pizza hut

thought you might like to see one of the huts in the village that we visited. not a whole lot of head room for michael jordan. twice now in the city here someone thought i was #23 for the bulls because i was tall. guess they don't know much about michael jordan. =)

the bush cont....

ok, so after lunch we drove out to the "lake." it's not really a lake now because it has dried up because of the heat and the lack of rain. they said that when the rains come next month we would be in water over our heads. we learned another interesting thing about creation yesterday too. they said that this lake is teeming with fish. we looked at each other a little questioningly. he noticed our doubt and went on to explain that the fish burrow deep down into the mud and hibernate for the dry season. when the rainy season hits again and the lake fills up then the fish come back out of the mud and spawn and there are more fish than they could ever hope to catch. our god has created an amazing world...

after the lake we drove out to konoton, a small village in the middle of nowhere. i don't think the kids had seen white people before. that was exciting for all of us. =) we have also come to conclude that ellen is the 8th wonder of the world. they just can't get enough of her. we spent the evening with the people of the village and then hit the road for home. it has been such a blessing to meet the believers in these small villages. you can tell they are truly happy to see you and love you as a brother or sister in christ. there is a real spiritual connection. we also got to help them pump water out of their well. that was an adventure in itself.

still loving being here....can't wait to get back to that village.

the bush

yesterday we went out to the city of kolakani. it was good to get out of the city and see the countryside a little bit. ok, a little breakdown of the pictures. the top is a picture of the village's well. it is about 55 feet deep and that is the source of all life in the area. the second picture is of ellen and tessa as we were walking around. then we paused for lunch; the last picture is of our driver holding ellen as we lounged around and took tea. the tea is pretty good, but it's strong. they actually brew it twice, add a little sugar and sometimes mint, and serve it up piping hot in a little shot glass. pretty good stuff. the next picture is of lunch. they grind up millet in their mortars and then add it to boiling water. it comes out something like a gritty, bread-jello like substance. not half bad in taste. then you dip it in the green sauce like you see tessa doing. the sauce is made from the little leaves of the tree that you see pictured second to last. in kolakani we visited the pastor and his family as well as the christian radio station in town. we also stopped by a couple that is working with world vision. they said that in kolakani and the surrounding area there are over 2,8000 kids sponsored. the funds from sponsors have built a sh cool, feed the kids and their families, and a good share are open to the gospel or have received christ. fun to see the other end of the whole operation. that sums up our day until lunch. the afternoon will be continued in the next post.....

bottoms up

coca cola. the international presence. thought you might enjoy some cute pictures of ellen

man killers

this picture isn't the greatest but only because i had to take it earlier in the evening to get good lighting. in the evenings, man-killing bats come out and they swarm the skys. i assume they are eating the mosquitos that come out in the evenings but it kinda creeped us out at first. when it gets even a little darker than this the bat count doubles if not more. they basically fill the sky. we also noticed that during the day, guys run around with pellet guns and pick them out of trees. guess where they end up...bbq stands. i might have to try that sometime. sauteed man-killer bat. oh, and for the record i have never actually witnessed one of these bats attacking a man with the intent to eat.

kan ben sini

i think we have come to realize that this city is huge. 2 million people live in bamako and most of them in extreme poverty. the area that we are staying in is "downtown." it doesn't take more than a 2 minute drive to see the way malians really live.

walk on

this morning we had language training for an hour and then we took a hike. it was only a mile but it was a warm one. one of the picutes is as we were on the bridge over the niger river. what you can see is about half way over already. i had no idea it was so huge.

the place we went to is the home of an american doctor. he and his wife grew up overseas and they have been overseas as a couple for a number of years as well. he has been the embassy doctor here in bamako for two years now. the US government pays for their house, cars, and everything else they want. pretty sweet place (see the grass?). our tax dollars at work =). they are a christian family and we had a lot of fun talking to them. we'll see them again on sunday at the "english worship" as it is apparently coined.

this afternoon we are heading to the big market. i guess it is the place that we can buy anything under the sun. no pun intended. we're not really going to shop but to see it and get lost for a half hour or so probably.

102* and not a cloud in the sky

"cool down" baths

every evening and a couple times a day, ellen gets "cool down" baths. thought she was pretty cute and that you would like to see her.