Mali - 2009
Introduction
Although the construction team consisted of seven people this report is mostly from my point of view and not a report of the whole team’s activity. When I heard about a missions trip to Timbuktu was being planned I immediately expressed interest in going because I was fascinated by the idea of going to Timbuktu. I was disappointed when I learned that all positions were taken. Later I found out that another missionary was going to help and now more people could go on the team. I signed up and then sent an E-Mail to Rick and Elaine Caswell, missionaries to Mali in Bamako, asking if I could stop off to see them on my way to Timbuktu. (It should be noted that Rick, with Elaine, served as youth pastor of Fairfax Assembly – now Centerpointe Church – in the 1990s). Their response was a pleasant surprise because it turned out that the “other missionary” was none other than Rick Caswell. I went early and spent three days with them before the rest of the team arrived and we flew to Bamako. It should be noted that one member, Mike Stenberg, went on October 1 and returned at the end of the month. The other team members were Stan & Julie Wagner (leaders), Rick and Karen Porter, and Kevin Quigley. Dan Hubbard from Maryland was expected to go on this trip but had to back out due to a family tragedy. Mali is a French-speaking country but has several local languages representing the various people groups.
Bamako and The Caswells
Bamako is the capital of Mali. It has about 2,000,000 people and Mali has about 12,000,000. My three days with the Caswells was a real blessing. I learned to appreciate their ministry in Mali. Rick is the Assembly of God (A/G) Director of Missions in Mali. He is also the Director of the Bible School in Bamako. They are busy with the Bible School and working with the local A/G Churches in planting new churches.
Elaine works part time at the US Embassy as a nurse. The earnings are used in their benevolence work, for example, helping the poor to get medical treatment that would otherwise be unaffordable. She used her expertise to walk Rick through the birthing process over the telephone as Rick couldn’t get the woman-in-labor and her husband to the hospital through the heavy traffic in time. The husband just about freaked out and Rick had to take over. Thank the Lord for cell phones; Elaine was able to guide him through the process and the baby was born, in the car, without complications.
The Caswell children, Katie (the volleyball player), Keenan (the chess master), and Lydia (the yahtzee expert and part-time keeper of the pets) go to private, English-speaking schools. I believe they are Christian Schools. They are in need of teachers. Pray for the Lord to supply.
I arrived on Tuesday October 6. That week was Spiritual Emphasis Week at the Bible School. The speaker on Wednesday was a pastor whose church was in a building program but in the process had planted four other churches. His message to the students was profound. Rick interpreted for me. He spoke on holiness for God’s people, especially pastors: living what you preach and following the Holy Spirit.
Rick had asked me to speak on Thursday on the “Lordship of Jesus” that I had used in Pointe Noire in the Congo. A brother in the Lord, Pastor Alexis, interpreted for me directly from English into Bambara, the native tongue of many people in Mali. My talk focused on doing the will of the Father, not just saying Lord, Lord. The will of the Father is to proclaim the good news about Jesus for He is in the “Redemption Business” as someone has put it. The Father has given us the Holy Spirit to help us in this work. I cited several personal examples to illustrate my points. Rick said many notes were taken and he thought a good number of sermons would come out of them.
Mopti, On the Way To AND From Timbuktu
To Timbuktu
The team left Bamako on Saturday October 10 via a local airline. The plane was several hours late in departing. That should have told us something. The flight had a scheduled stop in Mopti, roughly halfway to Timbuktu. We landed OK but the pilot was reluctant to depart from Mopti because the plane had a mechanical problem. The mechanic insisted that we would get to Timbuktu that day at all costs. Rick Caswell stepped in and said we would not get on the plane until the problem was fixed properly. This required a new part. The part didn’t arrive until Sunday evening, but the mechanic didn’t fix it until daylight Monday. We arrived in Timbuktu Monday afternoon at about 3:00 PM and met up with Faouzi Arzouni and Mike Stenberg.
While we were laid up in Mopti we were put up at a motel and the airline paid the costs for it and the meals. Sunday we had a prayer service where we worshiped the Lord and praised Him even in tribulations, and we were encouraged as we focused on the Lord and let the Holy Spirit buoy our spirits as He ministered to us by words of prophecy. One Word was that he had set an open door before us but there were many adversaries. We prayed against the adversaries and another Word from the Lord encouraged us to trust Him. In the afternoon it became apparent that the plane wouldn’t be fixed anytime soon, so we took a boat trip on the Niger River and toured an interesting primitive fishing village. Some candy was distributed and that was a big hit.
From Timbuktu
On our way back, we took off from Timbuktu at about 8:00 AM Sunday October 18 and landed in Mopti about 45 minutes later. We were in a very small plane, a Beech 1900D, no overhead compartments and only two seats across with the aisle between them. There was room for 17 people plus pilot and copilot. shortly after take-off from Mopti the right engine backfired. I happened to be on the right side. After the first backfire occurred I looked up and it happened again. This time I saw a ball of fire come out from the exhaust. The engine then stabilized and as we approached Bamako the pilot came on the PA system to inform us that the engine had a problem with a relief valve that regulates the amount air going into the turbo-prop engine. The problem had existed but those in charge deemed the plane fly-able. The pilot further explained that they would make a pass over the Bamako airfield and make turns to make sure the engine could handle it. He then proceeded to land it and explained that that airplane would not be flown by him until that problem was fixed.
Somebody doesn't like us building the Kingdom in Timbuktu. When the fireball came out I began looking to the Lord and I believe so did all the team members. I had a peace about the flight being OK. Thanks to our supporters who were praying for us.
Timbuktu
The US State department had issued travel warnings about a possible Al Qaeda presence in the north of Mali, around Timbuktu. About two weeks before we arrived in Timbuktu, two Land Cruiser vehicles loaded with Al Qaeda people and arms were stranded in the Sahara desert. Unbeknownst to them they were only about one kilometer from another encampment. They perished. A Muslim business man in Timbuktu telling this to the missionary said that this was the judgment of God
Timbuktu and our Routine
Timbuktu is a rather small town now, about 30,000 people. It is in the Southwestern reaches of the Sahara Desert. Several hundred years ago it used to be a Sahara Desert trading center, catering to camel trains. It may have had as many as 100,000 people at one time, including an Islamic University of 25,000 students. The town has shrunk and the university is no more. But to me the mystique of “Timbuktu” is still there. To my amazement, the area around Timbuktu is populated with nomad huts. These are huts similar to wigwams that are made by plastering mats together into a domed structure with an opening for the door. The mats are woven from reeds. Many goats are around the huts. This is a very primitive way of living that I did not expect around the town. We stayed more at the outskirts of the town at the Hendrina Khan Hotel. We would drive in a four-wheeled drive SUV through sand-trails to get to the church to work. We had breakfast at the hotel. Lunches and dinners usually were eaten at the pastor’s house next door to the church where we worked. The food was generally good but not heavy in meats nor vegetables.
One morning I was asked to pray over the breakfast. I had everyone stand and said a prayer invoking the name of Jesus, giving thanks for the food and for our safe arrival. I continued by asking for the Father’s strength, protection and for Him to have His love show through us by our actions, our facial expressions and our work. After the prayer, Alpha, the hotel manager’s son (he assists in running the hotel) happened to be there and he said to me that the prayer had touched his heart and would I write it out for him so he can pray it every day. Alpha is a Muslim who speaks English quite well. That evening he asked if I had written it for him. I knew then he was really serious. So I wrote it down and gave it to him the next morning. He thanked me and had me listen as he read it to be sure that he read it correctly.
At the mid-week service on Thursday evening Stan, Rick Porter and I were asked to give a testimony. I told of my family fleeing from Hungary in 1944 in the face of the advancing Soviet Army and how we were separated from my Dad. My Mom, who was seven months pregnant, led us in prayer for God to bring our Dad back to us; which He did before the baby was born. I likened our fleeing to Abraham leaving his home as God told him to and go into a strange country unknown to him. In the process milestones of God’s interventions are posted along the way that we can look back on and be encouraged when future trials hit us. Faouzi, who interpreted for me, built on the “milestones in our lives” thought by mentioning the importance of these in his life.
The women of the Church had made a cake for us to show their appreciation for our work.
The Work
Our task was to build a masonry wall around the A/G Church grounds. This would afford some privacy to people attending the church. This task was pretty much completed. Some times the temperatures hit 1050 F. But the humidity was low thus the working conditions weren’t too bad. We were encouraged to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water – about three liters a day. Some small finishing tasks were left for the local hires to do.
The A/G has started a grade school. So far they have kindergarten and grades 1 – 3. They plan to add grade four next year, and so on through High School. The classes have about 40 kids each. On the first day of enrollment, the classes are filled by noon. The school is that popular. They plan to have the school accredited but keep it as a private school. The officials were approached with teaching Biblical principles in the school. This was approved because it would build good character. All teachers are Christians. Pray for more Christian teachers.
A house is in the process of being built for the director of the school. We worked on this house by building some interior and exterior walls to the window level. This will have to be worked on by other teams or by local hires.
Missionary Stories
Rick’s Accident
Rick Caswell had an accident – not his fault. A motorcyclist had run into him. Motorcycles are plentiful in Bamako and the riders are fearless, taking great chances just to navigate through the traffic. One hit Rick’s car, was thrown off his cycle and lay motionless, seemingly hurt badly. A crowd gathered. Rick went to the rider, felt for his pulse and found he had one. He then prayed for him. Amazingly, the rider got up and was able to get around. This amazed the crowd in Rick’s neighborhood. Comments were made about the missionary that prayed for the injured rider who then got up.
Daouda (David)
Daouda is now an A/G Pastor in Bamako. He was muslim and a construction worker. He did not know how to read or write. The missionary Faouzi Arzouni took him under his wing and gave him lessons from Genesis. He heard religious stories he had not heard before. Douda was being harassed by other Muslims because he was getting taught by a Christian. So he stopped coming for his lessons. Then the Lord spoke to him three times about continuing his education and said, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind has imagined the things God has prepared for those that love Him.” He went to Faouzi and asked him what this meant. Faouzi read to him from 1 Corithians 2:9 (a quote from Isaiah 64:4) the same words the Lord had spoken to Daouda. This lead him to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He is the pastor of a church of about 100 adults plus children.
Sidi
Sidi accepted Jesus as his Savior and Lord. His Muslim father ordered Sidi’s three brothers to beat him up and tie him to a stake out in the desert for three days. Guards were posted so that no one could bring him food or water. After three days he was released but did not recant his faith in Jesus. The torture process was repeated two more times. But Sidi’s faith held strong and he continues in the Christian faith. He is the night guard at the A/G grade school. One of his brothers applied to be on the work team (for pay) to help us with the masonry work at the Church. He was told that he had to get Sidi’s approval. Sidi approved and his brother worked with us. In this Sidi demonstrated God’s love and forgiveness to his brother.
Pastor Bouya
Bouya (not sure of the spelling) is the pastor of the A/G church in Timbuktu. He told of the man who was unable to speak for ten years. They prayed for him and he could speak. They sent him to the store to buy things (e.g., food) and the people were awed, saying, “He can speak.” He also told of the woman who had a bulging abdomen due to cancer. She was prayed for and the tumor left. But she also had sores on her backside that prevented her from walking. She said that if Jesus would heal the sores so she could walk again then she would believe. They prayed. Jesus healed her. She believed.
Demonic Forces
Yes, there are demon-possesed people in Mali. Rick Caswell and other pastors and youth workers encountered this at a youth camp. The demons manifested themselves with strange voices through the possessed young people. Through strong prayers by the pastors and leaders (i.e., spiritual warfare) the demons were cast out. Also, at the hotel in Timbuktu Faouzi, Rick and Stan prayed for a Saudi man who was demon-possessed. He was brought there to have a local spiritist leader (a witch doctor equivalent) cast him out but he could not. Two or three days after he was prayed for Faouzi was told by the man’s friend that he had slept soundly since the prayer. Up to that time he had not been able to sleep. Faouzi managed to get Saudi-language Bibles to give to these men and they readily accepted them and began reading them.
Scam.
Rick Caswell exposed a scam and in turn received a life-threatening e-mail while we were there. The scammer had posed as a pastor and had gotten funds from the US for a non-existent church. The e-mail said, “You have killed my project and I will kill you.” This was reported to the US Embassy and they are on top of it. Keep him in your prayers.
May this report encourage your interest in missions. –Henry Weigel
