Month: January 2021

This afternoon we went to Banconi and Binabougou with Pres Sekou so he and John could conduct tithing settlements with the members here.  Our first stop was at Rose’s compound.  Her father had just arrived from Niger and he wasn’t feeling well.

While Pres Sekou and John visited with Rose, I enjoyed life in the compound with the family.

The neighbor was using a long 20′ pole with a wire loop on the end to pull mangoes from her tree.  They are starting to get ripe, but they are still green.

I really enjoyed watching these 4 boys.  They were playing a game like “do as I’m doing, follow follow me.” They’d sit in a circle, cross-legged, then one would change positions, or twist, or stretch, and they’d all have to do it. Or they’d run around and copy each other.  They played happily the whole time we were there.  I love how creative Malian children are.

Princess and her friends kept me company too.  I love spending time with the children.

Oh how we love these children in the Bamako Primary!  They come faithfully and regularly every week.  Dina Mufa, Pres Sekou’s wife, is our Primary President.  We are all learning together.

Dina is handing out little treats to the children.

Every week after church Esther and I have a piano lesson.  She studies at home each week with a paper keyboard, and then we go through the lessons together here.  Esther is 13 years old.  She’s bright and accomplished.  She’s two years ahead in her school work and she speaks French, Bambara and she understands a lot of English.  She has always been fascinated in learning to play the piano, and it’s really fun to teach her.

Happy New Year from Bamako!  We are excited for a new year and a fresh beginning!  2020 has been a year of twists and turns and the unexpected.   It’s been a grand adventure and we’ve had a great time.  We have learned that we end up where we’re needed, not always knowing beforehand why.

Here’s what our travel schedule has looked like since we arrived in West Africa in October 2019:

2019 Oct 22 – Nov 14 (3 weeks) Abidjan
2019 Nov 14 – Dec 5 (3 weeks) Bamako
2019 Dec 5 – 19 (2 weeks) Abidjan
2019 Dec 19 – 2020 Feb 2 (6 weeks) Bamako
2020 Feb 2 – 13 (2 weeks) Abidjan
2020 Feb 13 – 17 (4 days) Bamako
2020 Feb 17 – 19 (2 days) Abidjan (special meeting with Elder Nash)
2020 Feb 19 – Mar 6 (2 weeks) Bamako
2020 Mar 6 – 12 (1 week) Accra (Temple trip with Bamako members)
2020 Mar 12 – Dec 3 (9 mos.)  Abidjan (COVID, lock down and evacuations)
2020 Dec 3 – Bamako

Last night we had a quiet New Year’s Eve here in our Bamako apartment, looking out over the city.  There was excitement in the air with many people out and about on the streets below us.  There were occasional pops of fireworks, the sort that shoot one flare of light up into the sky with a pop of noise and not much display.

We went to the restaurant downstairs in our building to order some take out pizza.  With new COVID restrictions in place here in Mali, restaurants aren’t allowed to seat people right now.  Take out is the only option until further notice.

We spent the evening  watching a Harry Potter movie on our laptop.  We’ve been enjoying them throughout this holiday season, along with some Christmas movies kept on our external drive.  It was a fun evening!

I am grateful for the peace and safety we’ve enjoyed this year, far from home. We’ve not had to worry much about COVID here. We’ve felt secure and safe in both Bamako and Abidjan. We’ve been surrounded by good people who take good care of us. We’ve been healthy and strong and we have everything we need to do our work and be happy.

It’s been a memorable year, with a good deal of variety in our mission call, which we never expected–working with the Bamako Branch, helping Pres Binene, the March Temple Trip, failing to get out of Abidjan before the borders closed, helping with the evacuations of dozens of missionaries, helping in the Mission Office, John serving in the Mission Presidency and doing the mission finances, helping the Binenes hold things together and then prepare for their departure, welcoming the Bendixsens and helping them learn to adjust to mission life, training new office Elders, John helping missionaries navigate all the COVID testing as more were returned to other missions, filling in for Pres and Sis Lewis in the West Mission for 5 weeks while they returned to the States, and then finally returning to Bamako this month. Now we are preparing to go back to Abidjan in a few days for a short stint there. We hope the borders stay open so we can return as planned after 2 weeks.

I have been the side-kick for most of the above work. I’ve kept John fed and happy and I’ve been his companion while he did all the hard stuff only he can do. He was invaluable here–there is no way things would have progressed in an orderly way without him.

I’ve done the work I enjoy here–record keeping: blog writing, photo taking and journaling, capturing the history of this experience and what’s going on around us. That’s my contribution and I hope it’s a worthy one. I’m trying hard to get it right and to be complete. I’ve also done a fair amount of FH work and personal writing, which to me is priceless. I hope our offerings and our work have been acceptable to the Lord. I hope this next year will bring more interesting and unique opportunities for us to serve and be helpful. I have a feeling the time is going to go by quickly. We love being here. We miss our kids like crazy, but we know this is where we need to be right now and that’s a good feeling.