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In this newsletter:

PAUL'S BABY - CHRISTIAN
FLORENTIN'S BROTHER - ANDRE
RETURNING SON - ABDIAS
OFF TO TRAINING - JOSEPH
ELECTIONS IN MALI
QUICK NEWS

PAUL'S BABY - CHRISTIAN

On July 5th at 2 am Rokia finally delivered her baby a few weeks late. Christian saw the light of this world weighing 4.3 kilos (9.5 lbs), and was 51 cm (20.1 inches) long. This picture was taken when he was a few hours old. His Mom was slightly injured during delivery but has recovered well. Christian had some digestive issues right away, relieved by medication temporarily, but healed by applying some essential oil from Young Living (that I am a distributor for). It's wonderful to have a baby under our roof again - and such a special one. Call me Grandma!

FLORENTIN'S BROTHER - ANDRE

While in Austria with Florentin I discovered André's sad story. After his Dad's death his Mom remarried but her new husband didn't want any of the kids from her earlier marriage. So she arranged for a family to take in André and paid them to take care of him. However, he was mistreated and in a bad situation. So we agreed to take him in and a few weeks ago, he finally moved in with us. He is 14 years old though he looks and acts much younger.

RETURNING SON - ABDIAS

in 2006 Abdias was among the first 2 street children ever that I took in. He was quite a mess, not knowing what love was, and became our biggest sponge for physical affection. A few years ago he left, and he's been staying at his grand-mother's house, going to school there. However, the situation wasn't easy, and we agreed to take him back in as a not-quite-yet-adult, i.e. he's going to evening school and working for us during the day. It's great to have him back. May all God has in store for him come to fruition!

OFF TO TRAINING - JOSEPH

One of our most promising young men who has a calling as a pastor and leader is Joseph. I was disappointed when he didn't get a visa for the US to accompany me on a trip, but am excited that he has the opportunity to do a 6-month YWAM Discipleship school in the south-east of Mali. He will pause his education for a year (he would have started 5th grade) and leave us for 6 months (which will be tough for us) to be trained and equipped to fulfill God's call on his life. The school starts end of September and lasts until early March. The fees are $600 plus transportation and spending money. If any of you would like to contribute to this great opportunity for Joseph, just mention his name with your donation.

ELECTIONS IN MALI

Today is the first round of presidential elections, 16 months after the military coup and half a year after the French moved in and saved us from radical Islam. Many thought it was way too early as the infrustructure was not in place yet, especially in the liberated north and with nearly half a million displaced Malians. However especially France pushed for this early date, and today many observers are amazed that the elections are going as well as they are. There have been a few problems - especially with Malian voters in France unable to vote - but all in all it's been a quiet, peaceful day with record numbers of people voting. On our base Paul & Rokia are the only ones able to vote, as the system is complicated. Less than 7 million people of a population of 15 million is allowed to vote.

There are 27 candidates with 4 of them frontrunners. A second round of voting is expected for August 11th as the winner needs to have at least 51% of votes.

A few online articles:

Timeline: Mali holds first vote since coup, French intervention

Five key questions about Mali's election

Malians flock to vote in bid to rebuild broke nation

Frustration and hope ahead of Mali's polls

Forced to flee war, many Malian refugees to miss vote

French:

Présidentielle au Mali : ambiance électorale à Bamako

Bureaux de vote fermés et pagaille pour les élections maliennes à Paris

QUICK NEWS

•       Florentin - It's been 3 months since his heart operation, and he's doing great.

•       Night Guard - We're about to finally let our old night guard go who we've had constant problems with. Please pray we find the right new guard - whether it's the one we have in mind or not.

•        Return to School - Looking at last year's expenses, we calculated that it costs us about $150 per child at the beginning of the school year to purchase school supplies and uniforms and to pay the first installment of tuition. We will enable 35 children to go to school this coming school year. We'd be thankful for any help with these expenses.

•        Bus Repairs - We are currently repairing our old, little bus as our pickup truck has become too small to transport all the kids to school, and it's never been the safest. Now that our driver has the right driver's license nothing stands in the way of using it any more. As it's very old, we can only pray it will continue to run. The repairs already cost $150 above what was projected and donated, so we're thankful for any additional help.

•        Mattresses for Street Kids - Thanks to a few of you who were so kind to send money, we were able to buy 10 mattresses for the street children that spend the night on our base. Thank you!

•        New Children - Summer is the time we take in new children, before the beginning of the new school year. We have one more free bed in our house; please pray we pick the right child if any.

•        Summer Time - Ironically, the kids got out of school even earlier this year, making an already long summer even longer. So I'm teaching them French again to help them improve their so important French skills and keep them occupied.

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

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jer 29:11)

Loving HIM,

Claudia