Yesterday, I needed some comfort. Fast!

Psalm 23:4 flowed through my mind, bringing peace. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me.”

I was at a Malian version of a hardware store to buy screen material to repair a window so we could keep the mosquitos out. I was finishing the purchase when I heard a commotion outside. Many men with high-powered weapons were marching down the street in loose rank. Some were shouting or calling out as they went. I had never seen something like this in Kangaba, where we live, so I did not know what to think. Were these the good guys or the bad guys?

I said a quick prayer and thanked God for bringing Psalm 23 to my mind. I briefly thought it would be neat to get a picture or video, but I quickly remembered how I got fussed at when I failed to notice a No Photography sign outside the U.S. Embassy and had taken a picture. So I went inside the store, out of sight of the soldiers, and thought about what else I needed to buy.

No one else seemed alarmed, so I figured these were the good guys. I got the attention of a store clerk and asked if they also had some window insulation—again, to keep the bugs out. By then, the soldiers had all passed, and I went to the market.

Today, I read this verse, “At that time gifts will be brought to the Lord of heaven’s armies. They will come from the people who are tall and smooth-skinned. They are feared everywhere. They are a powerful nation with strange speech. Their land is divided by rivers. These gifts will be brought to the place of the Lord of Heaven’s armies. They will be brought to Mount Zion” (Isaiah 18:7 ICB). From the context of the chapter, this is talking about Africa. Please pray that God will use the medical missionary and gospel work at the Malinke project to save souls here in Mali.

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