Amahoro ( Peace)
News from Burundi
We arrived at OR Tambo on Monday 20 December, with the soccer world cup life size photos reminding us of this event plastered against the walls of the airport corridors. Happy faces representing our rainbow nation. Everything seems so clean bright and efficient, with passport control flooded with visitors from abroad. Just a few hours ago we were in Bujumbura with mosquitoes buzzing around both of us excited to come back to SA. But we know our routes are growing in Burundi as we have to condition ourselves to greet people differently in SA and the Kirundi and French words slipping out here and there.
December month was a supper busy time for us filled with great happenings, here is some highlights:
A small team from Liberty Church of 3 people came to visit and minister. Dutliff, a successful businessman with good experience of travelling Africa and having stayed a few years in Uganda arrived a week before the other two team members. Dutliff a food scientist specializing in formulating food additives for animals, was an absolute blessing and wanted to come and investigate the nutrition situation of young children. So we visited many hospitals and some private clinics to help with the investigation. We appreciated Dutliff’s insight into the 
African culture and always had a posture to learn. He even met with an Aids association and teached them how to make peanut butter. As well as adding value in formulizing Ps Charles’s vision for Rubabi.
Iloma and Hannes arrived end of November and the team used the time to visit and encourage village churches, made crafts with the local 
Sunday school and we planted a Farming God’s Way garden in the north of the country in Ngosi. In my last blog I explain the philosophy of FGW and the impact it is making in the rest of Africa, now it is Burundi’s turn. 
After hours we watched the full training DVD’s of FGW and we set off to Ngosi to go train a village where one of Ps Charles’s pastors met us, Ps Andrew. We divided the training amongst us and training FGW. 
Dutliff was very instrumental in the practical aspect of the training, laying out the Garden and teaching the people for the 1st time. It was really so successful that 6 unbelievers came to Christ that day just by attending the training. Diane and I are very thankful to this team we were so encouraged with their visit and all the gifts they brought with was Holy Spirit inspired.
Thank you to Bible for Believers who continue to sponsor Bibles. When we were in Ngosi we used the opportunity to also hand out Bibles.
At the one church after handing out Bibles we asked if anyone had a testimony. One man stood up, with a smile that shines from his face, he started to explain that he was earnestly seeking God for a Bible, just 3 days before he had a dream that some white people and one black man (our interpreter Aron) will come visit the Church and give him a Bible. We were so encouraged knowing that God has confirmed beforehand that we will come and that our coming is in the centre of His will. Praise God!
Our next visitors was two Veritas directors Ivan Skinner (green shirt in the pic) and David de Wet (Blue shirt). They came to assess the training we have done this year and to train 10 facilitators to help train module 1. Veritas training has been instrumental, we have literary seen Pastors preaching change. We also had a short ceremony to hand out the 27 certificate to the Pastors who completed module 1 training and asked for some testimonies. Some were very amusing and others very serious but all of them highlighted the fact that God’s call for this training is 100% necessary and relevant. 
One Pastor explained that the training has helped him understand the difference between absolute and relative truths. How to understand the message in context of the culture and history without merely preaching his own ideas of the passage and presenting his sermon confidently within a well prepared structure. As a result he said his church is growing daily. People are flocking to come and listen to his teachings and their lives are changed by God’s Word. Truly the power of the Word of God is within the understanding of His message.
The final highlight just days before we left was from a sponsor who said that he cannot sleep at night because he is constantly reminded of the poverty of the children in Burundi. Hence he gave and Diane came up with a brilliant idea. 
She has been preparing for some months to buy small school bags for her 130 Sunday school children and also packed a little children’s book translated into Kirundi called “The Greatest story ever told”. But upon hearing this the generous donor gave even more and we were sitting with the dilemma that we are leaving in a few days time for SA but wanted to know what God wants us to do with the gift. So Diane said shoes, we must buy sandals for the children in the Rubabi school. Now Rubabi school have been built by Ps Charles in a rural area, and has some 300 primary school children. Diane arrange 300 plus pairs of sandals in 1 day and the next day we were off to the school to hand out sandals. All too fast for my single task operating brain but Diane took the lead and nothing was going to stop her to give these little children exactly what she felt God was sending her to do. As I was fitting sandals to all these little feet did it dawn on me how damaged many of these little feet are, and felt how God was wanting to minister to these little children. Let’s not forsake these little ones. Thank you Lord that we had the privilege of witnessing your miracles as children were running joyfully having received shoes from Jesus that day, some for the first time.
Ministry Focus for 2011
Friends I have a confession to make, it has been a tough year on Diane and I both spiritually and physically. Every time we want to give up God helps us to the next hurdle. We have made a commitment to training pastors and leaders in Burundi for at least until end of 2013. We trust that God will continue to provide for us to make this work possible. Already the payment for Bernice’s studies for 2011 have been made by a faithful sponsor. God knows this person and we thank God for providing through these special Kingdom minded individuals so that we can continue God’s work in Burundi.
However we come to the close of 2010, with both excitement and vigor for the next season in Burundi. Excitement for what God has done this year. Excitement, because the best is yet to come. It is almost as if we are on the edge of the boarder of God’s promised land and God is showing us the work, the major task which remains for this land with the words ringing in my ears “Do you see the work which is ahead, do you see the need, do you see my people whom I so dearly love, do you see why I have called you here, do you see that I am walking with you now and into this next season of Burundi, Then know that I have gone before you to lay the foundations so that my Name may be lifted above every Name in this Country.”
Allow me to cast the vision for 2011. We continue to focus on training leaders and pastors with the Veritas material, How to interpret the Bible. This is such an effective tool which helps pastors find the correct message of passages in the Bible within the correct context. We understand that the best model for training pastors is not to build seminaries but rather we make the sacrifice to travel to the different provinces and train pastors as close as possible to their own local churches. As well as training facilitators to help train their own Nation (2 Tim 2:2). Already the word has gone around and we are receiving multiple invitations to come teach in different provinces.
We have a number of Kingdom investment opportunities in support of the work here for 2011:
1. Bible distribution:
Amongst the many village churches we have found very few people who owns a Bible, needless to mention that the poverty line is very low here, hence owning a Bible is very low in the pecking order of survival. Hence we have been asking in our news updates for the support of Bible distribution amongst the churches here.
To summarise the need, it is great, there is about 5000 registered churches in Burundi with a population of about 7 million people, about 60% church going. We have had some success with donors like Bibles for Believers in South Africa who gives us donations from time to time. We aim at high integrity to only distribute Bibles to believers, who has no Bible and have no apparent means to buy one. We normally distribute the Bibles ourselves to each individual asking the Pastor to nominate recipients. We attempt to only distribute in the most rural areas. We have a Bible society in Burundi who sells Bibles @ $5,24.
2. Veritas Modules & Training
Our main objective is to train Pastors and church leaders with a specific focus on How to interpret the Bible. In this 4 Module course we train the students on Exegesis, Hermeneutics and Homiletics. Finally the participants will be able to preach the Word of God accurately on all different literature types within the context of the Bible History, the Structure of the Bible Book, the Theme of the Book and finally analyze passages accurately in order to identify the absolute truths which must be teached and preached today.
It is our desire to have teached this course in all 17 provinces of Burundi within 5 years. We are two teams who are teaching the material at the moment, but the focus is to empower the Burundian facilitators to help. We have just completed to train 10 facilitators in Gitega. God willing they will also start to train in January 2011. I have already provided them with the modules. Each module takes about 4 months to train once by week. Other areas we may be able to train faster, twice or 3 times by week.
The needs include translating, printing and transport of Training material. Also travel and accommodation expenses as we travel to each province to groups of pastors. Here is a breakdown of associated costs:
· Printing Training material – we attempt to train groups of 15 pastors at a time, some may be bigger. Cost per manual is $15 inclusive of transport and printing. The estimated need for manuals for 2011 will be:
o Anton = 120 manuals for the next year (@ 15 pastors x 8 groups) = 120 x $15 = $1800 (for the year).
o Other facilitators = 80 manuals for the next year (@ 8 pastors x 10 groups) = $1200
· Translating modules – currently we have translated Module 1 and 2. We must continue to translate module 3 and 4. The estimated need for 2011 will be:
o Per Module $500 ($300 for translating + $200 for typing) = Total cost $1000 for both Module 3 and 4
· Travel and accommodation – On average each province is about 200kms from Gitega, Gitega is very central to rest of the country. This is a budget for the 2011. I plan to train 6 groups in different locations, two sessions every second week.
o Fuel = 800kms per month (@ 7.2km/1Liter. We will need 111 litres of fuel. @ FBU1883/Litre with an exchange of FBU1230/$1) = $170 per month
o Accommodation = average of 10days per month (FBU15 per night + Meals for the day FBU15= FBU30 for 2 people @ FBU1230/$1 exchange) = $487 per month
3. Bible commentary & Dictionary
The Kirundi language is very poor specially in Bible resources for Pastors. The only tool they have is the Bible itself. Recently though a Bible Commentary written by Don Fleming has been translated into Kirundi. The commentary is absolutely invaluable in terms of helping Pastors to interpret the Bible accurately. We are attempting to subsidize one commentary per Pastor in the country, starting with those we are training. In addition to the commentary the Pastors also needs a Kirundi dictionary, not available at all in Kirundi, yet! Again we envisage to translate the Dictionary written by Don Fleming into Kirundi. This project needs finance to start translation. To summarise this Kingdom investment opportunity:
· Kirundi Commentary – this book is already translated and already available to Pastors however most cannot afford to buy this book at $16, we therefore are looking for investors to help subsidize this book for the Pastors @ $12 per book.
o Anton = 120 commentaries for 2011 = 120 x $12 = $1440
o Other trainers = 80 commentaries for 2011 = 80 x $12 = $960
o This is the bare minimum we need, but additional funds will be used to distribute this commentary to as many pastors as possible.
· Kirundi Dictionary – the translation of the dictionary will cost $2000. The cost of the book will be established after translation.
4. Children Ministry 2011
Diane is planning to raise up Sunday school teachers in 2011 by giving them training and providing teaching tools and aids to help with their Bible education. The children she targets are between the ages of 6 to 12 years old. In most churches the children’s ministry is non-existent. During 2011 Diane plans to raise up the children ministry across the 4 churches in Gitega for Plein Evangile.
· Training of Sunday school teachers – includes networking with existing organizations who offer this training in Bujumbura. 3 day training for 8 teachers will cost $1500
· Tools – Little Folks visuals which is a felt board used to tell Bible stories to children @ $600 x 4= $2400
· Children’s book – Greatest Story ever told is a little book which visually illustrates the Gospel for children – 650 @ $1 = $650
· Children’s outreach – 4 times a year we invite the local children to a special fun filled day of activities with the purpose of introducing the Gospel = $100 x 4= $400
5. Personal support
Diane and I have stepped out by faith since 1 January 2009, and not lacked in God providing for us. We however are seeking ministry support for a monthly pension and medical insurance. We will also need to make a trip to South Africa in September 2011 and requesting financial support for 2 return tickets estimated cost $1582.
Update on Ministry needs:
Thank you for gifts we have received, we could at least pay one ticket from the two gifts we have received.
Spiritual Thought
If we are tired and weary we must come to God who will strengthen us and we will fly like eagles. Although it is a constant battle physically and emotionally to continue to walk in His will He has paved for our lives, we do so knowing that the work and sacrifices are not without purpose to bring glory to the Lord.
Isa 40:31 “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
We pray a special blessing for all those families who have so faithfully supported God’s work in Burundi, as well as the prayer partners for seeking God and interceding for us. We pray for God’s pure will for you in 2011 that He will bless you specifically in the spiritual, that He will strengthen your relationship with Him and set you up as true people of God who seeks His face and direction for your lives. May God use 2011 to purify and wash us from all our past hurts and unforgiveness and restore all relationships through love. That the restoring of relationships will be at the focal point of your prayers and desires and that the material will become less and less an obstacle between us and God. Praise God!
Prayer points
Please continue to pray as follow:
1. Peace for Burundi – the rebel attacks are under control we pray God’s peace to prevail.
2. Pray for Gods Truth – the Gospel - to become known to all people in Burundi, from grass roots into the highest rank of government. Also pray that God may all give us His heart for Burundi.
3. Bernice – thank you for praying Bernice did very well this year passing well with 4 distinctions.
4. Pray for us – protection for our health, relationships, that no weapon from the enemy against us will prevail.
5. Divine appoints – ask the Holy Spirit to guide us into all divine appointments He has created for us and to discern His words of wisdom.
6. Vehicle – pray for the settlement of the balance of the loan.
7. Studies – Paul’s letters and Peace & Reconciliation
8. SA Visit – for good rest and great ministry connections.
Please stay connected with us on Face Book………
Also on our Blog you will find Twitter updates and real time news flashes for Burundi…..http://van-burundi.blogspot.com/
Much love
Anton and Diane
