Believers in Bamako Mourn Myriad Losses

It’s been about two months since hundreds of believers fled their homes in North Mali. They have done their best to establish a sense of normalcy, however their suffering has continued even as they have found relative safety as refugees in Bamako. We ask for your continued prayers for the country of Mali and especially for our brothers and sisters in Christ there. Our partner Pastor Mohamed-Ibrahim Yattara shared an update today from Bamako.

It seems that I have never been so busy in my life. My days are made up of teaching, preaching, and meetings early in the morning to late in the evening. I thank God for His goodness and I pray that this newsletter finds all of you well.

These past weeks, we mourned with three families. Brother Mahamane lost his sister-in-law. She was pregnant and had some complications. There was no doctor to help. On her way to Bamako she passed away. We mourned with Pastor Mahamane. For more than a year we prayed for his brother who was bitten by a deadly snake. For several months the doctors in Dire and Bamako did everything they could without success. The wound gangrened, they amputated his foot and hand, but his whole body was affected. We also mourned with Pastor Abdoulaye in the sudden death of his brother. He was in a coma for three days in the hospital in Bamako before he died.

We also mourned our houses and belongings. During these past weeks, most churches, Christian homes, institutions, and missionary stations have been vandalized and destroyed, and nearly all our belongings stolen in Timbuktu, Gao, Dire, and Niafunke. Many new rules were set up by the new masters of the North. Women are not supposed to walk in the streets. Young people are not allowed to play soccer or music. In Timbuktu, they visited Pastor Nouh’s house. They stole thousands of old manuscripts and all his belongings. The Elijah House ministry for orphans and needy children, Noah’s Ark for children, and the Living Water Project were destroyed and looted. In Gao, the rebels stole a compressor for drilling and burned books, Bibles, and other papers.

Last Friday night, the Islamic Republic of Azawad was proclaimed. Things are worsening in the North and it makes our return more difficult. We do not lose heart, and we pray for peace to be restored. We do not know what will happen tomorrow but based on our experience and knowledge of Africa, the situation will not be solved quickly.

The leaders of the Federation of Baptist Churches decided to reach the displaced populations who are now in Bambako. We also want to help the church in Bamako start new churches.

Please continue to pray for all the refugees. We are now 244 people on four major sites: 94 children, 74 women, and 76 men. The Lord is meeting our needs and we are grateful for your prayers and support. My family is doing very well, and the Lord is taking care of us.

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