May/June 2018

May/June 2018 Newsletter:
Part 2 of 2
 
 

Hi Friend!
I hope your summer is off to a good start; our is.  After a busy month on the road, we're up to 47 children sponsored now!  Thank you, Jesus!  I'm looking forward to sending the list of all of the new kids who will be going to school this month, to our partners in Rwanda.  We also received 26 children's Bibles in the mail this month, so thank you so much to those who've sent them!  We now have 47- one for each of our sponsored kids!
A couple of my sisters in Christ worked with me to write blessings in the covers of each one, over coffee at Chick-Fil-A.  Thank you, Julie and Christina!
 

May: An Evening with Friends and VBS

Last month, after our Midland Supporters Meet & Greet event, Pastor Aflred and I got to drive up to Kansas and spend an evening with our friends at the First Baptist Church in Cimarron, KS.  We shared about the joys -and the sorrows- of the ministry in Rwanda over the past year.  It was such a blessing to be among this church, who's chasing hard after Jesus!  

Among other things, their church family raised $500 to help build a structurally sound church in Rwanda.  A couple months ago, the
Rwandan government shut down an estimated 7,000 churches across the country, citing safety reasons for the closures.  Our partners, Bethammi Christian Fellowship Church had 2 of their 6 churches closed- both of which were tent churches that served the Nyemesheki community.  So now there are over 700 adult worshipers and about 1300 children without a place to meet and it will take an estimated $30,000 to build they type of structure that would be approved by the government.  But we serve a big God and we believe that their church will be back to praising and preaching soon.  More on that in the next update.

And then THIS really blessed our hearts- the kiddos in the 1st Baptist Vacation Bible School also wanted to help.  So they competed daily throughout their program, boys vs girls, to see who could bring the most pennies, dimes, and quarters- with the proceeds going to the Nyemesheki Church, pictured below.  Thank you, Jesus, for these precious children and their gift that they are sowing into Your Kingdom!  
 
 

United Methodist Churches of Kalvesta and Cimarron
It was an honor and a privilege to get to spend time with these two wonderful churches!  It was a reunion with some old friends and the making of some new ones.  I grew up rollerblading in this church's parking lot and attending their Wednesday lunch outreach program for high school kids, Food & Fellowship.  So it was really neat to get to share about all of the awesome things that God is doing through LTU with them, because they were a part of the church network/ community that raised me.  

A friend of mine is a piano player at both churches, so we rode together to visit them both.  The atmosphere and the people at the Kalvesta church were wonderful and the Cimarron church provided such a warm welcome.  I'm looking forward on reporting back with what their gifts have done.  Like the Apostle Paul wrote in Phil. 1:3, "I thank my God every time I remember you."
 
In just a couple days, I'll be heading back to Rwanda for my annual visit.  I'll be there for one month; 2 weeks will be for Women's Ministry Conferences at the 4 churches with Ms. Beatrice Gatabazi and then 2 weeks meeting with the LTU kids, volunteers, pastors, and the women's artisan group.  I'll also be taking lessons in Kinyarwanda.  
So stay in touch!  Make sure to 'like' and 'follow' us on Facebook, if you haven't already.  Lots of great pictures, videos, and quick updates get posted there- a little something every week.

God bless you for your kindness!

Sincerely,

Kendra Willard
Founder/Director