lostvillage.

yesterday i headed back to the original village of Bamako for my fist lesson in tie-dye. the adventure began with an almost hour taxi ride up the mountain, past the presidents' palace and down onto the rocky mud road that led right into the clay tin-roof homes of a large population of sierre leoneans.  after paying the taxi man and passing off some ant-infested cookies (bought from the local boutique) to street children, we proceeded to attempt to find where Tim lived. remember, we had only been there one other time and once you step foot off the path and into the neighborhood, everything looks the same. so there we are walking around, (and let me tell you i have an in-grown toenail, so walking up a steep rocky path, trying to dodge the sewage water running down was not the easiest) calling out Tim be min?? (Where is Tim) & all the people are thinking what the heck are these two scrawny American girls doing here?? FINALLY, we come across someone who knows exactly who we are talking about and she takes us right to his place, which was literally like 20 feet away. so we were not that far off!! 

we step into the doorway of the small area, considered a house, and there we see the dark beaming face of TIM! He was so happy to see us, as well as the train of children that were hanging around his place. let me tell you, those children are precious. i was happy that we ended up waiting a little while till we got started with tie-dye... it gave the chance to hang out with the boys. i had just so happened to have a couple of pins with me, one that said grace the other love.  so i pinned them on two of the boys. they were so proud. i told them what it said & they repeated it and then started cracking up laughing. they apparently thought the word 'love' was hilarious. i am sure they have heard it before. 

30 minutes later we headed down to where we would learn the first steps in tie-dying. the three gentlemen that are teaching us are all very nice and almost seem to play the role as an uncle. they are not christians, but i believe that they are searching. after a while of giving us an introduction to tie-dye and moving from outside to inside multiple times (trying to dodge the rain), we participate in the afternoon tradition of sipping hot tea and carry on with conversation that headed in the direction of animism & refugees. these guys have seen some stuff. to tell you the truth, we were not too prepared for this topic and were somewhat taken off guard, so we decided to simply just listen to their stories. they were not wanting to know our opinions or cause an argument, but they just wanted to talk and share who they were and what their lives had entailed. 

i know that this will not be the last time talking with these people about religion and truth. i just pray that God prepares me for the next conversation & that if they have questions i will be ready to answer & that Jesus' name will be glorified. please. please. i plead with you friends to remember these men & children in your prayers. may their itching ears and broken hearts be met with the love of our Savior. 

Tim.Teegan.Muhammed.Armara.JacobSory.Musa.MakieBa.Daraman.

these are the names of those in a lostvillage.