Healing 2 The Nations International ~ Mim Heisey ~ Blog August 2011

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Sunday Breakfast and "Kulu" Excursion

The day dawns bright and clear, with only a few puffy white clouds sailing high like full masted schooners on a clear blue sea. Bright sun and clear skies are not a given in Mali's rainy season, so we are thankful for that provision for our special excursion today.

Sunday's special breakfast of "nbuuru" (baguettes or french bread) and hot cocoa is on the menu today, as opposed to the regular weekday breakfast of millet porridge, of one kind or another. Contrary to the usual pattern of sitting around a bowl and eating out of it together, Sundays are different. After morning devotions are finished, a kind of organized may-hem reigns around the table as some of the boys tear the 8-10 loaves of bread for individual portions and others begin to make hot drink. A large kitchen knife has been used to open the can of sweetened condensed milk and it passes from hand to hand as they pour some into their plastic mugs. A container of Nestle's Quik equivalent is grabbed by first one and then another for the couple of spoonfuls of chocolate powder that will make each a cup of cocoa. Using an empty cup, boys begin dipping the water from the large bowl of almost boiling water that has been set in the middle of the table and then pour it back and forth between cups to “stir” it and dissolve the sweet, sticky milk syrup that clings to the cup bottom, before taking their bread and moving away to eat their breakfast.

Depending on the preciseness of the bread-tearer, there is a quick jostling and grabbing to get the larger 'halves' (a “half” loaf for each “big” boy, and “half of a half” for the 4 littlest ones.) It has been very telling to see who takes care to get for themselves, and who looks out for the little ones while getting their own breakfast. There are one or two who seem to always be the first to take their portions, and one or two others who can be counted on to help the littlest members of the family, and the rest fall somewhere in between. Paul, our Malian second-in-command, is an unusually servant-hearted leader, and provides a good model of manhood for them to see and emulate, if they will.

Julie and I requested to have our breakfast upstairs so that we could complete the job of assembling supplies for the special hike and cookout on the 'mountain' that was planned for the 7 oldest boys. “Let's see! Army rations, bananas, bread, firewood, matches, kettle, tea pots, water....” The boys had been told of the upcoming event early in the week, with a few of the details, and I was surprised to hear that not all of them wanted to go. I thought that it must be a communication issue, but when Claudia announced that anyone who stayed home would finish everyone else's laundry while we were gone-- there was quick turnaround, and no further explanation was needed. :)) We had told them that we would make a fire to heat the food and make tea-- and by this morning there was a mounting anticipation and they were ready to go, backpacks in place, before our preparations were completed. (I expect that all you parents who have prepared for an outing or vacation understands that phenomenom.)

Our band of nine, Ray & I and 7 boys aged 11-18, started from our base at 9:30am. On the way out of our neighborhood, several ran ahead and stopped at the home of Rosalie and Dami, our non-resident cook and day guard couple, to tell where we were going-- bragging rights, you understand. Before we got to the top of the ridge we had picked up two tag-a-longs, Dami and Rosalie's son, Daouda, and a friend followed us and made a day of it with us. Shouldn't have been a surprise to me but meant that the food had to stretch a little further. :) Ray asked me to lead the way so as to set the pace, and I did for a while, claiming my option to take a breather part way up the first steep hill. I soon dropped back as eager feet went ahead, and took advantage of the opportunity to share my camera with 15 year old Karim, who took some really good pictures — some of which I have posted.
Up over the rock face of the ridge immediately behind the base, along the rock strewn flat, across a stream of water spilling over huge, flat rocks of rusty red, up another rocky incline and thru brushy scrub. (Do you get the theme of 'rocks' here??) Ray, as lead “hunter”, carried a stout stick to beat back the tall grass and encroaching branches and, hopefully, discourage any snakes from making our intimate acquaintance (with great success I might add. 'Nary a creepy-crawly was seen the whole day.) There were soon a couple more sticks pressed into duty as rifles or snake chasers as we moved on, and the scent of the plentiful "mosquito plant"(citronella) surrounded us.

We came unexpectedly on a simple track that ran along the top of that ridge, and chose to follow it north and east before cutting up thru a large field of grass, chest high in places, to yet another ridge. My photo buddy, Karim, was one of the young men who took particular care of this 'kooroba' grandmother. At one point I noticed that he was taking extra effort to step the grass down to both sides so that I could see, and wouldn't stumble over, the frequent fist sized rocks that could be serious ankle twisters, hidden as they were in this thick grass. Further on, he got down and moved forward swiftly on all 4s, smoothly plaiting handfulls of grass into a flat rope on the ground under him, announcing as he did so “path-marker”. Obviously, he had done that before! Ray warned me to try to avoid grass cuts from this swaying field of green that reached almost to my neck, and said that when Christian Spindler introduced him to this terrain back in early May, it was just a rocky field, bare and forlorn looking. If I understand correctly, it can reach well over our heads before the rainy season evaporates in October's heat.

What a delightful day we had! God provided the canvas of grass and flowers, rocky ridges and cliff-like bluffs that yielded panoramic views of the Niger River- all under a sunny, rain-free sky. We peopled it with energetic 'hunters' (“Lion...monkey”) who were on an adventure. The boys were a delight to watch as they put into practice skills that I didn't know they had. (D-U-H-H, Mimi! These ARE native African BOYS. They grew up in villages and have been on the streets of the city. Of course they know how to cope and make do!) As soon as we chose a spot to make lunch they scattered and brought back an assortment of branches to construct simple, effective shelters to shade us from that same bright, noonday, African sun,...and had a grand time doing it, too. Army rations and accompaniments were parceled out to 9 hungry boys, Kings and warriors as the mood struck them. Kings Darius and Daniel, David and Solomon (from Bible stories thay have studied) ate chunks of bread, grilled beef patties and bananas. Mighty lion hunter, with stick rifle, detecte and shot at a lion that lurked in a brushy spot as we trekked past. 'Massake Darius', resting in the shade of an overhanging bush while his 'subjects' scurried about making additional shelters, got out his books and did some studying while waiting for tea. (The tea maker, Flo, got special privileges-- getting to use the rice bag that had served as our buffet table for shade, since fire, and hence the tea, was in open sun.) Amadou was the first to discover a tree that had enticing branches to climb and peer out above. Several others soon joined him and Ray wondered how many boys that small tree could hold before they would all tumble headlong to the ground. As it happened they scrambled up and down a few times over the next hour or so that we camped there, and no one seemed the worse for wear, except perhaps the poor tree. The water that we took along turned out to be inadequate for the tasks assigned to it, but we all servived.
We returned home to the sound of a chanting call, apparently well known as the reply came back strong and clear from the line of marchers ahead. Later, a worshipful song of praise erupted from the trailing warrior. I started taking video of the trekkers ahead, so as to capture the song without scaring off the camera-shy singer.

What a good day we had!! Thank you God! Bridges built and relationships stengthened. Perhaps we can so such an excursion again- but next time we will be sure to take more food AND more water.

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Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Market & Walk to the Waterfall

Yesterday we took a walk up the hill from our base of operations here in Yirimadio. We were joined by friends here in Bamako who also enjoy a bit of a hike-- well, not quite rappelling, but more than a stroll. Up a series of rocky paths, s-T-E P UP over rocks big enough to hide a small cow, hoist yourself down again on the other side, look for a steady place to out your foot...-- you get the picture! We always have a tag-along group of children, and since Mimi seems to be the easiest of our names to say, we hear "Mimi", "Mimi, look", "Mimi, Photo"(I had the camera), "Mimi...". It was a beautiful day, not too hot, and relatively good humidity level, for a hike and photo taking session--(I did tell you I took my camera! I have been good and had left it at home on numerous excursions early on in our stay, so as not to be the Ugly American tourist. Now I have to play catch up.) We also are making an effort not to just be "whiteman" and have been asking them their names and telling them ours. Since we are about the only white people in this neighborhood they can recognize us at a distance--"Mimi" Yakou"... jules always collects a following, and stops to talk to the little ones. She has realy picked up a lot of Bambara and has a better grasp of the sentence sructure than either Ray or I have at this point, but we are trying to keep up. We headed back after an hour or so to a dinner of meatloaf, baked potatoes, green salad, and Julies coffee cake, with coffee and tea of course., We had purchased a meat grinder at a downtown Bamako store so that we could grind our own hamburger. My one attempt to purchase hamburger at the supermarket left me wondering what they had included in the mix (at best it was some liver, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know what else). I decided that I preferred to eat meat that I had seen in its solid form, hence the grinder purchase. We can get a good chunk of "round roast' from the butcher at the local open-air market, and if I go in the morning I can get my cut right off the hind quarter, before it has been left open to the air and whatever flies and other pests have open access. Want to try your math again?? 1 kilo of meat(red meat only, no bones and other parts)is 2300cfa: 460cfa/$1.00 and 2.2 lbs/ kilo. So how much am I paying for a pound of "misi-sogo".... So, how much was that? Or you can do what I do, round it off to 500cfa/$1, and round off the kilo to 2 lbs close enough!.... Oh, did I tell you? First you have to take the number they tell you in Bamabarakan and multiply by 5 to get price in franks. (They used to have a 5 frank coin, and their money system is really saying "so-many" 5-frank coins.) S-o-o-o-o-! "A be joli?"she asks the butcher. "Kemenaaninibiwooro" ?? "Keme naani, ni bi-woro?" Lets see! That's "hundreds-4, + tens-6"--(460), times 5cfa....Oh that's 2300cfa! [I'll figure out the dollars when I get home!!] Count your many blessings and thank you for blessing us to be able to be here as your emissaries. Your support is much appreciated.

Mim in Mali

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Sunday, August 14, 2011

Breakthru Power in PRAISE

Karim came looking for Ray today- saying that a boy wanted prayer, and Paul was not at the base. As we went downstairs I noticed that some of the children in the Dining Hall were singing one of the Bambara praise songs that we had sung the day before in our midweek Prayers gathering. “Too high, too high too high, Jesus is too high. Too low, too low, the serpent is too low.” I smiled as I thought about the IHOP praise music CD's that we have been listening to on our computer these last 2 days. It is 2 different languages and music styles but the same sentiments: Jesus reigns over all and we worship HIM!. (I don't know why we haven't had our praise music on for the past 3 months! We have been praying for a break-thru, and yet were not doing some of the basic things that brings us into God's presence daily. DUH!! ) Ray went to get Joseph to help do translation and we went to the gate to wait for our guest.. An old (probably 10 years younger than Ray, who is NOT old! lol:) gray haired man, dressed in a flowing white kaftan and with a turban on his head, came to the gate and was admitted, leaning slightly on his cane. (So much for our understanding of Karim's summons—at least we got the important part-he was coming for prayer! ) Florentine, whom the cooks had sent on an errand to the local boutique, came in behind him, his hands full of cooking supplies. Between Josephs' developing English and the old man's hand motions, we learned that he was having ear trouble. To encourage the boys to be involved in praying, I took the 4 tiny bags of tomato paste, 6 soup cubes and 2 onions for the cooks, and asked Flo to stay and help pray. Ray and 4 boys-becoming-young men prayed for an elderly neighbor, and we know that God heard! We know because HE promised that where 2 or 3 are gathered, and ask in His name, He hears and answers. They were more than 2 and asked in Jesus name! How thankful we are that we know he hears! A bit later those 4 teens were chiding one of the praise singers for not coming to pray at the gate. They were treating this younger one as a fearful or weak one. It gave me an opportunity to try to talk to them about the power of praise and their different gifts. Since I wasn't sure how clear that message got thru without adequate translation, I spoke it again in our evening family meeting—with Claudia and Paul translating it, first into French and then into Bambara. I was also able to give a word of commendation and encouragement to the whole group for the unique strengths that we see developing in each of them. I told them that 'Yakou' and I have been watching them grow, and that we are proud of them!! We are proud of each and every one with their different gifts and strengths. “I think that today was a good day. I saw you living together as brothers, tussling together and playing together. Some came to the gate and prayed, some stayed in the back and prayed or praised. Know that praise is powerful. It opens the gates of heaven to us. Today was a good day!” You could almost see them sit up a little straighter and really tune in and listen. Pray with us that the lessons we are all learning- or relearning-- take root and flourish, in us and in these boys who are on the journey to being powerful men of God in Mali. As I write this I am smelling the peanut butter cookies that Julie is baking-- I am sampling them too, just to make sure they are OK, you understand. :)) I am also listening to another praise CD: the “Acclaim” CD that my cousin Gaylen Blosser gave me of the men's quartet he is a part of. (God used fb to reconnect us last spring after not seeing each other for probably 40 years, but that is another story!) Thanks Gaylen. I never imagined how powerful a part of our mission here praise songs like this would be. They encourage us and put us back on track, reminding us that the God we serve is in control. “When the facts say that you are almost defeated, the truth says that you have already won. The facts may stack up against you right now, but the truth is that God is one your side!” I need to contact Gaylen again and see if he can send me the words of all the songs so that we can translate some of them into Bambara for our boys. (If the rest of you would like to listen to some good Gospel Quartet music, contact him at Gaylen & Becky Blosser 6655 Woodbriar Lane Greenville, Ohio 45331 --or try fb lol Be blessed, and continue to be a blessing to those God has put in your life.

Mimi in Mali

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Friday, August 5, 2011

Mending "Clean" Clothes :))

Mending and interpreting “Clean”! Soon after we got settled in our apartment, I offered to do some mending for the boys who are resident here-- the ones that we call “our boys”. After a couple of weeks, I extended the offer to “l' enfants de rue”, the boys who come into our base in the evening to have a safe place to sleep. I have had plenty of takers! Most frequent are worn thin and torn britches bottoms or knees, and split seams on well worn shirts or shorts. Since I have discovered that my sewing machine does a good job of vibrating any sand and grit out of boys clothes, (and then grumbles and growls about having itin the bobbin box) I told the boys that they need to wash the clothes first and bring them to me clean. ''Clean” is a relative term! I was a little angry when I got garments that I thought were obviously NOT clean-- at least to my standards. (See the picture Julie took of me with this evening's collection.) When I gave myself time to cool off at their effrontery, and listened to them, I realized that they HAD complied with my request. They HAD washed the offending garment!! "Kulu...san-fe", they said, pointing to the hill behind us. They had washed them the only way they knew, by hand, without soap in any available water.. Up on the hill, in the stream always a little muddy from the torrential rains we get almost daily in this rainy season, they had diligently washed their ragged garment, probably pounding and kneading it on a stone to try to remove the stubborn dirt, then laying it out to dry on a rock in the afternoon sun. Pants are often still damp at waistband and pockets, and the sand that is on them is “clean sand” picked up from the concrete wall or stone that was their drying rack. They may have had to wear those pants down the hill because they had nothing else! (Father God, forgive me for my impatience and lack of understanding. I am humbled by these children and their situation that I know so little about. Help me to be more diligent about finding ways to love them, and show them YOUR care and concern. I can certainly wash a shirt or pair of pants for these ones that have no one to care for them. I can give them a gramma's caring. Help me Lord to do it well. For your sake and theirs.) We have anywhere from 4 to 14 street boys most evenings, but once or twice there have been more. They are let into the base at dusk and come to the Dining hall for a simple meal. Always it is rice, sometimes there is a sauce, sometimes just 'fat rice', seasoned with a bouillon cube and vegetable oil. They listen to a Bible Story, translated from French into Bambara for them, and claim one of dozen or so tattered foam pieces that are stacked in the corner of this all-purpose-room for them to use as sleeping mats. One little regular can't be more than 7 or 8, and is sweet spirited and cheerful, despite his meager possessions and the difficult circumstances he lives in daily. He, like the others, has learned our names quicker than we learned his, and calls out to me when he sees me. “Mimi, Mimi!!” In the 3 months that we have been here, I have seen a significant deterioration in those 'beds'. In early May they looked a little ragged, but there were recognizable cloth covers on most of them, and they were a fairly uniform single-bed size. Now what remains are mostly bare, spongy foam pads in a variety of sizes and shapes. Most of the bright cloths that used to cover them have been torn and worn to tatters. Each morning any wet mattresses are laid out in the hot sun to dry-- good for drying them out, but terribly hard on fabric and foam. Bits of the foam are often visible on the floor in the morning, remnants that have been plucked off of the mats by restless fingers in the night. Sometimes, when I have come downstairs early enough in the morning, I have seen why the covers are in such rough shape. Small openings get bigger when boys crawl inside the mattress cover to try to keep warm if they are chilly!! (It hasn't gotten below 70*F that I know of, but that is chilly if you are used to 90 and 100+ temperatures. And remember, these are just homeless boys who are used to adapting and using whatever is at hand.) Ray and I have been brainstorming about how we can replace or upgrade mattresses. The least expensive single bed sponge mattresses are about $40 USD each. Perhaps I can make new covers for the mats that we have, or maybe we can make 3 mats out of 1 double bed sized foam, and then make coverings for them. You can see that it will be a continuing challenge! The wet, the sun and the chilly boys will continue to do them damage. . We will need to get some new 'something' as soon as budget allows, but as donations are down over the summer that is one of the things that will have to wait. Many of the pants and shirts that I have been mending would have made it to my rag bag long before this. I look at them and wonder if I can make an acceptable patch that will extend their life for on of these boys. When I take a little laundry soap and scrub them the water in my bucket gets muddy, but they still are stained and rough looking to my eyes. When I endeavor to scrub them (I have a bucket and laundry soap) the water in my bucket gets muddy, but they still come off the clothes line looking dirty and rough to my eyes. How much we have gotten used to having!! The boys are thankful and their beaming smiles are ample reward for me. Lord , bless this interaction for your purpose, and glory.. Such a little impact, but what is available at this point. Be blessed and count your many blessings as you make an intentional effort to be a blessing to others today. Mim in Mali.:

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Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Prayer requests and more at 3 months

So much to do and the days roll by so quickly!. Can hardly belive that it has been THREE MONTHS!! since we left Pennsylvania. We have a few prayer requests to add to our list: 1) For funds to come in for support -for us,and also for H2TNI. We just found out that the funds level is critical for Healing 2 the Nations.International --under which we serve here in Bamaako. IF you can make a contributions, know that it will be much appreciated. 2) we are seeing an unusual level of sickness among our team--several are suffering with malaria, and Ray turned his ankle earlier this week. THey are taking medications and Ray is doing well-- he just has been wearing his support-the-ankle, work shoes instead of the lighter slip-on shoes. PRay for strength and quick healing 3) Summertime break from school is about 1/2 way thru. Pray for productive plans and activities for the boys THanks so much. we have much to be thankful for. As I sit here in the family room I can hear several of the children practicing their memorization for this evening. Eah day they are to memorize one verse of their choice from the day's scripture passage. Right now we are in the gospel of John, so it is familiar territory for Julie, who studied that book intensely this past year for Bible Quizzing competition in the US. It is a delight to be able to help these boys really get the WORD of GOD into their minds and hearts. That, after all is why we are here! We have been well-- think about it: 3 months in a new environment, with unfamiliar foods and water for the stomach and digestive system to adjust to--and NO Serious diahrea or illnesses. That is a real item to be thankful for. Thank you daddy GOD! We are learning Bambara relatively quickly (so we are told) it seems liek way too slow, but we can now do some communication with our neighbors and the family here. Julie has been helping with teaching the children English this summer-- and between their "little-little" English and our "doni-doni" Bambara we are making progress. Thanks for your support and prayers. You can get a tax deductible receipt for Financial support for us as we pursue this mission in Mali by sending your contribution (marked "Heisey support" on the memo line) to Mt Rock Church, 22 Mt ROck Road, Shippensburg PA. 17257. (ph# 717-532-8473) Contributions for the general ministry budget here at Healing to the Nations base should be sent to Healing 2 The Nations Intl.PO Box 76738Col Colorado Springs, CO 80970 Thanks for being a part-- It is much appreciated.