Immeasurably More (by Amanda)

Sometimes I sit in the brief quiet of the morning and just try to take it all in. I think, “Wow! I’m in Africa!” Then I begin to hear all the things around me: kids playing, animals talking, and the cars on the street near us. As I listened to the sounds this Sunday morning it hit me again: “Wow! I’m in Africa!” Did I ever think this is where I would be? I could tell you “no” ten times over; never did I think I would be here. As I think these things I am reminded of a Steven Curtis Chapman song that was popular when I was in high school. It’s called “The Great Adventure”. It talks about how living our life in Christ is the great adventure, how you never know what is around the next bend. As I sat in church a few Sundays ago I recall thinking that this is my great adventure. The worship crossed the language barrier and brought me to the throne of God. This Sunday morning, as I look forward to going to church, I am reminded of the verse that says “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Ephesians 3:20. So Christ is working in me and though I still search for my place here in Africa and ask you to pray for me as I look, I hold firm to the knowledge that it is more than I have ever dreamed.

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Happy Thanksgiving! (by Thom)

Happy Thanksgiving! Although the holiday doesn't exist in Mali, the other missionaries and us celebrated today with a (scrawny) turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes and the works. It was a neat time of fellowship and, keeping with many Americans' tradition, we all shared what we're thankful for. I personally am grateful for the many changes in our lives this year which culminated with our arrive in Bamako, Mali. The Lord has been gracious and abundant in our lives! Amanda shared how thankful for the strength of the Lord to be able to go shopping in the African markets and to drive here on the busy streets. She didn't think she'd be able to do those things at first, but she's doing quite well at them now.
It was a slightly unusual Thanksgiving dinner we had: of the 13 people, only 4 were Americans. We also celebrated with 4 Dutch, a couple from Costa Rica and Chile (and their 2 children), and a woman from Nicaragua. Everybody spoke some French and most, but not all, spoke English. There's something strange about celebrating Thanksgiving while speaking French! We were definitely all thankful for the strong bonds of friendship and fellowship we enjoy in the body of Christ, which crosses all language barriers.
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and with the upcoming Christmas season (which also doesn't exist here) we'll be sure to keep you updated on our lives in Mali.

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Praises and Prayers (by Thom)

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about being very busy and at times feeling overwhelmed. I'm thankful to say the Lord provided a time of refreshment through the chaos. We had our prayer conference last week and as a whole team gathered in Bamako. We had a very good speaker from Florida who challenged us and encouraged us. After the prayer conference, Amanda and I had the opportunity to get out of the 'big city' and go to Koutiala. It's in Koutiala we're building a hospital for women and children. It's very encouraging to see people working towards this goal. At this moment, there are some work teams from the US building cabinets, finishing electrical things, and pitching in where ever they can. We spent an evening of prayer together and it was such an uplifting time.
At the same time, we'd like to pass on a few requests:
First, my foot, which I badly injured last December, has been bothering me off-and-on. There is a constant feeling of discomfort.
Second, language studies some easier to some people than others. I don't find it too simple, and Bambara uses a completely different sentence structure.
Thirdly, high speed internet is coming to our place in Bamako but with the hurricanes in the US, the equipment has been very slow getting here to Mali. It finally arrived this week and will be installed promptly. Pray that this will come to fruition. Having this will allow us to talk with family more often and stay more in touch with everyone, so we're very excited about the opportunity.
Thank you for caring about us.

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Finally, Pictures! (by Thom)

People have asked us so many times since we arrived to see pictures of Bamako and Mali. Unfortunately, because of our poor internet connection we have been unable to do anything about it. This week, though, Amanda and I have had access to high-speed internet and I've put pictures on our picture page! If you want to see a taste of what we see, click here.

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