"A man's heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9

Dear Family and Friends,

    I planned on living in Mali, Africa for eleven months but in a surprising turn of events the Lord released me five months early.

What happened in Mali? The good, the bad, and the ugly. Mostly the good though. The Lord solidified my missionary calling in Mali. I know that my future holds full time mission's work. I also know that I will return to Mali, God reassured me of that. I absolutely fell in love with the people and the culture of Mali, Africa. God has given me a burden for the people there. Thank you my sponsors and prayer warriors for making that possible.

The bad, is in many ways I felt ill equipped for the challenges there. I know now that I would like to finish my education and get my degree before returning. I hope to study sign language, missions(cultural studies), and possibly a get secondary teaching degree in mathematics or foreign language. I also hope to continue learning guitar and now French. This would open many opportunities on the mission field.

The ugly, is because I would hate to disappoint people that I both respect and love. I also do not want to appear in anyway ungrateful for this wonderful opportunity I have been given. I wanted to please both my sponsors and the missionaries that I served under. However, I knew God was telling me that I was being released from my term in Mali. I want always to be a God pleaser first, so I came home knowing that many people may not understand or condone my decision.

Mostly, I am grateful for this life shaping opportunity to have been able to serve our Lord. Thank you again so much for your prayers and support. The deaf school, Caritas, Kalabankora School, the orphanage, the church and it's worship team, and the countless Malians who I met have touched my life forever. I feel truly blessed. I am not the same person.


The Caritas girls and I on my last day!



The cook at Caritas, she has always been good to me...



James, Gloria, and I at our church for a wedding...



The deaf school principal, a deaf teacher, and I at my last time at the deaf school...



A friend from church and I on my last Sunday...



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On my last Sunday at church I played a special with Chelsea...



My deaf students and I...



I returned to Arkansas, on Wednesday night, around 8 pm. I am trying to rest from jet lag, schedule changes, and some reverse culture shock. So I no longer need funding. I am also looking forward to seeing everyone again after I rest a little more. :)

Many thanks and blessings,

Cami Lynn

P.S. I hope to have a video posted about my whole trip next week.

Week 21

Dear Family and Friends,

           This week has been amazing! I have really enjoyed myself. I am doing my usual activities but God is moving. For example, on Tuesday when I went into the deaf school. Someone had broken into the school and  had stolen a lot of money and a digital camera. It was a very stressful situation. The younger kids are gone for the summer but for the older kids are still in session .  They were standing outside the building wondering. I was informed they thought the theft was done by three hearing people.  The deaf students told me that several of the hearing teachers had stolen things before and they hated them. Let me remind you that the school is rather corrupt because it is run by the government . I told them that it is fine to be angry but not worth hating them over.

Well, I wasn't sure how to deal with the situation. People were crying and one of the deaf men brought out a machette. I decided to call, one of the missionaries on our team and she gave me excellent advice which I quickly used. In this culture it is not a sin to steal unless you are caught and then it is a great shame on your family and wrong. The things that were stolen were  in just, one building and they knew exactly which two metal cupboards to break into. It was an inside job done from one of the teachers, students, or the deaf people who hang out at the school. It was very sobering to think that a person would do that to someone else, with such extreme poverty all around.

So I told them about how I was very grieved about what had happened. Not only did it hurt me, but the school, the students in the school, and most of all it hurt the heart of God. God only wanted good things for the school and the deaf students. I also mentioned that even if we may never know who had done this horrible thing, God almighty knows all and sees all and He knows who did this. I feel sorry for the person who did this because they have stepped outside the blessing of God. He can't bless them in what they are doing. They are putting  sin upon sin because they have had to lie about where they got the money. God can't bless them and they stepped out of His protection too. This was wrong. And to step outside the blessing of God is a very scary place to be. I told them that God would only forgive the person if they returned the money. God wanted to forgive them but only if they returned the money.I will pray for the school and that the money is brought back.

Now to most people may believe  the ending might sound harsh, but the reason that it was said is because what happened was an inside job and it was to let them know it was a sin. It was essentially guilting them into giving it back. They believe in the wrath of God and judgment.  I stated this to the students and the teachers. They all agreed and understood, since the little kids aren't there anymore, I could use a larger vocabulary.

Well, later in the week, Balkissa Maiga, a highly respected deaf woman there, texted me. She said that they caught the thief and got the camera back. Although, they didn't get the money back. But what stood out to me the most was when she told me in the text, thank you very much for your prayers. That broke my heart. I was upset about what happened at the school that day but I wasn't distraught over it,but God answered that prayer. God truly knows all and sees all. He keeps giving me unmerited favor with the deaf people here. He answered that prayer for them and for me. He is still the same today as he was during the Bible days, and if you say that God can do anything you need to believe it because it is true.

Please pray for Mali, and for the deaf people here in Mali. They are just as much of an unreached people group of the world as any other group. What about them? They the need  the gospel just like we need it. Look at those beautiful faces in these pictures, without Jesus they have no hope. Please pray that God gives ways and opportunities to share the gospel, and that more workers come to this large field. It sobers me to think that these beautiful faces will go to hell without Jesus. Please pray.  I am not trying to sound depressing but this is urgent, we need to take our command to go and spread the good news seriously. I don't want anyone to go to hell, forever being separated from God's presence!It just makes me want to weep.

Additionally, please keep me in prayer also as I am still trying to learn Bambara. It is such a slow process and it limits my communication in the other ministry activities I do outside of the deaf school. Thank you all for your prayers and support.

                  Love and Blessings,

                                                    Cami Lynn

Week 19-20

Dear Family and Friends,
           I apologize for not writing you last week. These past two weeks I have continued in my usual activities studying Bambara, working at the deaf school, and spending time with the Caritas girls to name a few. Here are some of the pictures you have been asking for...


Mr. Monecata(my Bamara teacher) and I reviewing a conversation. 



The deaf kids and I at the school



As you can see many of the kids try to spell their names while I was trying to take pictures. They have been doing well. The kids are learning more vocabulary all the time and there hasn't been as much fighting over puzzles lately.



This is Kamissa, she is one of the girls from Caritas. Kamissa in fact,  is the girl that the other girls named me after. She is very sweet and young. The baby she is holding is her son. Now that she has finished learning to dye clothing and many other skills at Caritas she has gone back to her village. I will miss her deeply.



In the picture is  Kamissa and her teacher dying some clothing.

Another awesome opportunity I had gotten this last week was to be able to go to a Malian Wedding. I loved it. I wanted to give you a small recap in a 4 min video. :) Here is the link. I tried to upload the video multiple times but experienced many technical difficulties.

 

http://youtu.be/bPzLukpUtSo

All in all the last two weeks have been awesome! They have been very busy but they also have been incredibly wonderful! :) I love and miss you all.  Remember as all our hands are to the plow 1 Corinthians 15:58

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

 Thank you for all your prayers and support!

Love and Blessings,

       Cami Lynn



Week 18

Dear Family and Friends,

 

             This week has been awesome. I apologize for not writing last week, but I did post a video on facebook and youtube about the village trip.  There have been several changes in my schedule. I am taking Bambara classes three days a week now and meeting at a school to do so. I hope to learn enough to where I am explain the gospel message adequately in Bambara. Addtionally, I am going to the deaf school twice a week now. I am dropping the day of the week that I spent at the orphanage and I am going to be at Caritas Ministry several days of the week. I am also part of the praise and worship team at our home church and I meet with them on Thursdays and Saturdays. Teaching English at the schools and teaching the missionary kids has ended because the school year has  ended.

Some of the girls at Caritas and me. :)



 

The most eventful thing that has been happening lately for me has been working at the deaf school. Last week, we went to the park with the deaf students. We had about 100 deaf kindergarten and first graders. It was an experience. The kids were so cute.  We were planning on going ot the zoo that day and it was closed so we went ot this beautiful garden park with them. It was an interesting experience to say the least. There was a small play ground area there and the children began playing. However, if you didn't watch them they would get into fist fights over the swings and springy toys. Literally, they could throw some good punches at a young age.  The teachers and I had to supervise them on the toys. I watched them on the springy toys. We made a line and I had a count down for 10 seconds before the next child's turn. It was enough time for the kid to have fun and keep the line moving. I had to keep a special eye on the boys because they kept cutting each other in line and hitting.

 

The reason I am telling you this is not to paint a bad picture of the deaf children in Mali, but because God taught me a lesson in all of it. God began showing me what it means to lay down my rights. Now it doesn't mean that you are going to make yourself a door mat. However, if someone cuts you in line or inconveniences you, or you know that you were wronged that you don't have to get into a fist fight about it(figuretively speaking). God has been reminding me that Jesus laid down his rights for me, when He went to the cross. He has the right to have a fit. The perfect lamb that was slain for the sins of others. So if I am minorly inconvenienced by what someone else is doing does it truly matter? Dying to myself daily has been a conscious thing. A very hard conscious thing on most days. There are things in life that aren't fair that I don't want to do, but in 20 years will that minor thing truly matter? Instead that thing will become a character building experience.

 

Well, after playing at the park for a while, we ate then left. The kids at the school can't speak but they have their own loud personalities. I feel truly blessed to be here and I love what I am doing at that school. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of the deaf students with me because I forgot my camera that day. But hopefully I will get some good pictures of them before the next blog. Thank you for your prayers and support.

                                 

  Love and Blessings,

                                                                  Cami Lynn

 

Village Trip Video

We had an awesome time!!! :)

Week 16

Dear Family and Friends,

     It has been another awesome week with a lot of activity! The most exciting thing, this week was that we got to paint the inside of a church, in a village. In America we view a church as just a building where believers get together and praise God. In Mali it is different. People here value Mosques so they will mock Christians if they don't have a building. A church  gives privacy to the people of the church to worship God without ridicule.The people who worship without a church are open for the public to see. Having a church also shows the Muslim people in the community that God provides for Christians.

Painting was a very entailed task. First, we swept and cleaned  the church. As we were in the process of painting  we found a gecko. Next as some of the people were lifting boxes, a rat comes crawling out and runs around the building. We didn't have any tall ladders and had only two smaller ones, the church has a very high ceiling. So we put two tables right next to each other and put a pew on that. It was a rather fascinating balancing act.

My favorite part of this whole painting business was the multitude of kids looking in the windows of the church! As they learned our names, they kept calling them out. As I was painting I kept hearing "Kamissa". I got a kick out of it. After painting for a while we all took a break. I stood by a group of kids and they helped me scrape the paint off my hands and took the paint specks out of my hair. They were so sweet.

The reason I am sharing this is because God encouraged me through it. I think of it as symbolic. I picture the church being like us. As we begin to clean ourselves and straighten up we find things we don't expect.  We  find we can't do it on our own. God is the only one who can clean us up. It says in His Word that our attempts at righteousness are like filthy rags. Well, we find things we don't expect. Not things that can't be handled. Now when I discovered that gecko I jumped like crazy. However, I am much bigger than that thing. It says in God's Word we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us. God doesn't give us more than we can take, with His help.

Additionally, God sends people into our lives that are cheering us on. They encourage us in Christ. The thing that stood out to me the most however, was that God also sends  people to help us clean up . Those are the people that when you are tired and drained, go along  beside you and encourage you . They scrape the paint off  of you, or just sit next to you hold your hand and smile.

I just feel truly blessed to be here and have this privilege. I have enjoyed this week. Please keep me in prayer I am a little sick right now. I plan on resting this weekend, please pray that I am fully recovered and ready to go on Monday,.

                           Love and Blessings,
                                                                          Cami Lynn

Week 14-15

Dear Family and Friends, 

 I haven't forgotten about blogging....honest:). This last weekend I went to two different villages from Thursday until  Monday. A team from SAGU (Southern Assembly of God University) came and we have been teaming up with them. I loved it! It was so fun! 

 We camped out outside,under the stars with our mosquito netting. That was fun until one night it rained and we sprinted into the church. We also took bucket baths and used the bathroom in a cockroach infested hole. We participated in  children's ministry during the day and at night we showed a film in Bambara, about Jesus. I loved the villages, however I had some hard times as well. On Friday it was 120 degrees out and I was playing with the children and almost had a heat stroke. It wasn't pretty. The rest of the weekend I had sit in the shade and watch the rest  of the team play with the kids . It was at first very frustrating. Here, you have to be careful with your health because something that could take two days to get over at home, can take weeks here if you aren't careful. Additionally, you never want to go to a hospital here, even the Malians are afraid to go to one.

 The best the about the village trip was when we visited another village where we showed the film about Jesus. That village hadn't been reached for the gospel. They didn't know about the Lord. So there was a lot of anticipation and prayer that night. We actually had many difficulties that night. First we accidentally, left the film in the other village and so the pastor and the missionaries had to drive back, to get it. It took 45 minutes to get there and back. SO we made the worship time last 45 minutes.  Additionally, we had a bug problem. It was so frustrating. They were going down our shirt, in our hair, our skirts, everywhere....ugh. We hadn't ever had a problem like that before. Finally,we began to get rain drops.

 The night before we were suppose to show the film in another village that hadn't been reached for the gospel yet either but the village chief didn't allow us to. There seemed to be many things working against us.We got into a group and started praying.God answered and prevented the rain from coming. The film was great, people responded and this village chief asked us to come to his home and have dinner with him. It was awesome. I am in awe of how God opens doors. The missionaries said what an amazing opportunity we had been given there.

 On Monday, was my 21 birthday. I am getting old. :)  I woke up in the village and ate some nasty millet stuff. Then once we got back into Bamako we went to Ryan's( a restaurant) and out for ice cream. Then that night my group threw me a Birthday Party, too fun. They are so good to me. I feel truly blessed for what God is doing in my life.

 This last week we went to a funeral of a 22 year old Malian girl who died unexpectedly. It made me realize more that life is so short. It says in God's word that our life is like grass, but God's Word will stand forever. Life is short but with God we can make a difference. It doesn't matter if I am ever remembered, but  God and His Word will be and that will impact generations to come.

 The rest of this week, we have been leaving at  7:00 a.m., to go to the private schools in Bamako.We are giving out The Book of Hope. It essentially is a book about the creation story and Jesus. The reason that we are able to give it out in schools is because the Muslims that run the school say it teaches them how to become good citizens. For example, do not lie or steal, they say are universal principles. So we go into each classroom, share our testimonies, and give students these books. Now when we share our testimonies, we can't say God or Jesus but we can say 'The man from the book.' It is such an incredible opportunity to do this. I really love it. 

  At night, we have been going into the neighborhoods passing out books and showing the Creation/ Jesus film. It is great to interact with the people and do this. I really love it. Now since we watch the film after dark we aren't getting home till around 11:00 p.m. Please keep us in prayer because we aren't getting much sleep. God keeps opening doors, pray that when we get sleep and feel rested the next day. 

 All my usually activities are on hold now. But once the SAGU team leaves we will be back on regular schedules. I am so excited about what God is doing here.I miss you and love you all.

Blessings,

                            Cami Lynn