Sunday, March 4, 2012

More thoughts from the Team


We had a remarkable Sunday at the Bethel Seminary Services.   I was pleased to once again send warm greetings from Pastor Mark, the staff and the congregations of believers at Christ Community Church to our brothers and sisters in Christ at the Bethel Seminary Church.  This was at 9am in Koutiala.  I reminded them that in about 6 hours their own Seminary Director, Daniel Dialio, would be bringing their greetings to our church in Omaha.  The ramifications of this exchange in the Kingdom of God here on Earth, and the Global Impact that CCC is having, goes on and on. 

We received an impressive tour of the seminary and the progress being made there to improve living and academic conditions for the students.  The team went back to the hospital where Ed Bonvillian 'tapped' us for a unit of blood each.  Then we went to Dan and Marcy Nesselroad's home for a wonderful brunch.  Continue to watch for photos and videos of these topics in the days to come when a faster WiFi becomes available. 

We are packing up for the long trip home.  You can check on our progress by going to the "Locator Tab."  Pray for safety and good connections.

 - Vaughan Wenzel


The church service at Bethel (the 3-year Seminary sponsored our church) was awesome!  They first had several songs that praised the Lord. The music sounds so beautiful!  The church has no AC, but has tons of fans.  It was so hot & the fans never got turned on!  I'm thinking the Malians are so used to the heat & it's not hot to them, but it's hot to us!  The service was about the importance of prayer and how God answers our prayers.  One person speaks in French and another person will translate into Bombara, then someone sitting next to us translated it into English for us.  The service was powerful and inspiring.  

Please pray for us as we are packing our bags and heading home.  Pray for a safe arrival.  Also pray for the Koutiala Hospital staff as they work so hard and have such a loving heart!  I know this trip will stay close to my heart.  I hope I will visit Mali again.

 - Elosia Robinson


The power of actions
Throughout the whole trip I have been constantly reminded of the power of actions. Actions truly do speak louder than words.  I was able to show and express God's love to the people of Mali without saying a word.  It was amazing how God could use bubbles.  Just start blowing bubbles and the crowds will come.   The curiosity gets the best of them and even shy kids start to break out of their shell and trust a complete stranger.  From there it turned into dancing the Hokey Pokey, African dancing, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, and giving out high fives.  The kids' smiles and laughs will be forever in my memories.  They were so excited to have an adult play with them.  When I went to leave to go to another spot the kids all started following me clapping their hands, so we did "The Train" while clapping through the village.  We grabbed the attention of many.  I then noticed the mothers watching us and the smiles they had while watching us interact.  Through all the smiles I knew that they understood we truly cared for them and they could feel God's love.  Through it all though, the kids have touched me with the trust they had by following me, walking up and grabbing my hand while I was walking, to sitting on my lap.  All of this occurred without saying a word.  I truly believe the best way to start leading people to Christ is through our actions.

 - Kristin Corey

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