I packed up in the morning, and my new friend Helene came at 9 am to drive me to the airport. I was ready and all set. I was wondering whether I had made a mistake to shorten my time in Quebec, as it hadn't worked out to meet with this one guy, plus this pastor emailed me that he wanted to meet me. Had I stayed, I could have met both. It is as it is.

I said good-bye to my friend Helene, and started the US customs and immigration process that is done on the Canadian side of the border. I had to think back to Toronto in 2003, when it was the same situation, and they wouldn't let me go to Kansas City. It was pretty bad, but God used it to open the door to go to Mali. It's a long story, but you could look it up going to the email archive, looking for July 2003.

I got on the plane, flying first to Detroit, and then on to Kansas City. It's kind of lonely to arrive in a city and not be picked up by anyone. After having gone the wrong direction, I find the right baggage claim area and got my bag, and then made my way to the shuttle bus to go to the rental car agency. They have a central place with all the agencies.

This is the third time ever I've rented a car, and all three times it was in Kansas City. The first time I ended up paying double than what they'd said on the internet. Then last time, I was really happy with the agency, and the people were extra friendly. However, I went with another agency this time because it was cheaper online.

When I got there, the guy asked all kinds of questions, and in the end, wanted to force me to take an insurance that would cost a lot of money. He released me to go to another agency, and I went straight to the one from last time. The guy there was super-friendly again, and very kind to find me the best rate they had to offer. I told him it needs to be as cheap as possible, and I couldn't pay for any insurance. I got a good one. Praise God!

As I drove away on the familiar highways of Kansas City, I poured my heart out to God, telling Him He was my Insurer, and affirming that He was my Provider, however bleak our financial situation is right now. He touched my heart deeply as tears were running down my cheeks, realizing this was absolutely the truth, and that He was with me. I was overwhelmed by the goodness of my awesome God.

I enjoyed my ride from the north of Kansas City to the south where I was staying with friends of mine. When I got there, nobody was home. I called them, and made it into the house through the back door. That was a good thing, because my hosts' son only came back after midnight, and my hosts are out of town for a week.

I was gonna settle in and drive to IHOP, before getting a good night's rest, but it turned out differently. I got online and watched the Lakeland Revival and got stuck with it. I never left the house, and ended up going to bed late, taking advantage of the internet connection.

back to top

Another short night. I grabbed a quick breakfast, before we headed to church. These past few days I've come to know a good number of people from the church ALLIANCE ET VIE, and I have to say they are really wonderful people. I was looking forward to being in their church.

I wasn't prepared for a 5-hour service, though. We got there at 9:30, and they started shortly after. It's a very prophetic church, and what they do is to worship and prophesy over people during the first half hour, before they enter into "worship only", the real worship time. Many were in the front worshiping, when they started prophesying over the first person. Then, suddenly, they called on me to receive a word. I was at my seat and walked forward. Three different people then prophesied over me, and it greatly blessed me. I had tears in my eyes by the time they were done. It's all in French, and I'll need to transcribe and translate it. In any case, God had not forgotten me and was encouraging me big time.

The worship time was wonderful, as they were singing a lot of their own songs. Worship songs written in French, and it's very obvious they're not translated. I wished we could sing those in Mali! They might possibly give me the chords. In any case, I've got their CD.

Then Charlie Robinson came up to preach. He preached for over 2 hours, and it was good.

The service was over by 2:30 pm. I had been waiting all week to get to a Christian bookstore with French stuff, and went there right away. They only had a little book corner, but I saw lots and lots of books that would enrich our Christian library in Mali. If I could, I'd have bought them all! So I just looked through what we'd need most. Unfortunately there weren't any French worship CDs or DVDs. I chose a few books, including a children's Bible, and they had to check whether I could pay by credit card.

In the meantime I took the opportunity to talk to Charlie for a few minutes. Unfortunately we were interrupted and couldn't finish the conversation.

I was allowed to pay by credit card, but my card wouldn't get through. I already saw myself leaving all the stuff there.

One of the ladies I had met that week came up to me and asked where I'd be the rest of the day, because she needed to come over and see me before I leave. I said I'd be home in the evening.

One lady now said she could drive me to an ATM to withdraw money from - but would it work there? Suddenly someone decided to buy me the CD of the church worship group. Then another lady said she wanted to pay me the one French worship CD. Then they said I could have the sermon on CD for free. What I had to pay was down to a $100.

Then the lady who was gonna come by tonight came over again and asked how much money I still had to pay. I told her, exactly $100. She gasped and said that this morning God had told her to give me $100. So instead of coming over, she'd just pay my bill, and she did. Wow! I needed those books for Mali, and was ready to spend money I don't have on them. Right now, all we have are debts, and I don't like it. But when do I get a chance to buy Christian materials in French? God saw the need, and provided. Praise God!

Exploring Montreal

Over three days, and 10 meetings - that was the Montreal Prophetic Festival, which was a conference with Bobby Conner, Paul Keith Davis, and John Laframboise, organized by Charlie Robinson. It was a wonderful three days, but also a very tiring few days. The ride back and forth to the location of the conference was about an hour, and my host church was very involved in the conference with its worship team and dance team. They were the last ones out at night, and sometimes the first ones in. It meant short nights and constant tiredness for me.

The speakers were great, as was worship. It was all very much focused on Montreal and the region, but I still got something out of it. I enjoyed getting to know the people from the church here, especially during our long car rides. During break times, I usually went to the grocery store nearby to get some bread and cheese, and then just sat outside the church eating and reading a book.

These are my hosts here in Montreal. They had to work during the day meetings, but were able to join for the last day Saturday. I've really been impressed by their church, how close-knit everybody is, a real family. They are a very prophetic and art-oriented church, with a woman pastor. A unique place.

Though tired all the time, I was encouraged during the conference and thankful I participated.

I got up at 7:30 am; I had slept nearly 12 hours! And I had sure needed it. I had woken up a few times during the night, and realized I had a pretty bad headache. My nose hadn't stopped running either. I felt pretty bad when I got up, and took something against the headache. I had some tea and toast, and started the day slowly. My hosts were already off to work.

I watched some local TV - interesting - and then went to my room for some rest, reading, and worship music. Around noon I got really tired again, and fell asleep. I woke up when my host came home at 2 pm. We finally met, and started talking. I got some lunch, and then she had to lie down for a nap.

My hosts don't have internet, and so I called the lady from the church here who's organized everything for me. She said she'd find out whether the church where the conference is has internet. The conference starts tonight, and I'm going with my hosts. They said we'd have to count on driving for an hour to get there.

Conference Start

The overnight flight from Mali is crueling. You leave at 11 pm, and fly 5 hours, so it's 4 am when you arrive in Paris, yet 6 am local time. I had only an hour of sleep before they woke us up again.

We set a record for arriving early as well - a full half hour! It was 5:50 local time. My flight to Canada wasn't leaving until 1:15 pm.

So I passed through more checks and arrived at the lounge for frequent travelers. I'd have many hours to rest!

I got some breakfast, and turned on my computer. I purchased a few hours of internet, which was perfect. That way I got some stuff done, and watched the Lakeland Revival for the first time, and time went by quickly. I enjoyed it! It didn't seem so long after all!

But when I got to the gate to board the plane, we were informed that Air France personnel was striking. Our flight was delayed. Great! While waiting, the Canadian next to me started talking with me, because he recognized me from Bamako - he'd also come from there. He was from Montreal, so I tried to find out more from him. He works for some humanitarian organisation, traveling to Africa.

We finally took off with a 1-hour delay. I was shocked to see that there are still overseas planes that don't have individual screens! Great! I guessed I wouldn't watch a few good movies this time. Flight time was 7 hours.

The tiredness and sleepless night were catching up to me. Again and again I'd fall into a deep sleep for some time. But also, I had to hold tissues to my nose constantly, and it started turning red. Did I have a cold? The climat change? The plane air?

We arrived in Montreal after 3 pm local time. In Mali, it was four hours later. It took ages to get my bag, but I finally did and walked outside into the hall. There were so many people waiting there, I was wondering how I'd find Helene who was picking me up. I didn't know what she looked like, but she'd seen a picture of me.

It didn't take long for her to address me. She welcomed me warmly, and left with my bag to get the car, while I withdrew money at the ATM. She then drove me to my hosts' house, which took quite some time. I enjoyed talking to her, and finding out more about Quebec - a place I've never been to before.

My hosts were both gone. It was a public holiday in Quebec, and they were visiting with family. Helene stayed with me for some time, and we just talked and talked. I really enjoyed her company!

She finally left at 6 pm or so, and I was told my hosts would come home at around 8 pm. I took a shower. It was so wonderful! Hot water coming out of a shower! And LOTS of it too! Awesome!

And then the quietness - I loved it! I got my book out and started reading it; even on the plane I'd been thankful I had taken it along. I'm gonna finish it soon. After some time I got really tired. I wanted to wait for my hosts' return before going to bed, but it finally was after 8 pm and couldn't stay awake any more. It was midnight in Mali, and I decided to go to bed. I wrote them a little note, and went to bed at 8:15 pm.

I think I got everything done before leaving for my long trip. It wasn't easy though, since we had more power problems than we've had in the while. Now that it rains more, there are clouds, which means even less electricity. So today, we had no power from the panels, but only when the generator was one. So we had to have it running for longer, and pay more gas. Half an hour before leaving for the airport, as I was finishing up packing, suddenly the power went out because the generator was out of gas. What timing! It was 8 pm, and I couldn't see a thing! At this point, I didn't care any more - I'd be leaving behind this electrical mess real soon! I got my flashlight out...

Last day or not, I also had to go to Daniel's house to work on our papers. I was there for 2 hours. To my great surprise, he wasn't actually there at the appointed time, but had me wait for 45 minutes! After that, we got some work done, and I had "homework" to take home with me, that I did in the afternoon. So I was still pretty busy with all that.

Paul had his first of four days of final exams at High School. It was English today, and he said it went very well. Please pray for him until Thursday, which is his last day. Pray also for the kids, who'll be alone during the day, until he gets back from school each day.

I've told you that Emma is revamping our accounting, which is an answer to prayer. We'll have to do contracts for those working with us, and find a good system for fair salaries. The problem in Mali is that people only see the cash you put into their hands, but don't count what you spend on food, schooling, medical, etc. Taking all these into account, Seybou gets far too much money. And then I realized that Elisabeth wasn't getting any, only these services for her 5 kids, which just isn't fair, so I decided to make some changes even before leaving, until we implement Emma's system. I'm just talking about the cash given each week. Paul is done with school, and will receive more as a full-time "vice-president". I slightly reduced what Seybou gets, and also reduced what Fanta gets, and Elisabeth gets less than anybody else since she's only with us half a day right now.

I told Seybou there'd be slight changes now, and he came into my office in the afternoon to ask about them. I was already scared of him, because when he "loses it", he makes irrational unwise choices with big consequences, which he has proven a few times in the past. Thinking of Hama and Sarata, and their future, the thought of Seybou and his family leaving scares me.

So Seybou asked, and I answered. As expected, he wasn't happy. He said he can't live with a little salary like this and will leave us. I told him, when Emma comes back, everything will be settled justly. He simply rambled on and didn't hear a thing I was saying. I've tried to make him understand in the past that the food etc. also costs money, but he simply doesn't get it.

Seybou had a stone face for the rest of the day and refused talking to me. Not only that, he'd do the opposite of what I was saying on purpose.

Time was running, and I was nearly half an hour late when it was time to leave for the airport. I said good-bye to my kids and walked to the car. Seybou would drive, and Paul would also come along. I had called Emma, who is from the same ethnic group as Seybou, and who has a very calm way of dealing with people. He said he'd call Seybou later to talk to him, and recommend I'd go through with my changes.

I arrived at the car, but no Seybou. He's the only other person with a driver's license, and he knows it. He knows I don't want him to leave. He knew I had to leave for the airport, yet he wasn't there. Finally he strolled over to the car, but didn't have the key. I told him to hurry up, that I was already late, and he walked away even more slowly.

We finally left - Seybou driving, me next to him, talking with Paul in the back seat most of the time. I noticed he was going extremely slowly, so I asked him to speed up. He then drove far too fast, endangering us, and so I told him to slow down. Again, he would go extremely slow. I said something a few times, and finally I gave up. The last part of the trip, we moved VERY slowly towards the airport. Better than too fast. No point in saying something again. I was shocked, to say the least, at Seybou's childish behavior. Seybou will be 30 in July.

I said good-bye to Paul, and they had to leave right away to not get into trouble with the police.

I was sad as I left, and wanted to call Emma and let him know what the situation was with Seybou. Unfortunately I had no credit left on my phone.

Flight To Paris

The air is out, the balloon deflated, as we would say in German. I've spent all I had to give, and now it's time to get recharged again. So I'm looking forward to my 2-month-trip, and amazingly, even that seems tiring right now, as I look at my itinerary. But I know some wonderful things are ahead.

This past week I've gone over to Daniel's house nearly every day to work for an hour or two on our papers with him. We've made good progress, and the papers for the church will be deposited this week. He said it should only take about two weeks to get the recognition, since it's a Malian association. Once they're here, Daniel's gonna deposit the children's center papers. So by the time I get back to Mali, all the papers should be there. Daniel is gonna follow up on everything while I'm gone. I have to work with him even tomorrow, the day of my departure. My plane leaves at 11 pm.

All week I've been wanting to take pictures of the complete Ongoiba family, including the new addition. We finally did it yesterday, but the sun was rapidly disappearing. I guess better pictures will have to follow in the future.

Sarata has become such a beautiful little girl, only 3 years old. I sometimes fear for her, growing up in this environment of street children with all kinds of brokenness. She needs special protection from God.

Emmanuel left for the south of Mali today, where YWAM is doing an accounting seminar for its accountants. I was allowed to send one person there to participate, and Emma has just agreed to start working for us as an accountant, among other things. I'm very excited about that, and Emma's brain has already been working on finding the best system for salaries and pocket money etc. Thank God!

Paul's High School finals start tomorrow. It's 3 or 4 days in a row - they don't know yet. Tomorrow he has to leave the house at 5 am - poor guy! I'm paying him a taxi this week, since the school he has the exams at is a long way from here.

Today I distributed clothes to my teenage boys. In the current system, they have to wait three months before receiving the same item again, for example pants or shoes. Abdias destroys everything right away, but the others are not that much better. Today they each received 4 pieces of clothing, and were very happy. Now they should look decent for their different programs while I'm gone.

I'm gonna miss my cat, Hama, and Sarata the most. Sarata and Hama always want to be with me. Every time Sarata sees me, she runs to me, and doesn't leave my side, and Hama would too if he could. I thank God for them, and even when things are tough, and you wonder why you are here - it's been worth it just for those two, if that was all the fruit there is!

Please pray for our finances; things are not looking good, to say the least.

My days have been rather quiet, doing paperwork, getting things done that have been waiting for a long time. I wanted to keep teaching my kids in the morning, but I simply didn't have anything left in me to do so. I just really need a break, and my mind is only set on getting everything ready for my departure.

I spent some time with Saloum and Fousseni, who will go to Koutiala for a 3-week evangelism camp with YWAM. We talked about some of the details, what they have to take along. I hope it will work out fine.

Abdias, Souleymane, and Sarata will do a one-week program for kids organized by the international school. Since none of the kids is going to Dio, they could do a second or even third week there, if they like it and we have the money. Right now our financial situation is extremely bleak.

In the evening, Emma and Jean came by. It was Jean's first time on our compound, and it's a shame he came when it was dark. He was still very impressed. He had some questions about what I expect of him if he helps us out, works for us.

Emma's brain has already been at work for us, thinking how to optimize our accounting, how to restructure food expenses, salaries, pocket money, etc. It all needs to be redone. He had some questions about details, and I ended up explaining everything to him, showing him how I'm doing all the accounting. It helped him big time to see how to change things.

On Sunday, he's going to Koutiala for a two-day seminar on accounting organized by YWAM. I'm thankful they let him participate, though he's not YWAM. I have good friends with YWAM.

So, a lot of good things are in the making. That's encouraging. Daniel kept working on our papers today. He called me to say it's more complicated than he thought, so he's not done yet.

Yesterday I had lunch with a friend who doesn't live in Bamako, but was here for a few days. It was good to see her and talk to her. She had just spent three months in France. He echoed what Daniel and others have said - I need people to help me out. And she emphasized that I need non-Africans to come help.

Send them, Lord!

Construction Clips

This was the second day I went to Daniel's house to work on our church and children's center papers. Daniel is an old-time Christian who was still formed during better days in Mali. He's much sought after, and we thank God that he's willing to be our consultant for a year. He's charging us the minimum price, which is still a financial burden for us at this time.

Daniel loves our work, and has good instincts recognizing the situation. He told me if I don't get help, I'm gonna break down sooner or later. I know he's right. He told me I need some mature Christians, but he also knows how hard those are to find.

Emmanuel and Jean came over today as well. Emma is part of the executive committee, together with me, Paul and Seybou, and so he had to sign some papers.

Jean is Emma's long-time friend. He's catholic but doesn't really know God. He's just finished his law studies and has agreed to help us out. Daniel was looking for someone he could form during his year as a consultant, so that that person can take over then. We'll see whether Jean is that person, I hope so. I hadn't seen him in two years or so. He's coming over some time this week to see our compound and we're up to.

Some news on the legal front: Our church name is still CENTRE APOSTOLIQUE MALIEN, but Daniel suggested we'd change the logo. So I split up the logo, one for CAM, and one for CAMAEI which is the name of our children's center - CENTRE APOSTOLIQUE MALIEN D'AIDE AUX ENFANTS INDIGENTS. The red cross is with the church, and the children are with the center.

Today was a very special service, because we had Fanta's baby to dedicate, as well as the graduation for our Bible School.

I've been bothering Seybou for weeks so he'd tell me the baby's name. He finally explained to me that it is his father - the baby's grandfather - who has to choose a name, not him. So he had to send word to the village, and somehow hear what he's decided. He said he'd tell me this morning.

This afternoon, half an hour before needing to get ready for the service, I finally called him to tell me the name, so I could write the certificate for the baby dedication. He said his name was Oumar. Then I asked him what his second name - his Christian name - would be. To my great surprise, he told me to choose that name myself. I had told him to pray about it and ask God what it was. Now the ball was in my court, and I only had half an hour! I would have liked to spend more time before God and find out what name He has chosen for him.

I sat down at the computer, and discovered that Oumar means "eloquent" and "speaker". I then prayerfully picked out a few names, always looking at the meaning as well, and finally narrowed it down to Jonathan. It means "gift from God". So, may I introduce to you:

Oumar Jonathan Ongoiba. His Mom Fanta is on the left, and the Albino lady is Elisabeth, her best friend, and the one who's been at her side since the birth. Both ladies cook for all of us every day.

Baby Dedication

I just looked where I always keep my passport, and it wasn't there. I had it with me at the police station, since they don't like other forms of ID in Mali, and remembered taking it out of my bag to put it where it belongs - and now it wasn't there. I panicked, and started looking everywhere. How could it not be there? Being a pessimist, I wondered how to travel, how to get a new one, etc., all the while asking the Lord to show me where it is.

And He did. I suddenly remembered that I had scanned it to send a copy to the Austrian consul here in Mali. It was still in the scanner! Great! Those were a few anxious minutes!

Weekly Prayer Meeting

Today Daniel came over to help us. He's a Christian lawyer, one who's solicited by everyone because of his competence. Three of his children also study law, and with the school system deteriorating, chances are they'll never be as good as Dad, but it's still encouraging to have people like them.

We didn't work that long today. He just wanted to get a better grasp of the situation, and what needs to get done. I believe he understood very well where we are at. He saw that I'm doing all the work, and that we need some competent people. He admitted himself that it's hard to find those.

He also understood well that this big vision we have, it needs a solid foundation in every way. He's gonna help us to get the legal, administrative, side up. He said he'd commit to one year of helping us, for a minimal fee. And it's up to us to find a law graduate during that time who could work for us, and who he would train. Good luck!

School For Our Teenagers

Getting Ready For My Trip

We had to get up early, since it was a long drive to the police station downtown, especially during rush hour. It was the first time having the new car saved us, since we were able to go there without worrying how to get the kids to school and back, how to pick up Elisabeth and get them to the market etc.

It took us - Paul and me - about 50 minutes to get to the police station, and then we couldn't find a parking spot; cars were already parked everywhere. We were 10 minutes late, and the police chief already called Paul where we were. How remarkable in a country where punctuality is usually unknown.

Abel, the guy representing the Malian association of churches, wasn't there. I called Baba who works right there, and he came some time later. So we walked in by ourselves, and the commissaire welcomed us warmly. He then took us to the police chief.

He had a very simple office, and asked us to sit down in the chairs in front of his desk. I gave him the copy of our registration papers, and he started asking us questions. He told us that their suspicion had been child trafficking which is what they try to crack down on. They take that very seriously now, which is encouraging for me to see.

As we talked, he become more and more favorable towards us. Before long, he told us that once we've finished our building project, we should tell them so that they could send us children. He said that when they do raids on the streets, they need to put the children somewhere. He said to just tell them what ages we take - even from birth onwards since they find babies on the streets - and they'll send them to us. Wow! Baba hadn't even come in yet. When he joined us, he did speak up for us, speaking in highest tones about us. He then told us that he had been in Darfur together with the police chief, so they are friends. Awesome. The chief even said he'd help us where he can. Wow.

We left there encouraged. Isn't it amazing how God turns around what the enemy means for harm, and uses it even to further His kingdom? Now they know us there, and we are in good standing with them. Praise God!

Having fasted because of this whole situation, I decided to go eat with Paul before returning home. lt was good to talk and have a nice meal.

More Interviews

Construction Update

This morning Fanta informed her husband that the time had come. Seybou put her in the car, went to pick up Elisabeth, and then they went on to go to the clinic downtown. They got there in time.

Fanta's little baby boy was born at 10:55 am. He was 52 cm and 3250 g. He doesn't have a name yet. Seybou informed me today that his father has to choose the name. That worried me, since Seybou now is a Christian and shouldn't go down the pagan path of all that needs to be done when a baby is born. But he doesn't understand that yet, and refuses to listen. His family's power over him is very great. Please pray for protection for the child, and for Seybou to want to do this God's way.

At 3 pm - four hours after the delivery - Fanta was ready to go home. I couldn't find Seybou, and so Paul, Sarata and I got into the car to pick her up. It's quite a long ride.

We found Fanta & the baby, and Elisabeth, and I saw the baby for the first time. You can tell that he's a healthy little boy! Fanta looked tired, and sad, which is the way she looks most of the time. I asked her whether this wasn't one of the most joyous days in her life, and she said no. I said the little boy looks good, and other women around said no, to my puzzlement.

Elisabeth took the baby, and we all got into the car to drive him. Elisabeth stayed at Fanta's side, and did a little cooking for Fanta and the two little kids. It was good timing since we were all fasting today and didn't need any meals cooked. I told Fanta to get some rest, and she laid down. I then told them to not let her work tomorrow, when Seybou told me that Fanta couldn't leave her room for 7 days now - another tradition. In any case, I hope we can dedicate the baby to our one and only mighty God next Sunday.

Sarata was excited and interested in her new little brother. When we arrived home, I told Hama that his baby brother has arrived. He excitedly came towards me, and I took him inside to show him his little brother. As we came close, he suddenly started screaming from the top of his lungs. He was terrified of the baby! I had to take him out of the room! I was totally shocked! I've seen Hama scream for fear like this. We have this video made for children, with babies on it, and he'd be scared all the time, seeing those babies. If that's not spiritual, then I don't know!

Different Kind Of Sunday

Legal Help

The rest of the day is "history". To read what happened, I invite you to read my email update here.

In the afternoon, the Americans came over to our house to do some more filming. One of them works for CBN (an American Christian TV station) and was charged to bring back good material so they can put a report together. I'll let you know when it will be aired.

At first they filmed the time of worship, Bible study and prayer that we have every morning. (They just repeated this morning's.) Right now, that is still in "Claudia unavailable" mode, with the kids taking turns in teaching. That's a great opportunity for them to get to share and develop a skill.

After they were done, I was wired to explain everything on the property to them to be filmed. Then we sat down and I was interviewed. I felt encouraged by the time the interview was done.

Daouda Leaves Us

The Americans had put all their bags into Paul's room. As Paul and the kids were rearranging the living room, one of the Americans went into that room to put something away. As he entered the room, there was Daouda, money in one hand, and one of the Americans' wallet in the other. He was caught, and no excuse stuck.

On one hand I was shocked - after just having typed out his testimony with him yesterday - on the other hand I was not surprised. He was caught stealing off the property at night more than once. A few days ago he had a fight and said it's no problem if he has to leave. Recently he's been totally unmotivated in terms of school, and I've noticed boredom and indifference when it comes to God.

So Daouda simply started packing. Having been caught stealing several times the first time, and gone to prison for it, before returning to our house, he had vowed never to do it again. But here he was. It's sad and disappointing.

Daouda packed his stuff, and we gathered around him to pray before he left. After our prayers, we said our good-byes, and he walked off our property.

Later at night, we went to the bus station to hand out food to street children and invite them to the program tomorrow, and there was Daouda. He told us he's leaving town to go to Sikasso, a town in the south of Mali. He has some family members there. Only a few days ago we found out that Daouda is not 15 years old, but 18. He's adult. May he never forget what he's lived at our house, and find a true relationship with Him.

What really amazed me was that the other boys seemed totally untouched by his departure. I brought it up in the family meeting, and they said that after what he'd done, it was only right for him to leave. That brought up the subject of Firmin. I had never explained to them yet why Firmin had to leave, and now they were open and ready to hear. So I explained it to them, and they seemed to understand.

Another one has left the house, but it felt as if our family only drew closer because of it. I love my kids, each one is precious to me. We prayed for each one before they went to bed. In the midst of all this, I had amazing peace. God is in charge of everything. I still felt sadness as I removed Daouda from the page of our kids, and looked over the kids that had been with us but are no more - Sekouba, Solomani, Eli, Abdiel - wondering where they are today and what will become of them.

As you can see, the floor is done in the dining hall, as are the pillars. The roof is next, but we don't have enough money yet to put it up. It's rained 3 times in 4 days, and while it is a blessing in this dry country, I don't rejoice any more but can't stop thinking of the kids out in the street who cannot sleep when it rains but try to stay dry.

Today they put the AC back in my office, after it had been cleaned and the gas exchanged. I thought it would work with the generator on, but I was wrong. We simply do not have enough electricity for an AC.

Enoch was with us. He said that LOTS of people come for his weekly teaching in Diago. He wants us to come and teach. Now that we have a second car, there is no more excuse not to. I've had it on my heart to go teach an intensive basic course. Pray we'll know what the right day is, and that I'll be able to pull away from the work in Bamako, and have the strength to do this.

In the evening, I finally showed my Austria pictures to my family - after all, many of the pictures I take are just for them. We sat down around the computer, and they enjoyed hearing the stories and seeing the pictures, though they didn't want to hear about the wonderful food and great mountains, without them being able to be there or eat it themselves. It was a good time we had together.

This morning, Paul did the teaching in our "chapel" time, and after that, I was totally amazed as the kids came over to me to say good-morning and hug me. Wow! What a change! However, after what happened yesterday, they're grounded for now. No leaving the property, and no video games.