Studying with Musa…

In recent weeks I’ve had the privilege of providing some tutoring for our dear friend Musa, who is in his first semester of study at Boise State University.  Though his English skills are improving rapidly, the vocabulary of university-level classes is extremely challenging. 

Here we’re preparing a speech for his Communications class.  Musa chose as his topic to speak about the Gatumba Massacre, of which he is a survivor (he was a teenager at the time) though two of his brothers were killed there.  (for more about Gatumba, click here)  Musa faced this intense homework assignment with his usual graciousness and incredible courage.

Musa also leads a group of Gatumba survivors who have formed a singing group called Miracle of God.  They love to share their songs of worship and praise to God with others in the Boise area, and have travelled as far as Seattle, where they’ll be returning this weekend for the 2nd time.  Musa plays the keyboard, sings, and writes some of the group’s music, most of which is sung in Swahili. 

Another friend of mine who is also a part of this group recently said to me, “You need to understand that we’re different. When we feel sorrow… we pray, we sing, we dance.  The more we grieve, the more we worship. That’s how God heals us.”

That’s why when these precious friends pour out their intermingled joy and sorrow in song, you know you’re walking on holy ground.

We need what their hearts have to offer…

Traci

Myself, to me:  You really should write on your blog today.  Folks will be wanting to know what you’re up to.

Me, to myself:  Your’e right.  I’ll blog today for sure.

Myself:  Better get started.

Me:  Can’t.  Too much to tell.  Don’t know where to start.

Myself:  Hmmmm. You could always wait until tomorrow, maybe then you’ll know where to start.

Me:  Good idea.  Tomorrow for sure.

NEXT DAY:  Repeat.

EVERY DAY FOR WEEKS ON END:  Repeat.

UNTIL TODAY….

Me to Myself:  Today is the day.  Start somewhere.  Start anywhere.  For goodness’ sake, JUST START!

So….

Here I am…. just starting.                                          

First, I want to let you know that Danny and I are doing some major “re-focusing” for Mission Connections.  When we first came to Boise, we knew that we had a passion to connect the loving heart of God with the hurting hearts of people… and to use our knowledge of Swahili and understanding of African cultures to reach out to our African sisters and brothers.  Since then, it’s become obvious that God is turning our hearts more and more to the plight of African refugees here in Boise, as well as the thousands of refugees still running, hiding, and waiting in Africa.  
 
We’ve been going through a time of praying/thinking/dreaming/planning, as we seek to narrow our vision and purpose to this specific group of marginalized people.   This is an exciting transition for us, as our passion for reaching out to refugees has grown so strong.  

Here we are in Boise, Idaho, but I literally spend time with refugees every day.  There is a constant need for translating, listening, transporting, encouraging, tutoring, mentoring, and be-friending.   God is giving all of us an incredible 0pportunity to participate in his mission to love and serve some of the most forgotten and displaced people on earth. 

Don’t misunderstand…. I’m not saying this is an easy ministry.  Refugees arrive in America carrying a small bag of clothing and a heavy burden of suffering.  If I can in some tiny way lighten that burden by taking any part of it upon myself, I know that I’m walking on Holy Ground.  (You can’t take away another’s suffering without entering into it.)

There are a lot of details yet to clarify as we turn this corner in our ministry.   We invite and welcome your input in the form of prayer, encouragment, advice, support.  We’ll continue to pray and think and dream (and Blog!) as we figure things out.  But one thing I know for sure is this:

If you allow yourself to become involved in caring for refugees, you will never be the same…
 
you will be stunned by their stories
amazed at their faith
touched by their suffering
and drawn into relying on the Love of God as desperately as they do…

Not only do Refugees need what our hearts have to offer, 

we desperately need what they have to teach us.

“During the night of August 13, 2004, in a refugee camp in Burundi, Africa, called Gatumba, 166 innocents from the Democratic Republic of Congo were mercilessly slaughtered by armed factions.  These 166, the 116 others who were maimed and injured, and their traumatized families, were almost exclusively members of the ‘Banyamulenge’ tribe, who had earlier been forced from their homes in the southern Kivu region of the DRC.

But since that horrific night, hundreds of Gatumba Survivors have been relocated to safety in North America…”

…51 of them live in Boise.  They are my friends. 

Sometimes I interpret for them. Eat with them.  Take them to parent/teacher conferences.  Make phone calls to embassies in Africa with them on behalf of their loved ones. Laugh and pray and worship with them as they struggle to adjust to life in America.

But more than anything, I learn from them.  For they are a people of faith as deep as their suffering. 

Not the self-focused entitlement we in North America typically call “faith”… in which we turn God into a vending machine, granting him the privilege of receiving our trust, just as long as we in return receive the ”blessings” we believe we deserve… then when we don’t get the results we expected from our faith installment, we turn away in anger, take our “money” and stomp off to find a vending machine that “works”.

No, this is the faith that clings to the kindness of God when surrounded by the cruelty of people. This is the faith that finds one small glimmer of hope, flickering dimly amidst the ashes of despair, and clings to it.  When there are no answers, no relief from the emotional pain, and no satisfaction for the need for justice, this faith pours all the passion of grief out to God as a form of worship, flowing tears mingling with dancing feet in utter dependence upon Him.  (Perhaps we westerners have a hard time believing that God is all we need, because we’ve never had to live through a time when God was all we had).

I’ve heard enough of the Gatumba story to know that it’s overwhelmingly painful, unjust and tragic. I’ve seen the pictures of my friends’ dead loved ones enough times to know that the pain is still so fresh. I’ve heard the frustration in their voices when they talk about the injustice of their oppression.  I’ve seen the desperate tears in their eyes when they speak of loved ones still in Africa… still waiting to be rescued from their places of hiding, or from the prisons they’ve been placed in due to their ethnicity, or from any number of refugee “holding places”. 

So when we began to plan together for a memorial service to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the Gatumba Massacre, my heart trembled. How could we plan a service worthy of the memories of loved ones lost so violently?  Do words exist that can adequately express the level of grief that has invaded their lives?  What could be said or sung to bring comfort to such broken hearts?

During one of our planning meetings, I was privileged to be given the task of making sashes for the Gatumba survivors to wear at the memorial service, to distinguish them from the other guests that would be attending.  This was important to the survivors, because they know that what they experienced at Gatumba is now a part of who they are.  They want the world to know who they are, to know their story, and to stand with them as they struggle to recover.

They wanted words printed on the sashes.  Something that would represent their identity as Gatumba Survivors. Much discussion took place as to which words would be chosen.  Perhaps “Gatumba Survivor”?  Or just the word “Gatumba”?  Or maybe the date of the event?

As the discussion continued, I found myself imagining what words I might choose if I were in their place…. maybe something like “please notice how much I’ve suffered and feel sorry for me”, or ”I’m mad and I have a right to be” or maybe even “The world (or God) owes me something for all I’ve been through”.

The words chosen by my friends? 

“Miracle of Gatumba”

Wait.

Miracle?

Their explanation:  Yes, miracle. Because we are here.  Because our enemies wanted to wipe us out, but some of us survived.  And through our suffering, God has taught us to depend on Him.

Miracle of Gatumba.  Miracle of suffering.

Miracle of a faith that sees beauty even in unbearable pain, if that pain sends us running into the arms of Love.

           My heart is barefoot on this holy ground…

            ~Traci

p.s. You can read more about the Gatumba story at these links:

www.gatumbasurvivors.org

http://www.mapendo.org/flashindex.cfm?ID=8

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/2009/08/090813_burundi_prime.shtml

For Danny and our Servant Team, the Summer of Listening in Africa has already taken them to so many places and shown them so many faces…

…places like the Mathare Valley slum in Nairobi, where over half a million residents struggle to survive in some of the most extreme slum conditions in the world.  Our team conducted a VBS  for 465 children there, visited the children’s families in their homes, and prayed for a woman dying of AIDS.  (The photo at the top of this page was also taken on a previous visit there).

…places like an Islamic Center in Lusaka, Zambia, where they received a tour from the leader of the mosque school and met with the children who attend.

 …places like western Kenya, where they met with, encouraged and learned from leaders from 65 different rural churches.

 …places like the US Embassy in Nairobi and the office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, where they’re working to help reunify a Boise refugee family with their father, who still lives as a refugee in Burundi.

…places like Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, and Kenya, where they’ve ministered to African leaders and missionaries by praying for them and their work.

…places like the public transport buses that take you from country to country, along with the untold numbers of people, chickens and goats that cram onto the buses with you.

…places like Mbale, Uganda, where they are presently leading a youth meeting for Ugandan teenagers.

…places like the streets of Kitale, Kenya, where they’ll spend the coming week connecting with street kids and the few heroes who are already there trying to help them.

…and most importantly, the Summer of Listening has taken them deeper into the heart of God, as they’ve dared to journey with their eyes and their hearts wide open…

to all the places

and all the faces

of Africa.

THANK YOU…

for praying for Danny and the Servant Team (Jacob, Justin and Tony);

for contributing to their travel funds to make the Summer of Listening possible;

for waiting patiently for news of their travels, and being so understanding of the heavy load being carried by the “support crew” back home (aka me!)…

and for joining us in sharing the loving heart of God with the hurting hearts of people.

More than ever, the world needs what your heart has to offer (and so do we).

With love and thanks,

Traci

p.s.  Danny, Jacob, Justin and Tony have 2 weeks remaining in Africa before they board their flight out of Nairobi on July 23rd.

Danny and I took a break from last evening’s packing to take a little stroll down our street and have a few minutes’ quiet conversation.

In spite of our sadness over separating for the summer, we couldn’t help but marvel once again as we recounted all the incredible connections God has made in putting our summer plans together. 

By the time our stroll took us back to our front door, we were chuckling in delight over the precious privileges God has given us to carry Love

to Africa…

Here         and         There.

and they say it can’t be done…”

“….we’ll fix our eyes on You, and we will come.”

Because of your prayers, encouragement, and generous gifts, Danny is free to focus all his thoughts and energy on getting packed up and ready to go!

 Here he is reviewing travel details:

Give thanks to Him who alone does mighty miracles,

his faithful love endures forever.  (Ps 136:4)

The words from this worship song have been weaving their way through my thoughts and prayers in recent days.  As we prepare for our first Mission Connections summer, I find once again that things are not turning out at all as we expected, and that God’s ways are so much higher than mine. 

If you say wait, we will wait…      Contrary to our original plans, I’ll be staying in Boise to continue caring for African refugees here, translating and assisting with medical and counseling appointments and helping with daily needs.  Most of our refugee friends are struggling to heal from the emotional pain of suffering through years of trauma and oppression; many have lost family members to war and ethnic persecution.  They need my help both in translating for them and advocating for them as they struggle with these issues. Most urgently, my presence is needed here to care for the 16-year-old refugee boy who joined our family in December.  Because of the heartbreak and trauma he’s already lived through in his young life, Ali desperately needs to stay in the continued stability of our home and family. 

 

The song finishes like this:

 Trusting in His higher ways…

Traci

I know you haven’t heard from us in a while, but awesome things have been going on behind the scenes and we are ready to be operating full swing by this summer! After going over some of the financial details (expenses vs. profit), it seems that Kofia could possibly be very capable of being able to support Chantal and her family once everything is in place! Isn’t that amazing?!

Here is an update:

Thanks to some amazing donations we were able to collect enough to pay for about two months of childcare so that Chantal can work. We were also able to raise start up fees to pay for materials.

We delivered the first batch of yarn to Chantal in March. She quickly finished up all the materials that we gave her and was ready to make more. With all that practice she was able to get some amazing hat patterns figured out.

We were able to sell our first 4 hats in April and still have a lot from that batch if you’re interested in buying one from the very first “series” . We don’t have the online store up yet so just send Traci or I an email (leah.bryanruppphotography@gmail.com) and we will get you set up.

Two hats from the first batch:

In June I will be traveling to Boise for three weeks and plan to spend the time focusing on Kofia. During this time we will work on lots of things like:

making sure that the online store is completed and running smoothly, figuring out our favorite yarn supplier and building up our inventory in a way that can be organized at Chantal’s home, establishing our marketing plan, working out financial details (taxes, etc.), implementing our long term plan in place for the business to be self-sustaining for Chantal (although Traci will of course continue to be involved in helping out).

So…JUNE is our big month! At that point I will be calling on all of you to help spread the word about the online store, buy hats for yourself or for gifts, or even carry around some hats to sell in person (for those who feel comfortable doing so). I’m excited to see what can happen when we all pool our resourcesand influence.                                                                                                                                                                                                     In the meantime, be on the lookout  in May for the new Kofia blog! I’ll keep you posted here.

I wish you could all have been there to see the look of pride on Chantal’s face when we handed her a box full of yarn in ziploc bags. That yarn didn’t seem like anything special at first glance, but to her it meant a chance to provide for her family. It meant the opportunity to work and take the first steps towards building a life in America.

For now, I’ll leave you with these two pictures of little Sosi, who thinks that the remote control is a camera….

and a phone….

Thank you so much for helping to make this possible! You are really making a difference.

With Love,
Leah

P.S. While we’re hoping to grow the business to the point of being self sustaining in the future, we would still welcome any donations for Chantal. Every bit that is donated towards child care or materials makes it easier for her to make a profit. We can’t say thank you enough to those of you who have already donated! You will be receiving a thank you gift in the next couple of months.

If you’ve been following Traci’s Refugee Journal on this blog, you know that God has opened a door for Mission Connections to be able to help care for refugees in the Boise, Idaho, area. The economy has been tough on everyone lately, but as you can imagine, it is next to impossible for refugees who are trying to compete in a difficult job market with a lack of high school education or English skills.

In response to this problem, we want to offer you an opportunity to be involved in the start-up phase of a brand new business opportunity for refugee women!!!

Its my privilege to introduce you to:

The word Kofia means “hat” in Kiswahili (one of the languages spoken in Africa). If you haven’t gotten to read about Chantal’s touching story yet, click here to get updated.

For months now, Chantal has been struggling unsuccessfully to find a minimum wage job to support her four children! However, she is extremely gifted with knitting, and other textile related projects.
Kofia was born out of a desire to connect her creative skills with her immediate financial needs. Chantal’s dream is to expand Kofia to include job opportunities for other refugee women in her neighborhood.

Chantal with her children

We already have a huge base of people who are interested in her products, as well as a long term commission through a photography business to make handmade photo album bags. Also, she has a team of experienced people ready and waiting to help with the marketing and promotion of her products.

Chantal is ready and willing to make this business opportunity take off, but she can’t do it alone.

This is where you come in!  Here are some things you could do to help:

1. Volunteer to fund one week of childcare for her adorable baby Sostaine during her startup months (February-April) at $100 a week.

Email Traci right now if you would like to fund START UP WEEK  (coming up in February) This will also provide a babysitting  job for another refugee.

2. Volunteer to help with some or all of the $200 overhead fees that will get Chantal the materials she needs to get started.

Anyone who donates to Kofia in the month of February will receive a very special Kofia Founders gift, as well as a coupon for 10%  off your first purchase on her online store (coming soon). Most of all, you get the privilege of being on the ground floor of something that will have a lasting impact in the life of Chantal, and hopefully many others.

All donations are tax deductible. Please send checks to: Mission Connections, P.O. Box 266, Drain, OR 97435. Specify: Chantal or Kofia
or
Donate online through paypal at: www.missionconnections.net
If you would like to specify a week to sponsor, please email traci@missionconnections.net

I believe strongly in the power of small business to give dignity to the owners and to allow them to contribute to their community based on their unique skills. It is a gift to be able to be a part of how God is providing for Chantal and her family as they settle in their new country. I hope that you will pray about connecting financially with Kofia to help it get off the ground!

With Love,
Leah Rupp
(Studio Manager of Bryan Rupp Photography and Mission Connections Servant Team Member)

Weekly Prayer Focus
1/19/09
 
One of the things I have loved about MC is the “outside of the box” thinking.  The creative willingness to try something new and to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading is very refreshing.  I think it will also be very effective.  Here is a scripture to pray this week as we pray for more effective, creative ways to reach hurting people.  Maybe this scripture will be one that we can pray for our own lives as well.   
Isaiah 43:18
“For I am about to do something new.  See, I have already begun!  Do you not see it?  I will make a pathway through the wilderness.  I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”               
Thanks for “going boldly to the throne of our gracious God, where we will receive His mercy and where we will find grace to help us when we need it.”  Heb. 4:16
 
M