April 2007

News from Kathi Perry, EFM Missionary to Ireland

In February, six Irish teens attended “Beyond 48,” a weekend gathering in Kilkenny put on by Operation Mobilization (OM). This was the first time OM has organized such a gathering in Ireland. Around 320 teens responded. Teens from the Friends ministry commented that it was “brilliant” to worship with others their age. They were overwhelmed to find so many other Christians in Ireland, because they are the only Christians in their schools so they feel isolated. One boy commented, “I feel like I’m a nicer person. I really believe that Jesus was who he said he was.” Missionaries hope to take teens to TeenStreet in Germany this summer, sponsored again by OM, which will be a gathering of approximately 2500 teens from all over Europe. Please pray that the decisions they made will help them continue strong in the weeks ahead. Thank you for your prayers!

—Kathi Perry

Simple Ideas from Rwanda (Moringa Trees and Fuel-efficient Stoves) receive International Recognition

In this follow-up story from the December 2006 issue of The Voice, Debby Thomas shares exciting new developments from Rwanda agriculture projects in recent weeks.

In recent weeks, Debby Thomas, missionary to Rwanda, has worked with a new friend named Susan, who is from the United Nations (UN) Millennium Project. The focus of their work was to discover the most fuel- efficient stove for use in the region.

The last time Susan visited, she brought thousands of dollars worth of equipment and did scientific testing of all the stoves that are available in Rwanda. When the testing was complete, Susan found that the stove created by Debby as a solution for saving precious vegetation and providing a cost-effective way to cook food was the most efficient of them all.

Debby writes: I continue to work with Susan. We have a good relationship. She is coming back in a couple of months and wants to do some testing in the homes of some of our people who are using the stoves.

Last month, I went to the village with her to do some testing, and she introduced me to the head of the agricultural part of the UN Project. The UN is working in many areas including agriculture, schools, hospitals, and water systems.

When I met Donald, he didn’t seem overly interested in what I was doing in agriculture, so I didn’t expect that we would work together much, although I wanted to share with him some of the great farming techniques I’d learned. I emailed him a couple of weeks ago and let him know that if he wanted to get together, I would be available. I didn’t expect to hear from him.

One day, he said he would come, but I was skeptical since it rained all night and the roads, paths, and garden were muddy. He came with his wife around 9:00 that morning. I was surprised and didn’t know what to expect. He had some questions about Moringa trees, so we went and stood in my Moringa field while we talked. It is much more like a forest now than a field. We had a great talk. He and his wife were impressed with my ability to speak Kinyarwanda and with my knowledge about the trees. He especially needed help with educating people on how to use the trees and how to start businesses that can produce the products. He asked if I could help him.

After that, I asked if he wouldn’t mind taking a minute or two to look at my other agricultural ideas. I thought that he wouldn’t be very impressed since he has a degree in agriculture and already knows so much. He loved it, and his wife just about went out of her head, she was so excited. They wanted to see everything that I do here and appreciated every bit of it. They stayed for over two hours.

I shared about how I do this to serve God and the Rwandan people and that God gets the credit for whatever works. They said that they, too, were Christians. Donald’s wife took my helper, Daniel, aside and told him how much she sees God at work in us and in our garden, and how she feels that we will have a big impact on the Kingdom.

We are seeing God’s blessing and God’s Spirit in our gardens. Others are seeing him there as well. Keep praying with me that (1) this relationship with Donald and his wife would grow; (2) we could help the UN Project use methods that are sustainable and doable for the people; and (3) foreign seeds, chemical fertilizer, and other things that will only help the farmers in the short term will be replaced by our long-term efforts.

The Lord has given us insight, and now he is giving us favor in the eyes of some of the movers and shakers around here. I see a possibility for a good working relationship with the UN in the future that will bring God glory.