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Month Of Prayer And Fasting |
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The desired of Mali will
come to the Lord, and there won't just be a handful. As He shakes the nations
and His glory covers the earth, people's eyes will be opened, their hearts
touched, their consciences awakened, and their longing to know their King and
Bridegroom will make them RUN to Him in utter abandonment and consecration. What
a glorious day it will be! Even now the Lord is getting everything ready, and
everywhere you look you see the signs on the horizon, the acceleration and
the new day. What an exciting time to be alive! I've only been in Bamako
just over two weeks, and things are moving along rapidly, in fulfillment of
the fresh doors and acceleration prophesied. How exciting to step into what
the Lord has prepared! How exciting to be a little girl at her Daddy's hand,
who looks up in anticipation what He would have her do next, and then
breaking out into sheer delight at what she knows He really did, not her. And
looking up at His face, seeing His joy and approval, as if she had done
anything. So, let me pass on what's
been going, and what is about to happen. RADIO PROGRAM Before I do that, I'd
like to inform you that next Tuesday, Oct 19, at 9 p.m. Austrian time
and on Wednesday, Oct 20, 10 a.m. Austrian time, a half-hour radio
program will be aired on a European Christian Radio station. It's an
interview with me about Mali and the work there, and it's in German. The best
way to listen to it is by going to www.erf.at and listen to it online. RAMADAN Yesterday, the Muslim
month of fasting called Ramadan started. It is a month when the whole country
fasts and prays to Allah which releases spiritual forces and empowers them. People
are only allowed to eat before sunrise and after sunset. During the day, they
neither eat NOR drink (and it's hot!!) nor are they allowed to even swallow
their own saliva. Because it is a time of heightened spiritual awareness, it
also opens doors to talk about spiritual things and share the gospel. Our little church of
three here, we are not just gonna let the Muslims "grow
spiritually", but we've decided to "counter-attack" by going
on a fast during the same time, to give all glory and honor to the one true
God, to seek His face, to intercede for this country and for our Muslim
friends, and to see His kingdom established in Bamako and Mali. CHURCH We're believing for a
rich month of fasting and prayer, gathering every night to worship the Lord
and pray together, entering into times of intercession, knocking on the doors
of heaven, and God-willing entering into a new dimension of His presence. This month of prayer and
fasting is also strategic in getting ready to get the church started and
launch out. The planned time for the first service is right after the end of
Ramadan. Simeon has been eager to get baptized, and we will do just that in
our first service, inviting as many people as possible and officially
launching the church. Simeon is so excited about his baptism, and is also
seeking the baptism in the Spirit. The tentative date for that inaugural
service is November 21 (or November 28 which is the date of his first
birthday in the Lord). Right now, there is only
one thing that keeps us from taking the next step to bring what we see in
faith into the here and now. In the above Scripture, the Lord says the gold
and silver are His, and we're already thanking the Lord for the release of
what it takes to make HIS vision to come to pass. That is what faith is –
being certain of what we do not see (Heb 11:1). Right now, we need 1200EUR
(that is 1500USD) to go ahead and rent the place the Lord has given us
to gather at as church (see picture below – services will be outside).
Once I have moved, we
will be starting the English class again. And we will be starting the Bible
School classes. Right now, there are two students – Simeon and Emmanuel – but
I'm considering a third person. Currently I'm translating the materials,
which takes up a lot of time. HIGH SCHOOL Things have been going
slow at school. I only start teaching on Monday, and I still don't know
anything about the new class I'm teaching. I'm down to 6 hours a week, which
gives me enough time to take care of the church. A few more weeks, and
we'll finally get going full-steam! How exciting! Simeon is already going out
evangelizing every day (and being frustrated by the fact he has no place to
invite them to). By the way, I forgot to tell you the exciting news last time
– Simeon is now full-time with me. God put it on the heart of somebody in the
US to pay His first month; 50USD is all he needs. May His kingdom come to
Mali in power, for His honor and glory! Partner with me in this
exciting endeavor – whatever way that would be. In HIS service, Claudia ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tel. (+223) 220 0311 IMPORTANT: Don't write my name on the check, but add
a note that it's for me. In
Europe: Swift
code: BKAUTWW https://www.paypal.com/xclick/business=office%40glorywebservices.com&item_name=Claudia+Wintoch&no_note=1&tax=0¤cy_code=USD |
