After working on this project more heavily this last week, it seemed strangely coincidental that I received an email just this morning from the missionary family I served under, a certain blast from the past.
The email, besides being a friendly Christmas greeting, was filled with this news:
I'm sorry to have to write this but I thought you would like to know that we just heard this morning that Papa Camara died last night. Apparently he died in Bamako at a hospital and they are bringing his body back to Kangaba today. We know that you guys had a great relationship with Papa Camara and his family and we would certainly appreciate your prayers for the family and for us, that we will be able to be some sort of blessing to the family in this time of their sorrow.
Papa Camara was a beautiful, gentle, intelligent man, who was also my host for four of the nine months I was in Mali. He was not only the head of the courtyard we lived within, he was the head Imam of the village - the Muslim religious leader.
Though he knew we were Christian missionaries, he took us into his household, providing us with shelter, food, and the companionship of his family.
In memory of dear Papa Camara, here are some excerpts from my correspondence to family and friends.
September 13, 2005
After eating our lunch at the Curry’s house, we met Papa Camara—our host. He greeted us and seemed happy to see us. He is a tall, skinny, elderly man. Delightful. He chuckles often and smiles even more. I took to him right away.
[...] It is customary for visitors to adopt a Malian name while here. Later in the day we met with Papa Camara (on our choice) to have him name us. I am now Aminata Camara, named after his daughter.
[...] The first two weeks here are "immersion time" so Papa Camara has been providing us with breakfast every day. Breakfast is the same thing every morning. It’s called moni, and it’s a type of porridge with little bites of soft dough, much like the texture of soggy rice. It's interesting. We eat it with him right on the steps in front of his house. We don't talk while we eat. We just listen to the sounds of the chickens in the courtyard and try to slurp down the porridge without grimacing too badly.
I love Papa Camara. Talking to him is so pleasant. We spoke to him briefly before bedtime and he seemed pleased to have our company. Kangaba - Mali - Africa. It's a wonderful place.
November 4, 2005
It's customary to bring back a little something from Bamako and one of those things is bread. We gave some bread to Papa Camara, who was so happy to see us. He came to greet us and also to give us a bag of dates from the feasting. How sweet!
December 6, 2010
When we brought Pastor Rich to meet our host, Papa Camara, he was so thrilled! It was amazing. He just kept saying over and over again how happy he was that Pastor Rich had visited. It was neat to see him smiling so much and so happy.
March 11, 2006
At the end of our trip, Krystal and I were able to make it back down to the first village we lived in, Kangaba, and visit old friends for the weekend. Seeing the smiling faces of our friends, who we thought we would never see again when leaving in January, was a delight. Seeing our old courtyard, and little, old Papa Camara, our host, was priceless. His big grin and warm heart welcomed us.
We pray for the Camara family and hope Papa Camara's heart was truly seeking after God. He was always a good and godly man, so gracious to us and our student missionaries. May God's love comfort and draw them at this time.
Maybe one day I will see you again, Papa Camara. I hope you knew that we loved you.
1 comment:
Aminata, It is sad to be losing a generation of great people. The lives they have had are so interesting.
Post a Comment