Furlough Plans

Dear Family and Friends,

The last year has been an exciting ride in the launch of Christ’s Church in Rwanda (CCR). As with all start up endeavors it comes with many unpredictable moments where God turns a challenge into an opportunity. For the last several months we have been working with a calendar to find a two month period in which we could leave for furlough and cause the least amount of disruption in the ministry. (The addition of our co-workers Bryan and Holly Hixson, and our new Youth Minister, Moses Mbabaali, and Administrative Assistant, Jane Naziwa Mukamongi give us great confidence in the on-going work.) We’ve finally found the window. We will begin our furlough on May 17 and return to Rwanda on July 26. We are eager to see many of you and share all that we’ve seen happen since we saw many of you last.

A few highlights are:

• CCR was launched on March 4, 2007 with 332 attending, the signing of our Contract with Rwanda, and Guest of Honor, Minister of Local Government Protais Musoni.
• 13 people have been baptized since September 2007, and we are having many discussions with those considering immersion.
• Summit, our CCR Youth Ministry is off to a fabulous start and has developed a core of over 30 youth who are participating in Bible studies. A larger group averaging 60 to 100 attend Friday evening’s positive entertainment.
• Over 400 people attended CCR’s One Year Anniversary Celebration on March 2, 2008 in which the Secretary General in the Ministry of Defense, Zac Nsenga spoke.
• CCR attendance now is running between 140 and 180 on most Sundays.
• A typical Sunday attendance will include individuals from leading Rwandan government offices, international embassies, non-profit organizations, and Rwandan entrepreneurs. CCR is reaching the thought leaders of Kigali.
• To promote spiritual development CCR has begun Purpose Driven Tuesdays and 32 different people have come to study and worship with us.

• Kigali International Community School (KICS) has grown to a student body of 91 students from 23 nationalities, and anticipates more growth in the upcoming school year.
• Like CCR, the families whose children attend KICS are some of those who lead in the formation of thought systems of development in Rwanda.

• Dave continued teaching Ethics part time at Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (The Rwanda government’s leading university). This past year he delivered lectures to all the graduating seniors (roughly 270 students in total.)
• Dave continued writing a column for “Focus,” Rwanda’s most thoughtful independent newspaper.

• Jana facilitated 8 adoptions of Rwandan orphans for families in the U.S.

• Our kids are thriving.
• Sophia is the Student Government President at KICS.
• Sophia and Caleb are in KICS’ drama.
• Caleb and Ethan are on KICS’ soccer teams.
• Ruth amazes us with her humor and graceful beauty. Her rhythm and musical ability are a joy to listen to and watch.
• Timothy’s strong will continues to lead him to overcome. He is the fastest child at KICS among his peers. He has developed a sophisticated sense of humor.

Our plan will be to begin our furlough hubbing out of Oklahoma City to see family, friends, and supporters in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas. We plan to travel to Southern California in June. Near the end of our furlough we will travel to Minnesota to be with Dave’s family and visit supporters in Minnesota. Besides sharing with many of you first hand accounts we will need to do some fund discovery. In 2008, we lost $1,000 per month in support. Also, as Rwanda is a landlocked country where most goods are transported through Kenya our cost of living and ministry has increased due to the political situation in Kenya. For instance, gasoline of gas in Rwanda costs $5.57 per gallon and milk costs $7.34 per gallon. God has been gracious to us through extra gifts and our family and ministry are doing o.k. However, to stay on a healthy foundation we need to replace the lost monthly support. Also, in 2009 we will need to make final payments of $556,000 on our church and school property. Thus we will need to continue discover these funds.

Our schedule will soon fill up. If you would like to visit with us during our furlough and/or make a presentation to an individual, organization, or church you know please be in contact with us. We look forward to reconnecting with many of you who have blessed us through the years.

Imana ikurinde (May God Keep All of You),

Dave and Jana

P.S. Feel free to forward this on to others who may be interested in what God is doing in Kigali.