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THE MUSLIMS TRY TO STRIKE BACK

We've been sharing a lot of testimonies from Dara with you. In 2008 we started the church in the then unreached village of Dara, and we're the only church there to this day. Last time I told you about Aboudou, the new village chief's firstborn son, who had become a believer, just after building a new mosque with much of his own money, that is now the biggest mosque of town. It was a huge scandal.

Everyone in town is talking about the Christians who have given away hundreds of bags of rice and thousands of pairs of shoes over the past few years, without expecting anything back in return. And so many people are becoming Christians after having dreams or after being healed that it was becoming very alarming to the Muslim leaders of the town. They called for an emergency meeting and discussed what they could do to turn the momentum around again. They decided to imitate us and to hand out bags of rice to people to win them back to Islam.

And so they spread the news wide and far and invited everyone to come to the big square in front of the new mosque to receive a bag of rice. Many people gathered in anticipation, some of them in great need of food. The leaders and elders of the mosque, with Lassana being the head elder, bought ten bags of rice and all gathered to address the people. They gave a long speech, preaching Islam, and then handed out the rice in front of anybody. But not to the people in need. It was their own relatives, who were already well enough off, who were given the rice. That so angered the gathered people that it sparked huge protest and an uprising. They started picking up stones and throwing them at the mosque leaders, who quickly took flight. The noise of all this could be heard in the distance. And then a new noise was heard. The sound of women's and children's voices walking in the streets and shouting, "Jesus, Jesus, Hallelujah!"

The village chief heard about all this and told his now-Christian son that he was on our side, and not the Muslims', as the Christians were "honest and just".

MUSLIM HEAD ELDER LASSANA

Lassana, the head elder, comes from one of the most unreached ethnic groups in Mali. He had taken flight that day with the other leaders of the mosque. He's been very sick with liver disease. One night he had a dream that the Christians were praying for him and he was healed. The next day he sent his son to Paul to ask him to come pray for him. Paul visited him twice to do so, and the second time he was completely healed. Lassana returned to the hospital for tests and completely baffled his doctors who could not explain his miraculous recovery. Lassana is now following the One who healed him and has left the mosque. This has caused another huge scandal in Dara, and the Muslim leaders have decided to ostracize him and cause him as much trouble as possible. Please pray for Lassana.

NEW LIFE OUT OF LOST LIFE

Madian is part of our church in Dara. She became a believer a few months ago, which her husband did not appreciate at all. She was 5 months pregnant when she started having breast problems, and received prayer repeatedly, but it was getting worse. A few weeks ago Paul went to her house to pray for her, and found out that she had just fainted. He took her to the hospital, where our oldest Amadou was operated not long ago (appendicitis). She was examined, and it happened to be the same doctor who had operated Amadou. Her one breast had been full of pus, and now the pus was spreading into the rest of her body. The doctor said the situation was serious and that she had to be operated on immediately. He also did an ultrasound of the baby. Her husband had never cared for her to be checked out because of her pregnancy. Then the doctor used his own money to buy medication and watched her for a day for free before sending her home. That's absolutely unheard of in Mali, but he knows we're doing humanitarian work and appreciates it. Paul said he was nearly gonna cry because of it.

Two weeks ago she was operated for the pus to be removed, even though we did not have all the money together yet, and they discovered that she had a tumor in her breast. She was 7 months pregnant at that point. They were running all kinds of tests and sent her home while waiting for the results. It was cancer. Last Thursday she went back into hospital, to one of the best in town. Suddenly her husband was at his wife's side, showing an interest in his wife's well-being for the first time. The hospital said that they could not start chemotherapy until the child was born. On Tuesday they delivered her baby boy over a month early. A few hours later she died. Before she died, she said that she was naming her son Paul.

Yesterday Madian was buried in Dara. A huge crowd had gathered, and Paul did the funeral. He said that the mayor thanked and commended us for helping her, and that people everywhere talk about what we had done. Even Madian's husband is now close to giving his life to Jesus. The baby still has to stay in the hospital for a while. Her husband is not going to be able to take care of it, and Paul is thinking about taking him into their home, as it's been a few years since they've had their second child. Paul heard about an organization he's going to contact to help cover the costs of the second hospital. We'd appreciate any help with the unpaid bills we still have. Please pray for the widower and newborn baby and the village of Dara.

BLINDNESS HEALED AFTER 12 YEARS OF PRAYER

Makoroba (also from Dara) became a believer in 2009 and has been part of the church since. She was blind, and we've been praying for her ever since. It was two months ago that her healing finally started. Her eye sight was gradually coming back, and today, she sees perfectly again.

LIFE-SAVING RICE

Koumba (from Dara) has been a widow for over 20 years. She had seven children, and all of them girls. Today they are all adult and are married. One of them recently got kicked out by her husband, together with her 4 children, and so the five of them came to live with Koumba. Koumba's only stream of income comes from begging, as nobody helps them at all. However, she's old now and has a hard time walking. When we gave her a bag of rice, they had gone without food for two days. She's now decided to follow Jesus.

QUICK NEWS

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

•        The Triplets - At the end of this month they'll be 2 years old. A few weeks ago they started a dance class as well as a swim class, and they're enjoying both. Tammy and Emmy's vocabulary (German and English) has grown a lot, and they now both have openings in their beds as they were climbing over the railing. Sammy can also say more words now. He continues going to physiotherapy to learn to sit by himself and go from sitting to standing. He likes standing a lot and now has special shoes that make it easier. He's also getting a standing apparatus. They love church and worshipping and read the Bible every morning.

•        Itinerant Ministry - For the first time since the triplets' birth we're going back on the road. Please look at exactly where we are when in the left column. We'll be traveling September 4-16 and will be speaking and/or ministering in Linz (August 29), Lustenau and Klagenfurt. We'd love to see many of you.

•        House Repairs - We're at the height of rainy season right now. One day the storm was so bad that it tore the tin roof off our visitors' apartment. We had to buy new metal sheets to redo the roof.

•        Permit & Deed - After the second coup in June, the government put everything on hold. Now they have finally started working again, with new people in place. One of Paul's friends who has a high position in the army is now in a position to help us, so we're hopeful to soon have our building permit and title deed. Please pray.

•        School Year - Because of the time lost due to Corona, the school year in Mali was extended until the end of August, and they made us pay extra for that time. And then we'll already have to pay tuition for the next school year that starts in October. This is the biggest financial burden of the year, paying for tuition, school supplies and uniforms. Please pray and give as possible.

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

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

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

Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Or can a nation be brought forth in a moment? (Isa 66.8a)

Loving HIM,

Claudia (& Randy)