The Journey Continues

July 4th was the beginning of my journey to Mali, West Africa . . . a life-changing, heart-changing trek. Since returning to the States, the journey has continued, taking me deeper into untraveled territory of my life.

On September 18th, my journey takes me back to Mali, to the loving people in K'Village.

It will be a different village than in July. The rains have come -- and come and come. The villagers are hard at work in their fields, to reap the greatest benefit from the rain. At the same time, however, some of the villagers' homes, being that they are mud huts, are "melting" from so much rain. It is not only hot and humid, but the mosquitos are "great in number," as are other critters.

We are praying that the roads leading to the village will be dry enough for us to even get there. In the village itself, mud will be difficult to contend with.

Grace Point Inn has been damaged too, but for the most part, it is in tack. One of the walls to the latrine has collapsed, but we figure a tarp will work well!

The villagers are tired from their hard, hard labor. We plan to get out in the fields and give the women some assistance, to the extent us pampered Americans can do so.

When told that we were returning, the women were very happy. When told we would try to help them in the fields, their faces really brightened up.

Pray for us. Four of us have been to K'Village. Four have not. But none of us has experienced the village as it is today. The fledgling church of 26 baptized believers needs encouragement and teaching. We need to find the right Bambara way to teach the villagers the need and the "how to" of sharing their faith with others in the village, especially their village chief and elders.

Our task is great . . . but we have a Great GOD!