Recruiting for 2013

Already there is a lot of activity on the teams 2013 front!   A team to Kenya is now planned and is probably full.   A new Mission Medics team to Rwanda is filling up and likewise the Mission Medics (dental) team to Burundi.   Plans are afoot for a third team to Haiti and there is a call for a team to Ghana and Uganda.

If you are interested in taking part in a Mission Team for 2013 please get in touch with us.   You can do this via our 'Contact' page on our website.

If you would like to go ahead and apply for a team, then you can do so here.   print, complete and return the form to us.

I am on the way home at last, the first leg of my return journey is over.   All being well I should be home sometime on Wednesday.

We travelled the 6 hour road trip from Cyangugu to Kigali through the Nyungwe National Park, a large area of rainforest which covers both sides of the main road as we climbed and climbed and then climbed some more.   The old Land Rover discovery handled the challenge well and was a very comfortable car to travel such a long (in terms of time) road which was in need of a lot of repair for a good part of the way.   During this part of the journey is the only time I have seen rain for the whole trip.   I expect the folks back in Blighty wont be saying that at least.

During the trip through the forest we saw a truck which had been carrying a load of cattle tipped over on a corner (I didnt manage to get a photo of it) the one in the image above was a bit further on, on a straight stretch of road, I have no idea why it was in such a position, it really looked impossible to get from the road into this position without a lot of help.

Tonight Esther, Bishop Nathan's wife, took me with her daughter and the driver to Cactus a Pizza place for dinner.   This was a really nice way to conclude what has been an eventful few weeks!   See you all soon!

During the last few days I have been preaching in a village about an hour's drive from Gyangugu called Gisuma.   This area, as I have already indicated, was one of the major focuses for the Genocide in '94.   The region was known as the 'Turquoise Sector' and was supposed to be a safe haven for the fleeing Tutsis from the Hutu militia, however it took the French peacekeepers so long to get their act together that the Interahamwe militia got there first and they massacred almost everyone.   We passed a number of Genocide memorials on the way and Charles my interpreter commented as we passed one that 8,000 people were killed in this Roman Catholic Church 

 The lad pictured above led the choir of orphan sponsored kids, for me these were the best of the many choirs we were presented with during each service for the whole time we were there.

 Sunday was a special service in many ways, it was a confirmation service for lots of new believers, it was the first visit of Bishop Nathan to this church and it was also a fundraiser for the church building which is in the process of being built.   This sheep was one of the many offerings brought by the rural community in an attempt to raise the funding to continue with the church building project.   Other brought eggs, sugar cane and some even donated a load of bricks.

Tomorrow (Sunday) is likely to be my last visit to the village church.   It has been a very interesting few days.   Today we were involved in some lively worship and ten some Anglican baptisms took place in the open air.

For me this has been a spiritually tough place.   When preaching it is like pushing a heavy weight uphill, very unlike most of the other places I have been on this trip.   The level of awareness and understanding is low as well as the level of education.   The church here has also been through some tough times with a number of Genocide sites nearby.   Although the most recent troubles took place in 1994 there would appear still to be a deep and heavy cloud over the area.

 Above - lively worship as the church prepares to hear the Word of \God.

Young people are baptised after a number of babies.

I am now in Cyangugu (Chang Goo Goo) Rwanda, I haven't heard yet but I expect the team to be home safely.
Cyangugu hangs on the side of the mountains that surround the Rwanda side of the south part of Lake Kivu. It is really a beautiful part of the world.  In the image below you can see DR Congo to the right side of the river and Rwanda to the left.

Pastor John Paul Munganga came to visit me from DR Congo to pick up a laptop, printer, a piano keyboard and some Christian books I had carried from the UK.  He was so blessed by these and wants to say a huge thank you to the donors of these items, you know who you are.   He had travelled a very long way from Bukavu and beyond to come to meet me.   DR Congo is vast.   Mission International now has a formal invitation to go to Congo to train church leaders.

 Above the chalet I am staying in which is part of the Anglican church's Peace Guest House.

Preaching the Gospel in a remote village about 1 hour's drive from Cyangugu.

Our final day in Burundi has been a good one.   We spent the day at the Hotel Club de Lac Tanganyika.   I had meetings with Rema Ministries staff covering a wide range of items on a long agenda.  The meeting lasted from 11.30am - 5pm with a break for lunch.   The rest of the team relaxed by the pool and then afterwards we all had dinner of Nguhe and chips on the beach.

All work and no play.... OK we had both today!   The girls wanted to go to the pool at the Hotel Club de Lac Tanganyika and so we dropped them off there after a nice lunch at Tropicana.  Chris had some deliveries to make, returning the borrowed denial equipment and taking the MI equipment back to the Rema offices.   I was then able to finalise the accounts with Rema and Chris was able to complete the report for the health minister.

Sadly our time in Burundi is coming to an end.   Chris and Clare will go back to the UK on Wednesday evening and Anna early Thursday morning via another airline.  On Wednesday morning I will head for the Rwanda border where I will be picked up by Bishop Nathan Amooti and travel to Cyangugu in West Rwanda.