… update … Marathon … and an Africa question

It’s been a little while since I’ve updated, so I thought it was about time.  Thanks for the thoughts and conversations on repentance.  Still something I’ll continue to think about study … try to do.  I mean really, I think/convinced myself that I’ve repented … but repentance means turning away from and never going back to, and I’m not going to try to fool you, or myself for that matter, into believing that there aren’t things/areas of my life/sins that I hold onto … as much as I want to be rid of them, not sure I’ve really repented of them . . . asked for forgiveness over and over again (which I realize is ridiculous, because Jesus forgave me once-for-all), yes, repented … no.  So, I guess I find myself on this journey toward repentance…

Onto other subjects!  I’ve decided to run in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 11th!  I must be crazy.  But, it has been something on my life’s “to do list” that I always thought would be cool to say I’d done.  In addition, I’ll be running with a team for World Vision.  We’ll be raising money to help build clean water wells in African villages.  The marriage of the two things (the marathon, and the ministry to Africa) seemed a perfect fit for me.  So, I’ll be beginning a rather intensive training program in the next month or so for that!

After attending service on Easter Sunday, my friend Hayward said he had a question for me.  We sat down and he proceeded to ask me a question regarding my trip to Africa, and mentioned that it might be a good topic for a blog post … I agree.  I love how he thinks about things and is always searching for more information.  Many people would have just finished reading one of my updates about the trip and left it at that, but not Hayward his 80+ year old mind is continually learning and searching for more information, and that’s one of the things I love about him.   Anyway,  Hayward’s question was regrading how our group (a Christian church group) was able to show the Jesus film in these villages where the primary beliefs were from the Muslim faith.   Great question Hayward!

After I spoke with Hayward on Sunday morning, I started thinking a little more about this, and really I think the only answer is that God prepared the way for us to be able to show the film.  By no means am I an expert in the culture of Mali or the different villages in which we visited, but from my limited study and research before we went on the trip I learned that a lot of the beliefs were what were being called “folk Islam.”  Meaning that these were stories passed from generation to generation, that most of the people would probably identify themselves with that faith, but that a small percentage were actually practicing.  That being said, I think this could be one of the reasons why they were open to allowing us to show the film.  Another thing to consider is that we were in the villages for positive purposes.  We were not trying to persuade or force anyone to do anything they were uncomfortable with, and one of our main purposes being to teach them about the water filtration system helped them to see that we really did care about them and their well-being.  Culturally they were a very open and welcoming people.  Even the village that had previously not allowed the group to show the film was welcoming to our presence in the village, they just opted not to show the film there.

As a team we spent a lot of time in prayer leading up to the  trip that God would go before us and prepare the hearts and minds of the Malian people to receive the message of hope through Jesus Christ.  We prayed for men and women of peace in each of the villages, and I think the best answer to Hayward’s question might be that God had heard and answered our prayers, and that His Spirit had been at work so that the chiefs in the villages were open and willing to let us share the film.  While we were in Sebekoro we even found out from one of the chief’s sons that at some point the chief had become a believer!  God was and is definitely moving among the tribal regions of West Africa.  Thanks for the question Hayward!

Another Africa note . . . I’m finally going to be able to share with my home church this weekend about my trip!  Green Ridge Baptist Church played a large part in forming the foundations of my faith, and have consistently supported me in my ministry endeavors through my time with No Longer Quiet and most recently for this Africa trip.  It will be a sweet time of fellowship with them as I get to share the stories of what God did to reward their faithfulness to support and pray for His work in Mali!

-E

Team World Vision Video:

Jahweh, the chief in Sebekoro:

Africa Journal: Day 14 – January 9, 2009

From my journal:

” … this was my last morning to wake up in the bush.  I pray  that You would give me a broken heart for the lost in the world.  Continue to bring to my mind the people in Seboccoro and Bangassi as well as the new believers in Marena …

God there are so many things to be learned from these past 2 weeks.  Continue to burn those lessons into my heart and mind to continue to transform me into the man that you created me to be.  Father, teach me to recognize temptation and the work of the adversary, and to counteract it with strength and power from Your Word.  Teach me to make decisions in Your Spirit and not in my flesh.

Thank you for Your beauty, for this sunrise, for the sounds of Mali!  Thank you for Your work around the world, and for the invitation that You have given us to be a part of it.  What a blessing and honor.  Help us to see that our “duty” here  is not done.  You have called us to these people, and now more than ever, as we leave with many new believers here, it is vital that we pray for them and their spiritual growth/journey.  Send them a national pastor.  Raise up a young leader who can rightly divide the Word of truth into their lives, love them and shepherd them.  Help these new believers to have assurance that You are who You say You are!  That their lives would be evidently different, and that You begin to produce fruit in their lives that shows and proves the power of Jesus for Your glory and fame, not for anything we’ve done, but for Your renown …”

I just remember spending most of the morning praying … that’s what my journal was today, just prayer.  I remember walking back from the place where I had been doing my morning quiet time, greeting the people in their courtyards as I passed and praying that God would be real to them.  Then, as I packed my bins, and as we packed up camp, hugging and playing with kids, and praying that these kids would grow to know Jesus.

It was definitely bitter-sweet pulling away from Bangassi that morning.  There was a spirit of celebration among our team as we recounted what God had done over the last 2 weeks, but sad that we were having to leave our new friends.  It was neat to pass back through/by the villages we had visited this week, to go back through the checkpoint that we had such a “close call” at just a week ago and to see how God had constantly been at work among us.

We arrived back to the guest house in Bamako, unloaded our things and started showers!  Woo-hoo … we had been taking “bucket baths” for the last two weeks, so running water and flushing toilets were awesome … After everyone had an opportunity to clean up, we walked a few blocks to a restaurant for a team meal … shis-ke-babs.  Very tasty.   We spent some good team time that evening around the dinner table sharing our best and most difficult moments from the trip.

What a blessing to see what God had done in the lives of my team members over the last few weeks!

-E

Last morning sunrise … pictures don’t do them justice:

Packing the truck to leave:

Our team at the dinner table:

Africa Journal: Day 13 – January 8, 2009

From my journal:

” … it’s our final full day of ministry in Mali … tomorrow morning we pack up and head back to Bamako.  God, You’ve done amazing things this week, continue today …

Habakkuk 3:2-4 ‘Lord, I have heard of Your fame, I stand in awe of Your deeds, O Lord.  Renew them in our day, in our time make them known, in wrath remember mercy.  God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran.  His glory covered the heavens and His praise filled the earth.  His splendor was like the sunrise, rays flashed from His had, where His power was hidden.’

Father, make Your fame known in our time here in Bangassi.  Allow the Malian people to know that this is a very personal decision, one that they don’t need permission from anyone else to make.  Give them courage and boldness to choose You!  God you are good and Your glory endures forever, continue to reveal Your splendor!

… We’re showing the Jesus film in Marena tonight after a warm reception from the chief and the villagers this afternoon.  I’m running the tech. stuff tonight, so hopefully everything runs smoothly, and that there are no technical problems.  Bring glory to Your name tonight Father, I love and trust You…

Just returned to Bangassi from Marena, and I wish I had more to say … WHATEVER!  God showed up HUGE, after the film we had 58 people stay to pray and receive Christ!  58 new Malian believers!  When we got here, there were only 12-15 known believers from the past trip in this area.  Approximately 61,000 Fulanke people in Mali, and 58 new brothers and sisters in Christ tonight! Praise you God!  All honor and glory go to You, nothing that we could have said or done could have accomplished what You did tonight.  God, with this excitement and exhilaration, my heart is breaking for these new believers . . . we leave in the morning, our trip is over, what follow will happen?  What discipleship will there be?  Pastor Andre has already said that he would come back to visit, but for him, on his motorcycle, it will still be a several hour trip, and he can’t continue to do that.  God, I beg that You send a pastor to come to Bangassi and Maurena.  These people need an indigenous pastor to be called and raised up to come to this area to shepherd these believers …”

What an amazing day.  We did get to have the community health clinic today . . . actually we did it twice, once at the clinic in the village for a handful of men and women, and once in the school while the kids were in class.  Hopefully they took it all to heart and are taking the steps necessary to keep their drinking water clean.

In the early afternoon we loaded the bush bus and headed toward Marena to greet the chief and ask permission to show the film that evening.  As with every village we pulled into, when we arrived we were immediately surrounded by swarms of children and interested adults. We took the short walk to the chiefs courtyard, and had a very pleasant visit with him and the village elders.  They had remembered that a group had come last year, and wanted to show the film during their festival, and had hoped that we would come back to show it.  We also found out that there had been a “white man” who had come and built a house and lived with them for 2 years with the Peace Corps.  We don’t know anything about this man, or know of any Malians that may have come to Christ while he was there, but this Peace Corps volunteer had to have been a Christian, and had to have planted some major seeds!

I clearly remember that evening … not sure I’ll ever forget it.  It was the end of our ministry in Mali, and we were exhausted.  I remember several of the girls staying in the bush bus during the film to get some rest.  We arrived back in Marena just before sundown to set up the projector and screen and began playing some Malian music about 20 minutes before the film was going to start.  We also showed a Popeye cartoon as a “preview”, they loved it.  Every evening that we showed the Jesus Film, Pastor Andre would introduce the film, and then toward the end, right as the guards came to the garden to arrest Jesus we would pause the film and Pastor Andre would share with them . . . from what we gather, He was asking them questions about if this man, Jesus had done anything to warrant being arrested and mistreated like this.  That night, although I couldn’t understand a word he was saying . . . I could tell he was “bringing it.”  He was speaking with such boldness and passion, it was really a neat experience.  Well, toward the end of the film, after the death and resurrection, there is about a 6 minute “recap” of the film, and in previous nights, most people began to leave during this part of the film, but here in Marena, nobody moved.  Pastor Andre came back up after it was finished, and people started to filter out, but there was a crowd that remained.  Myself and the rest of the tech. crew went to work getting everything torn down and packed up, and when we finished, we saw what was happening . . . there was still a crowd of people talking with Andre and Michele, our interpreter, and Randy.  As I walked over to see what was going on I realized they were taking down names … names of all of the people who had just prayed to receive Christ!  What an adrenaline rush! These people were so excited and hugging us and shaking our hands as if they somehow knew that we were now connected through the common bond of Christ.  It was awesome.

The hard part was driving away from Marena that evening knowing that we wouldn’t be coming back, and another group probably wouldn’t be here for another 6-12 months.  Continue to pray for those believers that God will do a miraculous work in their lives, that they will have an impact on the other villagers that they encounter everyday, and that God will send them a Pastor/leader.

-E

Pictures of the health class, set-up for the film, a night shot of the film, and a few shots from the Marena film:

Teaching the community health class in the school:

Setting up the screen for the film:

Great night shot that Aaron took:

Getting names from some Marena villagers after praying to receive Christ:

The morning after Pastor Andre transferred the names of the new believers in Marena to an emerging leader in Bangassi:

Africa Journal: Day 12 – January 7, 2009

From my journal:

” … we’re on the back end of this trip, and it is a weird feeling … not wanting to leave this place, these beautiful people, but getting tired and worn out from the drastic change in culture and speed of life here.  I met with my prayer partners today and shared with them my desire for our team to be part of something on this trip that we can look back on and say that only God did that … we prayed for a morale boost for the team for tomorrow, which is our last full day of ministry in Africa.  I can’t believe it’s almost over.

We didn’t get to do the community health class today because the doctor had to be away, so we’re planning on it for tomorrow.  Because we didn’t do the clinic, we went to a lake that was about 40 minutes away for an extended time of prayer, rest, lunch, etc.  While we were there Randy led us in a time of prayer and really asked us to seek God’s wisdom for where we were supposed to minister tomorrow … there is a village, Cocolo,  that they tried to show the Jesus film to on a previous trip that wasn’t willing to let them show it … and there was a village who wanted to have the film shown, but couldn’t because of a festival in the village that evening.  So, with only one more opportunity to show the Jesus film tomorrow, Randy wanted us to pray for where God was leading us, and ask Him to bring us all to agreement on that.   After spending time in prayer alone and together as a team, we agreed that we needed to stop in Cocolo on the way back to Bangassi from the lake, and greet the chief, and just let them know we were praying for them, but that we would go back to the village, Maurena, that wanted to see the film for tomorrow night.

God I pray that you would help me to never forget this place or these people.  Cause me to never quit praying for their salvation, and for You to reveal Yourself to them.  God use tomorrow to reap a harvest for You in Bangassi and Maurena…”

We had a morning full of ministry in Bangassi . . . more visiting people in their courtyards, having tea, soccer “clinics”, games with kids, helping build water filtration systems, and prayer walking.

I’ve noticed that I haven’t written much about the water filtration projects … more than likely because that wasn’t something that I was personally involved with, but it was a big part of the compassion ministry we had in Africa.  It teamed with the community health clinic that we ran, which taught about the dangers of drinking dirty water, and taught how to make sure that you were drinking clean water.  The filter project was mainly headed up by a couple of Malian nationals that came with us from the Capitol.  “General” Madu played a big part in this ministry.  In each village they took a group of men and taught them to build water filters in barrels and using other resources that were easily obtainable for them … all of the resources we used to show them actually were purchased in Bamako before we left for the bush.  Anyhow, Madu and his team taught these men in the villages to build and maintain these filters with the hopes that they could then teach others in the village to do the same thing.   During one of their times together, they were trying to get the men to realize that their water was dirty, so they went to the well and put the well water through the bio/sand filter, and you could see bugs crawling up the side of the filter … this surprised the men, and their reaction, although shocked, was a good one because now hopefully they will see the need to filter their water.  One of the worries is that they have lived so long doing things the way they always have, that they won’t actually follow through with learning and applying something new.

It was a good day at the lake.  We found some shade and just took some time to pray and reflect and relax.  Our prayer time together was really cool, it was neat to see how God brought all of us together with the same mind about what we should do in regards to showing the Jesus Film the following night … and boy what a story that is … stay tuned to hear that tomorrow. When we got back to Bangassi, we busted out the guitar and had a time of celebration for what God has done here so far, had dinner, chili … which didn’t settle well for me, and off to bed fairly early for me.

This has been such a growing journey for me … to go back through this and to recall what God was doing, and to see how he was working when I was oblivious to it at the time.  I hope it has been at least somewhat encouraging to those of you who are following along. Until tomorrow…

-E

Some photos of the water filter projects:

Preparing barrels: Madu: bent over in sweater, Lamine (our driver) squatting at barrel

“General” Madu:

The lake and celebration time in Bangassi:

lunch at the lake:

Singing songs in Bangassi:

Africa Journal: Day 11 – January 6, 2009

From my journal:

*note … one of these excerpts is from my quiet time in the morning, and one is from a writing a did during the showing of the Jesus Film*

“…I’m led to pray for healing today.  Father, should there be someone with an illness or disease that needs healing Lord, do not allow us to be fearful of praying with faith and expectancy that You are the God that does ALL things.  Father, in the powerful name of Jesus, whose blood has covered me and my sins, I bind satan and his demons from any work in the hearts minds or lives of our team today.  He has no authority over us, because You have already won the victory.  I trust in You, give us boldness and authority as we pray and serve You today…”

Later that evening (at the showing of the Jesus Film in Bangassi):

” … at the Jesus film tonight and there is a huge crowd! Praise God.  Tonight God, bring revival to the village of Bangassi.  Father make these people shout Your name in praise as they go back to their homes tonight, because You are worthy.

Father I pray tonight for Elephe, Quaraton, and Harajada.  You know who they are!!  LOL.  Bring them Your salvation.  Stir in their hearts as they see the images and s they hear the truth about who You are.

God bring glory to Your name.  I pray for the young lady who came to have her hand worked on today.  She promised to come to the film tonight, and as she watches tonight, help her to KNOW, beyond a shadow of a doubt that You can, not only heal her hand, but You can save her heart and soul too!

God I know You restored the withered hand, made the lame walk, the blind see, the deaf hear, the mute speak, and raised the dead!  Tonight, in faith, I pray You would heal that young lady’s hand.  Take the infection away, reduce the swelling, cause the sores to disappear, leave her with no pain, and full usage of her had, in Jesus name, and for nothing other than for His glory!”

Did you catch it?  I didn’t until I was going back through this journal.  This particular morning, for whatever reason, I was prompted to pray for healing . . . and for power and authority and boldness to pray for healing for those who needed it … later that day, Mariam (the lady with the infected hand) came into our camp.  I had been reading through some of the gospel accounts during my morning quiet times, and had been reading stories of healing, in addition, I had been talking with my 2 prayer partners about praying in faith, and not shying away from praying those bold prayers … then this morning, seemingly out of the blue, I write this in my journal.  I don’t believe in coincidence, and think that God was at work.  It’s so funny how I didn’t make the connection from my mornings prayers that day to Mariam coming into camp that afternoon until I just re-read the account.

Aaron, one of our team members happened to be an ER nurse, and had brought some supplies that had been donated for our trip . . . he did a great job working with Mariam.  He said that the infection had likely started as a skin rash and had spread so severely, that in his opinion if she hadn’t been treated, the infection would have gotten so bad that she would have, in a short amount of time lot her had, and perhaps her life.  After cleaning the wounds, and giving some medicines he explained that she needed to clean it three times a day and change the wrappings . . . and in addition the wrappings needed to be boiled in water and then dried again before using.  The great thing is that for the next few days while we were there, I would see Mariam throughout the day, and her bandages were changed, she was doing it.  But, even more amazing than the fact that she was doing what Aaron had suggested, she came back the next day to have him look at it again . . . and in Aaron’s words “even if she had been in America and received the best treatment possible, there is no way that her had should look this good after what it looked like yesterday.”  Thank you Jesus … does the story get even better?  Yes, Mariam accepted the Lord!

What a great, great experience.  Mariam took a special place in all of our hearts during our stay in Bangassi.

Some of the pictures today will be of Mariams hand, so if you get queasy . . . you might move on!

-E

Sunrise during a morning quiet time:

Mariam when she first came to have her had looked at:

Removing the bandages she came in:

Tracy loving on Mariam:

Aaron giving instructions on how to care for her hand:

Back for a check up on second day:

Africa Journal: Day 10 – January 5, 2009

From my journal:

“We’ve driven out of the village a small distance this morning to have some retreat from the hustle and bustle of  Bangassi, for some team time, but most importantly for some quiet time with the Lord

I’m reading/meditating on Romans 8:36-39 today and the thing that seems to come up to me the most right now is that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Nothing … another part says “neither the present nor the future.”  I stress and worry so much about what is to come, that I lose the beauty of who God is in this moment.

I know the truth that nothing will separate me from Him or His love, but I pray my eyes, ears, mind and heart are opened to see that love, and that my hands and feet and voice will be used to BE that love.  God, take all of who I am, for all of who You are, that’s all I want …

… Praise the Lord, there is a new believer among the Fulanke today!  We’ve been praying for this and You are doing it!   Even as I’m writing this, another man has come into our courtyard to talk with the “Christians.”  God, I pray that if this is another seeker, that You would draw him to Yourself right now, redeem Your people!

*Two! … two new believers today! Praise Your Father!”

God is mighty to save!  There were no really appropriate words to describe what I was in the middle of experiencing on this particular day.  We were seeing God, and seeing the process of Him bringing the Fulanke to Himself!  There is a cool “back story” about the happenings of this day:

This was our first full day in Bangassi.  We had arrived the night before and only had time to set up a make-shift camp for the night.  Randy, our leader from Stonebridge had asked the chief if there was a place we could use to set up camp that would offer a little privacy, and they were going to check on the possibility of using the health clinic building (which was on the outskirts of the village and not close to anything) as a temporary housing site for us, but they wouldn’t be able to find out until the next day, so night one we just set up our beds in the Chief’s courtyard.

Day one in Bangassi, we didn’t have anything planned, we were going to use the day to familiarize ourselves with the village, and hopefully (in our minds) be able to move our camp from the current location, which was the commerce center of Bangassi, to a more secluded area.  However, this wasn’t happening.  We just weren’t hearing back from the people we were supposed to hear back from to see if we could used the clinic.  So, before sundown, we decided we would just make our camp here for the week, and that for some reason, God wanted us right where we were … enter “seeker #1″.  Literally, this man just walked into our camp and asked how he could know Jesus! … we hadn’t done ANY “ministry” yet! He became a believer!  Within the next hour … enter “seeker #2″, another believer!  God wanted us right there in the center of the village for these people!

What an amazing start to our time in Bangassi!

If you would, would you pray for those new believers in Bangassi … that God would continue to reveal Himself and His plan for their lives to them.

-E

Other notable moments from the day:

We saw a pack of Baboons when we went for our quiet time/team time (or whatever you call a group of baboons):

I got to try to jam with some African musicians and dancers using the Cora, an African instrument:

Kristen, Jenna and I were invited by a village woman to visit the garden with her while she went to water:

Pastor Andre, the first national pastor from Sebekoro, came with us to Bangassi for the week of ministry there:

This is the boys camp in Bangassi:

Africa Journal: Day 9 – January 4, 2009

From my journal:

“On the road to Bangassi.  Left Sebekoro today, but before we did we received the blessing from the chief … we were ‘given the road’ (meaning we were free to leave).  Also, the chief gave us all African names before we left.  Mine is Sidi Fofana.  I was actually named after the chief’s first grandson, which was quite an honor.

It could be a long night, because we aren’t scheduled to arrive in Bangassi until after dark . . . they figured about an 8 hour drive.  Once we get there, we’ll have to greet the chief and receive permission to be in and stay in the village before we can set up camp or anything.  God, I pray for the Fulanke people that we will minister to during this week of our trip.  I pray for salvations and for the message to land on soil that is ready to produce a harvest for Your glory!”

This was my entire entry for the day b/c I tried to “write” while we were on the road, and that wasn’t an easy task.  This was a long day, and if you are following along, I mentioned yesterday that it was the beginning of a difficult 24 hours for me.  This trip was exhausting.  We left from Sebekoro pretty early in the day, and one of my responsibilities on the trip was to oversee the preparations/packing to travel, so I needed to make sure that we had all the tubs, and that everything was packed and tied down okay, etc.  When I woke up that morning, I went into pack mode, and didn’t spend time with the Lord before we left We drove the first 2 hours through the “bush roads” which were not roads at all.  Then the next 3 hours or so were actually on the paved road.  We stopped at one point for lunch and to make phone calls back to our home churches for a check-in … hopefully some of you were able to hear from us when we phoned in!  And spent the last 3 hours on more “bush roads”  … they were SOOO bumpy, and our van was so packed , it was uncomfortable!  That being said, I had attempted to read my Bible for a while on the road, but started to get a headache.

SO, by the time we got to Bangassi, it was well passed dark, we were all tired and hungry, had to wait to get permission to stay in the village, and I was in a bad mood.  My bad mood turned into “victim syndrome”  I felt like everything someone was saying or doing was a direct slam at me … I felt like none of my thoughts were being heard, and that everyone else was “out for me”  SO, I went and found a quiet corner and sat in the shadows so I couldn’t be seen and had some prayer time . . . and you know what I realized?  None of that stuff that I thought was reality.  Reality was that I was tired: physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  So, I ate dinner, made my bed and went to bed, tomorrow would be a new day!

I do have to rewind though and share a crazy story from our trip to Bangassi.  In Mali there are checkpoints on the highway that distinguish different territories.  It would be like us passing from one county into another.  Well each of those checkpoints are run by local government, so they have the ability to govern it however they see fit.  Well, at this particular checkpoint, our driver got out to show our papers and our log, and all of the sudden we heard arguing, and it began to get heated quickly.  It came to a point where the guard actually sent another guard to go get handcuffs, they were going to arrest our driver, and we weren’t going to get to Bangassi, or so I thought.  Enter, Lamine.  Lamine was our other driver, and was also helping with some of our water filter projects.  This guy has the BEST personality of anyone I have ever met.  He connected with EVERYONE.  As we started to pray in the van for God to cover the situation, Lamine walked over to see what was going on, and no joke, within 5 seconds of Lamine getting there, the yelling stopped, and within 30 seconds, they had turned from yelling to laughing!  Turns out that the guard saw all of our tubs/luggage and a van full of white folk and thought he could get away with asking for money for us to get through.  Well, Lamine apparently got him “talked down” and told Randy that they were asking for the equivalent of 4 US dollars to get through the gate.  Randy said he would give them the $4 if he could give them a Bible too.  The crazy part was that the guard was SO grateful and excited to receive the Bible.  God is SO faithful!

What started out as a potentially scary situation turned out to be a great opportunity to share the word of God!

-E

Packing the bush bus:

Lunch on the road to Bangassi:

Africa Journal: Day 8 – January 3, 2009

From my journal:

“… since being here, I’ve thought a lot about culture and languages, and I am very interested in these aspects of our ministry.  This causes me to wonder and think ‘why did God give me those thoughts, likes, etc.’?  Could it be that I am supposed to engage a culture?  Learn the language? Help story the Gospel in their language? Is it that I am supposed to go to Korea? Is that my ‘thing?’  The thing that I feel like I am supposed to figure out while I’m here?  If I stay in Springfield, what am I supposed to do? God, I have so many questions about what You have for me.  I trust Your plan and know that Your will is perfect, and Your timing is right.  I ask that You forgive me for my impatience in this area and that whenever You reveal things to me that I would have assurance that it is from You.  That You would protect my thoughts and actions from the attack of the evil one.

Father, I’m learning to depend upon You more and more.  I ask that You keep me in that mind, help me to always rely on You for all things.  Jesus, I ask that You refine my thoughts and desires so that only those that are from You will remain.  God take away the desires of my heart that are distractions from You.  God, I want a family.  I want to love a woman as my wife and live life with her.  I want to be a father, and love and nurture children.  God, as hard as it is for me to imagine life without those things, what I really want is what You want for me.  Clarify my priorities so that I only see You…”

This was our last full day in Sebekoro … we would leave in the morning to head toward Bangassi.  We spent a good portion of the morning climbing a “mountain” near Sebekoro to get away for some group time, and to pray over the villages of Mali.  The climb was fun, the view was awesome, and the environment lent itself to a lot of introspection . . . in the midst of such a vast land that is part of such a large continent on this earth that is part of our solar system in our galaxy which is just one of millions of known galaxies . . . makes you feel pretty small.  Gives quite a reality check.

We continued the same sort of ministry today as had been happening the past few days, and we were showing the Jesus film in one last village before leaving the next day to travel to the Fulanke people in Bangassi.  My mind however, was apparently in all sorts of different places this day.  This particular excerpt was just one tangent that I went on in my journal.

I think I went on this trip with no expectations about the people, ministry etc … but I think I had placed some sort of expectation on God to “reveal something” to me.  I don’t have any idea what it was supposed to be, but apparently I was pretty focused on it this particular day.  I really began to pray that God would rid me of all my selfish thoughts and desires and that I would begin to really focus in on Him and Him only.  To “seek Him first” like Matthew 6 says.  It’s hard to come to a place where you feel like you have to surrender all of your dreams and wants and desires, and truly be in the mindset that if I never get these things, it’s okay, because God is more than enough.  This was the beginning of a rough 24 hours or so for me emotionally … more about that tomorrow.

… meanwhile, I’m still learning to surrender to Him.

-E

During the climb:

View from the top ( you can see the village of Sebekoro in the distance):

Group Shot at the top:

Africa Journal: Day 6 – January 1, 2009

* Sorry for my brief hiatus, I’ve been in Columbus, Georgia since Thursday leading at a youth Disciple Now for a great church and a great friend there, and had no time to sit and write a new post, so I’ll start back up where I left off … hope everyone’s weekend was great!*

From my journal:

” … how cool to wake up this morning and start a new year in Africa.  I woke up to the bluest sky I have ever seen.  There is a window cut out of the wall just above my head in this old 3 room radio building that we slept in last night . . . and as my eyes opened this morning the contrast between the VERY neutral walls and ceiling, and the blue sky was crazy!  Not only did I wake to a blue sky, but to the sounds of goats, donkeys, roosters, and somewhere off in the distance children already playing and laughing.

We spent this morning after breakfast in prayer with our team, and then prayer walking through the village, just meeting and greeting people.  How different the culture is! People in the US could be very rude if you just walked up into their yard and tried to talk with them, but these people are SO nice and welcoming.

I’m learning quickly that we cannot go anywhere without a crowd of children following you . . . and I love it!  These kids are beautiful, and they have such a vibrancy about them. They want to touch you, hold your hand … and for me, they like to rub the hair on my arms!  Funny, and a little weird, not gonna lie!

I made a sweet friend today, his name is Vey.  He was my teacher … as we were walking/praying through the village I would point to things and ask “name?” and he would teach me (once he figured out what I was doing, he was pointing to everything to try to get me to say it) and then laugh at my attempts.

After we returned from prayer walking today, the guys set out to play soccer or “football.”  We had the “ball of many colors” that showed us about a perfect God, our sinful nature, Christ’s blood to pay for our sins and the opportunity we have to be cleansed.  If you choose to accept Him you then are called to grow in Him …

I got to share with the children, about 30-40 about the love of Jesus and their need for Him, what a joy! A seed planted.

After playing soccer for a while and helping the missionary family that was also visiting put on a skit of David and Goliath, Bakumba (she is a cook that came with us from Bamako, and will be here for our first week) made us another great Malian meal: rice, cabbage, eggplant, pumpkin and goat.  It was very good.

Tonight we are going to a neighboring village to show the Jesus film for the first time, I’m excited to see that!

Father, tonight, send Your Spirit down over our group and on these people.  Show up HUGE! …”

It was such a blessing to get to start actual ministry with the people of Mali.  I remember thinking that on New Year’s Day . . . . we had prayed for them, and studied the culture, but now we were actually there among them sharing the love of Christ in practical ways, and just loving them the way that we best knew how.

Also on this day, while we were prayer walking we visited the health clinic in Sebekoro, saw their “hospital beds” and the room where surgeries were performed and babies were born …

I’ll never forget the excitement on the faces of some of those boys when we pulled out the soccer equipment … they would ask us for the rest of the week “futbol?” They LOVE soccer . . . and we loved playing it with them and having the opportunity to share Christ with them through the love of a sport.

Re–reading the journal entry for today, and having just experienced some of the things that we did at the youth retreat this weekend makes me think a lot more about how I can be sharing Christ in my everyday life … not just on a mission trip, or at a church event, but in my everyday because I’m not called to go and make disciples just when it is comfortable or easy for me … just thoughts.

-E

Our cook, Bakumba:

A Malian meal:

One of the hospital beds:

Soccer:

Mark and Michele (our interpreter)  sharing with the Ball of many colors:

Africa Journal: Day 5 – December 31, 2008

From my journal:

“Well, we made it to Sebekoro today! After about 2 hours on the road and another 2 1/2 hours on the “road” (term used loosely this time…) we finally pulled into the village and were welcomed by a swarm of children.  As soon as they saw us in the van, they began cheering and chasing after us, and by the time we pulled to a stop near the missionary home, there was a crowd of children waiting for us to exit the van, and I thought … ‘here we go, this is what we’ve come for.’  There was no more training to be done, no more preparation to be made, we were in the thick of ministry as soon as we stepped out onto the ground, and I loved it!

I’ve had my moments the last few days, where I’ve been scared and felt completely inadequate.  Give me Your peace and wisdom.  Lord, help me to see that I am a child of God and that Your power is made perfect in my weakness …

We just finished our first group devotion time together out on the mission field, and I cannot begin to describe it in accurate detail.  The sky here is SO clear and I’ve never seen so many stars!  As we were worshipping tonight, I was a bit overwhelmed to be leading our team in this time under the African sky … I think it will be one of my most treasured memories from this trip.

What a great way to spend New Year’s Eve, and when I wake up in the morning, what a great way to start a new year … goodbye 2008, hello 2009!”

I remember being SO anxious all day to get to Sebekoro and to meet the people, and to immerse myself in their culture for the next week, but when we finally arrived after the drive through some of the roughest “roads” I’ve ever seen (we’re talking over boulders, through dry creek beds, etc) I was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of kids that surrounded us upon our arrival … some of them just curious to see white people I’m sure, but others excited to have the guests and looking with anticipation I’m sure of having the activities that were sure to come in the following days.

After arriving in Sebekoro, we quickly took off on foot through the village to make our way to the courtyard of the Chief.  The 5-6 minute walk was full of us doing the best we could to introduce ourselves to the kids, holding hands, and prayer walking. Once we arrived at the Chief’s we greeted him and asked for permission to be in the village for the week.  We were greeted warmly, and looked forward to the ministry that was to come.

After worship that night I remember lying there before drifting off to sleep just in awe of who God is, and feeling so humble that He had chosen to use me on this trip…

-E

Chief Jahweh Fofana in Sebekoro: