Photo countdown #3 (by Thom)

In 2005 we arrived in Mali as new missionaries with the C&MA. For Amanda it was her first time in Africa and for me it was the first time taking on the role of bookkeeper. A lot has changed in our lives over the past 4 years, not the least of which is the additions of Miriam and Hannah to our lives. Now, we have only *3* days left in Mali before we return to the United States for furlough and eventually our move to Dakar, Senegal where we'll serve in a more regional capacity. With that in mind, here is a countdown of my eighteen favorite pictures during our time in Mali. 9 pictures of the twins and 9 other pictures. Today is Number 3:

#3 Twin Division:

Honestly, this ranking just kind of depends on the day and my mood. On several days this picture could easily be number 1. The joy in Miri's face and the excitement in Hannah is infectious. We had some Canadian friends here who left the country to return home and we bought the rocking chairs from them. One was broken and missing some parts but after some time we were able to get it repaired. I snapped this picture the day we gave them the chairs and they fell in love with them. The girls were 15 months old in this picture.

#3 Non-twin Division:

In March 2006 we visited Dogon Country with good friends from Dakar, Senegal. One of the big draws of this area is the cliff dwellings. It is completely unique in Mali. The Dogons are also one of the two people group of Mali that are over 3% Evangelical Christian. There are over 200 C&MA churches in Dogon country yet this still remains an area with a lot of opportunity for the Gospel. It was very hard to choose just one picture from Dogon Country.