The trip has been going very well!
Day 5.5
In the evening, Mike and I went to Howell and met up with Stephen Cottle at a coffee shop... no coffee for me though :-( ... We had an excellent conversation and it was very refreshing.
Day 6
After staying with Mike Carpenter, I left my bag with him. He works 3rd's in Lansing, so he drove my bag ahead of me. It was nice to not have to walk with it on for a day. My bag is sort of part of my "image" though; by that I mean I stand out with it on (it's huge). People ask me what I'm doing and I have the chance to start a conversation with them. Without the bag I had a mostly conversationless day, but nevertheless I was able to get in about 20 miles that day, so I'm grateful. When chatting with my friend Stephen Cottle, he suggested a pastor in Lansing that I should call to find a place to stay. He couldn't house me for the night, but he was able to hook me up with a person in his church (Jeff) that I stayed with. Jeff was really cool. We sat and talked while we watched the hockey game on tv.
Day 7
I left bright and early and took off for Grand Ledge. My dad told me that there was a prayer gathering of pastors going on at Grand Ledge Baptist. I called them up and asked if I could swing by. They even hooked me up with a great place to stay that night. The walk from Lansing to Grand Ledge was fairly uneventful. My time at the church with the Converge pastors was a great break. We spent some quality time in prayer and fellowship. It was very encouraging and just what I needed. I stayed with the pastor's father-in-law. We had a very nice conversation over another hockey game.
Day 8
Today has been pretty interesting. I took off from grand ledge in the morning after eating breakfast at the church with the pastors. I didn't get very far before I started a conversation with a man sweeping the sidewalk. I gave him one of my flyers and he gave me some money for the cause. After walking a ways, I stopped for a break in a mcDonalds. There was a group of people having breakfast and they asked me what I was doing with that backpack. I told them my story and gave them some flyers and they gave me around $40 for the cause. Later I was walking down the road and a lady stopped and asked if I needed a ride, so I told her my story and she gave me $6. Now I'm at the portland library to use the internet and my next stop is a house in Portland where I'm staying for the night (the church in Grand Ledge hooked me up again!)
Tomorrow night, Lord willing, I will be in Saranac staying with Sam from Lifeline.
Thank you all for your prayers! God keeps showing up in interesting ways.
As Jessica continues to remind me, Jesus is my strength and he is the reason I do the things I do. Grace and Peace be with you!
God bless
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Walk Across Michigan: Update 2
Hey all,
I apologize because my last update was posted on the wrong blog site, so if you don't normally read that one, you would have been in the dark about my trip so far. I have re-posted it on this blog below this post, so go ahead and read that first if you haven't yet.
Day 3.5
As I said in my last post, my parents came down to walk with me for a little while. It was really nice to see them and to have someone to walk with (and a car to keep my 60lb backpack in). I was actually able to put in 21 miles that day, which was very helpful in getting me ahead of schedule. I decided to call it a night when i got to through the town of Brighton, so I called Mike to get the overnight weather report. He told me that there was a severe storm on it's way and that it was already in lansing. Since enough people have told me to consider my safety, I decided it would be a good idea to stay indoors for that night. I happened to be in front of a little motel, so I decided that would work fine.
Day 4
I got a late start because it was raining in the morning. I began walking toward Howell, but not far outside of Brighton I started to get rained on. I decided to keep walking through the rain because I had already gotten a late start. That idea lasted until I walked in front of a donut shop and decided that was an excellent place to take a break. The baker insisted on paying for my donuts. We had a nice conversation for about 45 minutes along with another guy in the shop. Finally the rain quit, but before I left the two of them handed me 30 dollars, which practically paid for my motel visit. The rest of the day was nice walking weather. I had gotten just passed the town of Howell when someone yelled out of a van at me. It turned out that they were my friends from fowlerville/webberville (Jon and Casey). They were on their way to Howell to get some groceries and invited me to have stakes at Jon's place. I walked the rest of the way to fowlerville, just in time to get there for some good tasting food! That night I stayed at Casey's house, which was really cool (thanks Casey!).
Day 5
This brings me to today. This morning we went to the MBGC church here in webberville, Calvary Baptist. I know quite a few people there from camp, so it was nice to see some familiar faces. To my surprise, pastor Scott had me come up front to tell the congregation about what I was doing, and then they took up an offering to help Jessica's House. I am very thankful for their generosity; It was very encouraging. They raised around 300 dollars. This afternoon, I had a mothers day potluck with Casey's family and then I walked the rest of the way from Fowlerville to Webberville. Since I'm a little ahead of schedule, I decided it would be nice to take the rest of the day off and hang out in webberville with friends.
As long as I continue to have decent weather for this trip, it looks like I will end up finishing a few days ahead of schedule. That would be a blessing, because sometime between this walk and when I go to camp I have to find time to move my belongings from Grand Rapids to Ludington.
Thanks for reading, and I really appreciate your prayers! It is very evident that people are praying for me because of all the exciting things that continue to happen along the way.
God bless
I apologize because my last update was posted on the wrong blog site, so if you don't normally read that one, you would have been in the dark about my trip so far. I have re-posted it on this blog below this post, so go ahead and read that first if you haven't yet.
Day 3.5
As I said in my last post, my parents came down to walk with me for a little while. It was really nice to see them and to have someone to walk with (and a car to keep my 60lb backpack in). I was actually able to put in 21 miles that day, which was very helpful in getting me ahead of schedule. I decided to call it a night when i got to through the town of Brighton, so I called Mike to get the overnight weather report. He told me that there was a severe storm on it's way and that it was already in lansing. Since enough people have told me to consider my safety, I decided it would be a good idea to stay indoors for that night. I happened to be in front of a little motel, so I decided that would work fine.
Day 4
I got a late start because it was raining in the morning. I began walking toward Howell, but not far outside of Brighton I started to get rained on. I decided to keep walking through the rain because I had already gotten a late start. That idea lasted until I walked in front of a donut shop and decided that was an excellent place to take a break. The baker insisted on paying for my donuts. We had a nice conversation for about 45 minutes along with another guy in the shop. Finally the rain quit, but before I left the two of them handed me 30 dollars, which practically paid for my motel visit. The rest of the day was nice walking weather. I had gotten just passed the town of Howell when someone yelled out of a van at me. It turned out that they were my friends from fowlerville/webberville (Jon and Casey). They were on their way to Howell to get some groceries and invited me to have stakes at Jon's place. I walked the rest of the way to fowlerville, just in time to get there for some good tasting food! That night I stayed at Casey's house, which was really cool (thanks Casey!).
Day 5
This brings me to today. This morning we went to the MBGC church here in webberville, Calvary Baptist. I know quite a few people there from camp, so it was nice to see some familiar faces. To my surprise, pastor Scott had me come up front to tell the congregation about what I was doing, and then they took up an offering to help Jessica's House. I am very thankful for their generosity; It was very encouraging. They raised around 300 dollars. This afternoon, I had a mothers day potluck with Casey's family and then I walked the rest of the way from Fowlerville to Webberville. Since I'm a little ahead of schedule, I decided it would be nice to take the rest of the day off and hang out in webberville with friends.
As long as I continue to have decent weather for this trip, it looks like I will end up finishing a few days ahead of schedule. That would be a blessing, because sometime between this walk and when I go to camp I have to find time to move my belongings from Grand Rapids to Ludington.
Thanks for reading, and I really appreciate your prayers! It is very evident that people are praying for me because of all the exciting things that continue to happen along the way.
God bless
Walk Across Michigan: Update 1
*sorry, I realized that I posted this on the wrong blog. So here it is a few days late.
Hey all.
I wanted to post an update on here before I left, but I couldn't get online at the library in St Clair Shores.
Day 1
I have to say, I got a lot of strange looks walking through the outskirts of Detroit with my huge backpack on. Overall, it was a fairly uneventful day until I was about ready to call it a night. I walked into a neighborhood planning to go up to people's houses and ask if I could stay in my tent in their yard. A guy across the street yelled at me asking what I was doing (I get that a lot), so I told him. He invited me in for dinner and then let me sleep in his backyard. He was Philippino and had all kinds of stories from back home. When he was a teenager, the rebels came through his property and asked (at gunpoint) if he would cook up some food for them. The problem was that if the other soldiers came by and saw them, they would have accused him of harboring rebels. Yikes... It was a good evening with some quality conversation.
Day 2
Just before noon, my weather man (Mike Johnson) called me and let me know that there was a storm on the way. I had just enough time to find some shelter before the sky let loose. It lasted about an hour, and then I was on my way again. In the evening, I tried to find a yard to stay in, but no one would let me, so I kept walking. I finally came upon a park. It had a nice dark corner where no one went, so I laid my sleeping bag out and went to sleep.
Day 3
This brings me to today. Since I was sleeping in park, I woke up bright and early before people would use the park (6:00am). Waking up so early gave me enough time to get all the way to Novi before lunch. This is where I am now, and my parents have met me here so my dad can walk with me for a while.
I will bring you up to date the next time I happen across a library.
Hey all.
I wanted to post an update on here before I left, but I couldn't get online at the library in St Clair Shores.
Day 1
I have to say, I got a lot of strange looks walking through the outskirts of Detroit with my huge backpack on. Overall, it was a fairly uneventful day until I was about ready to call it a night. I walked into a neighborhood planning to go up to people's houses and ask if I could stay in my tent in their yard. A guy across the street yelled at me asking what I was doing (I get that a lot), so I told him. He invited me in for dinner and then let me sleep in his backyard. He was Philippino and had all kinds of stories from back home. When he was a teenager, the rebels came through his property and asked (at gunpoint) if he would cook up some food for them. The problem was that if the other soldiers came by and saw them, they would have accused him of harboring rebels. Yikes... It was a good evening with some quality conversation.
Day 2
Just before noon, my weather man (Mike Johnson) called me and let me know that there was a storm on the way. I had just enough time to find some shelter before the sky let loose. It lasted about an hour, and then I was on my way again. In the evening, I tried to find a yard to stay in, but no one would let me, so I kept walking. I finally came upon a park. It had a nice dark corner where no one went, so I laid my sleeping bag out and went to sleep.
Day 3
This brings me to today. Since I was sleeping in park, I woke up bright and early before people would use the park (6:00am). Waking up so early gave me enough time to get all the way to Novi before lunch. This is where I am now, and my parents have met me here so my dad can walk with me for a while.
I will bring you up to date the next time I happen across a library.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Thanks
I want to thank you all for your support. I'm not just saying that. I really can't express my thanks for all of you. Without your prayers, it wouldn't have been what it was. Without your financial support, I would have sat home all Christmas break pondering what could have been.
I will pick this blog back up again when in the days leading up to the walk across Michigan, so be looking for that. In the meantime I am going back to posting my thoughts in my normal blog. You are all welcome to check it out and read what I have to say.
Buhcaw.blogspot.com
See you there.
I will pick this blog back up again when in the days leading up to the walk across Michigan, so be looking for that. In the meantime I am going back to posting my thoughts in my normal blog. You are all welcome to check it out and read what I have to say.
Buhcaw.blogspot.com
See you there.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Life after Africa
So here I am, sitting in a coffee shop in Grand Rapids. It's the coldest day of the year (not that such a thing would be hard, being only 16 days into it).
It's been a week since I got back, and I've been busier than ever. My classes started on Monday and it's been a solid amount of work. I have to say, it would have been pretty nice to have a week or so to debrief upon our return. Alas, life moves on and I was thrown back into it at full pace. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to just sit down and ponder/think/pray about my experiences. I think, finally, I will be able to set aside some time for that this weekend.
While I was over in Mali, I saw a need that couldn't wait around for help. If you've been keeping up with my posts, you already know what I'm talking about. As soon as I got back I jumped on it. I really can't explain how amazing the last week has been, even within the busyness. The feedback that I have gotten for my efforts has been so incredibly encouraging.
You can find everything in better detail (along with pictures) on the website that I set up:
www.JessicasHouse.info
On the website, it details the ministry that I am referring to, as well as the need.
So here is what's happening:
On either the 6th or 7th of February (more specifics to come) we are holding a benefit concert to raise support for this ministry. The concert will have a few local bands to enjoy, and a great opportunity to fellowship (hang out) with each other.
Later in February, we are having an event called "Walking to a Brighter Future". The walk will be roughly 2 and a half weeks and will be from the east coast of Michigan to the west coast (Marine City to Holland). I will be walking the entire distance (Lord willing), and I am strongly encouraging anyone to join me for segments of the journey. I also encourage anyone walking with me to raise support from their church/friends/family to be donated to Jessica's House.
I am asking anyone to help support me by pledging $10/mile for however miles you wish to sponsor (the entire walk is 200 miles). All the proceeds will go directly to Jessica's House ministry.
Yes... it is February... and yes, it will be cold! The need is urgent and I want to show everyone my 100% devotion to this cause. I will do whatever it takes to raise this money.
God moves in incredible ways when we begin to take care of his children. I have seen this at camp and I have seen this in Bamako. He is doing incredible things, and I find pure joy in helping Him... whatever the cost!
More info to come...
Side rant (for what it's worth):
People ask me "what is the spiritual aspect of this ministry?". I assure you that there is a spiritual aspect to the ministry, as I talk about on the website. I am also excited to see what God will lead the ministry to do once these initial needs have been met! Never-the-less I am often discouraged when this is the first thing that people ask. There was a guy named Maslow that said something about the importance of meeting one's physical needs BEFORE it is even possible to meet any of their other needs (Maslow's hierarchy of needs). Jesus said something about feeding the hungry too. He even acted on it (His ministry wasn't all about feeding hungry people, but as evident in feeding the 5000, He knew quite well that meeting their physical needs was a must before trying to meet their spiritual needs!). Don't you think that if we meet people's physical needs, God will do amazing things?
Maybe we ought to step back, and refocus on loving people by meeting their physical needs, rather than only worrying about cramming Bible jargon into their ears. I mean... I'm all about preaching the Gospel, but people aren't going to be receptive to it if you haven't shown them that you care.
I apologize if you disagree, let's still be brothers and sisters and carry on.
More deep thoughts on my experiences to come (maybe once i get the chance to sit down and think about it myself!).
It's been a week since I got back, and I've been busier than ever. My classes started on Monday and it's been a solid amount of work. I have to say, it would have been pretty nice to have a week or so to debrief upon our return. Alas, life moves on and I was thrown back into it at full pace. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to just sit down and ponder/think/pray about my experiences. I think, finally, I will be able to set aside some time for that this weekend.
While I was over in Mali, I saw a need that couldn't wait around for help. If you've been keeping up with my posts, you already know what I'm talking about. As soon as I got back I jumped on it. I really can't explain how amazing the last week has been, even within the busyness. The feedback that I have gotten for my efforts has been so incredibly encouraging.
You can find everything in better detail (along with pictures) on the website that I set up:
www.JessicasHouse.info
On the website, it details the ministry that I am referring to, as well as the need.
So here is what's happening:
On either the 6th or 7th of February (more specifics to come) we are holding a benefit concert to raise support for this ministry. The concert will have a few local bands to enjoy, and a great opportunity to fellowship (hang out) with each other.
Later in February, we are having an event called "Walking to a Brighter Future". The walk will be roughly 2 and a half weeks and will be from the east coast of Michigan to the west coast (Marine City to Holland). I will be walking the entire distance (Lord willing), and I am strongly encouraging anyone to join me for segments of the journey. I also encourage anyone walking with me to raise support from their church/friends/family to be donated to Jessica's House.
I am asking anyone to help support me by pledging $10/mile for however miles you wish to sponsor (the entire walk is 200 miles). All the proceeds will go directly to Jessica's House ministry.
Yes... it is February... and yes, it will be cold! The need is urgent and I want to show everyone my 100% devotion to this cause. I will do whatever it takes to raise this money.
God moves in incredible ways when we begin to take care of his children. I have seen this at camp and I have seen this in Bamako. He is doing incredible things, and I find pure joy in helping Him... whatever the cost!
More info to come...
Side rant (for what it's worth):
People ask me "what is the spiritual aspect of this ministry?". I assure you that there is a spiritual aspect to the ministry, as I talk about on the website. I am also excited to see what God will lead the ministry to do once these initial needs have been met! Never-the-less I am often discouraged when this is the first thing that people ask. There was a guy named Maslow that said something about the importance of meeting one's physical needs BEFORE it is even possible to meet any of their other needs (Maslow's hierarchy of needs). Jesus said something about feeding the hungry too. He even acted on it (His ministry wasn't all about feeding hungry people, but as evident in feeding the 5000, He knew quite well that meeting their physical needs was a must before trying to meet their spiritual needs!). Don't you think that if we meet people's physical needs, God will do amazing things?
Maybe we ought to step back, and refocus on loving people by meeting their physical needs, rather than only worrying about cramming Bible jargon into their ears. I mean... I'm all about preaching the Gospel, but people aren't going to be receptive to it if you haven't shown them that you care.
I apologize if you disagree, let's still be brothers and sisters and carry on.
More deep thoughts on my experiences to come (maybe once i get the chance to sit down and think about it myself!).
Friday, January 9, 2009
Back safely... and bored already
Well, Here I am, safe and sound in Grand Rapids Michigan.
The trip back was fine, no real problems to speak of.
The last few days in Bamako were great. we spent a lot of time with the street kids, and we fell in love with them. It's amazing how close you can get to people that don't even speak your language. They had such an impact on my life. This is what seems to happen everytime: I do something to try and make an impact on someone's life, and then they are the ones that impact my life.
I'm not gunna lie, I really wanted to take them back with me.
maybe someday I will
or maybe I'll go there
Where do I go from here though? what do I do now?
I've witnessed the discards of society, and I've fallen in love with them.
Every time I see another luxury that I have I get more sick.
How many movies do I see in a year? How long would that feed these boys? How long would it educate these boys?
These are the type of questions I have to deal with now.
Did you know that instead of going to the theater to entertain myself for 2 hours, I could feed one of my new friends for several days?
I got an email from Jan saying that Jessica called her the morning after we left hoping that we had missed our plane. She said she really misses us.
right now, I'm sitting on my couch, cold, bored, and wondering why I left Africa.
For now my mission field is Grand Rapids, but that doesn't mean I won't go back.
That concludes the storyline for now. Jet-lag is in full swing, so later, I will post some thoughts on the trip, so prepare yourself for some things that may be hard to hear, and harder to take to heart.
The trip back was fine, no real problems to speak of.
The last few days in Bamako were great. we spent a lot of time with the street kids, and we fell in love with them. It's amazing how close you can get to people that don't even speak your language. They had such an impact on my life. This is what seems to happen everytime: I do something to try and make an impact on someone's life, and then they are the ones that impact my life.
I'm not gunna lie, I really wanted to take them back with me.
maybe someday I will
or maybe I'll go there
Where do I go from here though? what do I do now?
I've witnessed the discards of society, and I've fallen in love with them.
Every time I see another luxury that I have I get more sick.
How many movies do I see in a year? How long would that feed these boys? How long would it educate these boys?
These are the type of questions I have to deal with now.
Did you know that instead of going to the theater to entertain myself for 2 hours, I could feed one of my new friends for several days?
I got an email from Jan saying that Jessica called her the morning after we left hoping that we had missed our plane. She said she really misses us.
right now, I'm sitting on my couch, cold, bored, and wondering why I left Africa.
For now my mission field is Grand Rapids, but that doesn't mean I won't go back.
That concludes the storyline for now. Jet-lag is in full swing, so later, I will post some thoughts on the trip, so prepare yourself for some things that may be hard to hear, and harder to take to heart.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Back to Bamako... Finding a Holy Fool
Well it has been quite a few days since I've posted, so I guess I have a lot of ground to make up.
Christmas was good. After going to bed late Christmas Eve, we had to wake up early Christmas morning. At the church there was a long Christmas service and then a potluck... which of course was delicious; and some of the food items were unidentifiable, but ya just have to close your eyes and eat it. Afterwords, we retreated back to our house and opened presents. I got a book about Mali, some bowls, and a prayer rug.
In the evening I worked on the network some more with Ernie.
Friday was a full day. In the morning we journeyed over to the campground. Basically, its a rustic retreat center. The pastor leads literacy camps and things of the like. I asked if they ever do youth camps (kinda my specialty) and they said that there used to be some a long time ago, but it would just take someone to run with it and motivate people, otherwise it wouldn't happen.
later in the morning, our friend Eddy came over and taught us some more Bambara. We learned the numbers associated with their money system. confusingly, they have a different number sequence when dealing with money than they do with counting other objects and such. everything in the money system is based off of the number five instead of 10 like ours. so, in order to say 25 you would pronounce it 5 5's.
In the afternoon I gave another lesson to Eddy on the guitar.
Saturday was kind of the calm before the storm. In the afternoon I gave another lesson to Eddy, his final lesson. He came along very well and I bet he'll make a great guitar player. The rest of the day was spent packing, saying goodbye to people, and going to the market.
Sunday, we got up very early (5:30), packed up the car, and headed off to Bamako (about a 7 hour drive). Along the way we stopped and looked at a nice waterfall.
Once we got to Bamako, we spent the rest of the evening getting settled in.
Monday we took a taxi (something I'm getting used to, but it's still weird to me) over to Jessica's warehouse (the street kids ministry) in the afternoon. For Monday, we were just going to check it out and look around. Jessica is this lovely nigerian woman who has given up her whole life to take care of these children. It's literally all she does. She doesn't have another job, she just takes care of the boys. She survives on some money that her sister sends her. She doesn't even speak their language. With all of this despair around her she still has hope and dreams. At the moment, these kids hang out and sleep in this warehouse (think of one of those rental storage garage's. its about 20x20 feet). There are anywhere between 30-50 boys that inhabit this place. Jessica took us over to a house that she hopes to rent out for the boys. I was shocked when we walked around in it. This house has at least 8-10 bedrooms, several bathrooms, and lots of living space. Jessica has plans of providing sleeping space for up to 200 boys in this house! Some of the kids would stay there all the time and be enrolled in her program where they will be tutored by teachers until they reach an appropriate grade level for their age. Unicef has said it would provide beds, school supplies, and teachers even, but not until they get the house (and they wont provide any money for the house). The landlord was touched by the ministry and is offering the house to Jessica and the boys for $800 a month... for a 10 bedroom house!! are you kidding me? what landlord in their right mind would ever consider letting 200 boys live in one of their houses, let alone lower the rent for such a cause. God is truly working here. Sadly, they have no one to provide for any of the rent.
Jessica is a trained nurse who could be making a nice amount of money, but instead she has given up everything for these boys.
I have finally seen a holy fool in person and in action; someone who takes Jesus seriously; someone who cares more about the cause of Jesus than her own well-being.
This forces me to ask myself, how can I be like this?
Tuesday we went to a missionaries house. She had a shop in her house that she stocks with Malian craft items. so we did a little Christmas shopping.
In the evening we took off for Jessica's warehouse again. This time we passed out the notebooks we had prepared and began teaching the boys how to read and write their numbers. There is something strange and rewarding about teaching 15 year old's and 8 year old's how to write the number 1.. and at the same time awfully depressing that a 15 year old has never written a 1 before.
Our taxi driver is pretty much the coolest guy. His name is Ousman. He waits for us while we work with the kids, and even comes in and helps us teach. He knows just a little bit of English (maybe as much as the spanish I knew by the end of highschool). So Ousman talks to the boys in their language (Bambara) and translates it to english and made up sign language for us.
Wednesday we went back to the warehouse in the afternoon and interviewed some of the boys so that we could better understand where they come from and why they are there. Ousman, our taxi driver, translated for us again. We also worked on some of their numbers.
In the evening we relaxed a bit and enjoyed the sounds coming from the street. At midnight it sounded like someone was bombing us. apparently, the people here love fireworks :-)
------------
Thoughts:
Bamako has been really exciting so far, but at the same time I really miss Kadiolo. It was nice there because we got to know some locals really well and we saw them everyday. There was kind of a sense community... what I've been longing for... and then I left.
Christmas was good. After going to bed late Christmas Eve, we had to wake up early Christmas morning. At the church there was a long Christmas service and then a potluck... which of course was delicious; and some of the food items were unidentifiable, but ya just have to close your eyes and eat it. Afterwords, we retreated back to our house and opened presents. I got a book about Mali, some bowls, and a prayer rug.
In the evening I worked on the network some more with Ernie.
Friday was a full day. In the morning we journeyed over to the campground. Basically, its a rustic retreat center. The pastor leads literacy camps and things of the like. I asked if they ever do youth camps (kinda my specialty) and they said that there used to be some a long time ago, but it would just take someone to run with it and motivate people, otherwise it wouldn't happen.
later in the morning, our friend Eddy came over and taught us some more Bambara. We learned the numbers associated with their money system. confusingly, they have a different number sequence when dealing with money than they do with counting other objects and such. everything in the money system is based off of the number five instead of 10 like ours. so, in order to say 25 you would pronounce it 5 5's.
In the afternoon I gave another lesson to Eddy on the guitar.
Saturday was kind of the calm before the storm. In the afternoon I gave another lesson to Eddy, his final lesson. He came along very well and I bet he'll make a great guitar player. The rest of the day was spent packing, saying goodbye to people, and going to the market.
Sunday, we got up very early (5:30), packed up the car, and headed off to Bamako (about a 7 hour drive). Along the way we stopped and looked at a nice waterfall.
Once we got to Bamako, we spent the rest of the evening getting settled in.
Monday we took a taxi (something I'm getting used to, but it's still weird to me) over to Jessica's warehouse (the street kids ministry) in the afternoon. For Monday, we were just going to check it out and look around. Jessica is this lovely nigerian woman who has given up her whole life to take care of these children. It's literally all she does. She doesn't have another job, she just takes care of the boys. She survives on some money that her sister sends her. She doesn't even speak their language. With all of this despair around her she still has hope and dreams. At the moment, these kids hang out and sleep in this warehouse (think of one of those rental storage garage's. its about 20x20 feet). There are anywhere between 30-50 boys that inhabit this place. Jessica took us over to a house that she hopes to rent out for the boys. I was shocked when we walked around in it. This house has at least 8-10 bedrooms, several bathrooms, and lots of living space. Jessica has plans of providing sleeping space for up to 200 boys in this house! Some of the kids would stay there all the time and be enrolled in her program where they will be tutored by teachers until they reach an appropriate grade level for their age. Unicef has said it would provide beds, school supplies, and teachers even, but not until they get the house (and they wont provide any money for the house). The landlord was touched by the ministry and is offering the house to Jessica and the boys for $800 a month... for a 10 bedroom house!! are you kidding me? what landlord in their right mind would ever consider letting 200 boys live in one of their houses, let alone lower the rent for such a cause. God is truly working here. Sadly, they have no one to provide for any of the rent.
Jessica is a trained nurse who could be making a nice amount of money, but instead she has given up everything for these boys.
I have finally seen a holy fool in person and in action; someone who takes Jesus seriously; someone who cares more about the cause of Jesus than her own well-being.
This forces me to ask myself, how can I be like this?
Tuesday we went to a missionaries house. She had a shop in her house that she stocks with Malian craft items. so we did a little Christmas shopping.
In the evening we took off for Jessica's warehouse again. This time we passed out the notebooks we had prepared and began teaching the boys how to read and write their numbers. There is something strange and rewarding about teaching 15 year old's and 8 year old's how to write the number 1.. and at the same time awfully depressing that a 15 year old has never written a 1 before.
Our taxi driver is pretty much the coolest guy. His name is Ousman. He waits for us while we work with the kids, and even comes in and helps us teach. He knows just a little bit of English (maybe as much as the spanish I knew by the end of highschool). So Ousman talks to the boys in their language (Bambara) and translates it to english and made up sign language for us.
Wednesday we went back to the warehouse in the afternoon and interviewed some of the boys so that we could better understand where they come from and why they are there. Ousman, our taxi driver, translated for us again. We also worked on some of their numbers.
In the evening we relaxed a bit and enjoyed the sounds coming from the street. At midnight it sounded like someone was bombing us. apparently, the people here love fireworks :-)
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Thoughts:
Bamako has been really exciting so far, but at the same time I really miss Kadiolo. It was nice there because we got to know some locals really well and we saw them everyday. There was kind of a sense community... what I've been longing for... and then I left.
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