It is a good thing the Lord has not endowed us with unending sources of money, or we would probably be going back to Africa every year! When our family planned the 50th anniversary reception for us in 2005, they also gave us a surprise check - for a cruise! What a lovely surprise. Instead of using the gift for a cruise ship experience, we decided to use the money to go back to Africa and visit our people and our children who lived there. It was a beautiful and encouraging trip.
For a person who has lived a long, happy life of serving the Lord, it is always a delight to see again people in whom you have invested your life and teaching. The Apostle John spoke of this in one of his letters: "It gives me great joy to hear of your faithfulness to the truth....I have no greater joy than to know that my children are walking in the truth!" This is true of our birth children - all of you give us great joy - and it is also true of our spiritual children, people we helped into the New Birth and were instrumental in encouraging them to grow in God's grace. What a privilege that is! We are blessed by many children who continue to grow in God's truth.
That trip in 2006 to West Africa was such a blessing to us. We flew first to Ouagadougou, the city where God allowed us the privilege of working with that baby church from its beginning. To see how it had grown - to several congregations all over the city - was a surprise and a delight. We stayed with Clousers in Ouaga and that was a fun family time for us all. One evening Debbi hosted a lovely reception in their home, inviting all of our old friends who were available to come and enjoy a time together. She made all kinds of beautiful snacks and had punch and the people loved it. They kept coming - not all Christians even, but all friends who had meant a lot to us in our years in Burkina. It was fun for me to also participate in teaching English along with Debbi in a couple of Centers in Ouaga.
When we got to Bobo, once again the Schaeffers hosted us for meals and special times with old friends. Everyone prepared meals for us and we were abundantly entertained. We even had a picnic out on the Rocks with missionary colleagues. Esther Schaeffer had arranged for me to speak to ladies' groups and give a message over the Alliance radio program. Dad and I were both interviewed over the radio one morning and given a chance to greet the people of our old city of Bobo-Dioulasso. One morning I had devotions with the radio staff, all men we had known as boys. Dad spoke at Maranatha and elsewhere as well. Streams of people came to the guest house where we were staying, to welcome us back and sit and talk of old times and the current news. It was all such a delight to us. I was asked to speak at a joint ladies' group one afternoon and had prepared my message in French. At the last minute they said, "Just speak in Jula instead - we all understand that!" And so I took my French notes and mentally transcribed them into Jula! I think I even surprised myself by being able to do that!
We had planned to get all of our Bobo Madare pastors together for a couple day seminar while we were in Bobo. We held this at Maranatha Institute. This was to teach them how to use their new Bible. They loved getting together and we spent several hours a day for a couple days teaching them and answering questions. I had prepared a "how to" booklet, to show all of the various ways to use their Bobo Bible: small groups, public reading, Bible study, etc. And we showed them all of this, as well as giving a copy of the booklet we had prepared for this week of training. It was great getting together with all of our Bobo Madare pastors - as well as Maurice Sanou, our Catholic translator - and this gave us the first opportunity we had had to study together the Bible in our language.
The Koutiala hospital was being dedicated and Clousers and we made the trip over to Mali to be present for that. What an event that was - we wouldn't have missed it for anything. There was a large tent errected for the service. Dignitaries were there form all over Mali. I sat next to a very official looking doctor from one of the services in Koutial, a Muslim gentleman. He was thrilled to have this new hospital in his city and asked many questions as we sat there together. We had been there when the hospital missionary personnel arrived in 2004-5, and it was such a delight to see them realizing their dreams as they worked there in the hospital. We took a tour of the new buildings, enjoyed the big meal they had for the dignitaries and invited guests. It was just a very special day for us,
Joel and Elin were in Bamako and they were asked to fly to Thailand for a world-wide meeting of Alliance field directors. The children were all in school and so we went there to stay with the children during the parents' time away. Again this was a special blessing for us. The kids were in school so gone during the day. But we had fun with them when they were home and I enjoyed fixing meals, using French and African products again. I read for hours to Nadia and listened to her read too. The kids were a delight, and we were so glad to have that special time with them.
While we were there in Bamako, Kassoum Keita, an old friend and wonderful Malian church leader for so many years, went to be with the Lord. We had been friends with Kassoum for years. He had been a military man and had been led to the Lord and baptized by Grandpa Kennedy. Kassoum was originally from Bamako. He studied to be a pastor and since only the GMU were in Bamako then, he became a pastor with the GMU church. When we were starting the church in Ouaga, Kassoum had been there for the Sunday right after Sankara was assassinated. He was an encouragement to us all at that time.
Kassoum had been ill for some time - he was my age - and died while we were there in Bamako. So a large funeral was planned to take place in a huge stadium in the city. It was quite the event. The military were there and many government officials, also crowds of Christians and other friends. He was given a real military burial and great Christian funeral and we were right there, with Joel, to participate in all of that!
During our time in Bamako we also enjoyed many visits from Malian pastors - some dating back to Maranatha days whom we had had for students there.
So it was a marvelous "cruise" which you kids made possible for us, and we have so many happy memories from that visit. As I write this, we have just received the surprise news of your planning another trip for us to Africa, including Tunisia. We could never have dreamed of a trip of this kind, but you are all blessing us with it. And we will live in anticipation until the day comes for us to leave for Africa once again! God bless you!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
A BIG SURPRISE! .......................................................
During our year in Mali, you, Mark and Katy, were living in our house while your new home was being built. It was fun for us to know that our little home was available to accommodate your family during that year. When we arrived back in Toccoa, your house was not finished, but it was no problem for us as friends in our church gave us a nice three room apartment to live in for as long as we needed it. We spent time with you in our house, but had a place to go back to at night and it worked out fine. But we were surprised - and pleased with the idea! - when you asked us to come back and stay with you. So we did that and had a great time living together for those few weeks until your family could move to Flowery Branch.
All this time, you kids were all planning a special party for us for our 50th Anniversary, and we hadn't a clue about it! What a celebration that week was. All of you kids were involved in the planning and execution of that Big Day. People were arriving from out of town. When we got to the party, we could not believe how many of our family were there - Albrights, Kennedys and Pierces. Plus so many other guests.
The food was spectacular. The comments we heard afterwards was that they had never seen such a spread ever in the church. Having two chefs and so many good cooks in the family produced those amazing results! Again - thank you to all of you. It meant so much to us that all of our children could be present. The decorations were also great and Jennie added her talent to produce those. I well remember Elizabeth's solo - it was so beautiful! I do not remember her singing a solo before or after that event. Hope she cultivates her musical talents more in the future. While the parents worked at the Family Life Center, the kids played games and entertained each other - we have pictures of all those preparations that helped us to see what was going on behind the scenes to make that surprise celebration such a success!
We have so many good photos of that day. But what we loved and still do is the beautiful album Katy put together for us. I just read it through again recently and realized once again how much work went into it. It is so beautifully put together! I have it in our living room and often people will look through it and admire your handiwork, Katy! We marvel at the wonderfully talented children and spouses and grandchildren we have - coming from two just ordinary parents!! You are the best!
After all the excitement was over, we had to settle down again to life in Toccoa. It was fun having the Mark Pierce family here for that special time, and before we knew it, their brand new house was ready to be occupied. It must have seemed like an enormous mansion to them after having been crammed into our small three bedroom for a whole year! Moving day was a big day as we loaded up everything that had been in storage and all drove down to Flowery Branch. The house needed to be swept and dusted and floors washed, windows washed, etc. But we all worked together on that. And soon the Mark Pierce's were at home in Flowery Branch in their beautifully planned home! Mark, you did a great job with the planning. We have so many happy memories of being with you there in that home over a period of years. The same with John and Jennie's home in Buford. We had those good years after we retired and were happy we had settled in the South.
In spite of everyone's moving away to the north, we are still settled and happy where we are. We look forward to every time we can see you-all, but we have also built a life for ourselves in the church and community in this little burg of Toccoa. What is it the Scriptures tell us? Godliness with contentment is great gain! We are content with our life and how God has led us each step of the way.
All this time, you kids were all planning a special party for us for our 50th Anniversary, and we hadn't a clue about it! What a celebration that week was. All of you kids were involved in the planning and execution of that Big Day. People were arriving from out of town. When we got to the party, we could not believe how many of our family were there - Albrights, Kennedys and Pierces. Plus so many other guests.
The food was spectacular. The comments we heard afterwards was that they had never seen such a spread ever in the church. Having two chefs and so many good cooks in the family produced those amazing results! Again - thank you to all of you. It meant so much to us that all of our children could be present. The decorations were also great and Jennie added her talent to produce those. I well remember Elizabeth's solo - it was so beautiful! I do not remember her singing a solo before or after that event. Hope she cultivates her musical talents more in the future. While the parents worked at the Family Life Center, the kids played games and entertained each other - we have pictures of all those preparations that helped us to see what was going on behind the scenes to make that surprise celebration such a success!
We have so many good photos of that day. But what we loved and still do is the beautiful album Katy put together for us. I just read it through again recently and realized once again how much work went into it. It is so beautifully put together! I have it in our living room and often people will look through it and admire your handiwork, Katy! We marvel at the wonderfully talented children and spouses and grandchildren we have - coming from two just ordinary parents!! You are the best!
After all the excitement was over, we had to settle down again to life in Toccoa. It was fun having the Mark Pierce family here for that special time, and before we knew it, their brand new house was ready to be occupied. It must have seemed like an enormous mansion to them after having been crammed into our small three bedroom for a whole year! Moving day was a big day as we loaded up everything that had been in storage and all drove down to Flowery Branch. The house needed to be swept and dusted and floors washed, windows washed, etc. But we all worked together on that. And soon the Mark Pierce's were at home in Flowery Branch in their beautifully planned home! Mark, you did a great job with the planning. We have so many happy memories of being with you there in that home over a period of years. The same with John and Jennie's home in Buford. We had those good years after we retired and were happy we had settled in the South.
In spite of everyone's moving away to the north, we are still settled and happy where we are. We look forward to every time we can see you-all, but we have also built a life for ourselves in the church and community in this little burg of Toccoa. What is it the Scriptures tell us? Godliness with contentment is great gain! We are content with our life and how God has led us each step of the way.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
MORE EXCITING EVENTS.......................................
The year we were in Mali we participated in an exciting weekend at the ocean in Senegal. This was organized by our Regional Director as he invited all Africa Field Directors and their wives to participate in a week of meetings and fun and relaxation at a resort beside the sea. Talk about idyllic - that was it! Isaac Keita and his wife were also invited and he spoke to us each day - inspiring! He was also so blessed to be invited to attend such a gathering, the first time for him as an African leader. Dad and I each had had to prepare papers to share, but otherwise we were just there to learn and participate and relax
The hotel where we stayed was outstanding, Class A. Lovely rooms with private baths, a large swimming pool, the whole beach at our disposal. The meals were wonderful, sometimes on a terrace, often in the dining room and one night everything was moved down on the beach where we ate with the ocean waves rolling in close to us! Coming from dry, barren Mali, this seemed like a paradise. We also enjoyed being with our colleagues from all over Africa. I guess these kinds of gatherings are par for the course now - but this was the only time we had participated in anything of the kind. Our only sadness was that it was only for those of us in leadership - our faithful workers in Mali remained in the dry, barenness of the sahel, battling the heat, winds and sand! Reflecting upon this occasion - and the fact that this seems to be a regular event now - we don't have to wonder why the Great Commission Fund money is stretched to the limit these days! Anyhow, we enjoyed it.... And I know you girls who are international workers and your spouses have also participated in such events in the same place.
Since we were going to this conference by the sea, we also accompanied the MK's returning to Dakar after their Christmas vacation in Mali. The flight was at night, very non-eventful. The kids were met at the airport and returned to their dorms and someone also took us to the SIL compound where we stayed overnight before going to the conference the next day.
One other time we flew Air Senegal (which we found one of the most comfortable flights we ever had) and that was when we got news that the first copies of our printed Bible had arrived in Ouagadougou. The day we heard that news, Dad booked us a flight to Ouaga on Air Senegal. We got there in the afternoon and the next morning went to the Bible Society office in Ouaga. There they were - the first two copies of our beautifully bound Bobo Bible. I almost felt numb when I took it in my hands. It represented the totality of many years of hard work - from committing the words to a written form in Bobo and on through the long process of not only translating the Scriptures, first the NT and later the whole Bible, but also producing the tools to teach the Bobos to read their own language, training language helpers, raising a great deal of money to make the whole thing possible, working night and day, both us, to produce this precious Book!
Later in the year in Mali, once the stock of printed Bibles arrived in Bobo, the church prepared a dedication celebration in the city of Bobo. We were invited to come, kept informed of what was going on, but they had an inter-church committee to plan the Big Day of celebration. We had been informed of the date of the dedication and also the date when we were to meet with the organizational committee. Robert Sanou was the chairman of that committee and he had a gang of Bobo shakers and movers working with him, from the Protestant and Catholic churches. Our only act of participation was to be there and give a very few words to the crowds gathered.
The Big Day arrived, and the church had received permission to rope off the whole open square by the Bobo City town hall. Hundreds of chairs were set up in the open square, we used a covered bleacher set of seats as well. Traffic was directed elsewhere for those hours of celebration. Everyone was decked out in his best, people were invited from everywhere. We were so glad Steve and Debbi were there to participate as well as some of our missionary colleagues. The Bible Society people were there from Ouaga and Côte d'Ivoire. All church denominations were represented. The representative of the president was sent to present us with medals, decorating us for our work in translation and also helping out during the famine years, trucking grain to villages where hunger was rampant.
The church during their committee meetings beforehand had discussed what they could do which would be totally Bobo and understood by the crowd. Finally, they lit on a great idea. You all remember the masked dancers of the Bobos. The grassy costumes they wore, and the long swords some of them carried and waved around.... the Christian Bobos decided to use this figure to show that the Sword of the Spirit (the Bible) conquered the fetish sword which made people afraid. A priest came out dancing towards the end of the ceremony, waving the Bible in his hand as he danced around the crowd. The Bible was the sword of the Spirit which we now had in our language. The Bobos loved the symbolism, although others in the crowd didn't get the root meaning of that dance. The ceremony and service was outside in the town square but the reception was held in the town hall building. Catholics, Protestants, there was no distinction that day - we were all Bobos. It was truly a day of celebration for our people and we were delighted to be able to be a part of it.
We had another exciting (and totally unexpected) event in the States - at Alliance Theological Seminary. Darrell and Cheryl, you will remember you were MIR's at the College that year. We were invited to be present at the ATS graduation as they wanted to confer honorary doctorate degrees on both Dad and me. What a total surprise that was for us! Mark and Katy and children and John and Jennie went with us on the plane trip to Newark. Jacob was just a baby. We all stayed there on the Nyack College campus with Phenicies. What a fun time we had. Tite was there for the ceremony and we walked with the faculty and then had the honorary degree conferred upon us. (Our hoods remain in our hall closet, never to be used). Tite was there for the ceremony and helped with it. He often addresses us as Dr. It was an honor and we appreciated it, but there are certainly others who accomplished as much or more than we did and we felt humbled that we had been chosen by ATS.
Phenices' Syrian pastor friend was also studying at ATS and graduated that day. His family was there from Syria too. Cheryl prepared a big party at their home after the cerremonies...it was wall to wall people. And all kinds of lovely things to eat. We were Arabs and Burkinabe and Americans all celebrating together and it was a great time for us all! Just one more of God's unexpected surprises in our lives!
The hotel where we stayed was outstanding, Class A. Lovely rooms with private baths, a large swimming pool, the whole beach at our disposal. The meals were wonderful, sometimes on a terrace, often in the dining room and one night everything was moved down on the beach where we ate with the ocean waves rolling in close to us! Coming from dry, barren Mali, this seemed like a paradise. We also enjoyed being with our colleagues from all over Africa. I guess these kinds of gatherings are par for the course now - but this was the only time we had participated in anything of the kind. Our only sadness was that it was only for those of us in leadership - our faithful workers in Mali remained in the dry, barenness of the sahel, battling the heat, winds and sand! Reflecting upon this occasion - and the fact that this seems to be a regular event now - we don't have to wonder why the Great Commission Fund money is stretched to the limit these days! Anyhow, we enjoyed it.... And I know you girls who are international workers and your spouses have also participated in such events in the same place.
Since we were going to this conference by the sea, we also accompanied the MK's returning to Dakar after their Christmas vacation in Mali. The flight was at night, very non-eventful. The kids were met at the airport and returned to their dorms and someone also took us to the SIL compound where we stayed overnight before going to the conference the next day.
One other time we flew Air Senegal (which we found one of the most comfortable flights we ever had) and that was when we got news that the first copies of our printed Bible had arrived in Ouagadougou. The day we heard that news, Dad booked us a flight to Ouaga on Air Senegal. We got there in the afternoon and the next morning went to the Bible Society office in Ouaga. There they were - the first two copies of our beautifully bound Bobo Bible. I almost felt numb when I took it in my hands. It represented the totality of many years of hard work - from committing the words to a written form in Bobo and on through the long process of not only translating the Scriptures, first the NT and later the whole Bible, but also producing the tools to teach the Bobos to read their own language, training language helpers, raising a great deal of money to make the whole thing possible, working night and day, both us, to produce this precious Book!
Later in the year in Mali, once the stock of printed Bibles arrived in Bobo, the church prepared a dedication celebration in the city of Bobo. We were invited to come, kept informed of what was going on, but they had an inter-church committee to plan the Big Day of celebration. We had been informed of the date of the dedication and also the date when we were to meet with the organizational committee. Robert Sanou was the chairman of that committee and he had a gang of Bobo shakers and movers working with him, from the Protestant and Catholic churches. Our only act of participation was to be there and give a very few words to the crowds gathered.
The Big Day arrived, and the church had received permission to rope off the whole open square by the Bobo City town hall. Hundreds of chairs were set up in the open square, we used a covered bleacher set of seats as well. Traffic was directed elsewhere for those hours of celebration. Everyone was decked out in his best, people were invited from everywhere. We were so glad Steve and Debbi were there to participate as well as some of our missionary colleagues. The Bible Society people were there from Ouaga and Côte d'Ivoire. All church denominations were represented. The representative of the president was sent to present us with medals, decorating us for our work in translation and also helping out during the famine years, trucking grain to villages where hunger was rampant.
The church during their committee meetings beforehand had discussed what they could do which would be totally Bobo and understood by the crowd. Finally, they lit on a great idea. You all remember the masked dancers of the Bobos. The grassy costumes they wore, and the long swords some of them carried and waved around.... the Christian Bobos decided to use this figure to show that the Sword of the Spirit (the Bible) conquered the fetish sword which made people afraid. A priest came out dancing towards the end of the ceremony, waving the Bible in his hand as he danced around the crowd. The Bible was the sword of the Spirit which we now had in our language. The Bobos loved the symbolism, although others in the crowd didn't get the root meaning of that dance. The ceremony and service was outside in the town square but the reception was held in the town hall building. Catholics, Protestants, there was no distinction that day - we were all Bobos. It was truly a day of celebration for our people and we were delighted to be able to be a part of it.
We had another exciting (and totally unexpected) event in the States - at Alliance Theological Seminary. Darrell and Cheryl, you will remember you were MIR's at the College that year. We were invited to be present at the ATS graduation as they wanted to confer honorary doctorate degrees on both Dad and me. What a total surprise that was for us! Mark and Katy and children and John and Jennie went with us on the plane trip to Newark. Jacob was just a baby. We all stayed there on the Nyack College campus with Phenicies. What a fun time we had. Tite was there for the ceremony and we walked with the faculty and then had the honorary degree conferred upon us. (Our hoods remain in our hall closet, never to be used). Tite was there for the ceremony and helped with it. He often addresses us as Dr. It was an honor and we appreciated it, but there are certainly others who accomplished as much or more than we did and we felt humbled that we had been chosen by ATS.
Phenices' Syrian pastor friend was also studying at ATS and graduated that day. His family was there from Syria too. Cheryl prepared a big party at their home after the cerremonies...it was wall to wall people. And all kinds of lovely things to eat. We were Arabs and Burkinabe and Americans all celebrating together and it was a great time for us all! Just one more of God's unexpected surprises in our lives!
EXCITING EVENTS........................................................
Our lives have been full of exciting events - from our meeting and marrying, our wonderful honeymoon in Europe and the Middle East, and then so many fun things happening in both Africa and the USA and even other countries of the world, during our fifty six years of marriage. Our lives have been rich in experiences, most of them positive. Both of us have chosen to major on the positives in life rather than occasional negative happenings. What is the saying...."into every life a little rain must fall..." and we have had our share of rain, but our years and experiences have been lived for the most part on the sunny side!
Every worker overseas should program a down time for possible farewells, but in our case, with our involvement right to the end in our translation project, this was not an option. So we kind of sandwiched in all of our farewells from mission and church and personal friends, into our day and night concentration on finishing the Bible manuscript and diskettes.
Karen Conkle prepared a lovely mission farewell for us at the former mission office building out on the Colma property. She used a lace tablecloth on the refreshment table and gathered fancy teacups to use and had flowers and candles - as I had been known for using those kinds of things when I entertained in our home. It was an evening of fun and farewell, there were speeches, both funny and emotive and a couple hysterical skits!
Our farewell from the church was held out at Santidougou - where else? They had cleaned the old mission yard and put up walls of grass and palm leaves, there were shelters for people to sit under, with a huge space in the middle for all of the presentations. People came from long distances to greet us - the FATEAC sent Isaac and his wife, the church president of Burkina was there, plus many tribal and official dignitaries. The whole program was done for us - we did not have to speak, except to thank people for the gifts - even the Santidougou dance team performed, all Muslim young men who had grown up with us there. Speeches were made by various organizations with whom we had worked in Burkina and each one then presented a gift to us. It brings back memories to see some of those gifts in our home here in Toccoa. The African people are so generous and they sure know how to throw a party. Elin and John were there to represent our family.
When we got to Ouaga, on our way out of the country, we were invited with the church committee and their spouses to a big meal at the home of one of the leaders. We sat out on the large verandah of a cement home in the city, eating our fellowship meal together with these men and women, most of whom we had known from their youth. It was so rewarding to see the spiritual and professional progress that so many of these had made since we had first known them.
We were surprised when the Alliance High School in Bobo invited us to a special ceremony to thank us and present us with a gift. We were always friendly with the students and staff there but we certainly did not expect an official farewell from them. Each year at Christmas time we had a big party for the High School teachers and their spouses in our home. It was always a fun time to which they looked forward each year. And they wanted to do something special for us in return. We were blessed by their thoughtfulness. They gave us a large village scene batik cloth which is bautiful and we have used it on tour.
We had decided that we would like to become official citizens of Burkina Faso since we had spent the major part of our lives therre, so we asked what the process was we would have to go through for that to happen. It really was not very complicated. We had to gather a group of five people who had known us for many years in Burkina and take them to the police chief's office in Bobo. Each one was taken separately into the chief's office and each one asked how he knew us and for how long and what kind of people we were, etc. We were also called into the office and the chief talked to us. He gave a very positive report of his impressions after talking to our friends, asked us a couple of questions and said we could get Burkinabe passports and become citizens of the country. That was it! So we became Burkinabe as well as Americans.
Every worker overseas should program a down time for possible farewells, but in our case, with our involvement right to the end in our translation project, this was not an option. So we kind of sandwiched in all of our farewells from mission and church and personal friends, into our day and night concentration on finishing the Bible manuscript and diskettes.
Karen Conkle prepared a lovely mission farewell for us at the former mission office building out on the Colma property. She used a lace tablecloth on the refreshment table and gathered fancy teacups to use and had flowers and candles - as I had been known for using those kinds of things when I entertained in our home. It was an evening of fun and farewell, there were speeches, both funny and emotive and a couple hysterical skits!
Our farewell from the church was held out at Santidougou - where else? They had cleaned the old mission yard and put up walls of grass and palm leaves, there were shelters for people to sit under, with a huge space in the middle for all of the presentations. People came from long distances to greet us - the FATEAC sent Isaac and his wife, the church president of Burkina was there, plus many tribal and official dignitaries. The whole program was done for us - we did not have to speak, except to thank people for the gifts - even the Santidougou dance team performed, all Muslim young men who had grown up with us there. Speeches were made by various organizations with whom we had worked in Burkina and each one then presented a gift to us. It brings back memories to see some of those gifts in our home here in Toccoa. The African people are so generous and they sure know how to throw a party. Elin and John were there to represent our family.
When we got to Ouaga, on our way out of the country, we were invited with the church committee and their spouses to a big meal at the home of one of the leaders. We sat out on the large verandah of a cement home in the city, eating our fellowship meal together with these men and women, most of whom we had known from their youth. It was so rewarding to see the spiritual and professional progress that so many of these had made since we had first known them.
We were surprised when the Alliance High School in Bobo invited us to a special ceremony to thank us and present us with a gift. We were always friendly with the students and staff there but we certainly did not expect an official farewell from them. Each year at Christmas time we had a big party for the High School teachers and their spouses in our home. It was always a fun time to which they looked forward each year. And they wanted to do something special for us in return. We were blessed by their thoughtfulness. They gave us a large village scene batik cloth which is bautiful and we have used it on tour.
We had decided that we would like to become official citizens of Burkina Faso since we had spent the major part of our lives therre, so we asked what the process was we would have to go through for that to happen. It really was not very complicated. We had to gather a group of five people who had known us for many years in Burkina and take them to the police chief's office in Bobo. Each one was taken separately into the chief's office and each one asked how he knew us and for how long and what kind of people we were, etc. We were also called into the office and the chief talked to us. He gave a very positive report of his impressions after talking to our friends, asked us a couple of questions and said we could get Burkinabe passports and become citizens of the country. That was it! So we became Burkinabe as well as Americans.
Monday, July 11, 2011
MORE ON MALI ..............................................
The year we served in Mali, we went to a field directors' conference at a resort in Senegal. Dad was asked to write a report to everyone at the conference and I was asked to do a report on what being an FD's wife entails. Yesterday I came across this report, and want to share with you what I wrote......."Lost at night in the city of Bamako and not even knowing the name of the quartier where we lived, arriving in Bamako and finding no computer working in the director's office, finding a team of missionaries who were mostly chiefs and not many Indians, experiencing a break-in in our house, finding residual resentment of the position of field director's wife among the missionaries, people calling and phoning at all hours of the day and night, dealing with missionaries from five different home countries and trying to unite them into a "team", resignation of the bookkeeper, getting house help, never having a meal alone for three weeks at a time, a missionary on the verge of an emotional crisis, a total electrical blowout occurring on the mission compound, when much of the equipment in the house and office died, some neveer to be resurrected, personnel issues to settle, resignation of bookkeeper number two, dealing with anti-authority issues among missionaries, helping with Côte d'Ivoire evacuation of missionaries from several denominations - these all happened to us in the first six months of our year in Mali!
Sounds like a disaster, doesn't it? But yet we were not particularly discouraged and we did not give up. We took a day away at a hotel each week (if possible) to sharpen our perspective and get some down time. And in spite of all the above, we had some very good times in Mali. Missionaries visiting in our homes and us in theirs, experiencing beautiful three hour services in the Bamako churches, learning to listen to others - both church and mission, enjoying the Niger River by day and by night and seeing the beautiful commenmorative statues everywhere in the pretty city of Bamako, as well as having the love and support of the majority of our missionary staff - these were all the things that kept us positive and upbeat most of the time.
Our life was so full of variety that year. We had Chris and Marcia Braun come for a field visit, and we took them to all our mission stations and were asked to also sit in on the interviews they did with the staff. At the end of the year we had a conference speaker from New Jersey who was a real blessing to us. There were work teams who came through Bamako and had a meal with us on their way to other stations to the north.
One memorable group who came was the Alliance Women. Twenty of them at least, and they stayed for a week. We took them around the country and they were such a great group to travel with and to entertain. One poor lady was sick the whole time they were with us, maybe a flu - or just overseas sickness (this was her first trip to such a place!) but we cared for her in our home. The women were a blessing. I think the whole group was twenty and they had split in half to visit Mali and also Burkina. But the last day of their trip, all twenty landed at the Bamako airport and we were in charge. Jeff Amstutz was there to help fortunately, as we had our hands full. One lady in a wheelchair lost her passport and it was almost boarding time! Panic! They finally found in fallen down in the folds of her dress! The sick lady I was taking care of, but I had to go and help everyone fill out their boarding passes as they all needed help so I asked a police lady to please stay by the sick lady in case she needed me. As I was filling out boarding cards, the police lady came running up, "Madame, Madame, votre malade!!" So I went running to look at my sick one and she had thrown up all over the place and I got her into a rest room. Jeff helped Dad get all the baggage checked through. And when the last pair of legs of the last lady disappeared up that spiral stairway in the Bamako airport - which leads to the departure lounge - we breathed a BIG sigh of relief! Dad and I got in our car, looked at each other and just laughed!! We made it!
We had a personal team come from Indiana and had done all the correspondence with them. We had everything ready for their arrival the next day, and went to bed and to sleep looking forward to a busy day the next day. The phone rang about midnight - it was the pastor of the work team! No, he was not in Indiana, he was in the Bamako airport! Communication had gotten fouled up! We tore into our clothes and drove as fast as we dared the several miles out to the airport, and there they stood in the rain waiting for us, with eight people and carts of baggage! We had reserved rooms at SIL and went there at midnight, but they were full that night. So nothing else to do but take them all to our house and put them up. We had two guest rooms with a double bed in each. We had a couch and mattresses we dragged out and made up into beds. We got everyone a place to sleep that night - and they all thought it was a great adventure! We bonded with that group and they with us. When we returned to the States, we were asked to go and do their week long missions conference and we had a great time there with them in Indiana. One lady nurse from that group still sends us much of our medication in sample form as she works for a couple doctors in an office and they have extra meds!
There was also a large group of ladies from Salem Alliance Church who came to Bamako and rented rooms and conference hall in a beautiful hotel in town, inviting women of all other missions to join us for a weekend of retreat. They had just the Alliance women together first at a mission guest house in the city and brought gifts for us all, plus providing meals, etc. Then we all joined together at this big hotel and had a great time of fellowship, worship and messages. That was very special!
So we had our ups and downs during our year in Mali - but isn't life often like that? So we answered the call for two separate years to help out in two different African countries after retiral, and our lives were enriched as a result of our positive decision to answer those calls!
Sounds like a disaster, doesn't it? But yet we were not particularly discouraged and we did not give up. We took a day away at a hotel each week (if possible) to sharpen our perspective and get some down time. And in spite of all the above, we had some very good times in Mali. Missionaries visiting in our homes and us in theirs, experiencing beautiful three hour services in the Bamako churches, learning to listen to others - both church and mission, enjoying the Niger River by day and by night and seeing the beautiful commenmorative statues everywhere in the pretty city of Bamako, as well as having the love and support of the majority of our missionary staff - these were all the things that kept us positive and upbeat most of the time.
Our life was so full of variety that year. We had Chris and Marcia Braun come for a field visit, and we took them to all our mission stations and were asked to also sit in on the interviews they did with the staff. At the end of the year we had a conference speaker from New Jersey who was a real blessing to us. There were work teams who came through Bamako and had a meal with us on their way to other stations to the north.
One memorable group who came was the Alliance Women. Twenty of them at least, and they stayed for a week. We took them around the country and they were such a great group to travel with and to entertain. One poor lady was sick the whole time they were with us, maybe a flu - or just overseas sickness (this was her first trip to such a place!) but we cared for her in our home. The women were a blessing. I think the whole group was twenty and they had split in half to visit Mali and also Burkina. But the last day of their trip, all twenty landed at the Bamako airport and we were in charge. Jeff Amstutz was there to help fortunately, as we had our hands full. One lady in a wheelchair lost her passport and it was almost boarding time! Panic! They finally found in fallen down in the folds of her dress! The sick lady I was taking care of, but I had to go and help everyone fill out their boarding passes as they all needed help so I asked a police lady to please stay by the sick lady in case she needed me. As I was filling out boarding cards, the police lady came running up, "Madame, Madame, votre malade!!" So I went running to look at my sick one and she had thrown up all over the place and I got her into a rest room. Jeff helped Dad get all the baggage checked through. And when the last pair of legs of the last lady disappeared up that spiral stairway in the Bamako airport - which leads to the departure lounge - we breathed a BIG sigh of relief! Dad and I got in our car, looked at each other and just laughed!! We made it!
We had a personal team come from Indiana and had done all the correspondence with them. We had everything ready for their arrival the next day, and went to bed and to sleep looking forward to a busy day the next day. The phone rang about midnight - it was the pastor of the work team! No, he was not in Indiana, he was in the Bamako airport! Communication had gotten fouled up! We tore into our clothes and drove as fast as we dared the several miles out to the airport, and there they stood in the rain waiting for us, with eight people and carts of baggage! We had reserved rooms at SIL and went there at midnight, but they were full that night. So nothing else to do but take them all to our house and put them up. We had two guest rooms with a double bed in each. We had a couch and mattresses we dragged out and made up into beds. We got everyone a place to sleep that night - and they all thought it was a great adventure! We bonded with that group and they with us. When we returned to the States, we were asked to go and do their week long missions conference and we had a great time there with them in Indiana. One lady nurse from that group still sends us much of our medication in sample form as she works for a couple doctors in an office and they have extra meds!
There was also a large group of ladies from Salem Alliance Church who came to Bamako and rented rooms and conference hall in a beautiful hotel in town, inviting women of all other missions to join us for a weekend of retreat. They had just the Alliance women together first at a mission guest house in the city and brought gifts for us all, plus providing meals, etc. Then we all joined together at this big hotel and had a great time of fellowship, worship and messages. That was very special!
So we had our ups and downs during our year in Mali - but isn't life often like that? So we answered the call for two separate years to help out in two different African countries after retiral, and our lives were enriched as a result of our positive decision to answer those calls!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Mali: a year of "happenings"!!
The last thing you could say about our year in Mali is that it was boring - far from it! We went from one delight to another - and also one crisis to another. This many missionaries from so many different countries are bound to have some disagreements, and we stepped into the middle of all that. We tried our best to be impartial to all and to keep the peace. But situations that had developed long before we got there came to the surface as we settled into life in Mali.
One Dutch couple and one American couple were at constant odds with the director and this was not a pleasant situation to live with - but we made the most of it. The great part of our staff were friends and we enjoyed being with every one of them. We made trips around to visit each of our stations where there were missionaries living and that was challenging. Some of our Mali folks happily live and work in pretty primitive condtions in order to take the Gospel to these largely Muslim populations.
Perhaps the most remote spot where we had missionaries was in Bako, the region out from Ségou. We travelled miles of not more than a dirt path, in a bumpy Landrover to get to the residence of two of our single ladies. Dad got so motion sick that we had to stop for him and put him up front! The two women - one German and the other Swiss - entertained us in their little mud brick home, serving us a fablulous meal, including a gorgeous European decorated cake! The temp outside was 105 and of course there was no electricity so no fans. After lunch we took a brief siesta on their beds and managed to rest thanks to the wet washcloths we placed over our faces to cool off! My hat is off to courageous women like these! We learned to love the Mali missionaries during our year there and were glad we had said "yes" when Bob Fetherlin called.
At the end of the year we were part of one of the most difficult conferences we had ever attended. There was terrific disagreement on the part of a tiny minority to the idea of a hospital in Koutiala. These wonderful doctors had left lucrative practices in the U.S. to establish this hospital and were terribly hurt by the comments made about the new hospital. We tried to be a catalyst in all of this, which was a very difficult time. I was also doing a lot of the interpretation into French for the Chilean folks, and had to carefully choose what I said to them so as not to totally scare them back to Chile! We still look back to that year in Mali as being a good year, in spite of difficulties. We would probably do it again as the good times outweighed the hard situations we faced. I guess this was among the most difficult mission discipline situations we had ever faced in forty years in West Africa.
Our experiences with the Mali church were all positive. Dad was often asked to preach and I was also asked to address the women. We attended various churches in Bamako, usually trying to hit a church where the preaching was in French so Dad could enjoy it. As for me, I was happy to be back hearing and speaking Bambara again, one of my childhood languages.
There were some very nice "get away" places there in Bamako. One was a huge modern hotel, with a beatiful swimming pool and a class A restaurant. Sometimes we would go there and spend a day off reading and swimming and just enjoying the luxury of our surroundings. There was another oasis just outside of the city limits at a little inn. They had rooms to rent and an excellent restaurant and very large swimming pool. What a great place to take a day off - swimming, reading, talking without interruption and eating some good French cooking. Our whole team of new missionaries spent a day out there once for orientation sessions in that delightful setting.
So there was a hard side to our year in Mali, but at the same time our memories of our year there are mostly positive. We were needed to help guide the thirteen new missionaries who arrived that year. And it was a time when Dad could get the church and the mission talking to each other again. Mali is full of good missionaries and also a host of wonderful, godly church leaders. And it was a privilege to serve there for that one year.
One Dutch couple and one American couple were at constant odds with the director and this was not a pleasant situation to live with - but we made the most of it. The great part of our staff were friends and we enjoyed being with every one of them. We made trips around to visit each of our stations where there were missionaries living and that was challenging. Some of our Mali folks happily live and work in pretty primitive condtions in order to take the Gospel to these largely Muslim populations.
Perhaps the most remote spot where we had missionaries was in Bako, the region out from Ségou. We travelled miles of not more than a dirt path, in a bumpy Landrover to get to the residence of two of our single ladies. Dad got so motion sick that we had to stop for him and put him up front! The two women - one German and the other Swiss - entertained us in their little mud brick home, serving us a fablulous meal, including a gorgeous European decorated cake! The temp outside was 105 and of course there was no electricity so no fans. After lunch we took a brief siesta on their beds and managed to rest thanks to the wet washcloths we placed over our faces to cool off! My hat is off to courageous women like these! We learned to love the Mali missionaries during our year there and were glad we had said "yes" when Bob Fetherlin called.
At the end of the year we were part of one of the most difficult conferences we had ever attended. There was terrific disagreement on the part of a tiny minority to the idea of a hospital in Koutiala. These wonderful doctors had left lucrative practices in the U.S. to establish this hospital and were terribly hurt by the comments made about the new hospital. We tried to be a catalyst in all of this, which was a very difficult time. I was also doing a lot of the interpretation into French for the Chilean folks, and had to carefully choose what I said to them so as not to totally scare them back to Chile! We still look back to that year in Mali as being a good year, in spite of difficulties. We would probably do it again as the good times outweighed the hard situations we faced. I guess this was among the most difficult mission discipline situations we had ever faced in forty years in West Africa.
Our experiences with the Mali church were all positive. Dad was often asked to preach and I was also asked to address the women. We attended various churches in Bamako, usually trying to hit a church where the preaching was in French so Dad could enjoy it. As for me, I was happy to be back hearing and speaking Bambara again, one of my childhood languages.
There were some very nice "get away" places there in Bamako. One was a huge modern hotel, with a beatiful swimming pool and a class A restaurant. Sometimes we would go there and spend a day off reading and swimming and just enjoying the luxury of our surroundings. There was another oasis just outside of the city limits at a little inn. They had rooms to rent and an excellent restaurant and very large swimming pool. What a great place to take a day off - swimming, reading, talking without interruption and eating some good French cooking. Our whole team of new missionaries spent a day out there once for orientation sessions in that delightful setting.
So there was a hard side to our year in Mali, but at the same time our memories of our year there are mostly positive. We were needed to help guide the thirteen new missionaries who arrived that year. And it was a time when Dad could get the church and the mission talking to each other again. Mali is full of good missionaries and also a host of wonderful, godly church leaders. And it was a privilege to serve there for that one year.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
MISHING IN MALI, CONT'D..................................................
It all started out with a ring of the telephone..... Our house was full of company - as it often is - and I picked up the phone in the living room to avoid the noise of conversation in the other room. The voice was Bob Fetherlin and his question was "Are you sitting down?" My answer: no, but I could be. Then he told me to put Milt on the line as well which I did.
He put his question to us - Would you be willing to go to Mali to serve with the Alliance for a year? Wow! What a surprise! We were already retired, trying to get used to living in the United States, enjoying our sons and their families near us, and this question took us by surprise. Bob went on to explain that the Field Director was due for home assignment and there was no one to replace him - so since we knew Mali and language and the church and some of the mission personnel - would we be willing to go back on allowance and go to Mali to serve for a year as Field Director?? We asked him to give us some time to talk to each other and then we would get back to him.
It did not take us long to talk it over and get back to Bob with a positive response! Then it was as if our world turned upside down - or was it really right side up??! Our hearts are missionary hearts and we loved our life for more than forty years in Africa; there was nothing to keep us in Toccoa that year and thus we said "yes" to this unexpected assignment! Little did we knew what the year held for us. But isn't that always true in our lives - God only gives us grace and direction for the day and the present and asks us to leave the future to Him, so that is what we did!
We have to admit we were excited - back to the continent we loved, back to using our French and Jula again, back to a useful life, back to living the missionary life instead of just telling about it on tour. And so we prepared - our hearts, our house, our baggage - and soon we were off for our year in Mali. The Roeddings arrived in Toccoa and visited with us a couple of days before we left Toccoa, giving us a rundown on the work in Bamako and Mali. Gordon had done what he could to prepare notes for us on people and field situations which we needed to know when we got there and that was helpful. Little did we know when we left the Atlanta airport, - where we were sent off by Mark and Katy and three grandchildren and John and Jennie - what lay in store for us.
A long trip back - long flights, long layover in Europe and finally the descent into Bamako, Mali. The blast of heat as we stepped out of the plane into the night was the first thing we noticed........and then the friendly African smiles, the long walk across the tarmac, identifying our trunks and having them checked by the douane, and finally hugs from our colleagues who had come to meet us and welcome us to Mali!
The Roeddings had left all of their home set up with their household goods and so it was easy to arrive at the mission compound and settle in there. The Mali mission office compound was one of those buzzingly busy walled compounds like the one we used to live in in Bobo, so we felt quite at home. The Barnwells were there to welcome us and take us out to the beautiful hotel for lunch the next day. Randy could answer any questions Dad had to get started. Our house was on the ground floor and the office complex was up one flight of outside stairs. The office worker, Job, was a wonderful help and remains a friend through email until now.
Cheryl Roedding had trained a cook who could put together a great meal at a moment's notice - she had even made up a large Bambara cookbook for him so he could make desserts, meals, anything. But alas, he had a large family living in Sikasso and needed to get back to living at home with them and so we had to look for house help. We had wall to wall people to feed and it was my job to feed them. It was not easy to find the right help - the first man I liked but he was an alcoholic we found out after a few weeks. He did not turn up when I was expecting a big crowd and when Dad went to his yard to see what was wrong, he found him drunk. House help was a challenge during our whole year in Mali, but we did find someone who could at least clean and fix vegetables. How I often longed for Yusufu! But since I love to cook, we made a go of it. I wish I had kept a list of all the people we fed that year! A good way to get to know your missionaries - around the table!
The Barnwells stayed around long enough to acquaint us with the town and help us know where to shop, etc. We were amazed at the great grocery stores in Mali where you could buy just about anything - for a price! The restaurants were also nice and we learned to like a couple of them - Lebanese and Asian in particular! Bamako is not an easy town to find your way around as it is spread out on two sides of the Niger River, with two large bridges connecting the city population. It is a town like most African citites, full of slums and palaces, hotels and markets, and unbelievable traffic! So it took a while to find our way around.
The second week we were in Bamako, Dad was asked to go and address a big international youth conference out near the University and I went with him, just the two of us in the car. We got out there OK, but then in the dark at night we had a hard time finding our way home. We pulled into a filling station to ask directions and realized we had no idea really where to tell anyone we lived!! We just sat there and laughed. Finally we explained a little of where we thought we needed to go, and the gas station attendants, with great laughter, directed us in the right direction - and we finally made it home! By the middle of that year, we could get around Bamako just fine - plus the rest of Mali. It was a memorable year..................(to be cont'd)
He put his question to us - Would you be willing to go to Mali to serve with the Alliance for a year? Wow! What a surprise! We were already retired, trying to get used to living in the United States, enjoying our sons and their families near us, and this question took us by surprise. Bob went on to explain that the Field Director was due for home assignment and there was no one to replace him - so since we knew Mali and language and the church and some of the mission personnel - would we be willing to go back on allowance and go to Mali to serve for a year as Field Director?? We asked him to give us some time to talk to each other and then we would get back to him.
It did not take us long to talk it over and get back to Bob with a positive response! Then it was as if our world turned upside down - or was it really right side up??! Our hearts are missionary hearts and we loved our life for more than forty years in Africa; there was nothing to keep us in Toccoa that year and thus we said "yes" to this unexpected assignment! Little did we knew what the year held for us. But isn't that always true in our lives - God only gives us grace and direction for the day and the present and asks us to leave the future to Him, so that is what we did!
We have to admit we were excited - back to the continent we loved, back to using our French and Jula again, back to a useful life, back to living the missionary life instead of just telling about it on tour. And so we prepared - our hearts, our house, our baggage - and soon we were off for our year in Mali. The Roeddings arrived in Toccoa and visited with us a couple of days before we left Toccoa, giving us a rundown on the work in Bamako and Mali. Gordon had done what he could to prepare notes for us on people and field situations which we needed to know when we got there and that was helpful. Little did we know when we left the Atlanta airport, - where we were sent off by Mark and Katy and three grandchildren and John and Jennie - what lay in store for us.
A long trip back - long flights, long layover in Europe and finally the descent into Bamako, Mali. The blast of heat as we stepped out of the plane into the night was the first thing we noticed........and then the friendly African smiles, the long walk across the tarmac, identifying our trunks and having them checked by the douane, and finally hugs from our colleagues who had come to meet us and welcome us to Mali!
The Roeddings had left all of their home set up with their household goods and so it was easy to arrive at the mission compound and settle in there. The Mali mission office compound was one of those buzzingly busy walled compounds like the one we used to live in in Bobo, so we felt quite at home. The Barnwells were there to welcome us and take us out to the beautiful hotel for lunch the next day. Randy could answer any questions Dad had to get started. Our house was on the ground floor and the office complex was up one flight of outside stairs. The office worker, Job, was a wonderful help and remains a friend through email until now.
Cheryl Roedding had trained a cook who could put together a great meal at a moment's notice - she had even made up a large Bambara cookbook for him so he could make desserts, meals, anything. But alas, he had a large family living in Sikasso and needed to get back to living at home with them and so we had to look for house help. We had wall to wall people to feed and it was my job to feed them. It was not easy to find the right help - the first man I liked but he was an alcoholic we found out after a few weeks. He did not turn up when I was expecting a big crowd and when Dad went to his yard to see what was wrong, he found him drunk. House help was a challenge during our whole year in Mali, but we did find someone who could at least clean and fix vegetables. How I often longed for Yusufu! But since I love to cook, we made a go of it. I wish I had kept a list of all the people we fed that year! A good way to get to know your missionaries - around the table!
The Barnwells stayed around long enough to acquaint us with the town and help us know where to shop, etc. We were amazed at the great grocery stores in Mali where you could buy just about anything - for a price! The restaurants were also nice and we learned to like a couple of them - Lebanese and Asian in particular! Bamako is not an easy town to find your way around as it is spread out on two sides of the Niger River, with two large bridges connecting the city population. It is a town like most African citites, full of slums and palaces, hotels and markets, and unbelievable traffic! So it took a while to find our way around.
The second week we were in Bamako, Dad was asked to go and address a big international youth conference out near the University and I went with him, just the two of us in the car. We got out there OK, but then in the dark at night we had a hard time finding our way home. We pulled into a filling station to ask directions and realized we had no idea really where to tell anyone we lived!! We just sat there and laughed. Finally we explained a little of where we thought we needed to go, and the gas station attendants, with great laughter, directed us in the right direction - and we finally made it home! By the middle of that year, we could get around Bamako just fine - plus the rest of Mali. It was a memorable year..................(to be cont'd)
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