God sure has a way of inspiring and encouraging people. “Those who have been most successful in soul-winning were men and women who did not pride themselves on their ability, but who in humility and faith sought to help those about them. Jesus did this very work” (Gospel Workers p. 194).
Energized by this quote, three of us decided to visit neighbors near our house church in the village of Bankoumana. At the first house, we met a three-year-old boy named Modibo. He had symptoms of malaria, so we treated him. His older sister Hawa had several spots on her arms that looked like a possible fungal infection, so we gave her some anti-fungal cream. By God’s grace, we were able to pray with the family before we left.
We visited another neighbor, Mr. Keita. He had a friendly little girl, maybe around two years old, who wanted to sit on my lap. Mr. Keita also had malaria symptoms, so we treated and prayed with him. Having learned the Bambara phrase, which translates to “May God grant you good health,” Mr. Keita was happy when I said it to him as we left his house.
Last week, we got to revisit both of the families. Modibo was all better, and Hawa’s skin was improving. Praise the Lord, I was happy about that. Since our first visit two weeks prior, Modibo’s mom had a baby girl with lots of curly hair, so it was fun to meet the new addition to the family. We found Mr. Keita using a shovel to dig a deep pit as a latrine for his family, so we knew that he was feeling better since he was working hard in the African sun.
We then went to visit a new family. There we met 65-year-old Mrs. Taoure. Bless her heart, her blood pressure was 194/120 (120/80 is considered normal). We suggested some lifestyle changes and offered to take her to the doctor, which we did when her daughter returned from the market. He prescribed a blood pressure medication, and by God’s grace, we bought her a month’s supply of amlodipine for about nine dollars. This week, I learned how to say, “Ala ka shi ni keneya di I ma,” which means, “May God grant you long life and prosperity.” Mrs. Taorre smiled and laughed as I said it to her as we returned from the pharmacy.
Please pray that God will continue to lead us to people we can help and that those we have helped will grow in their interest and faith in Jesus. Thank you for your generous support, which enables us to help our neighbors here in Mali.
