Back in Action Again!

Four days before setting off for my November mission trip to Rwanda I had a bad fall and ended up in hospital with a nasty fractured hip. The original surgery did not sort the problem out and I was out of action for several months until a second operation corrected the problem and I am now on the road to having a fully working hip once again.

This unexpected setback meant an end to my planned travels to Africa for the whole year. However, I was able to maintain good contact with our ministry partners in India and Burundi during the year which meant I could continue to send out funding as needed. Unfortunately I was not able to get to Rwanda either, as we wound up our operation in that country in 2014. Our work there was complete after many years.

Our main focus just now is the construction of a 50 bed community hospital in a very poor suburb of Bujumbura. The need there is extreme as the poor have no access to medical care other than tiny roadside pharmacy booths. Many people are dying of simple diseases and women die in childbirth, so the provision of this hospital/clinic will make a massive difference to many lives. Our partners in this are a Burundian NGO called Cup of Cool Water headed up by a wonderful man of God - Charles Ndikumana.

Building work began in April 2014 and continues. It should be completed by the summer of 2015. The work is going very well and we are optimistic that it will come in on time.

Books, Books, Books.....

 Well I really have the bit between my teeth now! For months I have been talking about sorting out my book collection and getting organised. In my study I have three walls of floor to ceiling book cases, groaning under the weight of hundreds of books and cds.

So I have decided to have a proper cull and sell the 'surplus to requirements' ones to raise some money for the Mbabazi Clinic project.

This is a 50 bed community hospital to be built in a poor suburb of Bujumbura, capital city of Burundi in central Africa. We are sponsoring the construction of this clinic in partnership with Charles Ndikumana of Cup of Cool Water, a Christian NGO in Burundi.

We are making good progress with the funding but there is still quite a long way to go. So I am posting many of these books on Amazon, where I am a registered third party seller going under the pseudonym of "champfleurie". So look out for that name if you are book shopping in the next few months. The books are mainly theological texts, bible commentaries, devotional books as well as cook books and novels.

If you would like to make a direct donation you could visit our give.net page 

 https://t.co/UBUsmk4h5f

They will soar on wings like eagles. Isaiah 40:31

This is my last blog post for this mission trip. It has been a busy and fulfilling time being back in this lovely part of central Africa. It is the long, hot dry season just now and everything is very dusty and in need of water. We saw some sensational sunrises from our balcony - every morning at 06.15 - well worth being up and about at that time.

 The highlight of the final weekend was a very special wedding at the Mango Tree Church. Jocelyn, one of the deaf girls who works in the sewing workshop got married to Samson. He is hearing and is also the father of Naomi, Jocelyn's two year old daughter. So this is a very satisfactory ending to a long journey for her - or maybe I should say a "new beginning" for all three of them.

Another very special thing that happened was a visit from Bright, my Ugandan "son", his wife Doreen and their twin daughters, Sheelah Hazel and Sheebah Hazel, aged 2 1/2. They came from Mbarara on the bus and stayed at the ministry centre with us for a couple of days. This was the first time I had met my little grand daughters who call me 'Grannyma Hazel'. They are very bright and adorable children.

 

Another trip safely completed. I got back last week and am now settling back to life in Scotland. 

May God bless all who read this blog!

From the lips of children and infants. Psalm 8:2

We just returned from a visit to Musanze in north west Rwanda where we spent a couple of days with our missionary friend Pam who has lived in Rwanda since about 2000. She started up a children's project a few years ago in partnership with a young Rwandan called Nathan and they now have a thriving nursery and primary school called Excel School. As the school has grown they have added classes and are now at P5 with 305 pupils. This is a remarkable achievement and I have been very privileged to have been involved right from the start.

On Monday we had such a special time at Pam and Nathan's school. They invited us to meet the children and to hear the choir sing for us ......but it was so much more!

My friend Julie wrote these words about it:
"Pam's school just abounds with the love, care and the teaching of God to the kids. It has grown from nothing. It is built on prayer. Pam had arranged for a 1/2 hour to 1 hour programme by the worship choir and dancers. 2 1/2 to 3 hours later we were still being moved spiritually. emotionally and physically by the kids praising, singing and dancing to the Lord. 

Nathan leading the choir

Hazel and I were both asked to speak to and pray for the school, which we were very happy to do, and we would have stayed all day in that wonderful place if we could have done so. I have never seen a group of happier or more confident children - who were very willing to sing on their own and even pray out at the front of the school. Even the 3 year old children took part and the traditional dance group was spectacular. The school secretary is one of the national ballet dancers and has taught the children well. Eventually the performance ended and the children went back to their classrooms and to lunch and we felt rather guilty at disrupting the school's curriculum for the day - but as Pam said, when moved to tears as were all three of us at times, it was well worth it. She really is special and I have been honoured to meet her." I could not have described the day better!

The school choir recently participated in an East African choir festival and next month they are going to a competition in Dar es Salaam. They are very gifted children.

With singing lips my mouth will praise

Psalm 63:5

Lift up your eyes and look about you. Isaiah 60:4

This has been a busy week here in Rwanda. We received a visit from our dear brother Charles, who travelled up to Kigali by bus - a six hour ride from Bujumbura to spend two nights with us at the ministry centre. This was a very important meeting to have time to pray together and to discuss and finalise plans for our joint project, the building of a 50 bed polyclinic on some land we purchased in a suburb of Bujumbura city a couple of years ago.

Hazel and Charles arriving at the OEW ministry centre

This clinic is the On Eagles Wings major project for 2013-2014 and fundraising is now well under way. We wanted to clarify together the project stages and costings and talk about timing and goals etc. It is so much easier to sit down and discuss at length together, rather than trying to do everything by email! During his stay we were able to set up a small video camera and record some clips to make into a short video to show to churches, mission groups and prayer partners. In it Charles speaks about the clinic and why it is so vital in that part of Bujumbura city.

Charles Ndikumana of Cup of Cool Water

We also covered the goat farm project which is almost complete. Last year OEW conducted a "Kids for Kids" campaign to buy goats for poor families in Burundi. Around 60 goats were donated. However we all felt it would be a much better plan to build a goat breeding farm on some land east of Bujumbura and thus establish an ongoing supply of goats for distribution to destitute families. The volunteers from the local church are working to make 9,000 bricks just now - they have already made 4,000 which is a fantastic start. Once these have been baked the building work can get going. The farm should be up and running by September this year.

Brick making for Cup of Cool Water goat farm

We were able to donate a large suitcase full of supplies for Cup of Cool Water to use in their ministry of "uplifting critical communities". This included good quality clothing for babies, infants and children; it included medical supplies - sterile dressing packs, sterile urinary catheters and some moulded leg splints. All these gifts were donated by people in Scotland and carried out to Africa as part of our baggage allowance. We would like to thank the parents who passed on outgrown children's clothes, East Lothian NHS Trust and the Edinburgh branch of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists who all gave generously. All these items will be put to very good use where the need is greatest.

Julie and Charles inspecting the case of goods

Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honour and life. Proverbs 22:4

Train up a child in the way he should go.... Proverbs 22:6

Alpha Community Academy is coming towards the end of the second term of this academic year. Today was a public holiday to commemorate Liberation Day from the 1994 genocide so the school campus was quite deserted. We took the opportunity to visit Gahini in the east of Rwanda with Brian the headmaster to accompany us in the car. Tomorrow the children have their end of month exams - so we hope this did not spoil the fun of an extra day off school.

We have a busy programme ahead of us and would appreciate prayer for the following things:

• Winnie and Louis travelling back to Rwanda next week from their visit to USA
• Charles of Cup of Cool Water travelling by road from Bujumbura to visit us this week
• Julie and Hazel driving up to Ruhengeri/Musanze on Saturday and back on Monday
• Hazel preparing to preach at Mango Tree Church on Sunday 14th
• Wisdom and guidance as we discuss future plans with our project partners during this visit

The origin of the East Africa Revival (1930s) at Gahini

Summer Mission to Rwanda 2013

Earlier this week I arrived once more at our ministry centre in Kanombe near Kigali in Rwanda. I was accompanied by Julie Woodford, the missionary who went with me to India this time last year to set up and teach our leprosy village how to care for their limbs and prevent disability. We have been so encouraged to receive the latest reports from India that the village people now have very few wounds and lesions as they are healing up so well as a result of the teachings we gave them. This has freed up the doctor and the mobile clinic to begin work in other neglected villages further afield.

The hot dry season is now in full swing - and we have had no water in the house at all until today, when we had an abundant overflow into the garden. That's what happens here all the time.

On Wednesday we visited the school - usually I am here in the holidays - so it was great to meet the headmaster, teachers and of course the children who are as bright and energetic as ever. We were honoured to be invited to have lunch in the school dining room - delicious rice, beans and beef.

Julie eating her school dinner at Alpha Academy!

On Thursday we visited Hope Village - a purpose built village for genocide widows and orphans. Elsie Hitimana invited us to join the women in their weekly fellowship and Bible study, sitting out in the open air, on top of a hill. Since my last visit a year or two back the community has grown to 29 houses with the 30th house just being started. They have 29 cows kept in scrupulously clean conditions not far from the houses.

The women were making traditional baskets while they waited for everyone to gather. These baskets are made of reeds, brightly dyed sisal and are hand sewn. We could not resist buying a few to take back.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress James 1:27

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good......

Our final morning dawns bright and sunny after a night of terrible storms and heavy rain. This time of year is usually like this, hot sun and big thunderstorms.Thankfully I am used to it after 13 years of back and forth! The garden here is growing at a tremendous pace. Just over a year ago I went on a raiding party to friends' gardens for cuttings of this and that to brighten up the compound. I poked in small geranium, hibiscus and other unnamed flowering shrubby things - at most 3 or 4 inches high. Now they are all waist high and getting bigger. A small mango tree and a tiny nut tree that have been sitting out front not doing very much, have suddenly sprouted and magnified to a surprising extent.

The visit to our ministry partners, Cup of Cool Water, in Burundi was very busy and very productive. We like to keep these visits short and to the point as we are very conscious of the amount of additional work we cause them in the midst of their own punishing ministry schedule all over the country of Burundi. We are also sensitive to the physical danger of going there at all. The FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) advise against all but essential travel to a large part of the country and parts of Bujumbura due to ongoing security issues and clashes between armed groups and national security forces in the past few months. Unlike Rwanda there is a high risk of crime and it is not wise for us visitors to go out in the street after dark in Bujumbura.  Both Ruth and I were aware of the underlying tensions, but having said that we take our hats off to Charles and his team for the careful way they looked after us and escorted us everywhere. Our accommodation was in a safe area with high security provisions in place.

Our purpose for going down to Burundi was two-fold. Firstly, I needed a meeting to firm up our plans to assist with the construction of the Mbabazi Clinic for the Poor. This was conducted at the office of CCW and was very helpful and allowed us to map out a way forward. A visit to the site with Charles and Joshua was good. Ruth and I prayed over the land and prayer walked part of the boundary, while the two men walked all round the rest of it. I was pleased to see that this piece of land was being used productively to grow a large crop of cassava while it lies in readiness for building work to commence. Charles explained that it was important to use the land for food production, not only to feed people but also to signal to others that the land was in ownership and not derelict. I saw where the access road would be made and where the production of bricks would take place once the work starts. They will manufacture the bricks themselves on site as they go. This is normal practice.

Our second reason for going to Burundi was to meet with a group of deaf people and to conduct a half day teaching seminar and to get to know them a little. We had no idea whether they were Christians or what sign language they use. Ruth is very good at Rwandan sign language (quite different from BSL) but was somewhat apprehensive at being on her own without Susan, her deaf ministry partner. We were expecting 10 to come and 19 adults and 10 children arrived. It worked out very well because one of the deaf ladies has a hearing husband who can interpret speech to sign and with Charles’ help with translating from English to Kirundi, we got on fine! 

We are now on the way home, sitting in the airport having our last African coffee before we board the plane.

New Every Morning.......

Halfway through the Easter mission now, we are preparing to travel to Burundi tomorrow. So far we have concentrated on our work and ministry with the Mango Tree Church in Kanombe. Last week we had a marvellous time with the deaf group - teaching and having fellowship time with them. On Sunday we were teaching them about Job and how he responded to his trials and difficulties without losing his faith in the Lord. That was quite challenging teaching at this time of the genocide memorial week in Rwanda.

Sunday School for the Deaf

Today we had a good meeting with the church leadership team to discuss their vision for the future development of the church and the ministry to the deaf. Ruth and I needed to gain some clarity about the way forward and how we might be able to assist them.

Church meeting

Now we are focusing on the second half of the mission - our visit to Cup of Cool Water in Burundi. We fly down in the morning and will return on Friday to Kigali. We are so thankful to donors in UK who have given baby and children's clothes and soft toys;  to East Lothian Health Board and the Edinburgh branch of the Podiatrists and Chiropodists Association who have donated copious quantities of top quality sterile dressings, catheters, and other medical bits and pieces.

We have filled two suitcases with these gifts and will take them on the plane tomorrow to give to Cup of Cool Water.

Our mission purpose for Burundi is two-fold. Firstly, we will be meeting a small group of deaf people to do some sharing and Bible teaching. Ruth has not been to Burundi before and so this is a first for her. Please pray for our ability to communicate with these deaf folk as there is a strong likelihood that their version of sign language may be different from Rwandan sign language. Our second mission focus is to review and discuss plans for the polyclinic that Charles Ndikumana wants to build in partnership with OEW. We hope to visit and prayer walk the site and to clarify the priorities and time-scales.

Please pray for our safety and for a positive outcome from our brief visit to our brothers and sisters in Christ in Burundi.

For God so loved the world......

Working with the Deaf in Kanombe is such a joy. OK, it has its frustrations too.....but so does anything we undertake that is truly worthwhile! Ruth and I are here together without the help of our dear friend Susan who has had to stay in the UK to work at this time. The burden of effective communication has fallen on Ruth who is brilliant at signing in BSL and who (I think) is also brilliant at signing in Rwandan SL - very different. As for me, I am trailing behind with my partial knowledge and pitiful expertise in beginners' BSL!!

Nadia and Ruth

Nadia (pictured above with Ruth) is a key person in this ministry to the deaf. She has been profoundly deaf from contracting meningitis as a baby but has overcome her disability in a remarkable way and is about to graduate from the university this summer. She is fluent in English and French and has taught Ruth and Susan Rwandan sign language over the past few years. She took a break from her studies to be with us for the day to assist in the communication process during the Bible teaching.

On Thursday, 31 deaf people from young kids up to adults arrived for breakfast at the Mango Tree Church. Many of them travel long distances to get here, often walking for many miles on foot and on empty stomachs.  So we have bread and maize porridge together before we embark on the day itself.  

Telling the story of Easter was interspersed with dramatic scenes to illustrate the teaching. It was very powerful and some of the young folk wept tears as the story unfolded. Worship songs were signed and everyone joined in with dancing and joy.

The remainder of the day was spent in the young folk doing crafts together and playing ball games in the church after a massive lunch of beef, rice, bananas, chips, spinach, beans and gravy cooked by the church ladies. We like to feed them up before they go home. For many, it will be the only decent meal of the week.

Please continue to pray for this important ministry. There is a big need for education, housing and food for many of these forgotten and neglected people.....but most of all they need Jesus.

Christ is Risen Today!

What a wonderful day to set off on mission - Easter Day is so special; but I do believe it is the first time I have seen a white Easter. In fact we have been having daily snow since Christmas - well it seems like it anyway. We had a wonderful Easter service of baptism at St John's after the 'young and fit' had come down from the mountain top of the Cockleroi Hill and the joint churches open air service this morning.

So now I am all packed up and ready to head out. I am meeting up with Ruth in Amsterdam tomorrow morning and we fly together to Kigali. This will be a very short mission - just two weeks - so I am expecting it to be very busy and I pray that things will come together. The second week of the trip will take us down to Burundi for a few days to meet with Charles of Cup of Cool Water. There is much to plan and discuss as OEW are hoping to raise enough money to be able to construct a small polyclinic for the poor - a dire need identified a few years ago by Charles and his team.

Please would you pray for the following while we are away:

• For health and strength for Ruth and I
• For wisdom and insight in our meetings and discussions with our ministry partners in Rwanda and Burundi
• For clear communication in sign language as Ruth teaches the deaf about the gospel and the resurrection of Jesus
• For our "special day for the deaf" at the Mango Tree Church next Thursday
• For the group of deaf people that we will be meeting for the first time in Bujumbura
• For our safety as we travel on the roads of Rwanda with me driving
• For the leadership team of the Mango Tree Church as we discuss many plans with them
• For Winnie, Louis and the boys.

I hope to be able to add more blog posts during the two weeks - but this does depend on having adequate internet access!!

 

A Very Happy New Year to You All!

Since returning from Rwanda in the middle of December I have had a real break and a time of rest and relaxation which was badly needed! Christmas in the UK was a novelty for me as I have been in India at this time for the past three or four years.

Getting back just two weeks before Christmas meant that I missed all the commercialism and hype that builds up for weeks and all I had to do was put up a Christmas tree, send out cards and prepare for cooking Christmas dinner for a couple of friends and myself. Simple and lovely!

The last couple of years while in India, where Christmas lunch is usually mutton biriyani, I confess to have longed for roast turkey with all the twiddly bits..... and here it is! Delicious.

While I was away the church members have been working hard at raising money for our "Kids 4 Kids" campaign to provide goats to poor and needy families in Burundi. People really caught the vision and donated funds in exchange for cards they then sent to their friends and relatives for Christmas. I was very touched when three little girls in the Sunday Club presented me with a big thank you poster they had made for me because they too had caught the vision for the goats project.

So on that note I wish you all the blessings of the Lord in your life this New Year and may it be a peaceful and fruitful year for you!

Guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23

As we prepare to return to the UK in a few days we are all three feeling very weary and exhausted. It is not just a physical tiredness but it is actually a lot more than that. Doing the work that we do drains us spiritually, emotionally and all the rest!

A couple of days ago we were invited to breakfast with Bishop Louis and Pastor Winnie at the Hotel Gorillas in town. It was a rare treat to have some downtime with the two of them.

Since our huge avocado tree was cut down we had an ugly stump and a badly stained wall in our back garden. But the stump is slowly being covered in ivy and Susan has been repainting the wall to create a lovely sun-trap in the corner. We got some plant pots in town and raided the gardens of various friends for plants to put in them. The place is looking brighter already.

A few days ago we visited a vocational training centre in Gikondo, near the centre of Kigali. It was a bit of an inspiration to see such a well run, busy institution catering for around 200 young people. The pastor in charge was so welcoming and helpful and it gave us a lot to think about with respect to the Mango Tree sewing workshop.

 Another surprise visit was to the Mango Tree Church chicken project. We set off in the diocesan pickup truck to go miles up country with Rev Anastase. It is a big project with a lot of hens and while we were there we bought some fabulous new laid eggs to bring home for our tea!

 

Winnie and Louis visit the OEW ministry centre.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. Psalm 29:5

On Sunday after church we wanted to visit the grave of Mama Godanse, a dear deaf lady of 82, who died a couple of months ago. We wanted to leave some flowers and and pay our respects to the family. We set off in the diocesan pick-up with  Pastor Anastase to travel the relatively short distance involved. We were nearly there when the most almighty storm struck - thunder and lightening, big hailstones and gallons and gallons of water from on high. We had to stop and turn round as there was no point trying to continue.

As we headed back down the mud road the water got deeper and deeper and we had to force our way through the branches of a fallen tree across the road until we came to a halt because there were two or three very big trees down across the complete width of the road. Looking back we saw that a following lorry had toppled over into a drainage ditch thereby blocking our retreat the way we had come. Snookered! We had to sit there and watch the flood water rising up the vehicle. The military camp was nearby and we hoped they might come and help - but no! They were more concerned with their own problem - a tree that had gone through the roof of a building on the camp.

We sat for a couple of hours, getting reports from passers-by (picking their way gingerly through the mud and flood water) about the number of trees down between us and the main road - not good! Eventually the rain stopped and the water level went down a bit - so Pastor Anastase ventured out on foot up towards the village. He returned with a machete in his hand which he gave to a wee man to use on the fallen tree behind us. He did a good job - hacking off big branches, bit by bit until there was a way through. Boniface the driver turned the pick-up round and eventually we found our way through back tracks to the main road. What an adventure - I was so relieved I had not volunteered to drive us to Mama's grave myself! We were really thankful that we were not killed by falling trees. It seems that the earth tremors we have been experiencing during last week may have loosened the trees at the roots. That is what people are saying anyway!

Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and obey it. Luke 11:28

This mission trip the focus is on the deaf - particularly those who come to the Mango Tree Church in Kanombe. One thing I have been learning since working alongside Ruth and Susan of Open Hands is the plight of many deaf people in Rwanda. I suppose I am like many hearing people, both here and in the UK, in failing to really understand just how isolated and difficult it is when you cannot communicate.

In Rwanda, the deaf are on the whole regarded as very low down the pecking order of society and many hearing people think that the deaf are not able to learn or be educated, or even hold down a job of work. Many are very poor and quite often the parents feel ashamed about their deaf offspring and they tend to have low expectations for the future. It is often impossible for them to get jobs - especially in the rural areas. In Kigali city they do have more and better opportunities. But for many the only option is to beg on the streets and many are very vulnerable to exploitation because they cannot complain or express their feelings and views very easily. They really have very little voice to say what they need.

As for schooling, few can access the education suitable to their needs. Some attend mainstream schools but they face many difficulties because there are no interpreters and they have to lip-read, which means they miss a lot of what the teachers say. The few who make it to secondary education or university also struggle because of lack of interpreters to help them.

Many churches are not aware of the numbers of deaf people who live in their parishes. They are often 'invisible' for reasons stated above. Deaf people tend to be excluded from society as a whole - not deliberately but because most people simply do not understand.

This week we are holding a Special Week for the Deaf at the Mango Tree Church. It is a wonderful opportunity for the deaf who attend the church and their deaf friends from around the area to come together for fellowship as 'Deaf'. It is very important work because most of them are very lonely at home. While with us this week they will learn about Jesus and the Bible. Many of them cannot read or understand the Bible and they like to be taught with the use of pictures or sign language. As well as the Bible they can learn to do different craft activities while relaxing and enjoying themselves. They play games and have fun together as there is generally very little fun in their lives.We provide good food for them as well meaning that they have a sociable time and are also well nourished while they are with us.

In addition to the group activities, time is set aside for one to one ministry, listening to their problems and concerns and praying with them. They receive clothes, shoes and toys for the children during the week. These deaf children and hearing children of deaf mothers need the toys to help with their learning and development. We teach them games like skipping, frisbee, volleyball and badminton that they can then play after we go.

The members of the Mango Tree Church are well integrated with this group and some help us during the week with child-minding, cooking and serving the deaf. We also get contact with the parents and siblings of the deaf children. Another thing we can do is to encourage them to pray, sing, do drama and give testimony in sign language.

In the four years that Open Hands has been developing this work at the Mango Tree Church we have seen lives changed for the better and confidence increasing. The contact with hearing people in the church has increased - they are now much less wary of the deaf than they were. Two of our deaf young adults are now serving as stewards/ushers in the church on a Sunday morning. Others have been baptised and confirmed having accepted Jesus into their lives and who have begun developing into more mature Christians.

Because of sponsorship from friends in the UK some have been able to go to school - some to mainstream schools and others to deaf schools. Others in the group can now communicate in sign language - where they were unable to so so before.We as a team have benefited hugely from their friendship and love for us. It is through their encouragement to us that we keep on going! The MTC deaf group as a whole has grown from 17 to 50 in four years which is both remarkable and very rewarding.

As iron sharpens iron. Proverbs 27:17

I have now been in Rwanda for a week but the internet connection has not been all that good this time, hence my long silence. The first week was mainly settling back in and renewing contacts and seeing old friends.

At the weekend I was invited to the formal betrothal ceremony of the daughter of Robert and mama Peace in an enormous festive marquee in their garden round the corner from here. There were many from the Mango Tree Church present so I was among friends. It was very colourful, with a lot of formal speeches and banter from the men of each family. Then the girl and boy were brought in and presented to the families for formal approval of the match. Finally traditional dancers performed and then everyone queued up for food. I left at that point because I wanted to get home before it got dark.

The Alpha Community Academy is on holiday for the long end of year vacation - so it is extremely quiet on the campus. One or two staff are around but otherwise I have been on my own. Due to a generous gift from a friend of the school I was able to go and buy 4 computers for the school and we took delivery of them the next day.

Last evening Ruth and Susan arrived from Wales. Their plane was very late due to freezing fog in Amsterdam but their welcome meal was outside on the balcony where it was a very warm and pleasant change from chilly Britain. Now the work starts in earnest. The team is assembled and ready to go. Today we have been reviewing the whole scope of the work with the deaf group at the Mango Tree church and tomorrow we will put together the programme for next week's Bible Week at the church. I have been able to communicate much better than before with Susan now that I have a rudimentary degree of sign language to work with. She is very patient with me.

I would ask for prayer for the deaf group, that they would come and really benefit from hearing God's word during this week. Pray for us that we can communicate clearly. This is by no means simple because we will be working in two spoken languages, two sign languages and lip-speaking in Kinyarwanda - all at the same time with a number of interpreters. I am amazed that it is even possible! Pray for our energy levels to be maintained and for God's name to be glorified.

....fellow worker in the gospel of Christ... 1 Thess 3:2

Tomorrow I set off on another 'exploit for the Lord' and today I have time to reflect and prepare myself mentally and physically. Sitting here in my little house, looking out over the water towards the mountains I really give thanks for the beauty of creation.

My reading from Oswald Chambers this morning reminds me that my own perception of my purpose in life is not what matters. What does matter is that I belong to God and that he has moved me into his purposes throughout the world, through the Holy Spirit. All he asks of me is that I trust him and step out wherever he leads me.

This is both sobering and comforting. What 'I' want is neither here nor there, but allowing God to work through me takes absolute faith in him and his goodness.

I will ponder these thoughts today as I potter about tidying up loose ends and finishing my packing. 

Getting ready for Rwanda once more...

In about four weeks the early morning flight to Kigali will take off with me on board and a week after that it will bring Ruth and Susan over from South Wales to join me in the ministry centre at Kanombe.

Together we will be working with the deaf folk at the Mango Tree Church, which is a short distance from the ministry centre. We were all there seven months ago in April so we are eager to see how the sewing workshop is doing. We left them with quite a challenging task to try and build up their customer base for the crafts and baby clothes they are making at the church. Hopefully, while we are there, we will be able to see the workshop moved upstairs into a bigger work space as we have heard that the outside staircases now have safety handrails in place.

The main event is going to be a week of bible teaching, arts and crafts, games and good food for around fifty deaf young people to be held in the church. For me this is going to be a new challenge of communication as I have been taking British Sign Language classes at Donaldson's School for the Deaf in Linlithgow. Even though I am very much a beginner it will be fun to communicate in sign to our deaf friends. Many Rwandese signs are quite different but with Susan and Ruth's help and the confidence I have gained by going to these classes I am really looking forward to joining in with the teaching and the fun!

The Lord takes delight in his people

Just back from an amazing day at the leprosy village! We set off in convoy this morning - the ambulance, the car we travel in and the old work-horse of a jeep with hot food for lunch for 125 people on board. Julie and I had prayed specifically that the railway crossing gates would raise as we drove up to them (these gates are just by the village and last two times we had to wait between 20 and 25 minutes before they let us through).

The gates raise as we drive towards them!

On arrival in Vetapalam we were greeted with the sight of the whole village gathered in their groups, each with their group leader in a white sari, soaking their feet and chatting animatedly. There was a terrific buzz going on, faces were shining and we were very touched by the greeting we had - flower garlands and flower petals scattered on our heads - it was wonderful.

We had a time of singing and we all spoke to the people. Julie encouraged them to continue with the group soaking and oiling of feet and she thanked them all for their participation. Certificates were presented to each group leader and small gift given in recognition of the hard work and effort they had put in.

The Magnificent Seven!

The doctor set up his consulting table under the awning and was assisted by Kanna, a nursing graduate who will be working full-time with the mobile clinic and assisting the doctor, All the nasty ulcers and infected wounds were cleaned and dressed. Julie and I were thrilled to see the feet of one man who had two horrible infected sores on his feet 9 days ago - when he showed us them today the sores had dried up and shrunk significantly - due to the soaking and oiling regime. He was delighted!

The doctor and the nurse / medical assistant

The orthotist shoemaker had brought ten pairs of custom made shoes that he has made since last week. So after those people had their feet dressed and bandaged the shoe-maker fitted them with their new shoes.

Each pair is made-to-measure

There was much excitement as people received their own brand new, made-to-measure shoes.

After all this the team set up trestle tables under the awning and lunch was served to the whole community. It has been a fantastic day.