Ok so, the update is: we have decided (tentatively) to have 5 team members stay at the sister's each night and one stay in tominian at the guest house. That may change, but for now, it explains why you are getting an update from me! (Emily)
So this afternoon we had a lovely lunch of fish and rice, though the multitudinous bones were a bit overwhelming. I do not think it was Niger perch, which Liz and i had on the way up to Tominian- now THAT is great fish. We then all rested for a bit, which included naps, showers, and talking to Dabare about education, physical therapy, and Hilary Clinton. yep, he's a fan : ) we found out later that during these post-lunch hours, the temperature was probably around 120 degrees fahrenheit! Surprisingly, no one was too uncomfortable. We had fans and cool showers, so it really was not too unpleasant.
After our rest we drove over to Mandiakuy, where the Sister's have their convent, clinic, and school. Sister Alice and Sister Felicite gave us cold water, "shrimp chips" (kind of like the texture of cheese doodles, but they taste a bit salty or fishy), and popcorn dusted with milk powder and salt (sounds weird, but it was so addictive!). Dr Norman discussed many things with the sisters, including their work in the community, their achievements, and their partnership with different aspects of WorldVision. After an hour or so in the cool of the convent, the temperature had dropped enough for us to go out again.
We visited a man in a nearby village named Janvier, who had a stroke a few years ago. The experience was incredibly poignant, so much so that we have decided that in order to do justice to the moment the story must be told to our loved ones in person, rather than over a medium as impersonable as a blog. So make sure you remember to ask about "Janvier".
Following the interview, we dropped the 5 ladies off at the sisters, where a mouthwatering meal awaited them (all I know is that it included cake, and i was jealous). Dr Norman and I came back to the guesthouse, had some chicken with green beans for dinner, and crashed for the night.
And now, I am off to bed! as they say here, "A demain!"
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Jour Trois
Bon Jour!!
Today was a very relaxing day!! We alll got up around 7:15 and got wonderful showers and yummy breakfast!! We were supposed to go to church, but the governor was in town, so church was a lot earlier than we had originally thought, so we chose to stay nd have our own devotions and church like atmosphere. After we finished devos Hannah taught us how to sing a blessing in french and we practiced so we would have it perfect for lunch!! around 11 we got to go into a local market and experience all of the culture there, it was absolutely amazing!!! We came back and had some relaxation time alont with great discussions and a visit from Dabere : ) He joined us for lunch where we showed him how great we were at singing french songs!! Now we are waiting for our ride to come and take us to the Catholic sisters. We will be there until Friday morning and have no internet access there, so we are hoping that we can figure out a way to keep you all updated still!! Dr. Norman will be here each night and a student might occasionally come back, but have no fear....you will be kept updated : )
God Bless,
<3 the team : )
Today was a very relaxing day!! We alll got up around 7:15 and got wonderful showers and yummy breakfast!! We were supposed to go to church, but the governor was in town, so church was a lot earlier than we had originally thought, so we chose to stay nd have our own devotions and church like atmosphere. After we finished devos Hannah taught us how to sing a blessing in french and we practiced so we would have it perfect for lunch!! around 11 we got to go into a local market and experience all of the culture there, it was absolutely amazing!!! We came back and had some relaxation time alont with great discussions and a visit from Dabere : ) He joined us for lunch where we showed him how great we were at singing french songs!! Now we are waiting for our ride to come and take us to the Catholic sisters. We will be there until Friday morning and have no internet access there, so we are hoping that we can figure out a way to keep you all updated still!! Dr. Norman will be here each night and a student might occasionally come back, but have no fear....you will be kept updated : )
God Bless,
<3 the team : )
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Jour Deux -
We enjoyed sleeping in a bit this morning, and the amazingly refreshing cool showers (it was a warm night to say the least). We walked into town and, with the help of Marie Jean and Hannah's fabulous translating, communicated our wishes for an African outfit to the local tailor. During the waiting time, Emily made friends with some local little boys, taught them Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in French, and successfully brought the Macarena to Mali! :) Back at the base, we had devo's and read the Preface to our devo book, "The Dangerous Duty of Delight" by John Piper. It will surely make good discussion throughout the coming days. Lunch was delicious, cous cous and fresh MANGO! We all have a deep love for Mango season. :) After a planning session for the coming week, we headed to Mandiakuy where we met up with Levi and put on the new pump handle. We went to Albein's and caught up with her and her family, gave them a photo of their family and talked with her about the possibility of her traveling to Bamako to be on the panel for the disability presentation. During a beautiful but thoroughly bumpy ride back, we stopped for the traditional baobob tree picture. Very African. Yummy dinner of chicken and potatoes and veggies, with cold Fanta! And, LESS BUGS! We were all very excited about this. Dr. Norman then enlightened us to the fact that the day after a rain, there are always epic amounts of bugs... and it rained the day before we came. After dinner we had a meeting; reflecting on the day, reviewing logistics, and some planning. Then Dr. Norman shared with us some of the moving life stories of some of the remarkable people we spent time with. Truly, these people are incredible - overcoming their hardships and using their lives to help people in powerful ways to the glory of God. It's amazing.
Okay, fin. <3 Sarah and Jo for all :)
We enjoyed sleeping in a bit this morning, and the amazingly refreshing cool showers (it was a warm night to say the least). We walked into town and, with the help of Marie Jean and Hannah's fabulous translating, communicated our wishes for an African outfit to the local tailor. During the waiting time, Emily made friends with some local little boys, taught them Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in French, and successfully brought the Macarena to Mali! :) Back at the base, we had devo's and read the Preface to our devo book, "The Dangerous Duty of Delight" by John Piper. It will surely make good discussion throughout the coming days. Lunch was delicious, cous cous and fresh MANGO! We all have a deep love for Mango season. :) After a planning session for the coming week, we headed to Mandiakuy where we met up with Levi and put on the new pump handle. We went to Albein's and caught up with her and her family, gave them a photo of their family and talked with her about the possibility of her traveling to Bamako to be on the panel for the disability presentation. During a beautiful but thoroughly bumpy ride back, we stopped for the traditional baobob tree picture. Very African. Yummy dinner of chicken and potatoes and veggies, with cold Fanta! And, LESS BUGS! We were all very excited about this. Dr. Norman then enlightened us to the fact that the day after a rain, there are always epic amounts of bugs... and it rained the day before we came. After dinner we had a meeting; reflecting on the day, reviewing logistics, and some planning. Then Dr. Norman shared with us some of the moving life stories of some of the remarkable people we spent time with. Truly, these people are incredible - overcoming their hardships and using their lives to help people in powerful ways to the glory of God. It's amazing.
Okay, fin. <3 Sarah and Jo for all :)
Hey-o again!
So we made it to the Tominion base in time for a late dinner where Liz and Emily were waiting. They had made the trip out-country, meeting up with fav's like Dabere and Charles at the Mali ADP leader meeting in San. (See Andrew, Emily and Liz are right here!) We all met our lovely translator Marie Jean, who is great. At dinner, we discovered that lights on at night makes the pavilion into a zoo. Not only were we surrounded by toads and stray, scrawny kittens, but we were legit AMBUSHED by bugs. Like attacking our faces, food and later, we discovered, our rooms. Bugs in our beds, across the floors, and all over the bathroom. Needless to say there was alot of girlish screams and rolling of eyes from the locals and Dr. Norman. :) We (and by that I mean Liz) loved spoiling the cats with chicken skin and we all freaked during our first encounter with scorpion carriers, large spiders that run around. They are terrifying. With everything, it was a fantastic day - filled with adventures and getting acquainted with Mali.
So we made it to the Tominion base in time for a late dinner where Liz and Emily were waiting. They had made the trip out-country, meeting up with fav's like Dabere and Charles at the Mali ADP leader meeting in San. (See Andrew, Emily and Liz are right here!) We all met our lovely translator Marie Jean, who is great. At dinner, we discovered that lights on at night makes the pavilion into a zoo. Not only were we surrounded by toads and stray, scrawny kittens, but we were legit AMBUSHED by bugs. Like attacking our faces, food and later, we discovered, our rooms. Bugs in our beds, across the floors, and all over the bathroom. Needless to say there was alot of girlish screams and rolling of eyes from the locals and Dr. Norman. :) We (and by that I mean Liz) loved spoiling the cats with chicken skin and we all freaked during our first encounter with scorpion carriers, large spiders that run around. They are terrifying. With everything, it was a fantastic day - filled with adventures and getting acquainted with Mali.
Bonsoir from Mali!!!
We made it safe and sound despite the minor setbacks that occurred while traveling. Our flight to Charlotte went just fine but our flight to paris was delayed by 4 hours because our pilot decided to run into a bird (results shown in the picture on the left)!! Plus the weather wasn't the best either. We arrived at Paris around 11:30 and continued on through to Bamako where we arrived safe and sound around 8:30, 4:30 your time.
Yesterday was a long day full of traveling. We stopped at the World Vision office in Bamako to talk to Fabiano about the plans for the trip and possible new directions for the future of the project. As we traveled to Tominion our first stop was to visit Tafili in Bla and we got to hear her story and see all that Joni has done for her and all that she has
been able to do for the handicapped around her because of Joni. This lady has a wonderful story and we would love to share it with you if you wish to know more!! The picture to the left shows us with her and all the people we met there! Before we stopped at Bla we had our first real African meal!! Jo, Hannah and Sarah had chicken (guinnea fowl) and rice and peanut sauce and Dr. Norman and the driver Vincent had fish and rice. We are off to explore Africa to explore!! be back soon!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Team Itinerary
I thought I would post our itinerary for the trip, so you can know where we are each day and pray specifically for our work! Thank you again for the support :D
Proposed Schedule for Messiah College and Joni & Friends (JAF) in Mali
(Tominian, Koro and Bla field work and Bamako Workshop on Disabilities)
June 2-16, 2010
June 3: Arrive in Bamako on Air France from Paris (Ray Norman, Liz Susmann, Sarah Finney, Emily Howell, Jo Larson, Hannah Norman).
June 4: Meet with WV ND or Operations Dir. in morning; depart for Tominian mid-morning.
June 5: Students move to the Sister's compound in Mandiakuy
June 4-11: Working at Tominian & Mandiakuy
June 7-8: Ray Norman & 2 students travel to Koro for 2 days & one night.
June 9: Arrive in Bamako on Air France from Paris (Steve Bundy and Chip Kingery, from Joni & Friends, JAF).
June 10: Depart for Tominian with Steve Bundy and Chip Kingery by 8:00 or 9:00. Must arrive in Tominian no later than 14:00 (visit to Yasso village planned at 15:00.)
June 11: Norman, Bundy and Kingery depart Tomiian for Mandiakuy early morning. Tour Madiakuy project, pick up students from Sisters Guesthouse, and drive to San. In afternoon, meet with Handicap Association (handicapped persons in San) from 14:30-16:30. At 16:30 drive to Bla and stay the night. (Note: This is the return trip to Bamako and may require 2 vehicles; 8 travelers plus chauffeurs….Norman, 5 students, Bundy and Kingery.)
June12: Visit Tafili Tangara and handicapped persons in Bla in morning. Lunch in Bla, then depart for Bamako in afternoon. Arrive Bamako in evening.
June 14-15: WV Workshop on Disability, led by Messiah Collage and JAF.
June 15: Bundy and Kingery depart Bamako on Air France the evening of June 15.
June 16: Norman to meet with WV ND, for review of workshop and planning for future.
Departure of Norman and Messiah College students on evening of June 16.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Snapshot at the Ball
Sarah Finney, Sarah Jarnecki, Jo and I went to the Centennial Ball on Saturday and it was a blast!
Just goes to show that Collab friendships are always transcending Monday night meeting times : ) Go Mali team!
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