Nani helping Astrid pray for a pregnant lady.

Missionary Kid or Missionary

Zoey Laying hands on a 3 year old boy suffering from malaria.

Missionary Kids or Missionaries

Missionary Kids or Missionaries

When the Lord called Astrid and I to go back to Africa, I was very concerned for my, at that time, two girls.

Nani and Zoey were and are the most precious things to me. I told the Lord that I didn’t want to be dragging my Children all over Africa, as a 5^th wheel on a wagon, as we would do the ministry he was calling us to.

My desire is to have my children be missionaries, not just missionary kids. I have seen and heard of to many families where the children were treated as missionary kids, or MK’s as they call themselves, with a bitter sweet sound to it. Many of them resent their parents, others have walked away from God and the church. I am sorry God but I don’t want to sign my children up for that sort of life. We asked the Lord to help us to prepare our girls for this type of life. We told him that he would have to get them ready just as he was getting us ready, because we did not know how to prepare them for what was ahead. So we prayed and prayed “Lord, prepare our children”.

On Nov.8 2003 I was sitting on our couch in the living room having my morning devotions, when Nani (my 4 year old) woke up and came to me. She climbed up on top of me and laid on my chest. We then began to talk and cuddle. I asked her if she had a good sleep and she said “yes”. Then with much excitement continued to tell me about her encounter with Jesus. She said “Daddy Jesus wants to go with us to Africa and be by us, and behind us. He took me there (Africa) in his purple car with cats on it. We saw hippo’s, giraffes, lion’s, rhino’s, and I saw some little black children, so I walked up and said hi I’m Nani…”
She then said “we are suppose to leave this house for some one else and take our stuff to our Africa house”
What she did not know was that at that time Astrid and I were really praying about what to do with our house. Shocked and surprised I asked her; “Is that what Jesus said?” She said “Ya I guess he did…” All I could do was weep and thank God for visiting my children and speaking with them, preparing them. This was not the only time, we began to see God really prepare our girls’ hearts and speak to them through dreams during the next two years. We kept praising him as he was truly preparing these little ones for a life of service to him.

Now here we are in the thick of it as you could say. What an answer to prayer as our girls have really taken the challenge. They lay hands on people and pray for God to heal them and set them free.
They have told us that every time we go out in to the village they want to go…

They are real missionaries as you can see in the photo’s; they love to pray for people and most of all they love to get muddy as we help to build houses for the widows, orphans, and poorest of the poor.

Thank you God for being such a wonderful God, my girls are real missionaries and I owe it all to You.
Travis

Christmas in June

Christmas is the only correct word that discribes the feeling that came over me when I opened the suitcase filled with gifts for my family. Toys for Nani and Zoey, Cloths for Jasmin and Yaida, clothing and shoes for Travis, an Ipod station, choclate chips, raisins, just to many things to mention. Grateful for all the many gifts my personal highlight was a simple item; a pair of jeans... When coming to Rwanda I was pregnant with Jasmin so along came the maternity cloths. My hormones at the time must have made me believe that pregnancy lasts a lifetime as I brought only one pair of "normal" pants, these pants have made history as my life saver.

Now almost five months after I gave birth to Jasmin I embrace these jeans as if it were a long lost friend. How amazing the impact of a simple pair of jeans...
As teams arrive and bring more and more gifts and suprises I feel overwhelmed that complete strangers use their resources to bless us this way. God bless them for their generousity!

Christmas in June...
I remember how I would tell Nani and Zoey as they would drule over their many Christmas presents in the States, how Christmas is about Christ, the celebration of His coming, His resurrection and leaving us so the Comforter who leads us into all thruth could come as a deposit of what is to come. Hmmm, of what is to come...
My Christmas in June experience seems to get a different meaning. ...Of what is to come... No not in the sense of more jeans, more gifts, but of the Lords provision. Knowing He knows, he knows my families needs both spiritual and practical. Christmas in June is a sign to me of my God watching over me and my family, and winking "I love you my servant, my child."