African Christmas - different but the same.

Belated Christmas greetings to you all!!!
I kept meaning to blog over the last two weeks, and yes, I know,  intentions don’t amount to a hill of beans!!!
Christmas sure was different for us this year; almost no trace of commercialism in sight, no Christmas carols being played where ever you go, not one house decorated outside, no snow and sub zero temperatures : ), almost no Christmas treats, no mad dash to get the latest must have gadget, no turkey, no Santa (very thankfully!!), but praise the Lord, the true, joyful meaning of Christmas - the celebration of the birth of the Messiah, JESUS CHRIST, yes, that was as real here as it was out there!
The fact that the Father knew from eternity past that we would need a Christmas so that we could have an Easter has taken on a new deeper meaning. The ineffable love that was demonstrated by the Father and the Son when they both knew what was awaiting the Son. What perfect love!
In the weeks coming up to Christmas we were very busy, both at school and at CRIB. At school we put in many “overtime” hours getting ready for the school Christmas program. It was wonderful; Fabi wrote the play, which began with Adam and Eve and the fall of man, continued with Noah and the flood, went on to the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You see, what’s so wonderful about this is the fact that a very large percentage of the audience were staunch Muslim/Hindus!! A large sector of students in both primary and secondary are of these faiths; reason being we’re the only English speaking school in Burundi, and English is becoming more and more common as a business language.
And so this affords us the fantastic opportunity to present the gospel of Jesus Christ to these folks. Isaiah 55:11 tells us that God’s word will not return empty, but will achieve the purpose for which it was sent. These people heard the word of God, many through their own children’s mouths. I love that!!!
At CRIB we made a huge 3D wall mural out of felt/bamboo/fabric/paper, etc. of the nativity scene, as well as assorted Christmas decorations, snowflake placemats for the Christmas dinner as well as crowns for the King’s birthday, and cards for Chrissie and Dave and Sheena.
I have much more to write, and I will soon; time just has a way of running away, just like it did out there.
I do want to leave you with a warm thought though. Tomorrow morning we’re off on a tiny little mini holiday with friends we’ve met here. We’re planning on spending one night at a very basic they-may-not-have-running-water-or-electricity-$10-per-night guest house; but here’s the warm part: it’s very close to a  pristine beach, complete with snorkelling!!  What a rough life!!! No, seriously, a little R&R will be great.
But in the mean time, we wish you a blessed new year, filled with the love, joy and peace that comes only from our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Isaac, Rosel and Colton

Ramona lives on in my heart

You know, I just can’t imagine Ramona… not alive. The same thing happens every time; she sits bolt up right with her radiantly beautiful smile and her eyes twinkling with sheer joy and happiness, and also a tiny bit of mischievousness. I like this picture though because this was her in life, and I know that the citizens of heaven are now enjoying this vibrant new comer.
Perhaps it won’t seem real until we come back and I see the family/physical/relational void she has left. For this reason I don’t ever want to come back.
This has been so very difficult; I can’t even begin to imagine Earl and my brother John, wife Carol and siblings Kevin, Randy and Becki. Please continue to pray.
Rosel

In honor and in memory of sweet Ramona

Hello everyone;
Sometimes when you’re down you get kicked yet as well. Not a very positive way to start a blog, I know.
I cannot recall ever having felt as awful from the flu as I’ve felt since Wednesday, early afternoon. I’ve been so weak that the only thing I can do outside of lying in bed is going to the washroom. Yesterday when I managed to eat something, Isaac literally had to put the bowl under my face while lying on my side as he fed me. It’s not been pleasant. We’ll probably check for amoebic dysentery tomorrow - not a pleasant thought. I feel much better already than I did, but ‘much better’ is still not good.
And so, as  I lay in bed on Wednesday at 7:00 in the evening,  our time, 11:00 A.M. yours, all I could do was pray. The service for Ramona had just begun. Final goodbyes were being said; there would be deep, deep mourning, yet celebrating a beautiful life that lived for Jesus with abandon. Rejoicing over the fact that her pain wracked body is completely healed and liberated. Tears of sorrow and grief that only Jesus can understand, and only He can wipe away.
Throughout sweet Ramona’s three and a half year battle with cancer, I’ve prayed Romans 8:28 into the situation;  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” That’s a promise that will not go unfulfilled.
I asked to be excused from my teaching responsibilities for Wednesday, the day of the funeral (I still can’t believe there was a funeral for Ramona.), so that I could go to Sabe again to help with the feeding, this time in honor of, and in memory of Ramona. Working with orphans in Africa was her dream and passion.
Colton fully believed that God would heal her here on earth, and was shocked when we heard the news on Saturday morning. Isaac and I both wanted to fully believe as well, but having lost a very dear friend a few years ago from cancer with whom we almost fully (99.9?) believed as well…..
I asked Colton if he was disappointed with God; he said he was disappointed, but not with God. Pray that he will come through this with a strengthened faith, and for wisdom for Isaac and myself as we help him process everything.
My whole family, all 10!!! siblings and my mom were there; I was the only one missing. This added much pain. It’s been years since we were all together, as we’ve lived scattered in 3 countries for years, now with us here in Burundi, it’s 4 countries.
There’s so much more in my heart, but I’ll leave it at this, at least for now.
Thank you very much to everyone that’s prayed for us, for personal emails, and for the blog comments.
It means so much to us, and the peace in the midst of it all is a powerful testimony of God’s faithfulness.
Please don’t stop praying for Earl and family.
Love and blessings, IRCF

The peace of Jesus

It is extremely difficult for me to be here right now, but I have the peace of Jesus, knowing I am where He wants me. That is my only comfort right now.
Please pray for Earl and family.
Rosel

Ramona is dancing with Jesus.

Peacefully, on Fri. Nov. 27 at 10:00 in the evening, Jesus took Ramona home. The family needs your prayers.

Car and Crate

Hello family and friends;
God is awesome!!
We have some very good news! Life is not about material things, but we're very thankful for some pretty "basic stuff" that God's provided for in the last little while. I will simply post what I wrote on Sept.11
                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                      Sept.11 2009
Blessings to all our family and friends.
God is so awesome!! Isaac, Colton and I use the time to pray as we’re walking to school in the morning, and yesterday I prayed that the Lord would in His “almightyness and all powerfulness” miraculously provide a vehicle for us. At lunch, which is 1:00 P.M. here, Isaac and Colton came to Primary school as always so we can walk home together. Isaac had some very good news. Chrissie Chapman had told him that she had been thinking that it doesn’t’t make sense for us to have to walk so far to get to work/school/events, so she is blessing us with the use of her car!!!!!!!!!!!!  When Isaac told me this I could hardly stop thanking Jesus.  This may only happen in a few months, as Chrissie wants a car from Japan to replace her current one, but even the fact that this is the plan is comforting. Walking to and from almost everywhere is so tiring and hot, and very often we walk the 20 minutes to and from at least twice a day, sometimes three times.


So we didn’t post this till we got the car…….. WE GOT THE CAR!!!!!!!
And it’s got AIR CONDITIONING!!!!!! Praise JESUS!!
The King’s School is filling in one tank of gas per month as Isaac uses it for school related things a lot, and for personal use gas we’re trusting the Lord, as this wonderful surprise isn’t in our budget.
This really opens the door for more ministry opportunities, which we’ve been praying about for some time.
We also received the items from in the crate. Back in February we had ordered bed and bath linens from Sears and drop shipped it to Vernon BC, which is where Pastor Ray and Maryanne’s home church was filling a crate to be shipped here. Our church put a bike in there for each of us, which is a blessing, and also a bunch of tools for Isaac to use. Isaac still doesn’t have access to the tools, which is frustrating, but there are storage issues that are beyond Pastor Ray or our control. It’s just the African way. The crate arrived in Bujumbura at the end of August, was tied up in customs for about 2 months, and then a few days after it’s release Pastor Ray and Maryanne went to Canada unexpectedly for three weeks for his dad’s funeral, so upon their return we finally got our long awaited stuff. Wow, it was like Christmas opening the boxes!!! We now have real pillows - down pillows - my neck and shoulders still almost cringe at the thought of what we were using before. You should have seen and heard Colton rejoice when he saw his bike in our living room, fully assembled!!! Isaac had brought the bikes home when we were at school in the morning, and we hadn’t told Colton. That was fun!
Colton can, however, only ride the bike a little ways on our street so he’s in sight of our guard. It’s not safe for a ‘mzungu’ boy to go out by himself, especially on a nice bike. So the only time he can venture out is if we go with him. After we had gone out a time or two on our bikes, it occurred to me that I’ve never once seen a female riding a bike in Burundi. There are bikes everywhere, thousands and thousands - it’s a cheap mode of transportation, however, there seems to be an unwritten rule that it’s only for the male gender. Females commonly sit on the rack on the back as bikes are used as taxis very much, but they never ride themselves. We’re accustomed to many comments and stares when we’re out and about walking, but people do a double take when they see us on our bikes.
The temperature  “dipped” down to 24.8 degrees in the last week during the night 2 times. Till now we had not seen it go below 25 once, and I tend to watch it quite closely. Laugh all you want, but we felt cold.
Speaking of temperature, it’s almost unbearably hot in church most of the time. It’s got a tin roof that offers shade, but seems to intensify the heat; combined with the bodies of 7,000 people worshiping and dancing, the heat is stifling. I was curious what the actual temp. is in church, so I took our little digital thermometer to church in my bag a few Sundays ago. 33 degrees on the nose!!! And, that particular Sunday happened to be probably the coolest we had experienced. And keep in mind, it doesn’t last only a tidy one and a half hours, but at least three and a half hours, very easily four. In all honesty, the thought of not going to church some Sundays is  pretty strong, but then when we think of the powerful move of God and the way we are encouraged and touched by the Father, we can’t stay away.
A question we’ve had through email is whether people can send us stuff. Absolutely! You can send it to:
The King’s School
Box 1560
Bujumbura, Burundi
Africa
We have no school today, it’s a Muslim holiday, so we’re about to go, I mean drive with our car and not with a taxi or walk (awful grammar, I know) to get some supplies.
Please continue to pray for Ramona and family.
We love you, and thank you all very much for your continued prayers, emails, and words of encouragement.
Blessings in Christ Jesus,
The Froese’s

We ran out.

We went to Sabe Village again this morning to help feed the kids.  When they see Honda and Libby’s familiar vehicle pull up they come rushing towards the vehicle with their cup. We prayed that Jesus would multiply the food, as there seemed to be an almost endless line up of children. We prayed as we handed out, seeing the supply decrease steadily; the last bit of food was served before we reached the end of the line. We helplessly ran out. This time it was my turn to cry as I watched the moms’ anxious faces when they saw there was nothing left for their little ones. I couldn’t help but to put myself in their shoes; if I couldn’t provide Colton with food…
I saw one mom sitting with a tiny one that wouldn’t stop crying. I went over and laid my hands on the baby and prayed the peace and comfort of Jesus into her. Almost immediately she completely relaxed and became totally quiet. Tears were rolling down my face as I prayed. The mom seemed touched as well.
The water has receded in the village, but it’s still very wet and muddy. The collapsed huts need to be built up from the ground, and the ones where only the mud was washed away and the stick structure remains are getting ‘remudded’.
Last week there was a woman with a tiny baby that came by, and Libby said she couldn’t refuse her. She’s 17, epileptic, has a 3 month old baby girl, has no family to live with - she was in dire straits. During the week she had a seizure and had fallen on top of her baby; thankfully the baby seems fine. Some women had told Libby that this young mom had told them that she was going to take the baby and walk both of them into the lake. Well, Honda and Libby now have both mom and baby living at their house. The mom is happier, she knows where her next meal is coming from, and the baby is gorgeous and smiles easily.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to those of you who responded to my previous email, saying you want to help financially. Pastor Andrew phoned last night and said that Calvary Chapel is actually taking Sabe Village on as a ‘project’; so for anyone wanting to make a donation,  on the memo line write ‘Sabe Village’, and send it to:
 Calvary Chapel
30 McKenzie Ave.
Steinbach Manitoba
Canada
R5G-2E5
Calvary Chapel will issue you a tax receipt.
… it’s rained a fair bit the last 2 days, we need it, but Sabe doesn’t. Please pray that the government will take responsibility and re-locate this village to higher ground. As is, they know that there is some food coming in, and so they rest on their laurels, not doing anything to improve the lives of these citizens.
Please continue to pray for Ramona and family.
Blessings; The Froese’s

Food for the hungry.

We went to Sabe Village yesterday (Saturday), with Honda and Libby. These people, due to the flood,  have not a crumb to eat unless it is given to them by some one, and Honda and Libby are the only ones that are bringing anything to them. The meal was very simple; a cup of porridge. But it’s better than nothing, and that’s what they’d have were it not for this.
The moms with the little babies  were crowding around the 2 big containers holding the porridge with a look of desperation on their faces even more than the large-eyed children. Normally this culture has almost no regard for people standing in line, never mind if your baby is lethargic due to hunger. Very reluctantly they started moving back, somewhat forming a line, because they realized we would not start serving if we were almost covered with bodies.
The finances are not available to do mass feedings like in February of this year, so only the children and some women were fed. So they came by, quietly, holding their plastic cup to have it filled with what likely will only stave off death for a few hours for some. They sat down with their cup, again mostly quietly, except for some babies that wouldn’t stop crying. On Friday when Honda and Libby fed them, they had run out of porridge before all the kids had received some; on the way over to the village, Libby was telling us that she doesn’t cry very easily anymore, she’s seen so much already; but when they had run out and this little boy had come and she couldn’t give him anything, she had lost it. I didn’t want to experience this, so once there and the people were coming by, I got down, laid my hands on the container and asked Jesus to multiply the porridge like he multiplied the fish and bread for the 5000. There was enough, and they made the same amount both days!!! Praise Jesus!!!
The stench is almost unbearable at times; the smell of their filthy bodies and clothes only add to the disease infested surroundings that are contaminated by sewage. ( It just started raining, please pray for Sabe.)
I very earnestly ask you, pray that your heart will start hurting over the things that hurt the heart of the Father, and let that pain spur you into action to help where God leads you to, where ever that is. If you want to help Sabe, please email us at: ircfroese@gmail.com
Please continue to lift Ramona and family up in prayer. We need Jesus!!
In Christ,
The Froese’s

Ramona and Sabe village prayer request

Please pray for Ramona and family.
As I wrote last night, we’ve had rain every day since Sunday, which is greatly needed, but this is not the case for Sabe village. As of this morning, they have half a meter of water standing in their tiny village. This is the same place that was flooded with one meter of water in February. But that’s not the worse, there have been four deaths there this week; three children and one adult. One mom and baby died, presumably of AIDS, and the other two children of malaria.
So in the midst of grieving, this community of 1700, is living on the streets again. The national police had come this morning, but when they saw the scope of this situation, they left, knowing they did not have what it would take to help.
The ground obviously is already saturated at Sabe, and it appears we’ve just come into the rainy season.
Please pray for Honda and Libby; pray for wisdom (at Libby’s request), and resources, strength, peace, and whatever the Lord puts on your heart. These people need a lot of help, and a lot of Jesus.
Please pray for us as well, as we do what we can. There are so many things that are so hard to see.
Blessings, Rosel

Please pray for Ramona's healing.

Hey everyone;
Please pray for Ramona and Earl and family. Check out there blog at:    earlramona.blogspot.com
We need a miracle!!!
We have a friend here who has AIDS (she was born with it),and she’s had ‘flare-ups’ in the past, where the disease seems to be a lot stronger. She’s had a ‘flare up’ now for over 2 months. We’ve talked a lot about faith and healing and praying, all of which she says she’s lacking in. She’s also lived almost 16 years longer already than the doctors said she would. Please pray for her as well.
We had a little bit of a tense Sunday last week. I’ll start at the beginning. Colton’s neck had been some biting creature’s meal, with about 8 or so definite bite sites. The following day it looked pretty awful, with a bad red and raised rash spreading on his neck and onto his face. We consulted some people from here, applied a few different creams to it, and it got worse. Sunday during lunch Colton said that he had a bad head ache. I went to lie down with him, and in his sleep he jumped really much 4 times. We had to go to CRIB at four o’clock for worship, so we had to wake him up and once awake, he said he was very tired, and still had a head ache. He looked quite unwell. We are aware of what the symptoms of malaria are, and extreme fatigue, head aches and intense dreaming are part of the symptoms.
Everiste picked us up and we told him what was going on. He said we needed to have Colton checked out by Dr. Euloge. With it being Sunday, that meant going to his house. He checked Colton, asked some questions and ordered a malaria test.
We went to Jabe Hospital, which is run by Iglese Vivant (“our” church), and received a (praise the Lord), negative result for malaria. So the bites where serious enough to cause distress in Colton’s body, but it wasn’t the dreaded “African killer”, as it’s sometimes referred to. Dr. Euloge prescribed meds., and in about a day and a half it was starting to improve.
Pastor Rueben’s good friend had a 12 year old daughter die of malaria a few weeks ago, a fellow teacher’s husband had it a few weeks ago, etc. It’s quite common. Please pray for protection for us from this horrible sickness. And yes, we sleep under a mosquito net every night, since day one.
Power cuts are continuing to be an issue. For the most part we can take it in stride, but sometimes it gets very frustrating, especially if it’s been off for 36 hours straight and all the food is 100 percent defrosted in the tiny fridge/freezer. It’s not uncommon to have no electricity for about 24 hrs., than on for 4-12 hrs., and back off. We also had the water shut off for a large part of the day for three days in a row. I kept telling myself, “Be joyful in all things, be joyful in all things.” On one of these ‘no water’ days, we had a  wedding to attend, and had to walk to CRIB to shower.
The public is not happy about the power cuts because it’s costing people lots of money, especially businesses. To run a generator at these exorbitant gas prices puts a huge dent in any ones pocket, never mind the bigger generators needed to run a business. Never the less, we sometimes wish for a generator. Having access to the internet is also sporadic, more for some than for others. One of the teachers who’s here from Arizona couldn’t get on for three weeks!  On a fantastic note, we’ve had hot water now for two days!! There was something wrong with the power lines having to do with the hot water tank since the second day of our arrival, and things generally take very, very long to be addressed here; so we’re very thankful  for this luxury. It honestly feels strange to just stand under the water right away, and to not gradually, limb by limb, get used to the temperature.
We are supposed to have been in the rainy season since beginning of September, and if this week so far is indicative, we are finally starting it now. We’ve had almost no rain so far, with the exception of one good down pour about 5 weeks ago, and a few light rains here and there. This is very unusual. It seems many things are very unusual here this year. The power outages, which some say is a result of the lack of rain (hydroelectric dams too empty, others say it’s because Burundi buys power from the Congo and they owe so much money to the Congo that they are constraining the supply);  the internet problems, water cuts. It’s an interesting time for the Lord to send us here. Anyways, back to the rain. Since Sunday we’ve had rain every day, and boy, is it refreshing!!! And other years it rains at about 1:00 PM, and often again at 4:00 PM; apparently so much so that you can almost set your watch to it; where as now it rains anytime of day, numerous times, and also during the night.  In fact right now, at 6:25 PM, it’s coming down fantastically. The power has also been on without interruption since Sunday.
Everiste took us up country (into the mountains, big, huge, massive, elevation - 8000 + feet, wonderful, cool 20 degrees instead 30 +), and he said there will be famine in January/February as a result of the lack of rain. These people almost exclusively live off of the land, and most are extremely poor, so this is likely to be a huge challenge for the country of Burundi, as most of the people of Burundi live up country. With a population of 7 - 8 million people,  the effects will likely be huge. Please pray about this situation.
You’re most likely wrapped up in Christmas activities already, where as here it feels nothing like the up coming celebration. In fact, if I wasn’t preparing Christmas art projects for my students and Fabi wasn’t practicing the Christmas program with the students within my earshot at school, you’d never guess it’s that time of year. There are no visible signs of the season, nor will there be with the exception of a very few homes decorating a tree or something. Christmas wasn’t celebrated in Burundi till about 10 years ago, and after all, can it really be Christmas without snow!!?? Praise the Lord, that manger contained the Savior of the world, whether dwellers in snow covered lands or  not!!
Again, please pray for Earl and Ramona and family.
Talk to you soon.
The Froese’s

Sabe Village - part two

Pastor Ray, Maryanne and Boss boarded a plane here in Bujumbura about 2 hours ago. They’re flying to Ottawa, where Pastor Ray’s parents lived. His mom passed away in June of this year, and on Sunday he received a call saying his dad had been found dead that morning in an armchair, presumably having suffered a heart attack. Please pray for them.
There’s no school again today, due to the fact that Burundi is commemorating the death of another past president. We really don’t mind though, a little R&R is very welcome.
We took the opportunity to go to Sabe village again with Honda and Libby. I will try to post pictures today; there are some other “mzungu’s” in some of the pictures, namely Andrew and Christine from England; he teaches at secondary, she teaches at primary; there’s Luke and Caleb, 2 guys from Niagara, Ontario who graduated from high school in June and are both at primary as well. The well dressed Africans in the pictures are some of Honda and Libby’s 60 plus boys that they’ve rescued off the streets of Bujumbura and have been transformed by Jesus Christ. There’s also sweet Donah, who’s from Uganda; she teaches at secondary. The kids wearing the soccer jerseys are the poorest of the poor, sporting the brand new jerseys that were donated by the head of a soccer club in England. This guy, a non-Christian, is coming out in April.
We went into the village today. No World Vision program could prepare you for what we witnessed today. Last week when we were there, we stayed at the edge of the village, and I stood there with tears rolling down my face. Today we went in, and there were no tears; tears may come once the shock has worn off.
The sewage system (holding tank) is only effective if it is utilized. Using the street is much faster and more convenient. The stench made Isaac’s stomach sick. The houses I wrote about last week, saying they’re the size of a small bedroom were the ones on the edge of the village. Today we saw many homes where I don’t know if a grown man could stretch out in;  children with seemingly perpetually runny noses wearing short rags on the top part of their bodies with nothing at all on the bottom part. We saw the men sitting in the shade whiling the day away, leisurely sipping on their yellow banana hooch, gradually, wilfully blinding themselves.
We saw their tiny “market” consisting of perhaps 5 makeshift tables with the wares, mostly questionable to bad quality vegetables and fly covered little fish displayed. These are awful images. But the ones that get to you are the ones that are etched on the inside of your eye lids; when you close your eyes you see the big, empty, staring at nothing eyes of some of the children. Where is the happiness of childhood in these eyes; the curiosity of an ever inquisitive mind, the occasional glint of mischievous behaviour? Where is the hope in these big, black eyes?
Enter ‘Restoration Of Hope’. The Lord has given Honda a massive vision for this place. Believe me, apart from the Lord, one would think, ‘where do you start’, but we serve a God of all possibilities!! And when the Lord calls He makes a way.
The village is about the size of a residential block or smaller, housing about 400 dwellings. Like I said previously, it’s home to 1700 people. ‘Restoration of Hope’  is renting a large shed that is situated about 30 seconds from the entrance of the village. A congregation from England is paying for the rental of this property; a one time gift from an English lady paid for the water installation. Honda has plumbed in fresh, safe drinking water to this location in the last while. There are 6 taps where people come with their little jugs twice a day to get water. There is no electricity. Both times that we’ve gone so far Honda brings in a generator and the rescued street boys give haircuts; about 200 heads, male and female, get shaved each time. Meanwhile, some of Honda’s other boys organize kid’s games on the  compound. It’s a wonder that these malnourished children have the strength and energy to run.
In one corner is a tiny chicken coop that Honda wants to grow into a big operation that will yield a few 1000 eggs per day. One chick costs $2500 francs - about $2.50 CND.
Honda and Libby, Lord willing, are planning on starting a school in January. Initially they will limit it to about 60 students. They’ve held 2 crusades here to date, with 153 people having accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour!!!
We are praying about how the Lord wants to use us in these peoples’ lives. Even though we pray the people that we touch will feel the love of Jesus through us, or that they will see the love of Jesus when we look into their eyes, this does not fill their distended bellies, or improve their hygiene, or provide much needed medicine or clothing. Will you please pray about how God wants to use you as well? Christmas is coming up; perhaps instead of buying gifts for family and friends, you want to contribute to the realization of the vision that God has given to Honda. If so, please email us at: ircfroese@gmail.com
P.S. Oct. 28 2009  (This was written Wednesday, Oct. 21; due to the fact that internet access has not been possible here for a number of days, or when it is accessible it is incredibly slow, so I have still not been able to post it. Also, the pictures may or may not work to post, as they are even trickier to post than just text from here. Sorry for the great delay, and please don’t give up on reading our blog, as we continue to covet your prayers.)
Rosel

Introducing Sabe village - part one

We’re getting more and more involved with the CRIB kids. The pastor couple from England, Dave and Sheena, are allowing us to walk along side them with doing a weekly Monday evening Bible study for all the CRIB kids age 11 and up. We started this 3 weeks ago. The first week Dave and Sheena asked if I would  do a call to salvation. Three people responded and caused the angels in heaven to rejoice!!!  “… I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Lk 15:10b
We prayed over them and they where baptized by the Holy Spirit. Praise the Lord, He is so good!! Every week so far we’ve had a deep moving of the Spirit. God is really working in these kids, but not surprisingly, the enemy knows he’s losing ground and is doing “overtime” to try and destroy what Jesus has and is doing. Things have happened among a handful of kids that make this very evident. Please pray for the blood of Jesus to cover the compound and every person that steps foot on it. Please pray for Dave and Sheena, Isaac, Colton and myself as  we seek to minister to them and love them with the love of Jesus Christ.
You know, they know Bible stories and most of them say they are Christians, but once they step out of Dave and Sheena’s living room and life happens…
So every Monday at 4:00 we trek over to the Pailthorpe’s, who live in the CRIB compound. We spend a lot of time praying for the evening, discussing the lesson, etc., followed by tea. (People here,  including us, have “tea” and not supper. Basically what this means is that lunch and supper are just reversed here - the main, hot meal is at 1:00 - 1:30, and “tea” is a lighter evening meal.) After this we get the space ready for 32 people and at 7:00 we begin.
On Saturday mornings, also starting 3 weeks ago, we go over as well and just play active games. This is “family time” for the kids. The aim is to teach  them to play together as a team, without fighting, without screaming at each other, just good clean fun. Keep in mind, when you put almost 50 kids in a fenced space without parental love, guidance, teaching and discipline, things can’t be without challenges.
We are planning on starting an  art time as well. Oh, and we’re on a rotating schedule to supervise groups of kids when they go swimming at Chrissie’s. I think that’s all for the structured time we spend there.
There’s a guy who dropped out of high school and ran away from CRIB in late winter that was a very bad influence on the rest of the kids. He lived with some buddies and on the street till about a month ago. At this time his buddies kicked him out, which left him solely on the street. He came back to Chrissie’s, being at wit’s end. The CRIB kids didn’t want him back, so he is living at Chrissie’s with the guard/house worker. To occupy his time and to hopefully teach him some things, he is spending Mon. - Fri. with Isaac. This can be very challenging for Isaac, as he has to watch him at all times. Please pray for Isaac in this regard, and pray for this guy.
We finally got to see the “real” Burundi today. With our busy schedule, we had not yet seen Honda and Libby’s village till this morning. With today being a national holiday commemorating the death of a past president, which meant no school, we finally had the opportunity.
You know the saying: “what you don’t know won’t hurt you.”?  Well, Honda and Libby had told us lots about the village and showed us a video they made, but nothing prepares you for seeing and smelling and living what we experienced today.
This tiny “village” of 1700 people is hidden behind a massive, high- fenced UN compound that stretches on for probably a few miles. Honda was introduced to this village in November of last year by a mentally challenged guy that they partially support. Almost nobody knows about this village; the government has chosen to turn a blind eye to the absolute poverty conditions almost without fail. In April of this year they had a huge flood, where many, many of the stick/mud huts collapsed in the approximately one meter plus  flood waters. The huts, which are the size of a small bedroom, house families of up to 13 children plus the parent.  They are 1-2 meters apart; there is no furniture; the roof consists of mostly garbage they’ve strategically placed to serve as a roof; they have one meal a day consisting of bugali ( basically nutritionally void, root of a common plant made into flour mixed with water), and maybe a bit of beans, but some days there isn’t even this. Some days there is nothing. The flood was a blessing in that now they at least have a sewage system, a holding tank for the sewage, which they collect in a bag and deposit into the tank which is located at the entrance of the village. Mothers deliver their babies on the bare ground, as this is their bed. The wealthier may have a straw mat to sleep on, but even with just a normal rainfall, the water comes into the hut and that mat doesn’t do much good anyway. The villagers’ entire wardrobe is that which they wear, day in and day out. A majority of the clothing is rags really, and worse, held together by dirt and filth, especially the childrens‘. Even though a child is wearing a skirt doesn’t mean it’s a girl, but that’s the only piece of clothing available. Diapers consist of a bit of material covered with a plastic bag.
People die of aids; alcoholism is a problem; the hooch, which is made from bananas, blinds the consumer with time. Education is non-existent - there is no school. Of the 1700 people, about 900 are children.
I need to go now, I will continue with this next time I blog. However, I want to add that for the last months I’ve prayed that the Father would make my heart hurt over the things that hurt His heart; my heart hurts.
Rosel

Dry Bones and Sandals

I was telling my boys over lunch that I had dreamt about bags of chocolate chips. Colton quite longingly sighed, “I wish I would have had that dream.” Yea, we’re missing food from home.
Have I got something to tell you!!!
I had bought a really nice, comfy, expensive pair of dress sandals before we came out here. I don’t walk to school in them, but put on my trusty Vans, and yes, I look like a geek walking to school every day wearing a skirt and Vans, but anyway, once at school, I change into my sandals, which I just left at school in my art room closet everyday after changing into my Vans again to trek home in.
So 2 weeks ago I come to school after the weekend, and my shoes are gone. Vamoos!! I couldn’t believe it. Someone went into the closet and helped themselves to my shoes in a Christian school. I was pretty ticked, I mean if they would have just been in plain view on the floor, that’s one thing, but to snoop in the closet and take them, that just irritated me. By the way, I “happened” to bring another pair of sandals to school that day - thank you Jesus - so I didn’t have to look geeky all day.
The next day I told Irene, the head teacher. She was pretty upset about it for the same reasons as I was; you should be able to trust in a Christian school. The next morning after staff devotions she announced what happened, and by now I’m feeling kind of sheepish, after all, they’re just shoes!! I’d been praying about my attitude, and yes, I’d like my shoes back, but really, it wasn’t a big deal. That day I had many of the teachers and guards come into my room wanting to see where they had disappeared from. People were really taking this serious. They too saw this as a violation in trust at The KING”S school. They prayed. We prayed. This is God’s school, the enemy has no right here.
The next morning it was Antoinette’s turn to do devotions. She told us how she used to come by the gate of The King’s School and prophesy, out loud, that this would be her place of work. She wanted to teach here rather than at the public university where she was. Needless to say, she’s a great teacher there now.  Her Scripture passage was Ezekiel 37:1-14. This really went deep into my Spirit; I mean, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.“ 2 Ti 3:16. In other words, the account of the dry bones coming to life is not just a really cool event that took place years ago, but God ordained it to be in the Bible to impart something to believers; it’s relevant for today. So this means that, as silly as it may sound to some of you, we can , in the ALL mighty name of Jesus Christ prophesy to even inanimate objects!! How sweet is that!!?? God is so good. He’s provided us with everything for life and godliness. Also, “ For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Heb 4:12. I was praying the Word of God and I was also acutely aware of the spiritual warfare raging as a result. God was on the move to spur me ( and fellow staff ) on in my/our faith. 
Please read Ezekiel 37:1-14. It’s about the Lord telling Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones to come to life. So he did as the Sovereign Lord commanded. As he prophesied, “there was a noise, a rattling sound,” GOD was on the move!!  Bone came to bone, tendons and flesh and skin appeared on the bones! God told Ezekiel to prophesy to the breath to come from the four winds into the slain that they would live. So the breath entered the slain and they came to life, and they stood to there feet!!! A vast army!! Alive!! By the power of the Sovereign Lord.
Prophesy is one of the nine gifts of the Spirit mentioned in 1 Co 12:7-10; being seated in Christ Jesus in the heavenly realms ( Eph 2:6 ), and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we have authority and power over all rule, power, authority, dominion and every title. The same power that God exerted when He rose Jesus from the dead is available to us when we pray in the name and will of Jesus Christ. (Eph 1:19-21).
 Before I go on, I want you to know that if the issue at hand was just a pair of shoes, I would not bother to write any of this. Stolen shoes is simply the “vehicle” that the Lord chose to use for a huge revelation of Himself, and the power of believing, biblical prayer.
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Heb 11:1
So I prayed. I prophesied in the name of Jesus that my shoes would be returned. I prayed for the person that stole the sandals. I sensed such a great power in and through the praying, I actually felt sorry for the person who took them, because I knew the conviction they were experiencing. The battle raging in them, knowing they should return them, but what if they got found out, … etc.
Well, the power of the Lord overcame the deeds of darkness yet again, and my shoes were anonymously returned the following Wednesday. First thing every morning I checked, expectantly, in my closet to see if they were there; this particular morning I did the same, they weren’t there, so I just started getting art materials ready for the day; I opened the other closet, and there they were in plain view. I was so overwhelmed by God’s faithfulness!!! I went on my knees and praised and worshipped God for coming through; and please remember, it wasn’t about the shoes, but about how God heard and answered prayer.
I was so fantastically pumped!! The word spread quickly as I had told 2 teachers, and there was rejoicing and relief. God was certainly at work at The King’s School.
I am currently praying/prophesying about 3 huge “only God can do that” issues. And I believe in God’s time, they will come to pass.
I had read Ezekiel 37 many times thinking, “yeah, that must have been so cool to see all those bones coming to life,” but never seeing the relevancy of it for my life. Now it’s chock full of relevancy. God opened the eyes of my heart to reveal the power of that passage, and I will never be the same again. This will be one of  a growing pile of Ebenezer stones in my life. In 1 Samuel 7:12, Samuel sets up a stone of remembrance naming it Ebenezer, saying: “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” I want to testify to you, “thus far the Lord has been so gracious and compassionate to me, revealing Himself to me in wonderful ways.”
Look at Eze 37 again. Verse 11 says: “… Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.” That sounds like the epitome of destitution of soul and spirit. (Though in this case it’s literal.) If you’re anything like me, sometimes you feel dry, hopeless and alone. But listen to what God says in response:
“… O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them.” I think sometimes our faith is near death, and sad to say, some people lose their faith altogether because they think that God hasn’t answered their prayers the way they want Him to. But God wants to resurrect us from our spiritual graves and fill us anew with hope and faith and an abundant life.
Another thing that now jumps out at me is v: 9 where it says: “…breathe into these slain, that they may live.” These guys were killed, they did not die a natural death. It was a  premature death. Life was snatched from them. What has the enemy snatched from you that you need to, and can, by the power of the indwelling Spirit take back from the enemy? Like the song says, ”Well I went to the enemies camp and I took back what he stole from me, took back what he stole from me, took back what he stole from me, I went to the enemies camp and I took back what he stole from me, he’s under my feet, he’s under my feet, satan is under my feet.”
Check out verse 1 and 2: There weren’t just a few bones; no, “it was full of bones. He (God) led me back and forth among them…bones that were very dry.” Sometimes, when it rains it pours. That is, sometimes we haven’t got just a few challenges to deal with at once, but we feel we can hardly, if at all, stand up under the burden of all our problems. And they are persistent problems, problems that just don’t get resolved and that bog you down. But if God can resurrect “very dry” bones, bones that aren’t still meaty fresh, he can surely breath life and truth into your 20 year old problem! And what about the “led me back and forth among them” part?! Why can it not be just a quick sprint through? How often have you heard the phrase’ “It’s in the desert that you grow the most.” Maybe it’s taking a while for you to attain all the growth that the Father has intended for you. But you’ll come out stronger for it.
Verse 3 God asks: “ …can these bones live?”  God knew what Ezekiel’s answer would be, but it’s good to verbalize our faith, or lack thereof. Where is your faith meter? Do you believe that God can and still does the impossible?? A daily prayer of mine is found in Lk 17:5 - Lord, increase my faith in you!!!
The bottom line is this: v 14a says; “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live.” Hallelujah!!  2 Co 3:17 says; “…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Freedom means you’re not in bondage, you’re not oppressed, you’re not beaten down. Freedom in Christ means you’re VICTORIOUS !! Live accordingly!
In Christ, Rosel

Lord, send me.

Hey, hey everyone!!
I pray that you, the reader, is doing well spiritually, physically, emotionally, relationally, in every sense.
The enemy has taken great measures lately to get us to loose our focus on Jesus Christ. He knows that the Lord called us here and has and continues to equip us, and that the Kingdom of God will increase as long as we completely trust in Him and allow Him to flow into and through us, - praise His holy name!!!
Now that we’ve settled into the school year, and things aren’t as foreign anymore, we’re really focusing our prayers on God’s “hidden agenda.” Before coming out we knew, more or less, what we’d be doing here. You know, things we knew we could do; build, fix, teach, love, hug kids, encourage, pray for others, etc. Things that don’t necessarily stretch us. Things we can do with our hands. Thing’s that we can do “on our own.“
You see, a few months before we left home, Isaac said to me that he believes that God is calling us to do much more than what we are currently doing at CRIB, school, New Hope, etc. But if God had revealed to us all the things He wants to accomplish in and through us, we would most likely have said, “No Lord, you’ve got the wrong people, send someone else.” - the Moses syndrome: God calls Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, and Moses says, Lord you’ve got the wrong guy, I don’t speak very well. Send someone else.
And so here we are, serving in different areas, and yet sensing in our spirit that we haven’t yet tapped into all that we’re called to do here.
We believe that God started illuminating His will in this regard almost right after we got here. We were spending a lot of time at the CRIB home, and almost immediately noticed there was a lot of fighting between the kids, they were watching unwholesome movies, listening to music that doesn’t edify their souls, etc.  A person might be tempted to think that this is normal and natural in today’s world, especially in a home with about 50 kids. But this could be very different by the power of God. I mean, for anyone, but also especially for these kids; God hand picked them; they too could have been killed along with many other children during the war; He spared them. He wants them to have an abundant life. Many of these children and teenagers know Jesus as their Saviour; they receive a Christian education and have a number of other Christian influences in their lives. But they also have a lot of strikes against them.
We feel that God is calling us to do a weekly Bible study with the kids. Not just skimming over the surface, shallow stuff, but a deep, Spirit led and filled time of praying/studying/discipling. A time where we would allow the Holy Spirit to use us to speak into these kids’ hearts and lives with words of knowledge, wisdom and prophesy. A time to pray over them for a powerful, life changing, personal encounter and baptism of the Holy Spirit. A time to walk along side them and model purity in heart, a deep love and need for studying the Scripture; a passion for prayer, a complete submission and devotion to Jesus Christ.
Wow, as I read this last paragraph, it hits me again. We can do none of this on our own. None!!!!! We don’t even live like this all the time. We sin; we stumble; we fall; we’re so far from perfect. But praise be to God, He calls sinners saved by grace to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.“ Mt 28: 19-20.
So we shared our hearts with Chrissie, the “mama” to the kids; the founder of the orphanage. She informed us that there would be a couple coming in a few weeks, the pastor and his wife from her church in England, and they would be living on site at CRIB for 6 months; their main focus here would be to pour into the kids. At this point we’re like, “okay Lord, did we hear wrong, there’s someone with fantastic credentials coming to minister to the kids, they don’t need us.”  But we told Chrissie that if this couple wanted,  we’d be willing to help them. We continued to pray.
Last week Pastor David and Sheena arrived. They are one dynamite couple! I would guesstimate they’re about 55-60 yrs. old, but boy do they have spunk in them. David is used very powerfully by the Lord in the area of prophesy. This last Sunday we were so blessed to experience, along with 7,000 other people, a huge outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Jabe church. Pastor Edmond was introducing them to the church as they will be doing some work with Jabe, and immediately after the intro., Pastor David opens his mouth and pours forth the heart of God. This released the Spirit, and it was probably 30 minutes before Pastor Edmond could start the message. (By the way, church is always between three and a half to four hours long. We worship for an hour and a half to two hours.)
On Tuesday we were at CRIB after school, and David and Sheena said that Chrissie had told them about our willingness to help them. I wonder how much helping we’ll be doing versus soaking up what this couple has to offer. Please pray for a deep anointing and equipping for us; for eyes that see the kids the way our heavenly Father sees them; for our hugs to soothe hurts and mend broken hearts as if the arms of Jesus were enfolding them; for humble hearts, fully committed to administering all that the Lord imparts to us for these kids. For the kids to allow themselves to be vulnerable and ‘moldable’ by the Potter. Please pray for constant guidance and direction as we seek to be and do all the Lord calls us to.
And finally, pray that we will “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Lord, send me!!
In Christ
Isaac, Rosel and Colton

Run to Jesus

Hey everyone;
We’re missing my (Rosel) favorite season - fall. The beautiful and colourful oranges, reds and yellows in the foliage, the crisper air, the lengthening evenings, ahhhh, all signs of relief from the heat of summer.
The rains are late in coming; as I wrote last week, we had one down pour, but the daily, almost torrential rains is what the land and the people are waiting for. Because of the delay, the electricity generating dam up country is at low levels and Bujumbura is on a very tight conservation schedule. For the last week plus, generally, we have power 24 hours on/24 hours off.
A few days ago I was thinking that I’d much rather go without electricity than without running water. Showers have always been important to me; long, relaxing ones, not rushed. Now in this heat, the thought of going to bed in sticky skin and not being able to wash my hands many, many times a day is most unwelcome. But not having running water is also a very real possibility here. I’m getting some where’s with this. The question I was wrestling with is this: in the event there would be no running water for even just half a day, never mind an extended period of time, would I be able to endure this joyfully, patiently, even thankfully!!! with a godly attitude?
I’m reminded of the apostle Paul, who was imprisoned, flogged, exposed to death, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked thrice, hungry, thirsty, cold and naked. Did he grumble and gripe? In 2 Co 1:8 he talks about suffering hardships far beyond his ability to endure, so that he even despaired of life. Sounds pretty dire. But he continues on, stating that this happened so that he would not rely on himself, but on God.
Being thankful seems like a huge stretch, but 1 Thess 5:16 - 18 admonishes me to: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Ouch!!
Heb.12:7 says: “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.”
2 Ti 2:3 & 4:5: “Endure hardships with us like a good soldier of Christ. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”  You mean I’d still have to serve, in public, humbly, faithfully, joyfully, obediently, the people that the Lord has called us to when I haven’t showered in days and I’m stinky??!!
In contrast to Paul‘s hardships, our “light and momentary troubles” - 2 Co 4:17, sure seem insignificant. I mean, running water and refreshing showers compared to being stoned!!??
But praise be to God, He cares about the smaller ’what if’s’ in our lives too, not just apostle Paul sized hardships. So whether or not we will be faced with no running water, one thing I do know without a doubt is this:  when Jesus, in 2 Co 12:9 said, “My grace is sufficient for you…” He meant what He said. The rest is up to me… will I accept and walk in that all sufficient grace?
What is your ‘what if’ concern, or a very real issue that is burdening you?  Run to Jesus and leave it at His feet. He is more than able, He is more than sufficient, He is more than we can imagine!
I’m preaching to myself.
Please pray for us. We’re in a hardship, and it has nothing to do with running water.
In Christ,
Isaac, Rosel and Colton

God's providing for and stretching us

Hey everyone; we bless you, our dear family and friends in the name of Jesus.
God is faithful - He continues to protect, equip, strengthen and stretch us.
We had a really good down pour a few days ago, so now with the rising temperature we also have humidity. The fact that we haven’t had hot water since the second day we got here is, for the most part, becoming less of an issue. After the initial shock of the cold water hitting your hot body in the shower, it’s wonderfully refreshing.
Power outages have posed to be stretching for us. In the last week we’ve been without electricity far more than with. In the last 72 hours we’ve had power for about 6-8 hours. This is problematic for many reasons; the food spoils in the fridge, classes at school have to be revised because of the photocopier not running, you can’t get any relief from the heat from the use of fans, which also affects your sleep, etc., etc.
But in all this, God truly is helping us cope. Yes, there are times when you wonder why the government doesn’t do things differently and channel money into infrastructure instead of some other things, but I believe that we are being stretched by this for a purpose. Leave it to Colton to often bring humour into a situation; yesterday as we sat down to our simple evening meal, he quipped; “ I thought candlelight dinners were supposed to have fancier food than this.”
School is going well, both for Colton the student and myself the assistant/teacher. Both Secondary and Primary begin with devotions every day - what a huge blessing to corporately start the day like this. Isaac joins the staff devotions with me at Primary. So far Pastor Ray does them, however, we will start a rota shortly. There is so much power in welcoming the Holy Spirit into every aspect of the day, and being challenged to incorporate a godly principle into every lesson that is taught. What a joy to see Muslim/Hindu children enthusiastically singing Christian songs, learning Scripture and praying. Twenty two percent of our students come from these homes; the reason they are at this school? It’s English - the only one in Bujumbura. Being knowledgeable in English is very important to this community of people, and they are willing to have their children fully integrate into a Christian school to accommodate this. What a fantastic opportunity to evangelize and disciple these children. Parents as well have seeds planted in them when they come to school programs and celebrations.
The Lord is answering our prayers as He gives Isaac creative and often unusual ways to fix/do things in his work. For instance, Isaac had tried to fix our constantly running kitchen faucet to no avail. With no plumbing parts and only a screwdriver, your options are limited.  After a few attempts, he used a pencil for the solution; the metal part that holds the eraser makes a wonderful faucet part; who would have known!?  With God all things are possible.
Isaac does find it frustrating that there are so very few materials available to do his job. He knew this would be the case before we came, but when you live it every day,  and the things are so very basic that he needs  sometimes, it can be taxing. Please pray for continued and an increase of creativity and improvisation skills for Isaac.
Jehovah Jirah -God our provider. There’s a guy by the name of John who’s from England, who’s lived here for about 20 years that donated some tools yesterday that people have shipped out to him over the years. He works for the President of Burundi, and I don’t know exactly what else he does. All of a sudden he’s at the Primary school, wanting to see Isaac to arrange the donation. It’s so faith building, the Lord putting it on John’s heart to do this now, at the perfect time when there’s someone here that needs the tools.
Speaking of tools, the crate that contains more tools that our church put in there is held up here in Bujumbura because of red tape. It arrived close to two weeks ago; hopefully we’ll get possession of it this coming week. Please also pray in this regard.
You’ve probably heard stories of how living things have crawled through sewer pipes into toilets. I had, and the thought wasn’t pleasant. Neither is the experience!! Here’s what happened: I was at Secondary, the main building was locked, so I had to use the outdoor toilet. It was relatively dark in there compared to the bright sunshine outside, and my eyes took some time to adjust.  Obviously, you never sit down in public facilities, so as I hovered over the loo, I happened to look into it. At first I thought that the girl that came out of the loo just before I entered had forgotten to flush,  but then I saw “it” move!!  I suddenly didn’t need to go anymore, as by this time the creature was in sharp focus and trying to scale the side of the toilet. ( My hair at the nape, even in the re-telling of the event, is doing weird things.) I flushed, hoping to rid the earth of this intruder, but “the thing” was determined not to co-operate. I stood and watched as it flailed and wiggled and struggled to not be sucked under by the powerful current. African toilets have a much more powerful flush, more like a vacuum. So when the waters had calmed, there he was, all 7-8 inches of him, shiny black and much more relaxed. At this point I high-tailed it out of there and informed a guy standing nearby about the goings on. He came to evaluate the situation, sauntered off and came back with a long branch. He was going to rescue the thing!! He stuck the branch into the toilet, and slowly it climbed onto it. He brought the approximately 3 inch circumference, snake-like, ugly thing with 4 short legs out and it scurried off. I wonder who it’s next victim will be!?
We get to sleep in tomorrow!  We have to get up at the uncivilized hour of 5:45 A.M. to get to school by 7:00 for staff devotions during the week, so with our earplugs in place to shut out the loud sounds of the night and early morning, the slumber will be most welcome.
I’ll try and post some pictures tomorrow.
Goodnight, we miss you, we love you.
The Froese’s

Gecko's and surprise

So folks, we’ve had some emails gently asking for another update. I keep thinking I need to sit down again and do this, (yes I know Dave, intentions don’t get things done; bless you!!) but first off, I only turn the computer on 1-2 times per week; and second, we’re seriously busy. But I want to keep all you guys updated so you can pray specifically, and remember, we’re in this together, we really need and appreciate your prayers. I truly believe that your prayers strengthen us, and also allow us to laugh at some situations that otherwise would be quite upsetting. Things are just so very different here, and often there doesn’t seem to be any logic as to why situations are as they are.
Gecko’s, gecko’s, gecko’s!!! Wow, are there ever many gecko’s. Last week one evening we had the group from England over and exactly that night the gecko’s decided to come out in droves. One of the team members is a zoo keeper, so he didn’t mind trying to herd them out the door, but they’re awfully fast, and the ceiling is really high ( they prefer walls and ceilings), so this can be a funny sight - man versus gecko. It doesn’t help that there is about a 1 inch gap between the door and floor; once Isaac has tools, we can hopefully rectify this problem. Ladies, how would you like to share your bedroom with elusive critters like this. It’s a good thing we’re tired from the day’s activities; we sleep soundly apart from the noises that are so much a part of the night here.
We live smack across from a large Catholic church, and the churches here are mostly open on the sides to allow for much, much needed air flow. This means that the singing is heard from far away, never mind across the street, with a bedroom window facing the church, as ours does. They have nightly services, but the Sunday 6:00 A.M. service really is a challenge. They sing beautifully, albeit to/about Mary, but on a morning that we don’t have to be at school at 7:00 A.M?!!?  I’ve wondered from the beginning, how can they sing so enthusiastically when many of them worship a dead woman? Yes, I know there are born again Christians in the Catholic faith, but when you hear former Catholics talk about going to the front of the church to kneel before a statue of Mary, and the only word in a song that you know as it filters through your window is “Maria, Maria,” you can’t help but wonder. Can you imagine the wonderful worship that would greet our ears at 6:00 A.M. if they worshipped the living Lord Jesus!!!???
This last Sunday we went to a different church than Jabe. We met a pastor - Andy Kennedy -  through Everiste a few weeks ago who was here from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania for 3 months, scoping out what their ministry could do in Burundi. Through Andy we met Chris, a dynamite Christian guy that’s becoming a good friend. Chris invited us to his church as Andy was preaching. It was so nice to not have to strain your ears to hear the translation of the message through not great ear phones. The message was on grace - grace that is un-earned and un-deserved, but so real. Chris has a French website where he posts a new sermon  6 days a week. He has listeners in over 80 countries.
So I had a surprise this week. I started work at school, with this week just preparing the classrooms and resources etc. After staff devotions led by Pastor Ray we were all introduced, where people are from etc. (Andrew and Kristine Astington are from the UK, however they were teaching in Saudi Arabia for the last six years. They’ve both taught for many years, Kristine’s starting her 42nd year. I am going to be an assistant in her year 6 class part of the time. Anni-Mette is from Denmark, she’s here till February, Kristy Jones is from Arizona, there’s 2 guys from Canada coming on Sunday, Debbie, the head teacher for Primary is from the UK; the rest of the teachers are from various African countries.) So…. the surprise… When Pastor Ray said what I’d be doing he said “ Rosel’s our arts teacher and will be assisting in years 2 and 6.” That was news to me, I thought I was only assisting. Here’s what happened. The above mentioned head teacher, Debbie, is currently on mat. leave in the UK. So Irene, the year two teacher is presently the interim head teacher. So a few weeks ago when Irene came over before going home to Kenya for two weeks, she asked me if I would be willing to help her with art. I said sure. Well, I guess she had in mind “helping her” was, as in taking the arts position; only I thought “helping her” was doing year 2 art, at least partially with her together, since I’m already in that class. So I’m teaching years 2 - 6 art, with each lesson being 70 minutes long. Each grade has art once a week. Amanda, I’m so grateful for your files that you left - they are a huge help. For you non- Calvary people, Amanda was here last school year and taught art and sports. You know what the cool part is???!!!  God prepared me for this. A few days before we left Manitoba, I went and bought more art supplies than I had already purchased up to that point to  take with us, presumably for the New Hope and CRIB kids. I just saw myself doing art with kids, and here’s how our awesome Father orchestrated it all. Isn’t that sweet??!! Later I told Pastor Ray  about the surprise, which he found humorous as well.
I think perhaps Irene was a little over zealous today; she asked me if I would be willing to teach sports (gym) as well. I told her I’d pray about it, but I don’t have peace about that, as all sports are done outside (no gymnasium), and I’m already struggling with walking to and from school every day in the sun. ( in case you didn’t read in a previous blog, I have what my Dr. calls a near allergy to the sun.)
Speaking of the sun, it’s generally a few degrees hotter now already than when we came a month ago. Because we’re so close to Lake Tanganyika, we get a pretty strong wind off the lake mid day, exactly when we’re walking home from school. It’s a challenge to control my umbrella against the wind as our tired and sweaty bodies trudge the mile plus home. Rainy season is around the corner when the temperature really rises!! We’ve been told a few times, you can almost set your clock to the rain. It comes at noon, and often again at four in the afternoon. Immediately following the rain, the sun is out, and steam rises from the ground.
Isaac’s gecko hunting again.
Sending our love and blessings to you all - our team.
Isaac, Rosel and Colton

Ramona and Earl(and family) need your prayers

Hello everyone;
Urgent!!!!! S.O.S. Prayer needed. As many of you know, my niece Ramona has battled sarcoma cancer for over 3 yrs. She was diagnosed 6 months after her and Earl got married. She’s just finished round 23, yes, 23 of chemo, and things are not looking very good. Please check out their blog site at :
The Life and Times of Earl and Ramona Reimer. We need serious, believing, intercessory prayer.
After the above paragraph I really don’t feel like saying anything else, but I also realize I haven’t written anything in a while.
You may have heard in the news about Air Kenya’s strike; they were demanding 130% increase in wages!!
Pastor Ray had never before heard of a strike in Africa. The strike really affected 2 ladies that were here from B.C., friends of the Bales’.
The first week we were here I was terribly homesick for our house 3 evenings.. I’m kinda embarrassed to say that it was something material and not a person, someone I have a relationship with. However, the contrast between our two homes is great, and thankfully the Lord is helping me a great deal in being more and more content. Speaking of being homesick, the first 3 or 4 days or so I kept looking at vehicles’ license plates, subconscienciously wondering when I’d see a Manitoba plate. Around day 4 my brain kicked in and I realized the almost absolute impossibility of this happening, as the vehicle would have to be transported across the big pond for this to happen. Be nice and say that I can blame this on jet lag.
I previously wrote that we have a passion fruit and 2 mango trees on our yard. I’m sorry to report that is not accurate; our botanically untrained eyes did not recognize the half of it!!! BUT, we DO have: a pineapple tree, 2 orange trees, a papaya tree, 2 mango trees, a lemon tree, an avocado tree, and last but not least, a guava tree. The people in Mexico will remember my fondness for guava. Isn’t the Lord so awesome, blessing us with all this stuff!!?? I must add that the pineapple and orange trees are not yet big enough to bear fruit.
My (Rosel) mom has a serious green thumb, and mom, I think you’d be proud of me the way I’ve been working in our yard together with our guard. There’s a lot of shade in our yard in the afternoon which allows me to do this. I’m really enjoying this a great deal, praying as I work and just claiming our yard and everything in it for Jesus. Juneval, our guard laughs when I let out little yells as yet another gecko has crossed my almost immediate path. There are also big lizards, with bright, sky blue heads that frequent our front and back fence.
Fabiola took me to the market one day last week, and it was something that I wanted Isaac and Colton to experience ASAP, so that Saturday the three of us ventured out into this ….. Um… busy city. The fun begins when you’re trying to tell the taxi driver where you want to go. Not all words have hand motions you know!! The market is something that I could not have imagined; it’s huge, Fabiola said it covers over a city block. It’s open air, with a tin roof covering the whole thing. There’s hundreds and hundreds of tiny kiosks, measuring between 4 and 6 feet squared. Laundry detergent and food items are side by side on a tiny shelf; men are ‘siesta-ing’ on sacks of rice and beans; aisles are 2 feet wide if your lucky, sometimes only wide enough to plant your foot on the floor, mostly crammed with very hot, sticky and not fresh bodies. There’s mothers with their children on their backs, children and crippled (and others) begging, there’s loud shouting, requesting room to pass through from men bearing heavy loads on their backs making their way through the maze; there’s enthusiastic bartering, blaring music, beckoning shopkeepers, hearing “muzungu,muzungu” from every side. There are sights you don’t want to see again, there are mountains of the delicious fruits that make up our daily salad, and at the end, we got to say: “hey look, there’s a muzungu.” It’s really quite fascinating.
There’s a group of 6 people here from the UK doing holiday club, aka VBS., with the CRIB kids. Colton is participating in this and having a good time. They are short-staffed and suffering from stomach bugs, so I’m helping them all week. They are a great bunch, and very organized.
Next week I officially start my job(so why am I so busy now already?). All the teachers/assistants have one week to get everything ready; school starts Sept. 8th. Isaac is still spending most of his time at the Primary School, there’s so much that needs doing.
There’s a young Vancouver university student here for 5 weeks whose family is friends with the Bales’. He’s staying at New Hope orphanage, but during the day has helped Isaac for the last 2-ish weeks. We’ve had the blessing of getting to know him, as he comes for lunch most days. He’s a great guy who really loves the Lord. If the Holy Spirit puts Thomas on your mind, pray for him. God’s invested a lot into this guy, and Thomas’s desire is to serve the Lord where ever He leads.
Time to quit. Rosel

Getting more and more "Burundianized"

Amahoro!! Peace!! Aug. 18 /09
This is day 5 or 6 without being able to access the internet; others we’ve spoken with aren’t able to get on either.
Isaac, Colton and I were going for a walk when we witnessed a vehicle/bicycle hit and run about 30 feet in front of us. (Bicycle taxis are very, very common; they have a make shift “seat” - re-bar wire welded onto the back.) There was a teenaged girl on the back of a bike taxi that was approaching an intersection. This vehicle started backing up, and I don’t know if the driver of the bike didn’t see this, or if he figured the vehicle would stop before it hit the bike. Well it hit them, backed them down really hard and immediately the vehicle sped away. Praise the Lord, neither driver nor passenger of the bike were very hurt. We felt at such a loss that we couldn’t speak the language; all I could do to comfort the girl was rub her back.
Everiste told us that bicycle/pedestrian accidents happen every day. This isn’t surprising, seeing that vehicles share the road with 100’s of bikes and pedestrians on very narrow, one way that frequently turn into 3 lane roads.
I’ve been informed that I will be assisting in year 2 and year 6. The year 2 teacher, Irene, is from Kenya; she’s taught at The King’s School for 7 years. She came over last week, and already I really like her . I think we’ll be a good team. She gave me a whole bunch of prep. work to do at home in the next few weeks.
Isaac is working at the schools, getting the buildings ready for school. As I mentioned earlier, the crate with the tools in it doesn’t arrive till the 29th, so his work is still limited as far as what he can do; however, he’s able to improvise to a degree.
There are many businesses that employ someone that speaks at least a little bit of English. We’ve heard many times: “We are obliged to learn English because it is starting to replace French.” In fact, there are countries that have completely taken French out of the class room and replaced it with English. Burundi’s public schools are taught in French, though you would be hard pressed to find some one that doesn’t speak at least 2, and usually 3 or 4 languages.
I know I said it in the previous blog, but we really like it here; we are becoming more and more “Burundianized.” Colton is so in his element; you should see how he’s already mastered playing soccer wearing nothing on his feet but……flip-flops!! Forget the cleats, soccer socks and shin pads that he’s used to wearing for years. Have flip-flops, will play.
You should see this child’s feet by the end of the day; this red/brown dirt transforms them into something akin to the CRIB kids’ skin color!
Remember 1 Co 4:20: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” Ask the Father for that power to be increased in your life. He will not disappoint you.
Cyber hugs, Rosel

Introductions

Hello again. Aug.13 /09
Introduction’s that I should have done the first day:
Pastor Ray and Maryanne Bale - A wonderful couple from Vernon, B.C. Initially they came here for 3 months; that was 7 yrs. ago!! Pastor Ray is very involved in The King’s School, the CRIB home, at the Nyakabaga orphanage, in the Congo orphanage together with Pastor Rueben, and he preaches at Jabe church about once a month. Pastor Ray and Maryanne have two married daughters in Canada, and 12 grandchildren. They adopted Boss David when he was just 4 months old; he’s a very intelligent and inquisitive 5 yr. old now.
Everiste and Anick - A beautiful Burundian couple we are blessed to have in our lives. Everiste has been a huge help in getting us settled in. Everiste studied High German so that he could go to Germany to get his degree in agriculture. It’s pretty cool to be able to speak High German to him. He has an agricultural project up country, and he’s getting more involved in shipping “good” cows in from Tanzania that actually produce milk, versus what he calls “useless” cows that just cost money but don’t produce milk.
Just like Pastor Ray, Everiste wears many hats; he’s also Chrissie Chapman’s administrator. They have 4 kid’s. Next week we are helping them move into a house that is much closer to us than where they currently live. We’re looking forward to having them closer.
Deo and Rosa - Another lovely Burundian couple. Rosa is due with baby # 4 in a few weeks. Can’t wait!!
Honda and Libby - They are currently in England, as that is Libby’s home country.
Dave and Debbie - also currently in Debbie’s native (England?)
Chrissie Chapman - Chrissie’s been here for 20 yrs. She’s also from England. She started CRIB - Children Rescued in Burundi, during the genocide 10 yrs. ago. She’s the head of The King’s School here. Currently she is in Manitoba, getting one of her kids settled in at The King’s School in Wpg. Someone offered to pay the way for her daughter so that she could experience life out there.
Aime and Kristelle - Aime is an administrator. His dad was the ambassador to the States for years, so Aime lived in the US for some yrs.
We have the honor and privilege to work with all these very gifted and wonderful people serving under ARM.
Last week Friday Maryanne took us to Club du lac, which is a beautiful resort on the beach. It seems very out of place in this poor country. In the afternoon we all went to Nyakabaga orphanage. There was a Samaritan’s Purse team from Ireland , so Colton had the privilage of partaking in some of their activities, while Isaac and I got acquainted with some of the mama’s and aunties. A “mama” is a woman that was married; an “auntie”has never been married. These are the caretakers of the kids. Everyone in Nyakabaga, also called New Hope,is Congolese, from a village about 15 miles from the Burundi border. Four yrs. ago there was a massacre in this village and 266 people got killed. The survivors make up New Hope. We already love this place. These kids have so very little materialistically speaking, but they are very passionate about Jesus Christ - so poor yet so rich!!
When it was time to leave, one of the mama’s said Colton couldn’t leave. We assured them that we would come back often.
When we got home, Isaac was going to fold some of the laundry that we had previously rushed out to get off the line and spread out on our living room furniture to dry so that the smoke from Renevah’s cooking wouldn’t “smoke” it. Isaac was commenting on how interesting it was to dry underwear on our coffee table; this was almost immediately followed by a shocked: “Ugh, there’s ants in my pants.”. It truly is an adventure living here.
On Sunday we went to Jabe church. WOW!! WOW!! WOW!! Need I say more? 7,000 people worshiping the Lord - African’s at that!! The lead pastor, Pastor Edmond, had the first message, followed by a guest pastor from Rwanda. It was powerful. It was on giving people “Jesus injections”, not just a little of Jesus on the surface, but injecting, pouring Jesus into people and being vessels that He can use. I love that!! We also spent time repenting for the atrocities of the genocide. Vivante Jabe is under ARM, one of 120 ARM churches in Burundi, with hundreds in other parts of Africa.
We went to Pastor Ray and Marryanne’s for lunch and the afternoon. At 5:00 we headed to Nyakabaga again. They have a service there every Sunday evening. They were already worshiping when we got there; what a beautiful sight, these people that had everything snatched from them by evil, now praising their Protector and Provider, their Joy and their Strength. Two of the teens had a very passionate message, followed by a word from the visitors - Isaac and myself. We had previously been informed that this is expected from visitors. This was followed with more worship, getting more and more joyful with each song. Space is tight under the canopy where we were, but the rows we started with soon dissolved as we danced for Jesus. One mama came over to me and motioned for me to dance with her. I had to be careful that I wouldn’t trip over these two pieces of bent re-bar sticking out of a concrete slab. At one point it struck me that I was dancing for Jesus with an African lady on top of a sewer cover. What joy!!!
After the service, 17 of us piled into an old, “hippie” Volkswagon “bus”. We were dropped off at our gate to be met by our ever smiling and friendly guard, Junavard. He wrapped his skinny arm around Colton again as he walked us up our short drive way. Inside there was a real treat awaiting us; there on the table was a cake!! You see, Burundian’s don’t do dessert, so we had pretty much laid even visions of sweets to rest.
But we are blessed to have Renevah as our cook, (temporarily)who has much experience cooking for “muzungus”, white people - and knows about their sweet tooth. However, there are very, very limited ingredients available, and anything beyond a basic, unfrosted, occasional cake will remain a delicious memory for the most part. Having said that though, there is another orphanage right next to The King’s School that sells pretty good cinnamon buns. So that’s a real treat.
Anyways, we had a good first Sunday in Burundi. The One who called us here is taking very good care of us. Not surprising at all.
I keep asking Colton how he’s doing, if he’s adjusting well, what’s going through his mind. After a few days of this he said: “ Mom, I don’t need to adjust. This is exactly how I like life. It’s just like in Mexico.” But let me add, Mexico times 10 or 15!! For those of you who don’t know, we’ve spent a fair amount of time in the “real” Mexico - not resorts. You see poverty there as well, but nothing like here. But anyways, now you know that Colton’s in his God created forte.
We really like this place. It’s feeling more and more like home. The people are generally very friendly. God has richly blessed us with friends already, Jabe church is a Spirit-filled, Christ-centered place where we can go to be fed, we have a good home and a beautiful yard, and so much more. The Lord is providing
We are spending a fair amount of time at CRIB. The crate that contains Isaac’s work tools doesn’t arrive till the 29th, and I don’t start at school till Sept. 1st, so we have the time to do this. Yesterday I spent hours doing girls’ nails. I did them really fancy with different designs. Isaac answers countless questions pertaining to life in Canada from the older boys, and Colton plays hours of soccer, goes to Chrissie’s pool or the beach with the kids., draws, or just hangs out with them.
The kids at CRIB are all Burundians that were rescued during the genocide 10 yrs. ago. It’s so much fun to see them come running up to you when you walk into the gate and they wrap their arms around you. It reminds me of crumbs and ants, but not in a bad way. If there is a crumb on the counter, it is completely beset with ants. These are great kids; they all attend The Kings School, except for those that have already finished year 11 - secondary only goes to year 11. ( I’m getting used to saying year instead of grade.)
I wonder when I’ll be able to post this blog, as we haven’t been able to get online for a couple of days.
I love this: “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” 1 Co 5:20
So often we as Christians just do lip service about the power of God, never mind God Himself. Or we may believe that he is all powerful, but not in our situation. That’s like saying our situation has God stumped, that He needs a plan B. Let me gently remind you, God’s plan A - Jesus Christ, is ALL sufficient.
Love, love, love, Rosel…. For Isaac and Colton too

Still alive and kicking.

You thought we had fallen off the side of the world, didn't you?? Well, here we are again. I'll post writings from the last week that we couldn't get on line.
P.S. Seriously, be thankful for your country with all it's smooth running infrastructure.
Beware, they are long posts.
Rosel

Pictures of our home

This is our cook/houseboy, Renavah. He speaks a tiny bit of English. We don't store anything in our kitchen, due to the fact that any food/crumbs left on the counter for about 2 minutes, literally, is crawling with ants. He deep fried bananas for us today. They were pretty awful, not because Renavah isn't a good cook, in fact he trains other cooks, and when our "team members" learn that he's our cook, they all say how good he is. You see the 2 charcoal pots he cooks on. The charcoal is a type of wood that's been slowly burnt/charred over a long period of time.

This is our main living area. It was furnished when we moved in. Here's a little carport beside our house. A vehicle would make our time so much more useful. Notice the high fence all around. In the front it's about 8 feet high, in the back 10 feet; it's made of cement/brick. Beside the side walk that runs right around the house is a ditch that runs out into the street ditch. Every street has a fully paved ditch on both sides, ranging in depth from about one and a half feet to about 4 feet deep. This is not a sewer ditch, but water used to wash the outside cooking utensils, laundry water, etc. is disposed of via this ditch.

Isaac and Colton vegging on our front porch. Today when we came home, Renavah was ironing on the porch; jeans, underwear , tea towels, pretty much if it's been washed, it gets ironed. Notice the lack of grass; it's the dry season right now, and the house was vacant for a time before we moved in, so without adequate water it dies till the rainy season. Our back yard has grass all over.

Front yard and the cook and guard's living quarters.

Front yard. My boys under the passion fruit tree.



Colton climbing one of the palm trees with "scivvies" and things drying in the background. The mango tree is behind the palm tree.

This is our yard entrance. Junavard is our guard/gardener. He's a delight to have around; he's got a smile spanning from side to side that he flashes when ever we see him. He absolutely loves Colton, and when ever we come back home after being gone, he wraps his arm over Colton's shoulder as they walk up the drive way. They play soccer together, or just sit and "communicate" using their hands and actions, or Colton seranades them on his guitar. In the other, more close up picture like this, Junavard was holding Colton's hand, which is very common here. The gate has the small door that is open in the picture just for walking through, and the whole thing is opened for vehicles. We live on the corner of 2 streets as you can see, with the sign in front of the fence. The problem with the sign is that whatever was ever written on it has long been bleached by the sun. I've seen I believe one street sign so far that was legible. This makes it much more difficult to navigate your way around, as you rely on land marks only.
Our home has 4 bedrooms, and 2 washrooms, so to have visitors is very "do-able."
You know how the Word says, "let everything that has breath praise the Lord"? Well, let me tell you, the birds are very, very obedient at 5:30 in the morning. You could probably set your clock to it. It truly is beautiful hearing all these new bird songs, I'd just prefer to hear them later in the day. After they've sang for about an hour, they quit.
I finally saw a dog today for the first time, but I was acutely aware of their existence. Every night it sounds like there's a pack vying to out do each other in barking volume.
I'm seriously not complaining, I'm just informing you of some "Burundi Happenings".
We haven't had hot water for over a week. Isaac's done what he can, but without so much as a screwdriver or hammer, there's nothing he can do till the landlord comes. Showers take on a whole new cooling experience!!!!
Speaking of the heat, God is so faithful!! We've been praying for months that especially I, (Rosel) would feel the heat to a much lesser degree than what the actual temperature is. Most people that know me well, know that I have what my Dr. calls a near allergy to the sun. So when the Lord called us here, just a short jump from the equator, this was a huge prayer item!! Friends, we serve such an awesome God!! When He calls, He equips. Yes it's hot, but I don't find it as hot as I did often in Manitoba in the summer time. During the night it's usually 26-28 degrees,and we can't use the fans due to no power, and it seriously is not bad.
It's almost 10:00 P.M. and we still have electricity!! That's fantastic!! It's been shut off before eight in the past, so I'm running on bonus time. Generally it comes back on again between 6 and 9 A.M.
Let me tell you about the driving. It's chaos to the max. There are no traffic lights in a city of approx. 700,000 people. There are some stop signs that are completely disregarded. It seems people have both hands on the steering wheel for two reasons; one, to steer obviously, and two, to honk. Taxis and motor bike taxis make up a very large portion of the traffic. The motor bikes wind their way through what is supposed to be narrow two way traffic that probably more times than not is 3 lanes, at break neck speed. Bicyclists with passengers or massive loads of Fanta or sacks of charcoal share a very narrow lane with vehicles. We saw one pedestrian accident the second day, and where told by Everiste that that is a daily occurrence. Imagine all the families that lose loved ones so tragically. Pedestrians are everywhere. It truly is not boring going up town. Neither Isaac nor I have driven so far. Pastor Ray, Maryanne or Everiste have very graciously relieved us of that so far, taking us where ever we've gone.
We met a couple at the CRIB home today from........... Winnipeg of all places. Sheila, you may know Kyle (don't know the last name), he taught in Secondary two years ago. They came for holidays.
It's late by Burundian standards, so I'll quit for today; but I still want to give you a run down of days 3 -6, as I want to introduce you to some very key people/places we'll be working with that we met during days 3 - 6. Till then, please keep on praying for us; we would not be doing as well as we are without your prayers carrying us. Believe me!! We love you; The Froese's