Ten Talents International Blog

Water

2008-07-22T23:47:00.001-07:00

As we are here in the dry season it appears that water does not run very frequently- at least not frequently enough for a home of six people (4 of them being Americans who are used to having easy access to water)! We ran out of water again on Sunday morning ("ugh!" was my reaction). I have been hoping & praying & waiting, thinking that the water would run again to our water tank on Tuesday night, like it did last week. But there again I was using a "western" mindset- that things should run on a regular schedule. Someone from the water/electric company stopped by our place on Monday and said they would make sure we had water on Monday night or Tuesday, but here we are on Wednesday morning and no water. Living without running water is very challenging for me, and certainly extra work. Again, we do not have it as hard as much of the population here. We took our jerri cans yesterday to the public pump and filled them with water for our household use. But we did not have to hand carry them back to our place (or carry them on our head!) as most people have to, since we have a vehicle. Mike even got into the experience by working the pump to fill some of the cans (I will try to post a picture here). Is God trying to make it easier for me to be ready to go back to the US? ("I want a shower! Washing my hair in a pot of warm water is not a treat!") :) I don't know- but I would certainly appreciate your prayers for our water tank to be filled soon!

We got a CD with illustrations of how the architect sees the development of our property looking once all the buildings are in place. We can't wait to show you these at our banquet. Please save the date on your calendar for that night (September 27th at the Hilton in Vancouver, Washington). We will have our Rwanda national director, Simon Peter Ngoga, with us to share his story of being a genocide survivor, a former street child, and now his passion for helping the children who are still on the streets in Rwanda.

We have found an office space to rent that is not far from our property. This will enable us to set up the neccessary office equipment (computer, printer, etc.) that Ngoga will need to use here, as well as enable our family to not have to haul back and forth between the US & Rwanda things that we need while we stay here.

Please continue to pray for the progress of Ten Talents International here in Rwanda. We have not been able to do the needed paperwork to get registered here because we are waiting on God's provision for the required funds (a lawyer has to be paid to draw up the papers). We are also waiting on the Lord for the funds to begin phase 1 of building on the Acres of Hope, including putting in a well there. What a blessing it will be for the people of the community to have easier access to fresh water. Last year at our banquet our theme was from Isaiah 49:10, "They will neither hunger nor thrist, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water." We believe this promise of God's protection and provision for the Acres of Hope as well as for us personally!

Thank you to so many of you who are believing with us, keeping us in your prayers, and sharing our heart's calling with us. We are indebted to you!
God Bless You,
Lisa & family

The Clock Begins to Tick Louder

2008-07-15T11:59:00.002-07:00

Just yesterday morning I woke up & realized it was the 14th- which meant that we are almost half way through the month- which means that we only have a little over two weeks left here. How did that make me feel? Panicked! ;) We still have so much we want to get done in what is now very little time! Mike is working this week on the ANLM Dream Center Chapel- he is helping them get the stairs done. He did have his meeting with the lawyer about establishing TTI as an NGO here. Of course the NGO process requires money to pay the lawyer for his time, so nothing has been set in motion for that quite yet.

On Saturday we were back over to visit the Acres of Hope. We had two more boys from the Faith Home come to visit us, Michael and Jean Claude. We took them to see the property. They are all amazed at how big it is. We talked to some of the neighbors who had gathered around us there. We told them about our plans for putting in a well there that will provide water for the community, so they don't have to make the long walk like they do now. We asked them to pray for us to find water there. We asked one of them, a grandma at least, if she had a church to go to, but she said the closest one is too far away to walk. When we talked about maybe having a church there, Michael, Jean Claude, and Christine (also from the Faith Home) all got excited. Jean Claude said he would preach the word, Michael would play the keyboard, and Christine said she would lead worship. I get excited too when I think about some of our kids, former street children, working with us in ministry someday. It would not surprise me in the least, in fact I can see it in my mind's eye. We prayed there with them. We did not have Simon Ngoga with us during this time, so Michael (from the Faith Home) was interpreting for us with the neighbors. He did a great job!

We had a very Africa experience this last week- we ran out of water on Sunday morning. (You see everyone here has a large water tank & although we are connected to city water, that water only runs at certain times & fills your tank then, and you live off that reserve tank of water.)Thank God this house collects rain water (though it may be dirty & in an underground tank), and thank God for a portable water purifier Mike has so we were able to have enough clean water to drink, cook, wash dishes. But still, not having easy access to water was a definite hardship- especially with 6 people in the house. As I carefully measured out & used water, or had to choose not to use water for certain things (washing clothes for instance), I had to think about the many people you see everyday here who are carrying jerry cans of water back to their homes, and that is the only water they have. They will boil it if they have enough for drinking and cooking, but many times they do not. I am constantly amazed at how hard the people here work. Carrying heavy loads (on their head most of the time it seems), walking long distances (in flip flops usually). It has been said to me several times that life is hard here, and hopefully you can understand some of what I am talking about. We (our family) has things easy compared to so many (a vehicle to take us places, running water, a water purifier). Let me also say I was praising God when the city water started running on Tuesday night & our water tank began to refill!

Thank you for praying for us and for the country of Rwanda. Now is the time for Rwanda. Now is the time for a move of God on a people who are ready to receive. Pray for the Lord of the harvest to send workers into his harvest field. And pray for the provision for the work God would have us do. We will be faithful to do it.

Together with you in Christ,
Lisa, Mike, KaLia, Nate (and Michael & Christine)

So Sweet

2008-07-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

As we have entered our last month here- it is hard to believe. There are still many things we would like to accomplish in these last few weeks. We continue to pray for God to provide for the Home of Innocence on the Acres of Hope and would like nothing better than to be able to begin construction before we leave on August 1st. On Wednesday Mike & Simon (Ngoga) will meet with a lawyer who should be able to help with the paperwork required to get Ten Talents International registered as a foreign NGO (charity) here. He already met with one lawyer, but the person wanted an unreasonable amount, so this second lawyer has been recommended to us from the church. Yesterday Mike & Simon went to visit a site where a ministry called Living Water is digging a well. Hopefully we will soon be able to post pictures of this type of project for you to see. We will want a well on the Acres of Hope. One of the stipulations (besides the cost for digging the well) is that once the well is dug, water must be freely available to the surrounding community. This suits us just fine, as we want to provide water. (Currently, the man who lives on the property and is watering our trees for us has to walk down a steep hill & back up again, a distance of about two miles, to haul water, as do many others who live in the ares surrounding the property.) Perhaps God will put it on someone's heart to finance the cost of the well.

Last Thursday we picked up two boys from the Faith Home (Sprian & Peter) as well as Christine (formerly in the Faith Home, now in secondary school). The boys had a long weekend because of Friday being a holiday, and Christine's school is out for the rest of July. We enjoyed having our sweet kids with us last weekend (a treat for Nate and KaLia as well). We took them to see the ANLM Esther Home (named after one of the girls from the Faith Home, a home for young women in university), the ANLM Dream Center property (where the feeding program for street children is held now- Peter came to the second feeding program ever held and was brought off the streets that day, 4 years ago now). We also took them to the Acres of Hope. It seemed very fitting for these kids to be there, in these humble beginnings, and to pray for what God would do there. I am sure that seeds were planted that day. Towards the end of the weekend one of the boys told us that he would want to give us something, to thank us, but that he sees that we already have things so he said that he prays heaven for us. We responded that the one thing we would like would be for him to pray for God to enable us to bring more kids off the streets- because there are still many more kids who are out there on the streets waiting for a home. For him to pray that for us would make us happy, and we told him that we know God hears his prayers.

It was hard to send the boys back on Sunday, but they have exams this week and had to go. All the kids in the Faith Home would appreciate our prayers for them to do well on their exams this week. These exams determine who passes to the next grade level, as well as their ranking in class. Many of our kids are continually at the top of their class, and strongly desire to do well.

I always have to thank you for your prayers for us. I know God has been very gracious to us this whole time because of so many lifting us up in prayer. I am reminded of an old hymn,
'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to take Him at His word
Just to rest upon His promise, Just to know "Thus saith the Lord."
That's what we do and the life we receive in return is so very sweet (not always easy) but very sweet.

Trusting God for great things in the days to come!
Lisa

Hebrews 10:23-24, 35-36, 11:1
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Liberation Day

2008-06-30T05:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long delay in updating here. We moved on Friday into our new place (staying in a house we are renting instead of the Missionary Guest House). We do not have internet access yet at our new place. And you are going to have to bear with me, but several people have asked to see pictures of our new place, so I am going to post pictures here. (Plus this is for those of you who may be wondering if we are staying in a hut or not.) We thank God for the blessing of this great place to stay (even though it is very dusty here- as we are fully into the dry season & have a well traveled dirt road in front of our place)!

This is the master bedroom (looks out on the back yard).

The kids room...

My favorite part of the house, the back patio looks out on the private & lovely back yard
(and the kids with the dog, Nora, whom they have been having lots of fun with) the sitting area and dining area...

The kitchen... and that is all I can post right now, as the internet connection is too slow!

Mike has received the plans drawn up for the Acres of Hope. It is great to be able to look and see plans and envision what the Lord would have us do there (4 homes for children, a missionary guest house with conference center, a mechanics & wood shop, and more). We are continuing to look into our options for getting Ten Talents International registered here in the country. I titled this "Liberation Day" because this week there are two holidays this week, Independence Day is July 1st and Liberation Day is July 4th (when the capital city was "liberated" from those who were orchestrating the genocide in 1994). Let's pray for the spiritual liberation of this country, for God to move in a mighty way in this country.

We are all well and praise God for our time here. Thank you for praying for God's blessing on Rwanda, the people here, our work, and our family. God continues to move on our behalf and he is good- all the time.

We thank God for you!

God Bless You,

Lisa

remember

2008-06-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

We want to just take a moment to remember why we're doing what we're doing- that there is a real need to take care of these street children, the "least of these". On Thursday Mike visited the feeding program for street children. Once there he came across a teenager (18) who had a very serious cut on his arm. Two days prior, someone had taken a piece of glass and slashed this young man's arm. The wound was very deep. Mike took him, along with some others in leadership at the feeding program, to the local clinic. However, the clinic confirmed that it was too serious for them to deal with, that he needed to go on to the hospital to be stitched up. They had someone trustworthy that they sent on with the young man, along with some funds for the care he needed.

The danger that this teenager faced on the street is the same as what faces many other kids living on the streets. Besides the other troubles of finding something to eat, where to sleep, and more, nighttime can be perilous, as they are open to attacks and abuse. It does not have to be this way, and it should not. We are following what we believe is God's call to take care of these children, his children. We can not simply turn away, but we choose to see the situation with open eyes and open our hearts to what God would have us do. Please pray with us that others would do likewise, and respond to God's call to put their own resources (talents) to work.

Thank you for your prayers for our family also, we are all well. We will be moving from the place we have been staying at (to a different home), the end of this month. God has been very good to take care of us. When I was praying for our next place to stay I was reminded of the verse in the Bible, "He gently leads those with young". I have stood on that as a promise and have seen God show himself faithful.

This week Mike was able to meet with the architect and tomorrow will be picking up the preliminary drawings to check. We are also wanting to get the necessary travel visa from the US Embassy for Simon Peter Ngoga (He has been helping us since Mike first went to look for property in Rwanda. Mike also knew him before that because Simon used to work for Africa New Life with the street children). Simon is a treasure and has a wonderful testimony of what God has done in his life. We want him to make a visit to the US so he can be with us for our annual TTI banquet (September 27th). He has submitted the application to the US Embassy, and they have now asked for more documentation. We pray that God will provide the way for Simon to come visit the US to share in his unique way the needs here in Rwanda.

We are continuing to check into how we might register TTI here as a foreign NGO (non-governmental organization). The government is in the process of changing the rules surrounding that, so they are not registering any new NGO's right now. We will see what God does in that regard.

We are thankful for the opportunity to be here and to just be available to however God directs. We truly consider all of you to be our partners with us in this endeavor. We appreciate you and are thankful for you also.

God Bless You,
Lisa

Goodness

2008-06-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

Goodness of God brings good news! Mike was able to purchase what we call "the tooth" (the 1/4 acre parcel of land that jutted up into our property) so that is great. Also, we went and looked at the place (home) where we are going to be staying for the month of July and it is perfect! Close to the property, big, beautiful, and just perfect- we are very thankful. Thursday we went to be with the kids at the feeding program. We had a good time with them and administered cleanser and band-aids to several cuts and scrapes (the kinds of things that happen all the time to these kids who live out on the streets). When they had their church service they invited us up to greet them. When KaLia greeted them she told them that they were more special to her than her pets at home (and then Mike had to explain to them what a big deal that was, how special pets are to her). They got so happy about that they gave KaLia a gift- they did a special African dance for her to the beat of the drum there. It was awesome!

We are getting boundary posts set up at the property and had the man there today who will do the topographical map for us. Once that's completed then we will get the architect to put together some drawings and plans.

It's finally warm weather here today! We are all well and doing fine, although KaLia does think about her pets a lot! (and tonight she was really wanting a hamburger!) Your prayers are vital to this ministry and our family. We thank God for all he has done, and we know he is at work, going before us to prepare the way for what needs to be done in the future. Your continued prayers for God to bless Ten Talents International, for God to enable us to go further in the work he has called us to, for his provision for the work, as well as for our family, are essential.

Thank You!

Lisa

P.S. Here is a picture of Gilbert (see my post from last month titled "Gilbert"). Please pray for him and all the children who remain vulnerable on the streets.

Plans

2008-06-08T04:58:00.000-07:00

You may not believe this, but as I am writing this update, I am wearing a sweatshirt & jeans in the middle of the day here in Rwanda! We have been having very unusual weather for June here. This is supposed to be the beginning of the dry season, but instead we have been having a lot of rain and it has been very cool. The roads are very messy here when it rains. Only the main roads are paved, the rest are packed dirt. When it rains, it rains hard. And the ground can not absorb all the water at once so you have muddy rivers everywhere. In the parts where the roads get soft the mud packs into the tires & Mike said it is like driving on ice! Thank God that he provided a four wheel drive vehicle for us to have here. It has definitely been necessary & thank God we didn't have to trudge our family up to the public bus station in the rain for church today!

Thursday morning Mike taught at the feeding program. There were a lot of kids there and they broke them into two groups, with Mike teaching those over age 10. He had a question and answer time and ended up having a very good discussion with them about AIDS which led to talking about purity before marriage. He also talked with them about forgiveness, forgiving those who have hurt you and how that sets *you* free.

That afternoon Mike was supposed to have the meeting with the Minister of Family, but it ended up getting moved to Friday morning. They had a good meeting and discussed the issue of street children in Rwanda. In 2005 the government and UNICEF together produced a booklet of the strategic plan for children in the streets. We now have a copy of this too. It outlines the causes of children taking to the streets, and the different strategies the government & other groups are using to address the problem. They estimated at that time the number of street children to be 7,000. Of those, they believe one third are orphans. The rest are on the street due to poverty in their family, or abuse. The government has dealt with the issue of street children by having police officers round them up and take them to a government care center. This report admits that because the children are forcibly detained they come to view these centers as prison and only want to find a way to escape. The street children we have talked to have told us that these centers are not very nice places to be. The report goes on to talk about the different approaches and the country's goals. Mike & Ngoga were also invited to a meeting on the 10th of this month between different organizations who are working with the street children.

Mike has been putting together the TTI Strategic Plan for working with the street children here in Kigali, specifically those in the district where the Acres of Hope property is. It has been a very good exercise for naming goals, beliefs, our methods, etc.

In regards to the Acres of Hope, there is one part of the property that juts in like a tooth. This is about 1/4 acre that belongs to someone else. It looks like we can purchase this parcel for less than 1,000 US dollars, and it would make the building of a wall around the property much easier, instead of having to jut in right there. We are also going to find someone to make a topographical map of the land (the different elevations and such) and then bring that to an architect to draw up the plans.

Saturday we got to go up to Kayonza and visit some of the kids from the Faith Home. We know Christine's birthday is in June, and we had missed Michael (boy in the Faith Home)'s birthday in April, so we brought them to a restaurant for birthday cake and sodas. This was a special treat for them. Most of the children who have come from poor families or who have lost their families, have no idea when their birthday is. I asked one of the other kids how they know when to change their age, since they do not have a birthday and they told me that in January they change their age, since that is when the year changes. We had a nice time in Kayonza and thankfully the rain held off while we enjoyed our time right on the lake there.

Thank you for remembering our family and the ministry here in your prayers. We are all well and I know it is the grace of God that has enabled us four to share one large bedroom for the last month +, with stuff in closets, Rubbermaid tubs, and any other surface we have! Please continue to pray for God to use our time here, that he would enable it to be fruitful and productive. Please also pray for God to provide all that's needed for the ministry at the Acres of Hope and Home of Innocence. I was reminded again in church today that God provides for the things he calls us to! And I know that he is able to do exceedingly & abundantly above what we could ask or think!

Believing Together,

Lisa & family

Good News

2008-06-03T08:37:00.000-07:00

Mike was able to get back the plot paperwork for our property yesterday. This in itself is a praise because we had been told that can take months to get back sometimes! Another praise is that it is zoned "social" which means it is OK to put a church, orphanage, school, etc. there. Here is a verse I was reading this morning that I think applies to the Acres of Hope:
Zechariah 8
12 "The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. 13 As you have been an object of cursing among the nations... so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong."

Thank you for continuing to pray for us, for the work here, and for God's provision for the work he wants to do. Mike has a meeting Thursday with the Minister of Family (person in government). Thank you for praying for God's blessing on that meeting & to give Mike/Ten Talents International favor.

God Bless You,
Lisa

Saturday, Sunday

2008-06-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

That is a little bit of a play on words, you see we spent today (Sunday) at Pastor Saturday's church. Let me back up to say that yesterday we did get to go out to our property & check on our trees, and we got checked out in the process. A whole crowd gathers when the "muzungus" (non-Africans) come bouncing down the road in our vehicle! This morning I was reading in Zechariah 4:
6 So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.
7 "What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of 'God bless it! God bless it!' "
8 Then the word of the LORD came to me:
9 "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you.
10 "Who despises the day of small things?"
It was a witness in my heart of what God would say about the Home of Innocence & Acres of Hope. I shared it with KaLia and she pointed out how it's also like the trees we planted there. They are very small now, just beginning, but they are going to be very fruitful, in her words, "They are going to have huge fruit- the biggest fruit ever! God knows!" Can you, like me, hear a little girl prophesying over the lives that are going to be changed there & become so "fruitful"?

This morning we set out for Pastor Saturday's church. It is not far from where we stay, but you must turn off the main road and travel over several narrow packed dirt "streets" (they would seem more like wide trails to most of us). This is the "land of a thousand hills" and so many of the roads travel up and down the hillsides. We bumped up and down along these roads, rutted and full of giant holes from the rains washing them out. We weren't sure of exactly where the church was, but we had the windows down & heard it before we saw it. There was only one other car there besides ours (and no one else came in cars later either). The building was a simple rural style- cement floors, cement walls, corrugated tin roof attached to timber trusses. The light inside came from a window or two that had it's wooden shutters open, and two open doors. There was also a single flourescent lamp at the front of the church (but it flickered on & off, almost to the beat of the keyboard being played). It was 9:30am, and even though Pastor Saturday had told us that service was at 10:30, there must have been a pre-service praise & prayer time already in progress when we got there. For an hour they sang and the song leader threw in some preaching too. It was all in the Kinyarwanda language, but when they began to cry out to God at once, I could feel the Spirit of God there & knew we were all one family. Then at 10:30 they had some more praise. They had a worship team of about 10 people up on the platform, and they began to really praise Him. They (along with the congregation) started clapping, then moved onto jumping, and then dancing. A couple little kids got up there to dance along, and we tried to coax Nate into joining, but he was not feeling comfortable doing that today- although he did a few dance steps at our seat. It was around 11:15 or 11:30 when Mike got up to preach. He shared with them some of his testimony, how he came to know Christ and then later to really live for Christ. He pointed out to them some basic but powerful truths from God's word for them. We praise God because at the end of the preaching 12 persons came forward to pray to receive Christ. We are so grateful to God for drawing those persons out of darkness and into light. I am also grateful that my kids were fairly behaved (Nate had a few moments of not-so-behaved) during our 3 hours of church, much of it in another language. I didn't even have to take Nate out this morning (he eventually fell asleep at noon).

Just wanted to bring you into our world this morning. Your thoughts and prayers toward us keep us together in our hearts, and we thank you for being partners with us in this work. God is so good to bring you alongside us- thank you!

God Bless You,
Lisa

My Prayer

2008-05-28T22:11:00.000-07:00

I, along with some in my home church in Vancouver, WA, http://www.experiencebethel.com/, am putting a special emphasis on prayer today. My pastor says, "Prayer will precede, promote, and protect our progress". That is so true. I pray for Bethel daily, and one of the things I pray for them is that our attendance would grow. Why? Because more people in Vancouver need to be there! They need the healing and hope found only in Jesus, and you will not find better teaching or truer hearts than those in Pastor Dav and his wife Laura. (We love you guys!)

Would you also join me in praying for the country of Rwanda today? I have been reading a book written by a fourth generation missionary to this country (her great grandparents, grandparents, parents, and now she herself, have all been missionaries in Rwanda). It goes into some of the social, political, and spiritual history of this country. As I was reading this I was also listening to music. One of the songs was based on the prayer of Jabez and had the refrain, "Bless me! Bless me!" I had to turn it off. Not that I haven't prayed that kind of prayer many times in the past, but I have a different perspective right now. I am so very, very, very blessed. If I were to sit and write down all of my blessings my list would be very long. Right now I pray, "Lord bless the land of Rwanda. Bless it's people." Pray with me that God would bless this land and bring healing. Pray that the light of Jesus would fill this land and displace all darkness- in minds, hearts, and spirits. There is a song that came back to my mind a few days ago, one that we used to sing in church some years ago. I am going to tell you the words so we can together make this our prayer for Rwanda:
Lord, the light of your love is shining. In the midst of the darkness shining. Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon us. Set us free by the truth you now bring us. Shine on me. Shine on me.
Shine Jesus shine, fill this land with the Father's glory. Blaze Spirit blaze, set our hearts on fire. Flow river flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy. Send forth your Word, Lord and let there be light.

The pastor who works with the feeding program, Pastor Saturday, has invited Mike to come preach at his church on Sunday. Mike has also been helping with some of the planning for ANLM's Dream Center construction that is going on right now (same property as the feeding program). Let's pray for those kids who attend the feeding program & have given their hearts to Christ, but still find themselves searching for some food each day as well as a safe place to sleep. God has not forgotten them. He sees them and cares for them, and they have faith that He will be their refuge. Let's pray for the Acres of Hope and the Home of Innocence, that God would prompt his people to be his conduits of supply.

Bless you today. I pray you walk in the fullness of all God has for you. Thank you for walking the walk of faith with us & believing God for great things at home and in Rwanda! Praise Him!

Lisa

Since last I wrote

2008-05-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

I have added some pictures to the blog from when the team was here. I hope to add a new album to our photo gallery also- but that will take some time with our slow internet connection! Friday KaLia & I went to a surprise bridal shower for one of the ANLM workers. Bridal showers are a new thing for Rwandans, but everyone really enjoyed it. It ended up being a time of sharing, encouraging, and advising, as we were at the Esther Home (young women who are sponsored in university) and the older women shared their advice with these younger women (yes, I am including myself in that "older women" statment!) Saturday we were able to visit "our" kids in the Faith Home, as well as one of the sponsored children who resides in a boarding school not too far from there. She used to live in the Faith Home, but kids who are ready for secondary school (what they go to after 6th grade) have to move on to a boarding school. ANLM is currently constructing another wing at their school so they will have room for secondary school, and we look forward to when that will be finished. This morning (Sunday) was spent at church (and we had a ride- so we got to be there on time!). It was a good service and I was thinking about how content I am to be here in Rwanda. I feel like this kind of thing is what I was made for - mission. International work has always been a part of my heart, and now Rwanda is a big part of my heart.

There are a few things I miss from home (taking about just things, not people I miss). I've decided there are three things: my mattress (we've got foam mattresses here in Rwanda, no inner springs!), my washer & dryer, and having a class for Nate to be in during church service (they have a kids class but Nate won't sit still for it or church service, so one of us ends up taking him out. I am a bit embarrassed by it each time, but at least the doors of the church are all open so you can still hear what's going on). But none of those are very major things- and I would remind all of you to be grateful for the little things like that!

Really, the only thing I need now is for God to open up some avenues of ministry for me. Let's pray for that! Thank you for your prayers for our family, for ministry, and the Acres of Hope.

Praise God that he is always faithful & his word is always true! God's word is good & his promises towards us are full of so many good, good things.

Together in Christ,
Lisa

Photos from when the team was here

2008-05-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

Serving the children at the Dream Center for the feeding program. Playing with the kids at the Kanombe Home.

Church service with the street children (worship time = dancing).
Nate found a buddy at the feeding program (he even let Nate pummel him)!

The team together with the children from the Faith Home.
Simon Peter Ngoga (TTI Rwanda director) having fun in front of the Faith Home.

Kids from an orphan home playing a game like marbels with bottle caps.

NGO

2008-05-20T07:13:00.000-07:00

It is very quiet here in the mission house without our team. We have received papers that show the official boundary lines of the Acres of Hope property. Our next goal is to be registered with the government here as a foreign charity (NGO- non-governmental organization). Mike saw a friend at church on Sunday who later contacted us to let us know that she could help us to get registered, because she knows the people we need to talk to. We thank God for that!
Mike also wants to get an appointment with the Minister of Family (a government position) so he can find out what their plans are for the street children of this country.
God is giving us contacts here. We are looking to purchase a vehicle for use whenever we are here, and God has helped us by putting us in contact with a pastor here who is wanting to sell his vehicle and will work with us on this, as well as putting us in contact with another missionary who knows about vehicles and can give us good advice on this. We also have some other contacts that people have passed on to us but we're not sure how God is going to use them yet.
I was feeling very Rwandan on Monday. I washed almost a week's worth of laundry in the tub and hung them out to dry. For four people the laundry does add up! Now I have thoughts like, "Is this visibly dirty yet? Does it stink? No, OK don't need to wash it yet!" Of course, most everything you wear outside of the house will get some dark African dirt/dust on it, so most everything has to get washed!
Sunday we went to church at African New Life Bible church. Their first service is an english service, including a kid's class, so we went to that. We rode the public transport again (bus) and figured out that if we're going to take the public transport we'd better leave a lot earlier! You see, here there are no bus schedules- they don't leave the bus station until the bus is full. And I mean African full (4 people in a space that Westerners would think seats 3). At 8 o'clock on Sunday morning there aren't as many people at the bus station so we had to wait a while for it to fill up. But thankfully the church service lasts 2 hours, so by the time we got there we still had an hour of church left. :) There's walking involved in the trip too, but not too bad.
I've walked up to the open market with our host and the cook here- walking is the African way! (Most people are not able to afford cars.) The open market has a very strong smell- could be the live chickens, that area was especially strong. Nate got to pet a chicken, and now KaLia wants a pet chicken to provide eggs for us! She's already making plans...
Please continue to keep us, TTI, and the Acres of Hope/Home of Innocence in your prayers. You can pray specifically for TTI to be registered as an NGO here, as well as for God to go before us, direct us, and provide for us.
Thank you for working together with us!
God Bless You,
Lisa

Ministry Continues

2008-05-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

Thursday we went with Mike & Jerid to fix a water purifier at a large church (one that sees 3000 people a week). Now that one is working well there are 7 water purifiers in Rwanda that TTI has installed and they are all working well. We then went to minister at the feeding program for the last time with this team. It is on the same property as the women’s center (where they train women in sewing and salon skills), so my mom (Julia) preached a message of encouragement to the women while we were with the kids. Several women came forward afterwards for prayer, including one who sincerely rededicated herself to Christ. Jill and I shared testimony and scripture in the service with the kids. After we shared, the pastor there shared the scripture, “God is our refuge, and strength, an everpresent help in trouble” and he asked the question, “How can we make God our refuge?” Every kid who shared said almost the same thing, "because others have died, and I am still alive, that shows me that God is my refuge." A few team members shared our thoughts on God being our refuge, and Mike summed it up at the end. He told the kids that in order for a refuge to protect you, you must be inside it. It was a very powerful salvation message. I was glad that the service went in that direction, because I definitely felt like we needed to share salvation with these kids. At the end of the message a whole crowd of kids came forward for prayer. Praise God for all this ministry this morning!

We also visited the Acres of Hope after this & brought with us the pastor and his friend who had been working with us at the feeding program. We checked on our trees (doing fine) and then we prayed a blessing over the land and the work God is going to do there, as well as his provision. The verse that was mentioned after the prayer was "He who began a good work will be faithful to complete it", and a team member also said that verse was what had been going through her mind in regards to the property as well.

That evening we visited with the kids in the Kanombe Home and said good bye to them. We played outside and then inside we had a time for sharing. Several kids stood up and thanked us for visiting them, asked us to warmly greet their sponsors, and blessed us. One child gave us a card he had made with a drawing of the Bible and it said, "Power of God". Another child showed us a drawing he had made of Christ, and then he sang us a song. We prayed over each one of the kids, spreading out & laying hands on every single one of them. And when we were done praying for them, their house "Uncle" prayed for us & blessed us as well. It was powerful.

As I am typing this now it is Friday night. We sent off our team today & the Mission House is strangely quiet & much more empty now. It is just our family, a young man from Seattle, and the couple that runs the House. This is how it will be for the rest of the month. I've saved some really good news though (to reward those who read all the way to the end of my post)- we got our luggage today!!! Woo Hoo!!! :) When we dropped the team off at the airport Mike went back & checked & there was our luggage waiting for us. Ironic! We are so thankful for this answer to prayer (and in addition to Mike being grateful for his clothes, Nate was very thankful that his snack closet is now restocked)!

Please pray for our team as they make the wearisome journey half way across the world again. We are praying for them that God would solidify in their hearts the work that He did during this trip. Everyone seemed to feel that this time went by quicker than ever before. Please also pray for those that we ministered to - that not one would be lost or doubt the work God has done in them, but instead that they would keep moving forward. God has such good things for this country and we are so glad to be able to be here and, together with you, to be a part of it.

The kids are doing well. Nate has his buddy here at the Mission House- he's picked John Claude- well, maybe you should pray for that guy- between Nate & KaLia he may have a hard time getting any work done! KaLia has talked about how she misses her family, friends, pets, etc. But she was also very happy not to have to leave Rwanda today & when all the team was saying their goodbyes to the kids this week she kept saying, "But we're going to be here for 3 months- so I will see you again soon!"

We appreciate you all so much. You are the foundation of anything and everything we do. By your prayers and support is the only way any of this ministry is accomplished. We look forward to sharing more victories with you soon!

God Bless You,
Lisa

Wenesday in Kayonza

2008-05-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning we spent with the ANLM school in Kayonza, about an hour's drive from Kigali (where we stay). We split into teams of two and shared in each of the classrooms there. Some of us shared a song, or "Mad Libs" (helping the kids with their english), or talked about Washington, etc. At lunch time we got to have time with our precious Faith Home kids. We love those kids so much. We told them we wanted to lay hands on them and pray for them. As we waited for one member of the home to return, another child (Amiable) spontanously led the kids in singing songs of worship. We could feel their hearts and their hunger for Christ. We annointed each one of them with oil and every team member laid hands on each child and prayed God's power and blessing for them. I thank God for that sweet time. We love those kids so much. I think back to last year, and how pained I was to have to leave them as our trip drew to a close, and I am so glad that we are not leaving yet. When we left Kayonza my heart was just full of love for those kids. I am so proud of them. They are such good kids. There were a couple of young students who hugged me as we stood by the van, and they just held on tight. Before we left the students were having a special presentation in the dining hall. We got to see the kids do some special traditional dances, which was a real treat. And then the dancers pulled us up to dance with them! Oh, how the whole hall full of kids roared with screams and laughter as we tried to follow the moves of these dancers! Is that what they call being fools for Christ? :)

In the afternoon we went to visit some orphans, most of whom are HIV postive. This was arranged by ERM. They had use of a meeting hall and there were about 150 orphans there. They too treated us with a special performace of drumming and dancing. It was amazing. They drummed for probably an hour and it was unlike anything we'd ever seen before. We ended the evening by giving the orphans some angel ornaments and cards from my mom (Julia's) church Sunday School in Alaska. They were so appreciative and grateful for these small gifts.

Thank you for your continued prayers for our team. It is emotionally difficult to have to leave when you have become so attached to the people and the country of Rwanda. We have a great team and they all have opened their hearts to what God wanted to do in them this trip. They have had God fill them with a love and compassion for the people of Rwanda

Please also continue to pray for the work God would have our family do here in Rwanda, as we shift gears to being here on our own. God has a purpose and a plan and we just want to walk in line with that.

We are ministers together- in Christ,
Lisa

Gilbert

2008-05-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night we went to see the street kids where they live. Only Mike & Jerid got out of the van to go with Ngoga to see the kids (the rest of us stayed in the van at Ngoga's request). When they got down into this drainage area next to the road they found a kid who had a very deep cut on his arm & was bleeding. They wanted to help him using our first aid kit, but when the kid saw the kit he got scared (that it was going to hurt) and ran screaming up the hillside (where all these little homes are). A man was able to lead our guys to this boy's house. There were kids everywhere as Mike, Jerid, & Ngoga followed this man up steep narrow trails, some with a 10 foot drop off the side. At the home they found the boy with his mom and were able to put some ointment and a bandage on the wound. There was no light in this little home, but thankfully our guys had a small flashlight so they could see! They left behind some extra ointment and bandages, although this cut really needed stitches. Most importantly they prayed there for God to heal this boy. As it was beginning to get into the evening they came back to the van so we could head out. Just as we were leaving Ngoga spotted a boy on the street that he knew from the Kanombe Home (Ngoga has worked with the ministry to the street kids since the beginning). We pulled over & talked to this boy & two friends with him. The boy's name is Gilbert & he was in the Kanombe Home up until a few days after Innocence died, then he ran away. So this boy has been on the streets since then, and that was at least 4+ years ago. We asked him to take us & show us where he sleeps. He took us up the road and pointed out a drainage ditch. They sleep in the little area where there is a road/path over the drain. That way they are down there, unseen, safe from those who would hurt them or put them in jail. I also guess that means that when it rains, they don't sleep. (Which, you may not realize it, but there is a rainy season here, which we are at the end of; however, it has rained quite a bit this week.) Mike asked them about meals- how often do they eat, where do they get the food, etc. They told us that they try to get a little money from carrying people's packages at the market or other such things. Then they go to the restaurant and pay them 100 Francs (about 20 cents). For this amount the restaurant will let them have some food out of the bucket where they clean off the customers plates. In case you're not understanding: at the restaurant, when customers do not finish the food on their plate, they scrape it all into a bucket. This bucket is what the boys pay to eat out of. After talking with them we took them to a restaurant where TTI bought them each a real meal (about $1 each), and Mike gave Gilbert money for another meal so they could eat again another day. But then we had to leave. How sad to have to drive away & leave those boys to live a life like that, and yet we felt fortunate to have found Gilbert. Mike asked the boys, "How many others live on the streets like this?" And their response was, "Many, many". Too many for them to count. But this is why we're here, and why we are pressing forward, believing God to provide for the Home of Innocence and the Acres of Hope. We believe God has better for these kids- these are his kids & we are just trying to cooperate with what He is wanting to do. If you have a brochure, on the inside the background of the brochure is a picture of kids eating a meal. This is one of the first pictures from the Kanombe Home when it opened- Gilbert is the short one in the middle, with round cheeks. It surely was the providence of God that we "happened" to see him on the street. He told us he would like to be in a home again. Please pray for Gilbert, as well as for the Home of Innocence. God, let your kingdom come & your will be done!

Love & Blessings from Rwanda,
Lisa

Stormy Night

2008-05-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

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

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T12:34:00.000-07:00

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

Plantings of the Lord

2008-05-08T12:24:00.000-07:00

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

Tuesday update

2008-05-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

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

Sunday Night (in Rwanda)

2008-05-04T10:47:00.000-07:00

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

Pray Please!

2008-04-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

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

May 1st

2008-04-19T14:18:00.000-07:00

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

God is Faithful

2008-04-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

We are believing for God's continued provision for the desires he has placed in our hearts. We are moving forward with our plans for staying three months in Rwanda, starting May 1st. Praise God - He is in control! Thank you for your continued prayers & believing with us for God to do amazing & great things- like he has already in so many ways! He will provide for the trip, for the Acres of Hope, the Home of Innocence, and so much more that he has placed in our hearts.

God Bless You,
Lisa

Provision

2008-04-04T12:42:00.000-07:00

We would really appreciate your continued prayers for God to provide for this upcoming trip (leaving May 1st). We still need God to provide significantly in order for the whole family to be able to go at this time. It has been our intention to spend several months (as a family) in Rwanda ever since we left there last year. As of right now, that is a little bit up in the air. As well, we are still trusting God for the Acres of Hope property to be paid off, and the matching funds are still in place to make those donations go 50% farther. Beyond that we need God to put it on the hearts of people to give towards the Home of Innocence being built as well. We wait upon the Lord, and trust His plan. Please pray for the avenues of God's provision to be opened up. If there are those that God has been prompting to give, but have hesitated, or not done so yet, please pray that they would respond. Our life in Christ is always a life of faith, whether we are giving or going, and we know that God is good & will lead us.

Thank you for your faithfulness & we pray God blesses you!
Lisa