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Sponsor This Child

Eli (11) fled home with his brother when his father forced him to work. Abandoned on the street by his brother, he's now found a loving home with us, and can go to school again.

For $50 or 40€ a month all his needs will be met.
Will you adopt Eli?

That is the kingdom of our God.

Everything works out for the good of those who love Him. Our heavenly Daddy always has our best interest in mind. He sees the end from the beginning; He knows the future as He knows the present; He has great destiny and purpose for each one of us. Those of us who've prayed "use me" and "whatever the cost" need to be ready for the His answer, because it might not look the way we expected it or wanted it. The path to glory is covered by ugly stuff, and He will watch carefully to see how serious we were when we prayed those dangerous prayers. Will we continue on, or stop, or even turn back? Will we miss God, miss His great plan for our lives, because the journey was too hard? The path to glory means refinement, again and again, for more impurities to be burned out, for the gold to become more and more pure, for His glory to shine more and more. Stay in the furnace! Trust your heavenly Daddy and don't run from the fire, even if it's not what you expected! ,

MY JOURNEY

When I left Mali on Jan 10 to go to the US for two weeks, I was in very bad shape - physically, emotionally and spiritually. Seven months had passed since the kids had moved into the house with me. For months I had only had 4-5 hours of sleep per night, my body finally breaking down at Christmas. The tiredness and weakness led to emotional weariness and inability to cope properly with the crises of life and demands of a growing ministry, and in the end the sum of it all threatened to choke all spiritual life out of me.

For many months (even years) I've been crying out to the Lord for HELP, for the workers to be sent into the harvest. As a forerunner, I am ploughing the ground for others to follow. With the ministry expanding, I'm unable to raise up locals quickly enough to delegate tasks to. If I'm the only one with a driver's licence, guess who is going to do the driving. If I'm the only one who can teach the children, guess who's going to teach the children. And the list goes on.

But the Lord heard my cries. Today we have a teacher, and Seybou finished driving school and got this licence.

The Lord heard all my cries. By now my internet connection is good enough to use SKYPE effectively, which means I can talk to people like on the phone for free or for very little money (when calling a phone). There is no more reason not to call my friends in the US and Europe and have the fellowship I cannot have with them physically.

The Lord heard my cries for meaningful relationships, for good friends, for spiritual fathers, for mentors, for people to look up to and get input from, for people who would truly stand with me and not forsake me. I've been amazed at how He's done that these past two weeks.

The Lord heard my cries for provision. Several awesome things are in the initial stages; things that might become huge, but are too early to share. Solomani finally has a sponsor, nearly 2 months after we took him in (while Eli is still waiting). And God is setting things in place for our half-a-million-dollar construction project. I know from the beginning that I'd just be holding the hand of my heavely Daddy and watch Him do the impossible, and it's starting to happen.

The Lord heard my cries for more wholeness, for more healing, for more Christ-likeness. In fact, He allowed all the tiredness and weakness to have the dross come to the surface and deal with it. I had to see myself as really I was, and allow my heart to be broken over it. God loves those with a contrite heart, and as I declared bankruptcy, He knew just what to do to answer my cries.

TIME OF RESTORATION IN DAYTON, OHIO

So what are you really talking about, Claudia???

On Dec 2 I returned from Ghana - a trip that will be a milestone in the history of the work in Mali, as its significance becomes more and more obvious, its size already blowing me away, leaving me totally amazed at the way God orchestrated it all. In Ghana the Lord gave me keys; keys that will be instrumental in bringing healing and wholeness to the people of Mali and beyond. But the Lord also unlocked my own heart in Ghana during the one theophostic session I had with Bill, a member of the American team, and the repressed memory that came up was not pretty.

I returned to Mali and all that ugly stuff came up through the now unlocked door. I knew I was approaching a breakdown, but it was the Lord's doing, because He loves me so much He doesn't me to stay the same. Remember, I had prayed the dangerous prayers - "make me more like Jesus, whatever the cost".....

So the Lord orchestrated everything for me to be able to go to Dayton, where Bill lives, and have 4 days of intense ministry, 20 hours of receiving theophostic prayer ministry. I was desperate, I wanted to be rid of all that dross that had come up, and He heard my cries. He did an amazing work in me during those 4 days, each day getting more intense, but also with more victories. I wrote a poem that reflects on what God did. It's on my blog page, and you can read it by clicking here; it's worth it. Today I'm not the same person who left Mali just over 2 weeks ago.

In Kansas City (where I went from Ohio) I spent the whole 2-hour service in my church in His presence, lying on the floor, as He with so much love showed me how He was breaking this nice vessel I was, though with impurities, to make a much more beautiful vessel out of it, lovingly removing all impurities. You can read the details of what He showed me by clicking here.

If you would like to know more about theophostic prayer ministry, please go to www.theophostic.com.

A FATHER TO THE FATHERLESS

Not only do I have the most amazing Father in heaven, a perfect Father who meets my every need, and whose love for me is so great I can hardly comprehend or fully grasp it, but He also puts the lonely in families, He gives earthly fathers to the fatherless, who He has a special love. The body of Christ is sadly lacking the spiritual fathers He longs to give, so that our churches are full of orphans who are desperate for a father's love, and who look in all the wrong places.

I myself have longed to have a father all my life, but every father I've ever had was either a bad example and/or abandoned me. By the time I left for Mali, Claudia was fatherless once again.

On this trip, I've seen Him do an amazing thing in this area. Men that were already in my life, men who have the Father's heart, as well as new men the Lord sent into my life, received our heavenly Father's heart for me for the first time or in a greater measure, so that I now have several amazing men of God in my life that I look up to and trust and who love me with His pure love. This means so much to me, filling my heart with thanksgiving and praise.

The most precious gift has been the man I can now call Daddy - the very same Bill who I first met in Ghana, and who ministered to me in Ohio. Bill is 71 years old, a man of God, who raises spiritual children up all over the earth. I've rarely met someone like him who has such a selfless God-like love. He now knows more about me than anyone else on this earth, and he still loves me. Nothing i do or say will change his love for me. Isn't that the way our heavenly Father loves? Bill is a much-demanded man, who's been behind many men and women of God helping them step into their destinies. He's a busy man who loves the Lord and serving Him, and gives his whole life to that, so that young people can barely keep up with him. And yet, he cleared out his calendar to minister to me, his new daughter, for a few days. May we all learn to love like HIM.

CHANGE OF SEASON

Having left Ohio, the Lord spoke those simply little words to me: CHANGE OF SEASON. His purpose was accomplished. The dross removed, the gold refined, greater wholeness achieved, leading to greater holiness and closeness to the Lover of my soul. The things that kept me from going to the next level were gone. The weight that kept me from going up was lifted, so that He was able to take His little daughter by the hand and easily take the next step up together with me.

This change of season also became evident during my week in Pasadena, CA, for the HIM pastors' retreat and prophetic conference. As a good prophetic friend put it so aptly, I'm coming from obscurity into the shadows. I really don't care to be in the light (meaning visible, known to the public), but for the sake of Mali and the people in the nations of West Africa, I'm willing. I'm willing to be one who will cry out for those who have not had a voice, who are not heard, those who cry out in desperation, to know God, but also to simply survive physically. Who will speak up for them? Who will speak up for the unreached peoples? Who will speak up for those who die daily in countries nobody has ever heard of?

I will.

God has opened new doors this past week. Leaders in HIM are starting to publicly call me apostolic. I received a small supply of Mannatech vitamins for our 40 malnourished children, and it's only a beginning. A team of 6 young people is coming to Mali in May to do ministry, and one of them is a film school graduate who is going to do a documentary on what's happening in Mali. Prophetic words were spoken of our kids going out in power to evangelize Mali. Prophetic words were spoken of me being used as a carrier of revival to France. New connections were made that could become profound in the future.

What an amazing God we serve! I'm a very blessed child of the Most High. Yes, it's because He loves me, but His purpose is so much greater. I believe He's heard the cries of the people of Mali, of the unreached peoples in West Africa, for many, many years, His heart breaking, while looking across the earth for someone who will go to them, not counting their lives as something worth keeping, but giving it all for the sake of Christ and His kingdom. He just happened to come across a little girl in Austria who prayed "here am I, send me".

As I sit on the plane writing these words, I'm filled with excitement about returning home to Mali. I'm excited about the days ahead. I'm expecting great things in the months to come. Every time I return from a trip, there is increase and great fruit.

He heard my cries to be changed and not return to Mali the same. I can't wait to hug each one of my children, young and old, and to have His love flow through me to them so they step into everything God has for them. I'm so thankful that I was online every place I stayed during my trip, which allowed me to talk to them with SKYPE every single day. I realized in a new way how much I love them all, and so did they. By now not only the kids call me Mama, but also the adults. What a privilege to raise up children, and to change a nation through them. We've seen the beginning of a cultural revolution. In Mali parents don't ever speak positive words to their kids (they think it makes them weak), nor do they ever show physical effection. But my children are encouraged and praised every day, as well as being hugged and held, and it is that love that will change the nation(s).

QUICK NEWS

•    Remember Daouda, who stayed with us for a while, but had to leave because he couldn't stop stealing? While I was gone, he came with a few other kids to steal our car radio. A few days later the police showed up with him and the radio at our house, returned the radio, and put him in prison. He's 14 years old, and no child should have to be in a Malian prison. My heart grieves for him, and I want him to know that I love him no matter what. I intend to go visit him in prison, though I know it will break my heart. But for his sake I have to go.

•   Fousseni's father showed up at our house last Friday. Remember the prayer alert I sent out when he came to our house in November, ranting and screaming and threatening us. It is because of the special relationship between people of certain family names, that Paul was able to appease him. When he came back last week, he said it's because of that, he won't call the police. He came only because Fousseni's brothers would like to see him. We're now praying and preparing the day when Paul will go with Fousseni to visit his brothers.

•   I'm so proud of Paul, who was in charge during my absence. It's the first time he had to preach 3 Sundays in a row (because Emma has been gone), and I heard he did an outstanding job. He's learned well from his Mama to not lean on His understanding, but to let Him direct his path and words, and people are amazed as they listen to him preach. Yeah, God!

•   In the past few weeks it has come to light that two of our children are abusing other children sexually. Please pray for their willingness to open their hearts and receive healing, as well as for protection for our other children. We'll be doing intensive TPM sessions with all children as well as adults in the weeks to come, so that they can all receive mind renewal and freedom from the hurts of the past. Pray for me to be the facilitator He wants me to be.

•   Pray for the legal advisor Daniel who will help us get all our legal papers together. We need to start two more organizations for everything to be in order. Please pray for favor with the government, and quick resolution, as well as wisdom as we write by-laws and bring required structure to what God is doing.

•   We have two significant visitors coming in a few weeks, for a few days each. First the director of the German NGO who manages our kids' sponsorships in Europe; it will be her first time to see everything with her own eyes. And right after that our American architect is coming to finalize the blueprints for the first building phase, as well as look at the construction site and meet our contractor/construction manager.

•   We're hoping to start construction in April, if the governement truly finishes its preliminary work in March, as they've said. So far only the money for the well is there, which is the first thing to build anyway. The Lord has opened several possibilities for financing this half-a-million-dollar project, and it will take prayer for the "transfer of wealth" to happen. Check the construction page on my website for updates.

•   Please stand with us in faith believing for a new vehicle. It's only a matter of time until our 20-year-old car breaks down completely. We need a Toyota double-cabin pickup, so we can also transport a lot more people in the back :-)

•    We are going to the village of Dio every first week of the month, staying over night and doing anything the Father wants us to. Our pastor there, Enoch, told me that several of the people who got saved at our last visit at Christmas would like to be baptized. One of them is a mason, and is building a baptismal in the courtyard. Enoch has asked me to do the baptism with him when we come on the 7th of February. We will also show the MATTHEW Jesus-film in Bambara.

•    I'm making changes to my daily schedule and have reordered my priorities, so I do get enough sleep, as well as exercice, and to have some uninterrupted time instead of the constant demands on me. Please pray for grace in this time of transition.

2007 is the year of recovery. It's the year of movement. It's the year of visitation. It's going to be a great year for the body of Christ. So I decree over you recovery of what was lost; I decree that you will move forward into greater measures of your destiny; and I decree a new level of intimacy and visitations of heaven! AMEN!

Thank you for standing with me, so that Mali and West Africa will come to the knowledge of Christ and be filled with HIS GLORY!

Abandoned to the lover of my soul,

Claudia

our team and seven sponsored kids
(Nov 2006)