Work has begun on the Community Ministry Center

Work has begun on building the Community Ministry Center. The uprights have been in place for 5 days while the concrete bases set and the girders for the roof will go on today. With many volunteers helping out we hope to have our first meeting under a new roof within the next couple of weeks. Thanks again to all who have supported the work of God's Kingdom in this village.

Leveling the Land

Upper level where Community Ministry Center will stand

Work has begun in earnest on levelling the land in preparation for the construction of a Community Ministry Center in the village of Muyange. Thanks to a donation from the St. John Vineyard we hope to complete the building around Christmas time. The local congregation are donating materials and labour to the project. We are excited to be moving ahead with developing this land that we feel very blessed to be able to further God's Kingdom work in Rwanda.

Ernest, Val and GAKO trainer on a tour of the Demonstration Garden

Ernest was very excited to start his week-long training at the Organic Farm Training Center in Kabuga, about 20 minutes drive outside Kigali. The center is called GAKO and they offer regular training sessions to groups from our region. The center has become very busy lately especially since the Rwanda Government has wisely seen the benefit of the majority of the population providing for their own food needs through small scale farming.

The plan is for Ernest to pass on his newly acquired skills to others in our village. In the near future we intend to begin our own Demonstration Kitchen Garden on part of the church land.

Joel and some buddies watching a game at RVA

Many thanks to all who have been praying for us, and for Joel in particular. The surgeon was pleased with the repair of the ACL and recovery seems to be going well. Brendan and I returned to Rwanda on Tuesday and Brendan is back at school. Joel started with a few classes on Wednesday and expects to be back full time by Monday. He sees the surgeon on Tuesday next by which time we hope he will be off crutches and back in the dorm. Val is due to return to Rwanda on Tuesday. We are very thankful to the Lord for making it possible for us to be together as a family through this time. Thanks to Rwandair for their half price deal, to the small group at Valleygate Vineyard for their faithful support, to friends at Karen Vineyard in Nairobi and to Rift Valley Academy for providing an apartment for us during our stay there.

"We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose."  Rom. 8:28

Seeing Joel off on August 27th

As many of you will already know Joel is due to have surgery at Kijabe Hospital in Kenya next Tuesday to repair a torn ACL. We feel that this is a good opportunity for us to be together as a family to continue the healing of the trauma we went through in South Africa last year. Rwandair have a very generous half price deal on Saturdays and Tuesdays so we are taking advantage and Val, Brendan and I are leaving for Kenya on the 4.00 am flight tonight. In order that you can follow our journey and pray us though to a blessed outcome; here is our proposed plan:

Saturday 4.00 am: Val, Brendan and Pat fly to Nairobi

6.30 am: Jules from Karen Vineyard to pick up and bring us to her Friend Gabbie's house. Bless them.

10.30 am: Meet Joel who is on a weekend pass and is getting a ride into Nairlbi. As Joel will miss his mid-term break because of surgery, we will spend the day in Nairobi and have lunch and take in a movie. We spend the night with Gabbie.

Sunday am: Praise and Worship and Thanksgiving and all the other good God stuff you can think of at Karen Vineyard

Sunday pm: Jules is arranging some form of transport for us all to get to RVA (Kijabe) which is about 1hr and 15 minutes from Nairobi. We will all stay at the apartment on campus that the school has made available to us until Joel's surgery and for his recovery until he is able to return to the dorm.

Monday: "Normal" day at RVA. For Joel anyway.

Tuesday am: Dr. Mendonsa will fix Joel's knee. Amen

Tuesday night: Joel and Pat will stay at Kijabe hospital.

Wednesday: Joel returns to the Student Health facility at RVA for recovery.

Friday: Almost everyone leaves RVA for mid-term break to return on Tuesday evening.

Weekend: One of the nurses at RVA is around for the weekend. Pat or Val will stay at Student Health overnights with Joel. We may try to find some kind of bird in Nairobi to bring to RVA to do a thanksgiving meal (as we will have much to give thanks for).

Tuesday: Pat and Brendan fly back to Rwanda at 8 in the evening. We are hoping to get a ride into Nairobi with someone who is bringing kids back after mid-term. (Item for prayer)

Val is due to fly back to Rwanda on the 19^th in the evening. We will see how Joel is progressing and change that if necessary. We so appreciate all your prayers for us during this time. Pray for Antoine and Florence also who are doing an amazing job of pastoring the church. To God be the Glory.

 

 

Thanks for the Vehicle

Amidst all the hard stuff that is going on with Joel in Kenya, some good things are happening. One of the good things is that we have been able to find a Vehicle within our budget that will work for us. It is a 1998 Nissan Pathfinder and it handles the dirt roads quite nicely. We were able to trade the Corolla which served us well for the first month or so in Rwanda. Many thanks to everyone who contributed towards the purchase of the vehicle.