Mali, 1995

I shot this image near Kolokani, Mali (West Africa) during my stay there back in the mid 90's.  I like this shot for several reasons:  It clearly shows the type of terrain in that area of Mali, the man is carrying something on his head (usually something the women did) and carrying a chicken (possibly heading to market), and the man is smiling at me -- happy to have his photo taken.
I would love to go back to visit someday.  I have friends there who would happily house me if I were able to go.  For the past few months, Mali has been in turmoil with an armed Tuareg rebellion in the north and a coup in the capital city of Bamako.  Sharia law has been enforced in the northern cities that the rebels have captured.  Please send prayers/healing vibes for the country and for safety for it's people.

More tea towels from Heidi

I got such a great response from my post about my tea towels that I thought you might be interested is seeing some more.  My good friend, Heidi, shared a photo of hers on her blog.
Heidi is one of my friends from way-back.  My mom says that we were on the same diaper changing table in the church nursery.  I only saw her every four years while her family was on furlough from their missionary work in West Africa.  We grew closer in our junior year of high school, which is when we started talking about the possibility of me going to Mali to visit her.  One thing lead to another, and that possibility turned into reality after our senior year.

My 7 months in Mali were life changing.  Heidi and I got involved with a literacy program through Gospel Missionary Union - along with another gal from Nebraska and another missionary "kid" that lived in the same area Heidi's family was in.  The four of us spent 2 months learning Bambara -- at least we learned enough to get by.  Then we moved into a more remote area and taught people to read (in Bambara) for the last 5 months.  It is hard to describe how much an experience like that can impact a person.  Mali is one of the poorest countries on the planet - but the people are so generous.  And they are so happy too!  They really taught me more than I would ever hope to teach them.

Anyway, Heidi is now a wife and momma, and they have all moved back to Mali to be full time missionaries.  She absolutely amazes me!  Although we don't get to see each other very frequently - we share a definite bond.  Heidi, I know you read my blog frequently -- I hope you don't mind that I shared a bit about you.  Oh, and I am still working on that package for your family as well.  Gonna have fun shopping for a few things later today.  :)

Mali

I don't have any new photos to post, so I thought I would post a random photo from my archives.  It is definitely not one of my best, but considering how poorly exposed the original was, I'm pretty happy with what I was able to do with it.  This slide was scanned with my Nikon scanner, dropped into iPhoto, exposure adjusted and converted to sepia (was a color slide originally).  I have some gorgeous portraits from the time I spent in Mali (years ago).  I will try to post a few more over time.

Heidi and Jeff -- I am praying that you continue to find more support for your mission in Mali.   To my blog readers -- If you are looking for a worthwhile cause to support, please consider a donation to Heidi and Jeff as they take their family to Mali, West Africa to aid/minister to the Malian people.