Out of the ordinary... yes!

On Saturdays, we bring the kids to this beautiful flat ground near the house where alot of the neighbor kids play soccer. A normal sight: seeing grazing cows chase the kids in the midst of the game. When we get together with friends, we find ourselves doing things that we would never think of doing... like putting yeast dough on sticks and roasting them on the fire. Awesome discovery for both the sweet and salty tastebuds! (Malaki had mud everywhere, because it had just rained, hints his hair!) I have to say, something I appreciate most about living in Burundi is the opportunity to share and grow with so many different cultures and nationalities. I love culture, differences, alikes, accents, languages and so on... but theres something special about bringing many different backrounds and people together in the Kingdom of God. It's beautiful to see how vast and uncontainable God is through His people, He created, in His image.

Things we do while living in Burundi, that we would never appreciate or take time out to do while living in the US... making homemade pizza's, homemade bread, walk... (everywhere), get to know people in the road, neighbors and strangers, having to invent things (like a water faucet out of a bucket that you refill), it's like having running water... that runs out! May I mention that the above things are so much fun and worth the time! Getting back to the simplitcity of life, as it is. Just another ordinary, out of the ordinary here in Burundi! All our love...

Now let the weak say I have strength.

And now the weak say I have strength by the Spirit of God; that raised Christ from the dead.

And now the poor stand and confess, that my portion is Him and were more than blessed.

We love you, Lord. We worship you. You alone are God. You alone are good.

Let your church shine as the bride, that you saw in your heart as you offered up your life.

Let the lost be welcomed forth, by the saved and redeemed; as adopted as your own.

- Hillsong, Saviour King.

The beauty of life.

We have seen the hand of God, time and time again in this beautiful season within our lives... reminding us of both the beauty and frailty of this life we live. 1. The Biskups from Germany, also living here in Muamvya - came to be with us at our land to encourage us in the work we are doing there and to stand with us in prayer that God will indeed draw Bukeye unto Himself and shake all that can be shaken. 2. Claude, one of our boys was learning how to use the camera... he was a little off center, but the photo turned out great!

We are excited to declare that we got our passports and are working on the visa's! A big thanks to all of you who helped us to accomplish that... it feels great to be legal again! (after having all the documents stolen, last month...) Life has been good, hard, fun, exhausting, interesting and enjoyable all together; finding beauty in our lives through the little things.

Last week, we were driving back home from Bukeye and there was a bad accident on the road blocking the mountain. Upon pulling up to it, we jumped out of the car to see how we can help, as there are no 911 phone calls or paramedics on their way etc. 5 people were badly injured with broken limbs, blood everywhere, in shock and pain. We got out our first aid kit and began cleaning up some wounds and helping to keep them stable until the road was cleared for on coming cars to give them lifts to a hospital about an hour away. We were laying our hands on them, praying and asking God to give them comfort in the midst of so much pain; knowing that it would be quite some time before they can even get to a hospital and recieve basic care. This road from Bukeye to Buja is deadly... cars and trucks passing eachother at high speeds on blind corners through the mountains. Usually, each trip we take we see an accident... a few times deadly accidents. Times like this really get you thinking...

Malaki is huge... talking, running, helping (he loves to help with laundry)! Isai just finished with his team putting cement on the outside and inside of the 1st children's home and is preparing to do the roof; so excited and feeling acomplished... Our staff our good and growing, the children are awesome and excelling in school. They all are striving to be at the top of their class... and are improving in miraculous ways. They are precious, impacting and every moment being with them makes me smile for in them the love of Christ is manifested. Isai is preparing to go to the US around November 17th - Decemeber 13th and we are so excited for what God has in store. Malaki and I will miss him and would of loved to join him but were not able to get all the funding for our family to return. Isai will have an awesome time! Please, spoil him :o) Malaki and I will stay busy here with the kids and staff and know that God has all things under control. Including us missing Isai in undescribable ways! The Lord knows!

Off to the next day. Tomorrow we will be taking time with a group of students in the Baho project here in the Mountains founded by our dear friend Stefan. It's a program that focuses with underprivledged children and youth; we will be talking on life management and purpose, counseling and just having a good time together. Grateful for an opportunity to be a part of a great work focusing on pouring into the future of Burundi. All our love!

An atmosphere for miracles.

"An atmosphere for miracles" - is all I can think about as I look over these past months... God has allowed us to be in a position of desperation, a place where we can solely depend on the Father heart of God and believe for His miracles of provision in our lives. At times it can be a scary place, a stretching place, a maturing and trust (place)... truly an edifying place that keeps us at the feet of Jesus. Walking by faith and not by sight most times isn't a walk which is joyfully chosen (at first) ; rather a position God allows us to be in to help grow our faith and mature in His Kingdom. The reality is, these past months have been challenging to say the least in simply trusting in God's provision; however, in His faithfulness we have never / ever lacked. Miracles have taken place time and time again... and had we not been in a position of need it's possible we would of never experienced such things. We just simply needed to believe.

A dear friend of mine was recently telling me about amazing testimonies she heard about a man who had many orphaned children. Many times there wasn't food for the children and he told them "go get your plates, let us pray and bless the food". After praying over empty plates, food appeared, they ate and gave thanks to God. An atmosphere for miracles, indeed. There is many seasons as we pass through this journey called life. Many, indeed. Times of abundance, times of contentment in the little things and times where we cry out in need to God "help!". However. Jesus taught us to pray "give us today, our daily bread." We just need to believe, and in that I pray we can see it as an atmosphere for miracles rather than lack. An opportunity for the glory of God to be manifested on the earth as it was in the days of Jesus. No matter what season we may be in God turns all things into good. Simply because He is goooood.

Over the last weeks, we can sum it up in a time of maturing in our Lord and Savior... getting to know Him a little better as our sole provider and trusting in His will for our lives; here in Burundi, building a children's village, being together with "the least of these", our precious children who will be a part of radically changing this nation as future leaders themselves.

Pictured above is Malaki, playing with this huge locust (half dinosaur) looking insect... one of our staff Zeverino put it on a string for him! Just a heads up to our friends and family, we are considering to send Isai back to the US for a few weeks to share with some of our partner churches about all the amazing things taking place here, expanding our partner's and supporters, and raising awareness of the opportunities within our children's village - "The Village of Jeremiah 29:11". If anyone is interested in helping us make this happen, that would be great! Please email us, we are raising roughly $2,000; $100 of that going towards a new passport (as ours were stolen), $100 for travel and roughly $1,800 in tickets. Just think. If 20 people wanted to pledge $100, we got it! Or rather, 100 people at $20 each! It's absolutely possible, and you can help us to make that happen today! If you donate online, please note that it's for "Isai's travel"! All our love, friends and family.