At my home church in Friendswood I taught a few classes; one was a book study on When Helping Hurts by Fikkert and Corbett. And I started a small group of young adults. These have been two great ways for me to reconnect with our church body and to find fellowship.

These past months have also consisted of many trips to the doctor’s office. As you know I have often been sick this past year. When I came home to the states things were better, but in late October I began to get sick again. So, we ran tests and worked with a team of doctors to figure things out. We finally found, not one large problem, but many small issues. We started treatment for those and these days things are looking much better. My energy and health have almost fully returned. It has not been an easy road but I praise the Lord for His faithfulness. This trial has deepened my faith and caused me to draw nearer to the Lord. I wasn’t always sure why I was sick but I am beginning to see! Thank you again for your prayers.

“. . . But who do you say I am?”

On Monday nights and Tuesday mornings two groups have been studying the book of Mark. We began in September and it has been a slow steady time of learning about who Jesus was and is through His miracles and His parables.

When we got to Mark 8 we found that Jesus questioned His disciples saying, “Who do people say that I am?” We asked the same question about the people they know and what they think and say about Jesus. The discussion got personal when Judy asked. “But who do you say He is?”

First, I want to thank all of those who, through their prayers and financial giving, made the English program possible. After two years of teaching, our program served more than 150 teachers, 450 students, and 50 church members/employees. When we began teaching, 70 of the teachers were at a beginning English level; however, by the end of the program, only 23 were still beginners. We are confident that the schools and teachers are able to more effectively serve their students using an English curriculum. In November we were proud to present certificates in recognition of the work that they had done.

We have experienced great blessings through the ladies’ sewing training. It has been yielding amazingly good fruit. Since the beginning of this ministry, 99 girls have attended the training. Only 15 have dropped out. Eighty-four girls   completed the training successfully, and out of these, 27 have started their own tailoring shops. Seven of them were saved!  This training has become so   popular that we are unable to accommodate all the applicants.

We have successfully made the move back to Rwanda.  Amid all the packing and good-byes, we spent some vacation time in Oregon and in Great Britain. This allowed us some much-needed time for rest and reflection.

We have succeeded in making our home here in Kigali a quiet, calm, peaceful place for Debby to continue her resting and healing process.  Gwen and Alandra have started their new school, Kigali International Community School, and they are both doing well, although they still miss their friends in the states.  We are getting used to a one-hour round trip twice a day to get them to school and back home again!  Bree and Aren are at Rift Valley Academy in Kenya.  Bree is elated to be back where she belongs again, although she now misses those friends she left in the US. Aren enjoys being the best on the Ripstick in his dorm.

I am excited about many things tonight.  My Christmas tree is up and I love Christmas.  I love the lights and the colors and the music.  I love opening boxes of decorations (that I haven’t seen for two years since I was in the States last year) and seeing beautiful things – some gifts, some reminders of travel, some reminders of Christmases past.   I love giving (and receiving!) presents.  I love intentional time with people I care about.  I love the story of God becoming a human baby boy, and living among us – so that we might be reconciled to Him.  I’m excited about Christmas.

Christmas is fast approaching and we can celebrate the gift of God’s Son.  Thank you for your gifts of love and support to our family and ministry over these many years.  God has been faithful and so have you in seeing His Church built here in Ireland.

The last few months have been busy with ministry and life.  As I wrote in my last newsletter, my parents are dealing with health issues now.  Since that last letter my father fell and has been in the hospital and now is in a care facility.  This, of course, puts more strain on my mother, and I find it hard to help them both from so far away.  Please pray for us as we deal with this and look for the best answers.

One of our church members saw in a dream that he went to visit his former boss. His boss asked, “What are you doing here wasting your time? Go to the field. You have much work to do there.” Another saw in a dream that he was passing by a field at Batiaghata. People were harvesting. He asked them, “Whose harvest is this?” They replied, “Hirak’s (Hirak is my nickname) and Metali’s.” This dream is very specific. We have declined seminars,     conferences, and meetings from October to December, and have declared this

We now are going where there are no Christians, and no churches. We set up teams with two to four local people for each area. We train them to witness and then send them to the field. We are staying in their houses, eating whatever they provide, and visiting house to house to share the message of Jesus.

Right after the training a man went to a market and showed the Jesus film there before even reaching his home. I was surprised.

Yashar in London has finally gotten a new job in an architectural firm as a designer. He has started a new Bible study with a brother from his neighborhood. Right now it is three men, but they hope to add more soon. 

Ali in Germany is just finishing another course in machinery processing. He prays this will bring a new job locally as he just met a new Muslim family that is interested in Christ.

Oyan and Ruth in Middlesboro are doing well. Ruth is back to full health. Oyan reports that events in the country are unstable. There is still no word on the judge’s decision concerning our Friends.

We pray to get all our leaders in Europe the translated FEATS material soon.

July to September is the monsoon season. The rain brings respite from the onslaught of summer but causes some major problems. In West Bengal there are five or six dams where rain water is saved. During excessive rains in monsoon season it becomes imperative to release the stored water.  This causes severe flooding in many parts of Bengal. This year we had heavy rains. Many districts in South Bengal are badly affected by the flood water. Our evangelist Tapan Nandi is working in Hooghly district where many villages are seriously damaged.  The houses and properties of some of our EFM church members were affected.  Please do remember these dear people in your prayers.

Our ministry is also affected by the rain. It became almost impossible to do outreach programs. The Jesus film showings had to be canceled, but in spite of all difficulties, EFM workers did a good job for His kingdom.