Here I am, in Mali for almost 6 months, and I am amazed and all the Lord has done. He has proven Himself faithful time and time again and has showed Himself to be the great provider and Lord of the harvest. Before I came, I sometimes had doubts about my faith. Not serious doubts, but sometimes I would just wonder if I only was a Christian because that was all I knew, and if I had not been born into a Christian family would I believe something else? And would it matter? Here, I never have such doubts. I see God work in ways that only He could. He takes care of all of our
needs. A few weeks ago we had our second flat tire of the week. We were using our spare and no way of getting a new tire. We prayed that God would send someone to help us and within minutes the only Christian living in a nearby village came by on his donkey cart and helped us get the tire fixed. When it got too late for us to leave that night, he allowed us to spend the night at his house.
Last week we were researching a certain people group that is kind of hard to find but we really needed information on them. We were looking for a village that were purely that people group (there was only one) and God sent the chief's son to us while we were in a different village so he was able to help us get the information we needed. Even when we are in difficult situations or remote environments, God has taken care of our every need.
Another evidence I see of God's work here is the large number of seekers. So many people here are not content with their Muslim religion and are searching for answers. I even know a girl here who comes from a strong Muslim family but when her sister was demon possessed, she took her to Christian pastor and God used him to cast the demons out of the girl and now she is fine. Evidence of God's power is undeniable, even to unbelievers. Now the girl is carefully searching the Bible, struggling with whether or not to become a Christian. It may seem like it should be obvious that she should, since she knows that God healedher sister, but it's not that easy for them. Many people here know the Truth but are afraid to commit because of the persecution they will experience. Many of them will lose everything if they decide to become Christians, their families will shun them, they will lose their jobs, be kicked out of their villages, some may be physically attacked, but there are still so many seekers! Even though it would be so much easier for them to remain Muslim, there are many who are convinced there is something better and they are willing to risk a lot to find out. We go to villages and teach them about the Bible and salvation and you can really see the hunger. We are not offering anything but the Gospel and they know that but they want to know everything they can. God is really working here and it is impossible to live here and not see it. I am so thankful that He called me here and is allowing me to be a part of the work He is doing here in Mali.
I don't know how well the picture of the camels shows up very well, but it was so funny when it happened. We were out in the village spending the night with a Maian family there. Lots of kids were around staring at us (as is almost always the case, not only are we white but we have all these strange things with us and are doing strange things) and then about 7 little boys (like around 10 years old) rode up on their camels! They were so small and they just sat there on the camels watching us. It was just like little boys in America would have ridden up on their bikes. I think they were wanting their picture taken because most of them just stayed there lined up for a while until we pulled our cameras out. Camels were a pretty popular mode of transportation up there, I was told you can buy one for about $30. What a bargain!
