A Taste of Home

Father has been demonstrating His Presence, His guidance, His gentleness as He has walked with C@therine and I these last 10 days!! We both bow in honor to Him as well as dance with praises for His f@ithfulness to us!! We have stood behind our shields of f@ith trusting, believing, and walking forward even when the fiery @rrows of fear, uncertainty, and even reality come full force our way!! We have made friends in the area around where we are living for the moment, we have made trips to the market to fruits, vegetables, beans, milk, and sugar. We even went with a friend to the UGU UGU. I know you may be asking yourself what is a UGU UGU. Well....its Walmart, Gap, Old Navy, Abercrombie and Fitch, college sports clothing shops all in one! It is piles of clothing that have been shipped here from all over the western world. How fun to see and even buy clothes from our favorite stores, right here in the market! The craziest thing--I found some flipflops...Clemson orange with the S0uth Car0lina Palmetto tree and Crescent Moon in just my size!! A huge taste of home to make me smile every day!! We have taken taxis, walked, and hitched rides with friends to places we needed to go. Best of all, we have had opportunities to demonstrate our Father and our S@vior to the friends we have met and spend time with each day.

A Bottle of Cold Sprite

A day or two after C@therine arrived, we began going out on the street to greet and sit with a friend I had made going to and from the place we are staying to get nems...a favorite food from a little street food stand. I go often--at times it seems daily. This friend from the street and I have laughed and laughed together about my frequent trips to get nems--day by day my stomach calls for them we would say. Father had shown me that she would be a great friend for C@therine and I to go greet and sit with to listen and hear language. So that we did.
Our friend would call people over to greet us so we could practice our language. These opportunities also gave us the chance to pr@y for several people who mentioned a sickness or that someone they knew was not well. Then a man came. He greeted us, and then told us about his foot. With very limited language, we found out he had been in an accident with a vehicle. He had a horrible place on his ankle that was very infected and very close to the ankle bone. We prayed for him and talked about what we should do. We decided to get him some antibacterial soap, triple antibiotic ointment, and some gauze compresses. We taught him how to wash it and put the ointment on it and told him to do it twice a day--in the morning and afternoon. We checked on him each day and it was getting better.
This man has a little shop on the corner of the street next to where we sat cooking and stuffing fish. After we had been cooking for awhile, this man came to us. He had an ice cold Sprite in his hand, and he reached out to give it to C@therine and I. It was soooo refreshing since it was high noon, and we had been outside without water for quite awhile. It was a turning point in our friendship. We were not just giving to him to help him, but he was giving to us and helping us! It reminded me of the verse where J.s.s said, "And if you give even a cup of water to one of the least of these my f0ll0wers, you will surely be rewarded." Pr@y that this man's bottle of  cold Sprite will be rewarded by our Father with healing for his leg and s@lvation for his spirit. Pr@y for us as we prepare to share stories from Father's Word with him as well as our other friends on the street.

Stuffed to the Gills

Adjusting to living in M@li has been quite the experience. Each day brings new adventures, new beginnings, and new experiences with Father. Father has been faithful in showing every step of the way of each day with Him. Having only been living here for seven days there were many things I expected to do during this first week as I immersed myself in the culture, such as walk around greeting the people, beginning to learn the language, and simply learning how to live life in the city. However, there are some things that just never crossed my mind that I would be doing for instance cooking on a street in the city and stuffing raw fish.  It is in these unknown and unforeseen opportunities that Father shines bright. 

As L0ri and I were walking down the street going back to our living place we always stop and greet our friends that we have made on the way. It happened to be that one of our M@lian friends was beginning to cook. At first we only saw some vegetables laying out… our thoughts, how fun would it be to sit with our M@lian friend, help cut up some vegetables, speak in B@mbara and develop deeper relationships.  We asked our friend if we could help her cook and then she pulled raw fish out of a bag. Our thoughts now... maybe helping cook, specifically working with raw fish, is not what we had in mind after all. L0ri and I stayed hoping that we wouldn’t have to work with the fish (haha…no such luck).  L0ri began cutting up onion, pepper and carrots, and I began pounding different herbs and garlic. Our friend helped us learn the B@mbara language by repeating phrases multiple times and telling us what she was doing as she was doing it.  Eventually came the time to work with the fish. As I was waiting to be told what to do next I soon saw the fish bowl begin pushed my way. Since I had been pounding the herbs and making the paste/stuffing to put on the fish, it was my job to stuff the raw fish and stuff the raw fish I did all the way up into the gills. The fish were then fried and the vegetables were cooked finishing the dish. 

It was during this time cooking that L0ri and I saw our relationship grow with our M@lian friends by spending time with them instead of just stopping by to greet and then leave. It was during this time that we saw doors being opened believing one day we will be able to share the W0rd of our Father with them. 

C@therine

W0rship of He@ven

After a day of work on the kitchen, the team decided to go to the waterfall to enjoy a time of w0rship andthe sound of G0d's voice instead of staying in a place where the voice of work would call out to us and distract us from the One we truly w0rship. J@k came to join us so we loaded up in the truck...the front and the back...true M@lian style. On the way we stopped at a strange place...I turned to see what we were doing. It was Z@k walking to meet us. Z@k works for L0ri P and is a f0ll0wer. He had decided to join us for w0rship at the waterfall. So off we went.
We put out things down and then each person just wandered around taking in the beauty of creation as our Creator began drawing us to Himself. After a little bit, we all gathered at the same place. We sang songs in B@mbara...most of us for the first time. The words were in another language for the Americ@ns, but the tunes were the same and very familiar. It was a sweet, sweet sound and it filled the air with the songs of our G0d. Then we read scripture both in English and B@mbara. We talked about the w0rds of our G0d and how they impacted us. Each one shared from His or her heart. We also shared life experiences to encourage one another. Z@k cooked us M@lian tea as we worshiped bringing an even greater and sweeter aroma and flavor to our w0rship.
After our time of sharing together, we began playing and just enjoying each other. We went wading in the water, exploring the river, and laughing together. Etern@l friendships were made and a picture of he@venly worship created in our heart, minds and spirits!

Traveling to Sik@sso

lunch on the road...or the side of the road

Greetings from M@li and the Boldly  Believing Team!!
We planned to leaved B@mak0 at 10 am....we left at 9:55 am!! That has to be a record!! We left early! We had a great breakfast, devotion, and pr@yer time--very empowering physically, sp1r1tually, and emotionally! This team has been ONE since the moment we all got together!! Another answer to your pr@yers! Thank you so much for lifting us up and for seeking Father's face on our behalf. He is listening and acting!! We arrived in Sik@sso, unloaded the truck, looked at the work to be done on remodeling the kitchen, then headed out to greet the owner of L0ri P's house and order some mud cloth paintings from K@ss. What a special time for these men to meet L0ri P's father!! We are praying for the house owner to come and sit with us some on the days we will be working on the kitchen. Pr@y for Father to give us His message for Brem@--the house owner. K@ss had made a special gift for L0ri's dad...a custom designed mud cloth that was tailored by his friend into an outfit for Sidima (Lori's dad). He put it on when we got home and has had it on every since then. It even came with a hat!! After dinner, we sat with Y@y@ (L0ri's night guard). He was soooo excited that Sidima had come to M@li for the first time. He kept saying over and over, "This is a BIG moment!" We invited him in to sit with us and Sidima shared pictures of his wife, children, and grandchildren! This was very special and sentimental to him...he is the only one living in his immediate family. His parents and 10 siblings have all died. Please pr@y for us as we continue to interact, spend time with, and talk with these men. Ask Father to use us to speak truth to these men and to shine HIS Presence through us with EVERY person we speak, sit, and interact with these next 2 weeks.
We begin the work of remodeling the counter tops and cabinets in L0ri's kitchen. Pr@y for us to find the necessary supplies and have the necessary wisdom to complete each part of the work. Pr@y for our relationships with each other and with the people Father brings into our paths.
Thank you for your f@ithfulness!
l0ri

2011 The Year of Fulfillment

Greetings from 2011 in M@li!
What a great "ringing in the New Year" we had with friends, co laborers in the harvest, and even the night guard! We had chili and cornbread around the fire, shot fireworks, and dropped the most creatively lit up hippity hop New Year Ball I have ever seen! We counted down the last seconds of 2010 and rang in 2011 with horns, shouts of Happy New Year, and of course a jazzy version of Auld Lang Syne! I pr@y your saying Good-bye to 2010 and your Welcome of 2011 was the best ever.
I spent time under the tree on New Year's Day comtemplating ALL Father did in 2010! WOW! I stood in awe and wonder of the Mighty G0d we serve!! I'm not sure I've ever had a year quite like 2010 where Father brought so much of His plan and purposes for my service to Him together and moved so mightily to see that ALL that He had said and promised was put into motion!! My time of reflection truly created a sense of joy, anticipation, excitement, and the proper "fear" of all that 2011 will bring!! This new year promises to bring the step by step fulfillment of so many promises and purposes of our Father!! My heart truly celebrated the changing of 2010 to 2011! I cannot wait to walk with Father through each challenge, each new accomplishment, each step He has for me to walk out. I long to live out ALL that He sees for 2011!!

Thank you for serving in the harvest with HSI!! YOUR PR@YERS INVOKE THE POWER BEHIND ALL WE DO!!
serving Him together!
l0ri

Ac@demy Team Arrives

Pr@ise G0d!! The team from FB Ac@demy arrived with all of their luggage with NO unexpected tour of West Africa!! Our Father heard the many pr@yers for this team and He knew the fears and uncertainties that were on the hearts of the team members as they traveled a new route! Please give great pr@ise to our Father! He is soooo f@ithful to walk with us in just the ways we need Him to...all according to His purposes!! Thank our Father for the joyful reunion of L0ri P and her dad--his first time to M@li!! Hearts are full...as one M@lian said when he met L0ri's dad, "The distance between you both is NO more!!"
THANK YOU for your f@ithfulness to call out to Him on behalf of this team! Please continue to do so as we travel in the morning to Sik@sso. Pr@y for rest, adjustments, and unity of heart, mind, purpose, and spirit!!