Life with Hannah: September 2007

Friends and Family,
Oh boy! So much has happened...it has been almost two weeks since I have blogged, and oh boy, have I been busy. I have been to Bougouni the last two weekends. It was wonderful to go back, I was welcomed with open arms, and lots of hugs:) I felt as though I had returned home! This weekend will be the first time I will be doing some women's ministry in Bougouni, and this week I started to teach an English class with Tasha. Yesterday was our first day, we had about 12 students, it went really well. It was actually a lot of fun! I am also going to get to have a personal tutor for Bambara, so that I can further my language skills. I am really excited about this. I pray that God will enable me to learn the language quickly, so that I can better communicate with the Malians. Today I am having two friends over, and teaching them how to cook some American food. They will be here soon, so I must hurry. God has been teaching me so many things. Especially that even if there seems to be NO way, He will make a way. "He will be my guide. Hold me closely by His side. With love and strength for each new day, He will make a way. I just have to trust Him. Some exciting things have been happening here, and once I can share them with you, I will. Until then, please be praying. Also, I received news today, that two of my family's close friends, are in the hospital. One is named Keith Bartos, and the other is Joel Wentworth, both of them need prayer, as well as their families. Please be praying that God will comfort them during this time, and give them strength. Thank you for your prayers!

So where to begin? I am not sure, there is soo much to tell! I have fallen behind in my blogging...I have a whole week to fill you all in on. So much has happened. I suppose I will tell you everything in the order that it happened, which means I will start with last Tuesday. The team got up early, and headed to the bus station about 6:45am, but we ended up missing our 7am bus to Segou. So, we waited around and caught a different bus around 8am. We arrived in Segou around 12noon, and hopped on a little van like bus and headed to Sibla. While in Sibla, we visited a pastor and his family. They fed us lunch( a traditional Malian meal of rice and a sauce) then we visited with the mayor of the region. Before leaving, the Pastor's wife, came up and gave me her necklace, for no apparent reason. It was beautiful...there is a picture below. She did not give anyone else a gift, so I was honored. After we left their house, we hopped back on the small van-bus and headed back to Segou, where we were originally going to spend the night, but had some thoughts off taking a late night bus back to Bamako. Long story short---(Tessa and Karlee had stayed behind in Bamako, because they were not feeling well...so the boys wanted to return home to their wives) soo...Scott, Brent, and I decided to be adventurous and try to catch a night bus back to Bamako. *Something that I forgot to mention was that morning, it poured rain for several hours...and so some of the roads had been flooded. There were actually spots where you could not see the road. FLASH FLOOD! * So, we decided to wait around and finally caught a bus around 10:30pm...We arrived in Bamako around 2am, and got a taxi to our homes. The bus ride back was interesting, because it had also rained more in the afternoon, so parts of the road were completely covered with water. Some areas were knee deep with water! Anyway...that was an experience! It was a great experience though, because I was able to talk with Brent and Scott about where their hearts are with thoughts on ministry. It was a blessing! So, I ended up staying over at their place that night, and spent the next day hanging out with Scott and Tessa, and little Ellen. We played Monopoly and ate Vietnamese food. It was a great day of relaxation. Friday afternoon, we had our international choir concert. It was quite interesting, but fun:) Not sure how you would say it turned out. We sang 4 songs as a team( which was a stretch, considering Todd and Tessa are the only ones with musical abilities) and I shared my testimony, and then there were some other choirs that sang in french and bambara. Itwas fun, and afterwards, we had several people contact us about learning English, so we made several contacts...we will see what opportunities God gives us. After the concert was over, Tasha, Sarah, and I took a friend of our's( that we had met at the Tent Maker's conference) out to eat. We went to the Broadway Cafe ( yes, a little American-like restaurant.) That was a good time of fellowship and fun. Saturday afternoon, myself and the other girls moved back over to the Avant guesthouse, because we had been staying at the Baptist guesthouse, and needed to move. The boys just moved over to day! Anyway, on Saturday night, Sarah said she needed some real bread(like a loaf..and not french bread) so she sent me with some money to the Ecole Boulangerie Patesserie( School of Bakery and Pastry)..well, Tessa went with me. It started pouring rain as soon as we started walking to find a cab..which it took us forever to find an empty cab and when we did, he didnt really know where he was going, and neither did we. So, he drove around asking people if they could speak english...and then he ended up dropping us off on the street corner in the pouring rain, because he didnt know what to do with us! So, as we standing there in the pouring rain, finally we found another cab, and called someone who could speak french, and he told the driver where to go...and after about an hour, we made it....all for a loaf of bread!!! CRAZY! :) Oh what an adventure! Let me tell you, those grilled cheese sandwiches, were amazing after all that! So, Sunday morning, I woke up and went across town to Doudabougou church, which is where Ramata goes to church. The service is in french and bambara, so I could understand a little of the french( I did study french for two years in high school...but can only recall so much) After church, she took me to greet some of her family. They invited me to come back and spend a day with them, so maybe sometime this week I will go and spend time with them. I am not sure if they are believers, she is, but I am not sure about her family...so you can pray that I will be able to have an opportunity to share with them. Ramata speaks English rather well, which is really nice :) Last night, the team just hung out and watched a movie..and well, here I am today...Scott and Tessa and Ellen, just headed off for Koutiala, and Brent and Karlee left for Bougouni. So, the singles are left here in Bamako. This next week is supposed to be our week break..we will see what that entails...who knows what stories I will share next! Time will tell.... Please keep praying, all of your prayers are apprecited and felt! :)

Shining His Light in Mali, Hannah