Among the People

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the L0rd always, for the L0rd G0d is the eternal Rock...L0rd you will grant us peace; all we have accomplished is really from you, O L0rd our G0d, others have ruled us, but you alone are the One we w0rship."

 Isaiah 26

Yesterday and today, life returned to normal here in M@li...at least on the surface. The US Embassy had opened the way for us to go out of our houses for short trips to do some shopping for supplies and reported that the airports and borders were opening yesterday. People were to return to work and go about their regular routines. Catherine and I took the opportunity to go to the store and purchase some food and necessities. We also took the time to go and greet our friends on the street because we did not know when we would have the opportunity to do that. We talked with many of our M@lian friends and listened to what they were saying about the events. As we talked about the situation here each of them said, "It is finished! Everything is over now. Everyone is free to go and do what they want or need to do. Everyone is working now." It has been the strangest thing because it really seems as if it is finished. For us it feels like a very false sense of peace and leaves us baffled at how one day the government can be taken over and in just a few days everything is back to normal. Most M@lians do not seem to understand the bigness of what has happened and the consequences that these things have in the big international picture. At this point, most other countries are not recognizing this "new" government and therefore will not continue the vital support they give to M@li. Even though this event seems like it is finished..that it is over...the reality is this is just the beginning. Tonight as we sat at our friend O's house talking with the old man of the courtyard, we asked him whether he thought this was finished. For the first time, someone responded, "No this is not finished." His wisdom was profound as he talked about the events and how M@li got in this position.

It has been refreshing for Catherine and I to be among our M@lian family and friends these last two days. Yesterday and today, we had the opportunity to return to our regular routine to a small degree. Yesterday we visited our friends on the street. We came home yesterday from our time out and about with the realization that we must fix our thoughts on Jesus and trust G0d Alone. Our peace comes from trusting in G0d's plan for our days. That we must earnestly seek Him and walk with HIM through this time--continuing to allow Him to tell us where to go, what to do, who to spend time with, and how to spend our days. Perfect peace comes from our trust in Him and what He is doing even when it seems difficult, dangerous, or uncertain.

Today, C@therine spent the afternoon playing with the Special Olympics children she has been working with a couple of days a week. They play basketball and she spends time just loving and talking to them.  Then together we went to greet and visit our friend O and her family at their house. It was a sweet time of reconnecting after all of the recent events. The old man thought maybe we had gone back to America because we had not been there in 2 weeks. I must say it was a time of precious fellowship and peace as we sat talking together.

Please continue pr@ying for M@li tonight and tomorrow.

• The African United Nations sent a team of 6 delegates to M@li today and they will be meeting with the c0up leaders tomorrow, March 29th. The goal of this meeting is to ask the c0up leaders to step down. If these talks and negotiations do not work they have troops standing by to force them our. Please ask our Father to pour out His Sp1r1t on these meetings, that His will be done, and that peace will rule and reign.
  
• Pr@y for the people of M@li as the pressure and difficulties increase due to the many nations who are withholding their financial help from this new government.
• Ask G0d to give us wisdom as we walk with the M@lian people through these difficult days
  
• Pr@y for G0d to place His words in our mouths ...words that will point them to Him as the One who protects and provides for us.
• Pr@y for us to walk in obedience to all that G0d shows us and asks of us..no matter what that is
• Ask G0d to continue speaking and teaching us how to live, love, and serve in all kinds of circumstances

Tomorrow we will remain close to home only going out for a few necessary supplies in the morning. These days are still uncertain and with the negotiations and talks happening tomorrow we will remain sheltered with Him at home.
Thank you for your pr@yers, your skype messages, and your emails!! They bring great joy, strength, and encouragement!!

in perfect Peace...trusting and w0rshiping the eternal Rock...

Strength Through the Night

" O G0d you are my G0d. I earnestly search for You. My soul thirsts for You, my whole body longs for you in this dry and thirsty land where there is no water...I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you, your strong right hand holds me securely." Psalm 63

"L0rd, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing...I will bless the L0rd who guides me, even at night my heart instructs me. I know the L0rd is always with me, I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me...Psalm 16

This morning when I woke up, it was as if I was waking up in the middle of a deep conversation with G0d. I remember that I was talking to Him and that my heart was heavy. As I became more and more conscious and awake, that conversation continued. I found myself pouring out my heart and my concerns to G0d. There seemed to be many things on my heart on this 6th day of the c0up--a lot of uncertainties,thoughts about my friends and the struggles they face, and how the events here in M@li will effect the work G0d has asked us to do.  As I talked with him I was reminded of Psalm 63 and the confessions of David...his earnest search for G0d...his longing and thirsting after G0d...how he meditated on G0d through the night...how he would sing and cling to the One who helped him...his knowledge that he was in the strong grip of the One who held him securely. Then in my devotion this morning, the words of G0d continued to affirm that G0d's guidance and instructions come to our hearts at night. Even in our sleep, our G0d is with us, attending to us, and strengthening us. He continually makes us aware of His Presence even in the peace of the night. Though I had many concerns on my heart when I woke up, my G0d had empowered me through the night and the early morning to walk through this day and time knowing ...I will not be shaken for the L0rd is right beside me. It was a great start to the day, and it strengthened my confidence in the Sovereign L0rd of all creation!! He alone knows all, understands all, orchestrates all, and accomplishes all His plans and purposes!!

When I looked outside to see how the day was beginning in the neighborhood, we were back to a very quiet morning with not many people out and about and not many cars traveling the distance road. It was a holiday--Democracy Day--so people were not going to the market and not working. The day around our apartment was very quiet and peaceful all day.

Downtown today there was a march or demonstration against the c0up and its leaders. They were calling the c0up leaders to negotiate a rapid return to constitutional order and civilian rule. They presented themselves as a new political alliance. There were up to 2000 people there. Some left there to march toward the television/radio station. All that was done was peaceful and no violence was expressed.

Tomorrow is the day when all people are to return to their jobs and life is to return to normal. We received word from the embassy that we can go out of our homes during the day but are encouraged not to go beyond a 5 minute walk away. The airport will be opened from 8am - 1pm. We have been encouraged not to go into the downtown area yet. The situation is still very uncertain and we will continue to use wisdom as we take the next steps in this process.

Please pr@y for the following things:

• Possible meetings tomorrow between leaders the c0up leaders and those who will be negotiating the next steps with them
• Protection for those who venture out of their homes tomorrow
• Peace as people return to work and life as normal
• Wisdom for us all as we seek to know what G0d has planned for us and what He wants us to do next
• G0d's intervention in the northern part of M@li
• G0d's protection for the people of M@li from those who would come in to take away their freedoms
• G0d to pour out His Sp1r1t on the people and bring salvation and true peace 

Thank you for ALL the emails, skype messages, and personal touches you have shared with us!! Daily they encourage and strengthen us!!
We thank G0d for you all!

Unafraid and Under His Wing

"Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged for I am your G0d. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand." Isaiah 41:10-11

Thank you to everyone for your emails, your skype calls, words of encouragement, and scr1ptures to read!! It has been a blessing today to hear from so many of you and to know of your presence with us through this journey!! Today began in a much different way than the past few days. The last few mornings were just silent--absent of all noise except gunfire. Not this morning...The rhythms of life in Africa were the sounds I woke up to this morning.  Sounds I love so much like the children next door laughing and playing outside, people talking, the neighbor going out in his car, and the sounds of women cooking--pounding of the millet and the clanging of spoons in pots. Then there was the one sound that is difficult to hear each morning--the unhappy  and unending cries of one little baby that lives next door. Even that sound was a blessing today, since the child had been unusually silent the last 3 mornings. I could see green machines, taxis, motos, and people on the street in the distance. I could see the doors of the boutique opened for business and people had returned to the markets to buy and sell. This morning the rhythms that define life here were beating as normal! For that I stood looking out the window giving pr@ise to our G0d.

Things are far from over here, the events that have taken place are still being figured out, and the full rhythm  of life is not yet being played. But today a sense of restoration was happening in my neighborhood. We are still sheltering in place and remaining fairly invisible. We are living out the words of the ps@lmist in Ps@lm 91. I challenge you to read that with me today and maybe every day until this situation is resolved. Will you live with us in the shelter of the Most High and find rest in the shadow of the Alm1ghty? No matter the situations we all face, whether it is a coup in a foreign country, the joy of new life being given to us, the loss of something or someone important to us, or the realization of a life long dream, He alone is our refuge, our place of safety, our G0d and the One in whom we trust!! As our friends, family members, and those chosen to walk with us through this work in M@li, your f@ith and your declarations about our G0d are being tested and tried along with us. Let's believe him when he says, " I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation."

Will you also join us in pr@ying that the people of M@li will choose to live in the shelter of the Most High and find rest in the shadow of the Almighty? Will you pr@y that they will come to know the G0d described by the ps@lmist and understand by experience the salvation He alone gives?

We have at least 2 more days of sheltering and waiting to see what will unfold here. We hope tomorrow to spend our time sheltering by working peanuts at our house. Our friend O continues to go to the market to sell peanuts to provide for her family during this time. When we talked with her today, she said there is peanut work to be done tomorrow. Since we cannot go to her, her son will bring peanuts to us. I must say I did a little jig while we were talking about it. Pr@y for us as we continue to demonstrate J.s.s to her and her family. Pr@y for us to have time with O and her family to share with them about the G0d and S@vior we know as described in Ps@lm 91.

We love you all and thank G0d for you!!

unafraid and under His wing
peeping out at His gl0ry...

Shelter in Place

The L0rd is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know Your name trust in you, for you, O L0rd, do not abandon those who search for you." Ps@lm9:9-10

"How precious is Your unfailing love, O G0d! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings. You feed them from the abundance of Your own house, letting them drink from Your river of delights. For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see." Ps@lm 36:7-9

During this time of uncertainty in M@li, the instructions to us have been to "shelter in place". This morning as I woke up and began seeking G0d and His words for me today, I read the above scr1ptures. I smiled as I saw His intimate connection with us...those who are sheltering in place. He alone is our shelter, our refuge, the One we trust, the One for whom we search. His unfailing love is soooo precious! ALL of us find shelter in the shadow of His wings. He Alone feeds us from the abundance of His own house. He is the fountain of life and the light by which we see. 

My heart and mind spent much of the day, thinking about my M@lian friends and the times of trouble they are experiencing. While I have plenty of food and water, and while I know the One who covers us with His wings, they live day by day. Most have food for today and depend on working to have food for tomorrow. Most do not know the name of the L0rd and live without a relationship of trust in the One who does not abandon us. They do not understand His unfailing love, and they do not have the light by which to see the events going on around them. When I talked with my friend Thursday night, she said, "There is gunfire all around me right now." I had called to pr@y with her, so I said, " Let me pr@y with you now." Her response, "YES! YES!" With every sentence I pr@yed, she responded loudly, "AMINA!" (Amen!)

As I listen to the reports and wonder what will happen in the days to come and question where M@li will go from here, my heart cries out for them to know the L0rd that shelters us, our refuge in times of trouble, the One who feeds us from HIS OWN house, the One who gives us life and light.

Pr@y with us for the s@lvation of souls, the protection of a great nation, and the will of our G0d to be accomplished among the people who live here. Pr@y for the people of this country to be drawn to the One who loves them with an unfailing love and protects them from the dangers that seek to destroy them.

We continue to be safe and protected and continue to wait and watch. The gunfire stopped around lunch today and there were more people out and about as well. Some tried to go to the market to sell or to buy but found very few out buying or selling with them.

The airport and borders remain closed.  The price of fuel has doubled and trucks are not tranporting food from the villages. Food in the city will become more scarce as days go by. The curfew is still in place until Tuesday, March 27th. The army still has control of the city, and things seem to be going ok for now.

With these things happening in the city, the doors for the rebels in the north to advance their cause are opened a little wider. Please pr@y for the cities and peoples in the north who are being ruled and impacted by these forces and their agenda.

Thank you for your pr@yers, your emails of encouragement, and the sweet support you are showing to us!! We love you all and thank G0d for you!!

trusting in His name...

He Brings the Village to You

The last two months we have not been able to travel to the village where we work. With every day, the desire to go gets greater and greater. Just when you begin to wonder and ask G0d, "What do you want us to do?" He provides the answer...He brings the village to you!

The other day we met a young man from the B@ye area living in B@m@ko. His name is Yousou and he is D@fin. He is the only f0ll0wer of J.s.s in his family, and he has moved to B@m@ko to study law in the university. He is having some problems here and so we invited him over to listen to his struggles, encourage him, and pr@y with him for a solution.

We discovered he is living with his aunt, Asa who has 9 children. She has been married twice and her recent husband is involved in drugs and left her in October. She is a seller of traditional Afr1can medicine which also involves black magic and calling on spirits. Everyday she goes out to sell this medicine to provide food for her children and Yus. Some days they have food and some days they do not. They are living in an unfinished home that does not belong to them. The owner returned and found them living there. He told them they must find another place. Yus goes to school two days a week and tries to find work in construction the other days to help with his transportation to school and with food for the family. He wants to move away from this family but he sees the struggles of his aunt and does not want to leave her alone to care for all of these children.

After listening, we talked about how he is a light in the darkness of his family and how his presence among them is G0d's presence among them. We pr@yed for wisdom to know what G0d wanted to do for Yus and his aunt, for G0d to provide a home for them, and food for them. We asked G0d to provide work for Yus, and for Him to make Himself known to Asa and her children. We sensed G0d saying to us to provide a gift of grain to Yus and his aunt. We sent Yus and Dan, another Malian f0ll0wer who was meeting with us out to find out the prices of grain here in B@m@ko. When they came back together we went to purchase the bag of grain and take Yus home. When we took him home, we discovered he is living less than one mile from us.

A few days later we set up a time with Yus and Asa to come by to visit and greet them. What a joy to meet Asa!! In M@li, one of the greatest gifts you can give to someone is simply to come to their home to greet them. She welcomed us, had prepared a mat for us to sit on, and poured out her thanks to us for the gift of grain. She began to tell us her whole story and how the day before she received the grain, she had called her husband to tell him she had NO food to feed their children. He was no help. She told Yus there was no food and that her husband was not going to help them. She was crying all night. When she came home the next day from selling her medicine, Yus gave her the gift of grain. She went into her room and cried. She said she did not know what she was going to do to feed her children, and then there was a bag of grain. We talked with her about how G0d had provided that bag of grain for Yus and her family, and how G0d sees and knows all of our problems. We encouraged her to give thanks to G0d and to know that G0d is the One who sees her, watches over her, and provides for her. It was a day of beginnings..the beginning of a new friendship, the beginning of Asa understanding the unfailing love of G0d, the beginning of more opportunities to meet and share G0d's Word with Asa, the best beginning of all is the beginning of the One True G0d demonstrating His power and provision for this family when the gods they have been trusting have failed them!

Please pr@y for Yus, Asa, and their family...

Ask G0d to provide a home for them to live in
Ask G0d to reveal Himself to them as the ONE TRUE G0D, THE ALL POWERFUL G0D
Ask G0d to provide work for Yus so he can get to school and help with the family needs
Ask G0d to show Asa that there is no power or provision in selling the Afr1can traditional medicine and to lead her to a new kind of work
Ask G0d to do the miraculous with the bag of grain and make it last longer than it should, just like the widow and her son that feed Elijah

Coming to Life

On my recent journey to Sik@sso I saw an amazing moment in time! I’m sure it happens a lot here in M@li but not something the average person gets to see as it is happening. Things here often bring stories in G0d’s Word to life right before your eyes. That is exactly what happened!

I was driving across a bridge and as always, I looked up the river as I was crossing the bridge…water has always had a special draw to me. This time was no different. When I saw what was happening in the river, I had an irresistible NEED to turn the truck around, park it, and watch. So I did…as soon as I could slow down and turn around, I was parked and walking to the bridge. 

 

I stood in amazement watching a large herd of cows crossing the deep river…some even swimming. I stood with some M@lians who were on the bridge watching. Then I could hear the bleating of sheep…loud bleats calling and crying. I asked someone next to me, are the sheep going to cross too. “Yes, after,” was the reply. I surveyed the whole scene and found the shepherds coming closer to the water encouraging the rest of the cows to cross. Then I saw some of the sheep just jumping in the water swimming their way to the other side. The cows and sheep were crossing side by side. Soon there were no more cows, only sheep. The challenge of the shepherds became increasingly greater as those who needed to cross became less and less. One little lamb jumped in eager to cross with his mother, but the journey was too long and the current to strong. He turned back and headed to the safety of the shepherds and the dry ground.  

 

Shortly after the lamb returned to land, I saw 2 shepherds come walking across the bridge carrying lambs in their arms. I saw another shepherd in the water carrying 2 lambs across the river. Then two young shepherd boys, each with a lamb around his neck.  Each of these were a  scene in my mind that I will never forget.

 At first, the other shepherds were guiding the sheep gently into the water  knowing the water was cold and the sheep were not confident. Then the more fearful the sheep became the more the shepherds had to encourage them…even to the point of taking them by the front feet and walking them into the water. They would walk them halfway across the river only to have them turn around and head back once they took their hands off of them. Finally the remaining few sheep were stubbornly refusing to cross the river. 

 The shepherd were now dragging them by their front feet with their hind feet dragging through the water leaving skid marks on the river bottom I’m sure. They would take the sheep over halfway, so that it was closer to keep going than it was to return to the place they knew. This didn’t stop the sheep. Some still turned around and headed for the river bank from which they came. The shepherds just kept working to get all the sheep to the other side of the river. 

 

As I walked back to the truck and drove on to my destination, I pondered all that I had just seen and experienced. Many truths from G0d’s Word came flooding into my mind:

Psalm 23—The L0rd is my Shepherd, He guides me, I will not be afraid

John 10—Jesus declares that He is the Good Shepherd. He sacrifices His life for the sheep unlike the hired hand who runs away when danger comes. He knows His sheep and they know Him.

Luke 15—The Parable of the Lost Sheep and how the shepherd goes to find the lost sheep. When he finds it, he carries it home on his shoulders.

Moses and Joshua—As I watched the shepherds leading the animals across the river and then saw the difficulties of getting them all across the water, I thought about these men leading the people of Israel. How they faced so many difficulties, how some followed well, some always wanted to go back to where they had come from, and how some followed but dragged their feet the whole way. 

It was a day of sweet fellowship with My Good Shepherd as He taught me much about life, as He made His word come to life before my eyes, as He taught me how to use these truths to tell of Him in a culture where shepherds still live and work the way David did.

Father's Provision

Being a peanut seller is not always the most exciting or easiest job to live life on. You have to patience to sit long hours, you have to make relationships with the people and of course you have to have good peanuts.  Most days there are only a handful of buyers; some days there are more, other days there are less and most of the buyers we would call “weekly regulars.” However, this is the life O lives daily!

O lives day by day and week by week on her peanut/ice sales. Every week she hopes to sell enough peanuts/ ice to buy more peanuts/ice to sell them the next week. The money that she has left over is then used to take care of her family. She is the one that provides for her seven children…she feeds them, she takes care of all of their needs and if one of them gets sick, she is responsible for their medications. Not only does she have to take care of her children, but there are weddings to attend, extended family to take care of and over the last year O is now required to pay a tax to the government for the street side corner she sells her peanuts/ice on.  For her there is no concept of a bank account, savings, interest, or even what it means to have a large quantity of money; for the money she earns is needed for everyday life.  

Over the last 2 months that L0ri and I have been back in M@li, O has shared with us some of her financial difficulties. More than once we have seen the pain and worry on her face because she did not have the money to buy peanuts to sell that week. Her eyes often penetrated with worry about her everyday life and responsibilities.

However, God’s w0rd tells us in M@tthew 6:25, 31-33:

 “…I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food and your body more than clothing? So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the K1ngdom of G0d above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”

So we explained to O that Father can provide and will provide if she believes. For weeks we pr@yed with her asking Father to provide her with: peanuts to sell, people to buy her peanuts and an increase in how much peanuts she sells in a week. 

Then one Sunday O visited our house to w0rship and pr@y to Father. For one week she left town to go visit her brother and her daughters were in charge of selling the peanuts.  Monday evening I spent time with her daughters husking and bagging peanuts to sell the rest of the week. Then on Tuesday I visited one of her daughters on the street to continue to work peanuts and sell them. 

It was on this Tuesday that I began to see Father working in O’s life! Father was providing for O and her family!

 I have never seen peanuts sell on the street like I saw on Tuesday. Every 10-20 minutes somebody would come up to her peanut stand and buy peanuts. The most amazing part it didn’t stop on Tuesday, but continued on Wednesday and Thursday. In fact by Thursday evening her daughter told me they would be working peanuts again on Friday! 

This week Father showed O that He has provided and He will continue to provide! 

Please pr@ise Father with us for His provision of O’s peanut sales. Please continue to pr@y with us His provision for O and her family.