Week 12

Dear Friends and Family,

        I hope that you enjoyed a Happy Resurrection Day, I know that I did. It has been a busy weekend so instead of writing you a blog I decided to share with you a video of some of the worship service at Bakojikaroni Church this Easter.

Blessings,

                   Cami Lynn

Week 11

Hello friends and family,

       This week has been pretty amazing! I have had a lot of fun. On  Monday, I went to the deaf school. The teacher, a deaf man, and I taught the  4th grade students, some  signs that they didn't know.These signs included the words:flower, elephant, girraffe, envelope, teacher, student, sports player, and others. One of the  strangest things about the school is that the students slap around on each other all the time! Not part of the time but ALL the time. I believe this is the result of how they are disciplined and  how their families get their attention. Sadly, these kids don't know anything else. The students are very sweet  and I am very excited about teaching them. They are eager to learn and the way they learn is through acting things out, like charades. It is a lot of fun. The older students vocabulary did excede my expectations however, when fourth grade students don't know how to express the word envelope, it is rather sad.



I am helping teach English at Kalanbankora school



 On Wednesdays we go to the orphanage and Caritas. God keeps giving me favor with the people there.  As I was changing a baby's diaper and the woman I was working with, got on her knees  and put a toe ring on my toe, just to bless me! It was a gift for no reason. The Caritas girls are teaching me more Bambara words and they invited us all for lunch. The girls told me that next week,they will braid my hair and make me some skirts. It was  really cool. These girls have been through so much yet they are blessing me immensley. I feel truly blessed.




Me reviewing Bambara with the kiddos in the neighborhood. :)





Please pray that I get a better understanding and grasp of the Bambara language.  I often feel like I am not progressing as quickly as I would like. We have Bambara classes on Tuesdays and Fridays, two hours each day.We also practice outside of class. However, I still feel limited in my Bambara. I really have a burning desire to have deeper conversations with the people but still feel like I am hitting a brick wall with learning the language.

We  went to Saegu this weekend, it was wonderful! I loved it! That is why this newsletter is late. We went to a pottery village and  saw how they make mud cloth. It was really fascinating. The time and preparation they put into pottery and mud cloth is amazing. It helped change my view on life. They do this for a living and spend huge amounts of time on each piece. It is very convicting. I have a deep desire to serve God with my life and I still don't take as much time with Him, as these women, men, and children do to make a pot and cloth.

Thank you for all your prayers and support.

Week 10

 

I ne cE,(hello) family and friends it has been an amazing week. I've kept my usual schedule, however, Wednesday evening was different. I was sick that morning ,vomiting, so I missed my usual morning activities but  felt fine the rest of the day .  That evening I decided that I was going  to practice  my Bambara.  I hadn't been able to practice it that morning and we are required to practice a certain number of hours a week. That night I decided to go to some of the neighbors and practice my Bambara with them. The neighbors,the women and children,that I was planning on practicing on  had some men among them.  I knew that I didn't want to get involved with that. **Note, you don't want to ever be with the men if you are a woman. First of all  it is not culturally acceptable. Secondly,if you are white they want to marry you, they will many times not leave you alone. For example, I have been proposed to in the same taxi several times. 

 

So I decided to hang out with the children there.  I reviewed Bambara  with them that night  and I brought my family pictures,  a picture of our chihuahua, and my Bambara phrase book. The kids loved teaching me and seeing the pictures of my family. I realize now more then I did  before, I am learning Bambara not to just  to communicate with people and for  understanding prices, but to eventually tell these children about Jesus' extravagant love for us.

 

Everyone in my family pictures are Christians, my parents, my sister, and my brothers.Tragically those precious babies, who were  oohing and aawing over my pictures, don't share that same amazing gift.  I pray more even now that God produces in me His extravagant love. I desire to be used by my Heavenly Father to share with these people, these lost people His love.

 

 Thank you all for your prayers and support. Please  pray to overcome the spiritual oppressiveness, the tangible heaviness, and spiritual dryness of this area. Pray for the 4 million Malians that live in Bamako. Sadly only 1% know Jesus. That must change!

 

"Abba give us wisdom. God have mercy on us. Please forgive me for my dry faith in You. Please renew in me an unquenchable fire and passion for You. I am nothing without You, give me wisdom on how to share Your love and truth with the Malians. Please allow my life to be a witness of Your glory. Let  Your goodness shines through me. Amen"

Week 9

During my different activities this week I have felt so blessed! When I went to the orphanage on Wednesday and held  babies and changed diapers I feel  blessed and honored to hold God’s babies. He is ultimately their father, and the way they are treated hurts my heart. In many ways I was in shock because there were so many babies , two floors full of babies,  obviously when you have so many they are many things  areneglected. One of the little baby girls there was crying and after picking her up she began hanging onto to me for dear life. She wasn’t a year old. The reason that she hangs on to me so tightly  is because doesn’t want to be put down. As a child of the most high God I want to hang onto Jesus,with the same kind of desire,  I don’t want to be put down.I want to be held in Abba’s arms. That broke my heart because I knew within an hour I would be leaving.She was left there where she is just one of  many babies.  At the orphanage the babies names are written on hospital tags and put on their arms.

Another memory this week was when I was leaving Bamako Christian Academy and trying to get a taxi, I saw  ten kids  running my way. At first, I thought, they were running up the road to play something. I had introduced myself to people in the neighborhood  twice, the women and children. As I am walking these ten kids run to me and yell out “Kamissa, Kamissa (it sounds like the Spanish word camisa)”(which is my official Malian name, the Caritas Girls gave me, my full name now is Kamissa Konate).  SO the kids then began shaking my hand and some of them began holding my hands as we walk down the street . I said hi to their mothers,  and  I left. The kids waved goodbye and called out my name after me. They were so cute. I have to say that was one of those events that made my week. Here I go to a Muslim culture where it is hard to even share the gospel without forming relationships and God is having me find favor with the women and children. God is just so good and He knows what I need. I honestly have been having a hard two weeks. I have been experiencing what is called culture shock.  I haven’t felt  like myself ,but God  sent those kids to do  one simple thing to remind me that even if I don’t see or feel it ,He is still using me to share  His Love.

I love and miss you all, I thank you for your prayers encouragement and support.


My roomate Natali and I... :)