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!