I am back home. It feels really good. It took me about two days to get over my jet lag.

I end the mission with one thought. When God sends you He goes with you. He supports you. And He brings you home.

Good Bye.

Au R'Voir

Mbah

The little engine pulled the train over the mountain!!

Next week I will have returned home to Norman OK. We finished school on Thursday and my flight home is scheduled for next Thursday. I am surprised that I have been able to keep this blog going. Some weeks were pretty thin but we did it!! Please keep me in prayer next Thur and Fri as I travel.

I was walking with Dan who is one of the Bible translators here in Bamako. I saw a young lady ahead of us with a baby tied to her back and another under her arm. I made a comment to Dan about it and said that I wondered how twins were handled here in Mali. Dan came back with an unexpected answer. He said, “ Jack. You have to remember that you are in Mali now. I Mali a man can have more than one wife. Therefore babies of about the same age in a home may not be twins. If there are two wives, then one might do the cooking one day while the other cares for the children. The next day they might reverse roles.” Dan was right. I have not adjusted my thinking to this culture. One time it could be “buyer beware” or they will try to get as much from you as they can and give as little as possible. Another time they would go hungry to make sure that you are fed properly. If you know the culture it all makes sense but to me …??? Well I like the people and they have all gone out of their way to be good hosts to this old man who does not even learn their language.

The picture showing the big hotel in Bamako is there to try one more time to show you the presidential white house. It is centered in the picture. It is located on a high bluff on the north side of Bamako. The picture of the traffic is at the six way intersection that I have mentioned before. You can see only a couple of the roads from the camera angle and traffic was light when I took it. The third picture is close to that intersection. I see no reason why OSHA would complain about the scaffolding. After all I don't know how many years it has been since the scaffolding was last used. It reminds me of pictures of buildings in Hong Kong except they used bamboo scaffolding.

I Went Walking

My thanks (or maybe SORRY!) to Bill Martin Jr. since I kind of copied his "I Went Walking" book.

(My daughter said it sounded more like "Brown Bear Brown Bear" to her .) I read his books to pre-k through first grade and they are easy reading because he puts a lot of rhythm in them. Anyway please don’t sue me for plagiarism or defamation of character Bill.

I went walking. What did I see?

I saw the gate guard waiting for me.

The night had cooled down to the low 70's so it had been good sleeping for me. The guard is sitting in a chair with a ski mask over his head. An extra shirt on and his brazier lit to keep his hands warm. He got up to unlatch the gate for me.

I went walking. What did I see?

I saw an old man walking unsteadily with his cane down the street toward me. His son was by his side to take care of him. I think they walk every morning. He is friendly and always waves his cane at us when we drive past on the way to school. When he waved this morning, I crossed the street to shake his hand and to say "bon jour" and "savah" (maybe ce vous?). We would have had a longer conversation but that's all the French I know and he speaks French and Bambara or maybe Bozo.

I went walking. What did I see?

I saw a lady sweeping the trash out of the sand in front of her dwelling and smoothing out the sand. She uses a small whisk broom so she has to be bent over to do this. If she were washing dishes, washing clothes, or cutting up fish to fry for supper she would use the same posture. Just think of your kitchen counter being located on the floor.

I went walking. What did I see?

I saw a lady picking through the trash pile in front of a tailor shop. She was looking for remnants of cloth that she could use. Recycling is serious business in Mali. I haven't heard the city government in Bamako having to find a place for a city dump. Back to the lady. She was bent over in the normal position but one thing was a notable difference. Her right hand was laid on her back. Evidently the task that she was involved in was not clean so she was doing it with her left hand while keeping her right hand clean.

I went walking. What did I see?

The donkey drawn trash cart coming toward me. Actually I saw two of them. One was toward the end of my walk. They do have a big tractor drawn trash cart to pick up the big stuff, but the donkeys are more fun.

I went walking. What did I see?

I saw a man with crutches try to move a couple of benches so I stopped to help him. Of course it took twice as long as for him to do it himself because I don't speak French but we finally got them where he wanted them. I think he was putting them in the shade so he could sit and talk to his friends.

I went walking. What did I see?

Lots of other stuff like the river and flowers and other people but I can't remember all of it. Oh. Well.