Hello everyone!
We landed in Brussels Airport at 6:50am local time…We’ll have a four hour layover here and we’ll head out around 11:10am local time (AA 0089)
See you all when we get back to Reagan this evening!!!
-For the team,
David
VBS.
July 17, 2007Muraho!
This week, our team’s main focus is on VBS at the Africa New Life School in Kayonza. We are teaching different Character virtues each day, ones such as love, forgiveness, and courage (I forget the other one). After a discussion with the headmaster, John Africa (a pretty cool last name for a Rwandan), Pastor Connor came to the conclusion that this is the first time that the children have been in a small group experience. Apparently, small-group setting instruction is a revolutionary idea in Central Africa! This is great, because we are able to have the children interact with us while we teach them very important Biblical foundations. While many children attending claim that they have accepted Christ as their savior, we are hoping that this experience helps them become more active in sharing their faith with their friends.
We are performing the same VBS show 4 times a day (for over 700 students in all)…so its safe to say that by the end of the day, we’re pretty tired.
Last night, we had an extrordinary opportunity to visit the home of the Vice President of Living Waters International - a non-profit organization that drills wells for developing countries. Dr. Otto Helwig is here in Rwanda, at the request of President Kagame, to drill wells as part of Rwanda’s Vision 2020 (to get clean water to everyone in the country by 2020). Dr. Helwig has recently become involved with Africa New Life, as Pastor Charles Buregeya is trying to get a clean water source for the school in Kayonza. It was great to be with other Americans – and we hope it has been a blessing to them, as they’ve seen the work of the enemy this month (they were robbed, their ministry associate was robbed & mugged, and Dr. Helwig almost died 2 weeks ago from a broken blood vessel in his stomach).
Please continue to pray for our ministry here…for energy, safety, and health.
God Bless,
David (for the rest of the team).
We’ve Been Really, Really Busy…Really!
July 15, 2007Wow…we have been really busy since the last post and there is much to share. We ventured to a Game Preseve for an overnight and arose early Friday morning at 5:30 AM for a trip into the park to see the wild animals. We were not disappointed!!! Within a few minutes of our early morning adventure our expert guide had us looking at impalas, giraffes, wildebeests, zebras, baboons and hippopotamus (at which point Meredith Holley erupted in singing I Want a Hippomotamus for Christmas) and all sorts of African landscape. It was breathtaking.
Upon our return, we had breakfast at the lodge…an extended quiet time with the Lord, and lunch before the nearly 3 hour trip back to Kigali. That evening we planned our Saturday AM activity with the sponsored children of Africa New Life at the Dream Center.
Saturday AM, we headed out to the Dream Center and, upon our arrival, noticed immediately that the kids who were sponsored were in much better condition than the street kids that we ministered to earlier in the week. It was a powerful demonstration of the work that Africa New Life is doing here with these kids. In fact, we found out that one of our translators named Robert was one of the first sponsored children of Africa New Life Ministries.
We spent about 4 hours with a huge crowd of kids playing games with them, sharing our testimonies and the Gospel, and helping to make an impact for Christ. We also distributed gifts that had been sent along with us by sponsoring families from IBC and other families from Northern VA.
While the IBC students were with the kids, Pastors Connor & Holley and Pastor Charles met with Dr. Otto Helweg who is working with the Rwandan government to get water to Rwandans. Pastor Charles has been trying to get water to the New Life Christian Academy at Kayonza. Dr. Helweg (a classmate of Ed Britton’s at the Naval Academy) also is the Rwandan Director for Living Waters…a ministry that our VeNture Ministry has linked with for projects in Central America. Long story short…he offered to personally be involved in the project and even offered to pay for it. PTL!!!
Saturday afternoon, the team put together another impromptu community gospel presentation with another academy award winning performance of the Parable of the Prodigal Son.
Later that evening after dinner, we met with Pastor Charles, his wife Florence and Pastor Emmanuel (our trip coordinator) and asked them to share their stories of how they came to Christ and how they were led into ministry. The room got very quiet as Charles shared how he faced persecution and beatings from a church plant effort that he was involved with in Uganda. We have learned much from these godly servants of Christ.
This morning Pastors Steve and Michael preached at New Life Bible Church and Divine Dynasty Church, respectively. Once again, we were ‘wow’ed by the full and active worship! When they praise God, they sing with all they have, they dance in place in time to the music, and make sure that each verse is sung 10 times. Our pastors were tired well before they preached.
This afternoon Tim Pinkard and Jonathan Dancy ventured over to the stadium to hear Rick Warren speak. Meanwhile, Pastor Holley returned to speak to the African New Life Youth Group (and no…he did not out draw Rick Warren)…but he and our music team (Josh Johnson, Ben Hayes, Carly Warden, and Paige Terry) had a great time!
Tonight, our team entertained the Kanombe Boys home and taught them “Wiffle Ball” the precursor to our great American pastime, baseball.
This next week, we will enter into the toughest part of our work. Our VBS program in Kayonza will have us ministering to 700 children and have us leaving our guest house at 7 AM and returning at 6 PM…we will have a one hour-twenty minute commute.
Several on our team have had some allergy problems caused by the dusty roads and have experienced hoarseness. So it would be important when you pray to remember that aspect of our experience. But, aside from that, we are in good health, good spirits, and look at the next four days to really stretch as we serve the Lord.
Thanks for your prayers…your support…and your love. We will probably not be able to get an update to you until Tuesday or Wednesday…but we promise to take lots of pictures.
Blessings to All!
Photos.
July 12, 2007We’ve added photos! Check them out here.
PS – The blog entry below is new, too!
Thursday.
July 12, 2007Dear Family & Friends of Team Rwanda,
The past two days have been packed with incredible ministry opportunities. On Tuesday, the team went to the Kanombe Boys Home to paint the entrie interior of the house. With about 25 workers, the task was complteted in about 4 hours and it looks great.
I’ll admit that I originally thought that letting teenagers loose with little or no experience at house painting was a bad idea. I figured that most of the paint would bon on everything BUT the walls. Man, was I wrong! They did a great job…but its no guarantee that your child can do the same for your home. 
Later that afternoon, the team developed a community outreach program for the kids in the neighborhood. Once the strategy was in place, they gathered a crowd of about 80 community kids by playing soccer with them and singing praise songs. Then, a potential Tony Award performance of ‘David and Goliath’ with puppets was given with a rousing response from the audience. Mary Lawrence and Andrew Conner provided their personal testimonies and gospel presentation respectively.
When the invitation to accept Christ was given, 30 kids responded – WHAT A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE.
Yesterday morning, the team toured the Rwanda Genocide Memorial where the bodies of 259,000 victims are interred. It was a very sobering and emotional experience.
The team headed out at about 3:30pm to go to ANLM’s school in Kayonza for a Jesus film showing. The children loved the movie - they cheered when Jesus performed miracles and were upset when the Roman soldiers abused our Savior. Many children responded to the presentation of the Gospel – it was very exciting.
This trip has been wonderful; and every Mom and Dad can be proud of their student and the contribution that they are making to ‘Team Rwanda’. I am honored to serve with them.
God Bless,
Steve Holley
Well…We’re Here!
July 9, 2007Sorry its taken so long for us to post on here…we had more difficulty finding a computer and internet than we thought (I guess we forgot we ARE in the middle of Africa).
We arrived safely on Saturday night. After a long 25 hour travel, we touched down at Kigali International Airport (an airport that serves less than 10 flights a day) at 7:30pm. It took us a while to collect our luggage (50 bags). One HUGE praise is that NONE OF OUR LUGGAGE WAS LOST!!!
I am also pleased to report that no one has gotten sick on our team – another really big blessing.
Yesterday, after a very good breakfast (the food here is great), we attended Africa New Life Church’s Kindarwandan service (with a translator). While the worship was a little more animated than Immanuel’s, it was great to be able to praise God alongside our Rwandan brothers and sisters. The sermon, on Colossians 3, was given by “Pastor Steve” (Holley).
While “Pastor Steve” was giving his lesson on removing impure things from your life (along with his usual dose of humor), “Pastor Michael” (Connor) was an hour and 45 minutes away, preaching at another service.
After church, we returned to the mission house and were able to relax during the afternoon. Several of the team members went outside of the gated compound to play soccer and talk with the locals.
At 4:45, “Pastor Tim” (Pinkard) went back to the church to give a sermon to the youth. Most of the team stayed at the house to get ready for the Kanombe Boys who were coming for dinner.
We had a great time of fellowship with the Kanombe Boys, young men who formerly lived on the street or who were abused/neglected by their parents. We were excited to hear how they’ve come out of a horrific past (of drugs, alcohol, crime, and abuse) to where they are now. Africa New Life has done amazing work with them, and it was overwhelming to hear their testimonies.
Today, we will be working at the “Dream Center”, participating in a work with street children. This afternoon, we will visit the Kanombe Boys’ home as we will be painting there later this week.
Please continue to pray for our safety, health and ministry here in Rwanda. We are excited to be here, and thank you for your support…
-God Bless,
David Holley (for the rest of the team)
Welcome….
June 12, 2007This is the future blog for the Rwanda missions team from IBC – we’ll have something posted as soon as we get in on July 6.
-David Holley
