chief.  (I think this was Siegfried's third time to do such greetings, I went with him once before.)  I knew over half of them; in fact the chief is in a "grin" group where I often drink tea!  We had a great time and were warmly rec'd in every case as we made these short visits of ten to fifteen minutes. We were even giving them a large card with Arabic writing in the round like Muslims do but this time with Bible verses such as the Lord's Prayer or the Beatitudes.  I gave a small tract in Pulaar to the Fulanis, too.   

I heard today that one of the church members really liked this and thot that we should also visit all the mosques in Kayes, too!  I was also able to sort out better who was who and to make a few connections.  It was interesting that our guide, Mr. Ndiaye, was one with whom I had eaten part of the feast the day before via Mr. Diop, too, so I've made a better friend with him, too.  Another was a relative of one family I know very well, so that connection was improved, too.  Because of my work with the Mauritanian refugees several years back and the help of one Kayes Fulani, Mr. Abba Sy, I took his family name, so I'm known by many jokingly as Abba's son, his oldest son even, since Babba is a year younger.  Abba passed away a couple years ago never confessing Jesus, and I don't think he really understood the gospel much in spite of clear witness several times.  As yet we have just one Fulani believer in Kayes, and he's not from here.  Another man form Kayes was saved elsewhere a long time ago, and he's currently in seminary in Cameroon!  Two or three others are very open and close, but stepping over the fence requires a real effort here. 

I have a dream to do more research in Kayes as to what varieties of SLM we have here.  They have many denominations, too, and most of the Christians and missionaries are ignorant of these distinctions among them.  Some have told me that every mosque of Kayes is a different denomination (brotherhood)!  Most West Africans are Sufis of the Moroccan founded Tijaniyya order (and there are now many versions of this), but some are Wahabiyya, some are Quadiriyya, etc.  Such visits as we did yesterday help me in pursuing this dream.

Those met yesterday:

M. War, a Fulani near Thiam’s home, not present, only older lady who blessed us forever!
M. ___, a Fulani behind Peter’s house and friend of Abel, cheap mud house, not present
M. Sow, a young Fulani in new mosque near Nema’s RA housing; M. Dicko was there, too.
M. Souleyman BA, jom woro and member of tea ‘grin’(Oumar Diallo’en outside)
M. Ly, near Ba family but head of grand mosque of Baka Foro (pix)
M. Adama(?) Mariko, Kayes Ndi Mayor (pix), small yard and house, next to Samba Docter (sic) place.
M. Ibrahima Nimaga, past the church in Karankaran, Kadija Diop husband, and Modibo Diop was there, and a griot, too! (pix)     Nimaga is ‘politician’ of Kayes, his bro. a deputé, he selected the mayor, etc., Family from Nioro, a cattle dealer.
M. Sacko, a Soninke, mosque in Karankaran, older house on one side two stories, newer side large and roomy!
M. Sy, older Fulani who knew me as ‘bi Abba’ (!) lives near big mosque but imam of Ba’en mosque!
M. Mogobé Traoré, a Bambara, near market (son a rapper in France!)
M. Ibrahim Ndiaye, a Fulani tailor, was our guide; he lives near Woppa Diop’en;  Joba, an old lady there is also my friend.

odd notes: 
-all named Chiekna are also called Yuba after Alamamy Cheik Hamala of Nioro.
-all named Ibrahima are also called Baya!
-all named Moussa are also called Bala,
-all named Oumar can be called Baril, at least by Fulanis, etc.

-An Oumou as daughter, the brother who follows is always Modibo (works in the Modibo Diop and Vieux Mohammad’s cases!)