Well it’s now 9:30P Eastern time… 26 ½ hours from when we left the guest house in Bamako to begin our journey home. IF things had went according to plan, we would have been landing in the Des Moines airport in 1 hour. However, things did not go according to plan. Due to high winds in Ohio(hurricane Ike effects), our connecting flight to Cincinnati was cancelled. After spending over 30 minutes at the Delta counter trying to find an alternate route home, the best we could do was to arrive tomorrow (Monday) evening at 9:42P. We fly from JFK to Baltimore, on to Atlanta and then into Des Moines. When it’s all said and done, our return trip will have taken us around 51 hours – ouch – can anyone say ‘yawn’ – cuz that is what we are doing. Over the last 42 hours we have slept very little. Some of us have been able to get an hour of sleep in here & there on the plane rides… others haven’t. The good news is that right now I’m sitting in a hotel room at the Ramada Plaza here in NYC. We’re praying for a good night’s sleep before heading back to the airport at 7A tomorrow morning.

Despite the fact that we are sleep deprived & missing our families like crazy… we are all fine. We’ve even had a few chances to laugh at it all in the midst of it. It’s a choice to either praise God in the storm… or yell at the top of your lungs while pulling out your hair. For the most part, we’re doing the former.

It’s great to be back on U.S. soil again. Although, we realize that in the big picture, the U.S. is not our home. Our true citizenship is in heaven. We are only passing thru here on this earth.

Thanks for your continued prayers. God bless and good night.

The worn out Mali Team

Well our last day here in Mali is quickly drawing to a close. We spent the day in the capital city of Bamako experiencing some amazing sights and sounds.

To start off with we traveled with a C&MA missionary named Carina to a men’s prison. This prison is inhuman and indescribable. The prison has 4 cells which are designed to hold up to 20 men each – total of 80 men. Today in the prison, there were 221 men. 50-60 men are crammed into these little cells which consist of 2 rooms that are 12’ by 20’. One room is in the front with a door leading to an identical room in the back. At night, all 50-60 men go into the back room to sleep – that’s 2 to 3 grown men on a very thin single mattress or sheet laying on the cement floor – these back rooms have no windows, only a couple of small openings in the wall. Two of the cells are lock down cells where the men never come out. The men in the other 2 cells are able to come out into the prison yard area during the day – some of them did the cooking (usually only rice and field corn), some chopped wood for the fire, some made tea, etc… everything is outside in very dirty, muddy conditions. The entire area of the prison yard and 4 cells was comparable in size to ½ a football field. Carina took us around the prison and then we went into one of the lock down cells. With guitar in hand, Carina started into some singing in Bombara (their native language) and immediately the expressions on the prisoners faces lighted up. Most of them joined in, at least to some degree. Carina then shared a short devotional with them in which she talked about the forgiveness and peace which comes from Jesus. Carina had me pray in English and then she prayed in Bombara. We met a couple of born again believers there in prison… one of them had a Bible. Carina is an amazing women with an amazing ministry. She goes into 5 different prisons in Bamako to minister to the hurting. She also ministers to dozens of prostitutes thru another ministry called Rahab Ministries.

Next we had lunch at another C&MA missionary couples home (peanut sauce soup – interesting) and then headed to an open lot in the heart of a more influential area of Bamako. The desire is to finalize the acquisition of this land (they are close) and then build a community center equipped with lighting, books, computers, internet access, etc… in an attempt to draw in the university students; as well as upper class individuals that are wanting to learn English. Total cost for the project will be between $600 – 750 thousand. Upon completion, they are anticipating over 1000 different individuals to come thru the doors in the first year. Just having rooms with electricity for lighting will be a huge draw to the university students… many of which can now be found using the light from street lamps to study. Can you imagine? And this is in the capital city. Out in the country, there are entire villages (many) with no electricity (except for a few with solar power). These missionaries seemed encouraged to have us on their turf, seeing what their lives and ministries are all about. It has been a privilege to get a glimpse of their world.

We then headed to an Artisan Market. With 7 white people we didn’t stand a chance. We were mobbed!! Everyone wanted to sell us their goods and wouldn’t take no for an answer. They crowded in, grabbed us, showed us their goods and attempted to entice us into their shops… many at one time… it was overwhelming for all of us. The whole Artisan Marked area was packed with people.

After a stop at a Malian grocery store for some supplies we came back to the guest house for supper. We are now showering, packing up our suitcases and preparing for our 27 hour travel experience from Mali to Des Moines, which begins at midnight (Malian time) and will hopefully end at 9:30P (central time).

I think it is safe to say that we are all physically and emotionally drained… but oh so glad that we came! This trip will not be forgotten. The impact will continue within us and hopefully spread to others.

We are so grateful for our supportive church family and are so looking forward to getting home and seeing you all… especially our children and spouses.

The Mali Team (Pastor Cory & Amy, Josh & Teresa W., Vickie J. and Neisha H.)

It’s Friday evening... the conference in Segou is now over. It was hard to leave. The 3 little children that Neisha watched for 6 hours each day fell in love with her! Vickie developed a very real connection with the 6 kids that she worked with… as did Amy with her 5 middle school aged teens. Vickie and Amy taught the kids a couple of fun songs about missions and Africa that they sang for us during the morning’s session.

The challenge I gave this morning was from Nehemiah 6:3… ‘you are carrying on a great project, do not come down!’ During the late morning session, Amy shared her heart regarding some thoughts on the cross (When did He know the full weight that He was to carry?; Jesus was forsaken by God – Ps. 22:1 – God promises to us that He will never leave us nor forsake us, but Jesus did not receive this promise – rather, it was the Lord’s will to crush Him – Is. 53:10) and then we shared communion together around the table. Our time concluded by Josh and Teresa leading us in the song ‘How Great is our God’. Our worship experience (thru song, word and communion) was very sweet this morning. As a church back at CHAC, if you could have observed the team in action here in Mali, you would have been very proud – I know I sure was. I believe our prayers were answered in that God used us to bring renewal and refreshment to the missionaries and their families… so thanks for praying!

Needless to say, there were many hugs (and tears) as we said good bye. But we know that though we are 1000’s of miles apart, we are one in the Spirit and we are working together to build God’s church all over the world.

After lunch we packed up the van and made the 3 hour drive (it took us 4 hours since we drove thru driving rain most of the way – it is rainy season here) to the capital city of Bamako with Bob Braafhart serving as our chauffeur. Bob took us to a fun little Italian restaurant for supper – we had pizza and then splurged a bit with some fun desserts.

We are staying at the guest house here in Bamako for the night. Tomorrow morning we’ll be visiting a prison and the Rahab House which ministers to prostitutes. We’ll have lunch at one of the missionaries houses here in Bamako and then head to the Artisan / Market area in the afternoon. After packing our suitcases we’ll head to the airport at midnight in order to catch our flight out of Mali at 3:30A. In case I’m not able to update the blog again, our scheduled arrival into the Des Moines airport is 9:30P on Sunday evening. Prayers for sleep on the plane, transfer connections and for all our luggage to make it are appreciated.

Thanks again to all that have blessed us on this trip thru your financial and prayer support; and also thru your comments on the blog. We truly feel like we are part of a much bigger team of people… a body of Christ that is together attempting to bring back the King.

Together for Him,

Pastor Cory

It’s Thursday night and our last full day of conference in over. It was another full but good day. Tomorrow morning there will be 2 sessions – I will be speaking at one of them and Amy at the other. Josh and Teresa will lead worship. Vickie and Neisha will care for the little ones, and Amy the teens (when she is not speaking). We would appreciate your prayers for us that we will be able to finish strong and make the last morning count… for His glory. One interesting thing about the day is that Josh decided to go for a run late in the morning and came back quite dehydrated. He gave us a scare for about an hour, but is now doing fine.

After finishing up with the conference here in Segou tomorrow at noon, we will then be heading back to the capital city of Bamako with Bob Braafhart where we will spend Friday night at the mission guest house. On Saturday, we will have opportunity to witness some of the ministry that is taking place there in Bamako in the prisons and with the prostitutes – via a place called Rahab Ministries. We will also be going to the Artison which is a place to shop for Malian items / souvenirs.

We have a ‘Newton team meeting’ each evening – to share, laugh, sing, hear a devotional and pray. Tonight we invited the Wrights and Braafharts to join us. We had a great time together. We have come to greatly appreciate their obedience to God’s call on their lives. They say ‘hi’ to everybody back in Newton (Shirley, Bev says ‘hi’).

The Mali Team (Pastor Cory & Amy, Josh & Teresa W., Neisha H. and Vickie J.)

Greetings from the Mali team. It’s been another long day… but good day. Neisha, Vickie and Amy put in another 6 hours plus of caring for the missionaries children; Josh and Teresa continue to provide leadership in worship, resulting in some pretty cool times of lifting up the name of Jesus – the Mali missionaries love to sing and have great voices; and I had opportunity to do a 1 hour ‘Love and Respect’ seminar this afternoon, which was a lot of fun. In the morning sessions, I have been preaching from the book of Nehemiah… May we have hearts that care (Tuesday); external opposition (today); internal opposition (Thursday) and stay on the wall (Friday). Your prayers for miracles to happen in the lives that we are ministering to through His Word, worship and times of interaction are appreciated. Thank you.

We continue to be amazed at the stories we hear from those that God has called to serve Him full time as missionaries here in Mali. Romans 10:15 tells us: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.’ These missionaries truly have ‘beautiful feet’. God has called all of us to have ‘beautiful feet’ – to be a part of taking the Good News of Jesus to those around us so that others might hear, believe, and call on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:10-15).

We had the privilege of visiting a place where they make ‘mud cloth’ this afternoon. Via tree leaves and tree bark mixed in water… they are able to turn white, woven fabric into many colors… it was fun to learn about this unique process.

The Mali Team (Pastor Cory and Amy, Josh and Teresa Wermager, Vickie Jackson and Neisha Horn)

Tuesday 9-9

It’s Tuesday evening here in Mali. Here is a brief summary of our day. Breakfast at 7:30A. Morning session at 8:30A – Wermager’s leading in worship and Pastor Cory speaking. Break is at 10A. 10:30A is session 2 – Missionary reports and testimonies given. Lunch is at noon. 3:30P is session 3. Wermager’s leading in worship; testimonies; continuing education seminar; etc… Supper is at 6:30P. Family fun and games is at 7:30P. CHAC team meeting at 9:00P.

Neisha (prek); Vicky (el ed) and Amy (teens) are responsible for the children in their age group for all 3 sessions – which amounts to 5 hours a day. They are learning some fun songs, doing some pretty cool crafts, and having some great Bible based discussions. Neisha, Vicki and Amy are doing a GREAT job of ministering to these children! The missionaries have really entered into our times of worship led by Josh and Teresa. It is a joy for them to be able to sing familiar songs… in English. Overall, things are going very well.

As a team, we have greatly enjoyed our times of interaction with the missionaries over meals and during our breaks. They have some amazing stories and life journeys to share. Some of the ministries taking place in Mali include:
• Hospital for women and children… 50-80 women are seen each day. Supplies for this hospital have been donated and shipped over from individuals and C&MA churches from all across America. Care is given to the Malians at a very affordable price… no one is turned away. The ladies start lining up at 6:00A (no appointments are set up – it’s first come, first serve). At 7:30A the hospital chaplain (a Malian) gives a devotional. Doors open at 8A. Some of the missionary staff (Dr. Dan, Nurse Jessica, Nurse Sherry) are putting in many long hours in this effort to save lives… both physically and spiritually. The hospital was opened in the fall of 06 and since that time 1000’s of patients have been seen and at least 17 individuals have given their lives to Christ. The hospital staff consists of approximately 60 workers, almost all of whom are Malian. The goal of the U.S. missionary staff is to train up Malians to take their place… working themselves out of a job.
• New buildings are going up at the Koutiala hospital under the direction of Bob Braafhart. A pediatrician building will be opening soon… upon the arrival of a pediatrician missionary doctor. A warehouse is under construction… along with a morgue.
• Prostitute and Prison work is being done in the capital city of Bamako. Nearly 100 ladies have had opportunity to hear of Jesus thru a ministry reaching out to the prostitutes and 100’s have experienced the hands and feet of Jesus thru practical jail ministry.
• Ministry to the upper class and university students is taking place in Bamako (upper class Malians is nothing like the upper class in the U.S.). This is a newer ministry.
• Unreached people groups are being reached. The Howards have served among the Bozo tribes for years… with their first converts coming to Christ in the last couple of years. Other people groups are targeted as well.
• Radio ministry – one of Tim Wrights specialties and passions. I can’t remember the exact specifics, but 1000’s have access to Christian radio. There are reports of people coming to Christ via this ministry.
• New work in the city of Segou is being planned. Segou is a city of 130,000 people with no C&MA influence and very little Christian presence.
• Youth / soccer camps in Koutiala. Ed, who is a newer missionary to the field, is working towards the development of this ministry.
• Work groups from the U.S. are hosted by the mission… one of Becky Braafhart’s many responsibilities.
• Bethel Bible Seminary in Koutiala has trained 100’s of young men to be pastors here in Mali. There vision is to train up at pastor for each of the 703 villages that exist in their area.

As a result of these ministries and others among the C&MA here in Mali…
• There are over 27,000 baptized believers that are a part of the C&MA
• There are over 76,000 believers are are a part of the C&MA
• There are 277 ordained pastors serving with the C&MA
• There are another 223 pastors (not ordained) serving with the C&MA (makes for a total of 500 C&MA pastors in Mali)
• There are 523 C&MA churches in Mali.
• 1947 people came to Christ thru C&MA ministries in Mali in 2007.

As you can see, God is on the move. It has been an incredible experience for all 6 of us on the team to be here and to experience just a flavor of what our God is doing all over the world. The church of Jesus Christ is a victorious, worldwide movement that cannot and will not be stopped. When we have our evening team meetings, we are in awe of God’s greatness and also at the sacrifice that these missionaries have chosen to make in an attempt to advance God’s Kingdom.

Once again we thank you for your prayers and support. We love you all and look forward to being home in 5 days (we fly into Des Moines late Sunday night).

The Mali team

First couple of days

It’s Monday evening here in Mali. We had the wonderful opportunity to spend the weekend in Koutiala with the Wrights and Braafharts… getting just a taste of their reality. While there, we walked through the market where there are literally 100’s of stands where people sell vegetables, fruit, fabric, flip flops, charcoal, wood, etc… It was very crowded. On Sunday morning we attended one of the C&MA churches. Pastor Cory had the opportunity to preach, while Tim Wright interpreted. On Sunday evening, we had a Malian meal at Bethel Seminary with some of the professors. It was a heartwarming and moving experience. Their passion is to train up godly men to become pastors in order to take the gospel message into the 100’s and 100’s of villages. There is a GREAT need of Jesus here in Mali.

Today, Monday, we traveled 2 hours northwest to Segou where the conference is being held. The 1st session took place this afternoon. There are approximately 50 people (including 15 kids). It is an honor for us to be here with them… in an attempt to encourage and bless them. Your continued prayers for us are appreciated.

By the way, in case you didn’t know… it is very HOT here in Mali… as the humidity is very high.

The Mali Team (Pastor Cory & Amy, Josh and Teresa Wermager, Vickie Jackson and Neisha Horn)

Day 1 in Mali

It’s been another long day, but good day. After arriving at the C&MA guest house at 4:00A early Friday morning… we crashed for about 5 hours until 9:00A. After brunch with Tim and Bev Wright, we loaded up in the mission’s vehicle (with all our luggage) and began the 5 hour drive from Bamako to Koutiala… which included a great conversation with Tim and Bev.

What precious people we have seen here in Mali along the way. Many thatch homes and huts; small fruit, meat, etc… stands along the road; bicycles and mopeds on the roads; goats and donkeys can be seen at anytime along the road or at times walking across the road. After arriving here in Koutiala, we had dinner at Bob and Becky Braafhart’s home. It has been fun to visit with our dear friends – the Wrights and Braafharts – and to hear of their joys and passions in ministry. All of the team says ‘Hi’ and ‘Thank you for praying!’

Arrival in Mali

We boarded the plane in Des Moines, IA at 11:30A on Wednesday morning and arrived here in Mali at 11:00P (Iowa time) on Thursday evening after 4 plane rides. We are all doing well… a bit tired from the journey… it’s 4:00A Mali time. We are at the guest house in Bamako with Tim and Bev Wright who picked us up from the airport. Praise the Lord for a safe trip and that all of our bags made it also. Thanks for your prayers.

The Mali Team (Pastor Cory, Amy, Josh, Teresa, Neisha, Vickie)