Discouragement Threatens

I spent some precious time with God in the morning. As the day developped, several things arose with the goal to discourage me again - the car engine is more expensive than thought, team problems, the boys' behavior. Oh God, give me wisdom, because I don't know what to do!

At one point I went into my room, lay down, and prayed to keep my sanity. How long, oh God? When was this gonna end?

On Friday night we have our prayer/worship meeting. The three weeks of worshipping God are comning to an end, but really, it's been a pitiful try to worship him - just one hour every night. On Fridays, we get together for two hours, and I was wondering how to be able to lead two hours. I was so empty, had so nothing to give, no energy to lead. In fact, I told Paul I would have to take 5 min at the time, asking God for strength for the next five.

Does God Listen?

I don't think He does. I tell Him I don't have what it takes to do this work. I tell Him I'm unqualified. I tell Him I'm a liability. Does He listen? No.

And yet He does. And yet it's what He wants to hear. And yet it's what does qualify me. Doesn't make much sense humanly speaking, but does make much sense from God's perspective.

No Electricity

The power went out two hours ago. There are two reasons - one of the machines is malfunctioning, and Anco has ordered a new one to replace it, plus one of the settings is not the way it should so that the power goes out far too early. Anco is a 4h-drive away and will fix it next time he comes to Bamako, which should be about a week from now.

I just connected my computer and phone directly to the generator to be able to call Anco. Since we are nearly out of gas, I will write my update quickly before the generator goes off. And then we'll have to survive without power until later morning tomorrow, if the batteries are charged by then (the charger is the malfunctioning part). I really don't know how to get through the night without my little stand-alone fan. It's so hot in my room, that I'm all wet where my body touches the mattress. But without a fan....

Car Problems Continued

A few days ago we paid about 10 times what we usually pay when we have the car repaired (every week or so). Today, Seybou was on the way home when the car suddenly stopped and wouldn't start again. Thankfully, I had had an email from a missionary friend just today, telling me about a great mechanic that is not far from us. So I called that mechanic who sent someone to the car's location. He looked at it but couldn't make it run. They had to call another car and tow it to the garage, where it is now.

Seybou then took a taxi to pick up the kids from school; they had already been waiting for a while. Tomorrow morning, we'll have to pay a taxi again, and hopefully the car will be repaired by noon when we have to pick up the kids again.

My missionary friend told me the story of a mechanic who would always damage something on purpose so the missionaries would have to come back and have it repaired again. I don't know whether that's what's been happening. It's very strange for our car to constantly break down. I'm glad we've changed mechanic now, so we'll see.

Sunday Service

After several days of attending a conference on worship, I asked Paul to preach on worship today - something people really need to hear here. The speaker at the conference shared how a few years ago a Malian pastor got up in his conference saying that, after all the speaker had said, he recognized that they didn't know how to worship, only how to sing songs. That's a very true statement, and sad fact for Mali.

Today was the first time Saloum played the Western percussions set. He did a great job; after all he has never learned it. I have already inquired of a teacher for lessons, but he's pretty expensive. Still, it should be a worthy investment.

Special Prayer Meeting

The last few days I've sent my kids and team to the worship seminar each night without me. I think the time home alone did me more good than the seminar would have. And they loved it, and needed it.

In the morning, we've been doing school - some much-needed revision and continual repetition of French vocabulary and verbs - so it was a little less formal than usual.

Tonight we had the prayer meeting that we should have done right at the beginning. Firmin's sister and her friend (Paul's girl-friend) joined us as well.

I had some seasalt that I was gonna use for the soil where we'll have our vegetable garden. I also had some wine we use for communion. All day this song I hadn't sung in years was going through my mind, and so I looked it up and found a French translation.

We prayed at the gate and sang that song - THE BATTLE BELONGS TO THE LORD. The words were perfect. Then we started walking along the wall - me first, throwing the salt, and Paul behind me, sprinkling the wine, followed by the others who were also praying. At every corner we sang the song. Back at the gate, we took communion together.

Then I got a little bottle of oil and off we went again, praying in tongues, while I sprinkled the oil all around the wall, symbolizing Holy Spirit and His glory. Back at the gate we sang some songs of worship.

I'm glad we've finally gotten this done - purified the land, applied the blood of Jesus, and invited the presence and glory of God to dwell on HIS property.

Good Day

Today I felt much lighter than I had been. I taught my kids, and it went pretty well. They were behaving. Paul came earlier than usual, and you could see the difference in his countenance.

Before we stopped for lunch, I FINALLY got the book to read from to them that I had felt for weeks we needed to do - JEASUS FREAKS. I read the introduction, and some were touched already. It's a book of true stories of people dying for Christ. It should give them a different perspective on things, I'd think.

In the afternoon they did more school work, and I was so tired I had lie down for a few minutes. When I got up, it was already time to leave.

Different Day

The kids went all to our old house with Seybou to take care of all the plants that have been cut off. They carried it to an empty plot nearby where they burned it. I didn't know it would take them all day, with breaks of picking up kids or taking them to school, as well as lunch. But thank God it was done in the end, so that Seybou can take the keys to the agency tomorrow. That will already be February 20th!

While everyone was gone, I was not alone. Anco & Ewien came to finish the solar installation. Ewien did some work in my living room, while Anco was working on the solar stuff. It took him all day to install different machines and make everything work the way it should. In the end it was pretty much done. Now we don't need a generator any more - thank God! The noise was deafening! At least until it gets hotter and my AC is installed, so that I can sleep. We might have to turn the generator on a few hours a day then. However, we need to repair it/clean it first, because it's barely running right now.

Anco als explained to me that he needs the remaining money to come in. So far we have paid $24,000, and what he's installed is worth $30,000. There is more he needs to buy and install, but he won't do it until we are able to pay. Reasonable. He said right now the total is $38,000 to install everything for this phase.

Schools & Universities in Mali

Paul has been discouraged school-wise as well. This year is his senior year, and he will have his finals to finish High School in May/June. Now the government has decided to reduce the number of students that they'll let pass at those finals, because of the severe problems at university. The university is constantly on strike, grades are given at will, corruption is everywhere. Firmin hasn't started classes yet, and it's February! And he failed at his exams, just because they decided to fail everyone!

And now the government wants to have every student in High School and below simply retake this grade, with no one going to the next grade. They call that a "white year". That would be quite a horror scenario for many, including Paul. All of us can't wait for Paul to be done with school in a few months. The thought of him having to do another year.....

Please pray for this terrible situation in Mali.

Active Steps Forward

I had wanted to go out to dinner with one of my kids on Sunday, to start again what I had done before, one-on-one time with my kids. However, it fell through last Sunday.

Now I felt it would be profitable to spend some time with Paul, plus I really needed to buy some groceries, and was craving a real meal. Paul was still upset because of an incident last night, and I knew we needed to talk.

After our hour of worship, I asked him whether he had two hours. He said yes, and off we went into town to go to the supermarket. From there we went to the restaurant on the other side of the road. I surprised Paul with it, and he enjoyed the surprise. We had a good dinner, and good conversation. Everything was taken care of, and by the time we came back home, nothing was between us, and we were both encouraged. Praise God!

back to top

Victory Praise

I had quite a few responses to my PRAYER ALERT email from yesterday. Most were encouraging and uplifting, some short, some longer, some prophetic.

When Paul came home, he was still pretty affected, it was very obvious. I sat down to talk to him. We talked for some time, and it helped. He admitted to having thought all day about leaving, and wondering what's going on. I gave him some of my few insights. Finally I suggested he and Firmin come over so I could read the emails I had received to them. And they did, and by the time I was done, they were also uplifted and feeling much better. It had given some language to what's happening, and encouraged to know all these people are praying for us.

At 6 pm it was time for our daily hour of worship. I was looking forward to doing the new UNDIGNIFIED song that I had planned for yesterday. I said a few words that I would have said in my sermon yesterday so they understood, and then did the new song. They LOVED it and danced freely like I rarely see them dance. We went from there doing a few other upbeat songs, and everyone was dancing like crazy. Who would have believed that a few hours earlier.

We praised and worshiped for over an hour. Firmin shared a picture, and Paul a passage. Paul had found his joy again, and I also felt the joy while praising God. Awesome God! Praising Him makes all the difference in the world!

Not all issues are resolved, as became clear in our family meeting. So please keep praying.

School Start

Firmin had to go to university, and Paul was at school, so I was on my own with the kids this morning. It was high time for them to start school again, as they haven't known what to do with all their time. I now have 3 different levels with the four kids, plus I had the two little ones to keep busy, so it was quite challenging. But the teenagers seemed to be making an effort, so it went well.

Generator Troubles

At 4:30 am the power went out. Seybou tried to turn on the generator at 6:30, but we were out of gas. So he went to get some, but the generator refused to work. Once all the kids were at school, and nothing worked - neither the little generator - Seybou went to the mechanic with it. All the while we still didn't have power. He came back saying it worked now, but it didn't. So he went to the mechanic a second time (and he's quite far away), taking both generators with him. By now it was afternoon. He came back saying, they were working now, but again it wouldn't work. They cleaned it a little, and by then Anco was here to connect our batteries. He said they just needed to clean it. They did that a little, and it started to run - not well, but at least it wasn't dying.

Tomorrow Anco is coming back to finish the installation. Then it should work pretty well, so that we won't need the generator all the time any more. Still, we need both generators to work so we can go into the villages to show the MATTHEW movie and others.

back to top

Service Canceled

It's incredible how intense the discouragement is that we are being hit with - all of us. The lawlessness with young and old, kids and team members. I don't understand it.

I was reminded, as I sent out my prayer alert email, of the giants that were still in the land when the Israelites entered into the Promised Land. They were IN THEIR LAND, but nothing looked great. Powerful people were there that still needed to be driven out. There was still lots of work to do, and it must have looked discouraging to them.

It's as if we've stepped into the devil's nest by moving into our house. Everyone's being attacked at their weak spots, and our relationships with each other get strained. We get turned against each other. That's why the time of repentance Thursday night was so precious - but it didn't last for long.

I was looking forward to today's service. It was gonna be a little different, since we would have taken more time in praise and worship. I was gonna talk about 2.Sam 6, where David dances recklessly before the Lord. I wanted to talk about abandoned worship, and help them step into that. I even translated the UNDIGNIFIED song today to introduce it to them. It should have become a wonderful praise service.

Nothing was going right as we got ready for the service. Firmin left, the kids weren't helping, Paul was in a bad mood, a strong wind was blowing and blowing stuff away. 3 pm came and Firmin wasn't back, Seybou wasn't back with the others from our old neighborhood, and nothing was ready. Finally it was 3:15 pm and everything was ready, but everyone upset. How to worship in spirit and truth? It would rather be in flesh and hypocrisy, at least to start with. I've found that you just have to overcome your reluctance and start praising, and as you fix your eyes on Him, things turn out right again.

Well, I suggested we'd cancel the service since we were all upset, rather than worshiping like this. I wasn't really serious, but Paul jumped on it, and so it was decided. No one had shown up anyway. Seybou just arrived - 20 min late - and he simply turned around, while we took down all the equipment again.

Even our family meeting is canceled tonight, but I hope I can at least talk normally with Paul tomorrow. We must not allow the enemy to divide us.

Please pray for us. Pray for wisdom for me, as I'm trying to find the right way of dealing with certain things, that are partly cultural. Pray that none of us gives in to the encouragement. Though it's been prophesied that discouragement would hit us until April, it's still hard to know how to resist it.

Batteries Arrived

On the upside (there is one!), our batteries came out of customs yesterday. Anco came in the afternoon, transporting all 12 heavy, big batteries to our property, and putting them up. However, there was no time to hook them up. He'll do so tomorrow, Monday. We still need to pay $9,000 to pay off our solar power system.

back to top

Construction & Power

Today they installed my toilet, sink, and a different shower. They also put a towel rack, and a toilet paper thing up, as well as a mirror. I thank God for all these, though the work is Malian quality, and they don't seem to get things straight which is something that easily bothers me (a remnant from my scientist era?).

In the afternoon Anco came to look at what was wrong. He now lives 5 hours away, but he and his wife came to Bamako for a few days. He came at around 4 pm, and we had been without electricity since 1 pm yesterday. This morning I finally hooked up my computer and internet and the fridge directly to the generator. That made it easier.

Anco looked at why the machine ignored the generator, and found out that one of the settings simply wasn't right. After changing the setting, it started charging again and everything went back to normal - the power was back.

Then he told me that tomorrow they should get the paperwork for the container done, and open it, and so on Saturday he's gonna install our powerful batteries - if everything turns out the way it should tomorrow. Unfortunately, I still owe Anco $11,000 for the current solar power system.

Corporate Repentance

With power restored, and after a wonderful shower, things looked better again. We had our daily prayer meeting at 6 pm, and I carried my keyboard over to their side, where you don't have the intense noise of the generator like in my living room.

We all talked for half an hour before we ever stopped the meeting, but it was important. I told them I'd like us all to start over, that I thought it weird the way things have been going since our move. I told them I see that everyone has been attacked by discouragement, and reminded them that that was prophesied for the time until April, and we need to resist with praise.

As we were ready to start, I felt I needed to sing a specific song I hadn't sung in many, many years. I went to get the songbook, and translated the words before playing it. It's a repentance song, that has always touched my hard deeply. As I sang it, the same happened to everyone else. Souleymane testified how he was touched and had tears come to his eyes. And Saloum as well, plus the adults. I then started, confessing my shortcomings and asking them to forgive me. I played CHANGE MY HEART, OH GOD softly, and then Paul and Firmin also repented and asked forgiveness. The kids didn't, but they spoke up after the meeting. Two of them asked forgiveness for their behavior, and the others were touched also, but didn't speak up for one or the other reason.

We finished the hour-long time with some intimate songs to the Lord. I was encouraged again. We said we'd start over, and now all tension, everything between us, was washed away. In our family meeting tonight, we loved each other and had fun with each other, and all the kids hugged me again. Thank You, Lord!

I wished I knew better how to do things. Should I allow them to leave the property and go walking around for 2 hours wherever? Should I allow just any kid inside to play with them? What are the right rules? Should I buy Saloum new shoes, though the old ones didn't even last a month? Should I give Abdias another pair of short pants, though all his clothes are destroyed within little time?

Man of Faith Matt

Last night Fousseni had a dream where Matt simply got out his ticket and visa at the airline counter - which encouraged Matt of course when I emailed it to him. At this time of my writing, Matt is on the way to the Kansas City airport where he's expecting his miracle for God to make a way for him to go Mali. He's putting everything on the line, including his (and God's) reputation at His workplace. How can God not come through to defend His honor? We're all curious what God is gonna do.

By the way, another person (in Austria) dreamed that instead of "$22,500" the amount of money needed to finish our house would say "$435". Who has the $22,065 to give to us?

back to top

Day of Discouragement

It was one of those days where nothing goes right, and discouragement comes at you from every side. I keep thinking of Chuck Pierce's word that discouragement would attack us fiercely until April. Great.

Our generator needed oil, and so Seybou went to get some. Since he also dropped the kids off at school etc., there was no generator running for hours, but there was still some energy in the battery bank. He came back and the put the oil in, but when he turned it on, all this black smoke came out, so he turned it off again to be on the safe side. We called Kossi who said he was on the way. Two hours later he arrived. He looked at it and said it was the wrong oil. So he left to get the right oil. More time passed. When he came back, they removed the wrong oil (and oil's expensive!), cleaned it out, and put the right oil in. It still wouldn't work. They said they'd have to take it a mechanic. So off they went. Just after they left, the electricity went off. It was about 1 pm.

Now it's actually 10 am the following day, and the electricity has still not come on again.

At 4 pm they came back and turned on the generator - it worked fine, but the energy output didn't register with the rest of the equipment, so it didn't charge the battery bank, nor did it give energy to the house. We had it running for 4 hours, without realizing we were burning fuel for nothing.

The sun had gone down, and we were still in the dark. I finally reached Anco to ask his advice. Thanks to him I understood that the generator was actually being ignored by the electrical system. But there was no solution to it. It did that same thing the first day we moved in, but since then it's been working fine. It's a mystery.

The good news is that Anco is coming to town tomorrow, and he said he'd install our proper, stronger batteries on Saturday. Praise God!

My only concern really was the food in the freezer. I ended up getting an extension cord and connecting fridge and freezer directly to the generator. And we instructed the night guard to put gas into the generator every two hours, so it would run through the night. Since my room is right next to the generator, and also very hot (33°C or 92°F), I was not looking forward to a noisy and hot night.

Construction Update

The plumber finally came to install the toilet and shower. Kossi had obviously bought the least expensive shower possible (see picture). As for the toilet, he put in what you see in the picture, and then he realized that they had forgotten to buy the water tank!!! How can you forget that? So he wasn't able to finish the toilet.

Then he installed the little sink. When he was done, two files had fallen out and he said he couldn't install the mirror and other stuff where you have to drill into the wall, because all the tiles would fall out. He explained to me what they had not done when they put the tiles on, but it didn't make sense to me.

When I used the toilet after they had just left (with a bucket of water to flush), I saw that water was running down the backside of the sink. So the plumber came back and took the sink down again. He said he'd come back tomorrow to finish it all.

The Kids, Young And Old

Finally, the way things are going with (most of) the kids has been very discouraging. I don't understand them. They don't obey, only have demands, ignore correction, always reply disrespectfully. They just want to do what they want to do.

And since I told my adult ones - Firmin and Paul - that it's not okay to be out and about at midnight, Paul has been acting weird to. I guess he's upset and angry with me. That doesn't make things easier if Paul isn't in the same boat with me.

So, I ended up sitting alone, outside my house, in the dark at night, crying, before going to bed early, since there were no lights or electricity.

back to top

Three Weeks Of Praise

I've been sick, and not very productive. However, I've participated and led worship in our nightly praise meetings. But my voice doesn't even last an hour right now. It sure seems like a weak beginning but I know that the Lord looks at our hearts, and I believe we'll end the three weeks of praise and fasting strong.

We also get together to praise God every morning. Enoch surprised us yesterday and came to visit - the first visitor to stay overnight. He loved it. He told me how people get healed in the villages every week, and they are calling for us to come again. I told him not before March.

Construction Update

Kossi had promised me a toilet and shower by Monday, but now it's gonna be Wednesday. However, Caleb worked all day Monday to install the doors. Now we have doors everywhere, but they don't have handles or locks yet, so they don't stay closed. Handles and locks cost a lot of money, that's why, and we're out of money. The door in the picture is the only complete door - it's my bedroom, so I can keep my cat inside at night, since there are no windows anywhere else in the house.

Today none of the workers was here at all. But I was told they have finally started painting our old house, so we can return the keys. I hope they won't make me pay for February, since it's already far into the month.

Yesterday we went to the electricity department to have the contract for the old house canceled and water and electricity turned off. Now we'll have to pay the remaining money for January and the first few days of February. If everything works out, we'll pay that last bill on Friday.

In our new house, we have to keep the generator running all day, since we don't have our own powerful batteries yet. The paperwork is still in process. That means we pay $40 a day in gas for the generator. That's quite a lot.

And the last two nights power went out every morning before we could turn on the generator again, so we have barely enough energy right now. Plus the noise is deafening - I'm right next to it, all day long. I hope those batteries come soon. Then the generator shouldn't be necessary any more.

US Visitor Matt

For quite some time Matt from Kansas has been wanting to come visit us in Mali. A few months ago he set his departure date for Feb 14. He has seen God do miracles since to get him ready for this trip. However, the money for the ticket hasn't come, and the day after tomorrow is his departure date. God has given him the gift of faith, and he feels he should just go to the airport and see how God will get him on a plane to Mali. Please pray for him.

back to top

Interpersonal Challenges While Sick

All week I was having problems with my nose, but I thought it was an allergic reaction to all the sand and dust and dirt. Today I realized it was the beginning of a cold, since I felt most horrible all day. I had a bad headache, had a hard time being on my feet, and my nose was constantly dripping. I lay down on the couch, and let Paul and the kids do the service without me. There was no preaching anyway, since it was a time of praise and prayer to kick off our three weeks of praise and fasting.

There have been tensions between me and some team members the last few days, particularly yesterday and today, that have not been easy. I'm asking God for wisdom all the time to make right choices and lead His people His way.

Paul and Firmin left to return a book to a classmate's of Paul on Friday night. Firmin had borrowed a motorbike from somone. We're now on the edge of town, where it's more rural, and where there is no electricity. At midnight, they still weren't back and I started to worry. So I called them, and they told me they were still having a good time at their friend's house. I asked them whether they had looked at the time, and told them to come home. They were back before half past midnight. The following day I talked to them that it was not okay to be out and about in the middle of the night like that. It doesn't give a good impression, to say the least. And the night before they had left our house to go watch a soccer match at some neighbor's, without telling anyone. When I looked for them at 11 pm, they weren't there, and I had no clue where they were. I told them to tell me at least when they were leaving.

Neither Paul nor Firmin understood my concerns. Paul even got very upset, because he heard something other than what I was saying. He thought I didn't trust him, though I assured him I knew they weren't doing anything wrong. But other people would question if they were out and about at midnight frequently.

Then today the problem was with Seybou. Now that they live in the house with me, I want to pay them the same way as the others as well, which is weekly. We've made adjustments in the past, and every time Seybou thought he was losing out, getting less money, though the opposite was always true. He just looks at the cash, instead of including the food every day, medical expenses, etc. And then he gets very upset and says all kind of things he later apologizes for. There is no reasoning with him when he is in that mindset.

Before, I'd give him his and Fanta's salary together at the end of the month. Now they each have their "pocket" - as do all the others - where I put everyone's money in on Saturday night. I had told my team that I would raise their salaries once we've moved, since it saves us money, though I still only have a third of the support I need. I did so, and it was more significant for Paul and Firmin than for Seybou and Fanta. However, I put his into his pocket, and hers into her pocket, and so Seybou said I had cut their salary in half, when it was still the same amount taken both salaries together. He said he can't touch Fanta's since her name is on it, and I told him I had always given him both their salaries. I showed him again how much I actually spend on them with food etc. every month, but he was in no state to listen. He kept saying he'd leave because he can't live with this ridiculously low salary. It makes me sad that the only reason he's here is for the money, and that he threatens to leave so easily. The reason is the pressure from his family back in the village who he has to send the money to.

He left upset, and I went to him later. Though I don't like being pressured into giving him more money, I told him I'd pray this week to see how much I can raise his salary. I told him that I have the DESIRE to pay them much, but the money is simply not sufficient. Right now I'm making debts to get this house finished; no money has come in recently.

All this discouraged me, while my head was throbbing, and my nose red and hurting, tissue always in hand. I did participate in the family meeting, but shortened it. It hurt me that all the teenagers refused to give me their nightly hug. There have been tensions with them too these past few days. I told Paul to let them know that it hurts me when they refuse to hug me. Later Abdias came over and hugged me. He's been the only one hugging me anyway.

As for Sweety, I now let her out during the day. She can't stay in my tiny bedroom all the time. At night I take her back into my room with me, and barricade the door with the board. We have the generator running all day to charge the batteries, which is not only expensive, but terribly loud. My side of the house is right next to it, and it's deafening, from morning till evening. It didn't help with the headache today.

back to top

Plumbing

The plumber came today to connect the plumbing in the house to the sceptic tank, so that we could use the shower and toilet some time soon. Kossi said I would get my toilet and shower on Monday. May it be so!

The picture below shows my current shower, out in one corner of the courtyard. On the picture of our whole property, that would be to the very right in the back. There is a whole in the wall to the right (where the black plastic bag is), where the water flows off. You have to bring the water with you in a bucket to wash yourself.

Special Gift From Friends

Seybou and I left home early to drive to our old house. I couldn't wait to have a real shower again! Thank God the water was still on. I so enjoyed it! Seybou also took advantage and took a shower. I saw that Kossi had removed our two AC's and filled the holes, and they were starting to repaint the walls. Once they are done, I can return the keys to the agency, and hopefully get my deposit back. It's a lot later than it should be.

From there we went downtown to have lunch again with our friends Dannie and Anne-Lise. We had a wonderful time together. They are getting ready to return to Guinea now.

Before we departed, they gave us some gifts: not only pastries for everyone, and some protein for our two little ones, but two basketball hoops to install in our courtyard. I'm not sure yet if we can install them now, or have to wait until later when the ground is level so you can actually play. Thank you, my friends!

back to top

Fourth Day In New House

We've been living here for four days now, and the house is starting to look like... well, a house. At the same time, everything is dirty and stays dirty, though we clean frequently, since the workers are still here working on different things. I myself feel like my hands are ALWAYS dirty and simply won't get or stay clean. My clothes are dirty, everything is. I wished I had a shower! This morning I took my bucket behind the wall in the courtyard to wash myself, and the wind blew my dress away that I had put on top of the wall! It fell on the other side of the wall, where the toilet is, and was all wet. Gross!

After four days, the Malian toilet is also starting to be more and more of a challenge - if you grew up using a Western toilet, it's really hard to suddenly go while standing; you simply need different muscles that you're not used to using! I can't wait for Kossi to install my toilet - hopefully soon. They haven't actually connected the house pipes to the sceptic tank yet.

Today the lay the tiles in my shower, and once the pipes are connected, I can wash myself there. Once there is a door to the bathroom that is.

They also finished the tiles in the kitchen today. In the evening I started unpacking the kitchen stuff and arranging it into the shelves. The sink has no tab yet, and is not connected yet. In fact, there is no tab anywhere in the house. We need to go outside to our water tower to get water.

Today Abdias helped me a lot, emptying out boxes and handing me stuff that I'd put in its place. The first picture shows you my living room. I purchased the couch and nice chairs from a missionary last June and had had them in storage until now. The second picture shows my office. As you can see, the shelves are filling up.

By the way, Sweety walked back into my room late last night - praise God! She's been back in my room since then. I put a huge wooden board in front of there, so there is no way she can get out. However, the wind made it move and so it made an annoying clacking sound all night long. They had promised they'd install my door today, so I was really happy. However, when our carpenter came he found out that he was to cut the doors to fit, and so my door won't be installed until Monday. Three more nights with a clacking board! :-( I was so tired today, that I had to lie down in the afternoon. I'm glad I did.

Since the house is not ready yet, and we're still in moving in mode, I've decided to postpone the start of our 3 weeks of fasting and praising to Sunday with our service. So we'll still have tomorrow to get the house done as decently as possible.

Please pray for us; we're suffering from all the dust in the air, all the sand and dirt. The allergy I have has kicked in, and Hama's eyes are all red since he sits in the dirt all the time and plays there. I didn't let him leave the house today. Firmin rode a motorbike and came back with red eyes because of the sand.

Pray also for favor with the agency we rented the old house from. Kossi is taking care of repainting the house, and cutting all the flowers properly. It will take a few more days. Then I have to meet with an agency person at the house, and give them the keys. If they are happy, they'll give me the two monts of rent I deposited when I moved in. With that money I'll go to cancel my contract with the electricity and water department and pay off the remaining bill. I hope to get some of those errands done on Monday.

Tomorrow we'll stop by the house, and I'm gonna take a shower there!!! Praise God!

back to top

Poor Cat Sweety Continued

At 4 am noise woke me up, and I knew it must be sweety. I got up and captured her. I barricaded my window and door again to keep her inside.

In the morning I knew I'd have to move her to another room, as they would be putting in my window today, as well as the door. I successfully put her in my office, but she got out while we barricaded that door, and hid under a big shelf in the living room, where you can't access her. I figured she might spend the day there and put her food right next to it. Many hours later, when I checked she wasn't there. So now I have no clue where she is. I can only hope she's still in the house and will come out at one point.

Construction Progress

They finished the tiles in the kitchen today, and got the doors posts ready for the doors. However, they did not put in the tiles in my shower as promised. In fact, they came at 10:30 am, and when I came back home at 4 pm, they were already gone! Kossi told me why - there was an important soccer game on TV today that they didn't want to miss. Incredible! They've hardly done any work today, and I can't wait to be able to set up my kitchen, and use toilet and shower. Any time soon?!?

Wonderful Visitors (Again)

I left home with Seybou at 11:30 am. Kossi was with us, to come get the two AC's from our old house. After having done that, we went to pick up our four kids from school. From there, Seybou drove me close to downtown where I was meeting with some friends at 12:30 for lunch. However, they didn't show up until 1:30 - time to wait and get sleepy.

I greatly enjoyed lunch with my two friends Dannie and Annelise (who live in Guinea), and their three US visitors. They have been wonderful friends and supporters since I first met them a year ago. They are missionary doctors. Their three visitors were construction guys who'd come to work on a children's center in Guinea.

After a great lunch, we drove out to our new home. We gave them a tour and they loved it. They asked me a lot of questions that I gladly answered. Finally we prayed together, and then they had to leave.

Hama (picture) was especially happy to see those white visitors. He's come to learn that white people love him and care for him, so he's drawn to them. He enjoyed their presence. In fact, he asked Firmin whether they'd spend the night with us.

Fanta

I'm glad that we now all live together in one house, removing the "two class" system with Seybou and family in the tiny house behind ours. However, tonight we had a big discussion at our family meeting. I told her that I'd like her to eat with us as well, instead of eating alone. She doesn't want to and asked why. I told her it's a sign of unity, and that she's not a servant, but a member of the family. In the end I finally figured out what her problem is: she can't eat out of the same bowl as the children. In Mali men eat together, women eat together, and children eat together. It's unthinkable for her to eat with our teenage boys. The others defended her. I told them we live according to the culture of the Bible which says there is neither male nor female. She said she'd come inside, eating on the little table next to the big with the children.

back to top

Car Troubles Continued

Today we had to take our car to the shop twice. First to repair an oil leak - that took ages and made our kids wait at school to be picked up - and then another issue arose, water mix ing in and creating white fumes. Both were fixed.

Construction Progress

While some guys continued working on the sceptic tank, two were laying tiles. One laid tiles in the toilet (left), and one in the kitchen (right). They said they'd do the shower tomorrow.

I kept arranging my stuff in shelves that had found their final resting place. In the evening Paul and Firmin helped me with my Christian book library. It took us two hours to put them into shelves in alphabetical order, but we had a great time. We were exhausted by the time we were done at midnight.

Poor Cat Sweety

My little cat Sweety has been very confused by the move, the unfamiliar surrounding, the noise (generator running all day), all the foreign people. I've "locked" her into my room, covering the window with a board, and the entrance with two mattresses, putting a shelve in front of it. However, at some time in the evening, she obviously escapted, climbing up the mattress, without us noticing. When I went to bed, she was nowhere to be found in my room. After two days in the tiny room, she was obviously fed up with being confined in a hot, tiny place.

Since there are no windows anywhere, the whole wide world was open to her. There was no way to find her; we tried. I went to bed at 1 am, leaving my door open. Continuation tomorrow.

back to top

Moved, But Not Done

10:30 am - I'm sitting in my empty room of the old house, where the internet is still working, to connect and write this. I'm totally exhausting and very tired, since I've hardly slept at all last night. Right now everything feels more like a nightmare than a dream come true. However, as I was lying on the mattress in my empty, new room, I was strongly reminded of the first night I slept in Mali, when the school director picked me up and put me on a mattress in his school. All kind of thoughts were going through my mind then.

It was 10:30 pm before we finally all drove to our property last night - my cat Sweety included. Unfortunately, there was no power, and even the generator wouldn't bring the lights on, so we arrived in the dark, looked for a mattress and sheets in the dark, went to bed in the dark, and whatever else we needed to do. The lights only came on at 9:30 am this morning, when the sun came up. I was on the phone with Anco for quite some time, who can't figure out why the generator wouldn't provide the electricity we need; something is seriously wrong. However, Anco won't be able to come up to Bamako until a week or two from now.

We did gather together as a family and prayed, thanking the Lord for bringing us there. For the first time, Seybou, Fanta, and Sarata also live in the same house with us.

I barely slept all night because of the abounding mosquitoes (since there are no windows yet), and the heat. I put mattresses in front of my door and window, so that Sweety wouldn't be able to leave the room. The poor cat was confused about all that's going on.

50 mosquito bites later, I simply decided to get up early, at 5:30, since there was no point trying to sleep. Fanta was already cooking breakfast in the dark. I woke up the kids for their devotional time. Then they had breakfast - you can see a few of them in this picture.

We prayed together, and then started moving stuff. I realized how weakened I was since I've been fasting, wondering how I'd work hard to move everything in. It's the big chaos in and outside our house. Since I was at the old house packing and loading the car, I wasn't at our new house, where they unloaded everything and simply threw it into the house. It's all piled up everywhere! How to move stuff that way!?

The internet provider called, and there were some issues again, but now they are supposed to call me anytime so we can pick them up and show them the way. Let's hope so. If not I'll come back to the old house tomorrow to check my emails and write you.

We soon left the house to go to the old house to get the remaining stuff, and for me to connect. Now we're going back to start making the house livable. I've also decided to interrupt the fast and eat so I can work physically.

Slowly But Surely

8:30 pm - Slowly but surely things are getting there. We've done much work today. All our 7 bunkbeds were installed, and stuff moved, so that it starts looking more organized. However, rooms are smaller than expected which meant some changes.

There are 6 bedrooms. The 6 boys have one room (only 3 bunkbeds fit in, instead of 4).
Paul and Firmin have another room. If we have a male visitor, a simple bed can be put in there for him to sleep in.
Seybou, Fanta, and Sarata have another room.
On the other side of the house, one room is my office (my desk barely fit in there), one room my bedroom with a bunkbed in case we have a female visitor, and the third room is a small guestroom/storage room.

The challenges room-wise are already starting as Caleb and his family (4 in total) might have to move in with us soon (rather than later). I'm not sure how we'll do that. More about that further down.

Internet Installation

Tonight life looks much brighter than last night. My room is pretty much set up, and also my office, and I love them! And the internet was installed as well. But let me tell you, how much of a miracle it is that was even possible!

It was mid-afternoon, when they finally showed up - they followed Seybou to our property. As the two men got out of the car, the first thing they said was that there is a good chance the internet won't work, because we are too far out. They were really pessimistic, but they said they'd try. They went on the roof and did their tests. To their greatest surprise, it worked, and even well! They told me that they were gonna install internet in a bank on the main road - where there is still power and which is closer to their sender - and it didn't work because the signal was too weak. They were amazed it works so well at our place, and I praised the Lord for it! What would we have done if we couldn't have had internet! Isn't God good?

Tonight Seybou spoke to me privately, telling me how happy he is that we've moved, and how amazed that we are actually in the house he saw drawn on paper, and spoken about for 2 years. He said he can hardly believe it. He also told me how he is more comfortable now praying aloud in a group setting. I think living in the same house together - rather than being on the same property, and hanging out with a lot of neighbors and friends - will do them and their walk with God much good.

Relationships / Caleb, The Carpenter

This was our first full day here, together, and I have to say what I really loved was that we are even closer together. I loved being outside watching Fanta and Elisabeth cook, and spending more time with them. I'm so glad they are part of the core part of the family now. At the same time, I'm a little more apart, which should also help me big time to not be drawn into every skirmish going on, and no more constant shouting in front of my door!

Caleb, our carpenter, came yesterday and today to put back together what had to be taken apart for transport. Today he said he wanted to talk to me. Caleb is a sweet Christian man with wife and two children. The plan was for him to move in with us and head up the carpenter shop, once it's all built.

Today he told me that he sent his wife and two children to Ivory Coast three months ago, and that he's leaving Mali, trying to get into Spain illegally, as many thousands of Africans try constantly. I was shocked! Few actually ever make it - some die, some return totally broke as they spend all they had. And those who do make it often can't find jobs in Europe and have a miserable life. I spent some time talking to him, showing him all the reasons why that's not a good idea, even from a biblical perspective. I pictured him the future he has with us, and told him, if he needs to come move in now, they are welcome to.

Caleb told me that he owns a few machines - enough to do his own carpentry. He's actually an excellent carpenter, but his problem is a typically Malian one - he has to also provide money for unemployed family members. That bankrupts him and often leaves him and his family without enough money to eat. The pressure from the family is just too great.

I told Caleb to pray about it and seriously consider my offer. He'd move in with us, and his family would come join us. Again, where to put them in our full house, I don't know at this point. Then he'll do his carpentry work in our courtyard, and Abdias can be his apprentice, with the others also spending their freetime helping him, learning something and using their hands to create.

Please pray for him to make the right decision. His two little children need their Dad, and if he leaves, they might never see him again. He told me how they always want to talk to him on the phone when he calls.

I only slept 3 hours or so last night. Please pray that I'll be able to sleep tonight. It's gonna be very hot again in a room that's completely closed (to keep Sweety in), but I'm gonna put bug repellent on to be safe from the mosquitoes.

back to top

Big Moving Day

We got up early and continued packing up the house. Seybou took the kids to school, and then started going back and forth between our old house and our new house. All day long, with different kids going with him, so they would be on both sides. I actually never left the old house where I was taking care of the packing. So that's why all the pictures are from the old house that is emptying out.

It's now 9 pm, and it's become obvious that we are not gonna finish moving tonight. We were supposed to return the keys tomorrow, but haven't even started repainting the walls. So I guess we'll finish moving stuff tomorrow, and then return the keys a day or two late.

These pictures show Emma (who just showed up) and Paul working on getting the water out of my waterbed.

I've been on my feet working non-stop for 14 hours, and my feet hurt like crazy. Will I even be able to get up again? ;-)

Now we're just waiting for all the water to come out of the waterbed, and then we'll just go home - that is to our new home to spend our first night there. We're dirty, and it's gonna be tough washing ourselves over there. I just found out that Fanta hasn't moved any of her stuff - that is cooking stuff or their clothes or mattresses. So it's gonna be quite a first night!

Power Problems

Unfortunately there is a major problem with one of the machines that make the solar power work, so that for now we will have to run the generator for quite a few hours every day, and there won't be any power at night (bad for fridge and freezer). Anco doesn't know what the problem is and has written to the manufacturer to get advice. So the first week or two will definitely be tough.

As for the internet, they should have come today but didn't. Now they are saying they're coming tomorrow. Hopefully. If you don't hear from me, you'll know why.

PLEASE PRAY FOR US!

back to top

Sunday Service

As it was Sunday today, we didn't move any stuff over. But at 2 pm we left to drive to our property for our service. Since they had been working today as well to get everything ready for our moving in tomorrow, Kossi and the workers were there as well. The workers went home, but Kossi stayed for the service.

As a sign for the new we're entering, we changed the direction we were facing - the back became the front and the front the back. Well, the real reason was that we'd use our solar power for the first time, and needed to have an extension cable from the house to us. But it's still prophetic.

And the service went well - better than ever in terms of the children listening instead of talking and distracting everyone else. I'm looking forward to the day when we'll be able to have a children's program during the service.

After Bambara worship, it was my turn to lead French worship. We did LORD YOU ARE GOD, and I asked people to come up and give testimonies of what the Lord has done in their lives in the past month. To my delight, several new people came forward and testified. I'm looking forward to getting to know them in the weeks to come.

My sermon was rather passing on what God is saying for 2008, and the next few months. Chuck Pierce did two sessions last Sunday, that were very rich. I used what he said plus some other stuff. I also gave my people our application as a church. Friday night we're entering a 21-day fast and praise time, to start off right on our property. We'll be praising God in the morning, going to visit our neighbors in the afternoon, and praising Him at night.

At the end of the service, I prayed for 2 people to be healed, and also for Kossi. His old church has been really ugly with him because he wants to leave there and join us. He wants to not hurt anyone.

Unexpected Visitors

The service took about two hours. It was 5 pm, and Anco had announced himself with a group for 5:30. We used the time to move stuff around in the house, and try to clean the dirty tiles. I'd say we've moved about a fourth of our stuff - Paul says less.

It turned 6:30 pm, and I told everyone we'd go home since they weren't coming obviously. Just then a little bus drove up with Anco, and a group of Americans. Anco got out, and introduced the first three people, then he said, "there's someone you know". Surprise, shock, unbelief are words to use, as Papa Bill walked up to me and shook hands, saying hello. Then Daniel - his spiritual son - came to say hi. I knew Daniel was in the country this week, and I had tried to invite him to come to our place, and even preach (I met him last September in Ohio), but his schedule with his organization was too full. I knew Anco was bringing some people, but I didn't know it was Daniel and his team. And certainly not that Papa Bill was part of his team - I'm glad I didn't know.

Paul (who knows Papa Bill, his spiritual Dad) fell into his arms, and for the longest time they wouldn't let go. I was so glad for Paul. I met the other team members, and gave them a tour of the house, and Anco showed them the solar power system. I thought Anco wanted to show it to other missionaries, but now I wonder whether this visit was all about Daniel coming to say hi.

I stayed away from Papa Bill and let Paul enjoy seeing his Dad. I did introduce my team and children to him though.

We had a good time visiting, and then we all left there to go home.

My emotions were all stirred up by having seen my spiritual Dad who seemingly abandoned me nearly 4 months ago. However, thankfully I didn't have time to dwell on them.

Fanta's Birthday

Back home, it was time to celebrate Fanta's birthday - it was in January, but forgotten by my team while I was gone. I baked a cake yesterday, and today we enjoyed it. I was somewhat disappointed that barely anyone had a gift for her. And those that did simply gave her bars of soap. Great. Even her husband didn't have a gift. Abdias took a picture Solomani had drawn, erased Solomani's name, and put his own on it!!!

Last Night After 3+ Years

Well, tonight is our last night in the house I've lived in for 3 and a half years. I didn't live here alone for long. Tomorrow is gonna be a VERY BUSY day! I'm not even sure whether we'll be able to get the job done. It also takes quite some time to go back and forth.

Please pray for us. As for myself, tomorrow will be my 6th day of fasting. Pray I'll have the stamina to work physically and handle all of this. (I think I might have a few tomatoes, since there is no juice.) The internet installation is also supposed to be done tomorrow.

I looked at the house today - it's definitely gonna be a challenge the first week or two, since it obviously takes another $22,500 to finish the house. But God's grace will be sufficient!

If everything works out with the internet tomorrow, you'll know by reading a new blog! (or getting it in your inbox about this time) If there is power - the batteries were empty after using our sound system for two hours. That is because our batteries haven't actually arrived yet - these are weaker, temporary batteries. Our fridge and freezer will be off power for hours every night, until the sun comes up again.

I forgot my camera in our new house tonight, so today's pictures will come up tomorrow.

back to top

Car Troubles While Moving

We've been repairing the car every week it seems. Today three things happened.

After dropping off the first load at the property, on the way back suddenly the clutch wouldn't work properly any more, making it impossible to change gears. I sent Seybou straight to the mechanic with the car, hoping it would be taken care of quickly. In the meantime we continued getting stuff ready for transport, like the wardrobe in the picture that we tilted and filled with stuff to transport inside, since it has doors.

We went back and forth about 6 times today. One time as Seybou was driving back, a tire burst. I was amazed, as I have never seen a tire that burst open big time like this! Thank God the car was empty, so they could change the tire. But then I had to send Seybou to go buy another tire - just in case. And I drove the next ride to the property.

On the way back from MY turn driving there, a motorbike drove into our car. I had to suddenly break, and he was too close and looking elsewhere - I know because Daouda and Paul were sitting in the back. Our car was indented, and the guy's light shattered, nothing more. He was glad that we let him go like that.

Please pray for us and our possessions these days as we transport everything on our pick-up truck! Tomorrow Sunday we won't, but on Monday it's the big moving day. I would say we moved about a fourth of everything today. On Monday we need to get the job done!

Monday afternoon and Tuesday they are gonna paint our old house before we return the keys. Because of the red dust, walls get very dirty here, so that's why that's the custom.

My Eye-Witness Report On Site

Last time I saw the site was a month ago. So it was great to see the progress - the last little illegal house gone. That allowed me see the distance between our house and the gate and it looked too short. I verified that later, and can't figure out why the inconsistencies exist between what is on the drawing board and what is actually built there. There is not enough room for our dining hall there (the next building), so we need to find a solution to that.

Kossi and his team are working hard now to get the house ready for our move on Monday, when we'll sleep there for the first time. A few plugs are now in - praise God - so that we'll plug in our sound system for the service tomorrow for the first time. There are no doors (except the main ones), or windows, or lights, or anything in the bathroom. So it will definitely be an adventure to move in, as my email update suggested. I asked Kossi if there is any way that I could have a window in my room, and a door, to keep at least my cat inside during the night. During the day there is nothing I can do anyway, plus it will take her a while to accept her new surrounding and have the courage to venture outside. Hopefully by then the remaining money will have come in so that all the windows are in.

I was excited in any case to see that the tiles were done on one side, and the other side was far advanced and will get done tomorrow. The picture shows them working in the kitchen. So we were able to move all our stuff into the living room on the left side today, and tomorrow we can enter into the living room of the right side, and plug in our fridge in the kitchen (we moved it today), since Kossi said he'll put the plug in tomorrow morning.

Solar power is working fine - in fact, we only have one of the three panels connected to the battery bank, since we'd need more batteries to store that power; the batteries we have are at full capacity with the one panel. Another thing I'm thankful about is that Kossi asked whether he should install a simple, temporary toilet, so that I could have one - I thankfully agreed. However, the "shower" (a wall behind which to take your bucket) will still be outside since the walls in the shower are not done. Neither is there a door to the bathroom.

Girlfriends

The teenage boys have been making funny comments, teasing Paul and Firmin, ever since my return, but finally Paul and Firmin spoke up to tell me what this is all about. They were ASHAMED to tell me, but couldn't tell me why.

They told me they each had a girlfriend - Firmin since June last year!!! For Paul it's much more recent. Both are Christian girls from other churches. Paul's girlfriend Marte (Martha) is 17 (Paul is 19). Firmin is 21, but Elisabeth is only 15 or 16 or so! We had a good talk, and they agreed to take their time. I also talked to them very frankly about staying pure and setting up boundaries to protect them. They said that both have come to our services in the past, but now I'm naturally curious to meet them.

By the way, there is a possibility a doctor in Vienna will have Paul come to have his eyes operated. The first step was made, and now we have to follow it up. Please pray that it will work out so Paul can see well.

back to top

Moving The First Load

Today we started packing a little bit. The first load was what was in the little storage room on the roof. You can see them move the furniture down from the roof.

Then they loaded it all up onto the car, with some neighbors helping out. Seybou and Firmin drove over to the property to put it all into one of the unfinished rooms.

But they brought back good news. They have been working hard and fast, and the tiles in one side of the house are already done. Praise God! That means that we can actually move right onto the tiles! The bad news is that there are no plugs installed yet, meaning though we have electricity we can't use it. I hope Kossi can still do that before Monday. It would help the fridge, freezer, lamps, computers etc.

Prayer Meeting & Street

Tonight we had our first prayer meeting since my return. I was SO tired from jetlag and having worked well into the night on my update last night, that I postponed it by half an hour to lie down. Just 10 min on my bed made such a huge difference!

From the very beginning I felt a difference in the spirit. We were simply praising the Lord, and His presence increased and increased. Paul and Firmin also felt it, and knelt down. Then suddenly His presence diminished again. I don't know why, but I'm encouraged that we'll see more than ever as we enter into a month of praise and worship on our property.

In any case, there was something new in the way I led worship. I felt led NOT to sing any regular songs, but just to sing prophetically. I actually WANTED to do a regular song, but felt restrained. I had my new voice recorder on to record the worship, since I've been disappointed many, many times that the prophetic songs coming forth were "lost". I had two new songs tonight that I'd like to work on and write down. I love it!

After the prayer meeting, the kids went to the bus station to hand out food and tell them that there's no kids' program tomorrow because of our move. Paul told me that word is spreading and more and more kids show up every week. We need to bring more food now.

back to top