Dear Friends and Family,
Somehow I doubt that when David wrote in Psalms about "Singing Praises to Him, telling of all his marvelous acts and declaring among the nations what he has done" that he envisioned writing a newsletter, submitting a list of three praises to be printed in a bulletin, or calmly raising your hand in prayer meeting; but when I promised the Lord in my pre-Micah prayers (not in the sense of bargaining, but in a spirit of hope) that if and when he brought this child into the world safely I would praise him publically, those things were pretty much what I had in mind. Since we returned to Burundi, I have seen how Burundians live those words, and I have been blown away. Last Tuesday the same group of Burundian church-leaders wives that had gathered to lay hands on my growing stomach and pray for me during my pregnancy came back to celebrate. We sat in the living room drinking tea. They asked about how much the baby weighed and all the normal questions; then they suggested a song and part way through it started dancing and ululating and clapping. As the worst dancer ever I was totally out of my element, but I have never felt so "rejoiced with," and if God inhabits the praise of his people they were building a luxury villa that put the typical hovel I offer to shame. It's not that the things I typically do to praise the Lord are necessarily inadequate; but as I look at how I often regard the praise items I read in bulletins I recognize that I usually give a praise brief twenty second mental note of, "Oh, that's great! Thanks, God!" and then let my mind move on; these ladies took the time to revel in the greatness of God for twenty minutes. Wow. Then yesterday three more women walked 5 miles to come and thank the Lord for Micah. They stayed for over an hour, each giving a speech about how God answers prayer, and then they each held him and prayed over him. They would have walked home again if we hadn't offered to pay their bus fare. I am learning so much from their example.
As usual, God's lessons are timed perfectly, because we arrived back to other things that I have struggled not to be "complainy" about— no electricity because of a lightning strike, and no water for two weeks for who knows what reason. Our desktop computer died while we were in Kenya and our cell phone system modem for our internet connection won't work with the Vista operating system on our laptop, so until just over a week ago when we finally borrowed a laptop to use until we figure it all out, we couldn't use it to connect. Trying to avoid malaria by keeping Micah under a mosquito net from about 5pm on made establishing a good supper/bedtime routine for both boys very difficult, and the fact that my energy level still doesn't seem quite back to normal has made learning to balance the two of them and our re-entry into full-time ministry a challenge. One absolutely amazing thing is that during this whole month back, none of us have been sick except for getting colds. No malaria, no stomach parasites… Praise the Lord!
Another thing that has gone incredibly well is Jesse's return to ministry. He missed being here so much, and they definitely missed him. As far as the film team goes, Jesse came back to equipment that needed to be repaired and a few interpersonal conflicts that needed mediation, but to a whole bunch of good news as well. God is definitely continuing to use this ministry for his glory. In 2007 films were shown 66 times, to an average crowd of 2,250 per showing. This means that over 150,000 were reached with the gospel message. 6,431 people responded to the gospel message by coming forward to receive the Lord or to rededicate their lives to him.
The Bible School was waiting on Jesse to have a meeting about restructuring (each teacher will now teach a week long intensive session instead of having each teacher travel from their village homes into town every week of the month-long session) and about determining how much it costs for one student to come to the school for the session (75 dollars) so we could let you know in case any of you wanted to help send someone, but they were thrilled to report that their February session had gone well. The next Bible School session begins in May, so you can pray for provision for the students that plan to come, provision for their families at home, and the teachers as they prepare.
Jesse spent our first two weeks back attending meeting after meeting. He has also been doing lots of office work—he spent several late nights assisting one of the Burundian men who works for the church full time as he wrote up the financial statement for all of the social projects under the direction of the assemblies (blind school, deaf school, health center, etc…) for 2007, then finished tweaking the Excel spreadsheets he wrote to help the project administration team update their accounting system from their green and black screen computer to the new laptop someone donated when we were in the US last year. Once they knew enough to begin entering data he moved on to the next project: designing the new letterhead the government is requiring all religious groups to submit and place on record. The nice thing about tasks like that is that when you finish them you can look back at measurable accomplishments and see that you've made a difference, so despite the time these things have taken, they have been encouraging. In the midst of it all, Jesse was able to personally attend one film trip at an assembly just outside town on the weekend after Easter—it went REALLY well. He has preached twice already, and next weekend we will all go along as he preaches at a little assembly about thirty minutes away. Going on the trips and ministering at churches—getting out to see different assemblies of Believers and being involved hands-on is what energizes Jesse the most, so we are especially thankful for those opportunities.
Listening to the hard things that happened to people while we were away (or since we have been back) and praying about how to help, while just as important, has been much more draining. One of our friends had two of his children involved in an accident just after we got back—they were riding a bicycle and got hit by a motorcycle. Of course there were no helments… Both kids are OK now, but there were a few tense days of trying to make sure they got treatment-- they sat at the hospital for a whole day without being seen because they hospital was waiting for guarantee of payment from the motorcycle driver. As soon as Jesse found out he said we'd pay—how could you keep a kid with a head injury waiting—and then spent some time on the phone making sure it would happen and working out the details of where and when. Then one of the students we have previously helped with school fees came to tell Jesse that armed robbers have forced him to walk around his village and point out who has money so they know whom to rob. All we can really do is pray, but it was a heavy story. Then there is the deaf widow and mother of three who has AIDS, has no job and no house, and who has had to farm her kids out as free labor to other families so that they those families will take them in. We have helped some with food, but we're still praying about helping with rent or capital for a small business… they don't have any land to farm because the land went to the father's relatives when he died. These are just a few of the many burdens and decisions Jesse faces every day. We count it a blessing that people know Jesse is compassionate and that God has placed us in a country where we can help, but we continue to covet your prayers for daily wisdom.
Our other big personal prayer request is my coming trip to the US for my sister's wedding on July 12. We are hoping that someone will be able to come out from the US for a short mission trip in early June, and then fly back to the US with the boys and I around June 20. There are plenty of things to help with—preparing for the Christian preschool the assemblies here are starting next fall, going on film trips with Jesse, teaching or sharing your testimony at Bible studies… and I just don't see how I can make the trip alone with two of them. It would also be great if someone could return to Burundi with me around July 15. Again, there is plenty to do if you wanted to stay for a mission trip. If God lays it on your heart to consider helping us in this way, or if you can think of someone in your church family who you think would be interested, please contact me quickly. I need to buy a ticket soon…
Thanks for hanging in there through this long update…it's been so long since I wrote that there was just too much to say… So thankful for you all and your amazing support through all our comings and goings.
Praise the Lord!
Jesse, Joy, Zach, and Micah
