My mission trip to Mali, West Africa

Podcasts from Mali using new Apple iLife

While I'm in Mali on my short-term mission trip, I would like to try filing short podcasts on a regular basis. 

It's a great way to tie the people back home into what we are doing.  Can you visualize the impact of having pictures along with audio in the city of Bamako and out in the country?  It's a great way to talk to people and learn and shorten the distance between the two countries.

My technical advisor for the trip is my son, Justin, who is also my business partner and who is also a senior at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.  He suggests trying the new version of  Apple's iLife. Listen to Steve Jobs recent address at MacWorld and he talks about how the new version of this software enables you to put up a podcast in three clicks.  Pretty simple.

Does anybody out there have experience using this?   I realize it has been out only a couple of weeks.

                  
Technorati Tags: Mali, Apple, iLife, Garage+Band, short+term missions, Francophone+Ministries+for+Christ

Some good info from Mali missionary, Thom McMurray

I am really looking forward to meeting Thom McMurray.  I met him through his blog--McMali.  He and his wife, Amanda, are missionaries with The Christian & Missionary Alliance and live in Bamako, the capital city of Mali.

In an e-mail to me, he shared some insights about Mali and the Malian culture.  This is great info to prepare me for my upcoming short-term mission trip there with Francophone Ministries for Christ, based in Port Huron, MI.  Here's some of what he shared:

• Mali is hot!  In March you will likely see temperatures over 100 degrees.  Be prepared mentally for that, and know that you will be drinking unusually high amounts of water.
• I mentioned it’s hot.  Dress accordingly.  Women must wear skirts below the knee, and it is a very good idea for men to wear pants, not shorts. 
• If you are working in construction, shorts are ok, but in this culture only children wear shorts.  The symbolism of wearing shorts will be clear to everyone who sees it. 
• I would recommend jeans or cargo style pants, and a pair of Dockers for church. 
• Also, a hat is a must.  I recommend a floppy hat over a baseball style hat, because the sun can be brutal on the ears here. 
• In church, make sure you have a button up shirt (Short sleeves!), nice pants, and I don’t recommend wearing a tie.  Some people do, but it’s not a cultural thing here, so don’t choke yourself!
• Malians are among the friendliest people on earth!  They love to laugh and they love for Westerners to come to their country.  If they laugh around you, rest secure that they aren’t laughing at you, but that’s how they react in unusual circumstances.
• Greetings are the most important thing in West Africa. He provides details, including greetings in French and in the Bambara language.

Technorati Tags: Mali, Christian+Missionary+Alliance, Francophone+Ministries+for+Christ, short+term+missions

Countdown has started to leave for Mali mission trip

I leave in one-month for Bamako is Mali, West Africa.  I'm getting my checklists together of things I need to do before I leave:

• I have one more hepatitis shot to take at the Ingham County Health Department.
• I need to carefully make a list of what I want to pack.  This is vital, since our mission group--Francophone Ministries for Christ based out of Port Huron, MI--is using our checked luggage to ship ministry supplies.  My personal stuff will be limited to a carry-on.
• I need to try and raise more support.  I expected to pay for a chunk out of my own pocket, but more support would lessen the bite.
• Some friends have asked for a prayer list containing items that they can pray for while I'm gone.
• My wife needs to learn how to operate our snow blower, just in case she needs it while I'm gone.  I'll try and show her, but it's hard with so little snow.
• I want to become much more familiar with the country before I go.  The web has been really helpful with that.
• Since we will be flying through Paris and because French is spoken in Mali, I want to learn some basic French.  I've been working on that.  I got a $5 Berlitz CD from Sam's Club and that helps.

I'll have more.  I'll share what I'm learning and doing.

Technorati Tags: Mali, Francophone+Ministries+for+Christ, West Africa, short+term+mission+trips,

Medicine for Mali started with young Iowa woman

Dr. Elise Devore, a young doctor from Iowa, was working in a remote village in Mali, Nana Kenieba, trying to treat sick babies with high fevers, infections and malaria.

She e-mailed her dad, a doctor back in Iowa, that she needed medicine badly.  Her dad responded and that was the start of a relationship between a small Iowa town and this remote village in West Africa.

This is a great story to read.  Be sure to also watch the videos about their efforts.

Technorati Tags: Mali, Medicine for Mali, +Ministries+for+Christ,

Poultry is in high demand in Mali, according to Peace Corps

I found this fact from the U.S. Peace Corps about what's being done to assist Malians in raising poultry which is in high demand.  Basic practices to keep chickens healthy and productive are taught.  I haven't heard about the Peace Corps in a long time.


Technorati Tags: Mali, Francophone+Ministries+For+Christ, Poultry, MichiganStateUniversity

Africa fact: it is big, really big

Just how big is Africa?

As I get ready for my short-term mission trip to Mali with Francophone Ministries for Christ, I found this Africa Homepage which says that the African Continent could hold the land occupied by China, India, Europe, Argentina, New Zealand and the continental United States with room to spare.

Technorati Tags: Africa, Mali, Francophone+Ministries+for+Christ,

Meet Bamako missionary bloggers, Thom and Amanda McMurray

Last night, I was searching on Technorati, the blog search engine, for blogs written by missionaries in the West African Country of Mali and I found Thom and Amanda McMurray who are serving with a mission organization based in Bamako, the capital of the country.

Since I will be going to Bamako in about a month and a half, I read their blog with a great deal of interest.  After reading many of their posts, I felt like I knew them and I left with the hope that I can meet them when I get over there.

They are great examples of how this new channel of communication is being used by mission groups.

Technorati Tags: Mali, FrancophoneMinistries, Bamako, blogs, WestAfrica

Carrying my passport during the mission trip

I will check with the trip leaders about the issue of carrying my passport during the mission trip to Mali.  I haven't traveled overseas in awhile, but I know that proof of nationality is critical and probably more so in our changed global environment.

At www.beltoutlet.com, I found various items I could buy to help me carry my passport and other documents at all times. 

Anybody have experience using these and any advice about carrying my passport at all times.

I will talk to Franklin Spotts, the Francophone Ministries executive director, who will also be on the trip.

Technorati Tags: mali, francophoneministries, short-termmission, passport, franklinspotts

Ten things to avoid on a short-term mission trip

Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, OK has a great list of ten things to avoid on a short-term mission trip.  Here's are five things to avoid:

• Keeping narrowly focused on "spiritual" activities--Don't focus on just the lofty stuff and be sure to not avoid menial work like data entry, loading trucks or working on building.
• Eliminating personal prayer and Bible study.
• Refusing to deviate from detailed personal goals and schedules.
• Pointing out mistakes made by missionaries.
• Pointing out faults of your team members.

The whole list is helpful for my upcoming short-term mission trip to Mali with Francophone Ministries based in Port Huron, MI.

Technorati Tags: Mali, FrancophoneMinistries, short-termmissions, SouthernNazareneUniversity, BethanyOK, PortHuronMI

Mali's free, but still has big, basic needs, according to insurance man

When a medical mission from Iowa went to Mali, the DesMoines Register sent a reporter and photographer to report the trip.  They did a story with an interview of an insurance man in Bamako, the capital city.

He talked about how democracy now exists in the country, but severe problems still haunt the people.  Hunger and lack of medical care top the list, he said.

Technorati Tags: Mali, FrancophoneMinistries, DesMoinesRegister