Dear Family and Friends,

My husband, Dave usually writes these things, but I think he is weary and overwhelmed by the task in front of us.

Our first year in Rwanda felt like three years rolled into one. I guess transitions are never easy, but with the prayer and support we have felt from many of you it enabled us to walk the path God had for us. During our first year there was a lot of gear shifting, or discovering what God’s will was for us. Anytime we felt one door shut; we felt propelled through another.

Some of the things accomplished with God’s help in the last year include:

· First new church registered in almost 4 years by the Rwanda government. Christ’s Church in Rwanda is now legally able to meet and all the missionaries have resident visas. Although some consider sitting in government offices is not newsletter worthy material, it has laid a foundation and mechanism for us to stay and begin the painful birthing of a church.

· Started the first American International School in Rwanda since the previous one was closed during the 1994 Genocide. One of our main goals for our first tour was sustainability and a big part of this is finding a good educational option for our 5 children.

We noticed several other families were in our same situation. We proposed for all to come together – pulling resources, ideas, and networks to see what we could do. To make a long story short, we formed Kigali International Community School. We started our first day of school on September 14 with 5 full time American teachers, 2 local hires, 4 part-time American teachers, 42 students from 9 nationalities and an American curriculum.

Since we left in October for furlough we hear that there are 40 more students on a waiting list. We have recruited another teacher, Amy Brown who will join us in April, and also found a couple, Brian and Christy Dollinger who will serve as our Principal.

· Formed many friendships with spiritual seekers with activities such as:

o Dave teaching Ethics at several local universities in town.

o Recruiting professors, such as David and Marlea Johnson to come to Rwanda to teach short courses at local universities in business.

o Facilitate the top 10 Rwanda Secondary Students Scholarships to Oklahoma Christian University.

o Hosting many fellowships at our home.

o Coordinating short-term American university students tutoring English on Rwanda university campuses.

o Wrote a column for Focus newspaper.

· Started 2 small group Bible studies in our home. We hope that this will be the nucleus that God has gathered to us to for the start of a new church.

As we have communicated before we are pregnant with a church that we hope to give birth on March 4. As with all pregnancies, there can be pre-term contractions or other pains – I think we are experiencing some of these. We are excited about all the possibilities of what this church can be, but also feel as my husband says so well, “Holy Terror.”

In 1980 Keith Green sang about it:

“Oh Lord You're beautiful

Your face is all I seek

And when Your eyes are on this child

Your grace abounds to me

Oh Lord please light the fire

That once burned bright and clear

Replace the lamp of my first love

That burns with holy fear

I want to take Your Word

And shine it all around

First help me just to live it Lord

And when I'm doing well

Help me to never seek a crown

For my reward is giving glory to You”

We are writing you all as this year ends to first express our thanks and gratitude for partnering with us and the Lord in this Rwanda endeavor, but also soliciting your prayers for the next year. There are a lot of “Amazing Things” happening as our 4 year-old Timothy says.

In order to make this happen we need you. God has asked for us to go and we are willing, but God has also asked you to send. We need you in order to answer this call. So many sacrifice for this ministry and we are thankful. We need $12,000 in either one-time gifts or $1,000 per month to meet our existing budget and keep our family on a healthy footing. Beyond that we are hoping to discover more resources so that we can take full advantage of the opportunities developing before us. If you are able to make a year end gift please send it to our overseeing congregation – Quail Springs Church of Christ.

Thank you for your support.

Jana Jenkins