Since we're leaving Africa tonight, and I'm already packed, I thought it was about time I wrote an update on the past month!! Apologies for the lateness but time just runs away here and before you know it, you're going home! So I'll try to summarise the past month as best I can & when I'm back in Switzerland I will post some photos.
In Kigali we've been able to experience more ministries, which has been amazing. A woman called Hope has set up a ministry called Hagari Ministries, which supports ex-prostitutes, street women and women in difficulty to care for their children and their families. By finding sponsors they are able to send their children to school, be part of a tutor programme, literacy classes and the children also get fed once a week at the house. We were able to visit when they had the children's programme. We did a Bible story- I acted out the story of Noah while Aubrey narrated, we sung songs and played some games. I loved being surrounded by children with so much joy and yet so little material possessions! It really puts things into perspective for you. We were also able to visit the support group for the mum's and one of the team was able to share a testimony which really touched one of the ladies in particular, so it was amazing to see God at work.
We were able to visit an orphanage, with mainly teenagers, where they explained to us that to help improve their confidence, they liked to act & dance. And so they showed us a few of their dramas and dances. Although we couldn't understand what they were saying, some of them were hilarious and they had us all cracking up.
We also spent 2 days in the school on the compound of the base and were able to help out in the classes. On the first day Aubrey and I helped in P1 and on the second I helped in P4. I enjoyed them both, but I actually got a chance to help teach the children in P4 and loved seeing their response when they understood something!
We had another birthday in the team during our time here, our leader Claire. We decided, since she's so good at surprising us, that we'd need to surprise her! So, we told her that we were going to minister to a group of youth and we planned it with her in the morning and I have to say, we acted pretty well. We then drove to a hotel and surprised her by spending the morning sat by a pool side and chilling out. We then went into town and had a lovely meal out and in the evening had a surprise party and cake. She loved it and we were pleased we could surprise her.
For 2 weeks we were also able to visit a remote village, in the East of Rwanda, called Bukora. We went there to help serve and we stayed with a man called Celestin-ywamer and a few others. It was an incredible few weeks and I definitely learnt so much. Although we had no electricity, no running water and we shared a house with bats, I loved the simple lifestyle. Taking a shower in an outside block with a curtain as a door that blew with the wind was definitely stressful at times, trying to hold onto the curtain was not the easiest thing! Whilst there we helped serve practically by; helping a church make bricks which involved moving mud with our hands, we also moved bricks, sand and cow poo. We spent a lot of our time playing with children, we visited a clinic and prayed for the sick.
The nearest town was Kiyanzi, which we visited a few times, twice on foot. It took Celestin around 45 minutes to walk up the hill/mountain everyday. The first time we walked it took us about 2 hours and the second just over 1 hour, so there was a definite improvement, but we were amazed at how he managed to do it everyday so quickly!
We had some surprises whilst being there too. On our day off we visited the border of Tanzania and we were able to see a beautiful waterfall which separates the 2 countries and we were even allowed to cross the bridge and set a foot onto the other side. The other great surprise was being able to visit the National Park. Unfortunately we drove to an entrance which was closed and had to back track on ourselves, meaning it took us about 8 hours to drive to the park, but it was definitely worth it! We saw Zebras, Giraffes, Antelope, Buffalo, Monkeys, Baboons, a Crocodile and I saw the head of a Hippo! One of my dreams before coming here was to go on a safari and it definitely came true.
Since being back in Kigali we have visited Hope's ministry a few more times and been able to serve the children food, which I enjoyed. We've also harvested beans (although I wasn't feeling good so sat out!) and have been door-to-door. I also managed to be sick last week, with only 9 days left in Africa! I was pretty gutted I hadn't gone the whole hog, but hey ho!
On Monday we began to debrief our time here and we had yet another surprise. We were told in the morning to pack our bags for an over night stay and we drove to a hotel not far from here for the rest of the day and until this afternoon. It was a lovely hotel and we were all able to have the first hot showers since leaving Switzerland! We spoke about the positive bits of outreach and the bits where we've struggled. We also spoke about how we think we've changed and were able to encourage one another as a team. It is amazing to think about where I was at the beginning of this time and where I am now and although there has been no drastic changes (at least I don't think there has!), I've definitely grown in a lot of areas. I'm looking forward to being home and actually seeing how much this last 6 months has really impacted my life.
The rest of the week we spent doing last minute shopping and exploring. We leave Kigali tonight around 9pm and will arrive in Switzerland tomorrow morning with a stop in Brussels. I'm looking forward to seeing the other half of our DTS family but will miss this place.
Thank you for all your support and the prayers of those who pray! I love you all and can't wait to see you very soon. I may also look slightly different...!
Emma x
Friday, June 14, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
Motorbikes, hills, bagels, crazy rainstorms & scary taxi rides. Hello Rwanda!
Hello from Rwanda!!
Our last week in Burundi was awesome. A highlight of mine was being able to go to an international school, where they spoke English, and help out for a few days. I spent most of the time in the reception class, ages 4-5, which I loved. I also got to help in the art class and really enjoyed that too. The children were awesome and I was amazed to see the different nations represented in just one class, including a few children with english parents! I helped out with crafts, maths, learning the word 'add' and I also got to read them some stories. I was asked to pick a book to read on the second morning we were there, by this time I was pretty comfortable sitting infront of them and leading the session. So, I picked Pinochio and was enjoying telling the story, I got to the part of Pinocchio being kidnapped when the teacher comes up to me and whispers that I need to finish now. I definitely wasn't expecting that! I couldn't leave them hanging, thinking Pinochio was still kidnapped! So I flicked to the end of the story and all of a sudden, 'YEY PINOCCHIO IS SAVED!' And the children all cheered. Think I managed to get away with that, until they actually read the story, they won't know I missed out so much.
So, apart from loving the school experience, we also got to go and do some more church services & we finally, on our last day in Burundi, did some well needed souvenier shopping! We also had a fun night at the base, with the new DTS students and staff, where everyone was required to dress crazy. Some of the outfits were hilarious! I went for the standard, these colours don't match at all, that will do!
So on the 30th we left Bujumbura & set of on our 6 hour trip back to Rwanda. This time we managed to get a much bigger bus, so there was plenty of leg room, not that I need much anyway! The bus journey was pleasant and we arrived at the base early evening. The past week and a half have been great. We've been able to get to know other teams that are staying at the base, which has been cool.
We've been able to explore around the base & in the city, we discovered a lovely cafe in the centre which does an amazing hot chocolate, we had the opportunity to visit the Genocide memorial, an amazing & heartbreaking experience at the same time. The same day we visited a group of widows who had lost their husbands due to HIV or in the genocide. We visiting the African Bagel Co-Op, a cafe that makes amazing Bagels & Doughnuts! We also got to take motorbike taxi's from town and to several places, I was pretty nervous to begin with and told my driver to go slow, to which he simply replied 'jump on!' I ended up loving the ride and wanted to do it straight again after! Driving through the city is amazing as there are so many hills which give amazing views over Kigali. We had an interesting ride to church up a steep hill in a taxi that looked like it might fall apart at any moment, and when it wouldn't start again we ended up walking the rest of the way! Aubrey and I got to do the sunday school with a big group of children, we told the story of Noah's Ark & I mimed, they found my animal impressions pretty amusing. We also did a house visit to a woman with HIV and got to encourage her & pray for her. We helped out on the base by painting one of the staff houses & today we're meeting with some youth. So all in all its been a great week and a bit so far in this beautiful country!
We're leaving Kigali on the 20th and heading to a village for a few weeks to live with locals and experience village life. We then return on the 3rd and stay another 2 weeks in Kigali before heading back to Switzerland. I know I say this all the time, but time really is flying by. I'm looking forward to seeing the other outreach team when we get back to Switzerland and then my family and friends back at home! I'm trying not to think of it too much, though, as I don't want to miss what God is doing here and now!
Thank you for all your support and I'll try to update you again soon.
Love Em x
Our last week in Burundi was awesome. A highlight of mine was being able to go to an international school, where they spoke English, and help out for a few days. I spent most of the time in the reception class, ages 4-5, which I loved. I also got to help in the art class and really enjoyed that too. The children were awesome and I was amazed to see the different nations represented in just one class, including a few children with english parents! I helped out with crafts, maths, learning the word 'add' and I also got to read them some stories. I was asked to pick a book to read on the second morning we were there, by this time I was pretty comfortable sitting infront of them and leading the session. So, I picked Pinochio and was enjoying telling the story, I got to the part of Pinocchio being kidnapped when the teacher comes up to me and whispers that I need to finish now. I definitely wasn't expecting that! I couldn't leave them hanging, thinking Pinochio was still kidnapped! So I flicked to the end of the story and all of a sudden, 'YEY PINOCCHIO IS SAVED!' And the children all cheered. Think I managed to get away with that, until they actually read the story, they won't know I missed out so much.
So, apart from loving the school experience, we also got to go and do some more church services & we finally, on our last day in Burundi, did some well needed souvenier shopping! We also had a fun night at the base, with the new DTS students and staff, where everyone was required to dress crazy. Some of the outfits were hilarious! I went for the standard, these colours don't match at all, that will do!
So on the 30th we left Bujumbura & set of on our 6 hour trip back to Rwanda. This time we managed to get a much bigger bus, so there was plenty of leg room, not that I need much anyway! The bus journey was pleasant and we arrived at the base early evening. The past week and a half have been great. We've been able to get to know other teams that are staying at the base, which has been cool.
We've been able to explore around the base & in the city, we discovered a lovely cafe in the centre which does an amazing hot chocolate, we had the opportunity to visit the Genocide memorial, an amazing & heartbreaking experience at the same time. The same day we visited a group of widows who had lost their husbands due to HIV or in the genocide. We visiting the African Bagel Co-Op, a cafe that makes amazing Bagels & Doughnuts! We also got to take motorbike taxi's from town and to several places, I was pretty nervous to begin with and told my driver to go slow, to which he simply replied 'jump on!' I ended up loving the ride and wanted to do it straight again after! Driving through the city is amazing as there are so many hills which give amazing views over Kigali. We had an interesting ride to church up a steep hill in a taxi that looked like it might fall apart at any moment, and when it wouldn't start again we ended up walking the rest of the way! Aubrey and I got to do the sunday school with a big group of children, we told the story of Noah's Ark & I mimed, they found my animal impressions pretty amusing. We also did a house visit to a woman with HIV and got to encourage her & pray for her. We helped out on the base by painting one of the staff houses & today we're meeting with some youth. So all in all its been a great week and a bit so far in this beautiful country!
We're leaving Kigali on the 20th and heading to a village for a few weeks to live with locals and experience village life. We then return on the 3rd and stay another 2 weeks in Kigali before heading back to Switzerland. I know I say this all the time, but time really is flying by. I'm looking forward to seeing the other outreach team when we get back to Switzerland and then my family and friends back at home! I'm trying not to think of it too much, though, as I don't want to miss what God is doing here and now!
Thank you for all your support and I'll try to update you again soon.
Love Em x
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Past few weeks in Burundi
Mwiriwe!(Good afternoon/evening in Kirundi!)
Thought I'd write a quick update of the past few weeks for those of you interested!
The past few weeks have been great & growing to love this country more and more! Last week we did more practical things to help within the community. We went back to the Orphanage that we'd visited to cook them a meal as a surprise which was awesome. We cooked Spag Bol.. so nice to have meat as a change! We also visited a church and helped clean chairs for them. We also helped the YWAM base prepare for their first DTS, which was pretty exciting. Aubrey and I were asked to paint a map on the wall of their classroom & accepted the challenge and if I do say so myself, it looks pretty sweet! We also visited one of the hospitals in Bujumbura to encourage patients and also gave food & some supplies to those in need.
We decided this week to do something 'touristy' on our day off and went to visit the Rusizi Park, which claimed you'd be able to see Hippos, Crocodiles etc. It was further away from the base than we had been told & realised after about an hour of walking in the boiling sun, that getting a bus would've been a better idea! We then walked round the park, which was beautiful, but I have to say I was pretty exhausted & hot from our walk! We were able to see Hippos, but unfortunately no Crocs!! Then on Wednesday we visited a house for elderly Widows and helped them move a massive pile of bricks. It was going fine until we realised that there were scorpions hiding in amongst the cracks! That definitely made it a little more interesting! And scary. We then sprayed the house with a spray that was meant to kill bugs, as they'd been having problems with them!
Today & tomorrow we're volunteering at a school here in Bujumbura. I was helping in the Reception class which involved counting spots on Ladybirds & reading them a story about a boy with ants in his pants, which they found hilarious! We also played with a Parachute outside, which was chaos, but great fun! I then got the chance to help in an Art class with some older children, painting flowers! I also loved this and got right into my element. Definitely looking forward to going back tomorrow. So we leave Bujumbura on Tuesday & catch the bus back to Kigali, another 6 hour journey! We're hoping that it won't be a boiling day, because you definitely can't count on any Air Con! We're still doing good health wise as a team and unity is growing more and more as we get to know each other better!
It's crazy how quickly it is going, but I knew it would happen! Trying to make the most of every moment and opportunity!
Thank you for all the messages, prayer & support! I really appreciate it!
Lots of love, Em x
Thought I'd write a quick update of the past few weeks for those of you interested!
The past few weeks have been great & growing to love this country more and more! Last week we did more practical things to help within the community. We went back to the Orphanage that we'd visited to cook them a meal as a surprise which was awesome. We cooked Spag Bol.. so nice to have meat as a change! We also visited a church and helped clean chairs for them. We also helped the YWAM base prepare for their first DTS, which was pretty exciting. Aubrey and I were asked to paint a map on the wall of their classroom & accepted the challenge and if I do say so myself, it looks pretty sweet! We also visited one of the hospitals in Bujumbura to encourage patients and also gave food & some supplies to those in need.
We decided this week to do something 'touristy' on our day off and went to visit the Rusizi Park, which claimed you'd be able to see Hippos, Crocodiles etc. It was further away from the base than we had been told & realised after about an hour of walking in the boiling sun, that getting a bus would've been a better idea! We then walked round the park, which was beautiful, but I have to say I was pretty exhausted & hot from our walk! We were able to see Hippos, but unfortunately no Crocs!! Then on Wednesday we visited a house for elderly Widows and helped them move a massive pile of bricks. It was going fine until we realised that there were scorpions hiding in amongst the cracks! That definitely made it a little more interesting! And scary. We then sprayed the house with a spray that was meant to kill bugs, as they'd been having problems with them!
Today & tomorrow we're volunteering at a school here in Bujumbura. I was helping in the Reception class which involved counting spots on Ladybirds & reading them a story about a boy with ants in his pants, which they found hilarious! We also played with a Parachute outside, which was chaos, but great fun! I then got the chance to help in an Art class with some older children, painting flowers! I also loved this and got right into my element. Definitely looking forward to going back tomorrow. So we leave Bujumbura on Tuesday & catch the bus back to Kigali, another 6 hour journey! We're hoping that it won't be a boiling day, because you definitely can't count on any Air Con! We're still doing good health wise as a team and unity is growing more and more as we get to know each other better!
It's crazy how quickly it is going, but I knew it would happen! Trying to make the most of every moment and opportunity!
Thank you for all the messages, prayer & support! I really appreciate it!
Lots of love, Em x
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Hello from Bujumbura
Hello from Africa!!! I'm currently sat in a cafe on the beach in Bujumbura, Burundi. Don't worry, I know that Burundi is landlocked and therefore has no sea, it does however have a beautiful lake which is about 3 minutes walk from the base that we're staying at!
So we flew to Rwanda on the 30th, a day late due to technical difficulties with the plane. We spent Easter Sunday in the YWAM base there. Our team went to our first church service. We knew we were in Africa when it lasted 4 hours! It was good fun though & prepared us for the services to come!
On the Monday we got a bus from Kigali to Bujumbura, the capital in Burundi. It was a 6 hour trip through beautiful countryside in a pretty crammed bus with some interesting toilet stops. We arrived here in Burundi in the evening and had a little tour of the base. It's much smaller than the base in Rwanda or Burtigny, but it does have the beach just down the road so you can't complain!
So for the first week we got stuck in straight away with the ministries that the base are involved with. We went and spoke to fishermen on the lake, gathered children and played games, sung songs & told them about Jesus. We also visited an Orphanage. One of my favorite days was when we brought some street children to the base, we played games with them, sung songs, washed them, ate with them and listened to their stories. It broke my heart to hear that some of them didn't know how old they were and some of them said an age that was obviously a few years out! We prayed with them and had to say goodbye. It's so easy to get overwhelmed by the need here because there is just so much, but we can only do what we can and have to trust that Jesus will do the rest!
This weekend we went to a church on the side of the mountain and although the taxi ride was probably one of the most terrifying trips in a car, the view was definitely worth it!! We were given an hour and half to fill up in both services. On Saturday I spoke & one of the team gave a testimony and we did worship. On Sunday another one of the team spoke and we did just over an hour in the service, which, in total was around 4 hours!
Monday was our day off and the cafe down the road(the one I'm currently sat in) was closed so we headed down the beach to a hotel which has a pool which we could use for 6000 Burundian francs for the day. Yes I feel like a millionaire right now! 6000 is about £3 or £4 I think, and since we could use the Internet there, we spent a large majority of the day there!
This week we organised a Mini DTS for a youth group here and so each of us had the opportunity to speak on topics that we were taught on in our lectures. Sam & I spoke on the Character & Nature of God and the Father heart of God. I actually really enjoyed preparing for it, it meant we went back through our notes and reminded ourselves of the teaching we received a few months ago. The others taught on Hearing the voice of God & Reconciliation and Relationships. On Friday we also spoke on the topic of missions & English speakers spoke on Biblical Worldview & the French speakers spoke on Spiritual Warfare.
Health wise, most of us have been pretty good, with the occasional stomach ache etc.
On a more personal level, I've loved what we've been doing and am excited for the next few months but, as expected, it's also been challenging! I managed to get a pretty awful burn on my neck within the first few days after just not being careful enough with the sun cream! So I've learnt my lesson and putting on sun cream, as well as mosquito repellent, has just become a normal part of my day!
We're here in Burundi until the 30th April and then we're going back to Rwanda for the rest of our time. I hope to write another post before we leave Burundi to update you with news! If you'd like prayer requests, they are:
- That team unity would continue to grow and we'd be even closer as a team
- That health issues wouldn't prevent us from doing what we've come here to do
- Moral would stay high, even in challenging situations
- God would continue to amaze us!!
So, in summary, I'm loving it here!! Lots of love!
Emma xx
P.S appologies for the lack of paragraphs & massive chunk of text- I tried to break it up and not sure what went wrong!
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Packing day!
With only a few hours left in Switzerland before we leave for outreach, I thought I'd fill you in on the past few weeks happenings & also tell you all how excited I am for Africa!!
First things first, my mum visited last weekend! It was so nice to see her & somewhat emotional on both accounts! She arrived on a beautiful day & got an amazing view of lake Geneva & the Alps as we drove back to Burtigny. Was so lovely to hear from people at home, even had a few cards & some amazing people sent some skirts out for me after they'd heard that I was short on skirts for outreach! I now have plenty to keep me going for 3 months! On Saturday we went into Geneva & spent the day chilling out by the lake, eating lots of amazing things & catching up on the past 10 weeks of news!
Even though it was hard to say goodbye, I know these next few months are going to fly by & before I know it I'll see my amazing family & friends again!
Last week we had Raymond Serex teaching on Giving up your rights. He was a great communicator & had some brilliant stories. I was definitely challenged by what he was saying, and know that God is going to continue showing me areas in my life that I need to give back to him.
So, I'll bring you up to speed if you're not sure what's happening with outreach. Our team will leave Burtigny on Friday 29th, very early in the morning!! We fly to Brussels first & then get a connecting flight to Kigali, Rwanda. We will then stay at the YWAM base in Kigali until Sunday. From Kigali we are going to take a bus to Bujumbura, Burundi. This will be an adventure in itself as the bus is public & apparently an interesting ride! It will take about 6 hours to get there & we will then stay in Bujumbura for around 4 weeks. We will take the bus back to Kigali after these 4 weeks and then stay in Kigali until we fly home mid June! In terms of what we'll be doing there, we don't know 100% yet! We'll get involved with the ministries in the surrounding areas, which could be to visit; HIV aids patients, street kids, widows & orphans. We will also be involved with things at the base & help out where we can! We also hope to spend some time in the bush whilst in Rwanda!
Today is packing day & I'm trying not to stress out! I'm making to-do list after to-do list to make sure I don't forget anything.
We had a great surprise yesterday & for our last lecture were taken to this beautiful log cabin on a hill side. It was pretty foggy so we couldn't enjoy the view, but it was great nevertheless! We had out last talk from Edwin, the current base leader. He spoke to us about the fact that our attitude is a choice & we can choose to have a good attitude! We then toasted marshmallows & had S'mores, American style!!
I wanted to say thank you to all the people who have emailed me & messaged me & I'm sorry if I haven't had chance to reply, time seems to have just ran away with me! Also.. for the people I meant to Skype but didn't get chance.. hopefully we'll get a chance soon, but if not, see you in a few months!
Thank you for all your prayers too & I'll try my best to update you as soon as I can.
I went on a beautiful walk yesterday & managed to acquire a dog. For those of you that know me, you'll know that I'm not the biggest fan of dogs! So to go for an hour & half walk with one was quite an achievement.
Here are some photos from my walk.
First things first, my mum visited last weekend! It was so nice to see her & somewhat emotional on both accounts! She arrived on a beautiful day & got an amazing view of lake Geneva & the Alps as we drove back to Burtigny. Was so lovely to hear from people at home, even had a few cards & some amazing people sent some skirts out for me after they'd heard that I was short on skirts for outreach! I now have plenty to keep me going for 3 months! On Saturday we went into Geneva & spent the day chilling out by the lake, eating lots of amazing things & catching up on the past 10 weeks of news!
Even though it was hard to say goodbye, I know these next few months are going to fly by & before I know it I'll see my amazing family & friends again!
Last week we had Raymond Serex teaching on Giving up your rights. He was a great communicator & had some brilliant stories. I was definitely challenged by what he was saying, and know that God is going to continue showing me areas in my life that I need to give back to him.
So, I'll bring you up to speed if you're not sure what's happening with outreach. Our team will leave Burtigny on Friday 29th, very early in the morning!! We fly to Brussels first & then get a connecting flight to Kigali, Rwanda. We will then stay at the YWAM base in Kigali until Sunday. From Kigali we are going to take a bus to Bujumbura, Burundi. This will be an adventure in itself as the bus is public & apparently an interesting ride! It will take about 6 hours to get there & we will then stay in Bujumbura for around 4 weeks. We will take the bus back to Kigali after these 4 weeks and then stay in Kigali until we fly home mid June! In terms of what we'll be doing there, we don't know 100% yet! We'll get involved with the ministries in the surrounding areas, which could be to visit; HIV aids patients, street kids, widows & orphans. We will also be involved with things at the base & help out where we can! We also hope to spend some time in the bush whilst in Rwanda!
Today is packing day & I'm trying not to stress out! I'm making to-do list after to-do list to make sure I don't forget anything.
We had a great surprise yesterday & for our last lecture were taken to this beautiful log cabin on a hill side. It was pretty foggy so we couldn't enjoy the view, but it was great nevertheless! We had out last talk from Edwin, the current base leader. He spoke to us about the fact that our attitude is a choice & we can choose to have a good attitude! We then toasted marshmallows & had S'mores, American style!!
I wanted to say thank you to all the people who have emailed me & messaged me & I'm sorry if I haven't had chance to reply, time seems to have just ran away with me! Also.. for the people I meant to Skype but didn't get chance.. hopefully we'll get a chance soon, but if not, see you in a few months!
Thank you for all your prayers too & I'll try my best to update you as soon as I can.
I went on a beautiful walk yesterday & managed to acquire a dog. For those of you that know me, you'll know that I'm not the biggest fan of dogs! So to go for an hour & half walk with one was quite an achievement.
Here are some photos from my walk.
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| My 'We're going to Africa on Friday' face. |
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| The dog. |
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| Burtigny!
Love you all!!
Emma x
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Thursday, March 14, 2013
'Courage is not the absence of fear. It's the will to persevere even in the face of fear.' Christine Caine
The past few weeks have been challenging and amazing at the same time! It's been a busy few weeks and I've only just got chance to sit down properly and blog! I'm right now very much excited, because tomorrow my mum is coming to visit and it will be the first time I've seen her in 10 weeks! It doesn't seem that long at all, but it will be amazing to spend time with her before I go away to Africa. Which, by the way, is 2 weeks tomorrow!! Again, time is flying by! I feel like I haven't given it loads of thought, mainly because we're so busy here, but also because I know if I do, I'll miss what God is going to do in the last few weeks of lectures. Too often, I live in the future, always looking ahead and not just being in the present. I read a blog post yesterday about living for the moment & love what it said.. 'And now, as tomorrows come so much faster than they did then, I see things differently. I see that I missed too many todays because I was worrying about too many tomorrows. Opportunities to love, to forgive, to be healed, lay unused at my feet because I was looking for what God had in His hand.' If you want to read the whole blog, it is:
http://outofedenministries.wordpress.com/2013/03/09/live-today/
The week of the 25th-1st, we had a French speaker, Etienne Atger, who spoke to us about Spiritual Warfare & the Kingdom. Some of you might be wondering what is 'spiritual warfare'? If so, I'll try and explain briefly! In my understanding, spiritual warfare is the battle between the Kingdom of God & the Kingdom of Darkness (Satan). In Ephesians 6:12, Paul writes, 'For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.' This means that there is a battle going on around us, that many of us are unaware of. We're told though, not to fear, because we're not fighting for victory, we're living in the victory of Jesus. This is such a vast topic and I don't think I'll be able to explain it or do it justice, I have however, found an article on this topic. Which, if you're interested, you should read. Its answering, 'what is spiritual warfare?', 'how do we recognise it?' & 'how can we win?'
http://outofedenministries.wordpress.com/2013/03/09/live-today/
The week of the 25th-1st, we had a French speaker, Etienne Atger, who spoke to us about Spiritual Warfare & the Kingdom. Some of you might be wondering what is 'spiritual warfare'? If so, I'll try and explain briefly! In my understanding, spiritual warfare is the battle between the Kingdom of God & the Kingdom of Darkness (Satan). In Ephesians 6:12, Paul writes, 'For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.' This means that there is a battle going on around us, that many of us are unaware of. We're told though, not to fear, because we're not fighting for victory, we're living in the victory of Jesus. This is such a vast topic and I don't think I'll be able to explain it or do it justice, I have however, found an article on this topic. Which, if you're interested, you should read. Its answering, 'what is spiritual warfare?', 'how do we recognise it?' & 'how can we win?'
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/features/27282-spiritual-warfare-is-real
That week, we also went to visit a campus in Lausanne, called Pepperdine, which is a branch of a university in California. We went & had a time of worship & a few of the DTS students shared their testimonies. It was nice to meet some new people, even if there were a few awkward introductions! Side note- here in Switzerland, it's normal when boys greet girls & girls greet girls, to kiss on the cheeks 3 times. The amount of times I've been caught of guard or just totally ignored someone by accident is crazy & at times very embarrassing!
On the Thursday of that week we had our very own Swiss night, here in Burtigny. We ate Swiss food & had a quiz to see how much we knew about the nation. Who knew that.. Per capita, American's eat 12 pounds of chocolate annually & the Swiss eat 21 pounds per capita?! Yes that's right, I'm at home here!
We spent last week staying in a church at Geneva. We left the base on Saturday & spent the day with the church youth group doing some evangelism on the streets of Geneva. Brilliant opportunity to practice my french! That evening we led the youth group and some of us gave testimonies, including myself. I shared a bit about how God had been working in my life over the past few months. It's pretty scary sharing & being vulnerable with people, but I just prayed that God would use my story to help/encourage/challenge the people there. The rest of the week we;
That week, we also went to visit a campus in Lausanne, called Pepperdine, which is a branch of a university in California. We went & had a time of worship & a few of the DTS students shared their testimonies. It was nice to meet some new people, even if there were a few awkward introductions! Side note- here in Switzerland, it's normal when boys greet girls & girls greet girls, to kiss on the cheeks 3 times. The amount of times I've been caught of guard or just totally ignored someone by accident is crazy & at times very embarrassing!
On the Thursday of that week we had our very own Swiss night, here in Burtigny. We ate Swiss food & had a quiz to see how much we knew about the nation. Who knew that.. Per capita, American's eat 12 pounds of chocolate annually & the Swiss eat 21 pounds per capita?! Yes that's right, I'm at home here!
We spent last week staying in a church at Geneva. We left the base on Saturday & spent the day with the church youth group doing some evangelism on the streets of Geneva. Brilliant opportunity to practice my french! That evening we led the youth group and some of us gave testimonies, including myself. I shared a bit about how God had been working in my life over the past few months. It's pretty scary sharing & being vulnerable with people, but I just prayed that God would use my story to help/encourage/challenge the people there. The rest of the week we;
- Served the Church
- Visited World Vision
- Explored Geneva
- Prayed for Geneva
- Spent a lot of time in McDonalds & local Patisseries!
Here's some pictures I took when exploring:
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| We spent a good portion of the week eating McFlurry's! After coming from Burtigny, a place in the middle of no-where, McDonalds was a luxury! |
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| Jenna, Aubrey & I |
It was a great week & we definitely got to know each other a lot better. I realised though, how much I'm going to miss the team going to Europe!! But trying not to dwell & just enjoying our last few weeks as one team.
Last Friday night a group of us went back to Chaux-de-fonds, to the church, to host an african worship evening. I'd been asked to play the piano. So, even though we were learning the songs right up to when we started the service, it was a great evening, full of joy & celebration.
This week we were able to meet the DTS which started in September, as they got back from their outreach on Monday. We've been able to hear the stories & I've definitely been getting a lot more excited after seeing the photos etc!
I recently finished reading a book for my book report, Undaunted by Christine Caine, the co-founder of The A21 Campaign- anti-human-trafficing organisation. She speaks about how God rescued her from a life where she was unwanted, unnamed & unqualified. It's an amazing book, full of stories of God's goodness & power, it has challenged me & I'd recommend anyone to read it.
This week we've had a woman called Heather preparing us for outreach. She's been giving us teaching on unreached people groups & understanding of cross-cultural ministry. It's been an amazing, eye-opening week so far!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
'There's no point trying to preach the Gospel to someone who's hungry.' William Booth
So first things first, you may be excited to know that we've finalised outreach plans! We're going to be spending 4 weeks in Burundi, followed by 8 weeks in Rwanda! The decision came after lots of prayer and discussion and I'm so happy with the decision! We're all getting very excited and this past week we were each asked to research a topic and present it to the group. I chose education. Here are some of the facts that I found out:
- A Rwandan is expected to complete an average of 10.6 years of education. The actual average is only 3.3 years.
- In Burundi, only 47% of girls primary school aged attend school
- After the Civil War in Burundi ended in 2005, 1/4 of the schools were destroyed, forcing many students to walk miles to reach the closest school
- In Burundi, the Elementary schools have limited resources
- Only 3.5% of schools have electricity
- 29% have access to clean water
- 14% have no toilets, because of this, a lot of the girls quit school
- In 2009, more than 16,628 students walked 12.5 miles to school everyday
Most of these facts shocked me, but its important to remember we shouldn't pity these people. Instead we should have compassion, which should lead us to action!
I LOVE the walks around here, last week I discovered my new favourite spot, a bench overlooking Burtigny, the valley, on a clear day you can see the Alps, Lake Geneva & the city of Geneva. I also found some horses..
Last week we were looking at Biblical Worldview. I had no idea what this meant & what it would involve. The teacher was British, which is always cool because they can relate to you on certain things, especially since this week we talked a lot about our different cultures! The main points I took away from the week were:
- God DOESN'T change! (I needed to be reminded of this)
- Our World is constantly changing, yet we're fully accepted by an unchanging God
- Sometimes we need to obey, before we understand
- Naturalism
- Animism
- Theism
We then looked at 5 questions and how each of these worldview's might respond to such questions:
1. Is there a God, if so, what is he like?
2. Where did we come from & what is the nature of humankind?
3. Where do our ethics come from? How do we know what is right & wrong?
4. How do we know?
5. Why are we here? What happens when we die?
- Jesus had a 3-fold ministry- sign, word & deed. These were all integrated into his ministry & he didn't separate or focus on just 1. Both Luke 4:16-19 and Matthew 9:32-38 show us how he put them into action. We need to learn from this & allow them to flow naturally from each other, like Jesus did.
- Poverty is often more than just material. When we go into the nations, we go as broken people with the spirit of humility, knowing we also have poverty in some areas of our lives.
We had some excitement on the base last week as it was Jenna's birthday, which meant we had a nice meal as the DTS and sung Happy Birthday in so many languages! It was also pancake day, but unlike home, we didn't have any pancakes! However, after making it known that I'd missed pancakes, one of the staff on the base, Shelby, invited Aubrey and I over to hers on Saturday morning for pancakes! She even had lemon & sugar for me!
This past week has been a long one! We had teaching on Reconciliation & Relationships from a guy called Wilson from South Africa. The teaching was brilliant but challenging too. This meant it was quite emotional at times & I think for me, I may not have picked up loads of 'practical' things in the teaching which I can tell you, but God definitely spoke to all of us & we had a time on Friday morning of taking things back to the cross & reconciling with one another.
We looked this week at Paul's perspective of Reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5:14-21. We then went through it step by step and looked at the following points:
- Radical love
- Radical perception
- Radical change
- Radical ministry
- Radical ambassadors
We also looked at our 'Root System', in other words, whats influenced us such as our culture, upbringing, ethnic group etc. And asked the question, do we need to bring this to God & is there any area thats influenced us in a negative way.
We also, on Thursday evening, had a time to celebrate the different cultures. We were told to get together with others of the same nationality & put together a 5 minute little presentation on what we loved about our culture etc. So Sam & I decided to do a little drama where we gave the news headlines in true BBC style. We also got them to stand for the national anthem & had a personal message for them from the Queen (I put a mask of the Queen on & addressed them!) They found this quite funny, but some of the humour we had in the headlines didn't go down too well.. we've realised since being here that us Brits definitely have a certain sense of humour that others don't get!!
This weekend we went as a DTS with some staff to a place called Chaux-de-fonds, which is on the Swiss-France border, about an hour and a half away from here & quite a few degrees colder with much more snow! It was an evangelism weekend with youth groups there. So, on Friday night & Saturday morning we had a time of worship & talks. We were then sent out on Saturday afternoon in groups, to hand out Bibles & speak to people about Jesus. I definitely admired the teenagers there who were willing to go into their home town and approach people they may know. I thought about if I were at home, would I have the guts to stand in the city centre & hand out Bibles, knowing I might see someone I know! It was a great time, not just speaking to the public but also getting to know some of the people in my team, and of course practising my French! But with temp down to -7 we were so so cold by the end of the afternoon!
It's been a very busy week, but great at the same time!
If you pray & would like to know prayer requests I have a few for you!
- Preparation for outreach goes smooth, for finances & booking flights.
- We're also thinking and praying at the moment about which areas of ministry to get involved in when we're on outreach, so wisdom for that would be good!
- For me specifically, I think I can sometimes get overwhelmed at the need that there is, with poverty for example, so pray against the thought that I can't do anything to help because its just too overwhelming!
- I've got a lot of ideas about where my future might be heading, well even just the next step after DTS, with many options.. so please pray for clarity & wisdom to know what to do!
Thank you so much, if you've ever got any other questions or want to know anything I haven't said, drop me an email- emmwilcox93@gmail.com
Love you all
Emma x
- A Rwandan is expected to complete an average of 10.6 years of education. The actual average is only 3.3 years.
- In Burundi, only 47% of girls primary school aged attend school
- After the Civil War in Burundi ended in 2005, 1/4 of the schools were destroyed, forcing many students to walk miles to reach the closest school
- In Burundi, the Elementary schools have limited resources
- Only 3.5% of schools have electricity
- 29% have access to clean water
- 14% have no toilets, because of this, a lot of the girls quit school
- In 2009, more than 16,628 students walked 12.5 miles to school everyday
Most of these facts shocked me, but its important to remember we shouldn't pity these people. Instead we should have compassion, which should lead us to action!
I LOVE the walks around here, last week I discovered my new favourite spot, a bench overlooking Burtigny, the valley, on a clear day you can see the Alps, Lake Geneva & the city of Geneva. I also found some horses..
 |
Last week we were looking at Biblical Worldview. I had no idea what this meant & what it would involve. The teacher was British, which is always cool because they can relate to you on certain things, especially since this week we talked a lot about our different cultures! The main points I took away from the week were:
- God DOESN'T change! (I needed to be reminded of this)
- Our World is constantly changing, yet we're fully accepted by an unchanging God
- Sometimes we need to obey, before we understand
'Our Worldview is a framework of fundamental beliefs through which we view the World and our calling & future in it.'
- There are 3 main worldview's:- Naturalism
- Animism
- Theism
We then looked at 5 questions and how each of these worldview's might respond to such questions:
1. Is there a God, if so, what is he like?
2. Where did we come from & what is the nature of humankind?
3. Where do our ethics come from? How do we know what is right & wrong?
4. How do we know?
5. Why are we here? What happens when we die?
- Jesus had a 3-fold ministry- sign, word & deed. These were all integrated into his ministry & he didn't separate or focus on just 1. Both Luke 4:16-19 and Matthew 9:32-38 show us how he put them into action. We need to learn from this & allow them to flow naturally from each other, like Jesus did.
We can't have the Kingdom without the King & we can't have the King without the Kingdom!
- The Church needs to understand that acts of compassion are an expression of the gospel.- Poverty is often more than just material. When we go into the nations, we go as broken people with the spirit of humility, knowing we also have poverty in some areas of our lives.
' If we ignore the World, we betray the word of God which sends us out to serve the World. If we ignore the Word of God, we have nothing to say to the World.'
 |
| The birthday girl & I! |
 |
| View from my bedroom window! |
This past week has been a long one! We had teaching on Reconciliation & Relationships from a guy called Wilson from South Africa. The teaching was brilliant but challenging too. This meant it was quite emotional at times & I think for me, I may not have picked up loads of 'practical' things in the teaching which I can tell you, but God definitely spoke to all of us & we had a time on Friday morning of taking things back to the cross & reconciling with one another.
We looked this week at Paul's perspective of Reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5:14-21. We then went through it step by step and looked at the following points:
- Radical love
- Radical perception
- Radical change
- Radical ministry
- Radical ambassadors
We also looked at our 'Root System', in other words, whats influenced us such as our culture, upbringing, ethnic group etc. And asked the question, do we need to bring this to God & is there any area thats influenced us in a negative way.
 |
| Sam & I doing our broadcast |
 |
| Aubrey- USA, Jenna - Canada, Hanielle- Benin & Me! |
This weekend we went as a DTS with some staff to a place called Chaux-de-fonds, which is on the Swiss-France border, about an hour and a half away from here & quite a few degrees colder with much more snow! It was an evangelism weekend with youth groups there. So, on Friday night & Saturday morning we had a time of worship & talks. We were then sent out on Saturday afternoon in groups, to hand out Bibles & speak to people about Jesus. I definitely admired the teenagers there who were willing to go into their home town and approach people they may know. I thought about if I were at home, would I have the guts to stand in the city centre & hand out Bibles, knowing I might see someone I know! It was a great time, not just speaking to the public but also getting to know some of the people in my team, and of course practising my French! But with temp down to -7 we were so so cold by the end of the afternoon!
 |
| Chaux-de-fonds |
 |
| Our team for the afternoon |
It's been a very busy week, but great at the same time!
If you pray & would like to know prayer requests I have a few for you!
- Preparation for outreach goes smooth, for finances & booking flights.
- We're also thinking and praying at the moment about which areas of ministry to get involved in when we're on outreach, so wisdom for that would be good!
- For me specifically, I think I can sometimes get overwhelmed at the need that there is, with poverty for example, so pray against the thought that I can't do anything to help because its just too overwhelming!
- I've got a lot of ideas about where my future might be heading, well even just the next step after DTS, with many options.. so please pray for clarity & wisdom to know what to do!
Thank you so much, if you've ever got any other questions or want to know anything I haven't said, drop me an email- emmwilcox93@gmail.com
Love you all
Emma x
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