Donations:

MY NEPHEW MAXIMILIAN

The operation 10 days ago went very well. For the first time in his short life his blood has all the oxygen it needs. His transferal to a different hospital in another city in Austria was the Lord's doing; they are specialized on heart problems in children, and my brother & his wife discovered how many mistakes they had made in Vienna. Max is still sleeping, but he is now breathing on his own, and the water in his body is starting to disappear. He's on his way up, and in a few weeks he should be able to go home to his parents for the first time in his life. Tomorrow he is 3 weeks old. Continue praying for him, and for my family's salvation.

MY SPIRITAL SON AND RIGHT-HAND MAN PAUL

Paul is 19 years old (soon to be 20) and has informed me via skype that he is getting married to his girl-friend who is 18 years old (it's Firmin's girlfriend who is younger). Today he told me that the wedding is still this year, though he would not tell me when. When I asked him whether he would leave us, he said he doesn't know yet. Paul has such a great call to ministry on his life, and I was gonna set him in place as a pastor in our main church. Ministry without him has become unthinkable. If he leaves us, we will not be able to continue operating (but then, God knows that). And he would abandon God's call on his life. Pray for God's will to be done in His life, and in the ministry.

MY FIRST STREETCHILD AND SON SEKOUBA

Since we are talking about children in distress, I want to remind you of my first child Sekouba. Sekouba was the first streetchild I took in. Of all the children in our house, he loved the Lord the most and grew the most spiritually. He had a special place in my heart, and still does. It broke my heart when he left us a year after he came, under very mysterious circumstances that can only be explained spiritually. Soon it will be two years that he left, and I'm still praying for him, and waiting for the day when he stands before me again, as the father was waiting for his prodigal son (see Luke 15). All we know is that he left town to go to a different part of Mali. Please pray for him.

MY FIRST 'MALIAN' SON SIMEON

Two months after I arrived in Mali, the first person getting saved was Simeon, my neighbor. He grew quickly in the Lord, and it was a joy to see him grow, and see his prophetic gifting. He was my right-hand man then, carrying a lot of responsability, and he was there as I started the church in November 2004. He's actually the one who found the house we rented for that. But things started going downhill rapidly, with him causing more and more problems because of major unhealed areas from his pastor. I finally had no choice but to tell him to leave this past Christmas - for his good as well as ours. I sometimes think of him and wonder how my firstborn Malian son is doing. May he be healed and restored and enter into his great calling!

SON OR DAUGHTER TO BE BORN

Fanta is having her third baby some time this month. Her first-born Hama is handicapped. In Mali women work hard, and they nearly have their baby slip out while working. I told my team to watch over her while I'm gone, but I'm pretty sure they didn't. The medical center has not been very diligent in accompanying her during pregnancy either. Please pray for a good, safe delivery, and for the child to be healthy.

SO MANY CHILDREN...

There are so many children in distress in Mali. Thousands of children that live alone on the streets, sometimes only 5 years old. They are exploited sexually, take drugs, steal, and try to survive. We have many regular kids come to our weekly program. We need to keep building to have room for new children to stay with us. But most of all, I want to see our future Dining Hall built as soon as possible, so these children don't have to sleep in the water during rainy season. Will you help us get the building done? Will you help us provide a safe place - from abusers and other mean people - and a dry place for them to sleep? During rainy season, these children have open, infected blisters all over their legs because of the streets being under water, full of filth. We just need another $28,100 or €18.000 to finish it. In May, it starts raining a little bit, from time to time, and in June rainy season really starts, lasting until end of September.

As food prices continue rising, hunger increases as well. I will not turn away a starving child, or a desperate Mom trying to feed her children. God said to Heidi Baker that there is always enough because He died on the cross, and we will stand in faith, giving what we have, and praying for God to multiply the little to feed the many. Will you help us feed the hungry? Would you support us on a monthly basis? Even $15 or €10 a month make a big difference. There are 600 people who receive this email update. Imagine if each one of you gave $15 or €10 a month... we'd have $9000 or €6000 and could fulfill James 1:27 to take care of the widow and orphan in distress, rising prices or not, and see a nation transformed. Right now, we have only $1000 or €700 a month - just a third of what we spend (though a few people have promised to start giving monthly).

PEOPLE OF GOD, please let God show you His heart for Mali, and pray for us and me. I sure cannot do everything alone, and your prayers literally make all the difference in the world.

This Scripture just dropped into my spirit:

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil 1:6)

Trusting HIM,

Claudia