Outrageous Oven Outing. Part 1, 2, 3, 4

When you live in West Africa simple things such as home repairs are never simple.
It all started on Thursday. Our kitchen smelled of natural gas and was too strong to ignore. This has been going on for a while- so finally we decided to find out where the problem was.
By turning off and tightening all connections between the stove and the gas bottle we determined a loose screw was not the problem. So Ed took apart the entire oven. The conclusion? The valve to the oven was leaking. Solution- get a new part to replace it. Dont worry that in the mean time, there were fireballs in my kitchen and lots of screws thrown about. That's completely normal.

After consulting a few veteran missionaries- we decided that the market would be the best place to look for the part, so on Saturday we set off! We arrived at the market, showed our part to a few venders and were pointed to the opposite side of the market. There we found the junk yard of everything metal.
Hopeful as always- we asked a vender if he knew where to get our part. He pointed us to a nearby stall. We walked over and asked where he pointed us back where we came from and gave us a name to ask for. We went back and asked for the person- who was not in at the moment. We were then directed another way, then another, and finally ended up talking to a man selling alternators to cars. He recognized the piece and told us, "Coulibaly by the mosque at the other market would be able to help us". For those not in Mali there are some major problems with this helpful advice.
1. Coulibaly is as common a last name as Smith or Jones in the USA
2. There are mosques on almost every corner
3. He was at the other market.
Rather than leave it at that, this man acted in a very Malian way and called his friend for us. He then gave us his number so we would actually find him. We all hop in a taxi and head to the other market (about 15 minutes away). Arriving at the mosque we called our new friend Coulibaly, couldn’t understand him and then handed the phone to the taxi driver. After a brief conversation we headed to the OTHER mosque (remember there are LOTS of mosques in Bamako).
We arrive at the shop and he looks at our part and starts digging around while we wait in the taxi- the closest I have been to a drive through since arriving. Five minutes later he comes back with a part- but not the right one. We shake our head no, but it doesnt end there. He decides that we can come back the next day and he will look for the part that night.
Sunday morning we call Coulibaly again, and he tells us he fixed the part. We are not really sure what that means, but excited that progress was being made in the right direction. After our morning of Sunday school and Youth group we head back to the market to meet up with our friend. Sure enough he has fixed our part! We pay him and head off on our way.
That night Ed re-installs the part and our oven is working! Oh, the joys of helpful people, lots of walking, hot weather, and success!

Football!

I am not much of a sports fan. However, if it involves hanging out with friends, yelling and screaming for no reason and witnessing a different culture- I'm all in! That's how this football game came about (which is technically soccer).

It's typical Bamako Sunday afternoon- which means sunshine, lots of people milling around, and dust. My friends and I were invited by a taxi driver friend to join him for a soccer match- the two Mali teams were playing.

We gathered around 3 in the afternoon, making sure to sport our friends team color of red. There were 5 of us total, so as we hailed a taxi we divided into two groups- following the Malian law of no more than 4 passengers. My taxi consisted of Ed (my boyfriend), Carolina (my Brazilian room mate) and I. As always, the taxi was a little run down, and that led to no worries. However, when we were about halfway there- the clutch broke on our taxi and we stalled in the middle of Bamako traffic. Needing to get off the main road, the driver hopped out and started pushing. Not moving forward, Ed hopped out as well, and together the two of them were able to steer our taxi to the side road.

Pushing the taxi! GO go GO!

We decided to catch another taxi- to ensure that we would not miss the start of the game. Arriving at the stadium 10 minutes later it was a sea of red and white (the two teams). We purchased our tickets from a man on the street for 1000cfa ($2) an pushed through the crowds to enter the stadium.

As we moved through the passages, we passed vendors selling all sorts of game-day food: carrots, bananas, crackers, soda, tea and water. No beer. No hot dogs. There was also a variety of paraphernalia such as whistles, movie posters, keychains made of leather- and well, basically anything that people might want to buy.

Eating some oranges at the game. Healthy, huh?

We found some seats and I looked around. We are the only white people. We are only a few of the women (not selling things). As the time drew closer to the start of the game, drum circles started beating, and people started getting in the "game" mode. There was no pep band. No cheerleaders. Just Malians and their soccer players.

The game started promptly at 4:30. There was no national anthem. There was no starting announcements. All of the sudden, players were on the field and a ball was being kicked- high and long. I dont know much about football (soccer) but I am aware that ball control and keeping it ON the field are two important aspects. Apparently in Mali it's different. the goal is kick the ball as high in the air as possible. My Brazilian roomie went "I am from Brazil, I know football, this is NOT football". I think she still had a good time though.

 

Check out the obvious middle line!

The score was 0-0 for the whole game. I was getting tired and thinking this was fun, but I want food. In the last second, however, the red team scored a goal! The crowds went CRAZY! We jumped up and down cheering, then our taxi-driver friend looked at us and said "lets get out of here". We quickly dodged into the aisle (where the overflow seating took place) and started pushing through the crowd to make an exit. As we were going several Malians made sure we made it out safe. As we exited the stadium we were told that it was a good thing, because people were going to start throwing stuff, and it was not really safe. GOOD THING!

My roomies and I in our red!

Working at an MK school...

.. Has brought me face-to-face with missionaries from around the world. It is so cool to see the global work of missions and reminds me daily MISSIONS IS NOT JUST A NORTH AMERICAN VENTURE!

I was reading the newest edition of Operation World (an amazing resource for understanding what is happening around the world- country by country) that "since the 1970's there has been a surge of interest and involvement in missions from the majority world (Asia, Africa, South America). Mission sending has recently gained or maintained momentum in countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Brazil, Philippines, South Korea and others." (page 7)

In my school of 12 families we have students from 3 of the 5 countries listed! In my class there are students from Brazil and Nigeria, and also we have a student from South Korea. I was reminded of the truly international aspect of BCA and excited to see, not just read, the global plan God has for the world! SO COOL!

Sometimes my kids look a little scared... or maybe it's just the sasquatch...

Focus

I sent part of this out in my most recent prayer letter, but I thought I would elaborate a little and share what God is doing in me.

I work with third and fourth graders- I understand what an inability to focus means. As an adult however, I am just as guilty of becoming distracted from what really matters in life. I become trapped thinking about my needs, my emotions, my wants and my frustrations. Basically- the focus is on me.

I have been reading through the Psalms and stumbled across Psalm 63. It is a declaration to God to be the only satisfaction in the writers life. I was convicted and reminded that God alone is my source of hope, energy and strength. In those times when I am frustrated, unhappy, grumpy or exhausted- it is because my carnal desire to focus on me is on full blast. I lose focus.  

This became apparent the last few weeks of school before break. It was a rough time– not only did I have a cold, but there was tension at the school and I was caught in the middle. By the time Christmas rolled around I was burned out, grumpy and exhausted. Some of the reasons were legit- physical illness does lead to exhaustion- but some reasons were from my selfishness.

I love how God knows what I need. He is good and has given me the rest I have been craving. Naps, down time, and His word have restored me little by little. I have been reminded just HOW important time in the word is and WHO is my strength. Rather than allowing my needs to drive me, I need to focus on Christ alone. With that, I am excited to start class again and know WHO MY teacher is.