Return to Mali (by Thom)

To paraphrase the governor of California, "We're back." All four of us arrived back in Bamako, Mali safe, sound, and as sane as can be expected from a 24 hour trip. We actually got back here last Saturday night. We rested the first day back but since then we've been going non-stop. There were many things waiting for me in the office so I've been working quite a bit there and Amanda is still trying to get our house set back in order.
It's funny how many things can change in just 3 months. For the first year we lived at our house in Bamako there was construction all over the neighborhood. Now there seems to be no activity and the house directly across from us has been finished. Hopefully that will mean a lot less punctured tires over the next couple of years (we had 4 or 5 nail-flattened tires in the last year). Also, while we were gone our day guard, who only speaks Bambara, learned how to greet me in French. I can't tell you how honored I feel that he would make this effort. Jeanette, who works in our house, found a baby sitter for her one-year-old girl, Alifahan. Honestly, we were saddened by this because we liked having the extra child around and we wanted Miri and Hannah to play with her. Still, this takes a lot of stress away from Jeanette, so we're happy for her. Among the missionaries, we had one new family arrive while we were gone and 3 others left. Several others will be leaving or moving to other cities soon and by September it will only be us and a single lady to represent the C&MA in Bamako. Also, our field is in a transition between field directors.
One more big change happened right before we returned. Job, the mission's everything-guy (he pays bills, runs errands, and knows contacts for just about everything we do), was in an accident a few days before we returned. He was on his motorcycle when a car cut him off and he was forced down to the ground. He ended up breaking his left forearm in both bones! Job seems ok but he's at home recovering and can't work for at least a month. Please keep the mission in your prayers as we adjust.
It's good to be home!