Dear Family and Friends,
It has been over 4 years since our family left our home in
Africa to come to America as missionaries.
We’re due a furlough. An
opportunity has come up for us to return to East Africa. Kigali International
Community School (KICS) will celebrate her 10 Year Anniversary on September 16th. The KICS board has asked for us to join the
celebration. Westbrook Christian
Church has agreed to pay for one of our plane tickets. We’d like for Dave, Jana, and Timothy to
attend. We need some more financial
resources. Can you make a contribution?
This 10 Year
Anniversary is reminder from God.
Eleven years ago our family entered Rwanda. Our hope was to start English speaking
church with a good children and youth program for returning Rwanda Diaspora
families. However, after just a few
months we realized we were unable to stay in Rwanda unless we could develop a
school for our children. The dream of
KICS began. We had to unite to stay in Rwanda. With families from other Christian
organizations we began in a rented home with 4 teachers and about 20 kids. Then God placed before us an ideal piece of
property and the need to raise $1,560,000.
With God’s help the funds were discovered and the school grew. Not only did KICS serve the needs of
missionaries and the international community, KICS also is a servant to the
Rwandan Diaspora. She is
accredited. Our daughter, Sophia teaches there.
We need to be with KICS for this season as they celebrate and encourage
a new vision.
God has honored the
KICS’ vision. What new visions does He
call us to?
This Diaspora journey
is one on several continents. As
we’ve served Diaspora families in Africa we also serve them in America. With America’s shifting faith dynamics the
Diaspora we serve are the missionaries to America. The Diaspora children are much like Daniel,
Esther, Paul, and Timothy in their blending of language, culture, and calls
from God to serve many nations. Our son, Timothy carries both Ugandan and
American passports. It is difficult but essential for him to live
in both countries of his earthly allegiance.
Many nights as we pray before sleep he asks questions about Africa. He
needs a visit home.
Besides visiting Rwanda and encouraging KICS we’ll travel to
Uganda for Timothy. While there we’ll visit old friends at
churches we developed and organizations with which we served.
In our current season
the worlds of church development in America and Africa frequently meet. While living on the north side of Chicago we became friends with a Somali
Christian, Nurto Ali. Her family are
still Muslim and live as refugees in Uganda.
The Nakivale Refugee Camp where they stay is near the road from
Kigali, Rwanda to Kampala, Uganda. We plan to visit them. We hope our visit will bring encouragement
and keep doors open for more Gospel conversations. We marvel at a God who keeps these
conversations blending from Somalia, Chicago, and Uganda.
Also, the Diaspora world creates the largest economic engine
in East Africa. The largest source of foreign income in East
Africa is the money that the Diaspora in Asia, Europe, and North America send
home. Much of those remittances
are simple things like paying school tuition of medical fees for economically less
fortunate relatives. However, much of the remittances are also business
investments that build middle class wealth.
Friends in the Ugandan Community in Greater Chicago have asked Dave to
serve on a board of
a trust that is developing 500 acres of land on Mount Elgon
in Uganda as a timber farm. Dave
has said, “Yes” to being on the board, and feels he needs to see the land and meet the Ugandan based board members to be
faithful to this responsibility.
Thus he and Timothy also plan to take a trip from Kampala to Mount Elgon
during our trip back to East Africa.
 |
| Dave, Jana, and Tim at Tanzania Fellowship |
Aren’t missions in
the 21st Century in America thrilling? Where else can you find such diverse opportunity?
However, this is a
journey of humility. While at
times God has used us to discover large amounts of financial resources we like
most immigrants have a humble journey in the USA. We
rarely have all the needed resources.
Each step forward is one of faith. The gifts of churches, family, and friends
sustain the journey. We estimate our
trip will cost $6,600. With
Westbrook’s contribution we already have $1,400. Can you make a donation?
If so write a check
to:
Westbrook Christian Church
(Memo: KICS
Anniversary)
1175 Lily
Cache Ln, Bolingbrook, IL 60490
Or you can give on line at https://westbrookchurch.securegive.com/SG/WebOnline/Transaction/Instant?transactionType=Donation
and select for your gift Africa Diaspora Missions.
Thank you
for sharing this journey,
Mungu akubariki (May God bless you),
Dave, Jana, and Timothy
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