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SO MUCH NEED, SO LITTLE TO GIVE
FAMILY CHRISTMAS
STREET KID CHRISTMAS PARTY
FLORENTIN IN SENEGAL
QUICK NEWS

SO MUCH NEED, SO LITTLE TO GIVE

This Christmas we gave a bag of rice to a widow and her children who hadn't eaten in 3 days - they were in tears. We also gave rice to a refugee family from the north of Mali who are in danger of losing the one room they are renting in an unfinished house because they have nothing. They were also in tears, and Paul gave of his own money so they could buy ingredients for a sauce to go with the rice.

We don't talk much about the way we help widows and the poor as often as we can, but every time we do, my heart just overflows by how much we can do with the little we have. Rice is at an all time high of 32€ or $40 for 50 kilos, and the bags now contain only about 35 instead of 50 kilos. With the crisis in the north, and nearly half of a million of Malians displaced, there is a lot of desperation and hunger.

We try to help whenever we can, but this has been a tough year, losing some supporters and gaining only few new ones. As I look at our finances, we are 3000€ or $4000 short to finish 2012 with a zero balance. If you're still looking for a place to give, please think of every refugee, widow and street child we help, and consider choosing us for your gift. I'd love to see the miracle of closing the gap to zero!

Please look to the left to see how you can give or click here.

FAMILY CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

Thanks to a church in Vienna, we were able to have a wonderful Christmas celebration for our kids, non-resident kids and staff. First, we headed to a hotel where we took over the swimming pool for a couple of hours. The kids had a blast - including the couple of children who had never seen a pool before.

Next we went to a restaurant, where over 40 of us had a wonderful Christmas dinner of chicken & fries. We had a whole room to ourselves, with long tables, and had so much fun. Again, it was the first restaurant visit for a few of our children, and they could not shake the grin off their faces!

Finally we all went home to find a spot in my crammed living room where everything was ready for the most special part of the day! We talked about Christmas, Jesus, prayed, ate cookies they had made, sang "Happy Birthday", and all lit sparklers to symbolize Jesus, the light of the world, passing on the light. Then one after another, the children came up to pick a gift to give to somebody and pick a chocolate for themselves from our Christmas tree. We had a wonderful few hours before everyone left tired and happy.

If you'd like to see more pictures, click here.

STREET KID CHRISTMAS PARTY

On the 27th we invited the street children to party on our base. About 50 kids showed up ready to celebrate. We had a lot of fun playing a few games first, and one of the little street kids was the overall winner of our big prize.

Then we talked about Christmas, and I explained the whole gospel to them which I love doing. They listened very carefully, and nearly everyone wanted to accept Jesus's gift of forgiveness and salvation.

Since the food wasn't ready yet, we started the MATTHEW film that I dubbed into their language years ago. It's the gospel of Matthew coming alive on screen, and the best Jesus movie out there, in my opinion. Once it was done, the food was ready as well.

After lunch, the kids came to my house one by one where they received a pair of shoes, a drink and got to pick a chocolate from the Christmas tree. What a wonderful day with those precious kids it had been!

If you'd like to see more pictures, click here.

FLORENTIN IN SENEGAL

On December 16th Florentin took his exciting first flight ever to fly to Dakar, Senegal, where the Austrian embassy & consulate for all of French-speaking West Africa is located. We had 3 free nights at an all-inclusive beach resort, and made the most of it. I taught him chess, tennis, minigolf, and we played a few board games. Flo also saw the sea for the first time, and timidly went into the water a little bit. Unfortunately he was sick the second day and could not do much or eat anything. Once his heart is functioning right again, those times will be over!

On the third day we went to the consulate where I met the Austrian consul for the first time and had a good time talking with her. She felt for Florentin and told us it would take about two weeks to get Flo's passport with the visa back. Praise God!

This little trip and all the fees involved cost us quite a bit of money. With this drawing Flo is saying thank you to those who helped make it possible - including those who still want to help as the whole trip is not paid for yet.

If you'd like to see more pictures, click here.

QUICK NEWS

•       Political Events - Thankfully the recent ouster of the prime minister did not have any further consequences. On Dec 20th the UN signed a resolution giving their green light for a military intervention in Mali in 2013.

•       My Health - Please continue to pray for my healing from a skin condition that is still getting worse.

•        Mali Trip - On January 2-3 Paul, Eva and I plus 3 kids are taking a 2-day-trip to the south of Mali; please pray for us. Bakary's (9) only living relative - his grandmother - is dying, and she'd like to see him one more time. Karim (16) hasn't seen his family since becoming a street kid, and wants to witness to them. And we're visiting new kid Yacouba's (13) family to get their permission for him to stay with us.

•        Thief Among Us - We believe we know who the thief on our base is who has been stealing for the past year and a half. We'll be setting him a trap now; please pray we can get proof and catch him.

•        Construction - Because of our dire financial situation, we can neither fix the crumbled walls ($2000 or 1600€) nor continue construction.

•        New US Secretary - We are looking for someone who'd like to help us out by becoming our new secretary. It's only a few hours per week - picking up mail, entering checks online and depositing them. That's the primary job, with occasional other things to do. Ask me for more details.

•        Vienna Apartment - I'm looking for an apartment in Vienna that I hope to rent soon; it will serve as a base for me when I'm there as well as an office for newly-formed H2TNI Austria. Please pray we find the right place.

•        Austrian Visitors - Two Austrians arrived a few weeks ago, and two more arrive tonight, so for two more weeks we'll have 4 Austrian helpers before I'll be the only white person again.

•       Volunteers - We need volunteers in Mali who can stay a few months or more. If you'd like to come help us, please contact me.

Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness. (2.Cor 9:10)

Needing HIM,

Claudia