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I have no desire to go into the details of all the events with Seybou and his family again, but invite you to read my blog from Friday, August 29 through Monday, September 1st. Let me give you a short summary, then an update on the current situation.

SEYBOU & HIS FAMILY GONE

Four years ago I hired Seybou as my night guard when I moved into the rented house where I/we lived for 3 years. He was not a believer, and illiterate. He joined the literacy class I was teaching and became a believer in the course of it. A year after he started working for me, he was baptized.

Eight months after him joining me, I found out that he has a wife and two children back in his village. I explained to him that his family needs him, and we brought them to join us. His first-born, handicapped Hama, was 4, and his girl Sarata just a few months old. After a few months with us, Seybou's wife Fanta also decided to follow Jesus, and was baptized at the next opportunity.

I sent Seybou to driving school, and he became our driver, driving the kids back and forth to school and running all the errands. I trusted him completely. His wife Fanta did all the cooking and laundry. I came to love their children as if they were my own. Especially handicapped Hama who was totally neglected, unable to smile, when he came. I loved him to life, and we worked with his physical as well as mental handicap, to give him a future. That culminated when he and his sister were enrolled in an international school, where they made a lot of progress during the first two weeks there.

Both children ran to me every time they'd see, and always came to me for comfort. I was always their defender, comforting them, and sometimes just holding them in my arms, a secure place, until they'd fall asleep. In June, their third baby was born, and I had the honor to give him his Christian name, Jonathan.

All that has come to light about Seybou even since their departure is absolutely mind-blowing to me. I would not have thought him capable of any of those acts. He changed after move to our property in February. He became really close with our (non-Christian) night guard, who was into watchcraft, and succeeded in drawing Seybou away from God and into all kind of stuff. To the point where it looks like it was the two of them who tried to steal our solar panels two days before my return. Seybou also stole kitchen ustensils and mattresses when he left, and he had already rented a place in the same part of town. More info in my blog.

My Mother's heart was broken when my little ones were taken from me so surprisingly and suddenly. Seybou does not allow us to ever see them again. Handicapped Hama (now 7, but mentally 3-4) has no future in this culture, but to become a street beggar. I pray they don't think I kicked them out, that I didn't love them, that their parents don't tell them lies about us. I pray for their protection, and their future.

Not only have my beloved little ones been taken from me, but the guy who has been with me for four years and who I trusted completely, has betrayed me, stolen from me, and taken advantage of me, and refused to even talk to me about everything when he left in anger. That hurts.

DIVINE PERSPECTIVE

After a few days of weeping - primarily over the loss of my children - I realized more and more how much God was in all this. He had answered my prayer to bring the fire so that only what is holy can remain. Seybou chose to not follow God, and the hidden sin could not remain in the camp. I always pray for everything that's hidden to come to the light. That prayer was answered. We have promises from the Lord that His glory would live on our property. Nothing unholy can remain in His glory.

This past year has been a year of losses in terms of relationship - from my spiritual Dad, to several team members and children. We've been reduced to a small core group. I believe we - the few of us - are the ones the Lord can now build His house with. There is now a solid foundation to build on. Yes, we're small. Yes, it's seems like we're starting over. Good! It's time to build, time to grow, time to move forward!

But first, the enemy wanted to completely finish us off after his first victory with Seybou:

PAUL LEAVING?

Not long after Seybou left, and after I came out of my short time of grieving, things started to get worse with my four remaining teenagers and Paul. Disobedience on the boys' part, and Paul getting angry about everything I'd say or ask, with His anger rising. Some degree of chaos started reigning, and I cancelled all activities. And then Paul came to me today asking for all his documents because he was leaving us. I started talking to him, reasoning with him, and in the end, he said he'd go pray. Good choice.

Little time later he came back, saying he'd stay. We finally sat down to talk. He shared with me that two nights ago he had a dream. In this dream he was packing and leaving our house. Then the Lord told him to stay, and he stayed. So, he had already dreamed the whole situation, and God told him he was to stay - in the dream. Hallelujah!

Our conversation was very fruitful, and peace restored, also with the children. We all know this was the enemy's attempt to destroy us completely, and because of unhealed places in every one of us, he had some measure of success. I'm glad Paul agreed to some inner healing sessions (TPM).

We decided to go ahead and have our weekly prayer/worship meeting. We started off hugging each other, and then I had each person say something he liked about each person. It was great! Then we worshipped God together, and His presence and peace just washed over us. It was a beautiful time.

THE DAYS AHEAD

Last night we picked up 24-year-old Matt from Topeka, KS, from the airport. He's helping us out for one month. We're very thankful for him coming during this difficult time. His first day was sure eventful. We pray that his time with us will be a mutual blessing.

Our new night guard is watching for his second night tonight. We pray he is the right one (one has already come and gone). He has a wife and 5 children, 3 of whom live with them. If he's the right one, they would all move in with us some time in the future.

Our Christian carpenter and his wife and two children (1 and 3) are moving in with us in about two weeks. They are wonderful people, and the wife is going to take over Fanta's tasks. Until then, Paul is taking care of breakfast and dinner, and Elisabeth is still coming as always in the morning to prepare lunch.

We now also need a new driver to drive everyone to school and back and run errands. My oldest boy, Saloum (18), is going to driving school right now. We're also considering hiring Firmin as a driver, since I paid driving school for him, and he lives closeby. Thankfully school doesn't start until October.

We've had our pick-up truck for one year, and have been repairing it every other week or so. We just paid a lot to have it repaired again (something rare), and should have it back tomorrow. Without that car, we cannot pick up the street children for our program, since the other one is too small. We plan to start the weekly program again next week. It was suspended during rainy season since we had no inside place to do it.

Last Sunday we had a day of prayer and fasting, but this Sunday we plan to start a new chapter, doing the service inside the dining/meeting hall for the first time. It is not done, but the roof is done. We're hoping to open it up for the street kids to sleep in very soon.

Hyacinthe - a teacher and gradute of our Bible School - is teaching my teenagers every morning right now. They are going to enter the regular school system this fall, and he's trying to prepare them for that, so they can start in as high a grade as possible. School starts in October.

PRAY FOR US

That's all the news for today. We need your prayers during this time of breaking and rebuilding. I'm praying that God sends us the right people, and keeps away the others. I'm also still praying for mature believers and Western people to join our ranks to advance God's kingdom in Mali.

See what I've done? I've given you a job to do among nations and governments—a red-letter day! Your job is to pull up and tear down, take apart and demolish, and then start over,
building and planting. (Jer 1:10, MESS)

Serving HIM,

Claudia