Hey everybody!
Thanks for taking the time to see what’s new with us!
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We need a home! Over the next few months, as we attempt to pack up our lives and our 1st home together here in Edmonton, we are hoping to have a home to start a new chapter of life in Burundi.
Youth For Christ Burundi, the organization we are coordinating with for this clinic start-up, has for many years been praying for a much-needed guesthouse to be built to house visiting missions and medical teams.
Instead of us living in the city and paying rent for the time we are in Burundi, we are aiming to raise money to build a modest guesthouse next to the clinic that will be our new home! Once built, the house will be used to accommodate international visitors that come to Gitega to help the people there. The complex where this is all taking place includes an orphanage that houses many children, composed of multiple group homes that each have 8 children with 1 “den mother.” Presently, YFC Burundi keeps one of these homes empty to house visitors (like us). Building a guesthouse would not only allow a safe place for visitors to stay, it would free up a home for 8 more kids. It’s a win-win!
We need to start raising money now for this project (and others) in order for it to be ready for us this coming January!
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What have we been been up to, you ask?…
We have been busy preparing both practically and spiritually over these last couple of months! We just completed a international cultural missions course with Pastor Bud at Central Baptist, which was amazing. We learned so much about God’s purpose for discipleship and his big-picture plan for all of us. It started in Genesis and is still continuing to this day. Thanks to Bud and all of the speakers!
We have started our immunizations! Our arms hurt! Especially Nadine’s, Yellow Fever was not very nice to her at all…
We have continued to study God’s word and have been uplifted, challenged, and encouraged. We are learning daily what it means to find motivation and courage through Him.
We have been blessed to receive several boxes of various medical supplies donated by Nadine’s workplace! Thanks to the Boyle McCauley Health Center for being so supportive of what we are trying to do!
We have been continuing to connect with people who will support, educate and help to guide us during this time.
We have FLIGHTS BOOKED TO BURUNDI this summer! Ridiculously exciting, I know! We will be gone from August 21st to September 6th! Josh’s dad, Dr. Craig Guenther, spent some time last summer working in a clinic in Kenya and will be a valuable resource. He will be joining us on this trip to help us do a community assessment, explore the medical needs of the immediate and surrounding community, visit other hospitals, assess and learn.
This trip will help to clarify what we need, and how to better prepare for our coming move in January 2013.
This all costs money! We have worked to prioritize a number of projects to start raising funds for, and we need your help and involvement! Youth For Christ Edmonton has stepped up to give us an online way to donate money. If you click down below, you will be taken to a website that tells you a little more about our needs, and how you can participate with us.
Click HERE to find out how to donate!
We will be working on a voluntary basis for the next 2+ years and would really appreciate your support financially. We would appreciate one-time donations towards the funding of the projects we are supporting, but would also appreciate monthly support starting as soon as possible to help us with ongoing costs.
There are options in the link above to pay with PayPal, credit, mail in cheques, and to set up automatic debit withdrawals. If you feel led to support us in a financial manner, it would be an answer to prayer. All of our projects are set up with the goal of helping this clinic get off the ground, and to one day become self-sustaining and Burundian-led.
Please continue to stay in touch, and to pray for us! Please email this blog to your friends, spread it on Facebook, Tweet it, do whatever you can and tell people to get involved in bringing healthcare and quality of life to a place in need!
Thanks for taking the time to catch up with us. Hope to see, or hear from, many of you soon!
Please pray…
- for the funds needed to start building our guesthouse this summer
- for continued support raising, both in prayer, medical, and financial
- for our health as we work to prepare for our move while working full-time
- for Josh as he is still recovering from a knee injury and surgery, and that it will fully heal before it is time for us to move away
- for our studies in French! (It’s hard! Help keep us accountable!)
P.S. HAPPY CANADA DAY! Did you know that Burundi celebrates its independence from Belgium on July 1st! 2012 was the 50th anniversary for Burundians. Please read this article, as this anniversary comes with lots of good, and lots of bad…
Burundi: Joy And Disappointment As Nation Turns 50
For a great, up-to-date resource on Burundi, and to get a number of facts and figures about the country and its history, past and present, visit this BBC database.
josh & nadine in Africa 