Emails from Bishop Justin, of the United Methodist Church

December 2nd, 2010
Dear Pastor Mike and Ally Russel,

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

I am Bishop Justin Nzoyisaba of the United Methodist Church, I was given your
name by Leonard Nyankuri so that we may know each other and share your program
which might take place in June or July 2011.


I am pleased to be available for any assistance to your side, so send me what
would be your program and what you intent to do and where to go in Burundi so
that we can extend to you an invitation.

We thank you for what you have done to our parish down in Ruyigi province and
Kinyinya District, we hope that you will continue and get other friends who can
visit us and see what we do.

Best regards,

Bishop Justin Nzoyisaba




December 6th, 2010
Dear Bishop Justin,

Thank you for your greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus, and your willingness to host us on our visit.  

At present, our plans are as follows:

I will come with a Burundian man named Jean Bosco Misigaro in June or July 2011.

We have 4 two hour teaching sessions and 1 one hour teaching session which we would like to deliver for pastors and others with interest.  Perhaps this could be in the late afternoons or early evenings for 5 days after the work of the day is over.

I would like to attend the church of pastor Alexis on a Sunday.  I would like to see how the honey co op works, which we have helped sponsor, and I would like to see the brick kiln - how it works, and to see a house made of bricks from the kiln.  I would like to take photos of these things.

I have a potential investor of A$5000 for an investment on a similar basis as the brick kiln business.  So if Pastor Alexis has another suggestion for a business with this size of outlay, I would like to talk with him about it, and see why it will be useful.  (This investor will only be interested after our brick kiln business has received a dividend, and after there has been a satisfactory annual report on the brick kiln business).

I would like to meet you Bishop Justin, and also the Anglican Bishop if possible (I am an Anglican pastor - I am trying to contact the Anglican Bishop at present)

With yourself and the Anglican Bishop, I would like to discuss problems I see Burundian Christians finding in Australia, as well as strengths in what many Burundian Christians bring over here.  I would like for you to suggest any ways we can help you.  When we come, is there anything you would like us to bring that will help you? I have an 'African Bible Commentary' in Swahili to give away, for example.

I would like the chance to preach if you are willing to allow that.  

I think this should take around 8 days on the ground.

There is much detail still to consider and confirm.

Best regards to you, and greetings to you in our Lord,

Pastor Mike Russell

December 7th, 2010

Dear Mike and Ally Russel,

 

I am very glad to read you and I see you have nice program and I will be happy to meet you and talk. I know all the Anglican Bishops in Burundi they are six bishops. In Bujumbura there is one and on your way to Alexis church there is another Dear Mike and Ally Russel,

 

I am very glad to read you and I see you have nice program and I will be happy to meet you and talk. I know all the Anglican Bishops in Burundi they are six bishops. In Bujumbura there is one and on your way to Alexis church there is another Bishop so let me know who you want to meet so that I inform him early. I will be glad to receive any gift from your side but in my daily work I am missing a camera to produce reports if you are able to bring me that is OK if not feel free to come with any gift. Let me how the seminar is organized.

Thank you so much for the information and your assistance to our church.

 

Bishop Justin so let me know who you want to meet so that I inform him early. I will be glad to receive any gift from your side but in my daily work I am missing a camera to produce reports if you are able to bring me that is OK if not feel free to come with any gift. Let me how the seminar is organized.

Thank you so much for the information and your assistance to our church.

 

Bishop Justin

Funeral for Sudanese man

Hi all, please pray for me as I go to a funeral for a Sudanese man on Sunday evening.  They are holding it in the Platform, because they could find no other venue.  They have asked me to pray.  Ezra, the man who contacted me, has lost three family members in very short time.

Email from Leonard in Burundi

Dear Pastor Mike ,I hope your family and the church are fine. I am very pleased to get this opportunity of writing to   you again. First of all, I address you my apologies  for having delayed to reply. My younger son was very sick and I was obliged to stay in country side.Pastor Alexis was very sick too.Praise God because both of them are now recovered.I pray you not to worry about the three donations usage.All what you sent to us have been affected to the church projects except a half of the third donation which was invested to the kiln business. Be aware that  till now 1,5 Million Bu frs are available here and around  fifty thousand bricks equivalent to 750 thousand Bu frs are ready to be sold .The later is expected as a global profit of the business.We have also the bees herding for honey production equivalent to 400 thousand Bu frs.Concerning an Anglican pastor close to the Anglican Bishop; I will chat wth him and tell you the result.
Thank you again for planning this fourth donation.We are very pleased of it too. Welcome.
I am in Bujumbura city now;I leave on 29th October 2010 ;I come back in two weeks to see my theses superviser.

Email from Burundi

Hello Pastor Mike;


I am glad to have this occasion for another talk.I hope you are well with your family and church.I want to express my thanks to Jesus because things are going well now.The electoral period is almost finished and killings are stopped;only some arrestations of journalists are still observed.The security is getting better in general.I also say thank you for the comforting message you sent to us through my requests.Concerning the trip program:some church leaders are just informed of it;before March 2O1O ;the bishop will write a letter to invite you.The Kiln Business has started and pastor Alexis is now selling the bricks.I passed some days without being near the native country to mean that I do not have details on me.still;I am in Buja city heading my native province.After three weeks ;if God wishes;I will be in Buja again to communicate with you what will be going on.we have a National Crusade from 26 to 29 August 2010. Have our best regards to your collegues. yours warmly Leonard.

A good thing happened today

I met an old acquaintance called Binga.  He has 8 kids if I recall rightly.  They're not at church anymore, but he's thinking about letting us pick them up and bring them to our church.
Please pray that would be the case.

Letter from Burundi - bad news of escalating tension

                          Dear Pastor Mike,
Have our warm greetings.Thanks a lot for the visit planning.We pray for the program to
be accomplished next year as you suggested it.This year, the security in our coutry is getting worse and worse.The ruling party CNDD FDD conjointly with the National Electoral commission are accused of being involved in the theft of the first scrutin done on 24th,May 2O1O.
Therefore,strikes,killings,violences and arrestations are increasing.
By the way, let me ask you few questions:
   Are Pastors or Christians allowed to attend political activities?
   May I get some Biblical references to support my understanding?
The answers could help me to solve some problemes and probably help others to
manage this electoral period.
We will tell you the situation at the end of each scrutin.we have 5 and the last one is
scheduled on October 2O1O.Concerning the donations usages,I am waiting for the recapitulations from pastor Alexis.Good bye.
                    Give our regards to your church

Encouraging kids church comment

Hi all,
It was great to hear Ally speak about kids' church on the way home last Sunday.  She said that for the first time Chanceline decided that she would listen and take part in the activities in kids' church.  Ally said it was really obvious how much of the bible (how many sung bible verses) the kids know.  So Ally said to Chanceline, 'Once you've been here a while, you can know the bible like they do.  Wouldn't that be great?'  Chanceline agreed.

Ally was encouraged too that when the kids were asked, 'So what sins did Jesus do when he was on earth?', the kids were shocked.... They protested strongly against the question, and some could even explain what the consequences would have been if Jesus had sinned - he could not have died for our sins.

This is a such a key part of our ministry, and I was encouraged by these stories.  Please keep praying for both kids and youth church.  There's a youth church event on tonight.  Please pray it will go well.