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CHURCH BORN IN UNREACHED VILLAGE

Diago, out in the bush, where no Christian has cared to go and preach the gospel so far. However, these people have heard of those who follow Jesus and heal the sick, and some had been healed in a meeting in another village. When they heard about the miracles taking place in villages around them in our meetings, when they heard about those good news preached, they approached our pastor and pleaded for us to come to them.

We had 6 different villages scheduled in 3 days, and Diago was number five. Usually we do a first meeting at night, when people are available, but we were told everyone would leave their work, their fields, to hear the Christians. The village chief himself told everyone to come, as well as the mayor, and the meeting was to be held in a large open space in front of the town hall.

When we arrived, hundreds had already gathered, and they were in great anticipation. Sick people had come from everywhere, and many more were still on the way. Back in Bamako - the capital where our base is - both our generators had still been working, but arriving in the village, both would not work, even after prayer. So we had to rent two other generators - one for the sound system, and one for light - so thankfully we could be heard that morning.

The mayor had set up a lot of chairs, and some people came with benches and their own chairs. They sat down in a big circle around us, and then all the students from the nearby elementary school came over for some time, before returning to class. Paul and Firmin started praising God in Bambara, and some older women soon joined in. You can watch a little clip here. My boys played the drums, and after three days of playing, their skin had started to crack.

All the village elders and important people had gathered. The village chief welcomed us publically, and gave us three chickens. In return, we presented a Bible in their language to them, and blessed their village.

The Lord had given me a fresh healing message for those days in the villages, and every time I gave it, I could feel the anointing on it. These people already believed in the healing power when Christians pray. As I shared, I could feel the air nearly tingling with expectation.

Our visiting team of 23 Americans split into their 7 groups, each with one of my Malian kids/team members as interpreters, and started praying for the sick. Each group was surrounded by a crowd of people. It's hard to estimate how many had come in total.

In this one village alone alone, we counted 611 healings. Looking back, I don't know any more what healing occurred in what village. These are some of them:

•    A deaf-mute girl started hearing again and was able to say "amen".
•    A lady had several tumors - they were all gone.
•    Several people had their eye-sight improve.
•    Several older people could not stand upright anymore; after prayer they could.
•    Some people who had a hard time walking walked better again.
•    All kinds of pain - stomach, malaria, etc. disappeared.

People gathered back together to hear more about the One who had just healed them. I clearly presented the gospel to them, and asked who wanted to know this Jesus, give their lives to this Jesus, and follow Him the rest of their lives. Many hands went up, and I asked them to come forward. About 200 people came (see picture) - young and old, men and women - and prayed, dedicating their lives to the one and only, almighty God of heaven and earth. Hallelujah!

The village chief was among them, and since I told them it was important to gather to read the Bible, learn and pray, he said they'd gather in his home every Wednesday morning. On May 22, 2008, the church of Diago was born. Praise God!

REACHING OUT TO THE UNLOVED

During the 2 days in the 4 villages, we counted 782 people healed, and 339 saved. The kingdom of God is advancing in this Muslim, unreached nation! The challenge now is to disciple these new baby Christians. We sure need workers to help us with this great task, as village after village calls for us to come, but we cannot get village after village saved without people to teach and disciple them. My heart breaks hearing the cries of these people who live in the dark, who perish without Jesus... Lord, send the workers into the harvest!

While the American team was with us, we also went to the bus station where we give out food to street children every week. They showed them where they are sleeping, so they could film it, and shared how they stand against the walls when it's raining, so they don't get wet, which means they cannot sleep. It was then I made the announcement to them that as soon as our (future) dining hall has a roof on, we'll let them come sleep in there. They started cheering for joy when they heard that! Please pray that the remaining money is given soon, so we can finish the roof asap. Rainy season has started.

We also did our weekly program with the street children and had much fun. Then the Americans organized a party just for them. We rented a room, brought the sound system and music in, and purchased drinks. Fanta & Elisabeth spent all day cooking for 80 people to have a feast. We had an awesome party! The kids on the street were talking about it for days, making those that had missed it jealous. And for the first time I heard them give me a name: "Mother of Street Children". What an honor!

Other things our visitors did was taking a tour of town, preaching in our church and another church, doing a concert at university, going door-to-door to share Jesus and pray for the sick, and other stuff. I believe their lives were changed forever, and I have asked them to write a few lines of testimony I could pass on to you.

If you'd like to read in any more details of some of the things that happened while they were here - and I've barely touched on all those things - or see more pictures, go to my blog for May 19-26.

QUICK NEWS

•        Firmin - After nearly two years with us, Firmin has left our house and moved in with his uncle who lives closeby. He was supposed to come daily to work with Hama, but that looks uncertain right now. Please pray for him, and pray for our kids and team members who are taking this separation very hard.

•        Sama (5) - Sama is one of the children who comes to our property every day to eat after school. Sama lives with her grandmother (Paul's step-mother) in an Albino family. She recently lost her sponsor, and now we're looking for a new one to support her for 40€ a month. Please contact me if you're interested.

•        Baby Boy - Fanta's baby boy should be born any day now. Please pray for a smooth delivery without complications.

•        Power Problems - We're running our generator all day every day, which costs us a lot of money, and the noise is deafening. We have to wait for the return of Anco, who made the installation, who is in Europe until August, so he can fix what's wrong.

•        H2TNI Incorporated- The incorporation was done on May 22nd, 2008, so that Healing 2 The Nations International now is an official non-profit organization. We still have more paperwork to get done before we can receive tax-deductible donations. Our first board meeting is this summer. The board of trustees consists of Peter Slavovsky (GA), Tom Richardson (KS), Dave Ryser (MO), Jill Austin (CA), Christine Hämmerle (Austria), and Renate Riha (Austria).

•        Workers - We need people to help us in the ministry in Mali. I need white people, as well as Malians. I'm still the only white person here, and my Malian team is small. I'm doing the work of several people, and don't have enough locals to help out. I know there are those out there called to work with us. Pray for them to hear the call and step out in faith.

•        North Of Mali - Over recent weeks the situation in the north of Mali has declined dramatically. The sahara is a hotbed for smugglers and terrorists, as well as rebels who want independance for the Tuareg people. The rebels have recently had several successes over the Malian army and are advancing towards Timbuktu where they have nearly arrived. Please pray for peace for the north of Mali.

•        Nephew Maximilian - After nearly 2 months in hospital, Max was released and is now home with his relieved parents. Thank you for praying! I will see Max for the first time in person end of August during my short stopover in Vienna.

•        US Summer Trip - In three weeks I'm leaving for Canada & the US. I'll be traveling for 9 weeks, going to CA, MI, AZ, MO, KS, GA, Montreal and Vienna. You can look at my itinerary on the left, and read more details on my CALENDAR page. I'm still looking for a place to stay in Garden Grove/Orange, CA in July.

When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd. "What a huge harvest!" he said to his disciples. "How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!"(Mt 9:36-38, MESS)

My Beloved's,

Claudia