Mali Team Update - Feb 22

by Steve Bakunas

Hi everyone, I hope you all are doing well. It was another good day at the hospital - - Dr. Kris assisted with a few baby deliveries, Elizabeth saw patients all day and is now officially speaking Bambara ....that's the local dialect spoken here for those who don't speak French, and the construction team got as far as we could before catching up with the metal workers again. Our goal is to have the roof completely in place prior to our departure in a few days but that will depend on whether or not the remaining trusses get fabricated and hung. A couple of our team members know how to weld so one of them, Scott and Bob Braffhart (our host and construction boss), worked from midnight until about 10:00 AM this morning building trusses to help get things caught up - - they're going to give it another go tonight as well.

We started the morning with our daily devotions - Elizabeth, myself and the team absolutely love starting our day out this way. Yesterday, the Pastor asked if I would like to deliver the morning message to the staff and missionaries who attend these devotions - - I told him I'd love to but also wanted to involve another member of the team .....it went well and was a Blessing for both Sonja and myself to have the opportunity. Following devotions the construction team headed to our site to continue with the roof .....unfortunately, our team was down a couple of guys (a few others were drafted for welding activities) so we didn't make as much progress as we wanted -- but hey, I'm sure our progress was exactly what God had intended for us to accomplish !

After dinner this evening we were invited over to the Nessleroades for dessert and a Malian tea ceremony. Drinking tea is like a really, really big deal over here and there is an entire ritual associated with it. The team had a great time and it was a good opportunity for them to hear the complete story of how the hospital came into existence. Dr. Nessleroades and his family have been here since 2005 so he is very familiar with the story as he and his family are a large part of it. We stayed at their place for about two hours, prayed together as a team for them and then headed back to the mission home. We got back home kinda late this evening so there wasn't much time for our nightly round of Pictionary - - but there is always tomorrow ( - : ......we are really having a great time with one another in the evenings while playing this game.

Tomorrow night we've been invited over to the Hanscombs (Craig is the hospital Director) for another authentic Malian meal .....however, this time there will be plates and silverware ......ah man! I'm sure the team will have a great time and it is very thoughtful of the Hanscombs to have us over (remember, there are 12 of us). Well, it looks like its about 11:00 PM so I probably should be getting to bed. Thank you again for all your prayers - - it is truly appreciated.