Mali 2006 My heart was full of insecurity as the plane rose through the tinted morning clouds above the Vancouver airport. Yes - I was excited at the opportunity of learning more about Christian community development, a passion of mine since I was a young hippie artist in the 60's. But now as the plane leveled off in the clear blue of the higher altitude, the question I had for myself was this: what would a person like me be able to offer on a discovery tour? I had no real experience in development work, having only become a CRWRC champion for my church the year before. As well, I tend to tote an artistic temperament everywhere I go. (I?m sensitive to the beauty and meaning in all people, but I can also get overly excited, vague and forgetful too.) Worries that my 57 year old body would not handle some of the rigors of travel ahead of me rounded off my list of concerns. Would I be able to handle the physical challenges ahead or be of encouragement to others on this trip? I began to pray and then the song, "I Lift Your Name on High" came to my mind. I took a deep breath and relaxed my mind. By the time I deplaned in Edmonton, I was feeling much better. Then later, while sitting in the departure lounge for Hamilton, I heard someone call my name. It was a young man from my church. He was on his way to visit his father in Hamilton and had the seat right behind me! I was so glad to see him and saw this as a sign that God was here for me and that all would go well. I didn?t have to worry. I would just be myself.  The time I spent in Mali was inspirational on so many levels. God's protection was obvious from the first day that Margaret, Dennis, Henrietta and I set out to spend time in local villages. Winston Bosch, a CRWRC program consultant in Mali, was our gracious driver ? and fortunately a good one. Thanks to his good skills behind the wheel, and an abundance of heavenly grace, Winston managed to keep our truck from rolling - even when a rear wheel became completely detached and went rolling up the road ahead of us! When the people of Boura heard the sound of our replacement vehicle approaching, they rushed out to sing a welcoming song and ushered us into a hut shaped church. It was all too wonderful and I had to struggle with tears of joy that were threatening to overcome me. As the service progressed my eyes kept turning to the hands of an elder sitting next to me who was reading his Bible in the Bambara language. His cracked, gnarled hands lovingly turned the pages as we prayed together.  That day after church, we saw two very effective sustainable development projects. One was a women's micro credit bank. We were fortunate to see the paying back ceremony, of loans taken to start businesses. I will never forget the look of pride and accomplishment, so apparent in the faces of these women, as they repaid their business loan. They were very pleased we were here to see their success and we were all smiles together. Every day we met CRWRC workers and visited or learned about the various sustainable development projects in different parts of Mali. I was particularly moved by the box library projects sponsored by CRWRC’s Mary Crickmore. While we were visiting her Fulani village a young man walked for miles to receive a collection of articles that she had recently compiled. He sat under a tree and began to read. Everywhere we went in Mali we could see that these projects worked as a salt and yeast in this country-bringing more prosperity and a sense of empowerment to so many. We met with many of the missionaries, most of who had been working in their villages for an extended period of time. It was in my interchange with the women who work so hard and at such a personal cost that I could see God's sense of humour. A young wife of a CRWRC development worker had just started a job as an art teacher in a private school. Since my entire career was as an art teacher in a private school, I was able to give her some ideas and some encouragement. Some of the other women had sensitive, artistic temperaments and it was wonderful to fellowship with them. It brought me to tears to be able to see how God can use us even when we are convinced that we have nothing to offer. The tour has changed me in many ways and I am so looking forward to finding ways to sponsor some of the projects I saw through my role as a champion for CRWRC. Back to Stories |
