Glenn%20and%20Kathy%20Kendall%20Update%20%23194.pdf

Glenn and Kathy Kendall Update #194 of March 15, 2011, Guinea

Life When One is NOT Under the Mango Tree

These past days we have again been with our son, Nathan and his family.  Aren't we something!  We go from Senegal to Guinea via Mali and get to visit our family in both places!!

Last time in Guinea we wrote about life under the mango tree, but there is much life that happens not under the mango tree.although it now has fruit and is looking good.

One day we had a fun adventure taking the canoe with all seven of us to the local river.  Nathan pulled the canoe up river while Glenn and Becky paddled.it is a pretty swift current. 

We spent several hours beached in the shade, eating lunch, wading the river, playing on the sand bars.

Sunday morning Glenn got to participate in the Sunday School class of university students.  These young men are the 'cream of the crop'.  In the USA being a university student is relatively possible for many people.  In Guinea being a university student is a huge challenge.  These students are very special people who have overcome many obstacles to reach this juncture in life.

Sunday morning Philip (7 years old) and Marie (4 years old) join a large group of children who are dismissed from the main church service after about an hour of singing and praying.  Every week Nathan and Becky photo copy a page from a Sunday School book and bring crayons to the class for a first class treat for both students and teachers.  The cost of the photo copying is the equivalent of a woman's wage for one day.  Hence, it really is a treat to have the papers AND the crayons. 

A colleague is teaching public health to both adults and children in a village setting.  The hope is that preventative practices will help people avoid some of the diseases and health related issues that weaken people so frequently as well as teaching the Good News of Jesus.

Walking alongside an African woman dying of cancer is a challenging opportunity for a colleague in a land of limited medical facilities and medicines.

One evening Glenn participated in a meeting with a group of young men who are leaders in a variety of areas.  They meet weekly to learn and discuss leadership principles; what it means to be men who live according to Biblical principles.

Health care for babies and nursing mothers is an area of potential sorrow and joy.  Life is fragile in a society where people live on the edge.  Walking alongside these women, helping them eat nutritiously, providing small supplements for the babies bring joy to everyone and hope for people who live with the specter of death.

Life NOT under the mango tree is filled with great variety, adventure, opportunities, pitfalls, challenges.that is life isn't it!