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