Donations:

Daouda (14) ~ Solomani (12) ~ Eli (11)

Welcome our new children! Three new children of God that have switched allegiance, who all three no longer carry the name of Mohamed, and who haven't just come into the kingdom of light, but who have joined our family. Daouda spent 3 years on the street; he has never known his parents, but now he has a Mom and many brothers and sisters. Solomani and Eli both spent only 1 month on the street. Eli was forced to leave school and work for his father, when he decided to run away. Solomani was a factual slave in his uncle's household, working all hours, being beaten and with food withheld from him.

Today all three are part of our family; they are treated for the sicknesses caught on the street, they receive meals three times a day, they have all received clothes, a place to put their stuff, and a place to sleep. And all three pray that somebody in the western world would become his sponsor, so that all these expenses can be covered. Who'd like to adopt one of them for $50 or €40 a month?

Of all the people in our family, they're definitely the ones who got the best Christmas gift.

OUR FAMILY

We're now 14 people living on our property, plus 2 Austrians that are staying in the guest room for a few weeks to learn playing Malian drums. We've also started feeding poor neighbors' kids at noon every day, with most of those children still needing sponsors (see OUR KIDS on my website). Elisabeth - Paul's stepmother - is now helping Fanta to cook.

This week our kids did their final exams. Unfortunately they're not very motivated, and failed quite a few of them. In January our new kids are gonna start school as well. Solomani has gone to school for several years, and so he can easily join our current kids. The other two will together with some neighbors' kids start a new first year of primary school, also in our house. Issa is right now the only teacher, with me helping out.

It's exciting to see the family grow, to see the Lord do many things, changing them, and uniting us with His love. We've done several inner healing sessions since our return from Ghana, and it's so beautiful to see them healed, little by little, one after the other.

PROPERTY

We continue going on our property to minister to our neighbors' kids and the parents who show up. We teach them basics about the Lord, memorize verses, do games, and pray together. Last week we prayed for two sick kids, and both were healed on the spot. The picture shows a little boy with a broken arm and the classical "plaster cast" made of wood. We prayed, and the pain left. A week later we saw him again, without the cast, and he testified that he was healed right then and there. Another boy had a bandaged foot and a cane, and was limping around. We prayed, then we started walking together, faster and faster, until we ran together. He threw his cane away.

The government confirmed to us that their work will be done by March, and then they will give us the title deed for the property, and we can finally start to build. The first building phase will take 3 months, therefore we're planning to move by the end of July. So far, only the well is financed. We're still in need of about $150,000 for the first phase, which includes the wall, the well, electricity installation, and two houses. The Lord will certainly build His house, I have no doubt!

LEGAL STEPS TO TAKE

Because of the problems with Fousseni's father, I've taken steps to establish relationships on the government level. I've also met with a Christian legal advisor, and finally received some clear information. I learned that we have quite a few steps to take, and two more organizations to register for everything to be conform with the law. Please pray for wisdom, God's grace and protection these next few months as we take care of this. Legally, our children are not protected right now; i.e. if Fousseni's father wants to come get his son, there's nothing I can legally do. And yet, I promised Fousseni to protect him, and that his father would first have to pass by me before getting to him.

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS

Tomorrow, Dec 23, we have many special guests with us to celebrate Christmas with. It's our annual Christmas Party for Street Children (and neighbors' kids). There will be games, food, gifts of clothes, healing prayer, and teaching about Christmas. Please pray for miracles of salvation and healing.

On Sunday we're having a normal service, but followed by handing out gifts to 20 poor children in our neighborhood, who all either have a sponsor or are looking for one. The German NGO managing the sponsorships made it possible for each kid to receive candy, shoes and a toy.

That includes also the kids in the village Dio. On Tuesday we're driving there, and 19 children will receive those giftbags. Then we're gonna set up our video screen and show the Jesus-movie, before giving an opportunity to start a life with Jesus. We're gonna spend the night there (an adventure) before returning to Bamako the following morning.

With our family, we're celebrating Sunday night. The gifts are heaping up on their special table in the living room, and everybody has counted how many gifts have their name on it. The excitement is rising with each day. On Monday, we're gonna go swimming - on top of the kids' list of things to do!

HEALTH-WISE

I've really been struggling health-wise these past few months and weeks, because of too little sleep due to too much work. Recently I've been getting worse, but I've noticed the warning signs, and know I can't go on indefinitely on 4-5 hours of sleep per night.

Two months after Seybou took his driving test, he finally got his licence. He's started driving the kids to kindergarten and back three days ago - and I gained an additional hour per night. The kids are also on vacation now, so I'm hoping to get more sleep.

Please pray for my health. I do want to be a good steward, so my kids will have their Mom for a long time. They also need to learn to give me some rest in the afternoon, and not to knock every few minutes.

NEXT TRIP

My next trip is already in January (but then I'll stay in Mali for 4 months before traveling again). I'll be in Paris, Dayton, Kansas City, and Pasadena (see details on the left or the CALENDAR page), during just over two weeks.

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It's time for me to get a few hours of sleep, before our big Christmas Party tomorrow. Your prayers make a big difference - don't make Christmas the time Christians pray the least (as statistics have shown)!

May you become a little child again this Christmas season, to have childlike wonder at the great miracle of God becoming man, and run to your heavenly Father, jumping on his lap with gratitude and awe, hiding yourself in His big arms, and listening to His voice!

In love with HIM,

Claudia