Ten Talents International Blog

We haven't had much rain since we've been here, but we are getting a lot today! We have had thunder and lightening off & on since this afternoon- it's pretty awesome! However, the rain did prevent us from visiting the kids at the Kanombe Home tonight. I don't think I can describe the side street that leads to the Kanombe Home to you, but let me just say it is packed dirt, very steep, and completely full of deep ruts. Last time we visited there the house mom was able to walk that street faster than we were able to drive it! So we could not visit there because our van would get stuck in the mud for sure.

This morning we were with the kids at the feeding program. We had a really great time with them today. This was our third time being there and we could feel the kids being more relaxed with us, as well as KaLia & Nate feeling much more comfortable as well. (KaLia had a crowd around her as she knotted together strings of grass and then later was just being her silly self.) As we walked around the kids would just run straight up to us & grab our hands, sometimes having to hold two childrens hands with one of our hands. Several of these kids have managed to etch themselves into our hearts, just by being with us, walking with us, holding our hand, and looking into our eyes. We shared in their church service today as well. The pastor shared the testimony of one boy who last week had been near death, but now was regaining his strength and able to be with them today. Darcee and Jerid shared their testimonies today with the kids. After Jerid shared the pastor decided that the group needed to give him a new name in Ikinyarwanda (their language) this was to honor him for blessing them. The pastor took suggestions from the group and then the kids voted on which they wanted his name to be. The winning name ended up being Umugisha, which means blessing. Then we all stood up and held hands together to pray. They also asked our friend, Ngoga, to play the drum during prayer (and Nate had to help too of course). This is the first time I have prayed to the beat of an African drum. Our prayer time was powerful. The pastor told them it was time to talk to God, to cry out, to repent, to rejoice, whatever they needed to do. All these kids were crying out at the same time, and we got to join in with them. I could feel the presence of God in that time. As the prayer was drawing to a close, the pastor lead them all with hands raised and voices crying out, "YESU!" (Jesus!) "'GWINO!" (Come!) Earlier the pastor had shared with us how the government does not want these kids on the street, so they round them up & take them to a different place, but this place is not good for them. So they hide in the bushes and run back here. We are praying for these kids, especially the ones who have made recent decisions to follow Christ. We are praying that they would be able to take that faith with them, wherever they go, no matter the struggles they face that they would know that their Heavenly Father cares about them.

We got some great news today (no, not our luggage). Last week we had stopped by the Assembly of God compound in Kigali- just because we were driving by & so the team could see it (most of us are from Assembly of God churches). The one missionary who was there was a woman named Candace. She had been very sick and was kept in the states, and only in the last month had actually been able to come join her husband here in Rwanda. She also shared with us about her two children who were diagnosed with MS, heavy on her momma heart. We felt prompted to gather around her and pray for her & her children. Today she called to say that her daughter and son had been to a revival meeting in Florida and her daughter was healed and her son is not completely healed but doing much better! Praise God! We definitely felt that was God's direction that brought us to Candace's door that day, at that time.

Tomorrow we will go to the Acres of Hope. We also plan to go in the afternoon to visit the street children where they live. We are still working on the luggage situation...

Thank you everyone for your prayers. I shared in devotions this morning about the boy who had the few loaves and fish, yet Jesus multiplied it to feed 5,000. In the same way, what we have may seem small to us, and we may be tempted to hang onto it. But it's not about us, or what we have, it's about Him! We keep our eyes on Jesus & let him make miracles happen!

God Bless You,
Lisa

It is Sunday evening here in Rwanda & it has not been the usual Mother's Day for me. KaLia did not feel well this morning (it ended up being she was just tired & was fine later) but because of this we (me & the kids) were not able to go with the group to Kayonza. The team went to Kayonza (where the ANLM school is, Faith Home, and 4 other orphan homes) and shared in church with them again. There was a really good message preached about service- how each one is given a service to do, whether you are poor or rich, there is no excuse, each one has a service to do.

After church they went to the boarding school to visit Christine (one of our girls from the Faith Home- the school in Kayonza is only for primary grades, so when they move up to secondary school they have to go somewhere else). They took Esther and Amiable with them (two children from the Faith Home). Christine was so happy to see them, and via cell phone KaLia and I were able to talk with her a little bit too (KaLia & Christine have been special sisters ever since 2006 when KaLia first went to Rwanda). I was sad not to be with my kids in Kayonza on Mother's Day, but at least I know that we will have other opportunities to see them, since we will be staying here longer.

Myself, Nate, and KaLia went with the Mission House hosts, on public transport, to the local ANLM church. First time riding public transport in Rwanda for me! They even celebrated Mother's Day at this church and gave all the mothers each a rose, so I did get a flower today (plus Nate later picked me a flower from the Mission House garden- so sweet)!

On Friday we planted 16 (young/little) fruit trees on the Acres of Hope. There is a man who has a house on the property right now (he just lives there- is not an owner), and we are giving him an opportunity to get some extra money by making sure the trees are watered and taken care of. We will see how he does the first month and go from there. In the evening we went to the Kanombe Home. They have a big yard there so we introduced them to the games "Red Rover", "Red Light, Green Light", and "Four Corners". Everyone was laughing and had a great time. One of the workers told us how special it is when someone comes and teaches them new games, because they will take these games to school and teach their friends, plus they do not get many opportunities to play like this. They are up at 5am, do chores, get ready, walk to school so they are there by 7am (although school starts at 8am). They have a two hour break in the middle of the day because they walk home for lunch & then walk back. They then are in school until 4:30 or 5, and then make the final walk home. Most of them are about 25 minutes from school, some closer to an hour (older kids). When visitors come they are able to set aside their evening chores and just have a good time.

Saturday we also were in Kayonza- all the kids who live there, plus the sponsored children in the surrounding area, come to the school for "Center Day". We shared in different classrooms, talking about Jesus, teaching them songs, and giving out little gifts. In one classroom 6 children asked to pray to accept Jesus into their heart. In another classroom we were talking about our Heavenly Father and how we are brought into his family when we accept Christ. A girl asked me to explain how she could be African and I could be American yet we can have the same father. Another boy, John, took me aside after class and asked me to pray for him. He is in his last year of primary school. In this year they take a test, passing it decides whether or not they can go into secondary school. He asked me to pray for him to pass this test, and I promised I would.

Sorry it's been a few days since I've been on here & so this is a long update to catch you up. Tomorrow we will work with the feeding of the street children again. Please pray for us to be able to show these kids just how much God loves them. Let our hearts be pulled with the compassion of our Heavenly Father for his kids, and let us be able to bring blessing and spiritual nourishment to them as they receive physical nourishment as well. We appreciate your prayers for God to provide for the Acres of Hope and the Home of Innocence. It will be some of these very same kids from the feeding program who are the first ones to come into the Home of Innocence. Mike has told them about it & they are very excited for it. We pray that the Home could be started quickly, before any more of these little ones are lost. God is near to those who are broken and poor, and his power is just as available to them as it is to us.

Everyone on the team is doing well, but we appreciate your prayers for us (as well as our family) and the work that God would have us to do while we are here. God is good, and able to do immeasurably beyond what we can ask or think!

God Bless You,
Lisa

Isaiah 61 "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor."

"Plantings of the Lord" has been on my mind because we bought fruit trees today to plant on the Acres of Hope. We bought mango, avocado, and oranges, plus several others I can't remember right now! Tomorrow (Friday) we will go to the Acres and plant them. That whole chapter of Isaiah 61 speaks to me so strongly right now about what the Lord is calling us to do here and his purposes for the restoration of His people- a people that have been broken but that our God and Savior will redeem!

After we visited the Acres on Tuesday I also had the word "Ebenezer" going through my mind in regards to the property. I knew it was referenced in the Bible & thought it meant blessing, but found out more about it tonight. It is found in 1 Samuel 7:12. The Lord had won a victory over the Philistines for the Israelites, and Samuel set up a remembrance stone, calling it Ebenezer and saying, "Thus far the Lord helped us". That is so true for the Acres of Hope. The Lord gave us that property. We have come this far only because of the Lord's help, and it is by His grace and help that we will go further on. Each step and each victory comes from Him- praise God! It's not us & it's not on our own- what a relief that should be!

We were back with the feeding of the street children today. It was a blessing to be with them, especially to share in their worship during their church service. Their only instruments are a large cowhide drum beaten with sticks, and the clapping of their hands, but they put their whole hearts into their worship & we knew our Heavenly Father was blessed by it. The littler ones go up front and dance before the Lord, which Nate got right into, and then he of course had to move on to beating on the drum. We shared in the Word with them and then served them by washing their hands and giving them their plates of food. God is good & we believe he is at work on behalf of these needy young ones.

Yesterday Mike & Jerid were able to install a water purifier into the Esther Home. When one of the young ladies who lives there (there are 14 of them) found out what it meant, she said, "No more boiling water? Yeah!!!" They also were able to work on some plumbing leaks in their bathrooms.

Tomorrow we will plant our trees in the Acres of Hope and bless it again. Praise God because we know he will provide. This is his work, his will, and we are just getting on board with what He is doing!

Everyone on the team is well, working hard, and all asleep right now except me! KaLia had her hair braided today at the Women's Center (on the same property as the feeding program, they train women in salon and seamstress skills)- she looks very African. :) And, if you're wondering, we don't have those last 3 pieces of luggage yet, but we appreciate your prayers on our behalf.

How magnificent is our God- who enables us to share in his work and be a part of what he is doing all over the world. And how wonderful that even though we are half way across the world from most of you, this is your ministry as well- for we pray and participate together that God's will be done.

Praise God!
Lisa

We spent Monday at the feeding program for the street children run by ANLM. We got to play with the kids, then we joined in a church service with them before serving them a meal. We encouraged them to believe God for great things and to hold fast to Christ. It is amazing to look at those children, some of them so young, and think about our precious children in the Faith and Kanombe Home. Kids like Sprian and Michael who are at the top of their class in school and have changed so much since coming into the home. What is inside these kids who are still left on the street- I mean, what is inside them that hasn't been given the chance yet to come out? The special giftings of God that are not able to be developed because these kids must spend all their time just trying to survive? Couple that with the fact that today we went to the Acres of Hope. We walked around the property and envisioned the many possibilities there. We prayed and declared God's blessing over the property, the things God has placed in our hearts to do there, and the entire country of Rwanda. We pray that God would pour out his Spirit on the land- that it would overflow and affect the entire country.

Before Mike left the last time he let the people in the area know that they could grow crops on the land until we were ready to build. So it was good to see many little plots of crops already growing and ready to be harvested. Already the land is being a blessing to the people there, and we pray that it continues exponentially.

Yesterday we also had fun visiting with the Kanombe Home kids. There is one new boy there, he has only been there for two weeks and is trying to adjust to living in a home from being on the streets. Please pray for him (and also that he would be sponsored). Unfortunately the reason there is room for him is because one of the boys in the home ran away. Please pray for this boy as well.

We still do not have Mike's suitcase or the two bins we're missing. As of today the airlines did not know where our stuff is. We are believing for it to be found & to show up quickly!

Everyone on the team is doing well. We thank God for taking care of us, guiding us, using us, and using the country of Rwanda, and it's people, to move in us also. We thank you for praying with us and believing in our great and mighty God who can do all things and loves all people the same! Tomorrow we will visit the Esther Home (home for young women sponsored to attend University) and then the Genocide Museum. Thursday we will return to the feeding program. May God be glorified in all we do!

Be Blessed,
Lisa

We all got into Kigali, Rwanda yesterday- and were very tired! We're still a bit jet lagged today- but we had a great first day of ministry today. We went to church in Kayonza where the Faith Home (as well as 4 other orphan homes and the New Life Junior Academy) are located. Picture a large hall, filled with 90% youth. By the time we got there the preacher was already passionately addressing the crowd about avoiding temptation. After this message was concluded the choirs began to sing. Young people moving, dancing, and exalting the God of all the earth. It was wonderful. The worship continued and they began to cry out intensely to the one and only Savior- Jesus! We were blessed to be apart of it. Then the second preacher came up to talk about the meaning of communion, and we shared in this with them. In the afternoon we went to each of the orphan homes, each member of the team giving a short greeting and encouragement to the kids, and then we all prayed together. At one home we laid hands on a boy named Fred, 6 years old, for dizzyness and periods of weakness. We are believing for his complete healing! We prayed God's blessings over every child and we felt their love and sweet spirits from just being around them. We also had them pray with us for God to provide for the Home of Innocence. We held hands and agreed together for our mighty God to do mighty things- he is awesome!

Everyone is healthy, just tired. One need that we have is that Mike's suitcase did not make it to Kigali, as well as two bins that have our family's supplies in it. Please pray for them to show up at the airport tomorrow!

Tomorrow (Monday) we will go to the ANLM Dream Center to participate in the feeding program for the street children. We will also go the Kanombe Home to visit the children there and work on a water purifier.

Thank you for your prayers for the team- you have a share in the great day we had today! Keep it up! :)

God Bless You,
Lisa

This year's first outreach team to Rwanda is leaving on May 1st- Thursday. We really appreciate your prayers for this trip and the team members. Our team consists of our family: Mike, Lisa, KaLia, & Nate; as well as Julia (Lisa's mom), Jill, Darcee, Bev, and Jerid. Your prayers for each team member, as well as the family members they leave behind, is an important part of our success! God chooses to move through prayer, and so we ask for you to remember to pray for us.

The outreach team will be in Rwanda until May 17th. Our family will be in Rwanda until August 2nd. Some specific requests for the start of our trip:

**pray for provision- both for The Acres of Hope and Home of Innocence, as well as for the personal needs of team members, many of whom are making personal sacrifices to come on the trip.

**pray for spiritual protection over each member, protection from attacks of all sorts, whether emotional, physical, financial, etc.

**pray for mercy as we travel- it is 30 hours on an airplane, a couple of days of little sleep and lots of sitting, sweating, waiting. Pray for us all to have patience, grace, be flexible, to get sleep on the plane, and especially for Nate who doesn't always understand & in normal circumstances doesn't sit still for long!

**pray for all our luggage to make it there on time & safely, for protection over all of our belongings & team supplies (especially over the water purifiers, we have had bulbs broken on those in the past)

**pray for us all to start this trip healthy & to quickly adjust to the different time zone & to have extra energy needed for our busy days

**very important! Pray for God to be at work - to make this trip effective & productive for his kingdom. Pray that our hearts would be full of the love of God and that this would overflow to everyone we come in contact with. Pray for God's power to go with us & to touch lives. We want His kingdom to come & His will to be done!

Thank you for your prayers & for being with us in this ministry. You are a part of this team & because of your prayers you share in the glorious things we believe are going to happen!

God Bless You,
Lisa

It is coming up fast! The date we leave with the team for Rwanda. The team will be there until May 17th and get to spend lots of time loving on kids there! Our whole family will be going with the team but when they return we will remain in Rwanda until August 2nd. We will continue to post information on this blog while we are in Rwanda so we can keep you updated on what's happening. We appreciate your prayers for the trip- that it would be very productive, that we would all be healthy and well, for all of our traveling/going through customs/etc. would all go smoothly (mercies for keeping Nate occupied during the looong plane rides- or for him to sleep a lot!). Please pray for the kids to transition well to being over there & for everyone on the team to be flexible!

Blessings,
Lisa