Last week in Mali

Sunday

In the morning the team met for bible study and prayer time. Then we finished the practical work at Tommy’s. In the evening we had team time at the sand dunes. Bradley made a really cheesy snowboard to use on the sand. We drove out to a place Paul knew about. When we parked the truck it got stuck in the sand. As Bradley was trying to get the truck unstuck, the truck ran out of gas. As all this was happening, Tito was already playing with the snowboard and was oblivious to what was happening with the truck. Paul ended up walking back to Tommy’s house for a gas can and we stayed with the truck and proceeded to have fun sliding down the sand dunes. Unfortunately the snowboard that Bradley made didn’t really work well sliding on the sand…….so we put that to the side and started rolling down the hill, jumping down the hill, and doing front flips off the hill. We got a crowd of onlookers that live near the sand dunes where we were and joined us in our time of fun. Then one local man proceeded to sell us jewelry and wouldn’t leave us alone. Finally, Paul returned with the gas and we got the truck started. We had quite the adventure getting the truck unstuck. Bradley got the truck out and got it moving down the first hill and then it got stuck again. Paul tried next and moved it a little bit up the hill but had to stop so the tires wouldn’t get buried in the sand. We then decided to put Veronika behind the wheel and put all the guy power behind the truck to push. With success, Veronika drove the truck out of the soft sand to hard ground with ease! She was our hero that night! Thanks Veronika! We were very tired that night and went to bed early. Before that could happen……one more episode had to happen that evening…….the girls came screaming out of there room because there were two mice running lose amongst their bags. Bradley and I tried finding them, but were no where to be found. We assumed that the girls screams scared them away.

Monday
Today was a personal day to get packed and finish up any shopping we needed to do. It was a very busy day even though it was an off day. Bradley was very busy do to the fact that he was the driver since Tommy had left for his conference. He made numberous trips for Tommy’s family and for the team even though we didn’t even notice how much he was driving. It was very important for each trip he took and we appreciate his services for the day!

Tuesday
Today we woke up REALLY early(0300) to leave for Douentza at 0400. We had a good trip that day and got to Lorna’s by 1200. We relaxed the rest of the day and enjoyed seeing the boys again.

Wednesday
We didn’t have much planned for the day. We spent time with the boys and had a couple team meetings and drank a lot of water during the day……it was really hot and humid.

Thursday
Today we had another team meeting, Bible study, and played with the boys. We found some relief from the heat later in the evening when a storm came in and it started raining. The cool air and rain was VERY refreshing. Thank you Jesus!

Friday
Another early morning to rise. Today we headed back to Bamako on a bus. The rain was still coming down as we waited for our bus to arrive and it made for a comfortable trip for the whole day. It was a long day, but pleasant on the bus because we didn’t have the heat. Again, Thank You Jesus!! After arriving we got a ride back to the base with John we were greeted by the French team. We headed out at 2300 to get some dinner. We were hungry, tired, and very loud, but very happy once we got food in our bellies!!

Saturday
The excitement is in the air!! We leave tomorrow for Norway! WOW!! We are already talking about the trip as if we were back home. We can’t believe our time is over here in Mali! We are reliving stories and conversations and talking about everything we have done and experienced. We are looking forward to seeing everyone back at Borgen, but sad to leave everyone here.