My mission trip to Mali, West Africa

Getting our clothes washed in Mali

We were told that we would be able to have our clothes washed while we were at the mission house in Bamako. 

Because we only have room in our carry-ons, that's an important issue.

This morning I got this photo in the e-mail from our group of medical missionaries over there right now.  They are treating hundreds of people everyday.

But, notice what appears to be their clothes dryer.  I love it.  Natural air is the way to go. 

Tags: Mali, medical mission, short-term mission trips, Francophone Ministries for Christ

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Tested iVisit and iSight with my Apple iBook for Mali short-term mission webcast

Three simple pieces of equipment and software will bring me closer to my church family back home while I'm on my Mali short-term mission trip.  I'm packing my Apple iBook, my iSight camera and will be using iVisit software.

Today we tried it out with me and the gear at home using our wi-fi set-up connected to our school principal and his Apple Powerbook, camera and software.

He had it hooked up in our church sanctuary during the chapel service for our church school.  I saw the whole thing live from my kitchen table and then he projected it on the three screens we use during services.

Perfect.  It was easy to assemble, easy to use and then it connected on both sides with perfect sound and pictures. 

So, if you're around Our Savior Lutheran Church in Lansing during the late service on March 12, you can see if it works from West Africa.   It should.

Tags: Mali, Apple iBook, Apple iSight, iVisit, Apple Powerbook, short-term missions, Francophone Ministries for Christ

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One of my traveling companions, Lauren Hager of Port Huron

One of my traveling companions to Mali for our short-term mission trip is Lauren Hager from Port Huron.  We worked together for six years.  Actually, he was my boss when he was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives.

Our working together was a product of divine inspiration, I'm sure.  By that time in my career as a legislative staffer, I was very skeptical and had pretty firmly lost touch with what first motivated me in the political arena, idealism.

I kicked his tires like a guy out at the used car lot wanting to know what he was buying.  I think that I felt that if I kicked his tires enough they would go flat.  Well, they never did.  He's the real deal.  He's a real servant who always backstopped by his wife Carol.

His passion is kids.  He has four passions in his life, God, his wife Carol, his own kids and then all other kids.  He's a retired special education teacher.  One of the real treats that I had working for him was watching him when he went into a class or kids came to our office.  He knew how to look at the world through their glasses. 

A couple months back he asked me to join him on this mission trip.  It was hard to say no.  I didn't want to say no.  I really wanted to go.  We had been talking about this mission from the first month that he started serving in the Michigan Legislature.

Now we are going in a couple of weeks.  My other traveling companion is a young guy named Paul.  I don't know him, but I'm looking forward to sharing time together.  We will be meeting teams already there.

By the way, Lauren has become president of the board of Francophone Ministries for Christ.

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

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

Looking for digital camera recommendations

I want to take plenty of digital photographs while I am on my short-term mission trip to Mali and I want to put them up on my Flickr account while I'm there.

I'm looking for recommendations and personal experiences with taking and using a digital camera in Africa. 

Presently, I have a couple year-old Canon PowerShot A40.  It's been pretty reliable and productive for a lot of different needs and situations here at home.  But, I know, it has its limitations.  But, so does my budget for this trip.  I'm looking for input on:

• Cameras that I should considering purchasing before I go.  I want something that's easy to operate both inside and outside and that's reliable for various weather and travel conditions.
• Storage cards for the camera; how big of a card should I get, which brand should I get and should I get more than one.
• Advice for traveling with and using a camera in a different culture, in this case Mali.
  

Technorati Tags: digitalcameras, Mali, CanonPowerShot, FrancophoneMinistries

Using Flickr to tell about Francophone mission in Mali

While in Mali and during the trip to and from, I'll be taking digital pictures.  When my daughter made a medical mission trip there earlier this year, it really helped to see the pictures that were sent to families while they were in-country.

My goal is to upload a constant stream of photos to Flickr from inside the country on a daily basis and, maybe, even more often if the occasion and opportunity presents itself.

Question: 

• Has anybody had experiences with using digital   cameras in Africa and with uploading the photos to Flickr?   
• Do you have any suggestions that you can share?   
• How many batteries should I take for the digital camera, realizing that they're probably impossible to purchase in-country?

Technorati Tags: Flickr, Mali, WestAfrica, Missiontrip, digitalphotos