Hear. Believe. Call.

Snow Baby

2010-03-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

I've really enjoyed my downtime since I've been home. Today we bundled Will up and took a few pictures of him with the snow.

I do still miss my African friends a lot. Every now and then I am able to hear from a couple of them. Our story crafter doesn't have very good phone reception, so I keep calling hoping to catch him sometime. I just keep leaving messages, though! And I'm still praying that our dear friends will hear, believe, and call.

Baby Will

2009-11-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

I got home just in time to be here for my nephew's birth! Of all the things I missed, I'm glad I got to be here for this one!

William Copeland Lansford

November 16, 2009

8 pounds, 6 ounces. 22 inches long.

The good news is, he's not spoiled. Yet.

On the Way Home

2009-11-23T12:41:00.000-08:00

Jessica and I made a couple of stops on the way home. We loved being in London! But it certainly seemed weird just the two of us. We kept feeling like we'd forgotten something...Alyson!

Sweet See You Laters

2009-11-23T12:17:00.000-08:00

I love these ladies! It's been a privilege to get to work with them. I'm going to miss The Trio!

The Trio with the Greatest Supervisor on the Field...I'm convinced!

Our two years would have been a lot harder had it not been for these two wonderful ladies! Falafal!

The whole Special OPS team.

We love us some Crystal! Moving away from our people wasn't fun, but I'm sure glad we got to know you and your family, Crystal!

"We all do crazy things"

2009-11-23T12:08:00.000-08:00

When we went to say bye to our backtranslator, he insisted on making tea for us. We had a great time visiting with him. He had some departing words for us. When mentioning that we could stay in touch through Facebook, Jessica warned him that "sometimes we where pants (not just long skirts) on Facebook." And his response was, "It's ok. We all do crazy things sometimes, like wear pants." In that case, I've done a LOT of crazy things since I've been back home!

Week of Final Recordings

2009-11-23T11:48:00.000-08:00

I can't believe final recordings have come and gone! We were so nervous when we realized the big week had arrived! It was what we had been working toward for two years...and it came so quickly!

Alyson and Jessica studying for another story. Notice the furniture. We had to use all the cushions in the house to build our recording studio!

Us in the studio making some corrections.

Happy Baby

2009-11-23T09:32:00.000-08:00

Our oldest and youngest sisters came into town for a "summer vacation" two months after we changed cities. It was so great to see them! The youngest earned the nickname of "Happy Baby" because she is always...you guessed it - happy! She almost leapt out of her big sister's arms when she saw us. The whole afternoon we were with her she just continued to shrill with excitement. We found it necessary to take our sisters out for their first bowl of ice cream! We all really enjoyed it!

Sadly, a week after Jessica and I left the country, we heard word that Happy Baby had gotten sick. She was taken to the hospital and died there. No one knows what was wrong. When I remember how happy she was to see us that last day, I can only imagine what kind of excited screams she must have let out when Jesus took her in His arms!

One of My Favorite People in the World!

2009-11-23T09:16:00.000-08:00

So Fatalmoudou is one of our village sisters. She's severely mentally and physically handicapped, and a lot of people treat her as a dog. We love her, though. She's so smart and just desires to have love and attention. She also loves our supervisor, Nafi. So on our last day in the village, Nafi gave her a t-shirt with a picture of the two of them on it. Fatalmoudou immediately recognized Nafi on the shirt, but she's seen so few images of herself that she had to be told that it was her in the picture. Fatalmoudou didn't know that was the last time for us to see her, and the village says she still doesn't know we're gone for good. They said, "No one is going to tell her." They say she still guards our hut, though! I can't wait to see this little girl in heaven, though, when she has a perfect body!

A Special Birthday

2009-07-15T03:10:00.000-07:00

We always try to make birthdays really special here in Mali! This one was great....my 24th included hotdogs and hamburgers (with real buns!), coconut cake, special friends, my mom, a stack of birthday cards, and a swimming pool. It doesn't get any better than that!

Me and Johanna with my coconut birthday cake!

Aquatic Birthday Events

Me and My Trio...thanks for a great birthday, ladies!

Mo's first hamburger!

Grilling hamburgers and hotdogs African style!

Yummm!

Jessica starting the fire. We've all learned a lot of new skills since we came.

Island

2009-06-02T14:55:00.000-07:00

And our last stop on the One Love Toga Tour 2009 was Santorini Island. It was more gorgeous than the pictures can even show!

Jessica, Alyson, and me on our way to go watch the famous sunset of Oia.
Special OPS team at the volcano

We rented a little Barbie Jeep to cruise around the island in!

And what fun is a Barbie Jeep if you can't climb in it???

We're a little excited after watching the amazing sunset!

See, how could you not get excited after watching this. Everyone was quiet as they watched the sun set. There were hundreds of people gathered at one spot to watch. After the sun had completely fallen, everyone broke out into applause. Now we were giving praise to our Almighty God. Was everyone praising Him? No. But they were still recognizing His mighty work!

Our whole crew having dinner one last time!

Me and Reaiah chillin out on the boat...do you see those long sleeves???

Me and Aly on our way to the volcano

The Blue and White City

Our hotel view. No sand. Only rocks.

Athens, Greece...Not Athens, Alabama

2009-06-02T14:31:00.000-07:00

And then we were off to Athens Greece for two nights.

In front of the Parthenon. I studied Greece heavily in the 5th grade. Ever since we learned about the Parthenon I've been fascinated - that's one more thing I can cross off the bucket list!

All dressed up for the Opera! We went to see Ainta..in Italian, with Greek translation screens. So you know what that means - we made up our own story line!

Mars Hill where Paul addressed the Athenians in Acts. We just traced Paul's footsteps on this vacation!

I Heart Roma

2009-06-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

We had the great opportunity to go on a European vacation. My teammates and I, along with two of our teammates here in Mali, and other friends from around the world, found our way to Greece and Italy. We started our trip with three nights in Rome...

Me and Reaiah mailing postcards from the Vatican

Timbuktu Trio checking out Roman architecture

The prison where Peter and Paul were held. We had a cool little time of worship here! It was so humbling to be in a cell where these men of God had been.

Trevi Fountain

Chasing Dumbo

2009-06-02T06:20:00.000-07:00

On our way into Bamako, we had the opportunity to go searching for desert elephants! It was incredible to find them in their environment! We saw three different herds...probably about 80-100 of them! Out of our crew we could speak 5 different languages, and only had 1 common language with our guide....Songhai!

There's elephants behind us somewhere!!! This is our guide beside us wanting to get in the picture, but he's being very African and will stand beside us...rather awkwardly.
Look, we found some!

Everyone wants a good look! But be careful, Alyson...the driver must ALWAYS be ready!!!

He has to be the king of the desert!

A Little Lost

2009-06-02T05:38:00.000-07:00

On our way back from the new village...we got a little "lost." So we had to take a new road, one that went right by the river. It happened to be the first day that they opened the dams, so EVERYONE came to fish and buy fish. While we were there we were interviewed by the local television/radio station. Then they heard a Story. Later in the convo we learned that this was one of the "head honchos" of the radio station, so we talked to him a little about getting our Stories on the radio. So what we thought was an unfortunate event, turned out to be a divine appointment!

Moving Day

2009-06-02T05:24:00.000-07:00

This is the day we helped move our friend to her new village. She is the one on the right. While we were driving we reminisced a little about places we had been with her and langauge that she had helped us learn! She got our phone number and has called us since we have been out of town! We can't wait to go back to visit her. We hope that her living there will allow us to work there as well!

Muhammed's Baby Naming Ceremony

2009-05-19T05:06:00.000-07:00

Gumby's ready for the party!

Searching for someone to answer.

Our village is still amazed with a video camera. They are used to still cameras...but pictures with sound are still amazing!

Our village sister.

Funky Town

2009-05-19T04:54:00.000-07:00

Us taking a boat ride when we went to "Funky Town" to visit some collueages before they left for the States.

Riding in style!

Medical Clinic

2009-05-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

Just some pics from a new village we visited. There was a medical team in town, so we helped do some translating for them.

Weddings

2009-05-18T03:47:00.000-07:00

Wedding bells are even ringing loud in Timbuktu (or at least they're banging on drums)! One of our closest friends recently got married, so we were excited to be able to participate in all of the wedding activities.

All of her friends give gifts and they have put them all on display in this china cabinet. You can also notice that they decorate the walls with tapestries. Her friends did all of this without her seeing it! My favorite dish in the cabinet is a plate that has a snowman on it with the words to "Frosty the Snowman" written all around the plate!

Our friend with henna on her hands after her wedding but before she has moved into her new house.

Our language helper at the wedding dance.

Our friend getting braided for the wedding. They keep her face covered, and she isn't supposed to talk to anyone while all her friends around her are singing and playing drums!

It's Potato Season

2009-05-18T03:19:00.000-07:00

One load of potatoes that Alyson and I carried on our heads! Our village family farms potatoes, so we helped bring them in from the garden.

Out wit. Out play. Out last.

2009-01-26T16:04:00.000-08:00

The girls and me sporting our Survivor Africa shirts. I'm still not sure I would last very long on the show, but I'm pretty sure I would at least be a little more useful now than I would have been a year ago!

Extreme Makeover. Home Edition.

2009-01-25T17:44:00.000-08:00

While Alyson's dad was visiting, he fixed a LOT of things around our house. One of the most life-changing ones was the shower he installed. Now we are able to heat our water, let the pulley system down, pout the bucket of water in the metal bucket, pull the back up, and twist the nozzle. Simple process for warm water! Thanks, Mr. Terry!

Merry Christmas. Happy New Year.

2008-12-31T22:10:00.000-08:00

It's been wonderful to be with my family this Christmas. I've certainly been busy trying to see everyone. There just wasn't enough time to visit with everyone I had hoped to see. Please ask that we will not waste time in 2009! There is still so much work to be done before we make it back home. Until next time....

Reunited

2008-12-24T17:48:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite kids from our village. Last summer he and his mom moved to Timbuktu, so we see them a lot less often. We ran into his family in town, though, and I was so glad to see him! However, we had about 8 other white people with us....so he was in white person overload!

Christmas Party

2008-12-24T17:30:00.000-08:00

We had a party in the village to celebrate Christmas with all of our friends. Our volunteer team from University of Mobile was here, so they got to join in on the festivities. Here are just a few pictures. We had a guitarist and drummer just like all of our cultural parties have. Alyson, Jessica, and I also wore "uniforms" which the people who throw the party usually wear. The party was a huge hit for relationships in the village...and they will talk about this party forever!

Christmas is a little different this year!

2008-12-01T13:29:00.000-08:00

Last year's Christmas decorations in their entirety...at least at Christmas time!

This year things look a lot better!

They say Christmas is all in the heart, but this year preparing for Christmas is much more merrier than last year!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

2008-12-01T13:16:00.000-08:00

It's getting colder in the village now, so we're beginning to wear our fleece pullovers, sweatshirts, socks, etc!

Things to Remeber About America

2008-11-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

I’m finally getting all of my plane tickets together for coming home for Christmas! I can’t wait to see everyone and enjoy a few days of American conveniences! I’m afraid, though, that there may be a few cultural differences that I need to keep in mind while I visit, so I’m just getting some thoughts together:

1. No one will ask me to marry him, or his brother, or his cousin, or his best friend…or her husband!

2. When driving it’s probably a good idea to stay on one side of the road instead of the middle.

3. When I see an African American, they probably don’t speak French/Bambara/Songhai, so saying “Bonjour/Ani Sogoma/Ni nda Hoy” would be weird to them.

4. Don’t hurt myself when going through the drive thru by handing money with my right hand. It’s ok to use my left hand.

5. Everyone around me will be able to understand English, so talking about people to their face is probably a bad idea!

6. Don’t honk at people just to let them know I’m going to pass them. Americans view honking as rude.

7. Eating macaroni and cheese with my hands is considered bad table manners.

8. If I need hot water, just go to the sink and turn the faucet to the left. The water mysteriously turns hot without putting it on the stove.

9. When I go to use the oven, don’t panic when I can’t find a gas bottle to turn on.

10. I won’t have to carry a water bottle with me everywhere I go.

11. Get used to the fact that not everyone I see is going to want to greet me.

12. Don’t tell the cashier at Wal-Mart, “Oh, $40 is expensive. I’ll give you $30.”

13. Carrying things on my head will only draw attention to me.

14. People like to hear the word, “please” instead of just saying “Give me the keys.”

15. If I get pulled over by the cops, telling them my father is going to beat me probably won’t get me out of a ticket.

16. The airport will screen my bags before I get on the plane.

17. No one will look at me strangely if I eat a sandwich for lunch.

18. Don’t pass judgment on someone because she is wearing pants.

19. It’s not necessary to do a “scorpion check” before going to bed every night.

20. I can drink water straight from the faucet.

21. I will be cold.

22. I won’t have to search for a flashlight so that I can find my flashlight.

23. A loaf of bread won’t go bad the day I buy it.

24. No one will be impressed that I can speak his language.

25. I will need a prescription to buy medications.

26. Don’t freak out when I get on the scales. It’s just in pounds, not kilos!

27. I must get out of my car to pump gas. No one is going to come do it for me.

28. I should check the mail box on a daily basis instead of a weekly basis.

29. If someone says, “I’ll meet you at 3:00.” They mean that they will meet me at 3:00.

30. No one will say, “Oh you live in Athens…that’s a real place?!?!”

BB

2008-10-26T17:34:00.000-07:00

My teammates and I have been in the capital for a couple of weeks for training. Alyson called our story crafter on Saturday to greet him and his family. He told us that his niece, BB, passed away ealier this week. BB was a great friend to us and had been sick for a while, but we thought she was much better when we left. We prayed for her several times and had our supervisor share a Story with her. As far as we know, she never made a decision to follow the Jesus Road. This just shows the urgency of our job here. Pray for the Songhai people. Pray for workers. Pray for our boldness.

A Lot Happens in a Year

2008-10-20T14:50:00.000-07:00

October 18, 2008

Jessica, Alyson, and Me celebrating our One Year Anniversary in Mali!

So a lot can happen in a year, huh?

I can learn to drive a stick shift in the sand.

I can (somewhat) speak a foreign language.

I can eat my weight in rice (maybe).

I can buy a plane ticket at the hardward store.

I can ride a camel a few times.

I can trample over scorpions! (See Luke 10)

Just a fun little side note. When we got here last year, Alyson introduced us to a great new artist, Sara Bareilles. She was confident that Sara would make it big one day. Just last night we played "Many the Miles" in the truck. Alyson began explaining who she was, and our newest teammate who got here a week ago, in a very sweet voice said, "Everyone in America knows who Sara Bareilles is!" We've only been gone a year, and someone who I'd never heard of is now famous throughtout a whole nation!

It's been a great year, though. I wouldn't trade it for anything. And yes, Nafi, I would do it again! With all I've learned and how much more my faith has grown, it's our prayer that the Songhai are coming closer to saving faith in Christ every day! What if when I begin packing my bags next year, I could have a conversation with a Songhai woman and explain who Jesus Christ is....and she might respond, "Everyone in Timbuktu knows who He is!"

Amanda celebrating with us!

Night Out

2008-10-10T08:55:00.001-07:00

Getting Ready for a night out at La Maison!

The Steam Boat

2008-10-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

For a good six months, all we've heard about is the "steam boat" that will come. The river has been dried up all summer, and has recently returned. Everyone kept saying when the water was deep enough, the boat would come. And come it did. Right in our village, this boat comes and brings all sorts of fruits and veggies...coconuts and watermelons included! We get just as excited as the Africans when it comes. Sometimes it even blows its horn around 4:00 AM and wakes you up, but that's ok! We took a tour the first time we saw it, and we realized we never want to ride this thing. It's cheaper to take a Carribean cruise for a week than to stay in the first class cabin - which isn't so first class! We also got to "drive" the boat. They let you do anything if you're white!

Secretary of Health

2008-08-20T04:51:00.000-07:00

My teammates and I with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Michael Leavitt. They opened a new hospital in our village, and he came to see it. He asked the people what progress they have scene with children getting malaria over the past few years after wide distribution of mosquito nets. He also showed concern in unclean drinking water. He told the people he always wanted to see Mali and America working together. I think the Secretary’s “people” were shocked to see that three white girls were living in the village! So we were able to sit under the tent during the meeting (where soft drinks and Pringles were distributed!), and get a picture with him later. I’m not sure who the man on my left is. Ha. I think he may be the mayor of Timbuktu. He tricked me by speaking in English, so I thought he was American. Then when he asked my name I responded, “Sara.” He looked at me with a blank stare, so I repeated, “Kadidia Maiga” and he understood!

There’s also a picture of one of the new hospital rooms. Probably not much to the eye, but it beats the mat that used to lie on the floor outside on the old hospital porch!

Nachos!

2008-08-20T04:47:00.000-07:00

Look what I found in Abidjan! Nacho Cheese Doritos! I think I bought around 7 bags while I was there…notice they aren’t full size bags. And I think they were somewhere around $3 each. Not bad at all!

Angels Reunited

2008-08-20T04:43:00.000-07:00

Charlie’s Angels are reunited. They’re either in disguise or celebrating Alyson’s birthday with fun glasses they bought off the side of the street for about 30 cents each. They know Charlie would be proud of them for continuing to save the world even without his leadership.

Head Wraps

2008-08-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

Some of our sweeties across the street! They loved new American headwraps! They have my last name, so they are all my little sisters.

So You Had a Bad Day?

2008-08-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

Do you think this is important?

Well, we caught the little rascal. Not really like we'd planned, but God's ways are higher, right?

A completely rotten fridge and freezer. I just wish I could include a scratch and sniff.

We truly had a terrible night. But in the midst of it, we could only think of one response: to worship our Lord because our God is great! So we have a few bad days, but God is faithful. We continue to press on to bring the Good News!

Happy 23rd!

2008-08-03T07:02:00.000-07:00

Birthday celebration in the village. So the cake was a little sad, but it was the best birthday cake I've had in Africa!

However, birthday dinner in town was incredible! Don't know how well you can see it, but that would be fried chicken as the main dish!

UM Reunion

2008-08-03T06:41:00.000-07:00

Brandy and me representing UM at our regional meeting. The first time I came to West Africa I worked with Brandy. She taught me how to survive in the bush!

OneStory

2008-08-03T06:33:00.000-07:00

All of my Fantastic Sisters!

Just a Dry Heat

2008-07-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

So people usually say, "Well it's only a dry heat, right?" But just try to imagine 150 degree heat of any sort. So maybe it's not an entirely accurate reading considering it was in direct sunlight at noon. But, hey, the thermometer must have thought it was still pretty hot!

Indian Food Night

2008-06-17T16:03:00.000-07:00

Me and the Birthday Girl
Me and the Nafi

Djimbays

2008-06-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

As if we don't get enough attention, 2 white girls walking down the streets of Africa. But, hey, sometimes I forget I'm not black.

Dance Party

2008-06-17T15:36:00.000-07:00

For Reaiah's Birthday we had a dance party on stage at a local exhibit. They played our favorite African jam for us, and they sang happy birthday to her in two languages! Now that's a birthday!

Amazing Race: OneStory

2008-06-17T15:26:00.000-07:00

OneStory Amazing Race - Super Hero Challenge

Charlie's Angels

Jessica - Generic Superhero

Alyson - Planeteers

Sara - Charlie's Angels

Hard Core

2008-06-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

Yep, we're hard core. And that's all I have to say about that.

Here's the Beach

2008-06-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

Just a piece of Paradise

Where's the Ocean?

2008-06-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

Sad we're not at the beach.
Glad we're about to go to the beach!

Me and Momma!

2008-06-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

My wonderful Momma and Aunt at the beach with us for a little while! This was only the beginning of a great week filled with incredible food!

Zach

2008-06-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

Babysitting Zach on the first day we got her. May she rest in peace. But we are thankful for the 2 eggs that she left us.

Henna

2008-06-07T06:44:00.000-07:00

A little hand henna complete with watch tan line. KM stands for Kadidia Maiga - my Koyra Ciini name.

Fun in the Desert

2008-06-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

Some pics of us on our camel ride in the desert. Only about a 10 minute drive from my house. We don't dress this way much, but lots of people around our area where the full wrap.

Hey Good Lookin!

2008-06-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

Whatcha Got Cookin?

Kora Bora Ladies in the kitchen making pizza for our sisters!

Waiting Around

2008-06-06T10:20:00.001-07:00

Just getting ready for a conference. The taxi driver was about 2 hours late. We finally got another ride. Ha. But we took pictures while we waited.

Truck Driving

2008-06-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Yep, these are our four wheels, complete with dashboard flowers! Four wheel drive and stick shift. Yet another new skill I've learned!

The Best Meal I've Had in 6 Months!

2008-05-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a WONDERFUL meal. It consisted of tacos (with hard shells), cheese dip, tortilla chips, and refried beans. It is probably important to say that the only thing that came from Africa in this meal was the meat, along with tomatoes and the mozerella cheese for the tacos. And even this came from Bamako, a mere two day drive. Then we began to think about how expensive this meal really was. The only thing that we purchased here in Timbuktu was the tomatoes for about 20 cents. So here is the breakdown for our meal:

Velveeta Cheese - brought with a volunteer team from the States and given to us. Plane ticket, visa, shots, passport, cost of cheese - probably around $3,000.00

Rotel Tomatoes - sent in a flat rate box for $37, plus cost of tomatoes

Milk - about $1

Hamburger Meat - about $4 but our supervisor brought it to us from Bamako. This means between fuel and hotel arrangements, maybe it cost somewhere around $184

Taco Seasoning - compliments of Jessica's aunt, came in a flat rate box of $37 plus $1 for the seasoning

Tortilla Chips - $18 shipping plus $3 for chips

Taco Shells - $18 for shipping plus $2 for shells

Refried Beans - flat box plus price of beans = $38

Mozerella Cheese - came by plane when we visited Bamako in February. Cost of plane tickets about $600 plus cost of cheese = $601

Tomatoes - 20 cents

New Gas tank for oven because ours went out the day before - $25

and a new hose for the gas tank because ours broke the same day - $14

GRAND TOTAL - $3,983.20

That's a pretty good meal! We are so blessed to have so much support from our families and friends!

Sorry no great pictures of the event. I'll really update my blog in June when we have faster internet. Plus you can see pics of me, my mom, and my aunt all together in our finest African attire!

MOOO!

2008-02-05T16:37:00.000-08:00

So Moo-Moos are pretty popular here! I finally gave in and bought one. Do you think I can get away with bringing this style back to the States?

Guest Room

2008-02-03T08:58:00.000-08:00

So we're still working on this room a little. The best part of this room you can't even see - it's the Air Conditioner! Behind our fantastic little curtain is our storage area! Very African of us! Just send an email to make your reservations!

Living Room

2008-02-03T08:29:00.001-08:00

Complete with Christmas Tree!

Kitchen

2008-02-03T08:29:00.000-08:00

Third shelf is mine. And the pot on the stove is our hot warter heater!

Double sink!

Gotta love the spice rack!

The bat cave.

2008-02-03T08:24:00.000-08:00

So this is where most of the batty action takes place. We don't have to walk down this hallway very often, so as long as it stays here, we don't have many problems.

Bathroom Break

2008-02-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

Yes, this is our hut bathroom, or the nyagen if you prefer.

From left to right you see the sink, the toilet paper holder (blue bucket), and the shower (John Deere bucket!)

Village Days

2008-02-03T07:39:00.000-08:00

A favorite meal of our village! It's probably mine, too. At least I know what this food is!

The first day we met this little girl I was wearing a rubber band on my wrist, and she asked what it was, and she repeated "rubber band" in the cutest voice! Now she thinks rubber band is our word for bracelet. Now when she sees us she randomly calls out "rubber band!"

Jessica and I after making "gatos." Our friend makes them and sells them. They taste a lot like funnel cakes, so we really like them. We got our friend to help us make them one day. Then we took them around town and gave them to all our friends. They were all excited we had at least tried to make their food!

I fanny noonay.

(I fan the fire)

Mutliple times a day!

Baby Naming Ceremony

2008-02-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

This was taken after our first baby naming ceremony. We're not exactly sure what this mark means, but when you're in a room full of influential women, have had about 3 weeks of language study, and they all want you to wear it, what do you do? So after we left, it was obvious to everyone we met that we had been to the ceremony. I can't count how many times we were asked, "So what did they name the baby?" When a baby is born they call it "weesee-weesee." Then on the 8th day, they officially name the baby, eat, and celebrate all day.

My Room

2008-01-28T05:59:00.000-08:00

This is definately my room in the city -- not the hut! We are really able to rest and get some work done while we are here. Just wanted everyone to see that things aren't as bad as you're picturing. Ha!

New Year's Eve

2008-01-28T05:46:00.000-08:00

So this is a nifty little restaurant we ate at on New Year's Eve. Great atmosphere. OK food (at least for me, my teammies enjoyed it). Afterwards we had to push our taxi out of the sand. Then his car completely died and we walked the rest of the way home. How did you spend New Year's?

Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

2008-01-28T05:42:00.001-08:00

Christmas Morning for the Mali Girls

Sunset

2008-01-27T14:56:00.000-08:00

Just a little sunset action. I never thought the desert would be so beautiful.

After Dark

2008-01-27T14:52:00.000-08:00

Ladies helping prepare a meal for us at our hut. Yeah, now we've been here a while and they let us cook our own food -- most of the time.

Something's A Little Fishy

2008-01-27T14:46:00.000-08:00

One of our very first meals in the village. Alyson opened the spices. I had to help clean the guts out of the fish and then bang their heads on the side of the bowl. I don't even like to eat fish fillets in America!

Timbuktu Sign

2008-01-27T14:42:00.000-08:00

Where's Timbuktu? It's that way!

The Desert.

2008-01-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

Would you believe me if I told you that I live in the desert?

More Camels

2008-01-27T14:01:00.000-08:00

A small photo shoot with the camels!

More Camels

2008-01-27T13:46:00.000-08:00

So I think the ferry ride was at least 45 minutes...plenty of time for pictures!

Camels...

2008-01-27T13:33:00.000-08:00

So it's probably not hard to believe, but you have to cross a river to get to Timbuktu. Oddly enough, there's not a bridge! So you have to go across on a ferry. We were lucky enough to cross over with this group of camels. Here they are in front of the Timbuktu River sign!

First Head Wrap

2008-01-27T13:27:00.000-08:00

So here's the first time I tied a really big head wrap...in the truck full of stuff. It was just a pretty monumental event. It was fun then, but it does get old pretty soon!

Off to Timbuktu!

2008-01-27T13:08:00.000-08:00

So it's been a really long time since I've updated, but internet doesn't always allow! Ha. We're in the capital for a while, so I'm determined to get as many pics up as possible. Hope you enjoy! This is us up bright and early beginning our 2 day journey to Timbuktu!

Chicken Orientation Part 3

2007-11-29T15:50:00.000-08:00

When we left the village they gave us a gift as well...a chicken. But we didn't have a cute little hut to put it in! So I got to carry it on my lap for our 30 minute African car ride! Remember, I don't even touch dogs! And I earned the naming rights to this chicken. I call him Cane in honor of my favorite chicken finger restaurant....Raising Canes. Yes, that already sounds really good. Oh and then when I got out of of the car, it threw up on me. Oh the joys of Africa!

Pump Orientation

2007-11-29T15:43:00.000-08:00

So then we pumped water. Our "friends" said the first time we did it we didn't get wet enough, so this time we had to fill our buckets more! My favorite picture is the one taken from directly behind me. It's an action shot of water pouring out of my bucket!

Cotton Orientation

2007-11-29T15:38:00.000-08:00

I wish I could say I had spun all this cotton. I have no idea how she did this! But I felt like I owed it to my family roots to be really good at it.

To Orientation

2007-11-29T15:33:00.000-08:00

So we stirred the to (toe). Then when it was finally done we had to try it. It was sort of like eating play dough. Then there was this great sauce. The best was to describe it is snot. Play dough dipped in snot...don't you want to come visit me?

Pounding Orientation

2007-11-29T15:23:00.000-08:00

Pounding corn. When two women pound together they really get a rhythm going. When you get really good you can throw the pounding stick up in the air, clap your hands, catch the stick, and keep on pounding without missing a beat. Yeah, it's a lot harder than it looks!

Chicken Orientation Part 2

2007-11-29T15:19:00.000-08:00

Yes, the chickens did show up again at dinner. The good news is, in Mali women never kill animals!
You can't really tell what's going on in the picture, but it would definately be two little boys skinning chickens.

Laundry Orientation

2007-11-29T15:16:00.000-08:00

We just sort of helped with laundry...this task is way too hard for us right now!

Two little trouble makers!

Well Orientation

2007-11-29T15:12:00.000-08:00

So I was only in the village for two days, and I'm already sure that if someone told me I could have Living Water, I would definately be interested, too!

Chicken Orientation Part 1

2007-11-29T15:07:00.000-08:00

So before leaving for the village we just thought we had chicken orientation. Well, I don't even touch cats or dogs, so a live chicken was a stretch! Luckily, I didn't have to catch the chicken, but putting it in its little chicken hut was hard enough! We took these as gifts for the village. We tried not to get too attached because we were pretty sure we might see them again at dinner time....

And the winner is...

2007-11-14T13:07:00.000-08:00

These pictures may make a little more sense if you read the "Random Scavenger Hunts in Africa" blog first!

Y is for Yankees

(My pictures got out order. Please pardon my alphabet)

W is for Willy Wonka (and the Oompaloompas)

The prize was for the other team to River Dance for the winners...

The official points system.

2007-11-14T12:52:00.000-08:00

S is for Shamu

T is for Tom Sawyer

U is for Uncle Sam...I Want YOU

V is for Vincent VanGogh

2007-11-14T12:49:00.000-08:00

P is for Pharoah and Pyramids

O is for Oprah

Q is for Queen Elizabeth

R is for Rocky

2007-11-14T12:43:00.000-08:00

L is for Lady Liberty

M is for Mt. Rushmore

M is also for Moses

N is for Napoleon

2007-11-14T12:40:00.000-08:00

H is for Hans Solo

I is for Isaac Newton

J is for Julius Caesar

K is for Kiss

Random Midnight Scavenger Hunts in Africa

2007-11-14T12:26:00.000-08:00

So it was the last night for us to spend with some of our brothers and sisters whose term is almost up. While watching a movie, two other girls came in and said, "Let's do something spontaneous. Let's go on a scavenger hunt!" So at midnight, after the movie, we grab our cameras and go listen to the rules of the game. We're to find words that start with every letter of the alphabet. However, each letter is worth different points, kinda like Scrabble, so obviously a word that starts with Q is worth a lot more points than one that starts with R. Then you had to act out a scene from history (you can hold that pretty loosely!). And if the main character in the scene started with the same letter as the word, your team got a bonus point. And we only had 30 minutes to complete our assignment. These are the words we found....

B is for Beethoven

E is for ET

F is for Frankenstein

G is for Gulliver's Travels

Little Bit of Mali

2007-10-25T02:03:00.001-07:00

Ami prepare le diner.

Je prepare entre malade.

(I prepare to be sick.)

You know, the normal stuff like worms and dehydration!

A Day by Ourselves!

2007-10-24T01:42:00.000-07:00

Things are going well for us. We've spent the last two nights at our homestay with Mamadou and his family. They have three children close to our age and they help us with our French. Yesterday morning we were by ourselves for the first time! We walked from the office to the tailor who is making our outfits and we ordered more outfits. Yes, by ourselves with no official language training yet. So I'm not really sure if our outfits will look like what we wanted! Then we walked to the Guesthouse to get towels and water. We went to a boutique to buy some chips to go with our turkey sandwiches. We couldn't read the bags but thought we were getting sour cream and onion (turns out they were spaghetti and meat sauce chips....yum). Then was the real adventure. We took a taxi to our supervisor's house to fix our sandwiches. Well we didn't really know how to get to her house (there are big circles everywhere...circles get confusing). We eventually called her, and she told the driver where to go. We got to her house and walked down to the bakery to get some bread for the sandwiches, but they were closed. Luckily she had some we could use. Then we had our first French class. We learned greetings, numbers (in two languages!), how to say "I am going..." and the verb "to be." Then we had homework to learn 1-1000 in Bambara and 1-20 in French, write sentences, and and practice around the house. It's strange when your teacher can just walk outside at home and give you a pop quiz! Ha. Everyone knows food is a struggle for me, especially if it's not hamburgers or chicken fingers. They notice that I don't eat a lot, but I do eat. Last night was I guess cous-cous with onions and peppers, I think beef, and watermelon for dessert. In a few minutes we're going to go walk around some more and practice our French! A biento!

(I hope to add some pictures soon. I keep forgetting to take them!)

Place to Meet New Friends

2007-10-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

We found this random sign on the side of the road. But apparently it's something important because there was more than one sign! Our supervisor suggested that this might be a place where we could really become engaged with the people.

First Few Days

2007-10-21T06:17:00.001-07:00

The picture doesn't show it very well, but these are mini pringles. When I say mini, I mean absolutely bite sized!

So we've been here almost three full days, and we've done a LOT. Yesterday we started off at the clinic. Our supervisor said it was important to see what it looks like while we are still healthy! It was very nice. There's even a fridge with cokes and beer while you wait in the lobby. We had a tour and saw the doctors' offices, hospital rooms, and ER. The ER was great with one little bed! The hospital rooms were very modern. AC, fridge, television, and bathroom!

Then we went to the grocery store. It is good to know that you really can get almost anything you need in one of these nice grocery stores (with the exception of peanut butter and box mac and cheese). However, we'll only be a 2 day drive away from the grocery store once we move to our village! I spent 11,000 CFR at the grocery store. Hmmm something like $22. We got a lot of turkey for sandwiches next week while we're in French training.

Right after lunch it began to rain! Not only did it rain, but it also hailed! Oddly enough, I've NEVER actually seen hail. While it was pouring, we went to a tailor very close to our apartment. I'm getting a new outfit made, but only one right now.

We went to the market to get more material for outfits late in the afternoon. This market was HUGE. We got fabric and took it to a tailor to add strings for our skirts (makes the wrapping a lot easier!). We walked around while we waited and bought some yams and fried banana (which weren't too bad). When we went back to get our skirts, we were sort of lost. We walked and walked around trying to find our tailor. Finally our supervisor asked some of the Africans if they saw which way we went. Oddly enough, these people had watched us enough to know exactly where we had gone and led us back to our tailor! Incredible.

French training begins Monday. We'll be living with our tutor's teacher and get 20 hours of study a week. However, we're responisble for 40 hours a week, so we'll have to get out on the town and practice a lot! I hope the first things we learn is how to greet people, how to talk to the taxi drivers, and what numbers are so we can buy things!

Commissioning in Mobile

2007-10-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's been almost a month since I've updated. I have to get better at this! I'm sitting in the Huntsville airport now. I'm on my way to another training in Orlando for the week. My flight was cancelled, so now I have a couple of hours to kill before my new flight.

Yesterday was my Commissioning Service at Sonrise. I just have to start out by saying that I don't think I've ever felt so loved by so many people! The whole service was incredible. From the music to prayers, poems, the message, my family and friends being there, it was definately a day that I will always remember and will be encouraged to see all of the support that my home church is sending me out with. I received so many encouraging cards. I can't even remember how many times I read the words, "Praying for you daily." Those aren't just words, and I don't take them lightly! I was also given a new Bible to take with me. The people I will be working with really value the appearance of a Bible. If it isn't well taken care of (which includes not writing in it), they think that you don't respect the Holy Book. I can honestly say that this is the most beautiful Bible that I've ever had, and I can't wait to take it with me and share the Beautiful Message that is within it!

September 13

2007-09-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update about what's going on around here. So our Security Training went really well. We all really learned a lot! Tonight we're having American worship, which I am extrememly excited about! It may sound strange that it's been about 6 weeks since I've been a part of this kind of worship! We are still having house church every Sunday morning with our congregation of 8, and every Sunday night we have corporate worship, but it's primarily in different languages. I think I can understand why it's so important for us to learn the heart language of our people groups....I can worship in Spanish, but there's really something special to worship in your own heart language! Tomorrow we are going to D.C. to try to find people from the region we'll be going to. We've already found a West Africa restaurant...which should be fun? Also, this weekend we'll be completing an assignment where we can't use electricity AND we have to cook from scratch. We are allowed to use the stove but not the oven. It should be interesting! It's so hard to believe that we have less than three weeks left here! It's all gone by so fast!

Looking Ahead

2007-09-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

This week will be a pretty stressful week for most people at FPO. It's the infamous week of Security Training. It's something that I don't ever expect to happen in my region, but it's great to have the training. Everything is kept pretty secret about what goes on during this week. Half of my collegues are going through it Monday-Wednesday, so please be praying for them. My group goes Thursday-Saturday. Even though others are experiencing it now, they're not allowed to let us in on any of the secrets. Also, our sessions last for two extra hours every day this week (including Saturday), so on top of the material being stressful, we also have less down time.

Today, though, my group studied personality tests and conflict styles. We did the Meyers Brigg test and found out that most missionaries are ESFJ. I can't explain all the letters (basically extraverts who like facts, are feelers not thinkers, and like lists!). I found out that I have the typical missionary personality except I'm an introvert (surprise, surprise) so I'm ISFJ. They also enlightened us that Contigency Training is really hard on introverts because we'd rather do anything other than be singled out and questioned! I will be glad to get this week over and behind me!

On another note, though, I am half way through with my time here! I can't believe it has gone so quickly!

Cultural Worship

2007-09-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

Sunday nights are my favorite times here at FPO. Last night was Latin America night. We were "squished" into a room half the size that we normally meet in. We were greeted at the door with hugs and kisses, which I could have done without. There was lots of music and celebration. We were fortunate to have many Spanish speakers here, so all the lyrics were in Spanish and the whole service was in Spanish with a translator. My favorite part of worship was when we sang Shout to the Lord in Spanish. It reminded me of my second mission trip to Mexico when we sang that same song very often, except in English. Now I know a lot more Spanish than I did then. Mexico was my first taste of international missions, so singing Shout to the Lord in Spanish was sort of like being reminded of how God gave me a passion for foreign missions! Next week we'll be in a worship service where men and women will be separated again, and there is a specific dress code including head coverings. It should be interesting as well.