Monique and the Mango Rains

Kris Holloway served in the Peace Corps and spent two years in Mali, West Africa, shadowing a native midwife. Monique and the Mango Rains is the story of her time with one tribe in a small village. It was amusing to me to see how sin is the same all the world around. The men who cheat on their wives. The "family" who doesn't contribute to the communal living. The manipulation by folks to get what they want. The materialistic desires that cause folks to steal. But also, the story was beautiful. Beautiful, yet tragic. Beautiful in the chronicles of one native midwife who attempted to educate the women and make a difference in the community. Tragic because those who can't see the big picture might feel that her efforts were in vain. Beautiful in how simple the life is, yet tragic in how that simplicity can keep one from being saved both physically and spiritually.

It gave me an even greater desire to visit Africa... though I don't think I could ever make a difference.