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CHRISTMAS PARTY FOR STREET KIDS

On Dec 22nd it was time for our yearly Christmas Party for Street Kids, including our neighbors' kids. We had a total of close to 100 people show up to hear the good news, have fun and be blessed.

We started off with a fun game - catching an apple in a bucket of water with your mouth, without using your hands. Every winning group was split again until there was one winner - a little neighbor's kid that was happy to receive a stuffed animal as prize.

Then we had a time of praising God together, singing and dancing, before it was time for the teaching. I put up two flannelographs to tell the Christmas story. Malians love stories. I shared the whole gospel, God creating man, and longing to have a close relationship with him, our sin separating us from Him, and His solution. They were captivated by the flannelograph, and I had them put the sheep on there, which they love. I shared about a loving heavenly Father, who would never leave them nor forsake them, and who was longing for them to come to Him that day. In the end I gave an invitation to start a life with Him, and many stood up to pray with us. After the prayer, I gave them a few instructions how to go on in their new life, and then we prayed for those who needed physical healing .As always several were healed.

As a first this year, we had Jessica - our new western-trained nurse - who was able to treat children medically. What a blessing! For now Jessica is not moving in with us, but will be available at all times.

The sun had gone down, and it was time for our special meal the kids had been eagerly waiting for. Fanta and Elisabeth had been cooking all day, and the food was gone within no time at all. We also had juice for them that they loved.

The final, long, and tiring, but also joyful, part was the clothes distribution. Thanks to a big donation from a church in Vienna we were able to not only serve a Christmas meal, but buy 120 pairs of shoes and lots of clothes. For that reason every child received a pair of shoes and a clothing of his choice. Many street children had showed up without shoes, and many chose a blanket over the clothes since it's "cold" season now when it cools down at night. It took us hours to distribute but seeing the smiling faces of the children leaving our house was sure worth it!

It broke my heart to see all those small children, on their own on the streets, exposed to all kinds of dangers. I talked to some of them to find out more about them. I can't wait for the day when our base will be built to give those little children a home, hope and a future.

More details and pictures from this day in the blog for December 22.

CHRISTMAS IN THE VILLAGE

When we arrived in Dio, the kids were already waiting for us, and more gathered so that there were 60-70 children by the time we started our Christmas program for them. But first we had a meal together. Three times a week we provide a meal for about 40 people, most of them poor children, who we also pay schooling for, thanks to family sponsorships established. If you would like to support a poor family on a monthly basis, contact me.

Paul started leading a time of praising Jesus, before it was my time to tell the Christmas story again, as I had done at the street kid party. The children and gathered Moms listened carefully as they heard why Christians celebrate at this time of year. I invited them to start living for Jesus, and at least the kids seemed eager to do so.

Then it was time to distribute gifts that were made possible by the same donation from Vienna. Each child received a notebook, pen, pencil, eraser, and candy, as well as a T-shirt. The joy was great that day, and people started even coming to get in on the distribution. The pastor told me that the news of us giving out clothes would spread all over the village and beyond in the days to come.

If you'd like to see more pictures and read more details about our day in Dio, read the blog for December 26.

FAMILY CHRISTMAS

Again, thanks to the same donation, we were able to have a wonderful, special Christmas day as a family. We all went to a restaurant for lunch, and then to the swimming pool. In the evening we had pizza (yes, there is an Italian guy who opened a pizza restaurant!), then we prayed and sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Jesus, before opening our many gifts. Each person had drawn the name of another person to give a gift to, and some people had gifts for more people, so the gifts for the 20 of us abounded. The German NGO managing our kids' sponsorships also contributed so that every child received a little package of useful things - thank you!

To see pictures from our special day and read more details go to the blog for December 24.

A special thanks goes to FOUR CORNERS church in Vienna, whose generous donation enabled us to have three special days of celebration, for the street children, the children in the village, and as a family.

FAMILY SHAKINGS

This Christmas wasn't only a time of joy, but also of sadness as we saw two of our family leave.

After 13 months, Solomani left us on Dec 23rd. He had had chance after chance, we had given everything to help him, but he only had disdain for us and God, and kept stealing from us, which was only discovered when he left. There was relief in the house that we FINALLY knew who was the thief among us, and peace returned after his departure. We wanted to help him find his family in Ivory Coast, but he had no interest. Street children told us that he stole stuff from people at the bus station, before leaving town. Please pray for him.

If you want to find out more about the circumstances surrounding his departure, click here.

The other person we had to expel was Simeon. This story is especially sad, as he was the first person who came to know the Lord just two months after my arrival. However, things with him went from bad to worse, and several of his actions by themselves would have been sufficient to expel him. Again, chance after chance was given but not taken. For the good of our church, and his own good, we finally had to make the tough choice.

Unfortunately Simeon has not taken it well and is seeking revenge. He went to pick up our church papers before "disappearing". He has some influence on the government level, and I believe him capable of anything. Please pray for protection for us, that he won't succeed in hurting us. Pray also for him.

If you want to read more about Simeon's departure, click here.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

Construction has been progressing, though not as fast as hoped because of lack of funds. We're moving in a month, but are still $27,000 short to finish. We also have to pay the remaining money for the solar power system which is $15,000.

Since the money is not sufficient to put in the tiles and finish the walls, we will probably be moving into tents in the courtyard on February 1st. Good thing it's not rainy season ;-).

This picture shows our boys and Vroni in our future living room. The other one myself and Kossi (construction manager) in front of our house.

QUICK NEWS

•        My Health - These past few weeks I've been battling malaria, an eye infection and toothache, and it seems that maybe none of these are resolved yet. Please pray for my health to be restored before I leave for the US. I have also lots to get done these remaining three days.

•      Village Churches - We have tried to see how many committed believers there are in the village now, after having seen hundreds come to the Lord this past year. We now have 4 village churches with about 200 believers. The challenge is still to disciple them properly, as our main pastor there is overwhelmed by that task. As soon as we have the capacity on our new base in Bamako, we want to choose future pastors and have them join us in Bamako to be trained and prepared and sent back to their villages.

•      Our School - My teenagers had exams before Christmas, and they all failed 3 or 4 out of 5 subjects. It is rather discouraging that I spent more time preparing their exams than they did studying. Partly it's because they are not used to it, and lack concentration and motivation. They have the month of January to review and will retake their exams when I return from the US. I'm still looking for a good teacher to replace me and free me up to do other things.

•      North America - I'm leaving for the US Thursday night. I'm going to Ann Arbor, MI, Abbotsford, B.C., Augusta, GA, and Pasadena, CA, and will be back in Mali on Jan 29th. My cellphone number in the US is the same as always: (714) 675 8015. Trip details on the left and on my CALENDAR page.

•      January in Mali - Vroni, our visitor from Austria, is staying in Mali until the middle of January. After her departure, Paul and Firmin will be alone with the kids for two weeks, with Paul being at school during the day. Since Firmin is challenged when it comes to dealing with teenagers, please cover them especially during this time. I have also asked Emma to help out, but nothing is certain yet.

But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.. (Jer 20:11)

All HIS ,

Claudia