We were happy to have another contract signed today for the Ngaele School project. Today we met with Toure, who will be working on the school garden part of the project. There will also be a water project and new school latrines installed.
Then John met with Ibrahima, our Elders Quorum President. They are working on the ministering assignments. Bit by bit, piece by piece, things are coming together here. It feels good.
As we came home from church today, we noticed some interesting activity across the street. I took these photos from our balcony, then decided to go down to meet these amazing women who were cooking enough food to feed the entire neighborhood.
You can see that there are 8 HUGE pots cooking rice and beef stew. You have probably never seen pots this big. I think all 3 of our grandkids could fit inside one of these pots.
I noticed about 5 or 6 empty 50 lb. rice sacks. That’s a lot of rice. They cook the rice, then pile it in the flat pans on top of the pots to keep it hot. Some of the pots were filled with chunks of beef.
Those are hard boiled eggs that will be added to the food platters.
These ladies found a slice of shade. They were making meatballs with chopped onion and green pepper mixed in. The lady fanning was keeping the flies away.
Wow, that’s a lot of rice!!
This is the beef stew:
In this narrow space between the unfinished home and the compound wall, there were 8 fires and 8 huge cooking pots. Imagine the heat! These women were so hot and working so hard. Wow. They were incredible!
The stirring spoons and scrapers, as you can see, are 5-6 feet long because the fires are so hot. You have to keep some distance.
To move or lift the pots, they use fabric threaded through the handle slots.
You can see the beef cooking under the rice.
Fried hard boiled eggs?
These two were in charge of washing and cleaning the rice before it was cooked. They kept preparing batch after batch.
This is the catering crew who prepared dozens of platters of the food. Then they carried them to the wedding tent and eating area down the road a bit.
The cooking and feeding went on all afternoon, along with loud music and lots of people coming and going on our street, dressed in their very finest and fanciest clothing. It was a really fun party to watch today!
Sundays are the best days ever. We have loved welcoming Sylvanie and her family into our branch. Emmanuel was able to come today and he has decided to be baptized in 2 weeks. We love this family.
Today in Primary we learned about forgiveness.
The adult class:
The youth class:
Emmanuel and Sylvanie. You can see the light in their eyes.
After church John helped Ibrahima with the ministering assignments.
The ladies finished bottling the liquid soap we made yesterday. They mixed the blue and the yellow to make green.
There were enough bottles for everyone to take some home.
Figuring out some technology problems: 
I’m feeling really panicky about how quickly the weeks are flying by. It will be really hard to leave these friends.
Our last Relief Society activity was so much fun, we’ve already held another one. Today after the baptismal service, the ladies stayed and learned how to make liquid soap. It was so fun and interesting!
Valerie went to the market to buy the few ingredients we’d need: salt (not table salt), soap gel, coloring and fragrance.
Soeur Catherine was our teacher. She started with a bucket of water, added the 2 bags of salt and mixed it until it was dissolved.
Then she added the bag of some sort of soap gel and mixed it for quite a while until it was completely mixed in to the salt solution.
Next, the coloring was added. Our first batch was blue.
Then more water was added. The ladies explained that you can make this soap and sell it in the market, but the buyers don’t want it too thin or runny. Thick is better.
After mixing it well empty water bottles were filled so everyone could take some home.
Then we made a second batch using yellow coloring.
These buckets were left to sit overnight so the bubbles in them would pop before being bottled.
These women are formidable. They know how to survive in hard places with grace and beauty. I loved being with them today.
These are beautiful faces I never want to forget, so I’ll keep them safe here.
Showing the children our children and grandchildren.
My hair will never look as great as hers!
It was a beautiful Bamako day. Elder Koffi, Elder Kamenan and Elder Dzato have been teaching the wonderful Ngalle family and today we held a baptismal service for mother Sylvanie, and daughters Vanessa (13) and Dalina (9). Emmanuel, the good father is preparing for baptism too as the Elders continue to teach him.
Dina and Valerie helped the ladies dress in white before the baptism.
We had a wonderful service at the church which included some talks and testimonies.
Sadly, Emmanuel had to work today. Here is the rest of the family:
These dear friends have entered the gate. This day will change their lives for good. These are now part of our Bamako Pioneer families. We are so happy for them.
Having a bite of lunch before the Relief Society Activity following the baptismal service:
My heart feels full today. How quickly we make new friends here who will be friends for an eternity!
I love watching children play. I love it so much. These boys live next door to the church. Today they were playing marbles with great skill. I am going to miss my neighborhood friends.
This morning the Elders came and we participated in our Zone Conference via Zoom. We had a nice day together. The sound wasn’t great, but we took away what we were able. Sis Bendixsen taught about Baptism and Pres Bendixsen talked about counsels, councils and counseling.
We always enjoy the food from our neighbor’s restaurant, Fried Chicken and More.
The conference wrapped up at about 4:00 p.m. John and I and Elder Kamenan were invited to share our departing testimonies with the others. We weren’t expecting that to really ever happen. We are 6 weeks away from departure. AGHH.
These are the steps we climb every day to get to our apartment. I will never forget them!
And this is the view today from our kitchen window of the people leaving the mosque after Friday prayers–another thing I will never forget.
When I lived in Nigeria, we called traffic jams “Go Slows,” which is a little easier than “embouteillage” or “mauvaise circulation,” as they call it here. Go Slows are frustrating, but they can be interesting and even entertaining here in West Africa. You can buy just about anything from your window as you work your way through traffic jams.
I’ve kept a list of things I’ve seen for sale in Go Slows since we arrived, both here in Bamako and in Abidjan. This list will fascinate you.
Here we go: fishing poles, luggage scales, chips, spices, every sort of dishes, digital thermometers, jump ropes, soap, hand bags, bullion cubes, tool kits, surgical gloves, hair clippers, lamps, inflated toys, construction measuring tapes, Scrabble and Monopoly, dried dates, basketballs, electric irons, screw drivers, waste baskets, umbrellas, dog leashes, ID badges, dried plantain chips, soccer balls, platters of all sizes, car mats, sandals,
newspapers, pillows, wipers, duffel bags, chocolate oat cereal, lunch boxes, jumper cables, thermoses, wash cloths, belts, sun block for cars, cell phones, sun glasses, knock off watches, plastic containers, hub caps, limes, coat racks, silverware, goblets, ironing boards, full length mirrors, stacking cooking pots, key rings, hair brushes, limes, peanuts, tummy tighteners, ladders, plastic shoes, satchels, cobweb sweepers, earth globes, pruners,
S
rain jackets, face masks and shields, bathroom scales, hair clippers, toy boats, coloring books, dried mangoes, hand towels, maps, super hero toys, rolls of paper towels, choppers, hazard signs, peanuts in shells, rat poison, cigarettes, colored pencils, necklaces, an inflated Spiderman, plastic trash cans, card tables, salad spinners, headphones, timers, gum, boxed cookies, radios, roasted corn on the cob, boiled chunks of yam, homemade sesame seed crackers, hard boiled eggs, apples, shoe polish, Orange money cards,
end tables, steering wheel covers, shoe polish and brushes, TV trays, incense burners, coat hangers, a glass statue of a dancer, puzzles, cotton buds, boxer shorts, remote controls, tea cups, children’s life vests, phone chargers for the car, bike tires, car registration wallets, watercoloring sets, a 2001 diary, dust pans, visors, styrofoam airplane gliders, toothbrushes, knives and machetes, men’s hats, bath towels, fabric, water pouches,
dinner rolls, carpets, air freshener for cars, extension cords, electric mosquito zappers, brief cases, all sorts of containers, serving trays, books, Muslim caps, manual orange juicers, homemade picture frames, speakers, athletic bandages, desk lamps, paint brushes, pink cotton candy, inflatable life jackets, seat covers, magnifying glasses, tea pots, electric razors and clippers, mobile phone screen magnifiers, hand pump water filter bottles,
ankle wraps, inflatable twin mattresses, bags of popcorn, ladders, shoes, sponges, office paper trays, electric gas lighters, checker boards, children’s clothing, chunks of boiled yams, fire extinguishers, inflatable swimming pools, microphones, hand vacuums, prayer rugs, caged parrots, welcome mats, mosquito nets, strainers, air fresheners, sifters, satchels, apples, tin can pots, lantern lights, axes, serving spoons, cold cereal, sling shots, door mats, cleaning brushes, SIM cards, radios, roasted corn, tissue boxes, cobweb sweepers, homemade fried croquettes and other treats.
The list is as varied as the people who sell in the streets here. They are old and young, men and women, girls and boys. They come right to your window, hoping to make eye contact and hoping your window will be down. These sellers dodge between and in and out of traffic, walking up and down the roads and intersections, probably many miles every day without going far. There is hope in their eyes, always hope for a sale.
Our Cote d’Ivoire Abidjan East and Bamako, Mali Mission 