Bridge To Rwanda Blog Newsletter, Vol. 4

November 23, 2007 KIGALI, RWANDA – Grace and peace to you from Rwanda. Time just runs away from me here as God keeps me so busy. His grace abounds and my cup runeth over. The Lord keeps growing me stronger and stronger with trials and blessings. He has me juggling multi-projects, which I receive as a privilege and honor that He entrusts me to handle. But it is not I who handles anything, but God Himself who orchestrated and manages them. And His presence and covering is felt so strongly within me that I can hardly express it in words at times. There are many days when I cannot conceive of fitting all I have to do in the day, but God miraculously pulls me through. And the ongoing theme of bringing me people and resources continues…all to build God’s dream for Rwanda. Its all about the Worship of Christ Jesus.[PHOTO: Rwanda Victory Mission Worship Team]

The end of the first term of school year 2007-8 at Kigali International Community School (KICS) is coming to a completion. This year I have a full load of classes and an array of students. We doubled the school population with an increase in Rwandese students. I mainly teach Grade 4 and 5 simultaneously. Our supplies and curriculum is still very limited for reasons of budget and shipping challenges, so I pull much from what I know of my life experience. It was a rocky start as the students have such diverse educational, language, and familial backgrounds and levels, but my feet are stable and the kids are growing and learning. Our favorite part of the day is morning devotionals when my class and I learn from God’s word and pray together. They are young, but thirsty for His word.[PHOTOS: My 4th and 5th Grade class at KICS]

I also teach both the Middle School and High School computer classes, which have evolved into journalism classes because of a lack of software and internet access. The High School is assigned the first student-produced KICS yearbook. The Middle School is assigned the first student-produced newspaper called Top of the Hill. They are learning hands-on organizational, leadership, research, and reporting skills. Producing a yearbook and newspaper in Africa is no easy task, but God will bring it.

One of my most blessed assignments from God is integrating into Rwanda Victory Mission church. First, God has filled me with supernatural love for this church. I say supernatural because it’s beyond reason. I have yet to know each individual and the culture, yet I just felt the Holy Spirit place and bind my heart with the heart of the church. They are my family here in Rwanda. God has designated me the task of helping to grow the church, especially the youth, to stand up for their country as servant leaders. First, let me point out that in Rwanda “youth” is officially any unmarried person below age 45. Well, that counts me in as youth. Gotta love it! [PHOTOS: My beloved church Rwanda Victory Mission]

God has designated RVM Worship Team as the doorway to my place in the church. In the beginning there was chaos and now God has breathed a new start for the Worship Team. I advise and help to revamp the management and growth of the Worship team. It has been both a tremendous challenge and a tremendous blessing. My friend Turambe is the Worship Team Director. Our enhanced vision and mission is to serve and honor God by modeling and teaching a lifestyle of true worship. We are now more than singers, but primarily commited followers of Christ. I have been voted into the leadership team as Outreach Missions Projects Coordinator, which I am very excited about. We will be growing together with Bible studies, skills training, and inreach/outreach mission projects. I will eventually help set up a blog for the worship team to use in ministry. I am also teaching Bible, technical sound and stage production, music theory, guitar, and English worship music to the team to enhance their ability to serve the Lord. I have also introduced Powerpoint projection of song verses into both the English and Kinyarwanda services, bringing a new level of focus on the meaning of the songs and a new level of congregational participation. It also allows me to participate as I can now read and sing the Kinyrarwanda songs. I have always desired to participate in worship and praise, but never imagined God would have me work with a worship team in Africa. Imana n’inziza! God is so good![PHOTOS: My Worship Team family]

And when things are rough and I am weak, the Lord lifts me high above the clouds and refreshes me with His presence. I had been praying about being able to afford a keyboard to take on mission trips and for teaching the orphans. I only sought a safe way to transport it from the US (because mail is not safe), but God selected some wonderful godly friends (Bridge to Rwanda organization in the US) who donated and brought a keyboard to me for my ministry work. Praise the Lord!!!! Thanks Jean and Gary!!! It has been a strength and a joy. And the predicted challenges of transporting it here were paved in God’s provision. My precious friend Francis, who serves as Music Director of the Worship Team, is teaching me to play the keyboard and we are having wonderful times of exchanging God’s gifts. He teaches me to play and I teach him music theory. My mother and father would be happy to know that after years of piano lessons as a kid, I know can play accompaniment. I still have more lessons to go in order to play like Francis, but I know its God’s will and his gift. I shall use it to glorify Him. Imana n’inziza cayne cayne!!!! God is so so good!!!

On November 11th I had the privilege of attending the Robert Kayanja Miracle Crusade at Amahoro Stadium. The football stadium was flooded with people wanting to witness miraculous healings. Kayanja is an internationally known evangelist and miracle healer from Uganda. He has been featured on TBN and Benny Hinn crusades. Kayanja preached about sowing seeds for the country of Rwanda, about healing and forgiveness of the soul. Then, he led the multitudes in worship and prayer. The blind received sight and the deaf received their hearing. The crippled began to walk and the short of breath began to breathe. This is what I saw. I don’t judge, validate or invalidate it. It’s just what I saw. It was a wonderful time of seeing the people of Kigali joined in one stadium to worship God.[PHOTOS: From Kayanja Crusade]

The day before, on November 10th, Jessica Kayanja, Pastor Kayanja’s wife, led the women with her Girl Power ministry at the Petit Stade. It was packed and overflowing with women. Mrs. Kayanja taught about God’s unique purpose for each woman with the illustration of Joseph’s dreamcoat. Her message is that God the Father has “made” a very special “coat” for each woman. It was a message of encouragement and empowerment.

The time is also drawing near for me to spend my first Christmas in Rwanda, and my first Christmas away from my birth family. It will be hard, but God has already made blessed plans with my church family. First, I was invited to spend a week in December in Uganda, visiting the church and ministry of Pastor Everest Bizimungo. I will be bringing another RVM Worship Team Leader to join me in ministering and learning from the adventure that God has appointed. Please pray for safe travel all the way as the pastor is driving 10 hours to Kigali, just to drive us 10 hours back each way. What a precious man of God he is.

We are also planning a very special Christmas Eve Church Overnight at the church where the Worship team will lead in worship, prayers, and devotional. Then, we will project the movie The Nativity Story with Kinyarwanda translation. I will miss my family soooo much, especially my nephew Tyler who has not spent a Christmas without me until now, but I am looking forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus with my church family. I wish Pastor Josephine could be here to join us, but I wish her a blessed Christmas in the US. Her church family misses her very much.

I am also hoping to plan some Worship Team Christmas missions. I hope to have a Christmas gift drive (toys, clothing and food) at the church to gather gifts for the orphans of Nyabugogo and Ndera. I plan to bring the Worship team to celebrate Christ’s birth and deliver gifts.

I thank you very much for being witnesses of God’s handiwork in Rwanda, and for your prayers and support. And to all those who have sent me packages of provisions, my heart is so thankful. God bless you truly and abundantly!!! I love you all and miss you all so much, but God has me right where he wants me and I give my all to Him. My every waking hour and every decision is focused on serving and pleasing my Lord. I will write again soon to share about my Christmas in Rwanda.

Love in Christ Jesus,
Linda

NEEDED PRAYERS: Still praying for the following…
• I’m urgently seeking an affordable house of my own, preferably near my church in Kanombe, to freely use in ministry small groups and for quiet peace time with God. There is little peace in my current living situation, but I bear it with the strength God grants me.
• I’m still praying for a large affordable vehicle (SUV or van) to transport equipment, supplies, orphans, and ministry teams. I have not been able to see my Ndera orphan kids because I don’t have transportation to facilitate tight schedules. I spend much time waiting for pick up rides.
• I’m still praying for more support funds for my initial 2 years of service.
• I’m also praying for funds and provisions to start the child advocacy NGO Christ Is Our Hope International and the leadership school. Also, praying to finish the strategic plan.
• I’m praying for my student class, all their projects, and peace.
• I’m praying for continued strength and covering to weather the storms and keep the faith.
• I’m praying for Rwanda Victory Mission Church and my Worship Team family. To grow them in their walk of faith.
• I’m praying for peace and joy this Christmas in Rwanda.
• I’ praying for my family in the US to know how much I love them and miss them. And that they would see Christ in me.
• I am praying for a digital camera because mine broke. I now use my video camera to take stills, but it is not good with stills. Praying to get one sent from US so I can continue to take photos for the blog.
• I am praying for donations of NIV and NASB Bibles to share with my precious English reading Rwandese friends and worship team who are hungry for God’s Word. The Kinyarwanda Bible does not translate well. I have given away all my spare ones and still have many thirsty friends.

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I LOVE YOU ALL DEARLY. May the Lord shine his face upon you.

Bridge To Rwanda Blog Newsletter, Vol. 3

NOTE: Click on photos to view enlarged version. All photos are Copyright 2007 Linda Huang. All rights reserved. Photos and articles may only be used or duplicated with the expressed permission of Linda Huang. Please respect the privacy and rights of the children. All violations will be prosecuted.

October 10, 2007 KIGALI, RWANDA – Muraho (Hello)! It’s been a huge stretch since my last newsletter. God has kept me tremendously busy and running around chasing time and tasks. This newsletter will be a little bit of news and a little bit of culture. God is working out different muscles in me, ones of ultimate patience and flexibility, stretching my creativity and resourcefulness to accomplish tasks in extraordinary ways. And, of course, comes the utmost humility. He is also re-working my independence. In this African climate, I have to depend on people or take risks on them in order to get information or translation. And even though the words can get translated, sometimes the meaning or cultural way has not been translated. Most everything is acquired by word-of-mouth and relationships. But the relationships are still a work in progress.

[PHOTOS: New e3 Partners church plant in Karangazi]
Although there are still many challenges, God has blessed me and I am acclimating well to the African culture. In fact, the Rwandese have initiated me as a fellow Rwandese. Everything here takes 10 more steps and 10 times more energy to accomplish than it would in the US, yet things start later and close earlier so you have a shorter timespan in which to accomplish things. Time management and multi-tasking is literally a foreign concept. And, with limited resources, your choices of equipment or tools are stumbling blocks. However, there is an open market for learning and they are hungry for knowledge and thirsting for hope.

The electricity in Rwanda is very unstable and there are huge power surges, so it’s necessary to carry huge stabilizer boxes to protect expensive equipment. And even then it’s the risk you take with refurbished or low market equipment at high prices. So far, the school has fried two projectors and a several printers, all of which have to be sent in from the States. So, each teacher carries around her own self-purchased 15 lb. stabilizer to and from home to use for projectors, laptops, and home appliances. I spent the entire day running around town looking for a new stabilizer because my cheaply manufactured stabilizer is no longer stable. Stores are not regularly stocked so I had to go from store to store on foot looking for a certain brand that I was told was a more dependable brand. There are no addresses, maps or yellow pages here so it was a treasure hunt looking for stores. Nevertheless, God finally blessed it as I found one at a decent price, which is not at all cheap.

School year 2007-2008 has resumed at Kigali International Community School (KICS) and our new school year started with many new changes and challenges. We finally have a headmaster from the US, Brian Dolinger and his wife Christy, who are a great blessing to the development of the school. In fact, Brian is one tiny step closer to registering the school officially. Praise the Lord! We have a full week and extended hours this year so there has been much to adjust to, but we have a leader to shape the school. We doubled our student population and increased it to 50% Rwandese and added some French, Swahili, Computers, Speech, Chemistry, Biology, and Weightlifting classes for the secondary school. This year I am teaching Grade 4 and 5 simultaneously as well as two secondary level Computer classes so I am swamped with planning and grading. The US Embassy donated 22 computers to us, yet it’s been a process getting the power in the building prepared to handle multiple machines. Then, we don’t have internet cards, software, or curriculum. Luckily I have over 16 years of digital graphic design knowledge and experience so I can pull curriculum from my experience. So, I began computer classes without hands-on equipment or software. We are limited in textbooks and curriculum so teachers have to improvise. We did not have a copier at first, but our new headmaster finally blessed us with one. Hallelujah! Then, keeping a steady supply of ink and paper is quite a task here. All in all we are blessed to have what we have and God is continually adding to His provision.

The educational climate of Rwanda humbles me at frustrating times - to know that most Rwandan schools never open a book. From pre-school to university levels, students learn from notes and lectures of unpublished teachers from all sorts of foreign backgrounds. They are expected to "cram" or memorize these notes verbatim and be tested on theories without practicum or demonstration. Some schools may have small libraries, but students must use them at their own leisure if they have time to fit in a book after memorizing notes. It’s an educational climate that is underdeveloped and fails to prepare a student for practical work in real-life. There is no training in problem solving or project management. This is one area that I hope to be able to influence and help advance. It breaks my heart to see my friends study so hard, even missing Sunday church, and not gain any practicum or job assistance. In all of Kigali, there is no library. However, the government is trying to raise money to build their first public library. KICS is blessed because our headmaster’s wife is getting a Masters in Library Science from UNT and is developing a library from ministry-donated books that are arriving soon. So, even before the city’s public library, KICS will have a full-fledged library in due time.

The Lord has also blessed me with many more connections and experiences that affirm the calling to one day start a child advocacy organization and a school to raise orphans as leaders of peace. My church had a week-long conference that I attended nightly and was blessed by. We had pastors from Uganda, Denmark and Rwanda. I had the privilege to meet many pastors from around the Great Lakes Region of Africa, some have invited me to visit. I will visit Uganda on my November or December holidays. I am hoping to explore firsthand the true and specific conditions of children’s lives and needs all around Africa.

I continue with weekly Kinyarwanda lessons and they are going well. I love my teacher Felix. We share our love for the Lord and this country. Its a tough language to learn because there are so many rules to consider, but I am hanging in and will eventually be able to carry on a conversation. Felix is teaching me church words so I can understand my Sundays better. Learning the kinyarwanda songs will also help.

[PHOTO: Rwanda Victory Mission Conference with Pastor Josephine and guest pastors. Children’s Choir “Voice of Angels.” RVM watched “Facing the Giants” as Pastor Josephine translates.]

God has implanted in me a deep love for my Rwandan church and I am beginning to get involved in serving and helping the church to grow as the Body of Christ. I started with the Worship team. We introduced projected song lyrics last week with the projector that God had instructed me to purchase before I left he US. It was a foreign addition to the Spirit-driven group who were used to singing random lyrics and improvising, but it was a hit. People were encouraged to participate more now that they know the real words and feel invited to interact with the worship team. Its brought a new meaning to the mysterious words. We project both English and Kinyarwanda translations. I hope to have some fellowship nights when I might project movies to teach cultural and Bible study movies. I am mentoring the team to be more than song leaders, but ministers and teachers of worship. It was difficult to grasp at first, but we are bonding. And as we bond and work together, God moves and they see. Praise the Lord! There is a work He does in me as well as I have had to step out of my shell and be bold, patient, persevering, and brave.


[PHOTO: Robert's Heart for Kids Rwanda]
My friend Robert who is the Country Director for e3Partners took me out into the countryside to visit some church plants in Nagatare and Karangazi. It was a blessing to meet new Believers who are hungry for Christ. Robert shared the Gospel and AIDs prevention using the evangecube. I had the pleasure of greeting and sharing God’s Word and special messages with two churches. Robert also took me to the beginnings and future home of Heart for Kids Rwanda, his personal kids rescue ministry. Everywhere I went children were worshiping and rejoicing in the Lord. Hallelujah!

The orphans in Ndera are progressing in their faith and their studies. It’s a challenge balancing time and getting to them without a vehicle (which I am still praying about), but I do my best. The headmaster of the Ndera secondary school has allowed us to use one of his classrooms so we no longer have to sit on mats in Mamma Perin’s living room and I will have a chalkboard. I am praying for paper and pencils so I can teach them to write as well as read. Meanwhile, the chalkboard will have to suffice.

We had the wonderful occasion to take another trip outside of Ndera to see a wonderful children’s music show presented by Jana Alayra, a musician from California who creates Christian children’s music with sign language movements. This trip was an accident, but a wonderful one at that. God uses everything. The children were blessed with a new experience outside of their impoverished surroundings and I gained some curriculum that I even use at KICS with my 4th and 5th graders. I am praying for an extraordinarily affordable mini-van so that I can take the children to more events like this. So far, we have had to rent vans for each excursion.

Everywhere I go I share my passion for God and music, bonding with the Rwandese. Everywhere I go I grow to love these people more and more. However, it’s still a spiritual battle to educate and empower the people. There are so many kinds of influences changing the culture already. Like Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, the Truffula Forest is lush and beautiful, just as is Rwanda, and many are coming to reap the beauty and profit from it. But like the story, we must beware not to strip the land of its innate gifts. We must nurture, enhance, and replant. This place of a thousand hills is very special to God and I will spend the rest of my life preserving God’s land and people for His glory. Yesu ashimwe!

Please pray for me as I try to wrap up the proposal for the God’s vision for Rwanda to build peacekeeping leaders out of the rubbles of war. There are many obstacles that I am facing (which I won’t go into detail about), but I know absolutely that this is God’s will and plan, and his plan shall be accomplished by His power. I am merely a vessel for his works.

The support fundraising for my mission is going well, yet I am still raising funds for my two-year initial term here as well as the orphan children’s ministry God has called me to build in Rwanda. Please see my blog for details on donating. As KICS gets registered I will be registering with the school and managing my funds more directly through Grace Deposits and Network for Good. Please direct new donations to Grace Deposits (see instruction on blog). Stay tuned for more information.

All in all, God is so good to me. Your prayers are always felt and appreciated. They keep me safe on the street motos and in cultural trials. I love you all truly and pray for your life to be as filled with joy of the Lord. God bless you truly!!! Drop me a note every once in a while. I love to hear from friends and family at home.

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Love in Christ Jesus,
Linda

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Bridge To Rwanda Blog Newsletter, Vol. 2

NOTE: Click on photos to view enlarged version. All photos are Copyright 2007 Linda Huang. All rights reserved. Photos and articles may only be used or duplicated with the expressed permission of Linda Huang. Please respect the privacy and rights of the children. All violations will be prosecuted.

August 14, 2007 KIGALI, RWANDA – “Yesu Ashimwe!” (Praise the Lord!) God has been everpresent and faithful, orchestrating my time here in Rwanda, bringing many players, helpers, projects, and learning experiences. Not one moment has been in vain and I am still exploring all the avenues that He has brought to me. Sweat and tears are accompanied by miracles and joys. I have been so blessed with such sweet precious Rwandese relationships and responsibilities. Since the moment I stepped off the airplane, it has been a nonstop journey of revealing the steps to building God’s dream of a school to raise orphans as leaders of peace. This country has experienced so much social, political, and economic division and poverty. However, there is definitely evidence of revival. Many refugees who had fled Rwanda before, during, and after the genocide have returned to the country they love. There is such a desire to raise their country as a godly example. The topic of genocide is not common because they see it as the past that shall never happen again. All talk is about building the future of Rwanda.

The cultural climate here is an odd paradox of extreme poverty and wealth, a flood of foreign mission groups and new businesses co-existing with hole-in-the-wall shops and self-sustaining agriculture, a mix of cultural pride and insecurities. There are signs of developing higher education and industry yet still lacking competitively against the global landscape. People are thirsting for knowledge and opportunity, many thinking the answer is to leave the country.

GOD'S VISION: SCHOOL FOR ORPHANS
Before I left the US, I knew that God wanted me to someday build a school for Him in Rwanda for 100 children whom He has promised shall come out of the school as great leaders for His country and whom shall influence the rest of the world for peace. God planted the goal of a leadership curriculum founded on biblical principals, a global family perspective, hi-tech, and the arts – Christ Is Our Hope School (CIOHS) Rwanda. This is a unique school and outreach organization that models compassion and leadership to the children it teaches. For this I left my family, my church, and my life in the US. With their blessings and the umbrella of World Relief, I came to this foreign country by God’s will to follow where He leads.

By day, I teach and serve at Kigali International Community School (KICS), a new school of NGO and embassy children, where God grows me as a humble teacher contributing to the welfare of families who come to serve. The rest of my time, weekends and holidays, has been following and exploring God’s will and His call as He places me before people, places, and situations that affirm His vision. I do nothing but follow His steps and what he brings before me. Every step of the way has been one of hardship and learning as well as experiencing His miraculous presence.

FRIENDS IN EFFORT TO SUPPORT ORPHANS
[PHOTOS: Meeting FESO for the first time; Bebe's old home where he lived alone with his siblings and an absent drunkard father (no mother); FESOkids at concert performance]
God has not wasted any time as He has already begun bringing me specific children for the school and the founding of a Rwandese organization that will care for orphans beyond the school. A wonderful miracle happened when I met two young secondary school students from Ndera, Felix and Alpha. We met in a mud-brick house in the neighborhood of Ndera where they attend boarding school. They had presented their dream to me and the actions that they had initiated to rescue 19 orphan children in their neighborhood. As I heard their story, my heart felt God place us together in the palm of His hands and kneeding our vision for caring for orphans together for God. I have come to believe that these two young men are 2 of the 100 kids that God has promised and called me to raise. They are fresh and innocent, but they have God’s dream and the love of the children in their hearts. I shall be a mentor, guide, partner, friend, and teacher in the lives of these two as they grow into their place of leadership. Together we are FESO (Friends in Effort to Support Orphans). FESO will eventually develop into a registered local NGO that works to meet the needs of orphan children in crisis. We already have these 19 kids from Ndera (age 1-17) who have bonded with our hearts. We will be exploring the possibility of helping the 140 boys of the Nyabugogo Orphanage (from Newsletter Volume 1) as well as others that God will bring. Please visit www.fesokidsrwanda.blogspot.com.

JOINHANDS & JOINHEARTS
God has also brought a group of godly Rwandese businessmen and their wives called Join Hands and Join Hearts, who are to come alongside FESO and myself to build this school and initiate projects that model godly principles to the Rwandese. We will partner on business ventures to develop the local economy and generate funds to support community projects. Our role will be unique and direct, one Rwandese generation bringing up another Rwandese generation with godly integrity.

GOD’S SEEDS WITHOUT WALLS
[PHOTOS: FESOkids prepare for concert]
God does not have to wait for walls or funds. His grace is sufficient and active immediately. God alerted me that the Ndera kids were not saved, so on Saturday, 4th August 2007 we went to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the kids of Ndera using the evangecube whereby the children received Jesus Christ as their Savior. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Each child literally confessed their sins to our Lord Jesus and asked Him to indwell in them to change them. These kids are from broken families and accustomed to lives of survival on the streets. They were used to wicked ways of theft, promiscuity, deceit, fear, and desperation. They embraced the hope of the Gospel like their first drink of water since living in the barren desert. God could not wait for walls so He literally planted seeds for the school to begin without walls as we now visit weekly to teach them Bible Study, English, and Music, instilling and activating the Word of God upon their hearts and lives. God’s dream cannot wait for walls, but someday it shall have walls, tools, resources, partners, supporters, and many more kids.

A few weeks ago we had the privilege of taking FESOkids out of their impoverished surroundings to rehearse and perform at a charity concert at the small stadium for Mizero Foundation of Atlanta. It was a treat for the kids who have never been out of their impoverished neighborhoods. They were blessed to venture out to see the city and to spend time with FESO Volunteers as they performed songs written by FESO’s Alpha. (I invite you to visit FESO's blogsite. I designed the logo and site. www.fesokidsrwanda.blogspot.com)

PRAY FOR MORE…
[PHOTOS: Me with FESO, the Ndera kids and Mama Perin]
There are many parts in place and many more I am exploring in order to build this school. Please join me in prayer for FESO, JoinHands, and Christ is Our Hope School Rwanda. And please pray for myself as I will be writing the proposals and plans for the school as well as continuing to research the educational and business climate of the country. Pray for the new school year at KICS which begins September 3rd. Pray for daily strength to overcome trials and reap joy in His work. Please also pray for my raising of funds to build the organization and the school. I will be providing information about opportunities to invest in God’s mission as they are established. Ask God what part you shall play, as financial supporter, advocate, or Prayer Warrior. All is needed, none is too small. I know that God has a plan for you and its no accident that you are in my life and reading this. I invite you to join the mission that God has planned for Rwanda. The table is set and the plans are accomplished. You are invited to sit at the table with your wedding garment and reap the fruit of God’s plans. God bless you for your interest and your heart. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at LHSATORI@YAHOO.COM.

Right now there are some specific needs that I am praying about and I invite you to join me in prayer and support as God has encouraged me to “cast the net in deep water.”

CASTING THE NET
First, I continue to raise support funds through World Relief for my 2 year term. I have most of the first year raised, but still need funds for the second year. Heartfelt thanks to all who have answered God's call to support my commission.

Second, I am praying for God, Jehovah Jireh the Almighty Provider, to provide a vehicle. Taxis are expensive and motos are not very safe, nor can they carry children or supplies. The cost also adds up. A vehicle would be a great asset to building God’s ministry. An entire vehicle was not budgeted into my initial fundraising. I am praying for a vehicle that can carry volunteers and some orphan kids on trips. The cost of a small used vehicle runs from $4K (US) and up. The cost of a decent used van or SUV runs $10K-12K (US). Then, there is cost of insurance, gasoline, maintenance, and international permit. In praying for a vehicle, God told me to “Cast the net out into deep water.” The car would belong to myself and Christ Is Our Hope School (CIOHS) ministry. Whatever is donated shall go into the car fund and future endeavors of CIOHS, including its establishment, general startup and operational costs, and serving the children. So far I have been using my own support funds to rent vans to transport and feed the children for their concert performance. So, if God calls you to invest in this ministry, please...

DONATE ONLINE through Grace Deposits at Network for Good.
DESIGNATE the funds to "HUANG/RWANDA" by clicking below.



Donations through Grace Deposits will receive tax-deductible receipt.

OR
if you prefer, you may WIRE FUNDS DIRECTLY to my account in Rwanda with the following information:

Correspondents Bank:Citibank USA/New York
399 Park Ave.
New York, New York 10022
Swift Code: CITIUS33
Account Number: 36246707 USD

Beneficiary's Bank (My bank):Campagnie Generale De Banque SA (COGEBANQUE)
Swift Code: CGBKRWRW
Boulevard l'muganda
Box 5230
Kigali, Rwanda
EAST CENTRAL AFRICA
(final account) Name: Linda Huang
Account Number: 130-0153165

NOTE: Please email me your name, city and amount (lhsatori@yahoo.com) if you make a transfer so that I can check on its arrival and thank you.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT FESO, please visit www.fesokidsrwanda.blogspot.com to see and read more about FESO and the kids.

I praise God for YOU and for entrusting me with His dream. As God is my witness and Savior, this is the real thing. We shall work directly with the kids to identify and provide for their needs. This is the beginning of a grassroots development, but God can move mountains. Please pray for His protection of the vision and good relationships with all parties that cross our path. I miss my homeland, my friends, my family, my churches very much (more than you can imagine), but God has given me a home in His purpose that carries each of you with me and embraces you close in my heart wherever I am in the world.

Love in Christ Jesus,
Linda

"Ariko rero umbuto z'Umwuka ni urukundo, n'ibyishimo, n'amahoro, no kwihangana, no kugira neza, n'ingeso nziza, no gukiranuka, no kugwa neza, no kwirinda..." - Abalagatiya 5:22-23

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..." - Galatians 5:22-23

Bridge To Rwanda Blog Newsletter, Vol. 1

June 27, 2007 KIGALI, RWANDA – Hallelujah! God is good! I finally got Internet installed. Yes, this is the first installment of the Bridge To Rwanda Blog Newsletter. I apologize for the period of no communications. I now know what “African Time” means – it means wait and wait and wait…until it happens. This one will be long since I haven’t written in a while. Grace and peace to your from God our Father in the Land of A Thousand Hills!

I have been in Kigali, Rwanda (Central East Africa) for 3-1/2 weeks now. It has been a while before I had any stable means of communications because I had a rocky start with no home, no internet, no classroom, no luggage. I finally got settled with most of these things, and now I can be a part of the rest of the world. Praise the Lord for answers to prayers.

[Photo 1: The teachers of KICS] I arrived on Friday, June 1st to a wonderful greeting of new and old friends. It has been a surreal whirlwind experience since I disembarked from the airplane. I got through customs and was greeted by the surprise presence of my Rwandan friend Eddy waiting for me at the luggage pick-up. We reported my missing luggage and went out to be greeted by the expatriate entourage of the Caisse Sociale KICS community. This is when things got racing away non-stop.

My first task was to venture out with my roommies-to-be (Amy and Jenny) in a taxi into town to exchange money at the Forex, set up a mobile phone, and grab some coffee and lunch at the Bourbon Coffee, Rwanda’s only simulation of a modern Starbuck’s Café. It was nicely located in Rwanda’s first mall, The City Market, with grocery store, food court and boutiques. Of course, it was only a fraction of what US malls are, but it’s a nice comfort. We had egg croissant sandwiches and coffee drinks.

Afterwards we headed to where we were to temporarily camp out as housesitters of USAID reps who are on furlough in the USA while our apartment was being fixed and negotiated. What started out to be a few days turned out to be 3 weeks of living out of a suitcase in someone’s huge home. There was minimal internet so I was able to send quick messages to my family and a few friends to let them know I was alright, but unable to sit and blog.

My first night was spent sleepless with jetlag and mosquitos buzzing in my ear. I did not have a mosquito net. I was later told to sleep with the fan on to detract the mosquitos.

[Photos 2-3: Grace runs Amahoro – Amani Africa – for widows] My second day was spent with my friend Piper from World Relief Baltimore and the World Relief Rwanda Country Director and his wife. First, we headed out to Amahoro Amani Ja Ju, a sewing coop boutique run by genocide widows - http://www.amaniafrica.org/ - and Kimironko market to haggle for a mosquito net.

[Photos 4-15: Nyabugogo Orphanage: 150 boys sleep on dirty mattresses on dirt floors] We also visited the Nyabugogo Orphanage with 150 former street boys of all ages. Their living conditions were very minimal, but safe compared to the street where they used to get beat up and salvage garbage for food. We heard heartbreaking testimonies. They live in an abandoned warehouse without water, sleeping on dirt floors and a few torn up and bacteria infested mattresses.They get minimal education from volunteer teachers of the government Catch-Up program. The roofs are leaky, the ventilation is minimal, and there is barely any light past sundown. My heart was heavy for them. I felt God working so rapidly to connect me with a project. I will have further blogs about this project in the future.

I also visited Mother Teresa Orphanage Rwanda, where infants and toddlers pile in like sheep. They are kept safe and fed, but they have very little opportunities for language or skills development or any mental stimulus. It was sad to see children being raised without language and therefore any hope of a future. (Photos are strictly not allowed so I could not take any for the blog.)

[Photos 16-19: KICS High School students journaling in the schoolyard] I started out at Kigali International Community School (KICS) observing on my third day in Rwanda and started teaching on my fourth day. I have High School and Middle School English for this trimester. My students are mostly children of NGO or embassy staff. There are so many students applying for next semester. I will be teaching 4th and 5th grade.

I finally got to World Relief where we meet for chapel every Friday. I have yet to start teaching English because the field workers are so busy, but it should begin soon.

[Photos 20-23: Voices of Angels Children’s Choir at Victory Mission] I explored a few churches, all of which only made me so homesick for my church. Just last Sunday I joined my friend Eddy’s church, Victory Mission Church, a real authentic Rwandan church. I know many members who were translators on my e3 Partners mission trip last year. So, it’s the closest to family I have here. And I believe that the invitation to join was God’s will. I believe I will be partnering with the church on many projects including cross-cultural exchange of worship music, technical knowledge, conference marketing, and Women for Women program (of empowering women of the genocide to assimilate into the working world).

Just last week I had the great privilege of being invited to dine and celebrate with the President of e3 Partners, Curtis Hail, and the Board Chairman, Gerald Prince, along with several local pastors of various denominations. The ministry partners led such a wonderful worship service with traditional song and dance as well as their rendition of North American worship songs. I wish I had my camera. Robert, the Country Director of e3 Partners Rwanda and I will be partnering on projects to help the orphans and train/disciple pastors/ministry leaders.

[Photo 24: View from my balcony] After 3 weeks, we finally moved into our permanent apartment and today they installed internet, a true answer to prayer. My room has a balcony overlooking the city, where my friend Turambe and I sit and share worship music and God’s vision for this land of milk and honey. Turambe has a dream of a traveling Worship Group Ministry.

So far, I have bonded with so many people and seen such great need that I must stop and pray for God’s guidance as to where to start. First, I praise Him and thank Him for Hope and Salvation and for His plans – for setting up such a blessed table of godly helpers to build His dream for Rwanda. I am astounded at His plan and I eagerly await His direction. I shared God’s message from Jeremiah 29:11 with Victory Mission, that God has “plans to prosper [them], and not to harm [them], plans to give [them] hope and a future.”

There is so much more that I’ve been blessed to experience and so much more to come. I promise to share more, more often. Please pray for steady internet and all other electronic devices. That’s another cultural surprise. I go around carrying large box stabilizers, adapters and converters to run my electronic devices so that they do not blow in a surge. Please pray for all my boxes of books and living supplies to arrive as they are traveling in various ways.

I have skype set up so if anyone is on skype, you may email me the time you wish to call. My skype ID is LHSATORI. I miss everyone very much. You are in my prayers and never out of my mind. I will be communicating specific needs as I develop projects so that anyone that wants to contribute to them in some way (prayer, finances, or other) may do so.

CURRENT PRAYER REQUESTS: Please pray for...
. safety and favor as the least expensive form of transport is moto (back of mopeds/motorcycles) which are driven very crazily, but I must be a good steward of God’s funding and trust that He will keep me safe
. a working inexpensive car that I may purchase and use for ministry. Its tough describing places you need to get to. They do not have addressses here - pure descriptive instructions to get to places
. processing of my residency and work visa
. clear communications and godly relationships with World Relief, KICS expatriates, and Rwandan friends
. favor for my students as they write their first complete research paper for their final
. God's voice and direction on starting projects to help orphans and widows in a sustainable way that brings them salvation and closeness to the Lord while empowering them to also be helpers of those in need
. protection from interference, distractions, or attacks of the enemy
. the gift of language to learn kinyarwanda rapidly
. strength and comfort to find my place or home here in Victory Mission Church and other relationships

If you want to drop me a line or send me a package, I can receive AIR MAIL at (usually takes 1-2 weeks):
Linda Huang
c/o Kigali International Community School
B.P. 6558
Kigali, Rwanda
EAST CENTRAL AFRICA

I’d love to hear from you and we could always use new DVDs for entertainment. Please keep me and the people of this country in your prayers – that I would clearly hear God’s word, to act upon it in His way for His kingdom. I thank everyone so much – murakose cayne - for believing in God’s Dream for Rwanda.

Imana Iguhe Umugisha (God bless you)!
Murabeho (Goodbye)

Love in Christ Jesus,
Linda
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SUBSCRIPTION: If you wish to be added or removed from this MONTHLY newsletter or blog posting alert, please email me at lhsatori@yahoo.com, just write SUBSCRIBE or REMOVE in the subject line. Thanks!

Here we go...

In a few hours I will be on the airplane headed for Amsterdam, Nairobi and finally Rwanda. I did not get a chance to email everyone to say goodby, but I think I have pretty much said goodbye to everyone in my last two weeks. I pray that God will bring you all to my blogiste to read this. God bless you all. You are in my prayers.

Please pray for my 3 day travel and my luggage in which I carry many valuable tools for teh Lord. Pray for health as I have a wee bit of (recovering from) brochitis/larengitis, which is common for me in the changing moist weather.

I will be out of communication for a while as I settle in, but I look forward to my first newsletter report of God's bridge to Rwanda. God has already given me several rescue missions which I will tell you about in my newsletter.

Truly, truly, from the depths of my heart I thank God for every body, mind and spirit that follows me along the way. Peace be with you.

Plans to prosper...

The time has come. I leave for Rwanda tomorrow and this will be my last blog before I reach "the land of honey and milk." God has taken such good care of me and all is pretty much taken care of. I don't know exactly how much has been raise up to date, but I will report more when I get ot Rwanda. There are still some things I have to finish, but I will lose internet contact until I reach Rwanda. I want to thank all my donors, friends, and family who have supported me the entire way and who go on this journey with me in thought and spirit. Words cannot express what you mean to me. And God is so pleased. I don't have much time to write, but I wanted to express thanks and just share a few words from God. Three times in three different situations from three messengers God presented this verse to me in the past few months...

"For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

This was God's assurance to the Jews in their exile in Babylon. At a time of hopelessness and weatheredness, God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah to assure the of the hope of a Christ they had not met yet. I walk by faith with the same assurance. God's people are precious to Him. I have no fear for I know He has "plans" for me.

I look forward to reporting back to you through my blogs on God's movements in Africa. It may be a while as I will need to have time to settle down and assimilate to the culture and life change, but I will not forget you. So many of you have asked me to email you, which I shall do, but it would be best for you to email me when you wish and I will respond because there are so many of you that it will be difficult for me to email each of you regularly. But I am pretty good at replying to emails. I will also be sending out an email about receiving monthly blog newsletters when I get a chance. Please do not think I will forget you.

Thank you all from the depths of my heart for believing in me and believing in God - that He has a mission for me. You are all in my prayers and thoughts. God bless you!

Linda

Looking Straight ahead at Jesus

I have reached the 3 week mark until May 30th when I depart for Rwanda for a long time. I am so very excited, as the Lord has had me wait a year to leave. At the same time, I must say farewell to life as I know it. I sit here in my tiny apartment with everything pulled out of the closets waiting to be sorted through and put in a box to be dispersed between the Good Will and friends. I mean everything must go. Its like my own closeout sale. Just as my things, I see that God has also done the same with my life. He has taken everything out of the closet and set it before me to sort through and take to the Good Will. I am allowed only what fits into 2 suitcases of limited weight. I no longer have a salary, but must depend on the charity and faith of others to sustain my living and service. Its an entirely different muscle than I am used to - depending on others for sustanance. Don't get me wrong. I joyfully surrender every breath of life and every painful endurace to the Lord. So, entirely...my life belongs to Him, not myself. If I focus on each piece of "stuff" I get bogged down with emotion and confused logic "should I keep or take this." So, I focus straight ahead at Jesus who illuminates the pupils of my eyes and steers the logic of my thoughts. For only through Him may I have the sight that I cannot see with my eyes or make decisions toward the unknown. I count on Him to lead the path.

My journey is locked into a country of people who have faced repeated civil wars. Finding the key to sustainable peace is the mission of my journey. I know that education with biblical foundations is one key. Love and modeling love is the second key. The third key sits somewhere in Africa waiting for me to find it. When I have the three keys, I will be able to unlock the door that keeps Africa in a boiling room. I know that God is with me all the way. He leads because I cannot.

Please join me in praying in the next few weeks for the final preparation for His Grand Plan.
Peace be with you,
L