5. I just got a new mosquito racket that zaps the little suckers on contact.  It turns any boring African night into an entertaining light show.  I can't leave until I annihilate the entire mosquito population here. 

4. Congratulations Mom, I've finally learned to work for my food: trudging through the hot market, selecting fruits and vegetables that look fairly decent, getting a good price, and then carefully washing.  I definitely have a new appreciation for Wal-Mart.

3. My job is always an adventure when I get to explain words like convertible, cowboy, and lawn mower to African students who have never seen the top of a car fold back, watched a Western movie, or heard of mowing grass.

While all of those truly are reasons that I love Mali, in all honesty there is so much to share regarding why I know I must come back another year.  I could tell countless stories about how life-changing it is to hold abandoned orphans; to teach Christ-loving students; to invest in some of the most amazing youth group girls; to witness the lost lives of Muslim friends; and to be surrounded by missionaries who have made it their calling to translate the Bible, minister to prostitutes, and care for the sick.  Yes, while I could tell you those stories that undoubtedly would close with me repeating, "So, of course I'd come back," I must share with you the real reasons. It's not the scrapbook-page-stories that have made this a memorable trip: it's what God has taught me.

So, here I am in the middle of February sitting under my mosquito net with a fan blowing right in my face as my thermometer reads 86^o.  Oh, holy ambitions, they keep you from doing the things you like sometimes.  Paul expresses this passionately in Romans 15 when he admits to the church of Rome that he wants to come see them so badly, but he is too occupied doing his "holy ambition," which is preaching the Gospel where it hasn't been proclaimed yet.  You have not idea how much I miss my home, my family and friends, and my church.  I miss speaking English everywhere I go, eating Taco Bueno, listening to my brother play the guitar, but this is the nature of the call: sometimes our eternal focus rightfully gets in the way of doing the earthly things that we also love. 

And it's hard to explain this holy ambition thing because it's not what I had planned.  It's treasuring Christ enough to trust His ways rather than mine.  It's being that sweet, life-giving fragrance in 2 Corinthians 2.  It's not fearing man but knowing that it's God alone to whom I give account.  It's refusing to sacrifice something that didn't cost me anything.  It's admitting that if God is doing something unstoppable, I want to be a part of it.    

Practical matters:  I'll be returning home in June (16 weeks Mom!) and then coming back to Bamako in August.  WorldVenture has officially endorsed me to return as a missionary with the organization, which means I can begin raising financial support for the coming year.  Current monthly donors may continue giving, and I can send further information to one-time donors who are interested in giving another contribution.   

I covet your prayers, your packages, your thoughts, your e-mails.  It's overwhelming, really!  I pray this e-mail finds you overjoyed to see God working through all of them.  He is!  Thank you! 

Love,

Amber

Pictures:

But...

I didn't eat turkey, but I saw camels.

I wasn't with my family, but I went to the beach.

I didn't decorate the Christmas tree, but I jumped off sand dunes.

It was a Happy Thanksgiving in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.