Inspired....

Click here to read about the Johnsons journey to bring home 3 Ethiopian children. What an inspiration!

Dr. Chris Leland from the Focus on The Family Institute writes, "Do some simple math with me. We've established that there are roughly 130 million orphans in the world. According to world religion research there are an estimated two billion Christians in the world. Let's say their numbers aren't even correct; perhaps there are only one billion Christians in the world. Let's see … 130 million into one billion. Guess what? If only 1 in 6 Christians responded to this call, we'd eradicate the orphan problem altogether."

Eradicating orphans world wide? That's somehting to think about...

Day #9 ~ Byumba ~ Kids

A very full and fun day today! Tonight I was in the van by myself. It was cold and I was enjoying a little bit of quiet. Pastor Sam opened the door and said, "Mayleenduh... are you in here alone." I replied, "Yes." He said, "Wrong answer, Mayleenduh. You are never alone. God is with you!" I laughed and laughed. The man has a point!

This is my favorite picture of the trip... a sea of happy Rwandan kids!

Today we spent the day with over 350 children (many orphans) from Byumba. Kristen and I led songs, made beaded necklaces, colored and played outside. The kids sang and danced, red poetry (in English), played soccer and ran us all ragged!

These children are sponsored by Compassion International. They receive school uniforms and many school fees are also paid for.

Singing...

They colored pictures. We weren't prepared for the masses! We passed out 1 crayon to each child... and it wasn't long before they were all swapping with one another. No whining, no complaining... just sharing and enjoying a simple activity. The simplest of things bring such joy!

Some of the youngest...

We were very blessed to have the sun shine when we needed it... and the rain when we were (mostly) inside...

We passed out stickers and assumed they would know to put them on their sweaters or papers... and laughed out loud when they all sported them on their foreheads!

I love this shot... he's "snapping," my picture too!

We ate lunch at a church members house. She has twin sons (in the center) who dream of coming to America!

We passed out packages of biscuits and "bombo" (candy) to all of the kids. They lined up from youngest to oldest, all said thank you and then sat back down and waited until every last child received their treat. Such manners! I absolutely love that it is Rwandan culture that when food is made available, the youngest always eats first. This is so that the youngest have the best chance to grow.

At night we showed, The Jesus Film outside. The film is the most viewed Evangelistic movie in history and is distributed through Campus Crusade for Christ. It took a lot of patience and creative technical suaveness to get the film to run... with the help of a generator (which blew several times...) and the kids showed up in droves to watch it. It was nearly 10:00 at night when the film ended. The kids walked home in pairs... some over 2 hours... to go home for the night. They will return in the morning.

We all had to laugh... the kids ran around chanting, "Kris-teen-uh, Just-een-y- May-leen-duh!" and following us everywhere. At one point our driver / bodyguard / translator grabbed a stick and literally shoed them away! I had kids on my back, on both legs, holding both hands... saying, "May-leen-duh.... May-leen-duh..." CLASSIC!

Melinda's Mission To Rwanda

Many of you know that I have signed on to serve a short-term mission in Rwanda, Africa. I have been touched by the outpouring of support. To all of you have sent notes of encouragement, have made financial sacrifices and contributions of my behalf, and have let me know that you have and continue to pray for me... thank you!!!!!

Because of the support of my friends and family I have raised almost 50% of the needed funds. I believe that God will find ways to provide the rest.

If you would like to make a contribution (no matter how small) leave me a comment and I will get the information to you.

Below are some pictures and links regarding my trip and the people of Rwanda.

Click HIV Initiative to learn more about this ministry I am involved in

Click Rwanda Orphan Care Initiative to learn more about orpaned Rwandans

Click Rwanda Health Care to learn more about bringing HOPE to Rwanda


My dear friends and family,
08/2008
Doors have opened for me to take a Global Missions trip to Rwanda and I am eager to go! I will be serving with a P.E.A.C.E. (Promote reconciliation, Equip servant leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick and Educate the next generation) team from Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA. The team plans to take part in fighting global giants including spiritual emptiness,
lack of leadership, poverty, disease and lack of education.

My role will focus on volunteering my time in a rural Kibuye District Hospital as part of the Western Rwanda HIV / AIDS Healthcare Initiative. I will also spend time serving children in an orphanage, many who have been orphaned due to HIV / AIDS.

Here are a few facts about Rwanda:
• Between 800,000 and 1 million people were killed in Rwanda in 1994 over the course of 100 days. Hutu civilians killed minority Tutsi’s and moderate Hutus over long-standing ethnic and economic tension
• Rwanda is about the size of Maryland. It is the most densely populated country in Africa and is landlocked with few natural resources and minimal industry
• Population: 8.4 million; 25% of the total population is between 15 – 24 yrs old
• Rwanda is one of the top 10 countries in Africa most severely affected by HIV /AIDS
• There are about 200,000 people living with HIV / AIDS and treatment is only available to 18.9%
• There are only 200 doctors and 3,000 nurses to serve the 8.4 million people of Rwanda (Or 42,000 people for each Physician and 2,800 per nurse)
• There are over 800,000 orphans in Rwanda. About 210,000 have been orphaned to HIV / AIDS

I am writing to ask you to please consider partnering with me for this trip. I am in need of your prayers and support. The cost of my portion of the trip is $3,800 with the largest part going to pay for airfare. I have been saving money by working a second job on nights and weekends but still need to raise substantial funds. I would appreciate any financial support that you are able to give. All donations are tax deductible. Whether or not you are able to provide financial assistance, I ask that you please keep the team in your thoughts and prayers. The trip will be from November 29 – December 14th with many training sessions in the interim.
If you decide to partner financially, please place your check made payable to Saddleback Church in the enclosed stamped envelope, and drop it in the mail to me at your earliest convenience. Airfare will be purchased in mid October. Any amount is greatly appreciated and I thank you for your kindness.
I look forward to sharing my experiences with you. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Blessings,
Melinda Marie