Your Story

My Sam had to go unexpectedly to his village to dig out his kitchen and bathroom from a mudslide.  His house was not damaged—these structures are separate—nor was anyone hurt.  Otherwise he’s ok, but challenged by living so far away from his pregnant wife (due in July).  There is no health center near where they live, so when she is due, she will walk for three hours to the nearest health center and stay there until she delivers.  It’s tricky to know when to leave home, as you can imagine.  The government is said to be planning a health center closer to the village, but that may be awhile.
Jean McAlister

The situation now in Rwanda is somewhat tense, and complicated.  On the one hand, there is tremendous progress in terms of business and development at some levels, and in terms of international relations (Rwanda is now a member of the British Commonwealth, as well as of the East African Union, and has begun to thaw its relations with France), but on the other hand, widespread poverty continues in the countryside, and political dynamics are revealing concerns about the upcoming presidential elections in August.  There have been 5 grenade attacks in the last few weeks, and this of course causes a general anxiety.  Christians are beginning to ramp up their efforts to encourage and teach believers to stand firm and trust God, and to seek more prayer intercessors to step up to the current challenge.
Jean McAlister

Please continue to pray for my discernment and God’s provision as I help my various students through high school, university, or special training.  Francine (English), Claudine (Senior 5), four other high school students, Belyse (last year at university), and Alexis and Zed at university.  Also please pray for Safari, whom I’ve written about before.  He has responsibility for his sisters’ many children, for his mother, and for his younger brother at university with a scholarship, but no support for food.  He is close to the breaking point with all this, while he continues to work as a strong leader in the ministry he and Zed carry out for street kids.
Jean McAlister

My network recently went through a day workshop on the subject of “Trust in a culture of suspicion”—put together and led by my friend Kristine Bresser, of Le Rucher/Mercy Ministries.  It was a day of carefully unfolding and revealing attitudes of distrust among our members, such that leadership teams cannot be built well because of fear of betrayal or undermining of trust.  This is a very real problem: One of our members, Pastor Beatrice, learned recently that the person she had worked with and trusted, and had put in place as her delegate to start a church in a new area, while she continued as overseer and counselor, had over a two-week period managed to completely hijack that church, while making excuses for not attending meetings she was calling him to, changing its name slightly and acquiring a new registration for it.  All the members went along to the new place he found to rent, completely unaware that this was not part of their pastor’s plan.  When she learned of it, she called him to meet with her, and he admitted everything, and said he hoped they would still be friends!  She has responded on a very high spiritual level, but the pain she has experienced by this betrayal is very damaging.  This workshop was helpful in beginning to address ways to overcome and transform the culture of distrust.
Jean McAlister

: I continue to put one foot in front of the other.  Last week I worked hard, collaborating with four AEE field coordinators and our central coordination office, writing a proposal to submit to United States Agency For International Devellopment USAID.  I became engaged in this project to a greater degree than I’ve experienced since coming here.  It was to strike a major blow at diminishing the rate of domestic violence in Rwanda (which has been RISING since the genocide), using AEE’s many self-help groups as a way of introducing further training and other activities to reach families and their communities.  I finished the writing, all but the budget and a few boiler-plate sections which our coordination office would do, by the day before the deadline.  But the proposal was halted, not to be finished, because our Team Leader had only one day to do a million things, and this one was not a priority.  When I learned about this, I felt shocked, and went to my office to cry out my disappointment in private.  However, I know the work was not wasted, and there will be other opportunities.

Jean McAlister

On Sunday, I wound my way up the very steep road to Mt. Kigali to give the sermon where I had been invited by one of my AEE friends.  The church was surrounded by mud, and as I gingerly picked my way across, my shoes picked up rather a lot of it.  Once inside, I scraped as much as possible off and went to the seat I was shown.  Within a few minutes, a young woman came to me, placing a pair of clean sandals at my feet, and indicated I should give her my muddy shoes.  Though I was reluctant to let her take them (to clean them, I knew), I also knew that it was a service she wanted to perform.  I was deeply touched by her gentle manner, and by this thoughtful ministry.  Very soon, she returned my shoes, completely mud-free, and I touched her arm in thanks as she took away her sandals.  This seemed to me a small but powerful illustration of the humility of our Lord, who did just such a service for his disciples at the time of sharing his last meal with them.  The natural response for the beneficiary is to recoil, or to be embarrassed.  But Jesus, in that young woman, was doing what her culture had taught her to do.  It was a reminder to me that the truths of the Gospel are embedded in every culture.  (See Don Richardson’s amazing book, Peace Child)

Jean McAlister

Four small and very dirty faces peered over the passenger’s side window of my car to see what I wanted to talk to them about.  I was on my way to work at AEE, down a very muddy road where these boys had been playing at something like marbles in the mud.  As I approached them, they acted as most such children do upon seeing a white person:  “Muzungu, muzungu,” they shouted, and waved their arms about, adding, “Give me money!”  Normally I either ignore this sort of behavior, wave and smile, or feel annoyed by it.  This time I stopped, rolled down the only window that works, and began to talk to them.  I told them my name isn’t “Muzungu”, and we then introduced each other.  They told me they live ‘around,” and that their parents are either dead or far away.  They have no one to provide for them, so they play at something like marbles in the muddy road.  I asked them if they knew Jesus, and they all nodded yes, and said, “He is the Lord.”  I told them I didn’t have money to give them, but would pray for them and urged them to continue to trust God for a way forward for them.  As I drove away, the image of those four faces entered my heart in an unusual way:  I saw their eyes as windows reflecting heaven—I know that sounds fanciful but that’s what I saw.  They are not lost to cynicism or despair.  They still hope for something good.

Jean McAlister

January, 11, 2010
Dear friends:
What could possibly account for a two-month gap in writing to you? Well, procrastination (5 syllable word for laziness!) and a few distractions:

• a health-scare necessitating a whirlwind flight to Nairobi,
• a move to a new house,
• and Christmas!

So: Merry Christmas And Happy New Year!
The Nairobi trip was to get an MRI of my brain, which turned out to show signs of aging (duh!) and nothing more sinister, although we were suspecting dire things like tumor or aneurysm. Very briefly, I was getting sharp, brief brain pains that didn’t conform to any obvious type of headache, and they persisted over several weeks. Much research and prayer ended in this non-event! Pains are gone, and perhaps I will never know what caused them. There was great blessing along the way, as people were concerned and prayerful, and my friend Kristine was my companion on the 24-hr round trip to Nairobi. The good outcome was just one of many blessings.

The move went very well, although the house was far from ready as promised, so there was and still is much patience needed as things get sorted out. BUT it’s a wonderful house with lots of space and light, and a marvelous view of the green hills of Rwanda, in a quiet neighborhood well off the main road. I’m looking for someone to come and share it with me (prayer and discernment needed).

I celebrated Christmas Eve with a few friends in my new house, and the day after Christmas was at Kristine’s house, where we baked cookies, prepared two fat chickens for the oven, had afternoon tea on her porch, and ate our feast with much joy and gratitude. (Christmas day: observed baptism of several street kids, and the ordination of a friend as pastor.)
May you each know the joy of God’s love though his Son Jesus Christ, the best Friend we can ever have!
Love, Jean
Jean McAllister
Missionary, Kigali, Rwanda

Because of an unexpected gift, two of our Catch-up Schools will soon have their own home. We have just purchased a big piece of land which will be cleared to make room for a small Catch-up School, which will run two sessions, morning and afternoon. We hope the school can be up and running in two months. A third Catch-up school has a plot, but is waiting for the funds to build a school. This continues to be a main focus for me, because I believe these schools are possibly the best chance many street kids will ever have to turn their lives around.
Jean McAllister
Missionary , Kigali, Rwanda

Ministry: With all the distractions, I feel my work here has been pretty much on hold, and needs to get back on track. I will be meeting with the Network leaders this week to see what they would like to be praying for and aiming for in the coming year. I continue to meet with beneficiaries of God’s abundance through me to help with various needs (school fees, living expenses while seeking a job, occasional medical expenses, etc.). I appreciate so much the support I receive that can help these young people.

I am particularly moved by the plight of one of these: Safari, one of my Network leaders, lives with his mother and sister—and his sister’s nine children. All of these children are from different fathers, none of whom is around. The sister is caught up in alcoholism and casting her favors here and there, and has zero interest in raising the children she literally drops into her brother’s lap. He longs to go to university, but can’t find the means, and meanwhile tries to get odd jobs as an electronics repairman to keep his large family alive. He also supports his younger brother who got a scholarship and is studying at university. Still, the brother needs living expenses, and support when he’s home on leave. It’s impossible, yet Safari continues each day to do what he can, trying to keep his eyes on God.
Jean McAlister
Missiosnary in Kigali, Rwanda