Month: June 2021

A Sign for the Bamako Branch–What a Process!

Today we went to the mayor’s office for the part of town our church meets in.  We’ve been trying for months to make progress on getting a sign made and installed here so people can find our meeting house.

We had a downpour of rain in the night and this morning making the roads a little difficult to navigate.

This is the man who grants permission for signs to be posted.  A good deal of paperwork has already gone into this process.  Today we had to have 2 men from the city offices come take a look at where we want to put the signs and give their approval (along with paying various fees and their transport).  Everything here is a PROCESS that takes TIME.

Our church building is in the Marie Commune VI.

We had to wait in this place for a couple of hours for the men who would follow us to the church building.

We were finally called back to the office when the men arrived.

And we directed them to the street where we turn to go to the church.  We’ll install one sign here on this main road.

Two more signs will be installed in front of the church, one on each side.

More fees were paid.

Now we just need to get the signs made!  We have all the approvals we need to install them.  Phew!

Poverty in Mali

Part of our work here in Mali is to help the poor.  Our assignment is primarily to be Member Leader Support Missionaries, but we also received the Humanitarian training at the MTC before we arrived here.

Every Wednesday we have a Humanitarian meeting with the other Humanitarian couples in our West Africa Area (by Zoom).  The Collettes are in Dakar, Senegal, the Dadys are in Cote d’Ivoire, and the Shepherds have just been replaced by the Woodwards in Accra.  Today a new couple from Quebec joined us, the Morins.  They’ll also be serving in Cote d’Ivoire.

Today I was asked to give the training in our meeting on these sections from our Welfare Services Handbook.  I love these principles.

DOCTRINE
Church humanitarian work is based on these doctrines:

• As disciples of Jesus Christ, we follow His example and do what He would do.

“Giving help to others—making a conscientious effort to care about others as much as or more than we care about ourselves—is our joy.  Living that second great commandment is the key to becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ.  (Russell M. Nelson, “The Second Great Commandment, Oct. 2019, 9).

• We have a covenant responsibility and charge to care for the poor and needy and relieve suffering.  “And they shall look to the poor and the needy and administer to their relief that they shall not suffer” (D&C 38:35).

• We are to do this work in the Lord’s own way.  “But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low” (D&C 104:16).

“When we love God with all our hearts, He turns our hearts to the well-being of others in a beautiful, virtuous cycle” (Russell M. Nelson, “The Second Great Commandment, Oct. 2019, 3).

• We help others to help themselves.  “The aim of the Church is to help the people to help themselves” (Heber J. Grant, in Conference Report, Oct. 1936, 3).

PRINCIPLES AND SUPPORTING OUTCOMES
Church humanitarian activities should be based on the following key principles and should demonstrate the associated outcomes:

• Self-Reliance
Families are better able to meet their own needs.
Communities find solutions that work for them.
Local organizations are strengthened to solve the problem better next time.

• Service
Everyone has something valuable to give; everyone has something meaningful to do.
Neighbors cooperate and help one another.
People volunteer their time and talents for the good of the community.

• Sustainability
Knowledge, skill, and capacity in local people are increased and continue to be applied.
Local technologies and products are selected, used, and maintained.
Impact continues after project completion.

Here are some interesting bits and pieces I found online about the poor in Mali:

Is everyone in Mali poor?
Ranked 175th out of 188 countries on the United Nations Development Programme’s 2016 Human Development Index, Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world: nearly 45% of its population lives below the national poverty line. Almost 65% of the Malian population is under 25 years of age and 76% lives in rural areas. Oct 16, 2018

Why is Mali so poor?
Malnutrition issues, lack of education and conflict are the main causes of poverty in Mali. The average wage in Mali is $1.25 per day, and more than half of the population currently lives below the international poverty line. This contributes to Mali being one of the least developed countries in the world. Jan 30, 2017

What percentage of Mali live in poverty?
49 percent
Mali is a colorful and diverse country, rich in culture, ethnicities, languages and artistry. Within this tapestry, widespread poverty persists with 49 percent of Malians living below the extreme poverty line. The median age of Mali’s population is 16.2 years – making it the third youngest in the world. Feb 13, 2019

A Local Barbershop

This is one of our neighborhood barbers.  His shop is right across the road from the church.  He’s been gone for awhile, looking for work.  It was nice to see him back today.

The price for a basic haircut is 400 cfa (75 cents).  It’s 100 (2o cents) more for a shave and 450 (85 cents) for a fancy cut.  Children’s cuts are 200.

Here’s where you can pick which sort of haircut you’d like.

The barber’s son was outside, sweeping the dirt around the shop.

What a great little business!

Sunday at the Bamako Branch

We had about 35 members and friends at church today!  It was a great Sunday with our friends.  Here are a few pics from the 2nd hour with the Primary children:

Eric Rands’s mother in the USA sent some candy bracelets over for the kids.  They were Thrilled!  They’d never seen anything like that before.

 

 

 

We have officially started our Youth class.  Today Pres Sekou and Elder Koffi taught Esther, Vanessa and Desire.  They had a wonderful discussion about the youth programs.

And the adults met for Sunday School and a Come Follow Me lesson.

There was lots of visiting after church.  Everyone loves to linger and be together.  These women are new friends of the church being taught by the Elders.

Nothing goes wasted here, including the leftover sacrament water and bread.

We love having Eric Rands with us now.  He’s a great addition to our branch.

Kariadiatou, Nourou’s wife is preparing to be baptized next week!  We’re so very happy for her and their family.

In our Bamako Neighborhoods

This afternoon John helped with a baptismal interview at the church.  This stellar young man from Mountagoula is Alasane Maiga.  He’s 25 years old and he’ll be a huge asset to our Mountagoula Group.  The Elders have done an excellent job teaching and preparing him.  He will be baptized tomorrow in Bamako.

On the way to and from the church, here are a few interesting things we drove by today, starting with an innertube salesman.

Some welders:

Most furniture stores here are outside, and usually not under cover like this one.

Here’s a mattress store:

A lovely display of dresses for sale:

A soccer field with charcoal  markings:

A public drinking pot:

Charcoal for sale right next to the church:

The road in front of the church:

The Elders heading out to work:

Dry greens for sale:

A carwash:

A teapot store:

And some cooking pots for sale:

Recycling at the City’s Dump Mountain

Traffic was bad this afternoon so our taxi driver took us a new way.  We went up over the Bamako hill between our apartment and the church.  Usually we go one of two ways around it, depending on traffic.  Today we went over it.

I’ve been told that the city dump started as a huge hole in the ground.  Over the years, it’s grown into a mountain.  Today we went over that mountain instead of around it.  There is a part of that mountain that has several universities up on top near the dump and trash piles.  It’s a big area.  I was interested in the trashy side.  This is where our donkey carts filled with trash empty every morning.  There was an amazing community of trash workers and recyclers up on top.

Behind the wall were the trash fields and mounds.  There were pickers out there looking for things that could be sold or recycled.  On our side of the wall we drove by mounds of plastics bound in huge nets.

There were shacks and huts between the mounds of trash and I heard a pounding sound as we drove by in our old dilapidated taxi.  I could see men working in these huts, pounding with large wooden mallets like those on the ground in front of these huts:

I am assuming they were pounding or flattening things to be recycled, but I’m not sure.  Maybe cans, or bottles?  I would have liked to have stopped the taxi to take a look.

These hard-working people scratch out a living here.  Nothing comes easily and nothing is wasted.  Nothing at all.

UPDATE:  I found out what the men in the grass huts were pounding!  FABRIC!!  Here’s a look at what’s inside these huts.

You can get the full story about this fabric art and read more about it in this post:

https://lewismission.home.blog/2021/08/03/the-process-of-making-beautiful-bazin-fabric-in-bamako/

Evening Bat Migrations and Prayer Calls

This evening as we had our dinner, we noticed the sky was filled with bats–large bats that looked like black crows–flying right over our apartment building, heading south and a bit to the east.  There were thousands of them with no end in sight, all flying in the very same direction.   It looked like they were coming up from the Niger river on the northern edge of our neighborhood but they were probably coming from the entire country, all on their way to someplace else.  It was amazing.

Here’s a sampling of the morning and evening prayer calls from the mosque across the street.  We listen to these calls several times a day.  Sometimes the voices changes.  This one is particularly good.  We enjoy the reminders to pray.