Our Cote d’Ivoire Abidjan East and Bamako, Mali Mission

Today was a big day in Bamako–we had our Branch Conference with the Bendixsens visiting.  It was a grand and glorious day to see everyone in one place.

We had a small buses (soutramas) hired to bring everyone to Bamako from the outlying areas.  There were 36 people from N’gomi (8 are members). We learned later that the bus from the chicken farm with 23 people in it was pulled over and blocked from coming because something was wrong with the bus’s registration papers. Only Dramane came from the farm on his motorcycle.  And 22 came from Diatoula, the group beyond the chicken farm.

We think our total count attending was 86. There were about 30 children. We had about 30-35 non-members there today.   We had a fantastic day.

Here are a few pictures from before the meeting began.

The meeting went really well. John did the Mission business. Ibrahima Togola was called and sustained as the new Elders Quorum President. Sekou conducted.  After the sacrament, he and Dina spoke (Branch President and Primary President). Then Biggo and Valerie spoke (1st Counselor and Relief Society President). Then Francois (2nd Counselor), then we heard from Pres and Sis Bendixsen.  Most of these leaders have only been members a short time.  They are the Pioneers of Mali and most were called to these positions right before COVID prevented us from meeting.  Now we are ready to go to work!

And here are some photos from after the meeting had ended.

Here is our group photo:

These beautiful triplets are Julien’s sisters.

Here is Ibrahima Togola and his beautiful family:

Here is Rose Coulibaly:

Here are Valerie, our Relief Society President and Dina, our Primary President.  Both are expecting babies this spring!  We’re thrilled for them.

Adele was baptized while we were in Abidjan.  I have really missed her.

Here is one of the transport buses.

It’s wonderful to be here with these friends.  We strengthen and help each other.  That’s what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about.

After the visiting, we had a short leadership meeting while everyone was here.  We had lots to discuss, including our Christmas Sacrament meeting next week, where everyone will be brought together again.  And in the week following, we’re planning our Christmas fete for the 25th.  These are exciting times for our Bamako Branch.

This afternoon we met in a Branch Leadership Counsel with our wonderful Bamako Branch leaders.  We are laying the foundations of great things here.  Oh, it’s so good to be back with our friends here!

After our long and helpful meeting, we all went to Amadine’s for dinner.  What a great morning, a great afternoon, and a great evening!

This morning we took the Bendixsens to meet some of our dear friends here, starting with Thomas’s children.  Esther, Desire and Judith were baptized while we were in Abidjan.  They are faithful and true, attending church every single week.  Sometimes they walk all the way by themselves.  Sometimes their dad brings them.  I love these kids.

Desire was out front cleaning his dad’s motorcycle when we arrived.

Here is Fr. Thomas with more of his beautiful family.

Next we visited the Kennedy Vicks family.  They started attending the Bamako Branch the week or two before we left Bamako last February.  Kennedy joined the church about 11 years ago in Nigeria, Ibo Stat when he was 29 and single. He married Lillian.  She learned about the gospel and was baptized too.   Now they have 2 sons.

We asked Kennedy how he found the church in Bamako, a city of 20 million. He said he saw the Elders walking on the street and noticed their “uniforms” and went over and stopped them.  He told them he was also a member and they invited him to church. He was happy to know the church had come to Bamako. They’ve been attending ever since.

Kennedy and his younger sister with Lillian and their boys:

We stopped for lunch at Anounou’s daughter’s establishment in a convenience store by a gas station.  It was our first time there and it was great.

In the neighborhood:  Containers and a pinball machine.

This afternoon we traveled over some pretty bumpy roads to Binabougou, the place where one of our small unofficial groups meets for church.  Recently some of our humanitarian friends did a water project here, constructing a solar powered well and water filtration system.  This well is inside the school compound where our church meetings are held.  The toilets for the school children were also improved as you can see below.

 This village is so fun to visit.  They are enthusiastic about our presence here.  The children quickly gathered when they saw us coming.

This is the room where we hold our church meetings:

John with Pres Sekou and Pres Bendixsen:

President Bendixsen met with one of the school teachers (left) and one of our faithful members, Julien Dossou (right).

These gorgeous triplets are Julien’s sisters:

We walked down to the mango grove where some women had congregated out of the blazing heat of the day.  The grove is so much cooler.  Soon we were surrounded by all the children too.  This is a community gathering place and it was fun to watch the kids playing there and doing some acrobatics.

Pres Bendixsen said a few words to the group, thanking them for welcoming us into their village.

We had fun playing with the kids and teaching them some songs like “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.)

After visiting Binabougou, we drove to Rose’s compound in Banconi, where we were warmly welcomed.  We haven’t seen Rose since the Accra temple trip in March.  What a happy reunion!

Rose introduced us to some of her friends who are being taught by the missionaries in Abidjan.

This evening we and the Bendixsens went for a neighborhood walk.  We wanted to show them Djigui Hotel not far from where we live, behind the temple.  Sometimes the mission needs places to house missionaries who are coming and going.  This is the place many of the American missionaries stayed before being evacuated from the West Mission.

This is a Poinsettia tree.  They grow like this in Africa, blooming at Christmas time.

The plants here are exotically interesting.

After visiting the hotel and seeing the accommodations here, we walked back home through a new part of our neighborhood.  It was quiet and friendly and lots of people were out and about, relaxing and visiting in these cooler evening hours.

There is quite a variety of homes in our neighborhood, from nice apartment buildings, to very humble homes like these.

We found a duck farm!

These handsome boys are the hope of Abidjan!

Today, on this Monday morning, it was finally OUR turn to go inside the COVID testing place.  We’ve taken dozens and dozens of missionaries and visitors here, but we’ve always just waited outside.  Today we and the Bendixsens had our turn to be tested.  We all fly to Bamako on Thursday.  We will stay there and the Bendixsens will return to Abidjan after a short visit to meet our Malian friends.

Here is how the testing happens.  First you prepare your documents online and pay the fee (50,000 cfa or about $86).  You bring the receipt and a copy of your passport to one of the several testing locations.  Today we went to the one in Marcory.  Here we are checking in before getting in the waiting line.

Depending on the time of day and how many are in line, this wait can take hours or lots of minutes.

I found this poster interesting–measures of prevention:  wash your hands with soap, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, avoid close contact with anyone with a cold or cough, and cook meat and eggs well before eating.

After our outside wait, we were taken into the big air-conditioned shed to wait again inside.

I also liked this poster:  “You are a very important person to me and I want to see you again after COVID-19.”

When it was our turn, we were taken to two different cubicles where they checked our paperwork and explained how they’d send the results by text to our phones within 72 hours.

There were 2 people administering the tests this morning.  It looks like they have the capacity here to process 10 times as many people if needed.

The helper opened a sealed test pack and pulled out a long swab on a bendy stick.  This was inserted about 3-4″ into one nostril.  It was a tickly sort of uncomfortable that made your eyes want to water a bit.  It felt like they were going into places you never new existed!

The testing building had several rooms with beds (for workers or patients).

Sometimes it just gets too hot to keep a wig on!

And then we were finished!  To celebrate, we decided to go to our favorite bakery in the area.  John often treated the missionaries to a treat here after having their COVID tests.

These signs were by our parking spot:

Then to the bakery for some treats!

There are hand washing stations like this one outside of most establishments.

Other vendors in the area:

Because we were in the neighborhood, we stopped at Cap Sud so the Bendixsens could do a little grocery shopping.  We will miss this place and all the things we can buy here.

Christmas decorations in the Cap Sud shopping mall–it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!