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de nouvelles:
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NOUVELLE VEHICULE
SITUATION POLITIQUE AU MALI
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Quelle
a wonderful reunion when I returned to Mali last
week! I baked a few cakes, and we did a big party "catching
up" on the birthdays that happened while I was gone (so they
got two birthday parties). It's so great to hold my kids in my arms
again!
Now
we're so ready to move forward again! The kids' summer vacation
has nearly started, and already they don't have afternoon classes.
They want to be occupied during the summer, and so I'll take time
to teach them French again, as they profited a
lot from that last year. We're also planning on doing a few Bible
School courses in Bambara and orally for our older boys
and future leaders from our village churches.
We
are currently having 2 triple-bunkbeds made to
have room for more children; one as-yet street kid will be moving
in with us shortly (let me know if you'd like to become his sponsor).
One bed costs $250, so we'd be thankful for any
help with that.
At
this point, we are holding off with having Elisabeth (Paul's step-mother)
move in with the 7 kids in her care, the only reason being that
we do not have any volunteers with us right now, and just have
to have someone to watch the kids, especially with a few
girls moving in. Please spread the word,
or consider coming to help us for a couple of months yourself!
The capital where we are is back to life before the coup.
We
continue to give out rice to widows and hungry families
as much as we can; just yesterday rice prices went up AGAIN,
making it more expensive than ever. This is very tough for people,
and makes our own expenses grow as well.
NEW
VEHICLE
A
few weeks ago Paul called me in distress, because both our
pick up trucks (over 20 years old) had reached
the end of their lifespans, and the kids were missing school
because of the constant break-downs. In addition, way too much money
was being put into repairs.
So
the pick-up truck (only half that old) of a leaving missionary that
was available immediately was a God-sent! He gave us the keys right
away, and was so kind to be patient with payment. A third of the
money was already raised, but we still had to pay $6,000.
We'd be thankful for any help with that huge expense!
POLITICAL
SITUATION IN MALI
Last
time I updated you was in the middle of the 3 days of the worst
fighting in Bamako where 70 people died; the counter-coup
failed and as a result, the coup leader started arresting
everybody who was not Malian and parading them on TV as
"proof" of the neighbors sending spies to get rid of him.
In
the course of that the military decided to hold Joseph
who is only half-Malian (his last name is not); he was driving Paul
and the team to do ministry in one of our village churches. Thankfully
Paul was able to talk them into releasing him.
In
the middle of May the 40-day deadline given to
the interim's government ran out; the coup leader announced his
return to power which was rejected by the international community.
They made a deal with him, giving him a president's pension and
some other things, so he would let the interim's president stay
in power for the remainder of the 12 months given for new elections.
There
was a big outcry among the population that hates
politicians and prefers the military being in charge, and thousands
of protesters stormed the president's palace and beat up
the interim's president. He was flown to a hospital in
Paris, and has since refused to return in fear for his own safety.
ECOWAS
(the neighboring countries) have appealed to the UN to get their
permission to march into Mali and stabilize the
country as well as liberate the north. However, they did not receive
their green light - yet - for lack of a detailed plan. So they are
working on that right now, and expect to start their intervention
in a matter of weeks.
In
the north, the situation is worsening steadily,
with the rebel army growing because of more and
more foreigners coming in (thanks to Al-Qaida calling for them)
who then train locals in jihad, even recruiting
children as soldiers. They have just released another statement
making clear that their goal is to impose sharia law on
ALL of Mali. They already control two thirds of the country's
territory.
So
please continue praying for Mali, for peace, and for the intervention
force to come in soon and "liberate" us without committing
crimes against the civilian population.
Recent
articles:
ECOWAS
has Mali force troop pledge, still lacks backing (June 17)
Mali
Islamist leader rejects independence (June 16)
"Mali
ist dabei, Afrikas Afganistan zu werden" (17.Juni)
NOUVELLES
RAPIDES
- Our
village churches - Paul continues to minister in Dara
(45 min away) every week, and is back to doing ministry in Goro
(2 hrs away), now that traveling there is safe again.
- Book
Translations - My book is being translated into German
and French right now. The German translation will be
released before Christmas; as for the French we have to pay $2,000
for the translation, and then have a publisher accept
it. Any help with that expense would be very welcome.
- Construction
- In a few weeks we'll be painting the
inside of the third building, which is going to be a big challenge
since all the furniture and stuff is already inside (including
me). We're hoping to finish this building in the near future,
and then move on to the next phase, which is bringing in soil
to flatten the ground.
- Volunteers
- We don't have any volunteers in Mali right now; if
you'd like to come help us, contact me.
Réjouissez-vous
en tout temps de tout ce que le Seigneur est pour vous. Oui, je
le répète, soyez dans la joie. ... Ne vous mettez
en souci pour rien, mais, en toute chose, exposez vos besoins à
Dieu. Adressez-lui vos prières et vos requêtes, en
lui disant aussi votre reconnaissance.
(Phil 4.4, 6)
Avec
confiance en LUI,
Claudia |