Next To My Tree

New Everything

2011-02-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

New everything: Since our last newsletter our lives have changed drastically!

New home: we live in Newberg, Oregon in a beautiful house that we enjoy very much. The school playground is right out our back gate so the kids can go for a run and play as often as they want (that is when the rain in Oregon lets up for a while).

Kids: we asked many of you to pray for our kids during this time as they adjust to a new home, new culture, new foods, and especially a new school and new friends. It has been quite a process for them, but they are all doing well. Some days they come home so tired from school they can hardly sit up, just all the figuring out what to do and what to say and who to sit with makes them tired. Sometimes they are outright thrilled because they made a new friend, or aced a test. It has definitely been a valuable cultural experience for them all.

Health: We have been spending a fair amount of time in Dr’s offices since we’ve been back. There have been a number of things accumulating that need a doctor’s attention in the last year or so and we’re so thankful that we have found doctors who are helping us. Aren was diagnosed with gluten (wheat) intolerance, and we are all being tested for it now. We are all on a gluten free diet, which has been a challenge, but we’re getting the hang of it now. Debby has been struggling with various health problems for the last year. We now feel that we are getting to the bottom of it all. It is estimated that it will still take her another nine months to a year to fully regain her strength and energy.

Church: Newberg Friends Church has graciously allowed us to be a part of their family for the last months. Even though Dave and I have done some traveling to Ohio, Phoenix, etc, we are happy to have a church home that we can be a part of. They have been extremely supportive and loving.

David just finished his masters degree that he’s been working on for 10 years! We are thankful for all he learned, and thankful that he’s done.

Starting in January we will be spending the bulk of our time in fundraising efforts. We are presently at 45% of our needed funding.

God is taking care of our every need, and we are thankful to be his beloved children.

Debby

December 2009

2009-11-30T06:39:00.000-08:00

Is it December already? It’s hard to remember that its December when its warm and sunny outside and everything is growing like gangbusters.

It has been a busy time and lots of things have been going on.

We had a blessed Yearly Meeting with about 150 delegates from churches attending. Lon Fendal taught on listening to God’s voice in the decision making process. We had a number of tough decisions to make and the clerk stopped a number of times to just listen to God in prayer. After a time of listening there were new ideas, and the decisions flowed smoothly. We sensed God leading us during this time.

Dave and Brad made a Disipling for Development Film featuring lives that are changing in the Cyangugu district. Its an hour long (and in Kinyarwanda). We showed it one evening at Yearly Meeting and had some very positive responses from the delegates there. Many were amazed at the progress people with making in their lives even though we weren’t giving them money or project. It’s a moving film and we hope to subtitle it into English.

We are making slow buy steady progress on Ubuzima Moringa. The month of November we had the Food Health Commission come check out the Moringa. We are still waiting for the report, hoping for good news and a green light to start selling where ever we want to. We are also waiting on permission to build. Apparently there is a freeze on building in the area where we are located. We are presently appealing to the Mayor for an exception. We aren’t sure how long that might take.

Today I met with a Christian Business man who helps start businesses in Rwanda. I was encouraged as he feels he can help me connect with some people who can help me think through the next steps with the business.

Another thing we are working on these days is finding someone full time who can carry on with D for D and Ubuzima Moringa when we go on furlough next August. Pray with us that we find the right person and that the right person will be willing to lay aside other work to work for us.

Here is a picture of the Moringa field and the new fresh water well that we have on our property and share with the community. This well should have cost us $16,000 USD but instead, we ended up getting it for free. Isn't that cool?

Moringa Field--Chelsea Carpenter

2009-10-05T00:52:00.000-07:00

Here is an update on the Moringa business from Chelsea Carpenter:

Ubuzima Moringa is a business that Debby Thomas started as a way to minister life and show God’s love to Rwandans. The business will enable them to buy moringa at a cheap price which will help them very much nutritionally. The business also has a vision to be Christ’s light in the communities in which it works , through relationships with farmers, workers, salespeople etc!

Ubuzima Moringa is growing its moringa trees right outside the city of Kigali in a low-lying swampy area. Moringa leaves need to be washed with water once they’re harvested but dirty, slimy, swamp water would have had to do the job since wells are very expensive to dig, about $15,000 at the least. Debby inquired into having a well dug on their property, but the business did not have the necessary funds.

One organization that Debby had contacted had problems with some equipment and had to have a foreign team come to repair it. Once it was repaired, they needed a place to test the equipment, but it couldn’t be on one of their contracted sites. Out of all the possible places, they thought of Ubuzima Moringa and of the well that they wanted at their field! Having a well dug to test the equipment would cost exactly nothing.

As I was finishing my lunch with the school kids the other day at the Thomas house, Debby announced that the well-diggers were at the moringa field about to start digging…and would we like to go watch? This invitation included all the students as well, once the parents were asked, and since the digging would start any minute, we had to hurry and get everyone packed into the vehicles and onto the road.

We had barely started our twenty-minute drive, however, when the timing belt broke on the Thomas’s land cruiser and Dave had to pull over. Our car went back to get another car so we could still all go see the digging, but then realized we were almost out of gas so stopped on the way. We finally all got to the field, having found enough vehicles and drivers, and got to see the magical well-drilling machine and workmen.

There is no way I could explain the mechanics of it all, I just knew that when we got there, a hole was already in the ground and a few people from the community were watching the whole process. We gladly joined them. When we reluctantly turned around to leave, the workers started digging again! This was the exciting part, the loud noise, the spinning drill, the dirt flying up out of the hole (and the poor operator getting covered with it). I saw a child holding two jerry-cans (water containers) and thought of the blessings that this water would bring - not only to help provide moringa, but also as a water source for the whole community around the field.

Discipling For Development Seminar

2009-10-01T01:59:00.001-07:00

Last week we had all of the currently active community voulenteers (24 in all) come to a three day seminar in Kiagli. It was encouraging to hear the storeis of change in the communities. We also noticed that their world view has gone through some major changes since we first started teaching them a year and a half ago.

The lessons were fun! We used a lot of discussions, pictures, small groups, etc. so that the participants were actively involved in the learning experience.

We are moving into the stage of teaching lessons about the topics that the communities identify as their biggest problems, the things that keep them from moving out of poverty. Its a big step for all of us, we are moving into unknown ground. But there is a sense of hope and expectation among them.

The communities so far have identified animal husbandry, farming methods, health issues (especially malaria, worms, diarrhea, and dirty drinking water) as major issues they want to be trained in.

Pray with us as we start this new phase in our communities. We trust in God's transforming power to be working in and through each of us.

Thank you for your prayers!

An excerpt from Molly about Moringa

2009-10-01T01:54:00.000-07:00

Molly is one of our new teachers. Here are her reflections on going to the Moringa field:

A few days ago I went to Debby Thomas’ moringa field. Debby is one of the main Friends missionaries here. In January she started a business with a plant called a moringa. Moringa trees have a huge amount of nutritional value and are really easy to grow here in Rwanda. Debby has bought a few acres of land and has started planting. She has hired several Rwandans to work for her. The business has many purposes, but Debby’s model
is to do business as missions. She is hoping that her interactions with the local community and the impact of this nutritional plant will bring God glory, bring nutrition into more Africans’ diets, and bring people to the Lord.

Going to her field was really neat. She has worked really hard and learned a ton. I enjoyed getting to see all of the different ways to farm moringa, and the view of the valley was an added pleasant surprise. Alandra, Gwen, and Aren kept all of the neighborhood kids and us entertained. Those kids thought we were the best things they had seen in awhile. They all stood on the edge of the field and just watched us walk about. I think it was because of the girls’ really fair hair and skin, as well as the Thomas family dog Kenzie. Rwandans tend to be really afraid of dogs! The idea of having them as pets is crazy to them.

Love, Molly

Our Summer

2009-08-07T08:07:00.001-07:00

We have been having a fun and busy summer. Dave spent two weeks in Congo and Burundi with the Saltshaker team. The kids have been having daily language lessons and occasional tennis and swimming.

We just returned from a 10 day missionary retreat at Kumbya. Dave was leading it this year, we had 100 missionaries from Burundi and Rwanda. It was a really good time for all of us, good worship, good teaching and good times of fun and rest. Dave and I had less rest since he was leading the retreat, and I'm leading the effort of ongoing development of the Kumbya property. In any case, it was the highlight of the kids summer, as usual.

In just two days we are headed of to Uganda for a time of vacation. We haven't gone there for vacation in about 9 years. We are going to climb a mountain, camp, stay on an island, do a family river rafting, and spend some time with David's cousin Karina, her new husband Andy, and their new baby boy David. We are looking forward to getting away from the normal hustle of life in Kigali!

So...we'll be back in two weeks, getting ready for Breanna to go back to boarding school, and our other three to start their school too.

Ubuzima Moringa Update

2009-08-07T08:02:00.000-07:00

Here is the most recent information about Ubuzima Moringa in Rwanda.

January 2009—This is when we received our first portion of investment money from our three British investors.

February 2009—We hired 30 people to clear and hoe our one hectare of land. All grasses, banana trees, etc. was piled together in big long ‘logs’ to rot. This should be good compost to use on the crops in about a year.

March-April 2009—
Employees: We settled on a consistent daily crew of 15 people who now work every day. They are digging deeply the beds for intensive planting, bringing cow manure to the field, preparing rows and planting Moringa seeds intensively. They have planted 4--10 meter by 30 meter plots. The first plot planted is now almost a foot high. We are also doing a comparison plot that will be planted soon of actual trees that will be 80cm apart, to compare with the intensively planted area.

Daniel is our only full time contract holding employee at the time. He is on the field every day by 6. He has a great relationship with the farmers in the area and works very well with both the employees and government officials. He has shared our vision with government officials in the area and they are enthusiastic about what we are doing.

Building: We have built a small mud structure that can be locked to keep tools in. The larger permanent structure will be built in the dry season (June-August). It will allow us to bump up production significantly. Now we are drying leaf in the small drying structure we have at our home in Kigali. We will also build a small structure for the donkey, and possibly a milk cow. The cow can eat the remains of the moringa that we don’t use (which is a great cow food), provide milk for sale locally, and provide a lot of fertilizer from our left over moringa.

Irrigation: We have dug three big pits on our property down by the swamp that fill with water. This will be the source of water that we use to irrigate our land. We have two big water storage tanks that the water is pumped into with a gas powered water pump. From there we have electrical piping with holes punched into it going all through the field to irrigate the trees. It is definitely homemade, and we’ve had to make adjustments, but so far its working quite well.
Packaging: A young lady named Grace Poon, who is a graphic designer, came out with an engineering team (for another group) and said she would do the designing of our bags for free. She has worked very hard on this and has done a great job. We have had these printed at a Kenyan printer and have received the first 50,000 moringa bags to be filled for sale in two sizes: 50 grams (8 heaping teaspoons and 250 grams (40 teaspoons).

Legal Documents: All of the legal documents have been secured for Ubuzima Moringa in Rwanda. I have secured a day to day accountant, and a professional accountant who will come in twice a month. I purchased a copy of Quickbooks and have learned how to use it (now I need to teach the accountant to use it). Bob Whiteman, one of the stateside investors, has written an operating agreement which will help us keep the company operating in line with our vision for the long run. It’s a complex document, and hard to understand, but it will help us avoid problems that may come up in the future. Bob and Kevin Hoppock have been very helpful in sorting out how investment money works, transferring money to Rwanda, and being of general support and encouragement in these first months of the business’ operation.

Donkey: Two weeks ago we purchased one of 6 donkeys in Rwanda. The plan is to use the donkey for local transportation and field labor. Transporting it in the back of our pickup for four hours through the volcanic hills of Rwanda was more of a challenge than we had counted on! However, now it is becoming a family friend. The kids love it, and it has a sweet temperament. Today it came inside the house seeking out company and it took us 20 minutes to convince it to go out!

By the end of this month all the investment money from Friends in the US will be here, stock certificates signed and sent, and the final operating agreement out to investors as well.
Marketing: Marketing is starting to happen on a very small scale. We are keeping in mind that we have a small amount of Moringa powder to sell at this time, so we are looking for people with small communities to sell it. I also have lots of ideas of shops where it could be sold in the city of Kigali as well. However, our production is so small at the moment that I’m giving out information, but not yet actively seeking customers. (We are selling about 10 kg a month from our garage to people who stop by and ask for it, or who are thinking about using it on a larger scale.)

Further studies: I am presently taking a masters level course on Business as Mission. The professor, Neal Johnson, is an experienced businessman as well as an experienced missionary. He is writing a textbook on Business as Mission and asked me to help him with a missionaries perspective. The course has been very helpful.

So, overall things are moving ahead pretty much as planned. We do come up against challenges regularly, which I think is normal for businesses. My faith has been challenged a lot in this process. Often I feel that I don’t have everything I need to complete this task, but the Lord reminds me he is calling me to obedience, and faith in him, not perfection or complete business knowledge. Our biggest challenge at the moment is getting the product (the little we have) out on the market. Also, our production is still a lot smaller at this point than we thought it would be, so we are working on upping production.

Thank you for your prayers and support of this ‘out of the box’ ministry. I hope that you will feel free to contact me with questions, comments or advice (I need a lot of advice these days, especially from those who have business experience).

Debby Thomas

New Business "Ubuzima Moringa" Is Starting Up

2009-03-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

Its been forever since I've updated the blog. The most exciting new news is that we are finally starting the business "Ubuzima Moringa" that we have been thinking about for years. The investment capital has been secured, we have our business documents from the government, we have cleared our one hectare of land, and have started planting.

This is a business that will produce Moringa powder, from the leaves of the Moringa tree. These leaves are highly nutritional, with lots of vitamins and minerals, including calcium and some protein. We are packaging and pricing the product so that the poor can afford it. Its easy to use, you just put some in whatever food you are cooking, or alternatively, you can just sprinkle it on top of already cooked food.

Many of our investors are having their profits go towards our holistic community development efforts. We are also aiming to have an impact on the community in which the business is based. We want to disciple our employees, reach out to the community with holistic, Christian community development, and teach farmers how to grow Moringa leaves so we can purchase raw leaf from them. So its a business with multiple bottom lines: 1. we will make a profit (can't be a business if you don't!) 2. we aim to have a spiritual impact in the community where we work and through our many business contacts 3. we will have a social impact in the community where we work as well.

This business is teaching me (Debby) to be dependant on God. I often find that I'm 'over my head' when it comes to business, just to find that God is going ahead of me and preparing the way. Its a huge challenge to do business as mission. Its also a great opportunity to be salt and light in the place where God has placed me. People need good nutrition, they need jobs, the soil and land needs to be used in a productive manner, and God cares deeply about these things. As I continue to follow God in the business venture, I'm constantly praying that he will use it to help me to make him known.

Report of Ministry 2008--Goals 2009

2008-10-29T06:20:00.000-07:00

Present Ministry

David and I (Debby) are involved in a number of different but related ministry activities.

1. Discipling for Development: Debby is presently implementing Discipling for Development in the Rwandan Friends Church. It is s a ministry of Mission: Moving Mountains and the Navigators http://www.navigators.org/us/ministries/movingmountains. We now have three teams of trained volunteers (30 people) working in three communities. We consider these our pilot projects and hope to expand in the coming years.

Discipling for Development® is a ministry that helps people in a community to become all God intends them to be. This is a God-empowered, relational process, in which experienced facilitators assist the people of a community to grow in their ability to solve problems and to reproduce this process in other communities. Ongoing transformation of individual and collective thought and behavior results in personal growth and improvement of community (spiritual, health, agriculture, water, and relationships) for the glory of God.The Discipling for Development ministry process is based on the following principles of effective community development and discipleship:

Spiritual Formation—Ongoing transformation of the messenger is a prerequisite for transformation of communities.
Incarnation—The messenger identifies with the community to create understanding and demonstrate the Good News.
Transformation—Transformation of communities results when the Good News comes in power, truth, and love.
Integration/Holism—Effective community development integrates all of life and community.
Empowerment—Effective community development builds the capacity of a community to become all that God intends for it to be.
Community—Impact is magnified as a unified community ministers among other communities.

2. Kingdom Business: Ubuzima Moringa is a Kingdom business that we are starting in 2009 (planning in 2008) demonstrating God’s love by selling life enhancing moringa products to the poor in Rwanda. God has given us the ability to produce a highly nutritious powder from the leaves of the moringa tree that can fight the malnutrition that plagues Rwanda. We have decided to start a business producing this powder so that we can offer it to the poor at a reasonable price, while still making a profit in a long term sustainable way.

Debby showing some of the moringa powder they sprinkle on top of cooked food at their table.The owners and managers of this business are deeply committed Christians. We all desire to use our gifts, abilities, strengths, time and resources to further God’s Kingdom. We will use holistic discipleship with our employees, and with the community in which we work. We believe that we can impact the nation of Rwanda as we interact in a godly way with others in the business world and as we offer a much needed product to Rwandans. We desire to see God’s holistic transformation in those with whom we work.

3. Furthering our knowledge: Both David and Debby are studying for their masters degrees at Fuller Theological Seminary. We are studying in the Master of Arts in Global Leadership program which focuses on leadership and missiology. Debby has just finished her studies with an emphasis in Transformational Development. David has about one more year before he finishes. We study on line, while continuing our lives and ministry in Rwanda.

4. We both continue involvement in the Rwandan Friends Church at a leadership level. We use the gifts, knowledge and abilities that God has given us to work together with the Rwandan church leaders to further the work of the church. The Rwandan Friends Church presently has approximately 5,000 members. We work together with church leaders in the area of pastor training, church planting, evangelism, development, report writing and financial accounting.

Projected ministry goals 2009

Debby:

1. To lead three teams of Rwandan Christians through the process of holistic Bible based development in three communities. This should take about three years, will be accomplished by 2011. Also, to use methods of holistic community transformation in other ministries throughout the Rwandan Friends Church.

2. To continue to be involved in National Level leadership especially using the insights I am gaining in holistic ministry to help the church in the areas of evangelism, outreach, pastor training, church growth and church planting.

3. To start Ubuzima Moringa, a kingdom business in Rwanda. I want to help provide jobs, disciple individuals, produce a product that will benefit the poor, produce income that will support D 4 D in Rwanda, and do holistic community development in the community the business is located in.

4. To be a good wife and mother, supporting my husband in his work and loving and nurturing my children.

David:

1. Become a man of prayer. In helping move EEAR out of crippling dependency I grew in my giftings. I can see that God has given me gifts that work together well with the other giftings God has placed on our mission team and with our Rwandan leaders. I need to continue developing this gift of intercession and prophetic vision, to help all of us move towards the vision God has given us. I want to see Debby, Brad and our Rwandan leaders empowered and fully released into the ministries God has for them.

2. Serve my family. Become an excellent servant of my family. Free, empower and mentor Debby into the ministry God is moving her into with D for D and business-as-mission. Disciple and mentor my kids to empower them to reach all that God has for them.

3. Study well in my Fuller MAGL classes. These classes take 2-3 full days a week. I will finish within a year and a half.

Financial needs 2009

We would like to thank you first of all for your faithful financial support of us as missionaries over the last 12 years. We realize that we cannot live in Rwanda and do the work we feel God has called us to without your support.

Our personal support has been struggling this year. There are a number of reasons for this. Gwen, our third child, has been struggling learning to read (10 and in 4th grade). EFM graciously allowed me (Debby) to take her to the US for testing since we couldn’t find anyone to help us here. She has been diagnosed with Dyslexia and we are doing a special reading program with her. Aren, our second born, (12 years old) has been struggling in school and with relationships. EFM again graciously allowed us to take him to Kenya for counseling. We discovered he has ADHD. We are very thankful to have the kind of help that allows us to care for the needs of our kids. We feel that these interventions will allow us to stay on the field where as otherwise the kids learning problems could force us to leave the field. However, these were two unexpected expenses we have had this year. We have written letters asking for help covering these expenses, but we are still behind on our support. Our last September financial updates showed us to be $15,000 behind on our support.

Also, our oldest daughter Breanna just started boarding school in Kenya this year. Her school fees (room, board, school, and flights) are about $8,000 a year. Since we are not going on furlough for another two years, we are having a hard time raising this much extra support per year.

We are very grateful for the support you give us. If it is at all possible, we would ask you to increase the support to our family in 2009 to help us cover the cost of our daughter’s schooling. We realize that the economy is on the rocks and know that you may not be able to increase our support. We trust that the Lord will provide whether through your church or from elsewhere.

There is also an opportunity to invest in the Moringa business. If you know of individuals in your church who may be interested in investing in a Kingdom business in Rwanda, please pass on their contact information and I will send them a full copy of the business plan. Or have them contact me at debdavethomas@yahoo.com.

Moringa Pictures

2008-10-18T23:04:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures that Kathy Weibe took while she was here. She was especially interested in the Moringa Kingdom Business we hope to start up by the end of the year. If you want to know more about it, just send me an email and I'll send you a copy of the business plan.

This is Daniel (the manager of the business) and I at the land where the business will start up.This is me with some of the Moringa powder that we keep at the table so we can sprinkle it over our cooked food.

Start With the Little in Your Hand

2008-10-18T01:21:00.001-07:00

Here is an article written my one of the people who is mentoring us in Discipling for Development. This is a description of some of the people we visited on our trip and how their lives are transforming.

by Greg Brown, Guest Mentor

It was late Sunday morning in the small village of Kirambo in southwestern Rwanda.
Church service had just ended and we were gathering back in the church with a group of
people who wanted to share their stories. Over the past 6 months they had been involved
with a group savings program that they had started themselves after returning from a
Discipling for Development Foundations training in March. In this group, each member
contributes $1 per week to the pot (and about $0.20 to a group savings account). Every
week, a different member gets to take the contributions of the week and invest them in
some way to improve their life. This gives them enough buying power to start something
they could not start alone.

Pastor Tertullian Nsabimuna – a key Discipling for Development team leader – had said
that only 2-3 people would share, but it was clear that the excitement and enthusiasm
these folks felt in their hearts could not be constrained to so few opportunities. Before
Tertullian ended the sharing, seven men and women had told us of how this simple
initiative had begun to transform their lives, both spiritually and physically.

This really seemed quite remarkable given the fact that the young team from this village
was barely half-way through their first year of training and team building, a time when
usually very little happens in terms of engaging with the surrounding community. But
the three team leaders who had gone through D for D training had committed to each
other that they and their teams needed to be personally and visibly transformed
themselves before they began to take this out to their communities. One such example of
which was the savings group we were now hearing about.

Somewhere near the end of the time a young man named Emmanuel stood up to tell his story. He was a member of the team of eight from this village that had taken part in the March training. He began by describing his simple beginnings. He was born to a very poor family. He married shortly after returning from the training and was living with his wife in a rented, single room. He described it as having so many holes that snakes frequently came in and people would just reach in and steal his things. He had no land and he believed raising any kind of animal was something clearly outside his grasp. He was poor and felt that he would always be poor. But at the training he was challenged with the simple principle, “Use the little you have in your hand.” With that he and his wife planted the tiny area outside their rented room with some of the techniques he had learned. As part of the savings group, they also invested $5 to purchase 2 rabbits and 3 guinea pigs. He made $14 from selling the first litters and with the small profit from his crop and his return from the savings plan they rented a larger plot of land. With successive harvests and cycles of the savings group, they were able to supply their home with vegetables, rent a nicer home with cement floors and even purchase their own plot of land. His dream for 2009 is to build his own home on his land. He also said that he has started tithing and is thinking about how to make his family, his home, his church, and his country become a better place. He closed by saying, “I see that if I use the little I have in my hand, I can improve. I can be a light to others, and in my home I can have both physical and spiritual food that I can give to visitors.”

Stories like Emmanuel’s caused Nellie to give the savings group a try. In her own words
she shared:

“I am a very poor person. I rent a
room since I don’t have a room of my
own. I hoe for money for other
people. I have faith that God can help
me, so I have begun saving money
with this savings group. Sometimes I
have to give a tax that means I don’t
have enough money to pay my rent.
Even though this is my situation, I
save every week, and I hope that when
it is my time to get the pot I can use it
well to help my life. There are times
when I am discouraged, but Pastor
Tertullian comes and encourages me
and tells me to keep hope and to keep
saving together with the others.”

What started as a group of 16 women has now expanded to a group of 32 including
several men like Emmanuel who begged to be included. They have completed three
cycles of group members getting the “pot” on their week.

Breanna's Dorm Sisters

2008-09-08T07:27:00.000-07:00

Here is the first picture of Breanna and her 9 dorm sisters.

September Update

2008-09-07T07:24:00.000-07:00

We’d like to bring you up to date on some of our recent activities. Many of you have been following Debby and Gwen’s trip to the states because of Gwen’s reading problem. Gwen was diagnosed with dyslexia and attention deficit (with no hyperactivity). We are still waiting on some medical tests like food allergies that were taken when we were in the States.

Debby and Gwen met the rest of the family in Kenya and we all had our first vacation in Kenya (and first trip to Kenya in all our time in Africa). We took the bus to the coast and spent a wonderful five days at Mombasa, especially focusing on family time before sending Breanna to RVA. We all enjoyed swimming in the ocean and snorkeling. We even saw a lion fish in one of the tide pools.

The whole family went to RVA to see Breanna’s new school and to get used to the fact that Bree will spend much of her time there. We loved the school. We were overwhelmed with the love and concern shown for Breanna and the other students. God has given us peace that this is the right place for her right now. Breanna is happy with this new arrangement and very excited about the excellent educational and social opportunities it offers her.

While in Kenya we sought help for some issues that we have been having with Aren at school and at home. He was diagnosed with ADHD. We had to delay our return to Rwanda and are now spending an extra week in Kenya. Aren and Gwen both are starting medication and being monitored. David and I are reading our way through a huge stack of books trying to figure out what we are dealing with, both in the area of dyslexia and ADHD. We are also meeting with the Dr. regularly who is a Christian. He is helping us understand better what we are dealing with and how we need to parent these kids with special needs.

We are very grateful that we have the ability to get the help that our family and our kids need at this point in time. We realize that these educational issues often force families off the field. So far the Lord has been faithful to help us find the resources we need here in this region to face our particular issues. We are thankful for excellent counseling services at the Tumaini center with Africa Inland Mission (AIM).

Financially, this has been a huge strain on EFM. EFM is committed to caring for their missionaries, and they are doing a very good job. However, our personal support package does not have room for all of these extra medical and educational expenses. We are currently about $13,000 behind in our support mainly because of these issues we are facing. We are grateful for our regular supporters, but we need an extra boost to cover these extra expenses. Our home church of West Chehalem has already contributed $2,700. If your are able to make a special contribution to the Thomas family at EFM (PO Box 525 Arvada, CO 80001) we would be most grateful.

Thank you for your prayers and friendship.

Many blessings,

Debby and David Thomas with Breanna, Aren, Gwen and Alandra

July Email Update

2008-07-24T04:44:00.000-07:00

July 24, 2008

We are in the midst of a busy summer schedule. The YCEW high school team was here for 3 weeks and are now safely back in Oregon. They had a good, busy trip with us. Now we are in the midst of planning for the Kumbya Conference. There will be 130 missionaries, including their kids, coming from Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. David is coordinating the conference with two other missionaries, and I’m overseeing the cooking.

We are also receiving a college team and Gregg Pricket from Rose Drive Friends Church tomorrow. They will come to Kumbya with us. They are going to teach VBS for the kids, and Gregg will be our speaker. We are looking forward to a good time of fun and fellowship there.
As soon as Kumbya is over, Gwen and I (Debby) will be going to Oregon for a couple of weeks. Gwen has been having a really hard time with reading and we have tried everything we know how to help her here. EFM had graciously allowed us to set up a trip to the states to get her the help she needs. She will be seeing some specialists who will hopefully be able to help us know how to help her. I will also be attending a conference at George Fox College put on by Food for the Hungry on Transformational Development. I will have a brief break out presentation there.

In September Breanna will be going to Rift Valley Academy boarding school in Kenya. This is hard for our family, but at the same time Breanna is very excited for the opportunity. We belive that God has directed us in making this decision and that he will provide for our needs.
In the 11 years that we have lived in Rwanda, we have never been to Kenya. So we have decided that since Dave and I will be there to get Breanna settled in school that we will take a week to have a family vacation there as well. So, we will all be in Kenya in the end of August until the beginning of September. We are very much looking forward to getting away and enjoying each other’s company one last time before Breanna goes to school.

So, that is our busy summer in a nutshell. In the midst of this my team of volunteer development workers and I are doing community research to find out where we will begin our transformational development work. In fact, I leave in an hour to go to the community that we are thinking of working in. It’s about and hour walk in each direction—at least I’ll get my exercise!

Thank you for your support, your prayers, and your friendship.

Summer

2008-07-16T04:04:00.000-07:00

Well, the YCEW team from Oregon is safely back home again. We have been taking some time to rest, and spend time with the kids since they are on summer break now.

We are gearing up for the annual Kumbya Conference, a ten day conference involving missionaries from all denominations in Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Congo and Tanzania. Dave is the head coordinator this year, organizing the conference with two other missionaries. I'm purchasing food and overseeing the preparation of meals. Its a big job, cooking for 170 people over a big fire! But we have Rwandan cooks who know what they are doing and will do a great job.

The kids are really looking forward to Kumbya. They have childrens VBS all moring every morning. In the afternoons they swim and play. For them Kumbya is paradise.

We are getting a team of 9 from Rose Drive Friends Church in CA who will help with the Jr. and Sr. High VBS programs. Gregg Pricket from Rose Drive will be one of the Kumbya speakers. They arrive on the 25th of July and will leave on the 5th of August.

A Family Hike

2008-07-08T03:27:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday our family went with five other home school families to climb a mountain. It was a 3,000 ascent all in one shot. We brought the 6-year-olds (there were four of them and Alandra is one of them), and thought someone would stay behind with them. However, everyone made it to the top, including the four 6-year-olds. (this is a picture of the four 6-year-olds, Alandra is in the green shirt.)

It was a fun time to get a way from the city and from work. Way up there the hills of Rwanda reminded me a lot of the hills and mountains of Switzerland. The air was fresh, the fields green, and there were wild flowers. One big difference, however, was that we had about 200 school children following us.

We were all huffing and puffing, sometimes scrambling up the mountain side on all fours like a goat. We had some nice sore muscles the next day.

We are thankful for the beauty that God created, and a hike like that reminds us of what an amazing God we serve. We were also reminded of the stark poverty in which our brothers and sisters live. May God continue to show us how to advance his kingdom in Rwanda.

The First Ever Thomas Family Blog

2008-07-08T03:00:00.000-07:00

Hi there,

I just learned how to set up a blog last night and here I am, trying to make it work! I would like for this blog site to help us keep our family, friends and supporters updated on what we are doing. Seems like most of the time we are so busy doing what we do that we don't make time to communicate like we ought to.

I'm hoping to write some articles on Disipling for Development, Business as Mission (and some of our attempts at Business as Mission in Rwanda), live here in Rwanda with the Thomas family, and anything else that might be of interest.

Presently we have a youth team from North West Yearly Meeting here for three weeks. You can find there blog here: http://ycewrwanda2008.blogspot.com/2008/06/nine-travelers-and-their-families.html They have pictures, and even a couple of video clips.

So, I hope that in the future you will find some interesting articles, pictures, and maybe even video clips here that will keep you informed of our life and work in Kigali, Rwanda.

Debby Thomas