Healing 2 The Nations International ~ Dr. Claudia R. Wintoch ~ Blog September 2008

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Tuesday, September 30, 2008

More Solar Panels

We were all hanging out in the courtyard since there was no electricity, and the kids didn't have school because it's a public holiday (end of Ramadan), when Anco arrived with our new solar panels. We were all cheering!

Anco then spent the day installing six new panels that would increase our available power by 30%. We now have 24 panels, and he will add another six within the next two months.

Girlfriend Rokia & Kids

I was very tired all day, and got very little done.

I was glad that Paul's girlfriend Rokia came over to help cook and do the laundry. This picture shows our outside kitchen were the meals are cooked, and Rokia is on the left doing laundry.

This picture shows Fousseni (old kid) with Dramane (new kid), and our water tower in the background.

About half a year ago somebody was so kind to give us basketball hoops. I asked a welder to tell me how much it would cost to make two stands for them, but he never got back to me. A few days ago I had the idea of mounting one up on the window of the new building - and it worked. The kids are now playing basketball all the time, and loving it.

New Driver

At night, our new team member and driver Jean came. However, he was immediately called away in an emergency. When he tried to return late, Sekouba did not open the gate for him. I thought that he'd been sleeping, but he said that he had gone to the shop nextdoors to buy coffee. So Jean had to spend the night elsewhere, and came back early in the morning.

Check back for his picture.

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Monday, September 29, 2008

Hama & Sarata Back To School

Poor Matt had to leave the house at 6:45 am to take Hama and Sarata to school. After one month of missing school, it was their time to be back. Seybou explained to Paul where they now leave, and Fousseni went with Matt to show him the way.

We have a very old car baby seat that we got out again and put on the driver's side -it was for Sarata. Hama would sit in the back seat with Fousseni (picture below). The school is quite a distance away, and they got their in time.

The school director (in the picture), all the teachers, and the students very were happy to see Hama and Sarata again. And so were they! The director told me how Hama was so happy he would keep saying the teacher's name! She also told me that both felt immediately at home again, as if they had not been away at all, and they did great in school. A great day of rejoicing!

I wanted to be there to pick them up from school, and combine it with some errands, and so Matt and I went. Arriving at the school, Hama was already at the gate, and when he saw me, he started smiling all over and moving towards me as far as he can with his handicap. I wished that moment was captured on video!

I picked up my little boy, so happy to see him again, and went inside, where Sarata was having fun with a tricycle. She really loves the tricycle! I greeted the director, and we left to drive them home.

I was a little tense about seeing Seybou again, and was hoping I wouldn't. There's still too much pain in me to face him. When we got to their place, I was shocked. They live in an unfinished house - no electricity, no water - just opposite our old house, and next to Seybou's new boss's house (a rich parlamentarian). Fanta came out, and was genuinely happy to see me. My heart was in pain, seeing her there, and seein in what poor circumstances they live now. What hurt me even most is that she is there all alone all day, and so are Hama and Sarata. No one to play with. On the way there, Hama had asked me whether we were going home to OUR home, and it hurt that that was not their destination.

Another Two New Family Members

We took in Moise (13) last Thursday, and today two more children joined our family.

Moise when he first came, and today, same for the other kids.

First, Dramane (16). I mentioned him recently - his uncle would beat him up pretty badly - and he has stood out among the street children with his behavior and demeanor. I talked to Paul again, telling him, I was ready to take him without any family signature. To my surprise Paul was in agreement. And then I had two more emails from close people who recommended the same.

The other kid is Amadou (9). His Dad simply kicked him out of the house when he was 8, and so he's been a street kid since. We went to get his Dad's permission for him to stay with us, and he gladly gave it to us.

None of them knew their birthday or even year, and so we had to guess the year, and choose a birthday - the day they moved in. Now we have to get birth certificates for them, and I have already enrolled them in school.

We've now gone from 4 to 7 children within a few days; quite a step. I pray these children will stay with us and become mighty men of God. So far they have been exemplary children; I hope the older kids won't be bad examples they'll learn from.

School

Hyacinthe has been coming in the morning, teaching my boys from 8 to 11 am, to help prepare them to enter the Malian school system. I taught them to read and write in their mother tongue (or second language) Bambara first, because it's more effective, but because of that they are not that advanced in French, and the whole school system is in French. Hyacinthe said they'll be starting in third grade next Monday.

We now have 11 children in (Hyacinthe's - see picture) school. First, my 4 teenagers, and then the 3 new ones. Two of them will start in first grade (one has never gone to school before), and the third one 2nd grade. We're also sending Paul's girl-friend Rokia back to school. And then Paul's brothers and Sama will also go there. That's a lot of tuition to pay!

Family Time

Lot of work or not, I watched a Christian movie together with my kids. It was in English, so I had to simultaneously interpret the whole thing. It's a great movie - funny, and very great Christian message. It's called TIME CHANGER.

The new boys fell asleep, since they don't understand French, I guess. Sekouba also fell asleep, because he still doesn't lie down during the day to sleep, and we need to have serious conversation about that. But my 4 "old" boys loved it! Paul misses all the movies because he has to cook dinner every day. :-(

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Sunday, September 28, 2008

Visits

I was feeling a lot better today, and was actually getting pretty busy; I wasn't the one preaching today, so I enjoyed the "day off". Time passed pretty fast anyway, as I was catching up on the work that had stayed undone during my two sick days, and suddenly it was time for the service.

In the morning Fousseni had asked me whether he could go visit his Dad, and I gave him my okay. He later said that it went really well, and that his Dad wants him to come every Sunday.

Sekouba went to visit his mother, but only to pick up his birth certificate. He's now been working for us for nearly two weeks, but I'm not too happy because he doesn't sleep enough during the day, which means he sleeps at night. I told him again today that he needs to sleep during the day, and especially to be fit for the 3 pm service. As I had predicted, he fell asleep in the service.

Jean - the mechanic I interviewed on Thursday - came to our service and enjoyed it. Afterwards we sat down because he still had some questions and concerns. He wanted off on the weekend - I told him he could leave after the kids' program Saturday, and come back for the (afternoon) service on Sunday; that's exactly one day. And then he wanted his salary doubled. Once again, these Malians don't understand that their salary is not just the cash they receive; the expenses for food, medication, etc. just doesn't count for them. I explained that to him. I told him all he needs was covered, and so he asked about clothes. I told him we had clothes here, and that the adults in the team can buy them for 80% of the market price (the kids have to give 20%). I told him I couldn't give him an answer right away concerning the salary, but that I needed to talk to Emma about it. In any case, he's a mature Christian and wants to serve the Lord, so that's good. He's moving in on Tuesday night, starting work on Wed morning (the 1st). He'll be sharing a room with Paul. I hope that's gonna work out, because they seem very different.

Matt's Last Sunday

For a change, the generator was working, and so we decided to use the sound system. However, it wouldn't charge our big batteries, and so I disconnected our power-swallowing fridge to have enough power for the sound system.

We had a great time of Bambara worship, followed by me leading the French worship. Both worship times were "better" than average. After offering and announcements, I asked Matt up so we could pray for him since it's his last Sunday with us. Several of my boys prayed for him. Then I handed the mic to Matt for his last sermon.

He spoke on Jesus washing his disciples' feet, and it was great. No comparison to two weeks ago! I liked him talking about how in this culture younger guys do whatever the older guys want, rather than the older guys serving the younger. He did a great job, and at least Paul was greatly convicted.

When Matt was done, Paul said he wanted to say something, and he shared his heart. It was great! He could have added another sermon! Then Matt prayed, and then he said he'd prepared some water and a towel to wash people's feet. We sat a chair in the middle, and he sat down in front of it with the bowl.

One of the smaller kids was first, and several smaller kids followed. Then most of my boys came forward, and then Paul.

After Paul, my kids encouraged me to go next, and I did. It was a very humbling experience. Paul had been saying all along he wanted to do the same for Matt, and so he did.

Then the service was over. Jean (our new driver) said he had never seen anything like it. After our conversation with him, Paul went to go cook dinner, with the help of Souleymane, who's doing a great job cooking.

Paul & Rokia

Some time later, Paul came asking to do a TPM session. For several days he had been telling me he wanted to do one. Matt came to also join us. When Paul came in, he suddenly said he'd changed his mind, but I didn't let him go. Half an hour later, he was laughing as Jesus had set him free.

He then told me that he didn't even do the session on what he had had in mind, but what had come up during the service tonight. And then he started sharing Rokia's story with me - that's his girl-friend, and according to Paul, his fiancée. She's gone through some hard times, and Paul said he'd talk to her about doing some TPM sessions. I told him, first she needs to get to know and trust me. Right now she thinks that I have something against her - thanks to Paul.

We had already talked about this before, that maybe Rokia could come help cook every day, and get paid for it. But now I could tell that going back to school would be good for her, and it's also what she wants. She was taken out of school in third grade. So we're gonna try to send her back to school, together with all our boys. We talked also about the possibilty of her moving in with us. We would have a spare room now.

Hama & Sarata

Seybou has given his okay for Hama and Sarata to go back to school - the expensive International English-speaking one. However, he doesn't have any transportation for them, and so it's up to us to get them there. That's a big challenge. I've asked the school director to see whether any parents are coming from our direction, so that they could give them a ride.

Tomorrow morning, Matt is gonna leave our house at 6:45, to pick them up at 7 am, and get them to school by 7:30 am. And then he'll need to pick them up again at 2 pm and take them home.

It's a challenge, but their future is worth it. Not only is it time and energy, but their schooling costs $1500 for the academic year. Any donations towards that would be very welcome.

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Saturday, September 27, 2008

The Last Few Days

It's been a few days since I last wrote, so let me give you an update:

Uppy - our new dog is doing okay. She's hardly eating anything. The only thing she likes is the raw meat we bring from the market. She also seems to like Matt and me the most. Abdias is also spending some time with her. This picture shows her with Souleymane.

Madou - Paul went with him to his uncle, who gladly signed the paper to let him stay with us. So Madou is now one of us since Thursday. Since his name is short for "Mohamed", we renamed him. His name is now Moïse, which is Moses in French. He watched "The Prince of Egypt" that afternoon to see who he is named after. We gave him a set of clothes and toiletries, and I explained to him how to wash himself. It will take him some time to learn, and it reminds me how far my other boys have come.

Amadou is next on the list to be taken in, but his father has moved. They are going to try to take a hold of him tomorrow.

Hama & Sarata - Seybou (their parents) listens to Paul's Dad and was able to convince him to let Hama & Sarata go back to school. Praise God! Now we have to figure out how to get them there - and how to pay their tuition.

Jean - I sent an email to all the churches and missionaries, telling them we're looking for a driver and cook. Two different people recommended a Christian mechanic to me who's looking for a job. On Thursday he came over for an interview. We had a very good impression of him. He's a strong believer, and wants to work for the Lord. He's single, but getting married still this year.

Dramane - We've now had 70 kids come through our doors since we started letting them sleep here. Out of all these children, Dramane stands out. He has such a sweet spirit, that all of us have noticed him. He told us his story, how his uncle would beat him up every day and be very mean to him, and how he was never allowed to go to school. He'd LOVE to go to school! We asked him - like we always do - whether his family would give their consent to stay with us. He said he didn't think so.

In any case, Emma and I were planning the trip to his village - double the distance we drove when we took Ousmane home two weeks ago. It was all settled, but then Dramane was too scared to go. He was scared to be "captured" again and mistreated. It makes me so sad. Now we don't know how to help this kid. Should we just take him in without the family's knowledge? That's what we did when we first got started. Let me know what you think.

Daouda - He's the boy who was once with us for a month, but he couldn't stop stealing. He went to prison for 8 months and when he came out, we gave him another chance. That time, he stayed 6 months with us before he had to leave because of stealing again.

Paul told me that he had seen Daouda at the bus station, and that he had wanted to come once again. What audacity! He told him no. A few days later, Daouda secretly jumped onto the car and made it all the way onto our property! I was shocked at him disregarding Paul's words, and thinking he could yet get another chance. I told him to leave the property.

The flu - on Friday I woke up sick. During the day it got worse and worse, and I felt very miserable. I couldn't work any more, and was out of the picture for the prayer meeting or the street kids that night. When I went to bed that night, I crept under the covers but was shivering like crazy, my whole body aching. And it was 29°C/84°F in my room! Needless to say, I had a horrible night. Waking up Saturday morning, I still felt as bad as the night before. I knew I could not go to the village with the others. So I had to send Matt, Paul, and the kids on their own. Only Sekouba stayed - he needs to sleep during the day - and Saloum because he was in driving school in the morning.

Village - Our new kid Moïse joined our family to go to the village. First, they did the grocery shopping for the week. Out in the countryside food is a lot cheaper. However, it doesn't stay good for very long.

Then they continued on to Dio, where our village pastor Enoch lives. They spent a few hours there, having fun with the kids, before returning to Bamako. On the way home, the police stopped their car and checked the papers. When the car papers were okay, they asked Matt for his driver's licence. He showed it to them, but they couldn't read English. So they just gave it back to him and let him go.

Back in Bamako, Paul started cooking dinner. Without a working generator, there wasn't any movie tonight. In any case, I was too sick for any of that anyway, and went to bed SURPRISINGLY early. I woke up in the middle of the night, realizing I had not turned off the computer and internet, and got up to do that.

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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Errands With Surprises

As always there was no power in the morning, therefore no internet or office work possible. Then Paul told me that he had forgotten to tell me that we were out of rice. Since we had several errands to run anyway, I changed the schedule somewhat.

We had our time of worship and Bible study at 7 am as every morning. Since we had it on the program to go see Jessica (the nurse), we asked Dramane to stay so we could take him and have her look at it. I gave him and Sekouba some paper and crayons, and they enjoyed drawing pictures. In the background you can see Matt writing in his journal.

Hyacinthe was teaching the kids, and Paul, Matt, Dramane, Saloum and I left to run our errands. First stop: Jessica.

On the way, we have to drive by Elisabeth's house - Paul's family's house. On the way there, Matt mentioned that Elisabeth has been pointing out Sarata to him. Did I hear him right? Of course, Seybou's new employer is near their house.

Sure enough, as we passed their house, there was Sarata. We stopped the car, and I jumped out and embraced my little girl. I'd thought I'd never see her again! I was so happy! And then Fanta came to me. She was genuinely happy to see me, and embraced me. I told her how glad I was to see her. Little Jonathan was there too. I didn't want to let go of Sarata, who was also happy to see her. And then Sarata asked me whether she could go back to school - and it broke my heart.

I told Fanta my offer was still on the table to pay for both Hama's and Sarata's schooling. But whatever I said, Fanta said she has nothing to say in all that, it was all Seybou's decision. Paul's Dad was right there too, and Fanta conceded that Seybou listens to him. Please pray that Seybou will listen!

We continued on to Jessica, who took care of their wounds. Then she told me what she's been doing, and we talked about how to work together. The problem is that she doesn't have transportation. I was impressed, though, at all she has done all by herself. She rented a little place and has about 50 kids every night who sleep there!

We then went to the market and bought some rice before stopping at the tailor's so that Matt could give him his fabric and tell him what he wants done. The picture shows him choosing the style he wants.

We returned home where another good surprise waited for me - Anco was there! Praise God! He found that 40% of our panels were disconnected - probably Issa & Seybou's work when they tried to steal our panels. But one of the controllers doesn't work as well, and so we don't get all the power we could have.

And then Anco found a little bird nest nestled into one of the power boxes (bottom right corner). Amazing!

He also checked how much electricity our fridge has used, since he's been wondering where all our power goes. Even though we are without power about 10 hours per day, our fridge ALONE has used DOUBLE the electricity Anco's whole household in Mali uses!!! Anco has been telling me for months to buy a new fridge. Ours is VERY old. So I told him when he comes back to town next week, we'll go buy one together. He knows where good fridges are sold that are even made for tropical temperatures. But it's a big investment - about $1100.

So though Anco has been here today, nothing has changed for now. He's going home (a few hours south), and will be back in Bamako next week to start improving our system and add more panels.

We didn't stay home for long, because we had more errands to do. I wanted to take one boy along, and now it was not going to be Saloum as planned, since he had not been a good student this morning. The choice was between Fousseni and Abdias, and Abdias won the deciding game.

So Matt, Abdias, and I left once again to drive downtown. First stop: generator. Have it repaired again - a weekly thing now. The bigger generator has been there for weeks and is still not repaired. He told me to leave the generator there, and I could come back on my way home. Good.

We then went to the restaurant nextdoors, where we had a good time eating a good meal. Then it was time to go pick up our new family member.

New Family Member

Two days ago I received an email from a missionary asking who would want to take a dog. I knew it was a matter of time for us to have a dog, and so I replied we'd take him if nobody else wants him. Nobody else did, and so we were on our way to pick him up.

The kids were very excited when they heard the news. They've been bugging me to get a dog for a long time. They immediately got started building a dog house - and I was impressed with their work.

Abdias was very excited about the dog. We found the missionary's house, and the dog even greeted us right away. He's half beagle, half Malian mutt. The lady told us that the dog just wandered into the yard a few days ago. She found out that he understoods English commands, but also knew that he'd been on the street for a while. She told me that now he doesn't want to leave her yard any more. He's done with life on the street. I told her he'd fit right in with our kids!

Matt got onto the back seat with our new nameless dog, while Abdias sat in the front. Unfortunately the dog couldn't wait till we got home and poobed inside the car!

Back home, the boys were excited - too excited because it frightened our new family member. He didn't care too much about his new house yet. Matt took some time to love on him, and show the kids how to treat him, and you could tell he got attached to him.

Now Matt would call the dog "puppy" all the time, and so the kids also started calling him that. However, they heard "uppy", and so they would call him that. Finally it was decided that his name would be Uppy.

When we picked up the street kids tonight, we made sure they knew that hurting the dog was not allowed.

I was so tired when we got back home at 4 pm that I lay down. I ended up sleeping two and a half hours, and I had needed those really badly! I felt so much better afterwards! Matt also slept a couple of hours. Sekouba however is sleeping far too little during the day. I keep telling him to sleep so he won't during the night when he needs to guard the house, but he's not really listening. Today I took this picture of him.

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Sunday, September 21, 2008

Sunday Service Etc.

When I woke up in the morning, my rose was all runny, and in the hours that followed, I needed to always have a tissue in my hand. I didn't feel like preaching, and didn't even really know what to preach on. Our service is at 3 pm.

The only thought I had was to preach on 2.Sam 11 and 12, on David's sin, and the way it was dealt with. I guess being sick was the reason I really didn't feel like doing the service.

I knew Hyacinthe would be coming, and that didn't help. He arrived early, and he had two acquaintances of his who came as well. We prayed before the service, and Matt went to pick up Paul's family in our old neighborhood.

Firmin also showed up, and some of the neighbors' kids joined us. With a flicker of hope I asked Firmin to see whether Hama was with the neighbors by any chance. When he came back he told me that Seybou and his family have moved away. That news pierced my heart. My little ones were gone for good.

It was time to start the service, and I felt pretty bad physically. I had a hard time standing in worship, but I felt like I needed to be a good example to the others. After Paul leading everyone in 3 Bambara songs, it was my turn to lead French worship. I felt weak, and hardly able to do it. I asked Hyacinthe to pray for me, and he did. Then I started leading worship.

After the announcements, I asked Matt to give a financial testimony for the offering time. Then it was my turn to preach.

I silently prayed for God to help me. I had no clue how to preach, and how to make it through the sermon. But while talking I got stronger and stronger. The Lord inspired me as I went on, and by the time the service was over, I was fine. I even preached a long sermon, as is typical for me, and everyone enjoyed it. I'm glad I started recording a few minutes into the sermon.

After the service, Hyacinthe introduced me to the two Congolese he'd brought. We talked a few minutes. At least one of them said she'd be coming back.

I also talked to Firmin for some time, before he left. Matt took Paul's family back, and Paul came along. So I hung out with my boys in the courtyard, having fun.

I later learned from Paul that Seybou has moved back into our old neighborhood. In fact, he got a job as a driver with our "enemies" there who he had befriended! A rich Malian guy where he surely gets a good salary. I was shocked to hear all that!

By the way, I've also had some news regarding Simeon who left us 9 months ago. He's now part of a prayer group that Hyacinthe leads, and he hasn't changed a bit. But Hyacinthe is the right person to deal with him.

As every night Matt and Paul picked up the boys at the bus station - 18 for tonight. I handed them their card, wrote down who was here. They had dinner, and then it was time for bed. We prayed for them, and then locked the door to the house. We've now been doing this daily for 10 days, and a few kids have spent every night here. We've done a few more interviews, as we're in the process of deciding what boys to take in entirely. School starts in two weeks, so this is the time!

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Saturday, September 20, 2008

Weekly Street Kid Program

Today we did our second street kid program since the summer break. We had 34 children - a big group!

But we started the day, as every morning, with those who spent the night with us, praising God and doing a little Bible study. We're going through the book of Mark.

Matt then drove to the bus station to pick up more kids to join us for the program. In the meantime I was preparing all the props for the games and the teaching, and Fousseni was helping me.

When they came back, it was already pretty late. We handed out all the "ID cards" to the kids, and wrote down those who were new. Then it was time for the first game. They all tied a balloon on a strong around their foot and then had to destroy everyone's. The last one with an intact balloon wins. Paul's little half-brother Etienne won!

For another game we did they had to sit in a circle, and be fast. They had a lot of fun.

I would always do a game, and then a short teaching - three each. I'm now using a pre-school curriculum since their attention span is pretty short. One teaching is on worship, one on the Bible, and one on salvation. It's working really well with them.

Matt really loved the third game. You hide some candy in a plate covered in flour, and the have to make one straight line with a knife. You hit the candy, you get to keep it - but you must take it with your mouth only. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun. Matt did a lot of laughing, and took a lot of pictures.

It was 2 pm before we were done with program, and the food was ready as well. We prayed over it and all ate together, different groups huddled around a common bowl in the middle. Then it was time to take them back to the bus station. Matt had to go twice to take them all back, and it was about 4 pm before he was finally back. It had already been a long day.

With all the generators still broken, we didn't have enough electricity to actually do our movie night and had to cancel it. Instead we had some fun as a family, before leaving to pick up the kids from the bus station again.

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Friday, September 19, 2008

Street Kids

One of the street kids that spent last night with us has gotten our attention because he tends to hit other children, and last night he wanted a little boy to share the mattress with him. Red flags! After he hit a boy again just before leaving, we told him he wasn't welcome tonight. He came anyway and jumped on our truck. Paul made him get off the truck before reaching our property.

Some time later, Paul left for an errand. It was already 10 pm. Suddenly that boy was inside the property, with Sekouba telling me he was here. Sekouba didn't know he was not allowed in, and I told him so. I hope he's gone and won't cause any problems.

In any case, we had more kids than ever tonight - 20 children, 7 of those were new. I gave them their cards, and wrote down the names of the new kids. They gave us their valuables to take care of, and nobody had any weapons to hand in.

Day Without Electricity

Today was a rainy day all day - rather unusual. Because of that our solar panels couldn't be recharged, and we had no electricity. Even during the day!

Paul came back from town with the supposedly repaired generator, but once again it didn't work. That was bitter. What to do? Since Paul had to go back to town anyway, I decided to go as well. Get a chance to talk to that repairman myself, and go to the supermarket.

It takes us a while to get into town. When we got to the repair place, the guy wasn't there. The assistant turned on our generator and plugged in a lamp, and it worked just fine. That means the problem is elsewhere, and we can't do anything about it. We'll have to live with it until Anco comes to install the additional panels and figure out why everything's not working better. He should come next week.

The supermarket was closed (from noon to 3 pm every day), and so Matt and I went to the restaurant while Paul went downtown to take care of some things. We had some "mousse au chocolat" and talked. After Paul's return we went to the supermarket, and then home. It was 4:30 pm before we returned.

A Fight & Prayer Meeting

The boys had been left alone, and I had put Saloum in charge. He's the oldest and in transition to becoming a team member. True to that, he approached me after my return to let me know what had happened.

Fousseni and Sekouba had had a fight and were both injured. I was sad to hear that, and even more so that Sekouba was the one to challenge Fousseni to come outside and fight him. Unfortunately Fousseni did so.

At 5 pm it was time for the prayer meeting, but we needed to talk about this first. I listened to their story, and then talked to them about what they had done wrong. It actually was a good time, and both recognized their mistakes. I reminded Sekouba that he was now an adult on our team, and that it was totally unacceptable for an adult to beat any of the kids. He got the message. They asked each other for forgiveness, and forgave each other. It was then we were able to start our prayre meeting.

It was the first one in the dining hall. I got on the piano, and we had a great time of praising and worshiping God. After we were done, I asked (as always) whether anybody had anything to share. It was Matt who spoke up. He said he felt like he should hug Sekouba and pray for him. So he did. Then he did the same for Paul, and each one of the boys. It was so precious! My heart overflowed for my boys!

For once the generator had worked and charged the batteries a little bit. I was finally going to do some work, but then the kids asked whether we could play with the Wii. So we played tennis and bowling together - until the power went out. We sat in the dark. They tried to turn on the generator, but though it was running, the power didn't come back on. Great! I hadn't done any office work all day yet!

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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Teenagers Acting Up

It was hard getting up this morning for our 7 am time of worship and Bible study, after a long and intense day yesterday. When I went over to the dining hall, things were not quite ready yet, but a few minutes later everyone was there and ready, including Sekouba. He had watched all night, and after breakfast, he was going to sleep.

After two songs we proceeded with the first chapter of Mark. However, while the street kids have reason not to be able to answer questions, or remember the passage we read, all my boys had their Bibles in front of them, and simply chose to not participate. One problem was also that 3 of the 4 had a French Bible, and their French is not good enough. Fousseni really acted up, distracting the street kids, to the point that I had to tell him to go into his room. He refused. I said it several times, and all the street kids were watching as he just sat there. Sekouba and Paul both told him to go, and finally he did.

I finished the Bible study, and the kids had breakfast. My boys started school with Hyacinthe at 8 am, and it was time for Matt and Paul to take the street kids back to the bus station. Some time later Matt came to me distressed, saying he couldn't find the car keys. He had looked everywhere. I told him where I had seen them last night, in the living room. I finally had to give him my second set of keys.

All our boys said they didn't know anything. I knew someone must have taken the keys and told them I'd take off money of all of them, until the person came forward to confess and return the key. Nothing changed.

In the evening, Fousseni returned the key. He had been angry with me for sending him to his room, and took it.

After Hyacinthe was done teaching, he came over to talk to me. I knew he had talked to Paul yesterday, and Paul listens to him. We talked for about an hour. He started by telling me some of the things that had happened here yesterday while we were in Segou. I was shocked as I listened. He told me how undisciplined these boys are. As he spoke, and we also spoke about Paul, I got so discouraged, and couldn't help it, but tears started spilling out. I have tried everything, but the kids have no respect and never obey, always talk back. I can't ever say anything to Paul or ask him something without him exploding. And everyone is lying to me to get what they want. After 5 years, I wonder whether there is hope and all I do is making a difference. Also, how could we go on this way?

Hyacinthe tried to encourage me, and prayed in the end. I didn't want to see any of the kids nor Paul, though Hyacinthe had told me that Paul was gonna talk to me. Later in the day, we did talk a little but just about necessary things at hand. He never asked to talk to me. However, he did come over in the afternoon asking for his birth certificate. I asked him why, and as always, he refused to give me an answer. I said no, if you can't tell me why. Last time he asked it was because he was leaving the house. The only thing I was thinking of was that he either wanted to leave or be sure to have it in case he leaves. That discouraged me more.

Some time later I saw my kids and we had a short conversation. They said what Hyacinthe was saying wasn't true. I called Hyacinthe who then felt he should come over even tonight to talk about everything.

Saloum didn't go to driving school for the third time in a row, which I wasn't pleased about at all. Just after 5 pm we sat down for a half hour video teaching on site in Israel, as we try to do every day. Later Matt and I tried to play games with them, but no one wanted to.

Late afternoon Hyacinthe arrived and we sat down to talk. Paul didn't want to join us, but finally did. Hyacinthe and the kids did most of the talking. In some way it was sad to listen to the kids, but it was also good they talked. They accused Hyacinthe of telling me what they had done, and once again I told them I need to know what's happening in this ministry, and that I was tired of the secrets and hidden things I keep finding out. I believe it was at this point that Paul jumped up and said he's not ever gonna tell me anything again. He took off, got on his motorbike, and drove away. I thought, now he's gone for good.

We continued our conversation with the children. I didn't feel like we were getting anywhere. Finally Hyacinthe said for us to hold hands in a circle. As he prayed, tears started to run down my cheeks, because I love these kids and it hurts. Saloum accused me of not loving them because I don't spend time with them. I told him at this point I have to do the work of several people, and even when I just leave my work and make time to spend with them, they never want to play anything with me.

Another problem is that the kids are so careless with everything, destroying stuff, because they say God is gonna provide a new one anyway. Another problem is that they intentionally do bad things because they know they can simply ask forgiveness afterwards and it's taken care of. Hyacinthe explained to them that all that doesn't work like that.

In any case, we were praying, and then they all hugged me - except for Abdias who was so hungry it was all he was able to think of the whole time. During the conversation Fousseni told me that he didn't know what he had done wrong in the morning, but it was only his pride talking. When he hugged me, he asked for forgiveness.

Then Paul returned and asked me once again for all his documents. I knew the time for saying NO was over. I went to get his birth certificate, Bible school diploma, and passport, and handed them to him, and then returned to my office.

Hyacinthe was talking to Paul, and to my great surprise, a few minutes later they were at my door to talk to me. Paul started by asking me a question, "Am I doing any good in this ministry?" I was shocked by his question, and gave him my answer. He recognized that the enemy has been lying to him big time. There is a lot of pain from his childhood, and so he's easy prey to believe he has no worth or value. I also explained to him that the enemy was attacking us full-force, trying to destroy us now while we are weak before we can grow and get stronger. He recognized all that. He apologized and said he won't talk about leaving again.

We also talked about the sensitive subject of marriage. I didn't want to stir up that hornet's nest again. He said it was a done deal that he's marrying that girl in two years, and nothing could every change that. I encouraged him to at least read the books on marriage we have and become the best husband he could be.

Finally he asked me what I had to say, and I reiterated what I had told him last time, and nothing had changed since. (1) no more secrets, (2) when I ask a question, it's not an accusation, but I'm simply looking for the answer. I was glad when he said he'd do a TPM session tomorrow.

Hyacinthe prayed in closing, and at first, Paul didn't want to give me a hug, but then he did. He also returned his documents to me.

It had gotten late, and it was time to pick up the street kids. They took Hyacinthe along back home, since he lives near the bus station. As soon as they had left, the power went out. That was unusually early!

Now we were sitting in the dark, and I was unable to do any more work. I've hardly been working at the translation I need to finish!

I sat outside with Sekouba, while I encouraged my boys to get ready for bed. It was 10:30 before they came back with the street kids. They ate dinner, and I distributed their "ID cards". They went to the bathroom and drank some water, and then went inside to go to sleep. We prayed over them, and then locked the door. There were 12 of them. Some had already left because we came late. They told us they had been double that number waiting for us earlier. We need to buy more mattresses. We'd like to buy 6 more tomorrow. One costs $40, so we'd appreciate your help.

Construction Update

Construction has stopped once again for lack of funds. We need another $19,000 to finish the building. We need to put the tin roof on the room on the roof so we can use it as storage or have a family move in there. We're now looking for a driver and cook to move in with us. I talked to Caleb yesterday, and he told me that his wife doesn't want to move in with us, and she doesn't even want to come visit! Paul needs to be relieved of having to cook, and in two weeks Matt is leaving us, and he's been doing the driving.

These pictures show the current state of construction.

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Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Taking Ousmane Home

We were going to leave Bamako at 8:30 am in the morning, but everything turned out differently than planned.

Sekouba told us he was coming with us after all, so we had to wait for him. Also, Emma asked me to pick him up at home, though that was the opposite direction. His motorbike was not working. And then breakfast wasn't ready until late - it takes a long time to prepare - and I had to wait for Matt to come back from dropping the kids off at the bus station.

We picked up Emma, and left town just after 10:30 am - Emma, Matt, Sekouba, little Ousmane, and myself. Our purpose was to take Ousmane home where he ran away from a few days ago. Before leaving Hyacinthe recommended we'd go to the police first, to make sure we won't get into trouble or be accused of child traficking. Sekouba was with us because his family lives in the same town, and I thought he was going home. He told us though that he doesn't know yet whether he was going to stay there or come back to Bamako with us. Originally he said he was going to stay with his grandmother near Bamako until the end of Ramadan (in two weeks).

Emma was doing the driving - he always insists - and we started our 3-hour journey northeast towards Segou. We had an uneventful trip, and I enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time talking with Emma. We arrived at 1:30 pm, and Emma told us that his cousin has a restaurant where we could it. We found it, and it looked pretty nice. It was empty though - because of Ramadan. People are not allowed to eat or drink or even swallow their saliva while the sun is up during Ramadan.

We had a good time at the restaurant, and we decided it was better for Emma to go to Ousmane's house without white people around. He didn't want to go through the police, though. So Emma left and we stayed behind to wait for his return.

While looking for Ousmane's home, he saw another kid on the street that he knows. Since he knew how to find Ousmane's house, he got into the car to show the way. And then Emma missed a one-way street and went in agains the direction, and a policeman saw him. He was stopped, and so Emma explained the situation to him. He didn't get a ticket, but the policeman sent him to the police station to report because of the kid.

The first station sent him to another one where they did a report. They then told him to take the kid to a catholic center to take care of the boy. By the way, Ousmane told the policemen he's 8 years old, and they didn't even believe that, guessing 7 years. He had told us he's 10.

Emma found the catholic center, but no one was there any more because it was too late in the afternoon. So he decided to take the kid straight home. They found the house, and found Ousmane's uncle and grandmother. Then Emma learned that this little boy had told us a lot of lies.

In fact, his parents live in the same part of Bamako as us! Ousmane used to live with his uncle for some time, but then the parents moved to Bamako. This was his third time running away from home. They decided to keep him with them and to notify the parents that he was there. So Emma left him there and returned to the restaurant to rejoin us. He also had to call the police inspector to let him know how it turned out.

Sekouba's Family & Ploy

In the meantime we were pretty tired sitting there and waiting. I was very tired, in fact, I really wanted to take a nap, but it wasn't possible. After Emma had come back, it was time to meet Sekouba's family. They lived in a village right outside of Segou.

We parked the car at the entrance of the village and started walking. I love village life! I so enjoyed walking through the little streets, and greeting all these people and kids. They took us to the river, and I was amazed how high the water was - several trees were all well under water, and a fisherman was just returning with his pirogue.

Women were doing the dishes in the dirty water, and they also bathe in there, or whatever else you need water for. Sekouba is from the Bozo people, and the Bozo are the fishing people in Mali. Sekouba's Dad is a fisherman. He's very old and has cataracts and some difficulty throwing the nets, but his little son helps him out.

This picture shows Sekouba and his father. Sekouba's biological mother actually lives in Bamako. Sekouba was raised by his Dad and the latter's second wife.

We sat down with his Dad and his wife and started talking. They showed us the family picture I had given Sekouba when he left us two years ago, and I found out that still nobody had believed Sekouba that we were real. So they told us now they know I'm real and what he's said is true.

And then we were taken off guard. Sekouba asked his father whether he could stay with us in Bamako. His father said he had no problem with that, as long as Sekouba sends money to support the family, since he's the only son old enough to work. The same old problem - you employ someone, and you need to support the whole family.

We were surprised because we didn't know that that was the reason Sekouba wanted to come here. I had told Sekouba he could come back any time to work for me, but I would have liked to know in advance that that was what he was intending to do. In any case, he had his family's blessing, and before we left, I asked whether we could pray for Sekouba's father. Emma laid a hand on him, and me on Emma, and I prayed for his eyes and body to be healed. I was amazed how thankful he was for the prayers. He had his Muslim prayer beads in his hands the whole time!

It was getting late and it was high time to go home. So we walked back to the car. The kids loved us, of course. I was a little disturbed for the way Sekouba had "tricked" us. At the same time, we all knew God was there and in all this. Earlier in the day I had jokingly asked Sekouba whether he didn't want to be our night guard. Now he is. He's adult now, and has joined our team. My prodigal son is all the way home!

We started on our way back to Bamako. It was already 6:30, and the sun was going down. On the way we stopped for some food - fresh goat meat - and a basic Malian toilet. Sekouba and Matt were taking naps in the back seat, and while I was very tired, I never got to have one. I talked to Emma instead which was precious. Emma loves doing ministry, and enjoyed the day. He wants to be with us full-time, but he's still very scared and not ready to step into God's call on his life. His family puts a lot of pressure on him. Still, he's going to live in our house and take care of everything while we are in Mozambique. I'm curious how that is gonna go.

I wanted to call Paul to let him know that we were returning really late, but he had not been talking to me. Hyacinthe called to see whether we're back, and I asked him whether Paul would talk to me. He told me he had talked to Paul, and he things he would talk to me. So I finally called Paul and told him we'd be late. I told him to let the boys go to bed at the regular time and not wait for us.

It was after 10 pm when we got home. Sekouba and I stayed on the property, while Matt took the big car to first take Emma home, and then go to the bus station with Paul to pick up the street kids for the night. Many had thought we weren't coming, but there was still a good group to take home with us. Sekouba and I were sitting in the dark outside, waiting for their arrival. I had the kids' ID cards ready, that I hand out when they arrive. It has their name, picture, and shows how many nights they have spent here, and how many Saturday programs they were here for. Sekouba has forgotten how to read for the most part, and so he started reading the kids' names. He was doing okay, having some trouble, and it made me sad to think where he'd be educationally today had he not left us.

The kids arrived, ate their food, got their cards, and lay down to sleep. I prayed for them, and locked the door. I gave all the instructions to Sekouba who said he was able to stay up all night. It had been a long day!

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Monday, September 15, 2008

Another Guard Gone

This morning Adama informed me that he is leaving us. I was shocked. He said he doesn't want to talk any more, he'd rather leave. He said he had a day job in town, and if it's not sure he's staying with us, he's rather leaving right away so he can get that job back. Great. Once again we are without a guard.

As soon as the power came on around 11 am, I sent out an email to the churches and missionaries in Bamako, telling them about our need, and what kind of peson we're looking for. By evening, I had two interested people. Please pray for the right person to join us. Pray also for protection for us while we don't have a guard.

We're also in a particularly difficult situation now with the street kids that sleep here. Somebody needs to be near the door in case they need to go to the bathroom or there is a fight. Tonight Matt agreed to sleep in front of the door. I hope one of the older boys can do so tomorrow. Originally Saloum was gonna do it tonight.

Fun Day Turned Sour

Hyacinthe was unable to come today and teach school, and so we decided to go to the swimming pool, as planned for a day like this. Thanks to that, we also did the time of worship and Bible study at 8 am instead of 7 am. Most of them listened carefully, and a few participated.

Then they had breakfast, before Paul and Matt took them back to the bus station. They bought the groceries for the day on the way back.

After the power had come on, and I had sent those emails, it was time to leave. But first we gave little Ousmane some pants and a T-shirt.

After locking the house, I noticed a second woman sitting with Elisabeth and helping her cook. I asked the boys who she was, but nobody answered me. So I went over to find out. I greeted her, and asked her name. Then I asked again who she was - a neighbor? No. Who then? They wouldn't say anything, until finally, they said this is Paul's girl-friend. Paul corrected them, "my fiancée".

I found out from Matt that she has been over a few times - another secrect kept from me. But then, Paul doesn't want to talk about this subject with me. He said he's marrying her in two years, period. No discussion. He's prayed about it and knows she's the right one. I told him I have a marriage preparation course, and they need to do it together. He didn't want to hear that. I asked him why he hadn't told me she had come over, since last I heard, she was out of town. I told him I want to get to know her, and he said he doesn't want me to get to know her. By now he was very upset - I really didn't understand why. I asked why I couldn't get to know her, and how I should give them my blessing, etc., and he answered that I had already judged her. How wrong he is. She seems to be a nice girl, and I'd love to see her around more, and participating in activities, and getting to know her. Unfortunately, this is obviously a subject I cannot bring up with Paul.

For Paul the day was ruined. He wouldn't say a word at the restaurant, or at the swimming pool, and barely went into the water. He kept to himself, and wouldn't talk to me another word all day. I wonder why he is so sensitive there, and wished he'd be willing to do a healing session to be healed of that pain.

We finally left the property around noon and drove to a restaurant downtown. Somehow I was unaware of the price of chicken, and was shocked when I got the bill - $120 for the 8 of us. We enjoyed our meal, though. We had taken Ousmane along, and he was very timid. It was probably his first time in a restaurant. Matt took him under his wing all day, which was wonderful to see, especially with Paul "out of order".

From there we went to the swimming pool. I was amazed at how good the weather was. The forecast had been bad. Just for our kids, I guess!

I watched the boys having fun in the water, and then Paul lying all dressed in the shade, not doing anything. A great frustration and discouragement came over me. Right now, whatever I say, Paul will get upset. He's not listening, and he doesn't like what I say. Repeatedly he's doing things that our boys know not to do; he's not setting a good example for them. I'm frustrated because I can't talk to him, because he doesn't listen. And I'm frustrated because the secrets don't end. I really don't know what to do any more.

I called Hyacinthe and told him I wanted to talk to him in the morning. He's the only one Paul is listening to. I hope him talking to Paul is gonna make a difference. I really find myself praying now that he joins our team.

After some tears, and time to myself reading a great book, I went into the water a second time, and had a lot of fun with my boys. It was great! But my heart has been heavy for the rest of the day, just watching Paul suffer silently.

We stayed there pretty long, and left around 6 pm as the sun was starting to set. I was amazed to see how high the Niger river was. It has flowed over the banks so that we couldn't even use the normal pathway from the parking lot to the pool!

It was rush hour, and I knew it would take us a long time to cross all of town and get home, and it did. We got home around 7 pm. It was time for dinner.

At 8 pm Matt and Paul left to pick up the kids from the bus station. When they came back, we gave them dinner to eat, and I handed out their name badges. There was one new guy. Matt took care of their wounds again. I'm so glad he is "nurse" and "driver"!

Paul left us, and so it was up to me to take care of everything. I arranged the six mattresses inside, and gave them instruction to knock on the door if they needed a bathroom in the middle of the night. Every night some kids pee on their beds. I then prayed for them, and we locked the door. I set up some benches for Matt to put his mattress on. I pray he has a good night out there.

Our family meeting wasn't very positive. Paul sat there at first, not saying a word, until he finally got up and went to his room. I prayed a prayer over all of them, and sent them to bed.

Tomorrow we're going to Segou, a town 3 hours away, to take Ousmane back to his family. We also talked to Sekouba on the phone today, and he said he'd come with us. That should be fun!

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Sunday, September 14, 2008

Street Kid Ousmane

After breakfast, Matt and Paul took the street kids back to the bus station. The older kids started beating up one of the little boys, and so Paul got him back into the car and took Ousmane back home with him. He's about 10 years old.

As I listened to Paul's story, my heart went out to the little boy. I was doing some thinking. Right now we have three free beds, so we could take in three children right now. It's actually the perfect time of year, since school starts in October. That way they could start first grade.

Another issue is helpers. Right now we have Matt - without him we wouldn't have been able to start up all these activities again. But since the carpenter and his family is coming soon... Also, my four teenage boys have been with me for quite some time and have grown tremendously. We'd be able to take in new boys now. All the ones that have been sleeping here the last few nights are rather young - the perfect age.

So I told Paul all that and suggested we'd do the interview with Ousmane to find out more about him. We sat down with him, and soon found out that he only ran away from home a few days ago. He said his friend suggested they'd go to Bamako and make money there, and so they went. I asked him whether he'd regretted leaving home, and he said yes. Well, this was a clear situation. This boy needed to go home. We asked him whether he'd like that, and whether he could find his home if we went to his city, and he said yes to both.

He comes from the same city where Sekouba's family lives, and where he is going next. So we decided to call him and find out whether he would like to come along with us, and get a free ride home as well. We're planning on driving to Segou on Tuesday; it's a 3-hour ride one way. Emma and Matt are coming along as well - it's an opportunity for Matt to see some other places.

Rainy Service

At two o'clock it was time to get everything ready for the service. We've changed some locks, but now we couldn't open the "power room" any more. We needed to get in there to turn on the generator. But no chance - we were unable to lock the door. No generator, no power for the sound system.

At 2:30 we prayed together for 15 minutes, to get ready for the service. Then at 3 o'clock it was time to get started. By then, black clouds were on the sky and rain was imminent. The consequences were also obvious, as people decided not to come to church. We ended up having a very small group of people, as it started to rain only minutes after the beginning of the service.

Paul and Souleymane led Bambara worship, and Matt played the drum set, while Saloum played the Malian drum. They did a great job.

Then I got on the keyboard (we had enough electricity for that) and led the French worship time. Then we did the offering. We have a beautiful silver box for that. The picture shows me praying over the money and the givers.

Then it was time for the sermon - Matt was going to preach. He spoke on Isaiah 6, and I translated into French, and Paul into Bambara. When he was done, I explained the gospel in a few sentences, and had everyone stand up and pray a prayer of commitment with me. The service had lasted less than an hour - probably the shortest service we've ever had.

Challenges

After the service we sat down and did some talking. Emma was the only one who had showed up, because it hadn't looked like rain in his part of town. Rain was pouring down outside the building.

After some small talk, I took Emma inside our house to do some business. Together we worked on and decided upon the system to use with the kids, as well as employees, in terms of finances. We came up with a solution for the kids, and still need to work on the one for the workers.

After having done some tough work on all that, we went outside. On the way I saw Fousseni sitting on the couch all sad. I asked him what was wrong. He said he was hurting. I found out that he was missing his family. What followed was a precious, deep conversation with him like I'd never had. I told him if he wanted to visit his family weekly, I would not keep him. But I asked him to pray and ask God what He wanted. He also admitted that his father wants to keep him all the way and doesn't understand him. Fousseni's father is a violent man who constantly puts down his son and beats him. I'm concerned for him because of his Dad. I could imagine this guy locking Fousseni up and keeping him from returning to us. I don't want Fousseni hurt or in danger, but I also want to give him the liberty to see his family if that is what he wants to do. Please pray for him and the right decision to be made.

Then it was time for the next tough conversation - with our new guard Adama. I asked Emma to be present, since he is from the same people group. We discussed some issues for quite some time, but didn't get to a final conclusion. It's about his salary primarily.

By the time we were done, I was exhausted. All this talking and strategizing had taken 4 hours!

Paul and Matt then went to the bus station to take back some kids, and pick up others. Some kids had peed on the mattresses during the night, and so they had to be washed during the day. However, with the rain they hadn't dried, and so we only had 4 mattresses. We need to buy more, but one costs $40. If anyone would want to help with that, we'd be happy. In any case, I had to tell Paul we couldn't have more than 10 kids spend the night tonight. He told me later that many more wanted to come. I had asked him to take the youngest home to us.

So, the deal is, that we're now doing this every night. Every night we drive to the bus station to pick them up, then give them food, give them breakfast in the morning, and take them back to the bus station. That's a lot of food and gas. Please pray for more supporters so we can take care of these kids.

Pray also that God shows us which three kids to take in. Before I prayed for the boys a good night prayer, I told them we had 3 spaces in the house right now. In the dark, I saw several kids raise their hands, meaning they wanted to be the ones.

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Saturday, September 13, 2008

Street Kid Program Starts Again

The first night with the kids with us had gone by without incidents. They had breakfast, and then played soccer in the courtyard. Matt left at 7:30 am to pick up Elisabeth and take her to the market. When he came back, he changed a flat tire on our truck - that's the second tire to change within a few days. Now we need to buy two new tires, or have them repaired, one for each car.

Changing the tire took longer than expected, and so it was already rather late when he and Paul left to go to the bus station and pick up the kids. In the meantime I was preparing the games and props for the teaching parts. I use materials from KIDS IN MINISTRY INTERNATIONAL which are great. I now use the curriculums for children ages 3-5, because they are more according to their attention span,and easily explains the concepts. It works well.

Matt and Paul came back with a few more kids, and we got started right away. First we took a picture of each one, to put on their card with their name around their neck. Having the picture will make it much easier in the future, like when they forget what name they gave us, or when we have several kids with the same name.

Then we started with the first game - one that Matt taught us; having to move water from one vessel to another with a sponge. The winning team got points as well as candy.

Then I did the first teaching - 7 minutes or so. It was from the WORSHIP school. We sang a song to put it into practice, and then did the next game. Somebody in the US had given me marshmellows, and we put them all on two long strings. We had two teams, and they had to eat them off without using their hands. They sure loved that game!

The next teaching was from the BIBLE school, followed by another game - a race with a spoon in their mouths that had to carry an egg. They loved that one too.

The last teaching was from the SALVATION school. In the end I explained the gospel and asked who wanted to know Jesus and follow him. Most of them raised their hands, as you can see in the picture.

It was half past noon when we were done with the program, and it was time to eat. After eating, we were going to take them back to the bus station.

However, several kids told us they wanted to stay the whole afternoon until the movie in the evening. We discussed it and let them stay. The others we took back to the station.

Those that stayed were ready for a nap, and so we got the mattresses back out. I joined them for this picture.

They had fun together with our kids in the afternoon, while I tried to get some rest.

At 6 pm it was time to get ready for our first movie night. In our previous location we did a weekly movie night for about two years. It was time to start that up again.

It was somewhat of a challenge to put up the screen inside the house, but we managed in the end. We set up the sound system and projector, and all the equipment, and got the generator started. It took a while, but in the end it did work for a change. Praise God!

We opened the gates, and started with a half hour animated episode on Abraham & Isaac. Then I put the MATTHEW film in in Bambara. Few neighbors had come, but that's probably because we haven't told anyone but those who were in the service last Sunday. I'm glad, though, that the kids got to see it.

After the movie, it was time for dinner for them all. And then, a few of the kids wanted to go back to the bus station, so we decided to take them back. Others wanted to stay, so we decided to let them stay another night. And then we heard that they have one major concern right now.

I've known for some time that the government was gonna destroy the whole bus station and build a modern one. The owners of the little store have been trying everything to keep that from happening, because there'll only be space for half of them once it's rebuilt. The destruction starts on Monday, and the kids are all losing their places where they sleep. They don't know where to go.

Are we up to doing this every night? Having Matt with us right now is a big help of course. But what to do when he leaves in three weeks? Can we spend the money on gas and food, to pick them up each night and take them back in the morning, to give them food at night and in the morning? I'd like to say yes. I'd like to try. They're losing their spots on the street, and they're so young. They cling to Matt, and want to be with me. They are so vulnerable, and so in need of someone to care for them. I've told them about this God of ours who cares. How can we not have our actions confirm our words.

So please pray as we undertake this new endeavor. Pray also for Paul. He's never been so short-tempered and hard to deal with before - I think he really needs a break. I hope our time in Mozambique can be that time of refreshing he needs.

The 9 kids that stayed laid down on our 6 mattresses, ready to sleep. I prayed for them, and we said good-night and locked the door. Then Matt and Paul took the other kids back to the bus station. Night 2 with the street kids with us.

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Friday, September 12, 2008

First Dry Night For Street Kids

In the afternoon it rained really hard - probably one of the last heavy rain showers this rainy season. As I watched the rain come down, I couldn't help but think of the street kids out there. Paul was preparing the food for our visit to the bus station tonight, and I called him to discuss whether we'd be able to let them sleep on our property yet. We decided to go ahead.

So we put our benches together in the dining/meeting hall, and got all our mattresses out (Seybou stole a regular one and a double mattress), placing them on the benches. We had six of them. Then I got six fitted sheets out - thank God my Mom contributed those - and placed them on them. Everything was set!

As every Friday night, we had our weekly prayer meeting. Once more - hopefully for the last time - we did it in my living room. And it was the first time our new guard Adama participated. He has prayed to give his life to Jesus, but really doesn't know anything yet.

I was on the keyboard, and we started praising and worshipping God. We entered into His presence, and I did some prophetic singing. Everyone was on the floor before Him. Then we still did some intercession for different items.

It was later than usual, but then we were going to pick up the kids and take them home, and you have to go late for that. So Paul and the boys had dinner, and we left the property around 9:30 pm to drive to the bus station.

We went to our regular spot, and the kids started coming. My boys also went out to get them. Paul and I were on the back of the truck, handing out food. It was sandwiches with cooking banana and fries inside. The kids loved it, and few even got seconds.

We then told them if they wanted to they could come with us to spend the night on our property in the dry. When it was time to leave, I was surpised how many jumped onto the truck! Wow! We took 13 kids home with us.

Arriving at our property, they got off and I asked them who was here for the first time. To my surprise, half of them were new. Also, many of them were rather young - the perfect candidates to stay with us.

I gave them some instructions, and asked them to hand me any weapons - which they really did. Also, some gave us money to guard for them. The smaller kids are so used to having their money stolen overnight by the older kids.

Our guard Adama led them to the Malian toilet outside first. Then we showed them were the water was, and then it was time to write down their names. I write down each name, and let them go inside one by one.

Two times three mattresses were lying next to each other, and you can see how happy they were to sleep here. Some of them have never slept on a mattress before - most people can't afford one. They all haven't slept in a safe place for a long time. Many slept through the whole night, and into the day, telling Paul they had never done that before. Praise God! Our night guard Adama also told us that there weren't any problems during the night. I asked him to lock the door, so they can't get out and steal anything, but to listen for any knocks in case anyone wants to go use the toilet.

Before I left them to sleep, I prayed for them. I just wanted to hug each one of them, and I hope I get to do that soon.

I was so happy that the day has finally come to bring home the kids. We are still $19,000 short to finish the building, but at least they have a roof to sleep in the dry now.

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Thursday, September 11, 2008

A Regular Day

We started our day with our corporate time of worship and Bible Study (gospel of Mark). Then Hyacinthe called that he wasn't coming today, which caused cheering among the kids. They still had work to do, though.

Today they've actually been exemplary, thank God. As every Thursday I drove them downtown to the International School for soccer practice. They are very happy to get to do this. I showed Matt around the school. By the kindergarten class I noticed the boxes for each kid and saw Sarata's (top left) and Hama's name (bottom right) on there. That hurt. I wished they could still attend there. We haven't heard anything from Seybou since he said he was thinking about placing Hama into our care.

While the boys had their 2-hour-practice, Paul, Matt and I drove all the way downtown. We parked the car and started walking. I showed him around the market, and then we went to the post office to pick up the mail. He also exchanged money. Unfortunately we didn't have any more time for anything else. We went back to the school to pick up the boys, picked up an icecream at the only place you get some around here - a gas station - and made our way home. We dropped off Saloum at driving school and returned home.

After Saloum came home from driving school, we watched another Israel teaching (Ray Vanderlaan), with me interpreting into French, and Paul into Bambara. After that the kids wanted to continue watching the Christian movie we started yesterday - Pilgrim's progress. It's a great movie! It being in English, I had to interpret that one too. Paul missed since he had to prepare dinner in the meantime.

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Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Souleymane Turning 15

The day didn't start very well. Half the kids refused to participate in the Bible study, and then Paul exploded for no reason at all. I stopped the Bible study and encouraged them to go pray instead. Later Paul apologized for his outburst.

It was more or less a regular day with the typical challenges with the boys. I let Matt drive for the first time, and he hit a tree stump and bent the wheel to the point he could not drive any further. Thankfully it was right outside our gate, and thankfully it just needed the tire changed. He felt bad, but I explained to him that our cars seem to be cursed, as we constantly repair them, and there is always something wrong.

I wanted to make a birthday cake for Souleymane - as is my custom - but they couldn't find any butter in the neighborhood. Thankfully I had brought some pudding powder with me from Austria, and so I made chocolate pudding. After Saloum came back from driving school, it was time to celebrate.

I put a candle into the pudding, and he blew it out. Then everyone gave their gifts. I had some "surprise eggs" for him, some money, and a pyjama.

Since it was nearly time for dinner, I told them I'd give them the pudding as dessert. Then I asked whether Souleymane wanted to watch anything for his birthday. They wanted to see the PILGRIM'S PROGRESS movie, and since it was in English, I sat down with them to interpret.

To my surprise, Sekouba called and let us know he'd pass by again in two days; I guess on his way back.

After our family meeting, it was bed time for the boys, and Paul had to go somewhere. Matt and I had a hard time getting the boys to obey. In the end, Abdias hid on the roof of the other building, while we were looking for him everywhere. The guard finally found him. He refused to talk to me, because he was so angry.

I talked to Hyacinthe again this morning, asking him to join our team. The boys - and Paul - need a mature, older man. He also said he'd talk to Paul about some of the issues that he has. Paul gets through to the boys in a way I can't. And Hyacinthe gets through to Paul in a way I can't.

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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Sekouba

I guess everyone had stayed up to late, because after I had crawled out of bed for our 7 am time of worship and Bible study, I found everyone else still sleeping! I woke them up, but there wasn't any time for corporate worship before school with Hyacinthe started at 8 am.

Sekouba was helping Paul somewhat, until Paul told me he wanted to be on his way. I asked whether there was anyone he needed, that we could bless him with. He said clothes, and so I let him pick out several shirts and pants, and gave him a bag to put them in. Then I gave him an mp3-player with the whole New Testament in Bambara, as well as some money. We all accompanied him to the gate, and Paul drove him to the bus station where he'd take a bus to a little town not too far from Bamako, where he wanted to visit his grandmother.

I asked Paul to tell me of his conversation with Sekouba last night. This is what Sekouba had shared:

The circumstances of his leaving two years ago were as following. He had heard that one of his grandmothers was dead, and then that his Father had found out that he was with us. He was grieving, and he wanted to see his Father, but didn't know how to tell us or make us understand. So he decided to act badly to the point that we'd want him to leave. It was all theater, all that happened back then. If you remember, he blamed me at the time, that he was leaving because of me, which pierced my heart. And nothing of his behavior made sense.

Sekouba left and went to see his Father. But he didn't stay there. He went to another city, where all the Bozo fishermen work, and joined them (he's also Bozo), working hard to earn money. That's what he has been doing the past two years.

He shared how lonely he was after leaving us. He said that he knew he had been loved in our house, and that he thought of me every night. The reason he did this trip was that he wanted to see me again.

Paul confirmed that his faith was alive but weak - he had not had any Christian contact during the whole time - and passed on my encouragement to him to find a church in his town. I also told Sekouba that our doors were open to him if he wanted to work for us.

Sekouba gave us a phone number before he left. He said that from his grandmother's he wants to go be with his Father for some time. He didn't rule out coming back to work with us some time in the future.

My son left richly blessed - materially and in terms of relationships.

Purification Of Property

At night we did what I've been wanting to do for days - purify the property from the desecration through Seybou and Issa. I got some red wine, and we walked around the property, along the wall, pouring out the wine and praying. When we got to the spot where the two of them had buried some items for witchcraft reasons, we prayed over it particulary. Then we walked around and anointed both buildings, before ending it all in Seybou's old room, that we anointed and prayed for. The blood of Jesus had covered us all, and every evil spirit had had to leave the property. It's all His!

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Monday, September 8, 2008

A Miracle

The Long-Awaited Day Has Come

A Prodigal Returns

I was sitting at my desk when Abdias came into my office and said, "Sekouba is here." Yeah, right. I was asking a few times, and he assured me that Sekouba was here. I couldn't believe my ears!

I quickly went outside, and sure enough, Sekouba was right there! Wow! After two years, my first son - the first street kid I took in who had always had a special place in my heart - was back! Praise God!

I took him in my arms, so glad to see him. He's really grown up and is an adult now. He's 18. The picture on the left was taken Christmas 2008, the other one today.

Sekouba got saved in one of our first weekly street kid programs September 2005. He came during the week, and one day I offered him to sleep in our courtyard instead of the dangerous bus station. One thing led to the next, and in May 2006 he was one of three kids who moved in with me. He loved the Lord, and grew in many ways. He had dreams from God, and played the drums inspired by the Holy Spirit.

The circumstances of him leaving us were very weird. He had a Muslim friend who had a lot of influence over him, and he did several strange and shocking things, and decided to leave. He said he would never leave the Lord, but that was hard to believe under the circumstances.

We all sat down and started talking to him. He shared that he went to Segou and rejoined his Dad. He now works for him as a fisherman. He told Paul how lonely he felt when he left us. And when I asked him, he said he still follows Jesus and reads his Bible. But he is not attending any church. Paul is gonna spend more time with him later, and will find out more.

After some time we went into my office and all started looking at pictures from back then, including video clips. It was a great time of remembering our good times together. Then they left and joined Paul who was cooking the evening meal.

I gave them an extra hour tonight to spend time with Sekouba. In the end, they needed it anyway because dinner wasn't ready until 9:45 pm! Paul had spent all day in his room, not feeling well, and slept in the afternoon. We woke him up when Sekouba showed up, and by the time he got started cooking, it was already pretty late.

Our family meeting was at 10 pm tonight. It was so wonderful to see Sekouba sitting there with the other boys! I asked him whether we could pray for him, and he said yes. We surrounded him and one after the other started praying. I was last. I thanked God that after two years of dreaming of this day it had become a reality today. My voice started breaking, and tears started coming, as I blessed Sekouba. I told him we'd always be there for him, and to let us know whatever he needs. Then I had something else on my heart - I asked him for forgiveness for the way I had hurt him when he was with us, and he forgave me. Tears were running down my cheeks freely. I hugged my lost son who was found again.

When I prayed for him, I also prayed that his love for the Lord would be rekindled, his ears opened again, and his eyes opened again, to hear his voice and receive dreams even tonight. I prayed for God's great calling on him to be fulfilled. I felt him tremble under my hand. He was hiding his face the whole time.

When I sat back down, I was so moved I could not hold back the tears that were flowing freely. Sekouba looked at me nearly with an expression of disbelief. The other boys also looked at me. Paul explained to them that there is also such a thing as tears of joy.

I then laid hands on each one of my boys to bless them, as every night before they go to bed. Then Sekouba came as well. I told him we had already prayed for him, but gladly laid hands on him as well to pray for him.

Then my boys went to bed, while Paul left with Sekouba to go visit Firmin.

New Hope For Hama?

For some reason Seybou visited Paul's Dad yesterday. Paul's Dad is not a believer, but he's moving towards the Lord. He never comes to any of our activites, unfortunately. To my greatest surprise, Paul's Dad asked Seybou to give Hama into our care! And this time Seybou didn't say no, but said he'd think about it. He respects Paul's Dad.

I was amazed when I heard Paul's Dad made such a suggestion - he also realizes that Hama has no future otherwise. Please pray for God's will to be done! Pray that what's best for Hama will come to pass.

In two days I have seen and held two of my lost sons and shed tears over them. What precious moments! Sekouba doesn't have a cellphone, but can be reached over somebody else's phone. I intend to stay in touch with him, and be there whenever he needs me.

Tumultuous Day

The day itself - before Sekouba's appearance - was quite a tumultuous one again. Problems with Saloum and Fousseni, the two oldest. For days I've been meaning to gather everyone and walk around the property, pouring out wine and pleading the blood of Jesus, chasing off all the spirits Seybou and Issa invited in, but we still haven't had a chance yet. Hopefully tomorrow!

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Sunday, September 7, 2008

First Service Inside

It was a day with conflicts and frustration, to the point that I thought there wouldn't be a service - Paul thought the same.

In the morning, we set everything up for the service that would be done inside for the very first time. It was exciting to set up our new sound system for the first time, and arrange everything for our first service inside.

Inspite of all the problems, when the time came, I got ready and went inside the meeting hall to pray before the service. I was just gonna praise God - that's what I was there for. The others joined me in praying.

We got the sound system ready, and were glad to have Matt, who has some experience with PA's. We hooked it directly up to the generator - and had electricity for about an hour. I had to do the sermon without mic.

A Gift From God

Just as I was getting ready to start the service, my heart just about skipped a beat. I saw Firmin carrying Hama on his arms, right into the "sanctuary". Somehow I nearly expected Fanta, Seybou, and the other kids right behind them, in their Sunday clothes.

I took Hama, as tears nearly overwhelmed me. I thought I'd never see him again! I so much hoped Sarata was there as well. Hama was so glad to see me and the others! I asked Firmin how he got here.

Fanta & Seybou have been close to our neighbors, and always drop the kids off there if they have to go somewhere. Obviously, Hama was an inconvenience for them today, and so they dropped him off at the neighbors'. The neighbors didn't even watch out for him, and so, when Hama saw Firmin at our gate - who was welcoming people to the service - he quickly moved towards him, crying. Firmin just picked him up and took him inside, and took him back after the service. I think that Seybou will be furious when he finds out he was with us. I wished I could just go over to their house and visit Fanta and the kids. However, it looks like Seybou has become our enemy and he's up to something evil against us.

Hama told us that Daouda had been at their house yesterday. That is the teenage boy who lived with us and was kicked out for stealing again. It now seems that Seybou had actually incited him to steal that money from the Americans. It is very worrisome that he is still around, and now up to something with Seybou. Please pray for our protection.

Before I handed Hama back to Firmin to take him back, I prayed a prayer of blessing and protection over him. Somehow it seemed that Hama had not even understood that they were gone, or anything that had happened to him. I pray I will see him again one day, as well as his little sister.

The Service

It started the same way as always - Paul leading Bambara worship, and me leading French worship.

I enjoyed watching Matt interacting with the kids. Many came, as always, and they were blocking the entrance. I encouraged them to come in and sit down. It was pretty full in the end, with most being children, but we also had some regulars as well as new people. That was good to see.

I was hardly prepared, but did have something on my heart to share. After the offering, I preached starting with Jer 1:10 where God calls Jeremiah to do 6 things - overthrow, destroy, etc - and only the last two are positive in our eyes. I talked about the church in Pergamum, and about Noah and Israel. God did not tolerate sin in the camp!

I applied it to us, sharing how God has been sifting our camp, removing anything unholy, so he could build on a good foundation. Now it was time for the last two verbs in Jeremiah - rebuild and plant. Everyone was encouraged. Our new guard, a new believer, was also in the service.

After the service I wanted to spend some time talking with people and getting to know them. I talked to Sina, a young Christian man, and Rosalie, a Christian lady. Both joined us because we were closer to their home. That's the way it works in Mali. Christians go to the closest church. I asked Rosalie if her husband was a Christian. She said yes, but that he had said he'd only come to church once there is a church building. Well, we've got a building now! There was also a young lady, who is in the process of getting saved. She comes every Sunday and is very interested.

Going To The Restaurant

The kids all wanted to go to the restaurant, and after some talking, we decided to do it. They were cheering! It saved Paul having to cook dinner.

We went to the Western restaurant that is the only one that's not too far, and had a great time there.

However, one of Paul's classmates was there and congratulated Paul to completing High School. He had to tell her that he had failed. The pain was so deep that Paul was unable to interact with us after that. We went home and did a TPM session, and Paul found truth, healing, and joy. Thank God for that great inner healing tool!

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Saturday, September 6, 2008

Going Shopping

Emma had to defend his master's thesis this morning, and so he could not go buy the groceries for the week with Paul, as he has been doing. We'll just have to buy the food every day again for this week.

All our three generators have been out of order, so that we've not had enough electricity. We had one repaired, but then it didn't work anyway. So we had to go there again. Since the guy is right next to the supermarket, we decided to combine it. Besides Paul and Matt, I took two of my boys with me.

Since coming back I've been wondering how I could bless Paul for all his hard work, and I had the perfect idea - get him a box full of Sprite's. I had a box of empty glass bottles that we took along. In the store, we exchanged it for full sprite bottles. Paul thought they were all for Matt - the perfect coverup. We bought some other stuff we needed and headed home. When we unloaded, I told Paul those were all for him. You should have seen his joy!

In the evenings, we've been doing teaching sessions. I have a DVD teaching series filmed in Israel that gives you the Hebrew background and opens the Bible to you. They've been enjoying that. Since it's not very long, we've watched other Christian stuff afterwards at times.

By the way, Emma has our big car still which is why we can't do the street kid ministry. We should have it back soon, though, so we can restart our weekly program next Saturday.

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Friday, September 5, 2008

Paul Leaving?

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Monday, September 1, 2008

New Developments

I found out more facts today that strongly point to the former guard Issa and Seybou to have been the ones trying to steal our solar panels. Paul told me the story how he disturbed them and therefore prevented this theft from happening. Thank God! Thank God he woke up Paul who couldn't fall asleep until he walked outside and interrupted them.

This morning Paul saw Seybou to tell him if he doesn't return what he's stolen from us, we'll go to the police. His response was that he himself will go to the police and make us look bad. At least he said that he won't hurt Souleymane anymore. He then called Emma - to my surprise - making some wrong claims. Emma called me and I told him the truth. He said he'd call Seybou again, but I haven't heard back from him yet.

I talked with Kossi (our builder) for some time, and I also found out some more stuff from him. The most surprising and shocking revelation was that Kossi had actually provided the night guard with a rifle!!! A rifle on my roof? He told me that the solar panels make us a prime target, and he went to the governement office to get a permit so that the guard can fire on burglars below the waistline. Wow. He's now gonna give that rifle to our new guard - who had even requested one!

I told Caleb (our carpenter) about the new situation, and that we now had room for him to move in. He came over, and we talked for quite some time. He's grown up in a Christian home, and the difference in mentality is huge. He's excited to move in, and we talked about some of the details, like salary and what is included. I was glad to hear he wasn't coming for the money (which Seybou was always after), and that he understood that all the income from his carpentry would go to the ministry. His wife Fatoumata is going to take Fanta's place, doing cooking and laundry. Unfortunately they cannot move immediately, as Fatoumata has an obligation right now, but they should be able to move in in about two weeks.

Finally, the big, serious, conversation with Enoch that I had feared was at hand. Since all that happened just before my departure, I had prayed all summer about how to deal with his. Enoch has been lying to me ever since we started working together (he's our village pastor), and before I left he lied to me in such a way, that it was shocking. Also, his household is not in order.

Paul, Enoch and I sat down to talk, and God was totally in our conversation. I told Enoch it was time to lay everything on the table, and to be honest, and not hide anything any more. I told him very clearly and very directly what I felt, and how normally a pastor would be under church discipline. I reminded him of 1.Tim 3 and told him that he did not meet the biblical requirements for a leader.

He admitted to having lied to me repeatedly. I told him that has to end right now, and I was willing to give it another chance. No more lies, but honesty and transparency. Another lie, and there would be consequences.

Then I asked him about the circumstances of his being kicked out from the Assemblies of God (which I found out a year ago), and I was impressed at the honesty he showed now. He told it as it was (I think), even sharing about his sin. I told him how much I appreciated his honesty.

I then laid out some changes I wanted to implement - detailed reports at the end of the month of how exactly he spent the money, and how much time he spent in each village to care for the new believers. He agreed. I closed in prayer, and we were all happy.

An intense day! And it was the first day of our new schedule: the kids get up at 6, and have their personal time with God from 6:30 until 7 am. From 7-7:45 am we have a corporate time of worship and Bible study and prayer. Then they have breakfast.

Right now, Hyacinthe is working with them, doing school from 8-11 every morning, to try to raise their French skills for when they start a regulary school in October. He says they'll probably all start in 2nd grade, but can move up during the year if they work hard.

From 11-13 it's time for chores, lunch, and playing video games. From 1-2 pm they listen to the Bambara Audio Bible and/or sleep. From 2-4 pm they do their homework. From 4-6 pm they are allowed to leave the property to play soccer with the neighbors. At 6 pm they were supposed to be back for a Christian movie or teaching DVD I wanted to show today. However, the conversations with Enoch and Caleb kept that from happening tonight. And then Paul had to prepare dinner, and couldn't interpret the DVD for them.

Paul was pretty exhausted tonight. Please pray for him.

Oh yeah, one more thing: I enrolled Saloum (my oldest who is 18) in driving school today. He's starting tomorrow, and will be done in three weeks. Maybe the kids can then drive themselves to school every day?

Firmin also came by today, as he did yesterday. We're also talking about him being our driver (since I also sent him to driving school), at least as long as he doesn't have classes at university. We'll see.

My Take On All This

In closing I want to say that the peace of God is now abiding in me and us. We all realize that God was in all this. I've also prayed for God to bring the hidden sins to light, and for His fire to purify us. Seybou had left the Lord, and we needed to be purged of him, as hard as that sounds. All the people - young and old - we've lost over the past 9 months are part of His plan of keeping those who truly love Him and want to serve Him. I feel like He's building a strong foundation He can then build on.

And I feel like we've now reached the point where no one else is left to be sifted out. Now it's time to build. Caleb is moving in soon. Paul's family is moving in next. The new guard might be moving in in the future.

Our church here is also a sad sight. It's time to start over, and build people. It's time to go forward, and I'm excited at what lies ahead.

The only "downside" to all this is how Sarata and Hama are suffering from their Dad's choices, and my heart has been ripped out at losing "my" children. They have now been added to Sekouba (my first child who left after a year), who I constanly think of and pray for.

I'm going to bed now, and hope that tonight I can find peace of mind to be able to sleep, instead of thinking of my lost little ones.