T minus 5 Days!

Muraho inshute! (Hello friend!) Lisa and I are furiously making our preparations for our journey to Rwanda in less than a week! There never seems to be enough time to get ready but we are greatly anticipating our rapidly approaching departure on Monday, June 6th. We are asking for prayer for the last minute details we need to get in order and for the preparations being made in Rwanda too. Please pray for safe and efficient travel (we have some tight connections, will change planes and are navigating unfamiliar airports this time) and for our continued safety and health now and while we are there. It is looking like Lisa and I will be very busy and will hit the ground running when we arrive. We are excited by this but pray that we are trusting in God's power to accomplish His plan for the trip and not our own. We want to thank all of our friends and family who have encouraged and supported us so far. I am always amazed at how God works through each of you to bring something like this together to further the Kingdom and to serve His children. You are a blessing in the lives of people half way around the world!

If you are reading this and think, wait...what?! Lisa and Melissa are going to Africa again this summer?! (I seem to be getting that response ;) Please read the last post. God has opened a door to serve and Lisa and I are running through it! Thanks again! Murabeho!

:) Mel

Leaving in Three Weeks!

Hello blog followers! It's that time again...time for Melissa and Lisa to go to Rwanda! We will leave June 6th and return June 23rd. Aggh!!

Wow. We are in shock but yes, we are going and yes, we leave in three weeks!! So here's the scoop. As many of you know last summer Lisa and I traveled to Kigali, Rwanda to serve and to encourage believers and ended up spending a lot of our time volunteering with our friends from Africa Anchor of Hope during our stay. Anchor of Hope is a Christian non-profit aid organization established as an official NGO in Rwanda who specifically seeks to minister to children who are orphaned or come from families too poor to care for their needs. AOH is doing this by partnering with Christians in Rwanda who have pledged to love and care for these children as God provides. When Lisa and I returned home from our trip in 2010 we both knew our hearts and lives would be forever connected to these children and to this ministry. We wanted to do more!

That said, last fall our longtime pals Sarah Sebazungu and Heather Clark who began Anchor of Hope asked us to serve on their board. We were thrilled that God brought each of us together to serve Christ and the people of Rwanda! For many years AOH has cared for 25 young boys and girls and their families providing them with school fees, uniforms, books, meals and health care and has now grown to be able to serve 40 more school children from very rural and poor families beginning this year. It has been so exciting to see things grow!

This summer AOH has prayerfully decided to send Lisa and I to Rwanda on an accountability and administrative trip to meet and encourage the 40 new children and their families. Our goal will be to travel to the student's homes and schools outside Kigali getting video interviews, pictures, and further information needed to begin the process of developing a child sponsorship program through AOH. In addition, we plan to meet with and encourage AOH employees, look at land outside the city that the organization hopes to purchase and use to build a larger facility one day, and to hang out with and check up on the 25 children in Kigali. Lisa and I also hope to visit and encourage old friends who we have partnered with in ministry on past trips while we are there.

To provide for the costs of this trip AOH is trying to raise $6,000. As an organization we feel that it is important to send representatives from this side of the world for many reasons. We feel that it is imperative to keep the utmost transparency in our accountability system as well as work with and support our local leaders in these new ministry opportunities. We would like to ask you to consider whether God might be laying on your heart to give a one time gift to Anchor of Hope to help us with these expenses. If you believe God is leading you to give please send donations to:

Africa Anchor of Hope
6001 Huntington Dr.
Tyler, TX 75703

Ultimately we are trusting for the Lord to provide and to use us to serve these children. We greatly welcome your prayers and believe in its incredible power! If you are led to pray now please specifically pray 1) that God would prepare our hearts to serve the people of Rwanda 2) and that we will trust in his hand to provide for every detail of the trip during this short planning time! We want to thank you in advance for your prayers and for partnering with Lisa and I on this mission.

Murakoze! (Thank you!)
Lisa and Melissa