by Evelyn Shimazu Yee, M.L.I.S.

I am a University Reference Librarian. I am glad to share the logistical, cultural, and spiritual aspects of a library building journey I took to Ethiopia which brought the means for a successful implementation of a new small academic library to hundreds of university students in the African country. The building of the library was part of the positive resulting impact of the Christian global community on the university’s global distributed learning programs in Ethiopia which included well-attended Organizational Leadership courses through the university’s Program supported by the new library.

I just recently returned to Los Angeles from a ten-day trip to Kenya and it was excellent.

A friend of mine asked me to sum up the trip in three words and after I thought about it, I came up with three. I’ve been using these three words to describe my trip whenever an opportunity arises to share it with somebody. The three words are…

Welcome, Learning, Growing

BMS World Mission recently reported on a celebration taking place in the Kibokolo region of Angola, remembering 100 years of Baptist missions in the region. “Through morning worship, spiritual retreats, a women’s conference and seminars, the centenary celebrations will allow Angolan Baptists to thank God for over 100 years and pray for the future. The theme is ‘Jesus Christ is life’.”

Let me tell you about Ali Ouattara, whom we affectionately call Silas.

We were together on the roof of our first Bible School building, nailing tin sheets whose reflective surface made the normal 110 degrees heat harder to cope with. As we worked and talked, our conversation led me to remember the first time we met. That was nearly 6 years ago.

Even though Silas’ people are part of the Mandingo clan of Mali, he was born and raised in a Muslim home in the northern part of Ivory Coast, just across the Malian border. He is 29 years old. He grew up in extreme poverty, never studied beyond 5th grade, and went to work as a teenager to help his barber father feed the family. His adolescent life was sunless and grey. His failed attempts to become a mechanic fostered the feeling that he had no future, and this became a terrifying burden. His allegiance to family, tradition, and the Islamic faith proved to be insufficient to overcome his hopelessness and the guilt of secret sins.