RockTheDesert

Oh Susannah

Oh Susannah. Your head is misshapen. You are abnormally small in stature. Your clothes need to be repaired or replaced. Your feet are bare, calloused, rough, scarred. Your hands are not clean. You struggle to talk and sing and dance. I can see it in your posture; you are trying so hard to express your joy. I am awestruck by the pure light of Jesus that I see in your eyes. My heart aches, my eyes sting with unshed tears as in this moment I mourn your body’s limitations. I wonder if your mom loved you when you were born. I wonder if your dad even knew that you existed. Do you have brothers or sisters? Who gave you such a lovely name? Where do you sleep at night? What do you eat? Have you ever held a doll or a toy or anything that was yours alone?

You remind me that we are all bound by our bodies’ limitations. In heaven, our earthly bodies will be completely transformed. We will see an incredible spectrum of colors. We will hear a profoundly beautiful range of sounds. We will taste the most delightfully pleasing flavors. We will smell aromas of amazing depth. We will touch and feel and sense what we could never experience on earth. Heaven is our true home: the place that our souls have longed for; the place that our hearts have known existed; the place that is nothing like we could have hoped or dreamed or imagined. I look forward to seeing you there; singing with you, dancing with you, tasting milk and honey with a wonderful sense of what is perfectly delightful and delectable. We will walk down streets of gold, drink pure water from the river of life, and sit at the feet of Jesus daily, worshipping Him.

Susannah…know that you are loved with an everlasting love by your Creator. He knows your name. He has created you to glorify Him. So glorify Him and live for Him and I will try to do the same. 

Burundi Recap #1 Mighty To Save

We've been back from our 3 month trip to Burundi for about a month -- one of our team members, Tricia, created this video recap from the point that she joined our trip, which was about 3 weeks from the end. It was so good to watch it today and remember that God is mighty to save! 

 

Diamonds and Dresses

Sundays in Burundi are l-o-o-o-o-n-n-n-g-g-g- days. We usually are up early, rushing to get a shower before the water runs out. Then we rush through breakfast, reviewing last minute teaching notes, spraying on sunblock, bug spray, stashing extra bottles of water in our backpacks. Then, the phone will ring, "hello, how are you?" "are you ready?" "I am Domitien." "I am here." Yesterday, Pastor Domitien borrowed a car from a friend so we rode in STYLE in a Rav4 instead of a marignally maintained taxi. After an extended time of worship, prayers, choirs, introductions, it was time for the guest speakers. Dan, Larissa and Marina, in that order.

Dan decided to tackle the weighty topic of The Trinity since it was Holy Trinity Day on the liturgical calendar. I decided to sweat profusely. Head. Neck. Back. 

Larissa shared her testimony which was punctuated by cheering throughout. The church loved/s her! She is getting more confident at sharing her story. I am really proud of her for being vulnerable and willing to tell about her struggles, victories, journey she is on.

Meanwhile, I'm still sweating. Shirt is sticking to my back. Is it possible that even my knees are sweating? I was left with 10 short minutes to teach about self-control/strongholds, which is also a weighty topic. When the microphone started slipping out of my sweaty hand, I wrapped it up. Whew. Made it through another Sunday.

Back at church at 3pm for a women's conference. When I helped the women's ministry team plan the conference, they thought that 30-50 women might attend the event. We planned to have plenty of room to move chairs into circles for small group interaction. Planned to have a good Q&A session at the end. Well, when we walked into the church and saw over 100 women, I realized that we were going to have to be flexible and go with the flow!

I began in Proverbs 31:10-12 and spoke to the women about what it looks like to be a woman of worth, like a diamond or precious jewel. We may not be perfectly faceted or brilliantly sparkly yet, but God has chosen us to be women, given us a specific role, and is using all circumstances in our lives to refine us, shape us, polish us into beautiful women of great worth. I also went through Titus 2:1-5 and talked about the 7 things that are "good" that we are to be teaching younger women. Larissa also shared a personal testimony about forgiveness which really struck home with all the women. All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon of worship and the Word. 

Then it was time to distribute the dresses we were given by Dress A Girl Around The World! We had nearly 150 little girls, infants through age 12 who stood in line to receive one of the handmade dresses. It was rather chaotic in spite of our best efforts to stay organized. The power went out twice which made it really difficult to reign in the chaos. Eventually, every girl who needed a dress, was given a dress. To those of you who sew dresses for "Dress A Girl" thank you, thank you, thank you! You brought beautiful smiles to the faces of these Burundian girls!!

Patrice

I just wanted to share one story of life-transformation from our 3 days of evangelism in Bubanza last week. On Monday, we shared the Gospel with two men who were working together. When we were finished, the older of the two men thanked us for sharing. Told us he was already saved, in fact, he was an evangelist with his church. He verified that what we had said was true. Then he said that he was only speaking for himself. He was not speaking for the salvation of his helper, Patrice. I asked Patrice if he wanted to receive the gift of salvation. He declined. Said he needed time to think about such a big decision. I asked him how much time he would need. He said he would think about it more that night then decide. So, we left the men and went on our way.

Wednesday was our third and final day of evangelism. This day there was an outpouring of grace. We shared with many large groups and many received salvation through Jesus. We kept walking, climbing, the road twisting and turning then suddenly we were in the same place we had been Monday.

We greeted the older, Christian man. Asked him where his helper, Patrice, was. He sent one of his children down to the bottom of the mountain to fetch him. When he arrived, I could tell he was somewhat dismayed to see us there. I asked him if he had been thinking about becoming a Christian like he said he would do. He admitted that he had not given it a second thought. I asked him how much more time he would need before deciding. He thought it would be many more days, maybe even weeks. I talked to him about how empty the things of this earth can be. If a man drinks a bottle of alcohol then goes to sleep with an empty bottle in his hands, when he wakes up in the morning, all he has left is an empty bottle. His heart is empty. If he goes to bed having salvation, when he wakes up in the morning, he still has salvation. His heart is full. At this point, another young man walked up to us and said we had preached to him the day before and now he was ready to be saved. All of a sudden, Patrice relented and said he was ready for salvation too! The Pastor prayed with them and had them pray for salvation. It was really a great moment of victory for the kingdom! Then I told Patrice that I wanted to take his photo now that he was saved so he could see the joy on his face. 

Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

 

 

Abundant Goodness

We were invited to work in Bubanza last week. Dan and I were assigned to work with Rocher Church. What a great pastor! He had 7 other members from his church ready to work with us every day! He and his team led us up and down many hills -- it seemed that our steep ascents far outnumbered our minor descents!

                                          For some reason, this goat perched in a tree caught my eye!

One of the days, we were in the bus waiting for some pastors to join us for the ride home. Of course, we attracted a crowd of kids who snuck around to my side of the bus so they could touch my arm which was hanging out the window. One of the boys had a "guitar" with him that he had made out of an empty water bottle, some wood scraps and some kind of string. Love his creativity!

We worked with 6 different churches to plant 5 new churches and strengthen 1 existing church. We had a team of nearly 40 Burundi nationals join us for 3 days of evangelism. Some were nervous about sharing the Gospel. Only a few had used an Evangecube to share the Gospel. But, by the end of the week, they were so excited about what God did in expanding his kingdom that they can't wait to go out and share Jesus boldly and actively.

Each church was given a Proclaimer (audio Bible) in Kirundi (primary language in Burundi). Dan held training in how to use the Proclaimer for Bible study and discipleship. By the end of 3 days, we shared the Gospel with 0ver 1,000 people. 511 people made a new profession of faith in Christ. Over 200 of these new believers attended at least 1 discipleship meeting. I shared the Gospel with individuals, families, students, skeptics, men who were sawing trees into 2x4 boards, even at the home of a muslim --  there were many amazing moments where I saw the grace and kindness of God poured out into the lives of people who, just moments before, had been going about their daily lives!

Psalm 145:1-7 I will extol you, my God and King and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

Back in Bubanza

This week we held the first of our 2-day LDC’s (Leadership Development Conference). These always precede our church-planting expeditions. 2 of our expeditions will be Burundi-national-led. The final expedition will be led by our North American team. We drove to Bubanza Province which is a about a 40-minute, white-knuckle drive away from Bujumbura. We last worked in Bubanza in August, 2008. Seems like a million years ago. So much has changed in Burundi since then. In 2008, Burundi was just barely in the process of ending the civil war that destroyed so many lives and much of the country. Bubanza was the province most impacted by the war. They were literally cut-off from Bujumbura and the rest of the country from 1993 until 2005. In 2008, so much of the military camps still lined the road to Bubanza.  Lots of vacant land lined the road since 1000’s of coffee trees were cut down in an effort to eliminate places where the rebels could hide. Many people were driven from their homes by the military, by the rebels, by the conditions of the war. Bubanza is a beautiful place and it is slowly being re-built with help from many organizations, among them the Chinese government. When we last visited there, we met with Governor, a devout Catholic man who welcomed us to evangelize the area. He said that his people were suffering much from the war. They needed so much help. NGO’s were not allowed to enter the area until the war had been officially ended for 6 months. Meanwhile, people were starving, in need of medical assistance, desperate for help, while NGO’s were just waiting for the all-clear so they could proceed with relief efforts. Though the people are still desperately poor, thankfully, it appears that there has been much progress.

The pastors we met with were passionate about preaching the Gospel and excited about planting churches where there are none.  Five local denominations were represented: New Vision; New Life; Cepebu, Vivante, and Rocher. After 2 days of teaching, fellowship and training on sharing the Gospel using the Evangecube, these leaders are more than ready to answer the great commission to “Go!” We will begin a national-led, church planting expedition next week. It takes a lot of faith and perseverance to plant a church in Burundi. Every obstacle you can think of is usually right in front of them, beginning with zero funding available. But God’s plan is perfect. His ways are perfect. We have seen His faithfulness over and over again as He provides generously and in unexpected ways. May there be a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Bubanza. May the fiery arrows of the devil be extinguished before they are even thrown. May the power of the darkness tremble at the overwhelming, unstoppable force that is the Church, united to “Go” all for the Glory of God!

 

 

Stewards of Grace

Traveling to Burundi is quite a task. Phoenix to Dulles. Dulles to Brussels. Brussels to Bujumbura. That's a lot of "time travel" too. We are wiped out when we arrive. Thankfully, we are always greeted by smiling, hospitable, grateful pastors and translators. This time, we were met at the gate by Pastor Domitien and Philemon, one of our long-time translators. They carried all 5 of our 50-lb duffel bags, 2 carry-ons and 2 backpacks up to our 2nd floor room at King's Conference Center. All the while, they were so helpful, not complaining at all, practically tripping over each other in an effort to help us get settled. They have been gracious hosts for the past week, always available by phone, calling taxis for us, dropping by the house to make sure we have what we need. Their hospitality has helped make our transition to city life in Bujumbura much easier. Life in Burundi can be hard. Water shortages. Power outages. Language challenges. But life in Burundi can also be beautiful when you have friends who surround you with love & grace!

1 Peter 4:8-10 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace

Deep Fried Googly Eyes

See these piles of adorable little fish? The ones with the googly eyes? I wasn't aware until our last night in Burundi that they can be deep-fried with a light, crispy batter, lime wedge on the side, salted generously and eaten by candlelight in the finest dining establishment along Lake Tanganyika! Our host for dinner was Herve's father, Gabriel. He returned from a work-related trip to France just before the end of our trip and insisted on treating us to a fantastic, lakeside meal, complete with live music and the hypnotizing sound of lake surf in the background.

I'm not sure if I would have known to order the tiny, crunchy fish and I'm not even sure what they are called, but I can say, without a doubt, not even one of them made its way into Dan's mouth. I wish I had taken a picture of my meal - it was absolutely beautiful. I started with a fresh, sweet corn, bean, tomato, & onion salad - it was perfection on a plate. Burundi has outstanding fresh produce. And my Sangala Meuniere (the freshest fish possible in a lemony, buttery sauce) was fantastic. I skipped dessert, but Dan ordered ice cream and said it was impossibly icy and creamy. The more I think about the googly eyed fish, the more I can't believe I ate them. My Omega-3 levels better still be sky-high - was I really crunching & munching on fish bones? Someone please tell me it was the batter that was crunchy! 

 

Burundi Forecast

This week of Easter prep has collided perfectly with our e3 trip prep, producing a perfect storm of very little sleep, FedEx runs, a bedroom loaded with half-packed suitcases, and a late night venture into Walmart for toiletries, Pringles, and Raid. This is all part of our pre-trip M.O., I mean, how does anyone leave the country without kind of going a little crazy first? 

Dan and I should arrive in Burundi by next Wednesday. We look forward to working with our ever-expanding team of Burundian pastors, translators and friends. We will visit Muyinga province to plan for our summer expedition, follow-up with churches previously planted, and help plant a new church in the Bubanza province. We will also hold a Leadership Development Conference for pastors where we teach and model evangelism and church multiplication. We will also introduce a new tool for discipleship called "I Am Second." 

In the midst of all this, we have produced a Team Berryman Prayer Calendar which you can download HERE! We would love to have you join us in prayer for the next couple of weeks as we have so many things packed into our days in Africa. If you're interested in following our activities in real-time, Dan will send out regular Twitter updates which are posted to his Facebook page. Make sure you are his Facebook friend and if you're on Twitter, follow @daninreallife.  

From Zanzibar to Burundi

Here's more of Dan's updates via Twitter via Facebook from Zanzibar and his transition to Burundi. He and Auzelio will be there for 8 days before the next team arrives. They will follow up with many of the churches that we have helped to plant since e3 started working in Burundi in 2008. It's so cool to follow-up: it's like watching your babies grow and mature!

Had a mystery bite at dinner. Spit out a shell or exoskeleton? It was either a whole spice or spicy bug... Ug... Just thru up a little again. After 2-days of no one accepting Jesus, I stood in awe watching the miracle of salvation. Very cool. God is very good. Thank you Jesus. ‎"... dark as night & deep as death broke the light of thy salvation..." that describes dramatic contrast of salvation. In Zanzibar at Chinese restaurant celebrating. The table next to us is full of Chinese. Refused, denied permits, mocked & intimidated. But on Zanzibar 3-Americans & 20-Tanzanians told 1017 people about Jesus & 198 accepted. The Zanzibar Christians cannot believe so many prayed for Jesus. They are excited and hopeful. Zanzibar has 1.2 million people & fewer than 10,000 Christians & fewer than 45 churches. In 5 days Christian population increased 2%. Today is a good day in Zanzibar. Today, I reach into my suitcase & get a clean pair of pants! Umm... So soft... So clean... Fresh smell... Just finished "spice tour" in Zanzibar. My love affair w/ spice tea continues. My spice tea love is getting out of hand. I'm buying it in unlabeled plastic bags by the kilo. There is a Quaker church in Zanzibar that was established in 1800's. Today it has 2 only members but they are still faithful. Good news! There is no (very little) malaria in Zanzibar. I feel better about bites now. Took tour of St. Monaca's Church & my hotel. My room is over the slave cells. Church w/ Dr. Livingstone ended slavery in Zanzibar. Remembering how @berryman & I met. We would show up early or stay late & accidently meet up. My spicy tea relationship is out of control. I need to end it. We brought 60lbs of tracts from USA & more from the Tanzania mainland. The Islanders liked gospel of Matthew most. God's word is powerful. Sharing Jesus w/ tour guides. Nice rejections, saying that they need more evidence, saying it's hard to go against culture. When a muslim needs more evidence, he means prove Jesus is God or man, prove virgin birth, but don't use Bible, and only answer yes or no. Watching "God Provides" videos from Crown Financial w/ Tanzanian church leader. Last dinner in Zanzibar on the beach, sun setting, traditional sail boats, freighters loading on beach, acrobats, singing... Travel day. We move from Zanzibar to Burundi. We go from hot & humid to humid & hot. Watching Thursday night football in Zanzibar on Friday afternoon. Best travel day ever! We've been sharing Jesus w/ young woman in Nairobi for couple hours now. Pray for her salvation. We have arrived "home" in Bujumbura. Good night. Sobering thought: if Final Judgment were today, everyone (over 99%) in Zanzibar would perish. Sad reality: in Zanzibar the people are poor, but the Zanzibar people are rich, very rich, compared to the people of Burundi. Getting ready to connect w/ e-mail for 1st time since leaving for Africa. Looks like I'm 400 behind. :-( Little progress connecting to digital world. Power out in Bujumbura. Rainy day in Bujumbura, but we still can have dinner at Ubuntu w/ in country missionaries. FINALLY! Local missionary has 6 children visiting her in the city from the village. One of them is wearing a Christ Lutheran shirt!!! This week New Life Church in Bujumbura trained church members to share Jesus around their new campus using e-cube. Over 200 heard 80 prayed. The wife of the president of Burundi asked us to go to her church tomorrow. I guess we'll go.

 

Zanzibar via Dan via Twitter via Facebook

God is doing some amazing things in Zanzibar. Keep praying for seeds to be planted and sown, for the churches in Zanzibar to be strengthened and encouraged, that they would be committed and passionate about sharing the Gospel now that they have been trained and equipped by Dan and his team, that they would faithfully disciple all believers, and that ultimately God would grow His church and be greatly glorified!! 

The following is Dan's daily chronicle on his current short-term mission trip with e3 partners to Zanzibar. He posts to Facebook via Twitter (@daninreallife). I copied all his Tweets and pasted them into paragraph form for easier reading. 

Last time I wore these pants I was leaving the USA. I wore them for the next 17-days. Yes, they're like a good friend. Boarding Group 1! Does this nullify my "mission" trip? Need to fly across USA then Atlantic then Europe then the Sahara then a little more. Still waiting to board. Need to go back to gym, bags are all too heavy. Going to Africa. Landed in Chicago waiting for connection at Manchu Wok, why? Tradition! On flight leaving USA, need to turn twitter "off". I can send, get DM's, get text, but can't afford to listen to all of you. Miss you guys! In Chicago & London, experiencing cross cultural dress. People carry large, bulky clothing. They call these items "coats". Strange. The American team has assembled. We are 3 strong. Zanzibar, here we come.

Made it to Nairobi. Best all around flights ever. Thank you, United Airlines & Kenya Airlines. 1 more flight to Zanzibar. Leaving Nairobi, home of the world's hottest airport. I'm sweating like a dog in Chinese restaurant. Arrived in Zanzibar w/ all our bags. Bags look a little looted. TSA took my can of Raid, but we're in business to plant churches. Staying at a hotel in Zanzibar that used to be the slave market. Carried 60-pounds of scripture tract & gospels to Zanzibar. I had booklets in suitcase, carryon, pockets. Pray Isaiah 55. Wow, a tourist bus full of white people pulled in front of hotel (old slave market). Hope they don't think I'm part of interactive show. Woke up from sound nap dazed & confused. Rushed to opening ceremony. I'm an hour early. Wished I'd brushed my teeth or ate a pack of gum.

Pastor's story: his sister converted to Jesus, as muslim it was his duty to kill her, thru a miracle & sister's testimony he comes to Jesus. The influence of 1% Christian population ended slavery in Zanzibar. I have a new love - Spice tea.  In Zanzibar, 1st man prayed for Jesus as crowd made fun of him. Just shared my lunch (bag of peanuts) w/ children around church. Tanzanian children very well mannered unlike rest of Africa. Need prayer for health, not well in Zanzibar. Also, pray for new Christians & the muslims who mock them. 1st day in Zanzibar 168 heard the story of Jesus, 35 professed Jesus as Lord. Hard to do when all your neighbors are muslim.

Slept good last. Many crazy dark dreams. Best dream was of ice cream sundays & shakes. Rod this is a prophetic dream. See you at BR [Basking Robbins] in Dec. Zanzibar lunch yesterday: hand wash (village water) no towel, no tools just fingers, ate w/ wet hands, OOPS! & my 1st coconut (whole thing). Today In Zanzibar, shared Jesus w/ 79 people, all muslim. 1 man was an iman. None accepted Jesus. Muslims wanted proof Jesus is God or a miracle. Pray that God will speak to the people of Zanzibar in dreams & visions. Thank you for prayers. My health has improved! In Zanzibar, no new Christians attended Bible studies but 1-church new Christians came undercover of darkness. Spent night in prayer & study. Spoke in church using Pastor Jim's notes from last week: Eph 2:4-10, Acts 18:28, Gal 2:20. God is good & provided me a message. Praying for my USA church services in Phoenix: Harvest Bible Chapel & Christ Lutheran. Miss you guys. In Zanzibar church buildings are good construction, but churches are few & members very few. Most Christians came from outside Zanzibar. At 1-church only Pastor's family, 1-American + 3-Korian missionaries showed up. Why? Fear. Muslims burned pastor's house 3-days ago.

Spoke at 2nd church Zanzibar today, 7 people attended. We met in house, we prayed, sang, took an offering & preached. In Zanzibar we have worked w/ 9-churches, shared Jesus w/ 382 people & 107 have put faith in Jesus. Zanzibar: major rain this am. Hot, humid pm w/ major bug plague. We ate at tourist stop along sea wall. Fresh sea food all crawling w/ bugs. Confession: found Internet cafe near hotel during break Sunday, spent my 1st 30-min adjusting NFL fantasy team. Sorry. Got strange "green" drink for breakfast in Zanzibar. Hmm. What is it? Blah, blah, blah? Oh, it's avocado juice. Didn't know it was a drink.

Working at a house church in Zanzibar that muslums regularly stone during prayer - worship services. Someone just prayed to make Jesus Lord of their life in Zanzibar. God is good! Found a group of Christians. We gave them gospels of Matthew. They dug right in. I thought some finished book before we left. Prayers are being answered, people in Zanzibar are trusting in Jesus for salvation. Muslims called after us for prayer. God is glorified. Came across rare Christian family, they were born & baptized Catholic, sent kids to Lutheran school, learned that Jesus was the Way to God. In Zanzibar, my translator was busy, praying w/ convert. Woman came to us. I gave pastor e-cube. He started sharing Jesus. She prayed too. Zanzibar Pastor has not given me the evange-cube back. He keeps sharing Jesus.

 

 

Letters and Numbers from Karusi

There's really so much more to say, the memories are richer every day that we are not in Burundi - we realize over and over that God did a miraculous work in Karusi and we were so blessed to witness His power and Spirit in that place, transforming people's lives for eternity! We received a couple of letters from team members after we returned home. Thought I'd conclude with excerpts, few more photos, and the "numbers."

From Calvin

 ... The overwhelming "YES" responses we received is something I will never forget! God sent those who have never known the Lord, the totally uneducated farmer and herdsmen to the down trodden who spent much of their day and nights in sin drinking banana wine to drunkenness or worshiping idles to converting a Muslim to accept Jesus Christ.  Auzelio and I were rewarded with over 295 in the province of Karuzi who accepted the LORD as we planted a church before we departed. 

I returned on June 24th to the USA more humbled and blessed by this new chapter in my life in knowing GOD's disciples are present with so many around the world who love the LORD so much!  I am "on fire for the LORD" ...

From Ray and Mary...

...God blessed our efforts there and we were able to share our personal testimonies and the Gospel of Jesus Christ with over 4,040 people in that remote and primitive province in Burundi.  There were 2,002 people that prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and our 8 teams started 8 new churches which are now meeting each Sunday with a newly trained pastor for each church.  Additionally, 1,188 of the new believers were discipled in their newly found faith.

The new churches will be supported by the original 8 churches who will help the new churches become self sustaining, viable churches as they move forward and disciple the new believers and followers of Jesus Christ.  Karuzi is the poorest province in Burundi (Burundi is the third poorest country in the world) and there are many needs.  Many of the children were dressed in dirty, rotten torn rags that would fall apart if you tried to wash them.  They were also infected with malaria and various skin diseases, as well as suffering from malnutrition...We are thankful to be able to serve the people in Karuzi, and we are especially thankful to be able to bring them genuine hope through Jesus Christ...

I sent this letter out when we returned to Bujumbura from Karusi...

We are back in Bujumbura, Burundi after spending 5 wonderfully challenging days of ministry in Karusi, Burundi. We encountered profound physical and spiritual poverty. 50% of our luggage didn’t arrive (Dan wore the same pair of pants for 12 days). The accommodations were, well, primitive. But, we can honestly say that Karusi, by God’s mercy and grace, will never be the same again! We literally saw darkness turn to light as people were set free from the bondage of sin, demonic strongholds, religious misconceptions, spiritual hopelessness and despair!

Our team consisted of 8 North Americans, 6 translators, 4 e3 Committee members and 8 TCCP pastors. 27 ordinary people committed to God’s extraordinary work in Burundi! We were astounded and blessed by the “numbers” – our challenges seemed insignificant when compared to:  

4047 Gospel Presentations, 2002 Professions of Faith in Christ, and 1188 New Believers Discipled!

We are so thankful for your faithful prayers – may God richly bless you for your prayer and financial partnership – you have made a difference in our lives and in the lives of 1000’s of Burundians who were walking in darkness and are now walking in the light! 

Christ Is All,

Dan and Marina (Team Berryman) 

 

Winding Down to Revenge

 
 
On the way back from Mugaruro, our bus driver, Manuel, invited us to his home to meet his family. Of course we accepted his invitation! He was one of our drivers last year. If we end up going out to dinner at night, we will keep a driver with us and then he will join us for dinner. So, last year, we went to the Ubuntu Residence for pizza (of course) and Manuel was our designated driver. Since he only speaks Kirundi, he sat next to Herve who ended up sharing the Gospel with him. By the time dinner was over, Manuel had prayed to receive Christ! We’ve had him as a driver several times since then. I hadn’t ever heard his testimony, so I asked him to share it with all of us. He said that when he became a Christian, it completely changed his life. He went home and told his wife – she was overjoyed because she was already saved. He said that his life is very different now. He goes straight home from work every day, instead of detouring to the bar. He doesn’t chase other women.

He now has money to buy food for the family and beautiful clothes for his wife. He lives in a walled compound in a modest, two-room home with his wife and three children. The main room had a small sofa, 4 wooden chairs, a coffee table, and a color TV! The kitchen was outdoors. We didn’t see inside the bedroom. Manuel told Dan that he wanted to give us one of his children – he asked his 4 yr old daughter if she wanted to move to America – she shook her head no and looked about as terrified as I felt! It really was an honor to be invited into their home. Manuel even bought us a round of Coca Colas! We prayed a blessing over him and his family before we left.

Saturday was our official rest day. I had picked up an annoying virus from all the coughing, sneezing, congested kids in every place that I had been. I spent the day napping, sneezing, blowing my nose, reading and packing. We decided to have a farewell dinner at a beautiful resort along the lake. The restaurant is outdoors and the breeze coming off the lake combined with the sound of the giant waves nearly lulled us all to sleep. The grilled fish was out-of-this-world good.  Along with a cold Coca-Cola, it was the perfect way to celebrate our trip!

On Sunday we attended church at New Life Church. Pastor Jeremie is the executive pastor. He and his wife Jeanne visited us in Arizona in January. They stayed for 4 days and we felt very blessed to be able to host them in our home. They had a great time in Arizona and Jeremie paraphrased a famous quote by Idi Amin, saying, “when you come to my country I will get my revenge on you” for your hospitality.”

Well, they have a lovely home and hosted us for Sunday lunch. Jeanne served fried fish, fried bananas, sliced onions marinated in lemon juice, rice, and sweet bananas for dessert. We ate on the front patio and savored every minute of the “revenge!”

Friday in Mugaruro

Dan had a full day of church follow-up planned on Friday. Two years ago, Dan and Charlotte (she’s from Florida and was part of our team) planted a church in a place called Mugaruro. Charlotte was deeply impacted by the experience and returned to America knowing that she couldn’t go back to life as usual. She was able to return to Burundi with us a year later. She and Dan visited their church plant and were encouraged to see that the church was growing and God seemed to be blessing the people who were part of the church. Charlotte continued to be in contact with the pastor of the church and Pastor Manasseh from the “mother church”. She finally knew that God was calling her to do something more than visit Mugaruro once a year – after a lot of prayer, she took the ultimate plunge and moved to Burundi in June of this year. She had only been in town for about 3 weeks when we got there. It was so great to see her and to know that she’s completely living and working by faith in this crazy endeavor. She found out that around 7,000 people live in this village. Approximately 200 people attend the church that she and Dan planted. The church now owns a small piece of land and has built a wonderful church.

Charlotte is determined to share the Gospel through prayer, words and deeds until all 7,000 people are a part of the faith community there! She and her translator, Ildephonse, have begun 2 Bible studies which meet every Saturday. She brings food and water to the church twice per week and spends time talking to people, praying for them and with them, encouraging them, ministering to the kids, and just trying to live out the Gospel of love. She is an amazing young woman with a huge vision of how God could redeem an entire community!!

We spent 2-1/2 hours doing person to person evangelism in Mugaruro. The team was pretty small – Dan and I, Ken and Sharlene, Charlotte, 2 translators (Ildephonse & Frank), Pastor Manasseh and eight men from his church. When we met back at the church for the discipleship meeting, the church was completely packed with kids and adults. Charlotte had witnessed to a group of men in a bar. They all wanted to pray to receive Christ but didn’t feel right about praying in a bar – they all followed her to the church and sat in the front row. When Dan asked who wanted to come up front to pray for salvation, these guys all stood up and came to the front to pray. It was amazing!

After the discipleship time, we went outside the church and had a good old fashioned "drug-burning" ceremony. One of the new Christians had pockets full of drugs - I wasn't sure what kind of drugs, just looked like piles of straw and weeds to me. Pray for the new Christians in this church, that their faith would grow strong, that they would be committed to studying the Bible and gathering for worship, that they would join Pastor Manasseh, Charlotte and the other Christians in the church in sharing Gospel and be blessed as they watch it powerfully impact the lives of all who live in Mugaruro!

 

Hippos and Pizza

On Thursday afternoon we headed to the Ruzizi River to look for hippos! Now, I am not really a hippo-type of person, but it's always fun to watch everyone else who is! I grew up practically in the backyard of the San Diego Wild Animal Park and went there a million times growing up. And I never became a huge fan of wild animals. (Or non-wild animals). But I really loved the park itself. Crazy, I know.

There was a garrison of soldiers stationed at the bridge (Congo is not too far from here). One of them happily accompanied us down to the river banks, armed with his AK47. He pointed toward a big island in the river. We watched as the island suddenly broke apart and became a bunch of swimming and floating hippos. Quite a sight to see. I have heard that hippos can run 40 miles per hour and I’m pretty sure that I can run about 1 mile per hour, probably a little faster if there’s a hippo chasing me, so I kept inching away from the shore, hoping I wouldn’t back into a sneaky crocodile in the bush. When everyone had their fill of hippo thrills, we paid our guide, piled back into the van and headed to dinner. 

The Ubuntu Residence serves our favorite pizza in the world. It’s a wood-fired, thin-crust, with delicious cheese, organic veggies and salami. It’s absolutely divine. And the setting is beautiful and relaxing. Except for the mosquitoes. The restaurant grounds are green and lush. Our table was under a giant coconut tree. There were crown cranes roaming around. Lake Tanganyika was just beyond the stucco wall around the property. So beautiful and almost un-real to be sitting in Bujumbura, eating pizza, drinking Fanta, watching the sunset, occasionally shining your mag lite into the waves, hoping to spot hippos.

Lunch at New Life Church

On Thursday morning, part of our team departed for the USA.  Calvin had to get back to work. Ray and Mary had to re-group and re-pack for their "E3/I Am Second" expedition the next week to Bolivia! The rest of us had a free day, but it wasn’t exactly a day off. We had the opportunity to go to New Life Church in downtown Bujumbura and minister to a group of widows and orphans who live on the streets.

 

This is a ministry that takes place every Tuesday and Thursday. Herve, one of the e3 Burundi Committee members, heads up this ministry. He usually shares the Gospel with these ladies, then helps to feed them lunch. Since Herve had to stay behind in Karusi for an extra day, we had the privilege of taking his place at New Life. We used the Proclaimer to play several chapters out of Luke.

 

Then Sharlene headed up a Q&A session about what they heard. We each shared a short Bible message.

 

Then lunch was served. They served the food in big, flat bowls. Everyone dipped their hands in a bucket of clean water then sat and ate the food without utensils. Ken and Sharlene were able to get a few photos of the food while  I wandered over to the outdoor kitchen and captured a quick little video with my Kodak. It’s amazing what they can do with a cooking fire, a couple of big pots and pans, some rice, beans, and little tiny fish.

 

The Kitchen from marina berryman on Vimeo.

We talked to one woman who told us she is not saved. She said she was a concubine, which evidently means “living together” in Burundi. They just couldn’t ever afford to get married. Anyway, she had a baby with her, probably under age 1. The baby had a soft, off-white, knitted cap on (in the photo above, you can see her and her baby right in the middle of the pic). It’s pretty unusual to see a baby with a cap on in Burundi. The climate is a consistent 85 degrees year round, even during the rainy seasons. That’s why it’s so lush and green. So, the woman was asking us to pray for her baby. She pulled the cap back just enough so we could see a giant, unhealed head wound. Like there had been a major head trauma that hadn’t recovered. She told us that she and her “husband” had been fighting; it turned violent and physical. He grabbed a knife and was trying to kill her. Then he threw the knife at her. She ducked down to avoid being hit with the knife. The knife went past her and right into the baby’s head. She had taken the baby to the hospital and they had treated the wound, but it wasn’t healing properly and they couldn’t seem to do anything about it. So, we prayed that God would heal the baby’s head. And we prayed that the woman would come to realize her need for salvation. I wish I could go right back there and talk to this woman. There is never enough time. And sometimes, by the time you understand the situation, the opportunity is lost.

Perspective

 

After Karusi, we went back to Bujumbura, picked up the missing / now-found luggage and went back to the King’s Hotel. When we walked into our rooms, it was like we had arrived at the Ritz Carlton.

 

 

The rooms seemed luxurious beyond belief! I took a shower and washed my hair. Twice! The rinse water = uugggh!! Dan finally put on clean clothes. We had a wonderful dinner with the team at the hotel restaurant. Fresh fish from Lake Tanganyika, covered in a spectacular sauce, rice, french fried potatoes. We also ordered avocado salad with tomatoes and onions. It was divine. We slept soundly under our mosquito net, in a king-size bed with clean white sheets, while the A/C cooled off the room all night. Perspective is everything when you’re in Burundi!

 

 

While I was definitely grossed out by my dirty hair (nearly dreadlocks), none of the villagers noticed it because they don’t have running water at all and clean, shiny, hair with all the right product in it just isn’t a priority. They just have as much water as they can carry back to their homes from their water source (sometimes a community spigot, sometimes a river, lake, pond, spring or puddle). They’ve never even imagined the luxury of a nice, long, hot shower. They usually have just 2 sets of clothing. One for everyday/working and the other for church.

 

 

They wear their clothes until they are literally rotting, threadbare, ripped to shreds, no elastic left in waistbands, missing sleeves, broken zippers, dirty, and way past what we would think is unwearable. Clothes are a necessity of life to protect you from the elements. I never saw a bedroom or even a bed in any of the homes I entered. They usually roll out woven mats to sleep on. Sometimes they have a thin piece of foam under the mat. Never saw a pillow or a blanket.

 

 

Their diet is simple – rice and beans are the staples. All else is a bonus – we saw a few people gnawing on sugar cane. Saw a few kids nibbling on a small boiled potato for lunch. Once in a while I saw someone eating a small ear of corn. That’s about it. Yet, it seems to be enough to sustain them for life and work. Makes me feel overfed, underworked, and shamefully discontent.

 

Cooking Over Fire in Karusi

The hotel staff did their best to accommodate our big group. It must be incredibly difficult to cook meals over an open fire for a large group of people – it was pre-daybreak when they started making breakfast and dark when they finished washing the last dish after dinner.

 

 Ken and Sharlene got a picture of the kitchen…

 And the plate prep area…

 And the dishwashing area!

On our final morning, Dan and I gathered the staff together for pictures and to give them a small gratuity - you would have thought we gave them a million bucks  - some of the guys went crazy, turning cartwheels, dancing, jumping in the air, posing for silly photos.

 

Our translators quickly built a rapport with the staff and ended up sharing the Gospel with most of them. I started noticing the dining room staff was joining us for our team meetings, devotionals, prayer and worship times. Several of them prayed to receive Christ as Savior. We gave Bibles to all who needed one. On the day we left, the lead dining room gal (far right in the photo) saw me in the hallway, pressed her hand to her heart, raised her fingers to her lips then extended a kiss and a wave to me. I was extremely touched by this gesture. She agreed to attend the new church we planted near the hotel!!

Unscheduled Stops

On our next to last day, we were heading to Kigoma camp for our final day of evangelism, when a young man stopped Dan and tried to talk to him in English. We thought he was a Christian because it seemed like he was talking about evangelizing. Our translator told us he was saying that he wanted to be “evangelized.” So, Dan and Stanley shared the Gospel with him. A small crowd gathered, mostly young men. They all prayed to receive Christ! These “unscheduled” stops are a great reminder to always be looking for opportunities to share with people who desperately need to hear the Good News! We would have walked right past him if he hadn’t stopped us.

 

While Dan was talking to the group of guys, a few young kids came over to listen. One little girl got her bare foot stepped on by an older kid. She started screaming hysterically. There was a puddle of blood forming around her toes. The child who stepped on her foot picked her up and tried to carry her down the street. She was still crying and in a lot of pain. Finally, Prosper picked up the little girl and we walked down the road to find her mom. I gave her an anti-bacterial wipe and told her to wash the little girl’s foot with soap and water then to clean it really well with the wipe. She promised to do that. I noticed that she had a bar inside her home – I saw a table and some chairs, a couple of men were in there smoking and drinking some kind of brew. I told her that I wanted to talk to her later and she agreed that I could come back and talk to her.

 

The next morning, we stopped at the bar to visit the little girl and her mom. The mom’s name was Francine. The little girl was Aliese. She showed me her daughter’s “clean” feet – they definitely were cleaner! Francine listened to the Gospel presentation. I asked her if she wanted to pray to receive Christ. She paused, then started talking, going on and on animatedly, somewhat defensively, and kind of preached a sermon right back at us! She basically told us she couldn’t be saved because she owned a bar and that was how she supported her family. Then she pulled Pastor Domitien aside. They walked over to the side of the building and I could see them having an intense discussion. Pastor Domitien motioned for me to join them. He said she really wanted to be saved, but felt like God wouldn’t want to save her because she was unworthy. She owned a bar. She owned a bar was because she was too weak to do physical labor. She was too weak to do physical labor because she had five abortions. She really wanted to pray. She wasn’t sure how she would manage if she had to close down her bar. She wavered, longing to surrender, and in the end, her faith won out. She prayed to receive Christ! I prayed for physical healing for her and for supernatural intervention and provision for her and her family. When we left her, I was overwhelmed with an intense feeling of anger. Not at Francine. I was angry beyond words at the person or persons who performed 5 abortions on this frail mom, rendering her too physically weak to work. I hope and pray that Francine’s faith in God will grow strong and that she will learn that He is loving and trustworthy and gracious and merciful.

Too Many Orphans in Karusi

There were many orphans in Kigoma camp - too many. After the civil war, a lot of displaced orphans were rounded up and placed here at Kigoma camp because many NGO's have a presence in Karusi and now they might have a better chance of getting aid from a relief organization.

 

 
We met a 10 yr old boy named Obadiah. He carried our Bible around all day. He had such a sweet, shy smile. At the end of the last day, he followed us back to our hotel. Pastor Andrew asked him a lot of questions. His story is not unlike many other stories you hear in a country scarred by civil war, devastating poverty and disease. His mom had died when he was pretty young, leaving his dad to raise him and his younger brother. Two years ago, Obadiah went to school in the morning and when he returned he discovered that his dad had moved to Tanzania. So now Obadiah is the head of his household. He and his brother still live in the same house. Once in a while, one of the moms in the village will drop off some food for them to eat. He can’t go to school because he has no money for books or a uniform. He’s had to grow up in a hurry. He asked us why his dad would do that to them – to just give up on life and abandon them for a better life in a different country without them…I was speechless and devastated. Dan spoke to him for a little while, trying to encourage him. We prayed with him. The pastor promised us he would look after him. I was weeping by the time he left. We gave him a can of honey roasted peanuts and a big water bottle to share with his brother. Big deal. We fed him for a day. It was more than I could handle or even verbalize until right now. I would have brought him and his brother home with me if I could have.

 

 

You know, you go to Burundi, you see things and experience things that are difficult to adequately put into words. You dutifully take pictures, chronicle your encounters with people, their encounters with Christ, the new churches, the revival in the country. You spin it positively because, yes, it is positive, God is at work, Burundi is undergoing a spiritual transformation. But then you meet someone like Obadiah. And your heart breaks and cracks wide open, spilling your guts in the red, dusty road, leaving a trail of tears down your sweaty, tired face, and a haunting picture of a little boy who needs a family burning a hole inside of you. And you realize, again, that life isn’t fair, but God is a God of justice and love. God loves Obadiah. He knows him by name. He has created him for a purpose. He will strengthen him and uphold him and sustain him. He will be his Father. He will train him in righteousness. He will seal him until the day of redemption. Because Obadiah told us, with a huge smile, that he is saved. He knows Christ. He loves God. He has hope. And a future.

The Hotel in Karusi

When we arrived at our hotel in Karusi, we started assigning rooms and roommates. We had 27 people on the team who were ready to settle in to their rooms. 
Right away I noticed about 4 dozen chickens walking around innocently near the kitchen. Let’s just say that every day we had an omelet (w/hot-pink salami) for breakfast and grilled chicken (too tough for a knife to cut thru) for dinner each night. Oh, except for the night we had goat, aka, “the night I cried when I looked at my plate.” I couldn’t imagine eating a goat – on my first trip to Africa, I had never even seen a goat up close before – I thought the goats were just weird-looking African dogs.
The hotel was somewhat primitive. Dan informed me that it was brand new - in fact it was still under construction when Dan and Auzelio visited there in April! I guess materials and skilled labor are hard to come by in Burundi. There was a small Honda generator which provided power from sundown (about 6:30pm) to around 10:30pm or whenever the World Cup game was over. Surprisingly, they had a beautiful, new, flat screen TV in the dining room (higher priority than mosquito nets – we had to bring our own). 

 

The rooms were pretty tiny - just a bed, small table & chair, pegs on the wall. We were very grateful for indoor plumbing and running water, although the water supply was limited so everyone had to take short showers. There was only one valve in the shower – cold water – very cold. That cold water actually felt pretty good after a long day of walking around on dirt roads in the tropical sun. There was very little water pressure. Not enough for me to wash my hair for 5 days. Don’t even ask. Notice the bright turquoise hat in almost every photo of me. The toilets had thin, useless toilet seats. They cracked and broke into pieces as soon as you sat down.

 

Dan’s parents duct-taped theirs together and tried to tape it to the toilet bowl. The next day the hotel staff removed it completely and they had no seat at all. Just the bowl. Yippee!  Every day when we returned at the end of the day, we noticed small improvements to our rooms – by the end of the week we had a toilet paper holder on the wall, a curtain on the bathroom window and a mirror hanging above the sink. This was probably because Dan paid daily for the rooms – influx of cash = upgrades!

 

The hotel staff did their best to accommodate our big group. It must be incredibly difficult to cook meals over an open fire for a large group of people – it had to have been dark when they started making breakfast and dark when they finished washing the last dish after dinner. I never got a picture of the outdoor kitchen. I can only imagine…no electricity, no hot water, chickens running around everywhere! Our translators quickly built a rapport with the staff and ended up sharing the Gospel with most of them. I started noticing the dining room staff was joining us for our team meetings, devotionals, prayer and worship times. Several of them prayed to receive Christ as Savior. We gave Bibles to all who needed one. On the day we left, the lead dining room gal (far right in the photo) saw me in the hallway, pressed her hand to her heart, raised her fingers to her lips then extended a kiss and a wave to me. I was extremely touched by this gesture. She agreed to attend the new church we planted near the hotel.

Karusi, Burundi - "New" New Vision

Dan and I were assigned to an area called Kigoma in the province of Karusi, Burundi. There was lush vegetation all around. Lots of bananas growing, mangoes, beautiful plants and flowers. In the morning we'd go separate ways, but by the afternoon we'd run into each other randomly in the middle of the camp somewhere. People were always quick to bring us chairs to sit and rest. We must have looked tired. Or old. Or both...

Pastor Domitien and Pastor Andrew inside the church

We've worked with Pastor Domitien from New Vision Church many times. His church in Bujumbura has planted several churches since we began going to Burundi in January 2008. This particular "new" New Vision Church was strategically planted in a displaced persons (re-patriation) camp. Pastor Andrew is the new pastor in Kigoma. He is a kind and loving pastor and he knows and preaches the Word of God.

This camp was within walking distance of our hotel. We did some research and discovered that around 12,000 people live in this particular camp. The people who live in the camp were forced to flee Burundi because of civil war. When they finally returned many years later, they found that their homes/land were now occupied by other people. Thousands of people were in this predicament so the government was forced to respond by creating these camps where people were given a postage-stamp-size piece of land and allowed to build a home on it. They also rounded up all the displaced orphans and placed them here because many NGO's have a presence in Karusi and they'd have a better chance of getting aid from a relief organization. 

Dan and I spent 5 hours every day walking up and down the roads in the camp, sharing the Gospel with every person we encountered. Sometimes it was a single person, sometimes a group of friends and curious passersby, sometimes it was with an entire family. Between the two of us, we shared with at least 100 people daily.

Romans 10:14-15

"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’ ”

Just back from Karusi, Burundi, Africa!!

(dinner at lakeside restaurant in Bujumbura) 

Dan and I returned 4 days ago from a wonderfully challenging e3 mission trip to Karusi, Burundi, Africa! This was my 12th mission trip to Africa since 2007. I'd have to say it was the best one yet! From the moment we landed in Bujumbura we knew that God was going to do a miraculous work in our lives and in the lives of the Burundi people.

(here's most of the team) 

Our team consisted of 8 North Americans, 7 translators, 4 e3 committee members and 8 TCCP pastors. It's always amazing to see how ordinary people, submitted to God's will and committed to God's work can be used in extraordinary ways to impact God's kingdom!

At the top of our prayer calendar, I felt led to include this verse from Colossians 4:2-3a, "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the Word, to declare the mystery of Christ." I'm overjoyed to report that God answered that prayer in great abundance, as 4047 people heard a clear Gospel presentation, 2002 people professed faith in Christ, and 1168 people were discipled! We planted 8 new churches of various (Christian) denominations and many of these brand new believers became part of these new congregations!

(Guy in red shirt stopped Dan and asked him to share the Gospel with him) 

Did we hold huge, crusade-like revival meetings?? NO! Did we meet in churches, send out invitations and wait for the people to show up?? NO! How about billboards, advertisements, bullhorns and free t-shirts?? NO! We, by faith, went into the villages surrounding the new churches to be planted and went person to person, house to house, thru the banana plantations, up and down the mountain paths, willing to share the Good News with all who would hear it! We'd start to share with one person and soon we'd be surrounded by 10 to 30 people, listening intently as we used the Bible and the Evangecube to share the message of salvation thru Jesus Christ. There's no experience quite like it. Time seems to stand still as you find yourself actually preaching with clarity and conviction and all around you watch recognition dawn on people's faces, and you sense the power of the Word of God penetrating and convicting hearts of their need for a Savior...always - ALWAYS - every time - you realize you're watching a miraculous new birth take place. It can be quite overwhelming. And exhausting. And exhilarating. And humbling. Mostly humbling.

I've got a lot more stories to share. I'll try to post them all in the next week or so. Hope you'll check back often!!

Dan Is Still In Burundi!

I received the following letter from Dan via email this morning:

Auzelio and I are still in Burundi. We are supposed to arrive home six days late. Lord willing when we travel downtown today we will get our airline ticket to leave. African travelers were the last to get rerouted after European airspace reopened. This is a testimony to the position of Africa in the world’s eyes, last.

Auzelio and I were active during our delay. We visited New Life Church widow’s ministry and spoke to poorest women in a poor nation. We followed up with 606 new church members from previous church plants. We visited with numerous other ministry leaders in Burundi. There are fewer than 20 full time missionaries in Burundi from Europe and USA. We have also run into South Korean missionaries. The South Koreans ran to us, they were glad to see a white face.

 

Each evangelism class included time to go out in the community and share Jesus. After each evangelism class training, we asked for testimonies. These are the responses from the pastors after they returned from sharing Jesus using the evange-cube:

 

“One man seeing the images on the evange-cube and hearing the story of salvation said that he wanted to move from a life of darkness and into the light.”

 

“A group of Catholics asked what was keeping them from eternal life. The pastor replied, ‘Faith in Jesus.’ They all prayed for faith in Jesus.”

 

“The images on the evange-cube helped villagers understand the gospel.”

 

“Christians learned from the last panel of the evange-cube the importance of prayer, Bible and church attendance.”

 

“Heaven and hell images gave people an eternal perspective.”

 

“Instead of waiting for people to come to church to share Jesus with them, we need to go out to their homes and markets and share Jesus with them, face-to-face, personally.”

 

We will work with these same men in June. We invite you to return to Burundi with us in June or November. We will also be going to Rwanda in July and Zanzibar in November.

 

Much love and God’s peace,

 

Daniel Berryman

Missionary to Burundi

e3Partners.org

480-678-4368

 

Support for Team Berryman comes from individuals:

 

To give on-line at www.e3partners.org - click on the “GIVE”

choose "Other" in the “Designation” field. A blank box will appear. Add the name “Berryman”

and continue with your information.

 

To give by check via US mail:

Team Berryman/e3 Partners

4007 N. 34th Street

Phoenix, AZ 85018

 

Burundi Via Twitter - Part 3

Here's the rest of @daninreallife's tweets - he's in Burundi, Africa, on mission with e3 partners ministry, nearly done with about 2 weeks of ministry, meetings, evangelism, training, follow-up, discipleship with Burundi nationals who are being equipped to carry out the Great Commission in their country. Dan will be traveling back Sunday & Monday. We will meet up at a Missions conference in Illinois. Can't wait to see him and I know he can't wait to be back home!

 

• We moved out of Bujumbura into "underdeveloped" region of Burundi. Want to see the opposite of America? Come to Burundi w/ me in June!
• Karusi, Burundi is the Garden of Eden. The hotel is like a different kind of Biblical place, only cooler.
• Best store name seen on Burundi mission trip, "SURPRISE", it is a cosmetic store. Endless possibilities...
• Karusi doesn't have power. Huge town almost completely dark. No moon. Stars amazing. You need to come to Burundi in June & see this.
• Traditional Burundi dinner: peas, rice, chicken, bananas & goat. Served in small storage containers & on baking sheets.
• The other American asked if the hotel had internet. The LOOK from hotel worker ???? Answer: Internet? What's that?
• Generator right outside my Burundi hotel window. I think my brain is going to explode. At least the hotel has water (in buckets).
• Things in Burundi are better than last year. Today they told me zipper was down before I spoke. Last year they didn't tell me.
• Karusi is a lot UNDER developed. We will evangelism here in June. If you want to be challenged, uncomfortable & share Jesus, then come w/ us
• Observer today, watching e3 Burundi leaders teaching other pastors. We're using the Bible. Thank God! Pastors taking turns reading Bible.
• Burundi get it, salvation thru Jesus not church. Class attended by 13 pastors & denominations: Baptist, 4 Sqr, AOG, Penticostal, Methodist
• Participating in an evangelism example, pastors going out to share Jesus, holding hands. How could there be so much war in Burundi?
• It's rained all day in Burundi. Hotel has no running water. Thinking about showering under roof drain. Is this socially OK here?
• In Karusi, Burundi our hotel doesn't have water. It does have plumbing. Most of all it has cold Coca-Cola. How does Coke do it?
• Every resturant has a couple of kids hanging around... Yep, goat is the special & only choice.
• Jeep broke down again tonight: wheel sheared off. Stuck in Karusi. But scheduled evangelism tomorrow for pastors. We'll walk to share Jesus.
• We were delayed by construction traffic. 1 car zigzaging among working graders, loaders, dump trucks & excavaters. Cool!
• We shared Jesus w/ 387 people + many more children. 135 confessed Jesus as Lord. Pastors in Karusi, Burundi excited about evangelism
• 2-days to go in Burundi. Amazing mission. Accomplished much. Still much to do. Burundi pastors ask prayer for elections, muslims & poverty
• Truck broke down, again standing in rain storm at road side market.
• Truck still on mountain in Burundi. We fought storms, army road blocks, floods but made it back to Bujumbura.

Burundi via Twitter - Part 2

Dan and the Burundi team are having a very fruitful, productive time. I've talked to Dan three times briefly since he left 10 days ago. There's so much to be thankful for as God is continuing to draw people to Himself in amazing ways thru the ministry of the local churches in Burundi. Pray for these Brothers and Sisters in Christ who are faithfully ministering, discipling, planting churches, praying for their country to be saved and worshipping the One True Living God!

In case you're wondering, you can follow Dan on Twitter and Facebook -- his Twitter stream automatically updates his Facebook page. Twitter name: @daninreallife. I've compiled his Tweets from the past few days - I love reading them in chronological order, hope you do too! This is only 1/2 of them - more tomorrow!

• Got a temporary job w/ US Census today. It starts when I return from Burundi. When money runs out God provides.
• Unable to send e-mails, but received some messages. Thanks for all the birthday wishes.
• No longer alone, Auzelio is in Burundi. My video study ended with lack of power. Perfect time to transition to 1st Steps
• Well, I did it again. Gave away my Bible before the end of the trip. Taught for 2-days about importance of Bible. Now, I don't have one :-)
• Middle of the in Burundi, cool breeze blowing thru window, listening to the rain, frogs & birds. God is good.
• One Burundi man wished me happy birthday! He's a facebook friend. Thank you, Moses.
• In Burundi: unable to send e-mail w/ photo attached, but I can post photos to facebook. Can get facebook wall post, but not messages. Wierd.
• Just finished speaking at Nazarene Church in Burundi. I borrowed a children's Bible from pastor's son. God provides.
• 2-hr break to connect to America. Oh, no power in Burundi... Hmmm, guess I could do the accounting (the really fun work of a missionary)
• Just finished day w/ candle lite (no power) dinner, beautiful setting at New Life Church. Church honoring e3 & God for saving Burundi. WOW!
• Just figured out how to e-mail from Burundi. God is good!
• Sprayed Burundi hotel room w/ raid before I went to dinner. Came back to a bug slaughter. Bug bodies everywhere. Not comforting.
• Kings Hotel Burundi has added new features: ice & a monkey
• Traditional Burundi dinner last night: rice, peas, meat. Guests served 1st, then in order of leadership 1st to last, then women.
• Spiritual battle’s intense in Burundi. Church is starting to impact the nation. Even in victory we mourn the loss of those who fall.
• Visited Hope University in Burundi. Saw 2-white faces in a sea of black. We ran to meet. 2-South Korean girls on short term mission w/ IYF
• Meetings all morning w/ church & university leaders, now at widows lunch meeting sponsered by New Life Church.
• After lunch w/ widows we visited 5 e3 church plants. Now getting ready for dinner w/ government officials. Long day of meetings in Burundi.
• Been e-mailing all week from Burundi. Just found out, no e-mails sent. Thank God for twitter & facebook.
• Followed up w/ church plants in Burundi, some are over 2-years old, 1 was bigger than mother church, another had 250+ members. God is good.

So Little Is Doing So Much

This post was written by Dan - he emailed it to me today - actually he emailed it a couple of days ago and I never received it. Today I received 8 emails in a row from him. Must have turned the satellite switch back on!

Story of the Kanyosha Neighborhood, Bujumbura, Burundi Nazarene Church

Kanyosha Neighborhood is one of those neighborhoods outside the center of the capital city where the civil war was fought. Our translators remember the spots where the bodies were piled each morning after a night of violence. Most of the neighborhood was destroyed by war. Today it is a poor, peaceful suburb of Bujumbura. Refugees returning to Burundi are starting over here.

Marina and I started a church in Kanyosha near Lake Tanganyika during our first church planting campaign to Burundi in January 2008. Pierre Norman was one of our translators. He is a pastor for the Nazarene Church and wanted to be trained in the e3 Partners method of evangelism. He also wanted to plant a church. He planted a church in the same Kanyosha neighborhood, but up in the hills a long walk from our first church plant.

Nearly 2-years later his church was struggling because it never had a permanent home. People scoffed that the church was not serious because they had no place to meet. They had land but just a stick frame for a building. They tried to meet in a school but soldiers needed a place to stay and kicked the church out

In November 2009, on a Thursday, God led us to give $200 to this church. On Friday, Pastor Pierre spent $240 (he spent his money that he made translating for us) on building materials and added part of a roof and some walls. On Saturday, he called the church together and taught them how to share Jesus using the evange-cube and they evangelized the area. On Sunday they held their first official church service.

On Sunday, April 11, 2010, I returned to this church with a keyboard generously donated by The Give Worship Project. The church has just over 20 adult members and over 50 children. Several former Muslims and Jehovah Witnesses have converted and attend. There are two (soon to be) orphan teenage girls that the church members have adopted. Their dad abandoned the family and their mom is dying from AIDS. One neighbor started coming to the new church, but his wife refused at first. She now has accepted Jesus and is a member. Seven baptisms have taken place since November. One woman testified that she was happy to have a place to pray and worship near her home.

We gave Pastor Pierre a Proclaimer (audio New Testament) over a year ago. The church members listen to the New Testament before and after church service. The children of the pastor have listened to the Proclaimer so much that they have the New Testament memorized. They quoted Matthew 1, the genealogy of Jesus, Sunday morning for the congregation.

On Sunday, we delivered the new keyboard to the church. It made awful sounds as the people tried to play it. But they shouted and danced to the tracks the keyboard plays. After the service they started to practice using the keyboard. They will be experts soon. They were overjoyed with the gift and have plans to use the keyboard not only at church, but to lead worship/evangelism outreach at the beach along the lake.

So little is doing so much in Burundi...

Burundi via Twitter

Dan (@daninreallife) is in Burundi right now. He's got a jam-packed schedule of translator training, discipleship, pastor's leadership development conference, follow-up visits to previously planted churches, scouting out cities/sites for our next couple of e3 partners campaigns. In spite of an unexpected overnight stay in London, Dan arrived almost on schedule (well, 12 hrs late, but who's counting). I spoke with him this morning (early evening in Burundi). He is greatly encouraged and excited about the work being done in Burundi. He sounded extremely hopeful and energized about the vision that the Burundis have for evangelizing their country and for being the church not just planting churches.

I've included the Twitters that Dan has been sending out on his way to Burundi -- they tell their own story! If you're curious about the image I've chosen for this blog post, you'll have to scroll down to the very last Twitter to catch the vision! If you'd like to respond, please leave a comment at the end of this blog post - thank you for your prayers and for your hearts that overflow with generosity!

• Leave tomorrow for Burundi. Still need to do taxes, mow yard, paint house, visit Walmart, go to bank...
• Just cleared security, Burundi mission under way. Praise God! Keyboard was accepted without additional fees.
• God's funny, he makes me an airsick missionary. Dramamine, down the hatch.
• Boarded 1st flight to Burundi & every seat is filled. Need to change my attitude & look at full flight as "full" evangelical opportunity.
• In Chicago grabbing a plane to London & eventually Burundi. Best food in the world is in Chicago & I'm eating at Manchu Wok !?!
• No longer receiving tweets to phone, leaving country & cannot pay for all those messages. Miss you guys. Hope to find a computer & reconnect
• Mission to Burundi: passing thru London. 1-travel day down, 1 to go. Coffee, please.
• Going to Burundi, but still in London, Kenya Airlines trying to break my spirit with more delays.
• Going to Burundi: Flight cancelled get to spend the night in London & maybe tommorrow night in Nairobi.
• @DarthVader airline put cancelled flight passengers in London hotel as big as Death Star. Wish I had a blaster & some storm troopers.
• Still going to Burundi: hot water, great food, comfortable bed... Not what I signed up for, but the salted pork gets a "Thank you Jesus!"
• Going to Burundi still in London: did not pack razor in carry-on. To @CarolWilson72 (my cpc) I need a razor.
• Going to Burundi: boarding plane in London. Going to miss my 200+ new friends (fellow stranded souls), but 1st the long flight to Africa.
• Going on mission to Burundi: left PHX at noon Tuesday, just arrived in Nairobi. I have no idea the day.
• Arrived in Burundi after over 4-days travelling. It's pre-dawn Saturday morning & I start teaching tomorrow at 8:30am. God is good!
• Key board survived trip to Burundi. God is good! Hopefully we can present the keyboard to church today. Thanks for keyboard prayers.
• Ah, Burundi just like I left it: hot & steamy. Can't wait until sunrise & talk about Jesus.
• Day has become night, night has become day... In time my traval to Africa I added a day. 3-days travel seemed like 4-days. It's only Friday.
• Worked w/ Burundi translators using "God Provides" video from Crown Financial Ministies. Call it a spritual tsunami. They want to be holy.
• 1of2 Brought xtra sleeping bag for packaging & planned to give it away. Before I could give it...
• 2of2 ...Burundi ask me for 20-bags to use for outreach campaigns away from city. Need 19-sleeping bags. Who has some to give away?

Burundi Medical Trip

  Dan and I and a team of 20 others, including 12 medical professionals, are headed to Burundi on our first-ever e3 Medical/Church Planting trip. Dan has gone ahead of us and has been sending updates via Twitter. If you don't already follow @daninreallife, it's easy to sign up for a FREE account at www.Twitter.com.

Here's what Dan has twittered so far. First one is most recent. Scroll down to the bottom of this post, and read the updates in reverse order to get a good idea of what Dan has been up to for the past 4 days!

• Visited government clinic. They have no one to help. Who cares more for the people? Church or government?
• Visited church medical clinic in Burundi. They have helpers in color-coordinated uniforms to fetch water, register patients, pick up trash...
• All new church sites visited. Please pray for government permit for medical clinic & tax free status for medicines.
• In Burundi, repeat of yesterday, find new church sites & see medical clinic. 1-change, did zipper check before I left.
• Missions teaching me about spiritual battles. Spent awake time reading Bible, praying, singing. In your face demons
• Poolside breakfast after sleepless night in Burundi. Coffee, please.
• Thank you Jesus! a/c just came on in my room. Love miracles. Quick thermodynamics calc: room temp should achieve 78 in 11 hrs. I'll take it!
• Midnight in Burundi. Fell asleep early...Oops. Now wide awake...Bummer.
• 20 oz fried fish fillet w/chips last pm; celery soup, toasted ham & cheese sandwich w/fried egg tonight; +all fruit is in season. Luv Burundi.
• Sitting on the patio in steamy Bujumbura waiting for dinner, surrounded by 1000's of mosquitos. God have mercy on me, please.
• One new church is along the river full of hippos. The only wild animals left in Burundi are hippos, crocs, monkeys. Survivors
• Visited new church sites & clinic in Gatumba, Burundi. Met w/church leaders, clinic manager...then noticed my zipper was all the way down
• Losing bug bite contest in Burundi. I've got 7 bites & only 1 fat, bloody mosquito has died.
• Horrible neck, arm & chest pain before I left for Burundi. No pain at all now but @berryman has neck pain before she leaves for Burundi??
• Hot night last night, cheap hotel manager in Burundi has my a/c set in the low 80's...just like I do at home...never mind
• 5am in Burundi: got to sleep in lumpy bed last night. It was awesome. Better than airport & airplane. God is good!
• Falling asleep waiting for my food in Burundi. Forgot what a miracle "fast" food in USA is
• Back to the hotel for dinner. Hotel has guests & bar has a popcorn machine. Oh how far Burundi has come since the end of the war
• Pastor's meeting along Lake Tanganyika at sunset. Fires flickering on the beaches; the city lights from the Congo beginning to twinkle. Ahh.
• Spent night in airport to save $100, spent next night on plane, when I arrived the Burundi made me take a shower before our meeting
• Showered (cold), shaved & feel human again. Sitting on the patio by the pool at the Source de Nil in steamy Bujumbura drinking coca-cola
• Left for airport at noon from Phoenix to Chicago to Washington to Rome to Ethiopia arrived in Burundi - 3pm 51 hrs - 9 time zones later
• On plane in Rome half way from DC to Ethiopia
• So far all 3 flights have been completely full.
• Chicago was cold, DC was cool, felt good. Ethiopian airplane HOT as PHX. Oh well
• On the plane! Remembered my mileage card & got to pre-board. Life is good.
• Leaving USA, for a while I'll only be able to send & post. I'll miss you guys. Hopefully internet 'on' in Burundi. Hopefully phone 'on' too.
• African hospitality: because I'm a man & tall, I've been escorted to the front of the line & offered food by African travelers
• Checked in @ Dulles. Spent night in airport (that was uncomfortable). 1 more long day & night & day of travel to Burundi.
• Midnight in Washington, now what do I do?
• Boarded 1st flight to Burundi for medical & church planting mission. Flight is FULL.
• Cool benefit already. Airport has NFL games. I don't have them at home.
• Oh Yeah! Burundi Medical Mission 2009 is underway. Advanced team is in airport waiting for a llllooooonnngggg series of flights!
• Just finished duct-taping Walmart duffle...ok, for sure, last trip for this bag...almost out of tape

Start here - scroll up from here, reading in reverse order!

168 = Burundi

 
We leave for Burundi in approximately 168 hrs. That's 1 week from today. Dan and I are officially leading our first e3 Partners trip together. It took one year, but I finally finished my CPC training in May. We've been working from home - Dan is in the kitchen-dining area...I'm in the living room-dining area. We text and email each other from our "offices" and then we have staff meetings in the car and at Starbucks. We also observe "casual Friday" attire on, well, everyday.

As always, I'm nervous and excited and looking forward to meeting up with the rest of our team at the airport in D.C. I'm not looking forward to the long flight across the Atlantic to Rome then to Ethiopia then finally to Burundi. I always am relieved and thrilled to be on the ground in Bujumbura. There's just something about that place. We will set up a medical clinic for 4 days. I'm part of the eyeglass clinic. My first time. It should be interesting and fun. Our overall plan is to help 4 churches start 4 brand new churches and strengthen 2 existing churches. We anticipate that our medical team will see at least 1400 patients. We will also be doing HIV-Hope clinics for groups of people.

It's always amazing to watch God's plan unfold. We truly are servants, willing to be used, totally all-in!!

We would love to have people praying for us while we are gone. Click HERE to download and print our current prayer calendar. We will be sending short updates from Burundi, as we are able, via Twitter (follow @berryman & @daninreallife) and Facebook.

“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” 2 Corinthians 4:5

Burundi - After Hours

Much to our great surprise, some pretty decent food can be found in Bujumbura, Burundi. Each time we've worked in or near Bujumbura while on mission with e3 partners, we usually eat a couple of meals at The Ubuntu Residence - they have a beautiful restaurant called The Kiboko Grill. We usually begin with a round of Coca Colas or Fruto (passion fruit juice) and a couple of plates of samosas, which are like little meat turnovers. Then we order wood-fired pizza. The margarita pizza is just good old cheese pizza on a thin crust. The napolitan pizza has chunks of salami on a thin crust with cheese. At the end of a long day of bumpy roads in crowded buses, evangelism, preaching, singing, hanging out with the crowds and the translators and the pastors, nothing could be better than this meal, served outdoors under the inky night sky with Lake Tanganyika just a few steps away.
 
By Tuesday night we were ready for a round of Cokes & pizza. So we piled into the van and Manuel drove us to The Kiboko Grill. En route to the restaurant, Dan and Herve started telling stories about the hippos that graze along the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Herve confirmed that there used to be a lot more hippos but they were scared away by the war. Lake Tanganyika also used to boast a 22 ft long crocodile named Gustave! FYI, Lake Tanganyika is the deepest lake in Africa and holds the greatest volume of fresh water.

When we arrived at the Ubuntu Residence we entered the courtyard of the restaurant. We suddenly were blinded by flashbulbs from paparazzi. There was a long receiving line of formally-dressed dignitaries lining the sidewalk leading to the lawn. I hopped off the sidewalk and took a short-cut to a table. Dan and the others went right through the receiving line, shaking hands and being greeted cordially by these well-dressed men and women. Evidently, they were there to receive quite a few dignitaries and got some bonus handshakes from a few scruffy missionaries as well! We were told that they were part of a Congolese delegation to Burundi and were there to celebrate the Congolese Independence Day.

While driving back to our hotel, David Mitchell decided to shine his flashlight on the tall grasses along the road, hoping to spot a hippo. He was instantly rewarded with two glowing, yellow, close-set eyes looking up at the sudden light. We could make out the outline of a massive hippo standing there, calmly grazing on a lush feast. We made Manuel turn the van around and go back so we could stare and marvel at this magnificent creature. Herve said it was powerful enough to charge the van and destroy it and us if it wanted to. We tried to capture it on camera but there wasn't enough light from the moon and we didn't dare get any closer to it. Although I'm not an animal lover, I have to admit, it was a pretty amazing sight to see

Bujumbura (Rural)

Our two teenage sons were with us on our recent e3 partners trip to Burundi. They are both such great assets to our team. On this trip Dan and our oldest son, Mike, were on the same team. They encountered a couple of unique obstacles with their church site. The first obstacle was - The Location of their new church. You can see from this photo that they had quite a hike from the bottom of the canyon (where the arrow disappears into the trees) to the place where the church is. This canyon had only a Catholic church on one side of the canyon and a Jehovah Witness church on the other side. Now there is an evangelical Christian church (New Life Church) right in the middle! New Life Church has their main campus in Bujumbura. There are several families, including the new pastor, who live in this canyon. They hike / walk over 2 hours every Sunday to get to church. Sometimes they hitchhike or catch a bus for part of the way. They are overjoyed to have a church planted right in the middle of the canyon!!

The church had a blue tarp roof on Monday, but that was blown off by the wind by Tuesday.

Some new church members gathered at new church building...

The second obstacle was - The River. They had to cross a fast-moving river at the bottom of the canyon in order to evangelize the other side of the canyon. Mike was terrified to cross. He had to be carried across the river by a Burundi national. Poor little guy, look at the size of his legs compared to Michael's legs. I don't know how he made it across! 

On the way back, they found a narrower part of the river to cross. Here's the progression of Mike's second river crossing.

Some of the guys laid big, flat stones down across the shallowest part of the river for Michael to step on.

Mike stepped out in faith...

Mike might be changing his mind about crossing...
His piggyback ride is now his helper...do you blame him?
Sort of reached a plateau...
His team member is cheering him on...
Gathering a little more courage...
A couple more giant steps...
He did it! I'm not sure if he kissed the dry land - I'm afraid to ask him.
I'm proud of him for not giving up and pushing on, keeping his eyes on the prize (the shore) and trusting God (and his team mates) to help him across!

Gatumba - #2

When we go on church-planting trips with e3 partners, each trip is similar yet with unique "could only be God" twists and turns and circumstances and divine appointments. During our 4 days in Gatumba, there was an interesting cast of characters who were transformed by the life-changing message of the Gospel. Each afternoon, we'd return to the church, rest for about 30 minutes then begin a discipleship meeting. We provide printed discipleship materials and Bibles to the church for their use after we're gone. There's usually a few songs, some short teachings from the pastor, teaching from the North Americans, and my favorite part - the testimonies of those who professed faith in Christ that day. On Monday afternoon, I recognized three guys that came in together. I had shared with a large group of mostly young men who were gathered at a bicycle repair shop (bikes/spare parts under a small shade structure). During the testimony time, Pastor Joseph went up to one of the three guys and shook his hand and hugged him and made a huge fuss over him. My translator explained that this young man was known as the local cat burglar. He made a living breaking into homes during the night and stealing / reselling peoples' possessions. He seemed rather sheepish, definitely repentant, and there was no hardness about his demeanor at all. He publicly stated his faith in Christ and his life (and profession) was changed. Very cool. Saw him every day at the meeting. To my surprise, the muslim couple that we shared with on Monday showed up at the discipleship that same afternoon. Their names were Sidfred & Alina. They didn't really participate, but they listened and seemed rather intrigued by it all. They came up to me after the meeting and said they wanted to attend the church and learn more about God. Sidfred said he was a fisherman. That made me extremely happy. I explained to him that when Jesus called his first disciples, he called several fishermen. I told him I'd pray that Jesus would call him out to be His disciple. Tuesday afternoon, Sidfred & Alina were again at the discipleship meeting. They seemed more engaged in the singing and listened pretty intently to the teaching and testimonies. They came up to me after the meeting. They seemed very happy. They said it would be no problem for them to pray to receive Jesus as their Savior! So my translator, Innocent, led them in prayer...love when that happens!

Gatumba - #1

I'm learning the importance of keeping a daily journal on my iPhone notepad while on mission. My last trip was to Burundi, Africa with e3 partners. There are typically so many great encounters, divine appointments, details and feelings that might be forgotten or discounted if I waited 'til returning home to write everything down.

I was assigned to a city called Gatumba. David Mitchell was my team member. This was his 2nd trip to Africa - his 1st to Burundi. It was a privilege to watch God work in and through David. We worked with Pastor Joseph (Mother Church pastor), Pastor Moses (Mission Point Pastor), and Aaron (Associate Mission Point Pastor). From what I could tell, Pastor Moses would preach or talk to the people in Kirundi and Aaron would provide Swahili translation. These guys are so smart! And so passionate about God and the work He's called them to do.

David and I went in separate directions every morning. He headed to the Muslim & witch doctor neighborhoods. I headed downtown and into some highly populated neighborhoods. Gatumba is near Lake Tanganyika but not directly on the water. It's also pretty close to DRC (Congo). I'd describe the area as a tan, sandy prairie. Not so many trees or plants. Just homes made of mud and sand and bamboo sticks. Some really tall, narrow trees that didn't provide much shade. Thankfully, in the afternoons we'd catch a stiff, sandy breeze which would cool us off but at the same time would fill my eyes with grit, sending my hair into frizzy spasms and my skirt swirling and flying. Not the best look for me.

Monday was an interesting first day of ministry. I talked to lots of groups of people. Sometimes 30 people at a time would be gathered, listening to the Gospel via the Evangecube. We went inside a few homes. Sat on straw mats in courtyards. Stopped traffic on the main road. Stopped traffic off the beaten path. There were lots of kids following us everywhere, but they were fairly well-behaved. More than once I found myself holding hands with ten kids at a time practically skipping down the road. Yes, practically.

Pastor Moses stopped to pray for a woman who was ill, sitting outside in the shade outside her home. He asked me to lay hands on her. He placed his hand on her head - I followed suit. He prayed for healing for her. Then he asked me to pray for her too. I asked what her illness was...I freaked out just a little bit on the inside when they said she had tuberculosis. As soon as we left there, I used a hand wipe and a pretty big glob of hand sanitizer. She didn't cough at all so I think I'll be ok.

We stopped outside a house to share the Gospel with a Muslim woman and her friend. Both of them said they wanted to accept Jesus. They both started to pray out loud, but stopped when the Muslim woman's husband showed up. He was not cool at all with us being there and definitely not with his wife becoming a Christian. Pastor Moses made an appointment to return on Friday and answer any questions about Christianity that they might have. Turns out that Pastor Moses was born into and raised in a Muslim home. He said he would use the Bible and the Koran to share truths about Jesus. We invited them to attend our afternoon discipleship meeting at the church. They declined.

Obedience vs. Knowledge

"A sermon is second-hand knowledge. A missions-trip is first-hand knowledge. Big difference between those two. I'm not discounting sermons. It's what I'm called to do :) But let's be honest: most Christians are educated way beyond their level of obedience. we don't need more knowledge. we need to do more with our knowledge." Mark Batterson, responding to a commenter on a recent blog post

Mark Batterson's Evotional blog is one of my daily reads. Today's post was nothing extra-ordinary. However, the comments are where the sparks started flying. I rarely post comments, yet today, I couldn't help but join the conversation.

Interested in weighing in?  Here's the blog post: 1 Mission Trip vs. 52 Sermons

Burundi in 140 Characters or Less

This is my husband, aka, @daninreallife. Through an unfortunate positioning of the picture frame, you can't see his other 2 fingers - this is his "gang" signal - it's supposed to be E3. Can you picture it? He has been twittering daily on his epic 25 day trip to Africa. Our sons and I were with the team for the first 1/3 of the trip. Now we're home, relying on his cryptic msgs for progress updates. I decided to compile all 76 tweets here. I recommend you start at Update #76 and work your way up to #1. Will make most sense that way. Go ahead...scroll on down to the bottom of the page now!

1. Almost morning in Burundi, waiting for "drip drip drip" sound & water. Cannot wait for my cold shower!
2. Going to bed tired, filthy & sweating in Burundi. Good day 5-Americans, 11-Burundi & 2-Tanzanians shared Jesus w/ 1201-people, 472 prayed
3. Almost out of "hand wipes" they go fast when water is out at hotel. 12-days to go in Africa. :-)
4. Prosper is my translator this week. Philemon is here too. They both love Mike. Yves is in Rwanda. Who should I give pod to?
5. In Cibitoke hotel lobby watching Michael Jackson Memorial. Did I enter alternate universe? Team torn between donating to starving kids or MJ
6. In Burundi, met old woman on street, she looked & sounded like Yoda. She tapped my bag w/ her cane. She wanted food... she got it.
7. In Burundi, 15-yr old boy (half the size of Steve) accepts Jesus.
8. Shared Jesus w/ woman. She quoted scriptures w/ translator. She was pentacostal. She already shares Jesus w/ others. We gave her e-cube.
9. In Burundi, on hill surrounded by cows & people. 3-gospel presentations going @ same time. Cool!
10. In Burundi, missionaries & hotel workers came to breakfast singing. God is good.
11. In Cibitoke, encountered large, fast spider while walking to bathroom down the hall. Come to Jesus moment w/ me, spider & a can of Raid.
12. In Burundi, our bus driver, who became a Christian last week, went w/ e-cube & led 6-people to Jesus!
13. Finished our day in Cibitoke. 30- Burundi listened to Mark 1-7 on "Proclaimer". They loved the stories of Jesus & the beheading of John.
14. In Burundi, shared Jesus w/ a Christian family. Children sang songs for us (new for me). We prayed together. We left the kids our lunch.
15. Sharing Jesus w/ many Muslims. 1-prayed for Jesus. We prayed that the others would have dreams of Jesus.
16. In Burundi, just shared gospel w/ soldier. Trained him on e-cube & gave him one. He promised to share w/ other soldiers.
17. Sunday, Day 1, 2nd campaign, 5-americans, 2-tanzanians, 17-burundi shared the gospel w/ 510-people & 304 prayed for Jesus.
18. I love Africa. I can pick my nose in public and it is socially okay
19. Sun has set over the Congo, cool breeze blowing, God is good.
20. Eating at pastor's house in Cibotoke. Please pray Luke 10:17-20 over the team.
21. Love my translator. Choir dancing (not singing) in front of me, translator leans in & says, "They dance". Uhh, thanks, I'm not blind.
22. In church in Burundi watching offering collection, mostly cash and 1-chicken.
23. July 5 in Burundi, we are eating water melon for breakfast to celibrate American Independence. Yea, a day late in Burundi is on time.
24. This time in Burundi we remembered our drivers: inviting them to diner, giving them gifts like the gifts for translators. 1-driver prayed.
25. Sunday in Cibotoke: we are beyond internet connection, I can only transmit via phone. We also learned water is not on 24-hrs but whenever.
26. Hotel room in Cibitoke has no bathroom or internet, but it does have bugs & mosquitos...and power... Haven't had power in a while.
27. Comfortable mission trip just got harder. Cibotoke is a little less modern than Bujumbura.
28. In Burundi at the pastor's conference, Tricia spoke about the godly qualities a woman looks for in a man. All prayed she would be married.
29. We have just arrived at Cibitoke. Waiting to check into hotel.
30. Today Burundi pastors got good lessons on how to value spouses & to use ministry to glorify God & not the pastor.
31. African women told David, "now try cooking like this everyday & in the rain..."
32. In Burundi: just finished pastor's conference. David cooked African style - outside, over fire, limited water... He loved it.
33. In Burundi at 1-day pastor & wife's conference. Swahili, English & Kirundi.
34. Hotel in Bujumbura is nice. It has hot & cold water. In our room, hot water in the shower (only) & cold water in the sink (only).
35. Early morning in Burundi. Marina left & ~ got new roommate. Hotel has 1-bed per room. Being the leader, I got the floor. Floor was firm.
36. Mike & I worked in the hills outside Bujumbura. Catholic & JW churches @ each end of river valley. Now a new Bible church in the middle.
37. ... It was hard to drop off 15-yr old son & single 20's woman at old camp, but hundreds prayed to Jesus & new church was started in Burundi.
38. In Burundi, Steve & Tricia worked at the site of the rebal camp that battled government for 12-yrs...
39. In Gatumba, Burundi, Marina & David worked amomg Muslims & witch doctors. Churches were strengthened, hundreds prayed for Jesus.
40. Sun has set over Congo, sky darkening. Sipping tea in thick humid air, reflecting on Burundi church planting campaign.
41. Eating meat sandwiches, buying oranges & peanuts, dodging traffic on the dusty streets of Bujumbura. Join us next time for the adventure.
42. In Bujumbura cental market buying vegtables for pastor's conference tomorrow. Crazy!
43. In Burundi, at pastor's house, watching Christian TV in French about Armagedon. Weird
44. Greater Bujumbura evangelism results: 3014-gospel presentations, 1499-prayed for Jesus, 5-new churches, 1-church stregthened.
45. Long day in field just got longer. Burundi cell service broadcasting wrong time.
46. Mission team ate pizza at lake. As we were leaving, David shines flashlight along the shore to find a hippo. Auto sized hippo 20ft from road
47. Last night, in Burundi, our stick & tarp church fell apart in the wind. Tonight the church is made of sticks & palm leaves.
48. Sharing Jesus w/ Burundi, almost done when interrupted by the cheif. Everyone, even pastor was afraid of him. He listened, argued & prayed.
49. "...from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows..." this describes our walk today.
50. Evangelism continues, Mike & I had to cross the river. I jumped across rocks. Big Mike was carried across by a 110-lb Burundi. Photo soon.
51. people in USA, thank God for your brews. village brew is nasty. Toddlers, men, nursing mothers...all had drinks while we were sharing Jesus
52. ... The brewmaker's name is Desire, he prayed to receive Jesus. He wants us to pray for strength to quit his lively hood...
53. ...we shared Jesus w/ a drunk brewmaker. He did not want to hear, but we asked how to make the "beer" and told him what we were sharing...
54. Our new church is on top of hill. Today we desended down a deep rocky, rutted path that is lined w/ banana trees into the depths...
55. woman w/ baby on her back, load on her head for market just prayed to receive Jesus. load was so heavy that she could not lift it herself.
56. 2nd day wirthout internet in Burundi. Hope phone is posting.
57. Favorite song today in English was Burundi children's choir, "weeee luj Judas" (we love Jesus)
58. What God did in Burundi today w/ 6-Americans: 572 gospel presentations, 114 prayed for Jesus (including 1-Muslim & 1-town thief).
59. Burundi pastor summed our day best: "We did it African style, without a plan & ovecame every obsticle. God worked perfect". Me: "????"
60. I love my church plant children. They thought that my 19-year old son was my dad!
61. Finally beginning to feel human again after slight airsick attack. Bring on the paper work. Day 3 in Burundi over.
62. All those walks up Piestua Peak have paid up. Our new church site is on top a steep hill east of Bujumbura center.
63. Went to "mother" church in Bujumbura this morning. Worship louder than a rock concert. Think I'm deaf.
64. No internet today.
65. Sunday morning in Bujumbura. Sipping coffee over looking lake. A break from the heat. Hope it rains hard & purges smoke out of the air.
66. Restful day in Burundi? Prayed for 20-year old encephalitis victim & visited orphanage in hills (short drive but hrs away). Team exhausted.
67. Mike converted culturally to African. He ordered coffee then filled cup wirth creamer & sugar. Best coffee he ever had.
68. Breakfast on veranda overlooking lake: coffee, tea, croque madame & fruit salad. Life is good. Thank you, Jesus.
69. Spent Thursday night in Addis Ababa. Hotel Rivera had bigger, better bathroom than we do at home. Bummer. Africa 1 - Team Berryman 0.
70. Starting 2nd day in Burundi. Got air sick last 30-minute flight. Still dizzy, but looking forward to dominating the day.
71. 1st for me: 6-team members loaded into small hotel elevator, bells rang, lift was overloaded (Riviera Hotel, Addis Ababa)
72. Arrived at the top of the world in Ethiopia. We will spend the night and continue our journey to Burundi tomorrow.
73. Last news story before leaving USA: Iran & twitter
74. Oops... Forgot vitamins... Need prayer to skip sinus infections this trip. Vitamin B helps me a lot. I think God can beat B.
75. Waiting to board Ethiopian flight to Africa. We leave at 8:30pm & arrive at 8:30pm... Bummer...
76. On mission to Africa. As I was leaving house married daughter & son-in-law moved in for unlimited xbox.

Is God Asking You To GO?

When I think of our E3 ministry partners and friends in Africa, specifically Rwanda & Burundi, I have to smile. We have had some pretty incredible, intense moments of worship with them. The reason I love this picture of the drum kit is because it unapologetically reminds me of their dignity and determination to worship God in spite of debilitating poverty, unspeakable circumstances of civil war, and lack of resources that we would consider essential - like proper stage lighting, musical instruments that are in tune, music charts, etc. I'm telling you, you've never worshipped until you've been travelling down the road at 120 kilometers per hour in a toyota van packed with 16 people, singing at the top of your lungs, using every part of the van as a percussion instrument, all the while watching the veins start to pop out of the neck of the hired muslim van driver...

It's like this time of raw, passionate worship paves the way, lights our path, allowing us a glimpse of heaven even before we get to the town/village where we'll be sharing the Gospel, seeing literally 1000s of people turn to God for the first time, watching the Light intersect the darkness and the moment of illumination that means eternal lifechange for these individuals - when we proclaim God's name to the ends of the earth, we get the privilege of watching His creative hand at work. We've seen God do incredible things in those countries, drawing people to Himself in a magnificent, overflowing, can't-believe-this-is-happening sort of way!

Short-term missions, long-term missions, whatever it is that you are divinely appointed to be a part of - just do it, ok? If you're waffling, right on the edge of going or not going, worried about how to pay for it, wondering if you'll still have a job when you get back, or even caught up in how this will impact you once you return (oh, and believe me you'll be changed forever), let me just help you find the answer you're looking for - it's Yes. Go. Don't hesitate. God is in control. God's mercy will be over you. God's path will be under you. God's Spirit is in you. God's will is in front of you. God will never leave you or forsake you. God's ultimate love has already been expressed for you and I and every person on the planet. Let's not wallow in a self-focused gluttonous intake of that love with no outlet for expression of it - let's see the world through His eyes, offering His love through our open hands to a world in desperate need of His love, His redemption, His gift of salvation.

Is God asking you to GO?

So Tired...

Must get some sleep. Romania trip was wonderful. The people. The food. The Hotel Magnus. E3 Partners.

Our team of 32 North Americans along with our talented translators, shared 1200+ Gospel presentations. 330+ first time professions of faith in Christ. I was really happy to be able to do follow up visits with brand new believers, encouraging them, praying for them. I sampled rose petal jelly, sweet-boiled walnuts, fresh fruit off of trees in courtyards we passed through.

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I visited with a woman named Neculina. Well, I did a follow-up visit on Thursday. She said she had prayed and asked Jesus to be her Savior after we left on Wednesday. Then she read the Bible - Gospel of John - like I had asked her to. She now wanted me to talk to her husband. She woke him up from his afternoon nap and brought him outside. I talked to him for quite a while. He had a lot of questions and pushed back a lot on the whole salvation by faith alone (no works required for salvation). I gave him a Bible and a pair of reading glasses. Then I used those free gifts to explain to him the free gift of salvation. He finally got it. Prayed to receive Christ. We showed him how to read and study the Bible. He was extremely grateful. His name is Marin - 78 years old!

More later - I'm so tired...

WCW - Snapshots of Romania

Today is Watercooler Wednesday at Randy Elrod's Ethos blog. Join me and other imaginative bloggers around the watercooler for fun, enlightenment, and entertainment. Click HERE for Randy's post called "When Nature Screams."

My life is all about Missions right now. I'm in the CPC training process with e3 partners ministry. That means that I get to experience on-the-job-training on two separate mission trips. That, in addition to boot camp, will conclude my training process. So, if my blogging is infrequent in the next few months, it's because I'm struggling to find a decent internet connection somewhere in the world.

**Before you continue reading or move on to another blog, please leave a comment and answer these 2 simple questions: have you ever been on a mission trip? if you could go on a mission trip anywhere in the world, where would that be?**

OH YEAH, one more thing, I'd appreciate it a lot if you'd pray for our team from July 11-19. Click HERE for a printable prayer calendar. Thank you!!

I just finished packing for my first training trip. I leave Friday morning at 8am, heading to Romania. I will join the rest of our team at Dulles airport in Washington D.C. We should be in Bucharest at 1:40pm on Saturday. Then we'll board a bus and head north & east to Galati (pronounced Galatz). Alyssa and I went to Galati on our first e3 mission trip 3 years ago. I'm excited to be working with the same church, Emmanuel Christian Church. Check out their website. It's written in Romanian, however, there's a button to click that translates it to English! Pretty high-tech!!

I'm not so excited about the bus ride from Bucharest to Galati. The bus is comfortable enough, but we'll have to stop for dinner about half-way there. Last time, we stopped at "McDonalds." Everything was kinda similar and kinda not. More toward the "not" side.

Galati is located pretty much on the banks of the Danube River. Industrial shipping is a main economy for the area.

Here's a view of the Danube at night - I found this pic using Google - we were nowhere near the Danube after dark - e3 policy!!

An interesting component to our trip in 2005 and to my upcoming trip will be the mobile art team. Ted VanNatta is an artist who sets up his easel in various locations in the villages - near the town square, along a busy road, near a popular market, etc. He draws beautiful depictions of Bible stories while his other team members engage groups of bystanders in spiritual conversations.

Here's a typical afternoon discipleship meeting.
In 2007, the new church was able to build a brand new building and it was immediately filled to over-flow capacity!

Rwanda Stories - It All Adds Up

Dan (being a true engineer at heart) decided to work up some interesting numbers for me to post.

First and foremost:

• 1 true, living God drawing people unto Himself through the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ being proclaimed boldly in love...

In no particular order:

• 27 North American "missionaries"
• 5 states represented
• 28 Rwandan Ministry Partners
• 850 lbs of ministry materials crammed into:
• 16 additional suitcases (Evangecubes, tracts, clothes, crayons, bubbles, proclaimers)
• 3 lbs pancake mix, 144 slices pre-cooked bacon (breakfast food for two days in Kigali )
• 56 feet of laminated Creation posters
• 10,309 air miles each way
• 51-1/2 hours travel to get to Rwanda
• 35 hours travel to get home
• 288 Kinyarwanda Bibles
• 1800 beaded Gospel bracelets
• 1200 liters of drinking water
• 8 Mother Church Pastors
• 8 Mission Point Leaders
• 1 day ministering to 300 orphans in Celphar Orphanage
• 4 days in Ruhengeri at EER Guest House
• 344 Rwandan villagers whom we trained in evangelism and discipleship for the new churches
• 8 brand new churches planted
• 95 yr old man - oldest person to receive Christ
• 8960 Gospel presentations
• 3872 1st time professions of faith in Jesus
• 872 Follow-up discipleship visits
• 4 youth group/weekly Bible studies strengthened in 4 secondary schools (high school)
• 2000 secondary school students attended discipleship at schools daily with our youth teams teaching, preaching, encouraging, sharing life, discipling fellow students
• 600 dollars given to each mission point for roofs

It all adds up to 1 incredible, life-changing, e3 mission trip...the details are incredulous to look at - the numbers seem almost exaggerated and certainly out-of-proportion - that's because God's numbers are His work, His miracle, for His glory. We would love to have you join us on an upcoming trip!   We're heading to Burundi in August, Rwanda in January, and Burundi in March.Think about it. Pray about it. Then just do it!!

Rwanda Stories - In The Red

It seems that from every e3 mission trip I go on, a memorable theme emerges. This time, for me, it was all about God's provision. He is, after all, Jehovah-Jireh, God our Provider. He definitely intended for us to really know that about Him by the end of the week.

Before we left for Rwanda, we knew that our trip was over-budget by over $4000. This was mostly due to out-of-control airline costs which seemed to go up every day before we finally had funds from everyone to purchase them. Also, a few months after setting the final price for the trip, we found out that part of our budget needed to include leaving behind $600 per church site to assist with the cost of putting a roof on a new building. Great. Another $4800 in the red. Dan and I decided that we'd pull that amount out of his support account when we returned home. We were prepared for the trip to be even more in the red due to fluctuating prices and a lot of unknown expenses that we might incur. We knew that God would provide for our needs. He had already provided an incredible team of North Americans and Rwandan ministry partners. We'd had safe travel. All of our luggage arrived with us. These were all small miracles. Then God started to get really creative. He made Toyota Land Cruiser available for Dan to drive which meant that we could cram 6 team members in that vehicle with him and save over $2000 by not having to rent another van. He ended up spending $110 on fuel. That's quite a savings! Somehow, with God's provision, the budget ended up in the black AND we left that additional $4800 for roofs. That was a huge miracle!!  When God provides, He provides generously, abundantly, without holding back, and all for His glory!!

  More on God's provision in my next post...

Philippians 4:19 "You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus. Our God and Father abounds in glory that just pours out into eternity. Yes." THE MESSAGE BIBLE

Rwanda Stories - Sunday

Our E3 trip to Rwanda is an epic tale of God's faithfulness. God's plans were carried out according to His will and purposes. We were the message-bearers, the servants, the foot-washers, the encouragers, the hill-climbers, the disciple-makers, an eclectic team called together for 10 days of travel, ministry, partnership, and celebration! Each team member was a blessing to the team in various ways throughout the week. From words of encouragement to chocolate and popcorn, to cold medicine, to smiles, to hands clasped in unity, to utter silliness, to despair and fear, everything we brought to the table was ultimately for God's glory and to make His Name known to the Rwandans we encountered.

I was the leader of Team #1. This is a picture of Team #1's Mission Point church site. Our task for the week was relatively simple: share the Gospel with everyone we met while walking throughout the village, invite new Christians to a discipleship meeting in the afternoon, equip the new church with materials and resources to continue the ministry after our team is gone, and help to establish a brand new, baby church by the end of the week!!

The church plans to rent this site until God provides a way for them to buy the land and building...asking price is 1,000,000 rwandan francs - about $2000 US dollars. On Sunday morning, we worshipped at the Mother Church which was several miles away from here. On Sunday afternoon, our team met with the Mother Church Pastor (Charles) and the Missions Point Pastor-in-training (Jean Claude), along with a group of about 50 church members (from the Mother Church) at the Mission Point for a time of prayer walking. We walked over the entire site, praying that God would do a mighty work in this village during our four short days of sharing the Gospel and building His church. By the end of the first day, we were humbled and amazed to see how abundantly God began to answer our prayers!
My two team members, Rachel and Sara, along with their ministry partners Jane & Maureen, are telling the story of Creation and using a 7 ft wide laminated poster to share beautiful, bright pictures which show what God created each day!

Summer of Missions

We leave on Wednesday, June 18 for Rwanda, Africa. God has assembled a team of missionaries from Arizona, California, Texas, Alabama, and Florida to do His work in Rural Rwanda, partnering with e3 partners and their incredible team of trainers, translators, nationals, and local churches. I'll be posting as frequently as I can from Rwanda - can't always guarantee the internet will be operational in the area we'll be staying. We took this picture right outside of Ruhengeri which is where we'll be working again. Rwanda is incredibly beautiful and lush and green. It rains every afternoon in this region. This is actually a golf course at a lodge near the volcano area where people climb up to see the gorillas in their natural habitat. We went to the lodge for our final dinner together as a team before leaving for the USA in the morning. I believe we were standing on Jack Hanna's porch (he wasn't there) while taking this picture.

When we return from Rwanda, I'll wash my clothes and re-pack them so that I can leave for Romania on July 11. I'll be part of another e3 partners team of 33 missionaries from across the country. This trip is one of 2 training trips necessary in order for me to become a Church Planting Coordinator with e3. Romania has a very small percentage of Evangelicals Christians. There is a fairly large Orthodox influence, but only in a very religious, dutiful way. Although the percentage of Evangelicals is small, Romania still has one of the largest group of Christians in Eastern Europe. Alyssa and I went to Romania with e3 on a missions trip in July 2005. I'm very excited that I'm returning to the same region that we worked in and working with the same 2 mother churches! Here's Alyssa in a massive field of sunflowers - they grow sunflowers, not for the seeds, but for the oil!!

I'll be back on July 19. I'll once again wash my clothes and re-pack them in preparation for our August trip to Burundi, Africa. I'm really excited about this trip because my friend Kelly is going with us!! This will be Dan's second e3 partners mission trip that he plans and executes all on his own! We are actively recruiting for this trip right now...it will be here before we know it!  Click HERE to find out more details about the trip and to sign up to join us!!! We are planning on staying at the same, beautiful hotel as last time we were there. It's very close the shore of Lake Tanganyika. Lots of rain here, too. Very lush, tropical paradise juxtaposed with the hustle and bustle of the capital city, Bujumbura.

I must be an optimist, but I'm thinking I'll have time to hit the CA beaches sometime this summer too! That will be a personal mission trip, made up of frozen yogurt with fresh blackberries, ice-cold watermelon, sun-splashed skin, shockingly cold, salty, seaweedy waves, sweeping me off my feet, restoring my tired body, refreshing my California spirit! We used to camp at San Clemente State Beach every summer while growing up. Some of my best childhood memories are of these summery, sunburned, family times. I'm sure my mom needed a vacation by the end of the week after cooking 3 meals a day and sweeping sand out of the tent constantly. Good times!! (I'm wrapped in the blue towel)

Last full day of Recreate

Wow. What a day. There was a shift today to a more personal aspect of being on the front lines of worship leading, planning, etc. Lots of cool elements today - CCLI shared about their new and improved services. You can actually upload video performances (original songs) to a designated section of their website. That's a very cool feature I'll be checking out soon. Mark Roach led us in worship. We sing a lot of his songs at Fellowship North. They really resonate with our team and our people.

Mike Lewis, the Jesus Painter, led us in an incredible time of worship - visually thru painting giant canvases focused on Christ. It was a magical unfolding of splashes and splatters and random lines and then you'd see it - the face of Christ as clear as anything right there on the canvas. Amazing. We shared communion during his painting time. Very moving and beautiful.

We heard from Mark Stuart from Audio A. He shared about personal stuff and about his involvement with Hands And Feet which is a very cool project in Haiti. Audio A and their fans have created a village - they house 30 orphans right now, but their plan is to house 80 kids. Their vision is to grow them up and nurture them and educate them and love them and then they will have raised up a new generation who can make an impact in their native country. They've built bunkhouses that can accommodate groups coming in on mission/work trips. It sounds amazing. I liked Mark so much. Click HERE to read more about Hands And Feet. There's a lot of cool details I'm leaving out because I'm dead tired and trying to get to bed. But I might, no, definitely WILL have more to say about this in the near future. Because missions and music are the two things I'm passionate about - and when you combine the two together, watch out - it's gonna be strong!

Ken Davis spoke to us - he got really vulnerable when sharing his story. More about this later - I related so much to his 3 points - I got out my laptop and typed fast & furiously during his talk.

Then we got to visit Kalein. Oh my. Breathtakingly beautiful. So many details about this coming later. Let's just say, adventure, vision, blessing.

Capped the day off with a great night of dinner and worship sponsored by Word. I can't WAIT to listen to a couple of the CDs they gave us - let's just say - the girls rocked the house! Such authority and passion in their words and the delivery rocked my world - I'm still thinking about it!

Much more later on all these topics. Off to bed!

Story behind photo #9

Friday was our last full day in Burundi. We finished all our evangelism and church planting activities late Thursday night with a celebration service and dinner at one of the mother churches. Friday, we met at the shores of Lake Tanganyika for a baptism service. It was planned by Bishop Independance and his team. I've got really great video footage and no way to upload it. Someday it will be posted here - as soon as I figure out how to change it from .mov to .mpeg4. Uh, yeah.

Anyway, there was a huge worship celebration going on when we arrived at the lake. There were rhythm instruments - big metal shakers and a big drum. And lots of voices singing praises to God. It was really glorious. Then a short message by Independance. Then the baptizing began. The singing never stopped, it only got louder and included lots of cheering as the newly baptized Christians came up out of the water then returned to the shore. Bouquets of flowers were handed out and those robes came right off and were handed to the next person waiting to be baptized. It was so great to join this celebration because it really brought home the fact that lifechange did happen in a big way during our time of ministry. Each person wearing a robe was witness to the fact that our God is Big. He's Huge. And He showed up and poured out His power and love and grace and blessing over Bujumbura, Burundi in a spectacular way. I look forward to how God will use this movement of spiritual awakening and revival to impact this city and the other cities and villages in Burundi. I've been invited to do a women's conference in Burundi. Not once, but twice by two totally different, unrelated people. I'm praying about that opportunity. That would really be a branching out experience for me.

After 4 trips to Africa in 10 months (Dan's been on 6 trips), I've got a lot to think about and pray about. My world has changed a lot. My life has been marked with permanent marker - I'm not the same person I used to be. And that's a good thing. The words of Romans 8:28 are not so vague and out of reach anymore. The tapestry that can be is starting to come into focus. Could it really be that personal and true - that God works ALL things together for good for those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose... 

Story behind picture #8

This is one of my favorite stories. Simon, my translator, is on the left. Odette is on the right. On Thursday, our last day of ministry, we set out to make every minute count because we had to be back at the church site by noon for our final discipleship meeting before the end of the campaign. We shared with many groups of people. Lots of people prayed to receive Christ. Time flew by. By the time we checked on the time, it was already noon. We started walking back to the church. Along the way we were stopped by a young man sitting in the shade on a street corner. He wanted to know what we were sharing with people. We shared the Gospel using the Evangecube. A crowd immediately gathered. Probably 30 people. When it came time to pray, the man who initiated the presentation walked away, not interested in praying to receive Christ. But a lot of other people did pray. By the end of the prayer another crowd had gathered so we shared again. More people prayed to receive Christ. Another crowd gathered. Still more prayed to receive Christ. I noticed a teenage girl in the crowd who was white. Then I realized she was albino. No pigment in her skin. Her face was sunburned bright red. She had yellow-white hair. She had a few brown freckles on her face. Her eyes were watery blue - very pale. I didn't take her picture because I thought she might feel uncomfortable and singled out. At the end of the third group presentation, a young woman, Odette, came up to Simon and asked for prayer for a difficult situation in her family. I couldn't hear her talking because there were a lot of people all around me. Simon and I prayed over her. He prayed in Kirundi, I prayed in English. We prayed out loud, fervently, for healing and restoration in her family situation. I prayed that God would use the situation in her life to bring glory to Himself, whether by healing or by giving her grace to endure the trial. We probably prayed for 5 minutes. At the end of the prayer, we again headed back to the church. Odette came with us. She wanted to see where the church was. We stopped one more time along the main road. A shopkeeper called us over and asked us to share with him. Another crowd gathered then a bus dropped off a large group of high school students - they all stayed to listen. I'm telling you, God takes care of providing the people to listen - they show up from out of seemingly nowhere! Anyways, we finally made it back to the church. We worshipped and prayed and encouraged the new church members. Then Pastor Hurbert asked for testimonies. Odette stepped forward to share her testimony. She explained her family situation. Evidently, her husband had attempted to strangle her. She survived but was unable to speak. She had permanent damage to her vocal chords. She went to several doctors. None of them could help her. She was told she would never be able to speak above a whisper. She reported that while we were praying for her, God healed her throat. That's why she was able to share her testimony with the church with her full voice. That's why she wanted to follow us to the church - she couldn't wait to be a part of this new church! It was an amazing miracle of God!! I pray that God will use her testimony of healing to bring glory to Himself and that He will make Himself known to many others because of this miracle!

Story behind picture #7

These kids made me smile. I spent at least 30 minutes sharing the Gospel with a man and his family and a friend inside their courtyard (see pictures below). They had a surprisingly nice home. They had water from a pump in their courtyard. They had a concrete floor in the house. I saw a cushioned chair inside and a nice wood cabinet against one wall with dishes stacked in it. There was a big iron gate to give us a little bit of privacy. The kids all knew not to come in until they were invited. And they weren't invited in until I was done sharing. Then they came streaming in excitedly.
They saw my camera and started pointing and smiling and pushing their way to the front. I managed to snap some pretty big smiles I think. I never ran into a shortage of smiles in Burundi. And each time I showed the picture screen to the kids (and the adults too for that matter), they just went wild with joy! It's like our kids who find great joy in playing with the box the toy came in at Christmas time - these kids never got tired of me taking their picture and showing it to them!

The house with the courtyard belonged to this man. His name was interesting but I forgot to write it down. He prayed to receive Christ. So did his wife and his friend. He asked a lot of great questions. When we were done sharing with him, I gave him an Evangecube. I really felt like he was someone who would use his influence to share his faith with others.

Here's his wife and their youngest child. I saw a few more kids in the courtyard and house that I'm pretty sure belonged to him, but they sort of got mixed into the crowd.  One more picture...

I had to include this picture. This man also prayed to receive Christ in the courtyard that day. I tried to discreetly take a picture of his t-shirt. If you look closely it says Black Mt. Brewery Beer Drinking Team. At the bottom of the shirt it says Cave Creek, Arizona. The middle of the shirt shows a picture of a beer mug, full of frosty beer with lots of foam on top. In the middle of the mug it says "The Satisfied Frog." By now, those of you familiar with Cave Creek might be mildly amused that this t-shirt somehow made its way to Africa. The school that I taught at last year was located in Cave Creek, practically inches away from The Satisfied Frog! This man didn't speak one word of English. It is so random that someone would donate this shirt and that it would end up in a small neighborhood near Bujumbura, Burundi, Africa! Small world, don't you think???

Story behind picture #6

I love this little girl. I'll tell you why in just a minute. Part of the cost of our trips is in-town transportation. We usually assign 2 teams per van. Let me just say for the record: "Toyota makes an incredibly tough van!" We've rented these same vans in Rwanda and Kenya. They appear to be indestructible - they're not much too look at, though! The seats in our van were all rotted away - most of them were down to just the bare foam cushion which looked all chewed up. The van creaked and groaned and shuddered. But I'm telling you - these vans go right through deep mud like it's nothing. They also manage to maintain speeds of 80 mph while dodging traffic, passing slower cars on 2 lane roads, swerving around pedestrians, bicycle taxis, motorbikes, and goats! Every day our team got dropped off first. Then at the end of the day we waited for the other team to come back and pick us up in the afternoon. On Wednesday, the van came to pick us up without the other team. We got to go on a road trip to the other team's church site. We careened through the city streets then turned right on a 1 lane road with 2 way traffic along with all the usual street traffic. Oh, it was market day so there were tons of little mom & pop shops lining the road as well. I think we hit every pothole with all 4 wheels. The seats in the van are high off the ground so you can fit your luggage under the seat - that means tall people like Dan get their head bumped repeatedly. When we finally stopped in front of the other church site, we were pretty rattled. We settled in to wait for the other team. Dan looked a little bit green. He closed his eyes and was kind of dozing off. I was sitting in the very back seat. At least 50 kids swarmed around the van. They all were waving and smiling and trying to talk to us in broken English. They are taught some English in school. They all can say, "what is your name," "what is your country," "how are you," "my name is..." It was pretty fun to talk to them and see their response. Dan, meanwhile managed to fall asleep. The kids kept trying to get his attention, but he was out. A few kids started laughing and singing a song that included umuzungu (white person) in the lyrics. The girl in this picture was very inquisitive and friendly. She seemed very intelligent. I think her name was Alene. After she exhausted her English phrases, she started talking to me in Kirundi. Simon translated for me. Alene told me I was beautiful. Those simple words made me feel not so tired. And made me realize, again, the power of words of affirmation! She made my day.   

Story behind picture #5

Our church plant was part of The Church of God denomination. We called our church "Avocado Church" because it meets under this avocado tree. They leased this little piece of land for 1 week while we were in town. When the owners of the land saw that North Americans were helping with the church, they upped the price to $35 per month which is beyond the reach of the brand new little church. Before we left town, they had secured a school to rent instead which we felt was a wise decision. The school is only $25 to rent and it includes chairs and with all the rain they have it will be nice to have a roof over their heads. Simon was my translator all week. He's on the far left. He's married and has two adorable kids. Pastor Nathaniel has the wild print shirt on. He's the mother church Pastor. Pastor Hurbert is kneeling down in front. He's the new church Pastor. To Dan's left is Pierre. He was Dan's translator. He's a Nazarene pastor. He loved the work we did all week, so much so, that he's praying about leaving the Nazarene church so that he can start planting churches! The other two guys are Burundi nationals. They knew the neighborhoods and were able to introduce us to people. They also were well trained on the using the Evangecube and when the crowd around us would grow too large for everyone to hear and see, they would pull a group of people around themselves and start a separate presentation. Together we were a great team!

Story behind picture #4

I don't know this little girl's name. I saw her every day at our new church site. You start to recognize people not so much by what they look like, but by what they're wearing, since they tend to wear the same thing many days in a row. She's wearing two of my favorite colors and I couldn't resist capturing her beautiful smile. There are lots of kids in Burundi. Many are able to go to school. Many others can't afford to go to school. So they stay home and help their mom take care of the other children and work in the fields. It wouldn't be uncommon for a young girl, just like this one, to have an infant strapped to her back all day long and be the primary caregiver while her mom is busy working in the fields or running a business. In spite of the challenges, every child whose picture I took had a brilliant smile and child-like joy when I showed them their picture on the screen. They giggled and laughed and pointed and touched the picture on the screen. Taking pictures is something that I've never been great at. I'm usually digging in my purse for my Kodak while the perfect picture moment whizzes by. This time, since I knew I'd be blogging about the photos, I took pictures with great purpose and surprise, surprise, most of the pics came out pretty good!