Donations:

WORKSHOPS & BUSINESSES

LAST YEAR'S COUP LEADER ACTS AGAIN

Just over a week ago, last year's coup leader from the military, who had been the vice-president since then, overthrew the transitional president and took power. Yesterday he was sworn in as the new president of Mali. The regional economic block and African Union have suspended Mali. The World Bank have halted payments, and France has stopped working with Mali to combat the jihadists. Paul has told me that the islamists, who have very close ties to the new president and empower him, have already been emboldened and have attacked installations close to Bamako. He thinks that there are going to be attacks in the capital city, which hasn't happened for quite some time.

The government has paused all operations, while reshuffling the personnel in various positions. We had been working hard on getting the title deed for our land and building permit and had been very close to getting them. Paul said it's possible we'll have to start from scratch again because of the new people in place. Please pray for our papers. Pray also for the nation of Mali, and its people.

EASTER KIDS PARTY

Last Christmas we had nearly 800 children who came to our Kids Party, a new record. Our Easter Kids Party took place on Easter Monday. The first children arrived at 6:30 in the morning. We have numbers we give out to them as they come in, as well as candy, and later they get their pair of shoes and drink in that order. When Paul reached the number 1000, he stopped, because that is how many shoes we had. We have never had 1000 kids on our base at once, and I don’t know how they all fit into our dining hall, but Paul crammed them all in.

But first he played three games with them, which is another challenge with that many children. One of the games they played was "Simon says" (which we call "Jesus says"), and by the end of the last game they had narrowed it down to one winner. Then they all went into the dining hall, where they started praising God with song and dance. What a sight that was! Make sure to watch the video of that day on our YouTube channel.

They all sat down on the floor, and Paul started preaching the pure gospel to them, from beginning to end. Then he had a Q&A time to see how well they had listened, followed by a prayer of dedication to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

The children waited in our courtyard, while our kids laid out 1000 shoes on the floor in rows. Then the tough job of having 1000 children come in one after another, in the order of the number they had been given, started. Each one of them received a drink and pair of shoes. And once the meal was ready, they could have a plate of food to take with them if they wanted.

As you can imagine, it took hours for everyone to get their shoes. Once they were done, Paul looked outside the gates, and was surprised to see another 500 children waiting there to get in. As we did not have any shoes left, he went outside and preached the gospel to them right there on the street. Another 500 children had an opportunity to pray a prayer of commitment with Paul.

While Paul was busy doing the program, parents from the neighborhood showed up to pull their kids out of our base. They were complaining that their kids were singing Christian songs at home, and that they were changing (for the better)! They are Muslims after all!

There was also another visitor. The village chief of our part of town sent his deputy to thank us for all we've done for the community. Obviously the news of our Kids Parties are spreading, having reached the village chief’s ears, and bringing more children each time. Who knows how many will come to our next party!

We have sown so many seeds, and are already hearing news of the fruit from the neighbors. Who knows what a great harvest these seeds will bring once these children are adults! Thank you so much for making this possible with your donations and prayers.

SHOES FOR DARA

In our last newsletter I told you about the village chief's firstborn son who had become a believer just after completing the biggest mosque ever built there which he had funded for the most part. It became a huge scandal in the village. People are talking about us everywhere, about the village chief's son, but also the many bags of rice we've given away with no strings attached to help those in need. And they're amazed that these generous Christians distribute hundreds of pairs of shoes, clothes and toys to children twice a year, without expecting anything in return.

Paul had 550 shoes with him to give away, which was by far not enough. Another 800 children had to leave empty-handed. However, they all heard the good news of the One whose love compels us to bless them and who desires for them to know Him.

SHOES FOR SEBELA

We learned from our shoe shortage, went back to the shoe store and bought a few more hundred pairs of shoes. The store owner also gave us a lot of pairs of shoes for free, as he knows that we give them away to children in need. And so we had 1080 pairs of shoes to take to the village of Sebela, where this was our second shoe distribution ever.

Sebela is the village where the only believer came to us a few years ago, pleading with us to bring the gospel to his village, and in this first meeting 200 people became believers and a church was established. Since then many more have found Jesus, and the gospel is spreading like wildfire. That original believer is now the local pastor, and the whole village council has become believers as well. They were very organized and made a list of all the kids that would receive shoes, and they were called up by name to find a pair of fitting shoes for them. It took 7 hours to distribute all the shoes, and many Muslim families were blessed as well.

FRUIT

Paul has told me that the news about "the Christians'" generosity have now spread far and wide to every village in this vast region. So much so that the mayor over the region has called Paul to thank him for all we've been doing for the people.

In total 2600 pairs of shoes were distributed to children in need. Some did not have any, or had shoes that were falling apart. Some still had the pair we gave them at Christmas, and will only get shoes when we come. Some children have never owned a toy in their life, and guard that toy with their life once it's in their hands. We could not have done ANY of this if it was not for you, the donors, and the intercessors, to make it possible for us to pour out the love of Christ in a tangible way.

But most of all we thank the small German NGO CCARA who financed all those thousands of shoes. The people of Mali, and all of us at H2TNI, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And thank you to all our donors and partners and intercessors. I can't wait to share testimonies with you that come out of what has been sown.

QUICK NEWS

•        Daily Blog - If you are not on Facebook but would still like to read my daily blog about our life (with the triplets), including pictures, you can do so on our website. Go to https://h2tni.org/blog/.

•        The Triplets - Our little ones are growing well. They can now say a good number of words already. The Corona restrictions are finally slowly lifting, and so we take them places as much as we can. At the end of this month their dance class is finally starting, and we're still looking for a swim class. They love going to church, to dance and worship, and join us in praying for the sick, when we get an opportunity for that. Sammy likes standing on his feet a lot, but has yet to master sitting by himself.

•        Itinerant Ministry - Now that it's possible again, we're praying and looking for open doors in Austria and elsewhere to start traveling again to minister in churches and different groups. Let us know if you would like us to come to where you are. As the triplets are turning 2 soon, we're waiting for the mask mandate on planes in the US to be lifted, as I will not put a mask on our little ones. We're also considering whether to travel to Mali in the summer.

•        Car Repairs - Our car is on the road all day long, which really takes its toll in this climate and the rough terrain. We had to replace our cracked windshield, which was very expensive, and are in need of replacing all our worn-out tires. Thank you for your help.

•        First-Grade Teacher - We are still looking for a French-speaking first grade teacher to join our team. There is such a need for a good, Christian school where the children are treated with dignity and learn something. Many of our Muslim neighbors would send their children to our school. Please pray we'll find a teacher!

•        Malian Director Paul - Please continue praying for him, as he carries the weight of the ministry all by himself and is very busy.

•       Volunteers - Do you want to come change an orphan's life? Do you want to heal the sick? Preach the gospel to those who've never heard? Come to Mali for a season and let God change your life. No language skills needed, but French skills are helpful.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. (Jesus in Mat 25:35-36)

Loving HIM,

Claudia (& Randy)