Burundi Team Pictures

To see some amazing pictures and video captured by Donnie Hinshaw of the Burundi trip this summer, check out this website:
http://saltshaker2009africa.shutterfly.com/

Burundi Team Photo

Report from Connie Young

Highlights of 75th anniversary trip to Burundi
By Connie Young

Fri pm, June 25, stands out to me as a holy experience. As we worshiped and shared together with the Saltshaker team, Chuck Mylander, David and Debby Thomas, Brad and Chelsea Carpenter, and the Rwanda church leaders, especially Bucura and Rachel, Sizeli, Augustine Simparinka, Jonathan and others, God's presence was so very real and precious. He bound our hearts together in love and adoration for what He has accomplished in Rwanda in the short time the mission has existed. Romans 1: 16a; 17b

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, It is through faith that a righteous person has life. This very day the Lord has acted. May God's Name be praised.

The D for D and BAM talks on Sat and Sunday by David and Debby were evidence that God is using them as salt seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth! May God's Name be praised!

In Burundi there were many special moments as I reconnected with friends that have become so very dear and precious to me over the years. We were able to visit with former workers, Pierre Claver, Kamwemubusa Aloys, and Bipfubusa David. Gode, the mid wife who sat by my side all the way to Bujumbura when our son, Rob, was born, still works faithfully at the hospital. Her husband Fidele was surprised that I recognized him and called him by name. The leaders of the Friends Women were a joy to see: Mariya, Tereza, Jacqueline, Carolina, Rusi, Rachel and others. Pastors Ndemera, Melchior, Josias, Niyonzima, Bahenda, Fidele, Mark; and others we have known: Sibomana, Loy, Jeredie, really, there are just too many to mention all by name. Jesus, I offer my prayers for all those with whom we share the journey!

I especially appreciated having Larry and Dee Choate there with their son and grandson. The 75th celebration would never have taken place without the vision and response to God's call of Larry's grandparents, Arthur and Edna Chilson. The power of God was at work in them and He is still at work in Burundi Yearly Meeting. The 2,000 plus people in attendance attest to His wonder working power! Philippians 1:6 And I am certain that God who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. May God's Name be praised!

Report from David Rawson

75 Years of Gospel Mission

As cars and buses drove into the parking lot of Kamenge Friends Church in Bujumbura on Friday, July 3, drummers beat out a thunderous welcome. Dressed in togas of Burundi’s national colors, the drummers jumped and danced without missing a beat in complex rhythms that go back hundreds of years. Inside the church, the welcome was no less enthusiastic. Some 600 people were gathered on a Friday night to welcome visitors from the United States, Congo, Rwanda and Kenya in a kick-off celebration of the 75^th anniversary of Friends’ presence in Burundi. Massed choirs, including the locally popular “Encouragers,” belted out choruses in Kirundi. Backed by guitars taking their riffs, a frenetic percussion battery, and an agile keyboard, the singers added joyful body language to their harmonious vocal praise. As a conclusion, a vigorous “Lord, I lift Your Name on High,” in Kirundi and English, ended with a hand-swaying, finger lifting “Yes! Yes! Lord.” Only a heart of stone could have escaped responding with a deep-felt,” Amen. ”

Pastor David Niyonzima picked up the theme as he introduced video presentations on Christians “who said yes,” establishing evangelistic, educational and medical work for Friends, beginning at Kibimba station in 1934. Old film footage showed the arrival of Arthur and Edna Chilson with daughter Rachel on the barren Kibimba hilltop, site of pre- WWI German Lutheran mission. As sundried brick and thatch gave way to solid burnt brick and tile buildings, the missionaries healed the sick, opened schools and shared the gospel. Classes of catechumens and pastors grew apace as did the number of new missionaries from Friends meetings across the United States: Clayton and Louella Brown with son Randall Brown from California; Ralph and Esther (Chilson) Choate from Idaho, and after WWII, George and Dorothy Thomas from Oregon as well as Eli and Alice Wheeler from Kansas.

A second DVD showed pictures from the post-war medical work initiated by the arrival in 1947 and 1948 of Dr. Perry and Marjorie Rawson of Michigan and Dr. Floyd and Leora Muck from Kansas. A small clinic grew into a major hospital at Kibimba, a clinic at Kwisumo in the eastern backcountry and a leprosarium at Nyankanda. Viewers all knew that, from 1972 on, the beautiful vistas and dedicated care captured in those pictures had been replaced by the horrors of genocide, civil war and destruction. The medical work was almost closed. But the audience also knew that determined Friends in Burundi, including Dr. Elysee Nahimana, assisted by Friends in the United States, revived the Kibimba hospital and expanded its ministry, making it one of the top medical centers in the country.

Those same memories were revisited revived on Saturday evening, in the parent church of Kibimba, where another night of singing, drumming and video shows welcomed American guests (over 35 stateside visitors) and church leaders. This massive brick church, with foundations laid by Arthur Chilson and high vaulted beams completed by Clayton Brown, had been witness to revivals, church festivals and, in recent years, a takeover by displaced persons who used the confines for their stable. The church had recovered its premises and the high school which surrounds it with peaceful determination, long negotiations, and hard work. The witness carries on.

On Sunday morning, the celebration moved to the soccer field behind Kibimba hospital. Honored guests arrived in SUV’s with dirt motorbike escorts. Innumerable greetings from these invitees and lively songs from three church choirs kept the program going for two hours before David Niyonzima rose to deliver a powerful sermon on remembrance. After the Yearly Meeting Clerk presented her report on church growth (55 monthly meetings, 12 provisional meetings and 48 worship centers, not to mention the birthing of sister yearly meetings in Congo and Rwanda), guests finally adjourned for a lovely buffet at the church.

Remarks at the celebration echoed thanks for 75 years of God’s guiding care and expressed determination to keep the ministry and witness of Friends vigorous and Spirit-led. Well-established in Burundi’s most populated areas, the Burundi Friends Yearly Meeting is ideally situated to carry forward the good news that the Chilsons brought to that land 75 years ago.

-David Rawson

son of Dr. Perry Rawson, Founder of Kibimba Hospital

Saltshaker Aguascalientes Update (7/14/09)

The Saltshaker Aguascalientes team is home as of this morning!

Update from Bobby Kirkpatrick:

"Thanks for praying and we arrived safely with no problems. Please continue in prayer for the Aguascalientes Mission! Roy and Sammy have now made it home to Kansas and Iowa as well."

Burundi Team Update (7/13/09)

HOME!

Burundi Team C Update (7/13/09)

Update from David Robinson, Sun July 12:

It has been rather awkward using the french keyboard at Mi-parec in Gitega, with the a in the place of the q and the w in place of the z. The english keyboard goes much faster. Team C left Gitega this morning to worship in 3 separate churches; Randall Brown, Jeff Morrison and I at Kibimba, the Kellums with Debbie Brown at (I can't remember the church) and the rest of the team at Kabaguzo. It was, for me, exciting to be again at the birthplace of the Burundi Friends Church, exciting for Randall Brown to be there where he had taught and where his father had built the roof on the church; and it was exciting for the great, great grandson of Arthur Chilson to bring greetings to the congregation his ancestor had started.

About an hour into the service, Pastor Josias leaned over to me and asked if I would preach. Of course I would be honored to preach at such a historic place! I usually am always ready, so off I went, using 2 Peter 2:9-10. I had a great time with Josias translating. I hope the congregation approved as much as their faces showed. As usual in Burundi the service ended with many of the congregation gathered kneeling around the altar in prayer for their church and their own witness. One young man stood in desire to receive Christ as his Savior and one came forward to counsel him. Though tired after the long (or short) 2 weeks, I am elated and thrilled to be in the ministry for Christ. We have brought blessing and honor to this church for their faithfulness to the gospel. From four churches there are now about 100, in 10 quarterly meetings, with at least one church in each of the 16 provinces of Burundi. It is such a thrill to consider the fact that from the heart of America has come the Friends Church for the heart of Africa.

We are now in a nice Christian Conference center here in Bujumbura about ready to go to our farewell dinner with the Kellums and our great hosts, Fidele, Pontien and Metod. We leave early from here to Nairobi, then to London, Chicago and home on Tuesday evening. God is good and we thank you all from the depths of our hearts for your prayers. You have been with us on this journey. Marikoze cane! (I think that's the way you spell it). Thank you very much.

Saltshaker Aguascalientes Update (7/13/09)

From Bobby (this morning):

Last day here in Aguascalientes today. We have debriefing all day today, both with the team and with the missionaries. Tomorrow morning we leave VERY early for the airport, and get into Houston around 8:30 am. Sammy and Roy get home later, as their flights to Kansas and Iowa leave later in the day from Houston.

Continue to pray for us as we do the VERY important work of discerning how God has been at work in the mission field and our lives over the past 19 days. The celebration service yesterday was one of the most exciting times for us, as 8 different people shared testimonies of how they have come to know Christ over the past few months. God is working here in Aguascalientes through the missionaries, but the families need our prayers. Some of them have serious opposition to Christianity from within their own families.

Thanks for your support and prayer, and we look forward to seeing all of you again starting tomorrow!

In Christ,
Bobby Kirkpatrick

Burundi Team Update (7/12/09)

Donnie Hinshaw, Sunday July 12 from London: We have had a great time in Africa giving a healthy dose of handshakes, hugs, “way to go’s”, wow’s, and heartfelt prayers. Pretty simple mission really, but equally effective as a trip that is building buildings, running VBS teams, and offers of salvation.

Our last night in Bujumbura was a great time to be able to catch up as a team. The hotel we stayed in was clean, with running water, consistent electricity, tasty food, and my personal favorite…coffee. Oh yes, coffee, coffee in my room by the way. I thought I was home in some ways. This was a personal sign to me and maybe others that we were beginning our trek home. The simple things are what would begin to make statements to me and many others that we were almost done with the mission.

On our last evening after our meal, and packing our luggage, we loaded up in the bus and van once more together on another journey. It was late and we were all tired, but we found a place with a courtyard to gather and we had brochettes (steak kabobs) and another round of soft drinks. By the way, there is not a shortage of Coke in Africa. But it wasn’t the simplicity of the food that triggered thoughts of home. It wasn’t the simple courtyard or the place in which we met. It was a simple time in which we shared what God had done on the trip. It was simple, but very intentional in giving God the glory for what He accomplished. It was simple in the fact that we shared about how our time wasn’t spent in Africa building buildings, or working long hours running classic ministry that we are familiar with regarding typical mission trips. It was simple because we reflected on how our time was spent just encouraging, celebrating, and building up the people of Burundi, Rwanda, and Congo. We reflected on specifically the simplicity of ministry, the simplicity of loving people, the simplicity of encouraging people, and affirming people who are passionately sharing the common knowledge and loving grace of Jesus with people.

Our reminder that we were headed home was no longer focused on simple material things we were used to, but on simple spiritual things that God directed us in throughout our trip. I love the thought that if we would just focus on the simplicity of who God is in our own life and share that with people, God will begin to make headway on the deeper and more complicated issues of a mission trip and life in general.

A passage I read this morning truly allowed me to reflect on what God did through our willingness as a collective group from the U.S.

1 John 1:5-6
But if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.

I feel we walked with the best human understanding of how Jesus walked. We may never know truly what God will do with the simplicity of a handshake, a warm hug, or a heartfelt prayer of concern out of obedience, but we’ll let Him deal with the complicated elements of our mission. God is so good!

Donnie Hinshaw
Pastor – Haviland Friends Church

Ps. I write this to you from Heathrow Airport in London after our long near 9 hour flight. We have a 8 hour layover and we’re just relaxing in a very busy airport. Everything in our travels has gone well. God has protected and we believe will continue to with prayer. We are excited to be home for the hugs and love of our home churches and family. Thanks for your prayers, you have partnered well with what God accomplished in Africa.

Saltshaker Aguascalientes Update (7/12/09) part II

(sent late last night, 7/12)

From Deidre and Roy

Roy on Friday's VBS day:

Just so you know, Deidre and I are writing this Saturday night (10:10 right now). Late nights are the norm.

Yesterday was our last day for VBS. God has truely blessed us with beautiful weather considering that this is the rainy season here in AGS. We all arrived around 9:00am at Villas and took time in the church home for morning devotions. Betty led devotions this morning, after which we got started setting up the chairs and sound system for the day's events. We started school with 67 children, a new high for attendance. All things went well. I love the smiles on the children. You could see that they were having fun learning about Jesus, and that is what it is all about!!!

We were staying at Villas all day since we were having Graduation ceremonies that evening. Some of us went over to a nearby store and got lunch for everyone. We got chinese. Yes, you read that right, Chinese food in Mexico. (Anybody else see anything wrong in that picture!)

After lunch we did a lot of prep work for the graduation. Filled lots of bags with candy, and a lot of other bags with toys.

We had a great turnout for the Graduation. I would guess that 95% of the kids were there, and half of those had at least one parent show up. Again, at graduation, the smiles were contagious. The kids were thrilled with all the goodies, and even their parents seemed to enjoy themselves. Good times had by all.

By the time it was all over, our team thought the whole event was a huge success.

Hoping you all see this Sunday the 12th, happy birthday to KayLynn, my grand daughter who turns 9. Grandpa will see you in a couple of days!!!!!

Deidre on today's tourism day:

Hey everyone!

Today was an exciting, fun-filled day. This morning we met at the Girons' and Robyn, Favi and I (and sporadically Bobby and Andrea) played a game that they call Dutch Blitz. I love this game so much because it is almost identical to my family's favorite game, Nertz. :)

The first stop on our tourism list was an Ags history museum. It was a big open building downtown, and each wall was covered in interesting murals that represent the history of the city. Though we didn't know what the story was in most cases, it was nice to see a bit of the lives of previous Aguascalientes-ians. :)

After touring this cool builing (it was too legit), we headed down the street to look for some shopping. I found some great presents for all of my friends whose birthdays are this week, including my big brother, who turns 20 today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY RANDALL, I LOVE YOU. :)

On our way back to the car we stopped at a little shop to purchase some hot chocolate. You have not lived until you have drank this stuff. I imagine the golden streets of heaven are flowing with this delicious sweet chocolate drink. I cannot explain how good it is, but instead advise you all to take a trip to Aguascalientes to try it. And to see these awesome missionaries we've been blessed to spend this time with.

Next Jeremy took us through a small village and up a steep winding mountain road to a restaurant called Camino Viejo. It was a great place to eat because it was surrounded by the beautiful scenery of both the mountains and a small lake that we later played in. And of course there was the delicious seafood. A "muy rico" reminder of my home on the coast. In the front of the restaurant was a little playground that amused Robyn, Favi, and I while we waited for our food.

After the wonders of wading in the water and skipping stones, we returned to the city to go bowling. We had fun listening to music that included a few songs in English as we bowled, and Matt won...as long as he was dancing. :) We had lots of fun at the bowling alley before returning to the Smucks for pizza and Mall Cop. We're about to start the movie now, though, so I have to go. Love to all, and especially to Randall. You are so old!

:) Deidre

Saltshaker Aguascalientes Update (7/12/09)

(sent yesterday, 7/11)

From Bobby:

This update is just to give you pics of Sammy's hair. And a beetle on a leash.

We haven't had time to sit down and write a full update on yesterday, so another update should come out tomorrow morning that talks about yesterday's VBS, VBS graduation, and today's tourism day. But to give you a little something, we thought it would be nice to respond to requests for pics of the fauxhawk. Its totally hot.

Bobby

Saltshaker Aguascalientes Update (7/10/09)

From Matt and Sammy:

Hi. Our names are Matt and Sammy, and we like to party!

This shall be another 2 day blog. Yummy.

Yesterday, we woke up early again and went to have a devotional in Villas. Bobby brought the word and we all happily listened. Then we started playing a game using a frisbee with the ninos. VBS started and many more kids came. Thanks for your prayers. The final count was 55.5. I (Sammy) ran games and Matt was "The King of Crafts."

We crafted bible verse frames, similar to picture frames, but in the middle was the days' bible verse: Mateo 22:37. It was a fairly simple craft. The kids glued little foam shapes such as hearts, crosses and teddy bears onto the frame. Then we put a magnet on the backside so they can stick it on their refridgerator or on some other metal object.

We played many a game. There was a game called pelea de gallos, which translates into "chicken fight" that the kids really love. You hop around on one foot and look silly. Also, we played a rock, paper, scissors-esq game, called: bear, man, gun. Same basic principle. The kids really seem to like me and always give me high fives (which are completely inappropriate).

There are also three other stations where the ninos learn the bible story of the day, verse of the day, memorization, and song singing (in spanish). We, however, don't get to do any of those so we just trust the other teammates to do their job as we have no idea what actually goes on. At the end of VBS each day, prizes are awarded to the kids that participated the most in each group and Jaime brings popsicles for everyone to eat. After VBS we all travelled to the Giron's house to eat our lunch.

Matt's Day After Lunch: I went back to the Smuck's house and slept for like 4 hours. I was woken up at 7:15-ish by Roy and we headed to dinner with the Smuck's, Andrea, Robyn, Deidre, and Aris. We ate at San Antonio's. Oh Bub! A mighty fine establishment, I give it 5 stars. I ate the tostadas de pollo. After dinner we confidently walked across the street to an alive fish store. After shopping around for sometime we decided not to buy a fish and go back to Andrea's place for some hot chocolate and desserts. At 10:00 pm we called it a night.

Sammy's Day After Lunch: I went back and played card games with Bobby and Favi (in spanish that ryhmes). I also took a much-needed shower. After several hours, we went to the store and then went to a place to eat cactus fruit called "tuna." It is far different from the yucky seafood-in-a-can. I love the tuna here, it is juicy and delicious.

After the delicious, Bobby, Las Girones and I went to a Bible study with a man called Javi. That also rhymes with Bobby and Favi! He is a new believer and had a lot of good questions throughout the study. After that, we went to a place to eat tortas, which is like a sandwich with incredible mexican meat. Then we scurried home to go to sleep.

This morning we had VBS again, after Sammy's devotional. It was pretty much the same, but we had different crafts, games, songs, verses and stories. So... it was totally different. We had more ninos: 66 to be exact. Some kids that came yesterday didn't come today, so there were a plethora of new kids on the block.

Now we have the afternoon and evening off to rest up for a full day of VBS tomorrow.

You stay classy...America

Dios les Bendiga
(God bless you)

Samuelito y Matthew Ryan Newton

From Bobby: Italicized comments are Newton's, and Sammy's are the regular type. In case you didn't pick up on that.

Burundi Team Update (7/9/09)

Matt Macy, Thursday night, July 9:

Everyone is doing great! We just had two days of 'historic tour' and visited the oldest stations where many of our missionaries worked, plus stopped by several new churches and church plants. It is late and we are all headed to bed. Sorry we do not have more time to tell you all the great experiences we are having and the wonderful ways the team is encouraging the church of Burundi! Tomorrow morning we will go to Bujumbura to start the process of heading home, which will include souvenir shopping, packing and more debriefing! God is really being honored in the lives of the team members and the church is being blessed through all the various ministry and spiritual gifts of this large team!

Saltshaker Aguascalientes Update (7/8/09)

From Sammy: (And some, Bobby):

I have the lovely task of blogging about the past two days. Yummy.

Yesterday was a sort of slow day. In the the morning after Robyn's devotional, we did VBS preparation. Then in the afternoon we passed out flyers that we had made. After the passing out of flyers, there was a bible study in Pocitos. Like all the other studies in Pocitos, the boys played on our team with our friends Luis y Fernando. We played Ultimate Frisbee (which the Mexicans really seem to enjoy) in the rain. It rained hard and we were soaked by the end of the game. Edwin and Mari keep telling us how playing games with these boys is really important and helpful in their ministry. Sports helps build relationships and I am seeing the affects of that already as Edwin and Jeremy are building trust with them.

After the game we went to our respective houses to get cleaned up. I, however, went to the Smuck's house and borrowed some of Young Mateo's clothes. Once cleaned up, I went to Lupita's salon to get my hair did. I looked through the "book of hair" to find wich style I liked best. When I came upon the "fauxhawk", I knew that was the one that I wanted. With some encouragement from Jeremy and Betty, I got it. I look HOT! Then we went and had some sweet tacos at Ricardo's, where I ate entirely too much, again. Then Bobby and I stayed up late talking with Las Girones.

This morning, I hopped up out that bed and turned my swag on (prende mi swag for you spanish speakers). Then we went to have VBS. We started with Deidre's devotional, and we handed out some more flyers and waited for the kids. At around 11, kids started to arrive. When we only had 25 kids come, we decided to improvise and have some games and songs. Then Mari told all the kids to come tomorrow and invite all of their friends. (From Bobby: This is the first VBS they have held in Villas; we had hoped for more kids, but aren't discouraged by this. It's a good starting point, and we're going to bump the schedule back 1 day from here on out, so that VBS will run Wed, Thurs, Fri and still have the graduation Friday night).

Then we had late lunch at the Smuck's, until around 3:30. I asked if they had anything besides Mexican food. They said no. :(

NAP TIME!!! Tonight we went for a walk downtown and ate at a diner-type restaurant. Then we had churros. WOW!!!!! It was pure deliciousness. They filled it with either chocolate, cajeta (a caramel-like treat) or fresa (strawberry). All of these sauces were awesome, but my favorite was the fresa.

Now I am blogging about the past two fun-filled days. While Bobby, Edwin and Favi are playing cards. (From Bobby: totally sweet game the Girons taught me. But over Sammy's head.)

Be praying for us, but also the ninos of Villas. Pray that we will have a bigger group and that we will not only provide the funnest day-camp that they will ever know, but that they could also come to know Christ as their Savior.

Samuelito

P.S. Robyn and Deidre are talking trash on how many blog comments that they get. Being from Friendswood makes everything a competition I guess. But just so all of you know, I don't blog for the money, the fame or the girls. I blog because that's me. It's my life. (From Bobby: He blogs because I make him. And this is the edited version, so use your imagination).

Burundi Team Updates (7/7/09)

Charity Sandstrom, Tuesday, July 7: Hello from Gitega! Five of us from the team spent the last two days giving a seminar for the Burundi pastors.

Willard Ferguson, Donnie Hinshaw, Sue Hays, Elizabeth (Dawn) Todd and myself had only a little warning that we were going to be in charge of the seminar and needed to come up with teaching for two mornings. I felt very intimidated and wondered what I could possibly have to teach these men and women about ministry. With a thirty minute drive in the Land Cruiser and about a ten minute organizing meeting, the five of us found that God was leading our hearts in the same direction.

It has been amazing to see God at work in the last two days as we talked with our fellow ministers about shepherding God’s sheep—the church; the importance of holiness in leadership; the necessity of having good family relationships especially marriage; caring for the church members; God’s calling and a challenge to have a reproducing ministry (ministers training and encouraging more ministers). All of our topics flowed one into the next. God spoke to the hearts of the pastors and our hearts as well! We all learned that pastors are the same everywhere, with very similar concerns, struggles and joys. We laughed, we prayed and sang together, and I left today’s time together thinking I had made some friends.

We also made a presentation today of the ties that were donated and some agenda/day planners to the Burundi pastors. They were very gracious and thankful. They sang a song and clapped in appreciation. Matt Macy handled the protocol, Dave Robinson and Chuck Mylander both prayed prayers of blessing over the pastors, their families, and churches.

After the presentation several of us who had not been to the Kibimba Hospital had a tour given by Dave Kellum. He showed us around the hospital and pointed out the new operating room—now there are two; the emergency room; the lab; pharmacy; the new maternity ward; the new storage building; the shipping container also used for storage and the new AIDS unit. The hospital received the #1 rating out of all the hospitals in Burundi, up from #3 two years ago. Someone said today that there are people at Kibimba Hospital from all 16 provinces in Burundi. Praise God—Iman ‘Ishimwe!!

The hospital has been seeing so many patients that they had to add a billing office! Mostly those bills go to the government who has started a healthy baby initiative that pays for prenatal and newborn care. The hospital has been averaging 240-280 babies born every month, with an average of one c- section a day. Today we saw some babies born recently that were dressed in Friends Women layettes! The new maternity ward, built two years ago, is so full all the time that they are building a new new maternity ward!

The AIDS unit was paid for by a Swiss grant. They encourage testing, treat the sick, educate those who test positive on how to continue to have a good life even with AIDS, and help AIDS orphans. I probably have not even begun to cover the improvements at the hospital in the last few years. God is doing so much to touch the lives of the people in Burundi through the work of the Kibimba Hospital.

July 7, 2009 Blog by Stephanie Pribble

Today part of the team spent the morning at the Kibimba Hospital. Dr. Elise was out for the day so we were only able to just kind of observe, but we made it over to the maternity ward just in time to see a baby delivered. It was so exciting, and all of you Friends Women out there would be really excited to know they used one of the layettes so we got to see it used first hand! The maternity ward they have now is fairly new, but they have outgrown it so fast and the area is so cramped that they have already started building a new one.

It was great being able to spend the past couple days at the Kibimba Hospital, God has truly blessed this place!

July 7, 2009 Blog by Allison McElroy

Hi everyone! I am sitting in my room at our wonderful guest house in Gitega. I am writing to you about our youth seminars that took place yesterday and today. Yesterday we arrived in Kwibuka and started playing Mexican Duck Duck Goose with the Burundi youth. It was so much fun. After relocating to a much bigger playing area, we started the game right back up. After a small incident (Matt tackling a poor, innocent Burundi youth), we played Little Sallie Walker. It was so much fun to see the youth mimicking our crazy American dance moves and seeing how poorly we lack dance skills compared to the Burundians!

They can really move! I think it was also quite hilarious to see our teammate Ray (who has a long beard and very long hair, Jesus-esque) try and play Little Sallie Walker. He would run up to a group of youth and they would just SCATTER! Hahahahahaha. It was quite hilarious. We settled down and headed to the church. After a few praise and worship songs, we moved right into teaching. We had teaching from a few of our youth and also had a skit about Truth. Then we continued to teach, along with hearing a great short sermon from Ryan Kendall. God was truly speaking through him. We ended our time together and invited the youth back to the next day.

Today we had a considerably smaller group than yesterday. We arrived to find out that some students were retaking their exams and some could only come yesterday. We were reminded by our translator that God knew which students would come back and God knows how we will speak to them today. It was very comforting to know that. We continued in a circle teaching from our seats instead of the pulpit. We had two teachings from Allison and Jen and then had the joy of having a teaching from a Burundi youth. Then Wayne spoke, and another Burundi student gave us a small devotion on the spot. Next, Megan gave us a testimony and we had one last Burundian give a small devotion. It is amazing how God can speak to someone without any preparation time, and it still be just as moving as a fully prepared, 3-point sermon. Matt came to a closing and we sang the song “Awesome God” back and forth between English and Kirundi. It was comforting to know we are singing in two languages but God understands both completely! The two days of seminars went extremely well and we had a great time spreading the Word of God to the Burundi youth.

Saltshaker Aguascalientes Update (7/6/09)

From Bobby:

Yesterday we spent most of the day in Bible Study or Worship. In the morning, we participated in their New Life in Christ Bible Study that they do with some of the new believers, in order to teach them basic doctrines of the church. Yesterday happened to be a lesson on Friends Distinctives, and so it was fun for us to hear their lesson and get to participate in the discussion. It looked to us like Jaime, Lupita, Consuela, and Aris were taking the class, and the missionaries and saltshakers participated as well. The study lasted for a few hours, and was done in the early afternoon. The Mexicans were really engaged, and the feeling coming out of the study was "that was really well done, and really thorough."

After that, we had lunch together and parted ways to go with our host families to do different things to prepare for the worship service in Pocitos yesterday evening (Sunday). Edwin and I practiced a few songs for worship, and then Sammy and I joined the Girons at a birthday party for a few minutes. The Smucks, with Roy and Matt, went to pick up some pan (bread) for after the service, and some chairs. Andrea, Aris, Deidre, and Robyn went to get chairs also. Later, just before 6, we all met at the house in Pocitos that they just closed on this week to use for worship, and that we just cleaned a few days ago.

The worship service was good; like most so far, it lasted just over 2 hours, so not too long. A typical worship service here consists of singing, a time where they are invited to share what God is doing in their lives, more singing, a time where they can offer verbal praises to God, a sermon (this time by Aris), and testimonies (this time by Matt). We also spend time in prayer at various points in the service. It was a good time of praising God together, and then we ate some pan (bread) and coffee.

As an additional update, I'd like to point you back to the first Aguas post on the blog for a look at what's to come this week. We haven't exactly followed the schedule for the past week, as a few things got switched around, but our plans for this week very much follow what is originally posted on that schedule. Today (Monday the 6th) is our final VBS prep day, and a Bible Study in Pocitos. Tuesday - Thursday is our VBS, and then Friday is our VBS "graduation" where parents are also invited to come. This really needs your prayers, for the parents to be touched by what God is doing through their kids and for direction for us in planning that service.

After that, Saturday is a tourism day for us. We don't really have plans for that day yet, but will decide later in the week. Aguascalientes is not a tourist spot, except during the big party festival in February, so we'll likely be driving to a nearby town. Sunday is a worship service again in Pocitos, and the New Life in Christ Bible Study graduation, which should be fun. Monday will be our debriefing day, and then we'll be home on Tuesday!

Thank you again for our prayers, and Burundi team, we're praying for you as well! You can pray for our team that our preparation today goes well, so that we don't get in the way of what God might do with the kids for VBS by not being as prepared as we should be! Also, the Bible Study tonight in Pocitos would be a good thing to consider in prayer, as the family that we are going to visit is a family that the missionaries have been praying for for a long time.

Peace!
Bobby

Burundi Team Update (7/6/09)

Sunday night 7/5: THE GREAT CELEBRATION My name is Ruth Kemper and I am with team C from Mid America. I am giving an update for July 4th and 5th. So far this has been a wonderful experience.

Yesterday, July 4, 2009 we (team C) traveled up country to Gitega to join the other teams for the beginning of the 75th Celebration. We ate lunch, stowed our bags in our rooms and then headed to Kibimba to join everyone for the Friends Women Night of celebration. There were many people at the

celebration. We bagan the evening outside watching the Kibogoye Drummers/Dancers. They are incredible! They “told” a story with each dance.

It was so interesting to see how strong yet graceful these men were in their dancing. Most of us on the teams attempted to video them. After the dancing, we were invited to a craft fair put on by the Friends Women. We were given the opportunity to purchase baskets, table clothes, bark pictures, aprons and other African crafts. I was really excited about seeing what the Friends Women of Burundi had to make. Many of us purchased items. After a little more drumming, we went to the church and several Friends Women Dancing groups danced and sang for the celebration. It was a wonderful time. I was ready for bed when the evening was over and had no trouble falling asleep. We had no electricity so found our flashlights very helpful.

CELEBRATION DAY

July 5th began early with a knock on our door for the delivery of hot water for our morning bath. It was wonderful to have hot water!! We arrived at Kibimba around 9:20A.M. There were around 2500 -3000 people in attendance.

We were seated under a tarp “tent” as part of the honored guests. The soccer field where the celebration was held was beautifully decorated, with a center stand decorated in white, red and blue. The Burundi flag was hung on the front of the stand. Everyone was dressed in their best.

There was much drumming to begin with. Then there were many many introductions of important people who all gave a short greeting (2.5 hours of this). It was after 12:00 noon before the big speeches began. David Nyinzima challenged the church to not forget what God had done for them in the past and to seek God in the future just like they have in the past. David also shared how his father, met Arthur, Edna and Rachel Chilson when they first came to Burundi and lived in tents on the Kibimba hill. David Robinson, our superintendent continued the challenge where David left off. We then presented our gifts to the Burundi church. Dalene Hutson presented our gift of booklets of women-of-the-Bible to each of the Friends Women groups in each church. The $7000.00 for Vacation Bible School was presented to Fidel, the superintendant of Burundi Yearly Meeting. Also each pastor in the Burundi Friends church will receive a new suit. Then Matt Macy told the Burundi people how much the youth of Mid-America loved the youth of Burundi. Then team members from Mid America 40 years and younger went to the crowd and laid their hands on the children’s heads and blessed them in Jesus name. It was very touching to see the children be shy at first then they lined up to have their heads touched. After the morning and early afternoon events, we traveled to the Kibimba church and ate a wonderful meal. After supper, we met as a team with Josias and Rachelle the pastors of the Kibimba church. We had a wonderful time of sharing, mainly they shared with us how God was with them during the war. There were not many dry eyes in our group when they finished their story. We ended the evening singing and praying. I am so glad that I have been able to be on this trip.

Saltshaker Aguascalientes Update (7/6/09)

From Robyn Schell and Deidre Bridges:

Hello friends and family!

First off, we miss you all, and send hugs and kisses. Second, we're going to let y'all know about our Mexican 4th of July celebration! First, we got to sleep in which was really, REALLY lovely! (: Then we met at the Girons' and took off to go to a carnival to raise money for the wives of the pastors. There was a plethora ("What is a plethora? Cause if somebody told me that I had a plethora I would expect them to know what it means to have a plethora!" - El Guapo, The Three Amigos) of stands with lots of different foods to choose from and there was also a volleyball game. Bobby, Sammy, Roy, and both of us played, along with some Mexicans, and had a fabulous time.

Then we headed downtown to go shopping to buy presents for all of you! Then, while we were still downtown, we witnessed an actual rain dance! It was interesting to watch. I personally think they cheated though since it was very cloudy already. (Deidre) The stores were really cool. We went to a Christian bookstore and also many shops with doilies and other embroidered things. Aguascalientes is known for its embroidery. It was a lot of fun!

Then we went back to Girons' and had quite a nice time. Deidre played Christian DDR with Faviola and totally busted a move or two. She played on easy though, so that tells you something... :p Then we decided to have a little 4th of July celebration with another MMN (Missionary Movie Night). We ate lots of pizza and watched 10,000 BC. Jeremy taught Bobby how to make coconut horchata and so we all got to try the drink they made. We enjoyed hanging out with the missionaries since we're all BFFs for sures. (English translation from Bobby: that means "best friends forever", "assuredly").

Finally, we went back to Andrea's appartment to giggle in the dark before bed. It's one of our favorite past times. :)

And happy hellos and hugs and kisses and prayers to the Africa team from everyone!

Finally (again), please continue to keep our team in your thoughts and prayers. We really, really need your prayers, guys. Pray for our health, our spiritual growth, our teamwork, and our ministry here. Have a beautiful start to the new week and know that we love and miss you all!

Love love love love LOVE,
Robyn and Deidre

P.S. Leave us comments! We want to beat Sammy! But really we just like to hear from you guys. Also, Ceress, you're pretty and we're glad reading this is the best part of your day! Teehee! (:

Burundi Team Photos (7/4/09)

June 27 visiting Moringa tree field in Kigali - this is the new Business as Mission venture that Debby Thomas is leading June 29 afternoon - after arriving to Bujumbura visiting Lake Tanginika

July 2 - David Kellum & Gary Young on bridge they built in 1982July 3 - singing at youth seminar
July 3 - playing with kids before youth seminar

July 3 - playing silling games with kids

July 3 - Deb Kind doing an exceptionally good job teaching from John 15

"He is the vine, we are the branches..."

Burundi Team Updates (7/4/09)

Michelle Carpenter, Friday night, July 3:

Greetings from Burundi! The last 2 days have been filled with fun! We held a seminar for the youth at Kibimba yesterday morning and this morning. We arrived there late yesterday (10:30) and got started with the Burundian youth leading songs. Our group sang some songs for them: Awesome God, Lord I Lift Your Name on High, Big House, and the famous "Mountain" song from Mexico. Of course, they loved that one! Our youth also did a skit about giving our burdens to Jesus. It was well done! Then we had a time of sharing from some in our group. Yesterday’s theme was about God and His love for us. Megan shared about loving others. Brianna shared about Romans 8:38-39 and Rom. 6:23, Andreia shared about God's love. I shared about how God Knows Our Names.

Brad preached a sermon he had preached in Rwanda (in Kinyarwanda). And Connie shared about worship. It seemed that the youth really enjoyed the seminar. At the end of the time there was an altar call. Some youth made a decision and came forward. We were amazed at how well the morning went. The Lord was with us and led each who shared. We concluded around 1:00 and headed back to Gitega for lunch. (While most of us were with the youth this morning, Larry Choate and his family toured Kibimba, where he lived for 18 years of his life. He hadn'¦t been back for 55 years!)

After a short nap (which many of us needed!), we headed out with Dave Kellum and Gary Young to see the bridge they built in 1982. (I must say here how special it is to have our missionaries with us! Gary and Connie Young, Dave and Mae Kellum, Brad and Chelsea Carpenter, Larry Choate, and his wife and son.) Before this bridge was built, around 50 people would die each year when they tried to cross the river during rainy season. Many lives have been saved each year because of this bridge! Dave told us that during the war, many people fled to safety using the bridge because the government didn't know about the bridge! They are guessing around 5,000+ lives have been saved! Praise the Lord! After walking across the bridge, Matt led several up the path that people have walked for years to cross the bridge. I must say that I didn't do very well with it! It was so steep for a long time! But many kept walking/jogging the 3 miles and made it in 1 hour. (At the end only Matt, Brad, Chelsea and Wayne were still walking it!) It was a great experience for most. The rest of us rode in the trucks on the bumpy paths, waving to the children who would run to greet us as we passed, eager to see the "buzungu" (white people). We returned to Gitega and ate dinner, then headed back to the guesthouse to sleep. ( I think we all slept well after that long hike!)Today was another great day! We got to Kibimba this morning on time-American time as they say-9:00. But we were shocked to see today--many, many children so excited to see us, swarming around our van as we arrived, following us everywhere, hard to walk. We guessed they had probably heard about us yesterday- and that we had given candy to those who attended the seminar. It was a huge difference from yesterday. Before we started the seminar, we had some time, so our girls sang some songs with the kids outside. They loved them! You should have seen the children climbing the trees to watch! Precious! Then we had another awesome youth session as the Holy Spirit spoke through us and led our time together. We began with some songs again. Then we had many speakers today: Larry Choate, Dee and Larry Jr. spoke to the youth. What a blessing to hear Larry speak in Kirundi- his native language! He spoke about how he had prayed for years when he was a child that God would make his skin black because he was a Burundian. A special time for him this morning was when he saw his old friend, Bahenda, who is the eldest church member/pastor in the Burundi church, one of the first disciples of our early missionaries. Allison talked about giving everything to God. Deb spoke about being connected to the vine. It was a powerful message that touched our hearts. Matt felt led to give an altar call after her message, and some youth came forward. It was a blessing to pray for them. We had to follow that up with a celebration song-the Mountain song again! (We took a short break and Jen wanted to try the Burundian drum since she plays in high school-several youth gathered around as she and others took turns playing. Then Casey shared about being Christ-like, Jen shared about how even though they are young, God has work for them. (We could tell how important it was for the Burundian youth to hear from youth their age!) Wayne shared about an unresponsive generation, Allison shared about listening to God. Chelsea gave her testimony of being obedient to the Lord and Gary spoke about how we need to serve the Lord with what we have in our hand- do the work God has called us to- with God all things are possible. Then a few pastors spoke and we were especially touched when a youth stood and testified about how his heart is full and they (Burundian youth) are going to make a difference and reach out. This gave us much hope. We left around 1:30 and were so thankful for our time with the youth. We pray that the Lord will continue to speak to them as they think about and process all of the words they heard the last 2 days. May the Lord's will be done in their lives and may others come to know Him because of their obedience to Him.This afternoon has been more relaxing. We had time for a nap again! (Although there were many people talking outside and hammering going on!) Then we took a trip to get brochettes and fantas. Delicious meat! We came back and sang together, ate, and met as a team. We found out that the 3rd team got safely to Bujumbura today and the team that went to Congo is with them now. We will all be together for the first time tomorrow as we begin our special time at Kibimba. It's almost time for the 75th celebration on July 5th! Thank you for your prayers!

Update from Dalene Hutson:

The C Team has made it to Burundi as scheduled on July 3rd. Yeah! 7 of us left Wichita at 2:30 on Wednesday, July 1st. We flew to Chicago and met the other two members of our team and then headed on our first night flight to London. We arrived in London early in the morning and decided to venture out and go tour The Tower of London. We took the subway. London is having a heat wave. The Subway was very crowded and especially warm going back to the airport, so we were glad to get back in the air conditioned terminal. We were running a bit late and almost caused the Kenya Air to not let us on, but with lots of extra prayer we all made it for our next night flight. Two nights trying to sleep on an airplane is not fun! We arrived safely to Burundi. We have already been so blessed by the Burundi People. They gave us a wonderful lunch, and a great evening celebration at a large church in Bujumbura. We were greeted with the famous drummers and so many people as we pulled into the church parking lot. The service had the most wonderful youth choir. They sang for their Lord with such joy and enthusiasm. It made me cry. We have very nice rooms to spend the night tonight in Bujumbura - they even have showers! We will leave tomorrow morning to join the rest of the team in Kibimba. I am looking forward to meeting with the Ladies and getting to shop at their craft exhibitiion. Thanks for your prayers and keep them coming.

Saltshaker Aguascalientes Update (7/4/09)

Update From Matt Newton:

Hola! Yesterday was a long and exciting day full of many different activities. I woke up at the usual 9:45ish and went downstairs to eat my breakfast. While that was happening everybody came over to the Smuck's house to work on our first task of the day. We had to fill out VBS handouts with dates, times and directions. We had about 600 to fill in and about halfway through we took a break to have our daily devotional time. Yours truly led the devotional with Hebrews 12:1&2. After the break we went right back to work and finished the fliers. Then we left the Smuck's and headed to the Giron's house for lunch.

After lunch we split into two groups and went our separate ways. Roy and Sammy went to a prison to see the ministry that Edwin is doing there. Everyone else went to Villas and walked door to door handing out the VBS fliers. We split into two groups to cover more ground. The ALPHA Team consisted of Bobby, Deidre, Favi and Jeremy. And the Gold Team consisted of myself, Robyn, Aris and Andrea. Afterwards the girls went with Andrea to her bible study and the guys went with Jeremy to the new worship house in Pocitos to do work.

We met back up with Sammy and Roy at the house in Pocitos. I'm not going to lie, I didn't do much work that night. Bobby swept the roof and Roy swept the sidewalk clean. The house was mostly cleaned by the women believers in Pocitos. When the house was cleaned we walked through and prayed for the house. One English prayer and one Spanish prayer in each room, even the bathroom. After all the hard work, our guys went with some of the guys from Pocitos to play Ultimate Frisbee. We played a pretty solid game for about an hour. My team would have lost if it wasn't for me, luckily I had my game face on. After the game we went out to eat and called it a night.

Happy 4th of July and God Bless,
Matt Newton

Update from Roy Gongwer:

Happy fourth everyone!!!!!!! As Matt shared, Sammy and I went with Edwin to a men's prison where he helps with a prison ministry. After jumping through the hoops to get into the prison, we joined about 20 inmates in a courtyard for worship. Even in the confines of a prison I could sense the presence of the Lord (should I be surprised? NO!!!!!). Sammy and I both shared a short devotional thought with the men. Sammy spoke on dealing with guilt, and I spoke on finding happiness. The men responded very well to both our thoughts. Edwin spoke to the men, and you could see the respect they had for him and his care for them. He just drew them in to the message he shared with them. He spoke on dissappointment. Edwin also took his guitar in and led the men in 3 or 4 songs. It was just another one of many incredible experiences so far here in AGS.

We appreciate and incourage your prayers for us. We also enjoy seeing your comments to our blog.

Blessings, Roy

Burundi Team C Update (7/3/09)

Received a short note from Dr. David Robinson this morning just letting me know that they (Team C) have arrived in Burundi, are doing fine, and will update us as soon as they can. - Adam

Saltshaker Aguascalientes Update (7/3/09)

For starters, I just want to echo what Roy said about the Bible Study at Ricardo and Maria's house the night before last; Maria has been one of the people that the missionaries and Jaime and Lupita have been praying about the most. Her husband, daughter, and son-in-law have all accepted Christ, and the other night was the "most hopeful" that she has ever sounded about it, according to Jeremy. God really touched her through Robyn's testimony, and we had a good time of study and prayer together, with the Smucks and Jaime & Lupita.

Yesterday we went back to the orphanage. It was a mix of emotions as we were able to show love to the kids and had a great time, all the while realizing the situation in which they live. Sammy said it correctly when he commented that "these are the most well-behaved kids I've ever been around", and you could tell they were benefitting from life at this orphanage, as the pastor from Aguascalientes who runs it (and Aunt Abby, the lady who works there) have raised them in Christ.

We had a "field day" with them all day yesterday, where we made teams and played a lot of games, acted out some Bible-story dramas, and spent a lot of time hugging and playing with them. There are about 35 kids, ranging in age from 2 to 15. Saying goodbye was hard; there were several wet eyes, and our hearts were heavy after Ricardo and Maria's the night before, a day of getting to know the orphans, and our efforts in pouring as much love and energy as we could into being with them.

Please pray for the orphanage, and for the kids. With the Pastor and Aunt Abby, as well as school that they attend, they have a good shot; however, their support system lets go at age 18 like most orphanages, and then they're on their own.

Pray also for us as we continue to prepare today for VBS by inviting kids in the community of Villas to attend, hang banners, and spend some time cleaning up a new house that they just secured for the "New Life in Christ" service that we have at the end of our time here (for those that have accepted Christ in the past month).

Thanks for your support for us! We appreciate your prayers going forward, and we also would like to let the Burundi team know that we have been praying for your trip as well! The blog has been helpful to us to see how we can pray for your team, as well as receive encouragement through comments left for both of our teams! So thanks to Adam Monaghan as well for doing a great job keeping it updated!

In Christ,
Bobby Kirkpatrick

Burundi Team Clairification (7/2/09)

Matt Macy, Saturday night, June 27: I was just able to take a look at the blog. We sure appreciate Adam Monaghan taking care of our blog! I’m sorry I hadn’t noticed until now that our schedule is posted on the blog in the same format I gave it to our teams, broke into teams “A, B, & C” but we didn’t list the teams. We, of course, are all one big team, but we are using the designations to clarify various schedule differences. Here is the break down of who is who as you read the Saltshaker 09 Burundi schedule near the end of this blog. See Burundi Schedule.

Team A:
Willard Ferguson
Sue Hays
Donnie Hinshaw
Ryan Kendall
Chuck Mylander
David Thomas

Team B:
David & Mae Kellum
Brad & Chelsea Carpenter
Chelsea Carpenter
Larry & Dee Choate
Larry Chilson Choate Jr.
Wayne DeCamp
Megan Frazier
Brianna Hays
Casey Holden
Deb Kind
Andreia Leininger
Matt Macy
Allison McElroy
Jennifer Stanley
Gary & Connie Young
Note to Prayer Partners: follow the schedule for Team B if you are following students participating in Saltshaker.

Team C:
Randall Brown
Debbie Brown
Dalene Hutson
Ray Kallenbach
Ruth Kemper
Jeff Morrison
Stephanie Pribble
David Robinson
Charity Sandstrom

Burundi Team Updates (7/2/09)

Matt Macy, Monday night, June 29: Team A has traveled to the Congo today and will likely be away from internet and away from blogging until they return to Burundi this weekend. Team B, the team which includes Saltshaker students, left at 7am from the bus station in Kigali, took a new unknown-to-our- missionaries paved road through a freshly built, very nice border crossing into Burundi (which meant that Burundian servant leader Pontien didn’t find us at the old border – he was waiting for us with fantas and scones) and we arrived to Bujumbura at 1pm. We had a nice reception with a light lunch, checked into an unexpectedly nice guest house/hotel that has just been built, had an afternoon of rest (including a visit to Lake Tanganyika), lots of conversation and laughter, a late supper, and everyone is now in bed! The chance to rest is great as we’ve been pushing it pretty hard in the schedule up to now. We look forward to getting visa work in the morning, then traveling about 100 miles up country to Gitega which will be our base for the remainder of the trip. Please pray for our team as we prepare for teaching Burundi Youth. Also, pray for Team A as they have a busy schedule of teaching and other ministry in the remote village of Abeka, Congo.

Megan Frazier, Sunday night, June 28: What a wonderful day of worship!!! Our team was split up into several smaller groups and we visited different Friends Churches here in Rwanda. It was such a blessing to have Brad and Chelsea Carpenter, Gary and Connie Young, and Willard Ferguson (all past or present Rwandan missionaries) to go with each small group for translation and experience! Mid-America Friends Church was represented well in the Rwandan Friends Churches today, and we all gave greetings from you and received greetings to bring home to you, so “Greetings, from Rwanda!”

We have experienced God in many different ways today!! Here are just a few:
Donnie Hinshaw was able to preach in an all English speaking service early this morning and really related to the people in a cultural way. Jennifer, Casey and I were able to perform a ballet dance for the church during the same service. Worship really flows from these two talented young ladies when they dance. I was privileged to worship with them! We also experienced the Genocide Memorial today, which words cannot explain. I won’t even try. We had a good time of debriefing and sharing with David and Debbie Thomas and Brad, sorting through our thoughts and emotions about the memorial. Even though the genocide was absolutely horrible, God has used it for His Kingdom!

The Rwandan Friends Church has exploded since the genocide in 1994! People have come to know our Lord and Savior because of this! Deb, Matt, Michelle and I were able to go to the orphanage where Caleb Macy and Kaylie Kinniburgh were adopted from, and we were able to hold several of the babies and play with the toddlers for a short while. The children in that specific orphanage are taken care of very well, and it showed us how much God loves His children! We were also blessed to receive a tour of David and Debbie’s property, to see all of the wonderful and creative ways they are trying to better the lives of the people who are stuck in poverty here in Rwanda.

Seeing the Moringa trees was the absolute highlight!!! We ended our day with a powerful testimony from David Thomas.

God has been so good!! He is in our midst, all the time. Thank you for praying for us, and please continue to. The students are doing great (for those of you parents who are wondering)!!! This is such an amazing opportunity for all of us to be on this trip! We are all still trying to recover from jet lag, but we are looking forward to going to Burundi tomorrow! Until next time…God bless all of you at home!

Update from Andreia Leineger: Hey! I love Africa. The food is amazing, God's creation is beautiful, and the PEOPLE are truly a joy to be around. Today was pretty relaxing. We had to get visas for our stay in Burundi, and since none of the students on our team can really um, speak Kirundi, so we can't talk to the officials, we chilled at one of the churches in Bujumbura from about 9 to 4.

Being able to fellowship and get to know the other members of the team even better was great, and we were extremely grateful to Fidel and Pontien for helping us with the visas. Also, praise God for being able to get them so quickly, as normally, according to Michelle, it takes 2-3 days! Anyway, I think we all bonded even better today and really grew as a team. We played a LOT of cards, mainly Phase 10, which is a great game, if you haven't played it, you should check it out. We were all really clean because of the BEAUTIFUL guest house that we stayed at in Bujumbura last night, which had HOT showers and, of course, more great food! It had a workout center, and was unusually modern for Burundi, so it was really wonderful to be able to stay there. Also today, in our 7 hours of down time, we walked to a Bujumbura grocery store for snacks. Most of the girls chose to have our first African ice cream, ever, and it was DELICIOUS. I had chocolate. At about 4, we all got in two vans to drive to Gitega. I would say we piled, which is what normally happens, but we had two bus vans and a pickup, so there were only two to a seat. That was WEIRD, because we weren't used to it! It was great to be able to stretch out though. The road to Gitega has many sharp turns and is constantly going uphill, so it was like a roller coaster, but in a Burundi bus. The scenery is GORGEOUS here. Seriously, there is so much GREEN. All the way up the hill, we could see mountains, trees, and streams. That beauty was made even better because the sun was setting at the same time. I took lots of pictures! When we arrived, it was already dark, so I can't really tell you what the town of Gitega looks like, but the guest house was very welcoming. They even have courses for their meals. We ate our soup and bread and figured that was it, but there was so much MORE! I'm full of amazing food. We had to unload all of our suitcases and separate them out because we¡¦re not all staying at the same place. The "older folks¨ (Mae called them that, not me!) are staying down at the Magarama Friends Church guest house, which is our base for meals and team meetings, and the youth are staying at a big guest house owned by the Mennonites called Miparec. Also, after dinner, we had a wonderful time of fellowship with Pontien, Fidel, David Nyanzima, pastor of the church here and his wife, who are also the owners of our main guest house. We sang a song and had a concert of prayer, giving thanks to God for His protection, beauty, love, the church in Burundi, fellowship, and many, many other things. We heard some of the story of the Burundi genocide from David, and Dave Kellum shared the story of David's brother martyr during the genocide. It was an extremely moving story. After that, we went to our guesthouse and got settled in. Tomorrow is Independence Day, so that should be a great time to be in Burundi! Thank you for your prayers for our team, the Congo team, and the Aguascalientes team. I love you all and miss you lots, but I am having an amazing time and learning so much from the wonderful people here. Thanks again!

Love, Andreia