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Mali Trip: Brothers

Bear Yarbrough — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:14:00 GMT

After lunch, a bunch of us younger people piled onto the back of the motocart and headed out to a local Senoufo village to do an evangelistic meeting. To get an idea of what a motocart looks like, picture the outcome if a Chevy S-10 truck mated with a...(read more)

Mali Trip: African Attack Lizard

Bear Yarbrough — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:27:00 GMT

So apparently Africa has attack lizards! As I was walking around with Tom to make a list of items the team would need to bring from the States, we walked outside to look at the generator room and tool room. I was standing just outside, enjoying the sun...(read more)

Mali Trip: Why Do You Refuse To Go?!

Bear Yarbrough — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:22:00 GMT

So, I’m still sitting under the tree with Douda and Salifou as I read and tend to my bloody blisters. I read in The Shack, “Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown.” Why is it that my generation seems apathetic...(read more)

Mali Trip: There is No Miscommunication in the New Heaven and New Earth

Bear Yarbrough — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:13:00 GMT

“Life takes a bit of time and a lot of relationship.” – The Shack by William Young In regards to discovering the landscape of my heart: “I often find that getting head issues out of the way first makes the heart stuff easier to work on later… when you...(read more)

Mali Trip: Deadly Vipers; Living Grace (continued)

Bear Yarbrough — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 22:15:00 GMT

After the deadly viper was extinguished, Douda proclaimed (as if the snake didn’t even phase him), “We finish!” We then set out on a vocabulary hunt. We would stop randomly, walk into a field and Douda would point at an object (plant, cow, plow, creek...(read more)

Mali Trip: Deadly Vipers; Living Grace

Bear Yarbrough — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:10:00 GMT

This morning I woke up to a bowl of cinnamon apple porridge and instant coffee (I will certainly have to find a way to do drip, brewed coffee here!). Douda and one of the Salifous (two young men who I have grown close too. They are the ones that took...(read more)

Mali Trip: Deep Simplicity

Bear Yarbrough — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:49:00 GMT

Today was relaxing and restful. I spent most of the day reading, laboriously, through Segu. I never read fiction and this confirms why, but the cultural aspects of Segu are invaluable. It has explained so much, just in the short time I have been in Mali...(read more)

Mali Trip: Begin With The End In Mind

Bear Yarbrough — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:01:00 GMT

This morning is an overcast "cooler" day, so Laura was able to use the oven and make walnut cinnamon muffins from scratch. Everything becomes harder here, like when you can use the oven and not be driven out of the kitchen by the overwhelming...(read more)

Mali Trip: Basketball and Blood

Bear Yarbrough — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:59:00 GMT

Mondays are market day. The once secluded street, open and free to cars, is transformed into a bustling, busy, crowded path with odors and experiences, most of which are not pleasant to the senses. There are a variety of goods to buy from NFL jerseys...(read more)

Mali Trip: Brothers and Traditions

Bear Yarbrough — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:28:00 GMT

What a time of praise! In at least 3 if not 5 different languages! It is Sunday, so we made our way to the little church building with kids joining us along the way to hold our hands. At church, they had me pray for the offering, which this group gave...(read more)

Mali Trip: Village of Relationships

Bear Yarbrough — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:24:00 GMT

This morning Tom, Mamado. Douda, and I loaded up in Tom's 4 wheel drive and headed for the villages. A 4 wheel drive vehicle is essential for Mali during rainy season. The "roads" become little lakes and are impassable sometimes even with...(read more)

Mali Trip: Sweat

Bear Yarbrough — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:43:00 GMT

"The heat (is) like a hot bandage clamped over one's mouth." - Segu by Maryse Conde The constant smell of my own sweat pierces my nostrils until Laura bakes zucchini bread or oatmeal raisin muffins or curry chicken or another fantastic meal;...(read more)

Mali Trip: Translation, Tattoos, and Grenades (cont.)

Bear Yarbrough — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:15:00 GMT

As I sat with Mamado, he told me a story about the French occupation. He said that the Bobos were a people who did not fear death. As a result, the french would throw a grenade among a group of attacking Bobos and the Bobos would pick it up, gather around...(read more)

Mali Trip: Translation, Tattoos, and Grenades

Bear Yarbrough — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:26:00 GMT

This morning I was talking with Mamado and Tom about the Senoufo. We are going to take a few trips out to the villages on Saturday. The 2 villages that have nothing of the Bible or Gospel, from our conversation the other day, are inaccessible by car....(read more)

Mali Trip: Only One

Bear Yarbrough — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:24:00 GMT

Today we left the guest house in Bamako and took the long, bumpy, wet day drive to the bush. Everything here has a thin veneer of red dust that when exposed to moisture, creates a sloppy red stain. They measure the roads here by what gear you are able...(read more)