Now there are those things that occur on a daily basis: The alarm clock goes off at 5:45, Steve typically drives the kids to school at 6:50, I pick them up at 2:15. I make sure homework and chores get done in the afternoon, dinner is served, and conversation is had. Hopefully some fun and games works their way in at some point. Family devotions take place in the evening, and then boys head off to bed. Basically, pretty normal stuff.
But then of course there are lots of people, culture, and ministry-related things as well on any given day. Take this last week, for example. Listed below are some of the things that I, or Steve, or both of us together remember doing, in no particular order:
-Spend a morning working on the book project with Lisa, and then follow up with several phone calls and a meeting with a pastor
-Pass a few hours with a pastor friend who had a very sick son. Finances and practical medical advice was given, as well as time spent in prayer
-Attend Sunday service at the church of a friend in the morning. Friend spends the rest of the afternoon at our place
-Finish and send an article to Avant's home office, to be included in their next magazine
-Give car advice to a few people needing to buy a vehicle (Steve here!)
-Prepare for teaching the youth group. Teach at said youth group
-Take someone to the airport
-Attend a meeting between a spokesperson for a US church and a center for women with HIV, acting as translator and "on the ground" go-between
-Spend some time with a pastor heavily involved in university ministry in Bamako: a good peer relationship with lots of mutual encouragement!
-Give a couple of hair cuts (Becky, here!)
-Work on all the paperwork surrounding purchasing a vehicle for a new family currently raising support to work with us
-Attend a meeting to discuss some of the last details for the men involved in radio station repairs and installations
-Teach at Tuesday night English class
-Visits, visits, visits! Many other pastors and friends stop by throughout the week.
-Have several conversations about some difficult issues currently going on within the Church. Much wisdom and prayer needed!
-Prepare meals for sick teammates
-Becky spend the night with said sick teammates, taking care of their baby so they could get a good night's rest
-BCA approvals and decisions by email and phone
-Host some meals for the radio guys when they are working on our side of town
-Help a pastor's son figure out how to apply to a university in Canada
-Check up on how the Women of Hope broadcasts are coming along, and then communicate with missionary in Canada who is working from that end
-Teach one science class at BCA, and daily work in the library when the boys get picked up
-Emails, Emails, Emails!
-Lead team prayer time
-Take our teammates' kids for the weekend so they can have a special anniversary weekend
-Start this blog (and not finish it for several weeks!)
Honestly, sometimes we struggle with the fact that we are the team leaders, and we don't get as much opportunity for "real" ministry as we would like. Sometimes our lives seem rather boring and uninfluential. And yet, we are doing what we love and are called to do: encouraging and challenging others, helping out wherever we can so that others can do what they are called to do. We love the Malian Church, and we love our team. Please pray for us as we work with both, that God would give us what we need, with the ultimate desire to further the Gospel and His kingdom here in Mali.
