Work Day 6

Today Andy and Bill started strengthening the foundation of the water tower by setting the bricks. The bricks were made by some Malian men last week.  They consist of sand and cement and likely contain far less cement than required/ideal. Jon and Adam made another ladder and painted both ladders for the tower. Adam also did more welding.  The second tank has a few leaks that Adam needs to weld shut.  Unfortunately, he put another hole in the tank (oops!) so he has an extra one to fix!  Adam actually crawled into the second tank to try and weld, but the welder wouldn't work.

Andy, Jason, Rachel, Ewien and I finished our last trench (or at least we hope it is the last...you never know with Anco - plans change!).  We started laying the pipes.  Rachel and I had a difficult time pushing the electrical through a pipe.  Anco finally came to help and said "this is crazy!" so that made us feel a little better about our difficulty! We also started filling in holes.  A youth camp began today at Bethel, and one of the college-age men took the shovel from me when I was filling a hole.  Anco was nearby and said that the Malian men may not let us work because it's against their nature to see women do the work we were doing, especially when they aren't working. Anco then smiled at me and said "it's not against my nature though."  On the same subject, Samuel told Ewien that he thought she, Rachel and I should have time off because we are working too hard! Ha!  Samuel also brought all of us some Malian donuts (or at least we called them donuts) this morning.  His mother makes them everyday to sell.

Larry continued to work on removing the tree.  Bill helped him with it this morning too.  We finally hooked the chain around it again, and the tree came down.  Larry, Rachel and I removed the branches from the tree with hand saws. We then had to figure out how to get the root ball out of the hole because it was covering part of our trench.  Ewien was able to get four Malian men from the camp to help remove it.

Steve and Chris continued working on removing the roof of the classrooms.  I forgot to mention the other day that Steve removed one ceiling tile and a rat came scurrying out! Yuck!

Also, I forgot to mention that there was a recent case of rabies at the hospital.  It sounds like these cases are rare, and the person who acquired rabies was bit by a dog.  Ewien is thinking about getting some rabies vaccinations and is being very leary of dogs.  There are dogs everywhere, so it's a little scary. 

We went to Doug and Angela Wenger's for dinner tonight.  They are the missionaries we stayed with in Bamako, they brought us to Koutiala (they actually live in Koutiala, next door to the guest house where we are staying), and Doug has helped with a few of the projects.  Angela made strombolis, oriental salad (my favorite) and apple pie.  They joked that they had an entire pan of stromboli just for Andy.  Adam mentioned that we should weigh Andy and see how much weight he's gained on this trip.  He's definitely had a healthy appetite! He's going to starve when we get home.

Doug and Angela asked for some special memories we've had.  The obvious one was when the second tank was placed on the tower.  Also, Daniel's laugh was something we'll never forget.  Another one is one I forgot to mention earlier.  When we were leaving Bamako, we were parked at the side of the road while Doug got some air for a tire.  A kid was leading a blind man in the median of the road.  He saw all the "tababus" and got the largest grin on his face.  He then led the blind man down the median (looking at us, smiling and waving the entire time), turned around and walked the blind man back down the median, turned around again.  He continued this pattern until we left.  If he ran into someone, he would get the person's attention and point to us.  It was very funny.  I don't know what the blind man thought....I hope he didn't think they had walked very far.

We only have two work days left, and on one of those days, we will spend a chunk of time at the hospital giving blood and getting a tour.  I'm getting really sad about the thought of leaving.  I'm not ready to go back to Omaha.  Doug and Angela's niece is here and is training at the hospital to do anesthesia (she has no experience).  Wow --- I would love to be doing what she is doing.

Please continue to pray for our health and safety.  I think there were a few people who didn't feel well today (nothing major though).  Pray for our impact in the mission field and pray for all the other missionaries here.  They are all amazing people with huge hearts.  I haven't met anyone that I haven't really liked.  Also, pray for our trip home. I kind of hope our first flight (Bamako to Dakar) is delayed so that our time in Dakar is shortened.

Inside a dorm at Bethel College

Dormitory buildings at Bethel College

Andy and Anco

Adam crawling out of 2nd tower -- maybe we have 2 daredevils

front of Bethel church

Trying to push electrical through a pipe

This picture of Steve could almost be used as an advertisement for sunscreen

Father and son (Steve and Chris) working on the classroom

Making bricks

laying bricks

removing the root ball

This is teamwork -- also the result of exhaustion at the end of the day

The start of reinforcing the foundation

Malian donuts

Day of Rest - Part II

We went to the blacksmith area of town this afternoon.  Wow -- that's hard work! It's amazing to see everyone working and what they are making.  It's hard to appreciate all the technology and advancements we have in the U.S. until you walk through something like the blacksmith area in Koutiala.  It's also pretty evident how much more advanced we are when we are working at Bethel and often lack the appropriate tools for a certain task.  I agree with what Larry said to me during our walk through the blacksmith area -- we really have no reasons for complaining about any of our jobs in the U.S.

Tonight Craig and Marilyn had us to their house for dinner.  Yummy!! Marilyn made stuffed shells (manicotti to me -- she called it stuffed shells), cucumbers and vinegar (I think Andy nearly ate the entire bowl), corn, salad, veggies, garlic bread and pineapple upside down cake with homemade whipped topping.  It was all amazing.  Craig and Marilyn are amazing people.  They have been missionaries in Africa for over 30 years.  Most of their time was spent in the Ivory Coast until they were forced to leave because of the war.  They said they have about 7 1/2 years left before they retire.

One thing I miss right now is air conditioning.  Today was a hot day.  I typically love heat and could EASILY do without winter altogether.  However, we sweat all the time here.  We sweat in the house, while sleeping, while working, at church -- everywhere!  It's no fun being covered in sweat all the time, but it's not the end of the world.  We have several fans and once they are running for awhile, it's definitely tolerable.  I wouldn't feel right if we were in air conditioning when no one else has it here.  Our living conditions in the guest house are much better than what many of the people have since we have nice bathrooms, and some of the rooms have air conditioning.  We have air conditioning in our bedroom, but we try to not use it very often because it's very expensive.

Continue to pray for our health, safety, our ministry through our actions, and our trip home.  We talked more about our trip home at dinner with Craig and Marilyn, and it sounds like we have no good option other than to try and stay the night in the Dakar airport.  Dakar's claim to fame is being the 2nd worst airport in the world, so I think we'll all be happy to step off the plane in New York on Friday.

Blacksmith area of Koutiala.  We noticed that many of the blacksmiths wear sandals.  Crazy!

blacksmith area of Koutiala

Anco bought something at the blacksmith area, Steve is trying to communicate with some kids

Adam and I bought these mud cloths from this man

Day of Rest - Part I

This morning Jon, Andy, Rachel and I got up early (on the one and only day we could sleep in) and went for a run.  I could have easily been talked out of it, but Jon kept saying that we will be able to say we ran in Africa, and I thought he had a good point.  I can't keep up with Rachel, so Jon ran ahead with her, and Andy stayed back with me. I'm pretty sure Jon never runs out of energy. Andy and I ran to Bethel Bible College, and Jon and Rachel ran a little past it.  We ran by many people who pointed and said "tubabus!"  We are getting used to being the center of attention!  Several people greeted us.  I had enough air in me to respond to the initial greeting, but if they continued with questions, Andy had to do all the answers because I was too out of breath.  When I say "all the answers," I basically mean he said "toratay."  Toratay is the basic response we learned, and if the questions get too complicated, it often becomes a question from us... toratay???  The Malians often laugh at us! Malians, in general, seem to love to laugh. I did stop and ask a group of kids if I could take their picture.  I showed the picture to them after I took it, and they all smiled.  It's so funny how they like seeing their picture on our camera screens.

We went to church at 9am.  I love how simple everything is here.  The church had simple concrete floors, white walls with a few things hanging crooked on them! The men sat separately from the women. I think the church is pretty conservative.  Ewien said that the church she and Anco attended when they lived in Bamako allowed men and women to sit together.  However, Marilyn and Craig sat together in the Bethel church, so I think things are slowly starting to change. All the windows and doors were open (no air conditioning).  The view out the doors and windows was trees and corn fields.  It was so peaceful.  I can totally see why people become long term missionaries here.  There was a lot of singing in church.  While I have no idea what the words were that they were singing, it had a great beat.  Several of the young girls who sang also danced.  Marilyn (wife of the director of the hospital) said they normally do not dance, and she thinks it was something special for us. During the prayer request and praise time, one of the pastors thanked us for our work and had our group stand up.   Marilyn said the sermon was about living your life in Christ.  She said the pastor talked about how you aren't a Christian simply because you are born into a Christian family, and if you aren't living your life in Christ, you are following Satan.  It was a very long sermon, but that was the quick summary.  The sermons are given in French and Bombara.  First a pastor speaks in French and then another person (who happened to be his brother) follows in Bombara.  Jason, Jon, Adam, Chris, Andy, Rachel, me and Doug and Angela's two boys rode on top of the roof of the van on the way home from church.  I guess that's another African experience.  We see trucks all the time that are full of Malian people on the tops, sides, hanging off, everywhere :)

Like I said earlier, it's so nice how simple everything is here and how happy people are.  Our lives get so complicated and cluttered in the U.S.  It's a very nice change being here for these two weeks.  It also seems the people are very trustworthy.  I know that the missionaries are introducing us to vendors they know so we may be sheltered from a few things, but Andy and I bought a drum for our nephew a few days ago from a vendor outside of our compound.  When we bought it, he said he needed to tighten the strings, and he owed us about 2000 Francs.  He said he'd bring it to us later, and Ewien said we could trust him.  We would never be that trustworthy at home. He came to the door of the house about half an hour later with the drum and our change. Then again, Angela told us to make sure our backpacks were in front of us at the market the other day because sometimes people will try to get in them and take things.  So, I guess everyone isn't trustworthy!

We are going to the blacksmith area later today and then to Craig and Marilyn's for dinner.  Craig is the director of the Women and Children's Hospital.  I'll try to update the blog again at the end of the day.

Say a prayer that our time in Dakar on our way home goes well.  We were hoping to be able to stay in a guest home (we are there from 11pm-8am or something similar to that on Thursday), but Craig is having a hard time finding us a place to stay (he and Marilyn used to live in Dakar), so it sounds like we really are going to be sleeping in the airport.

Bethel Church

 Bethel Church

 Bethel Church

 Bethel Church

Bethel Church -- the fan Rachel's niece gave her to use for the trip came in very handy during church

Bethel Church

Leaving church

It amazed me how all the women carried their babies this way

morning jog

morning run

After morning run -- petting Anco and Ewien's dog, Bantu.  Running is the only time Rachel and I can wear pants (no shorts though)

I stopped during the run and took this picture of these kids (I'm always looking for an excuse to take a break running!).  They laughed when I showed them the picture on my camera screen.

Work Day 5

Today was a lot more of the same in terms of work.  Jon, Adam and Bill worked with Anco on the water tower.  They built additional bracing and a ladder.  Anco started working on the piping for the 2nd tank.  Steve and Chris continued working on removing the roof and ceiling of one of the classrooms.  Jason, Andy, Larry, Rachel, Ewien and I continued digging.  We finished another trench and worked very hard at digging under the roots of a big tree near our trench because Anco told us yesterday to not cut through them, but put the pipes under them.  This was pretty time consuming.  Today he came by and said to remove the tree.  We all gave him a look of shock ,and he smiled and said "plans change."  He has said this so much during this trip that I'm thinking about changing the title of this blog to "plans change!"

Removing the tree was interesting (and not yet complete).  Several of the guys worked on cutting off branches and some of the roots.  Anco wants the entire tree pulled out of the ground so that he doesn't have to try and dig up the stump.  Ewien brought over the truck, and some guys tied a chain around the tree, attached it to a rope and attached the rope to the truck.  We all knew where this was headed, but we went along with it. As expected, the rope broke.  So, we've worked on digging out more of the roots and will try again on Monday.

Oftentimes, when we are working, the Malians will stare at us, especially at the women (Rachel, Ewien and me).  Ewien said many of the Malians do not think white people know how to work and that women in general don't do hard labor.  There are times when we feel like a zoo exhibit.  Daniel said at dinner tonight that we work like men...(not sure if that was a compliment...ha!). While Rachel and I were shoveling today, we were given African names by Samuel (one of the Malian workers at Bethel -- he may work for Anco all the time--I'm not sure).  My name is Domalis, which means bean eater (???).  Steve was also given this name by a Malian last time he was here.  I'll add Rachel's name later..I can't figure out how to spell it!  Larry was given the name Keita last time he was in Mali, which means king (Larry is extremely tall). I think Bill was given a name on this trip as well.

During lunch (leftovers today) Anco told us some interesting information about some of his work.  Several men work for him.  If he has someone who has worked for him for awhile, is a hard worker, is open to change and willing to learn, he helps them buy their own land.  Anco will buy the land, put it in the worker's name, helps the worker get the appropriate equipment and teaches the worker to use efficient farming techniques.  Then, that worker pays Anco back, which usually takes about 3 years.  Anco said it costs about $2200 (US dollars) for 15 acres of land.

Towards the end of the conversation, Jon picked up some peanut butter and put a big spoonful on his plate to eat with crackers.  Anco's eyes got huge, and he shook his head.  He doesn't understand how we eat so much peanut butter.  He said a spoonful of peanut butter would be the same to him as eating a spoonful of mayonnaise!

Dinner tonight was hosted by Daniel (director of Bethel Bible College), two other teachers at Bethel and their wives.  The women sat at one end of the table and the men at the other.  Also, there was a little tub to wash our hands before we went up to get our food.  We had a banana entree (fried bananas--not sure what it's called), rice and peanut sauce (Steve is right -- peanut sauce is good!), chicken, and potatoes. It was a very good dinner, and there was very interesting conversation.  Daniel started out by thanking us for our work, telling us how much they appreciate it as well as the partnership with Christ Community Church and that they were showing their love by giving us a dinner.  

Steve asked Daniel what his vision is for Bethel, and he said he would like to increase the capacity to having 50 students in a session.  Daniel said many people are not well educated, so the first year of the program (4 year program) is spent learning general subjects.  They also spend time teaching the students more efficient ways of farming. He said it's difficult for people to become pastors because they are typically only paid about $10 (so 5000 Francs) per month by the church, so they must also have an additional job (usually growing crops).  He also said that there are many churches in need of pastors, so he would like to make the program be 3 years instead of 4.  Each year consists of 6 months of education.  He'd like to change it to 8 months in order to make it be 3 years so that there are more pastors in a shorter timeframe.  It costs each students $100/month to be in the program (they are provided family housing while they are in the program), and $60/month consists of the program fees.  The students have a hard time earning enough money to sustain them while they are not in the fields. Someone asked if Christianity is growing quickly in Mali, and Daniel said the Muslim population is growing much faster.  He said many people see what has happened in Afghanistan and Iraq and aren't happy with white people's actions (invading, etc).  They see white people as Christians, so they decide to be Muslim.    

Daniel is a very happy man and laughs a lot.  We all love his laugh and enjoyed him very much even though we didn't understand him (Anco and Ewien translated).  He has great passion for his vision and wants to train the best pastors and many of them!  He is committed to spreading Christianity and Bethel Bible College is an amazing program.

We had two rounds of tea while there.  Everyone here drinks tea.  Someone often brings us tea a couple times while we are working during the day.  Anco said that most people have 3 rounds of tea a day, and each round consists of 3 small glasses of tea, so 9 glasses total each day.  Everyone shares glasses, so we're probably lucky more people haven't gotten sick on our team, especially since a few of us have already been sick while here.

Oftentimes, the pattern of the conversation is how important it is for people/pastors to learn about farming (we've been told this several times).  I mentioned earlier that Rachel and I weeded a garden.  This garden was started by Ewien and Anco as a test to show the people the efficiency of drip irrigation.  Their garden uses drip irrigation and is doing very well.  Anco said that you can't tell people how to do things in Mali.  Instead, you must show them for them to believe it.  

Tomorrow is a day off! We need it! We are all so exhausted.  Jon is making some of us get up early to go running, so we can say we went running in Mali :)  Angela told him her typical running route (she runs 3 days a week and Ewien often runs with her).  

Please continue to pray for our safety and health and pray for Bethel Bible College.  Daniel said that once they build up their capacity, he is depending on God to send him the students.  Anco and Ewien have gone a long way in helping build their capacity for more students.

Larry got the jackhammer stuck in the dirt

Andy cutting limbs

Failed attempt at pulling the tree down

We started cutting down the tree before Anco told us to dig up the roots and pull the entire tree out.  After our failed attempt, he told us to dig out roots (he is shown on right showing us how to dig around roots)

Steve

 Chris

 Anco, Olivier, Adam

 Erin and Rachel digging

trench

People would often get in the pool after a hard day of work.  Someone donated this pool to the mission compound a few years ago, and Malians actually hand dug the hole for the pool.

Work Day 4

I think exhaustion has hit the group today.  We are all a bit beat up as well.  I know the jackhammer has done some damage to Jason's legs and arms.  I have bruises all over my right leg and many blisters. Andy has a swollen, blue finger.  Adam didn't feel well yesterday, but I think he's better today. You get the idea!

Adam and Jon left to get to Bethel Bible College at 6am again today, and the rest of us continued our 7am pattern.  Larry was able to work today, and he jumped into digging the trench...not exactly taking it easy after being sick several days.  Andy, Jason, Larry, Rachel, Ewien and I worked on the trench.  Once we finish digging something, Anco adds another path that needs to be dug.  Steve continued to work on taking down the ceiling in one of the classrooms. Jon, Adam, Bill and Chris continued work on the water tower.

Doug brought us a mid-morning snack, sheep kabobs on bicycle spokes.  I didn't want to eat the snack because it was sheep, but I did try it, and it was very good (they use a good seasoning).  Doug said he found a great person who makes the kabobs.  He butchers the sheep every morning so his food is always fresh.  Andy joked that the live sheep is his refrigeration. Doug also said that many people will inject the animal with antibiotics a few days before they are going to butcher it in order to make sure there is nothing wrong with the meat.  Their livelihood depends on their reputation for the quality of their meat. I thought this was all too much information!  I'm not sure what lunch was, but it was pretty good.  It was a pancake type bread. We put a gravy (with meat) on it, wrapped it up and ate it.  Tonight Moussa (Anco and Ewien's cook/housekeeper) made us pizza.  His food has been delicious all week, and he's tried to make a lot of American stuff.   

Good news! The second water tank has been added to the tower!  Anco said he expected it to be added next week, so I think we might be a little ahead of schedule.  When the crane arrived, Ewien and I climbed on top of a truck and watched/recorded video/took pictures of the entire process. At this point, we nicknamed Jon "Daredevil"; however, I think Anco probably deserves that name even more.  The only major mistake during this major task was that the operator of the crane (Malian man) backed into the scaffolding while the crane was fully extended with the water tank on it!  Many people were on top of the water tower at this point and Olivier (a 19 year old Malian man that works with Anco a lot, and Anco is actually training/helping him to have his own shop) was actually on the side of the scaffolding that got hit.  However, if it would have fell, I think more than just Olivier would have been in trouble.  God was definitely working with us because none of us are sure how the scaffolding didn't fall.

Two of the ladies that live at Bethel Bible College set out some of the items they make to sell.  Steve told me I have a black belt in shopping.  The woman who was selling jewelry was pregnant, and Ewien told me later that most people do not talk about being pregnant because they consider it a bad omen.  She said some people even call pregnancy a sickness.  The mom only talks about it after the baby is born.

Rachel and I left at 4:30 (instead of 5) with Ewien because she wanted us to go with her to visit one of her friends, Pama.  Pama makes items such as bags, bottle holders, book covers, etc, and many of her items are left in the guest house for mission teams to view and purchase.  It was really interesting to see where the people live and the inside of a person's home.  She had all concrete floors.  Someone jokingly asked me if I got any decorating ideas, and my answer was "simplify."  There was nothing on the walls.  She did have a small tv.  The door and all the windows were open.  Air conditioning is extremely rare.  Eight people are living in her house.

Ewien has used Pama in some of her videos that she makes to teach people about proper health/wellness procedures and prevention techniques.  Pama works at a health clinic and is getting ready to teach some hygiene classes.  She showed us some pictures that she uses to teach.  The pictures showed very simple concepts to us, and Rachel even asked if she teaches kids. Ewien said she teaches grown women.  Ewien said many of the women are stubborn and will not listen to Pama. She said if something bad happens, they say it is because it was God's will.  Some of the pictures were of washing hands, cleaning under fingernails, covering food, filtering water, keeping animals out of drinking water, etc.

Tomorrow is another full work day.  Since the second tank has been added, we will all be back to the 7am schedule, much to Jon and Adam's delight.

Doug told Steve today that one of his workers approached him.  This worker has worked for him for three years and has always done great work.  He has never asked Doug for anything, but he told Doug today that since harvest wasn't good last year, he only has one more sack of grain until next year.  Doug asked him how much money he would need to have grain to last for the rest of they year, and he said 30,000 Francs (only $60!!), so we all pitched in to buy him grain to get him until the end of the year.

Please pray that no one else gets sick, that it rains tonight to cool the temperatures so we can all get a good rest (because we all need it), that everyone continues to stay safe, and that we minister through our actions.

Eating sheep kabobs

Sheep kabobs on bicycle spokes

 Larry, Rachel, Andy, Erin

 Adam, John, Bill

Steve

Drinking tea -- we were served tea often

Ewien and I have the best view for the crane lifting the second tank

Daredevil -- I think this looks worse than it actually was

Jon, Doug, Adam and Bill

Yay!

digging -- pretty sure I've never even picked up a shovel before this trip.  You might know women who can shovel, but how many women do you know who can shovel in dresses/skirts??

Exhaustion (lunch break - Andy, Jason, Larry)

Nightly game of cards (and me writing the blog)