Final thoughts from Diane

Saturday – Homeward Bound!

Having a night’s rest certainly does make the journey home more bearable. Now we just have a 10 hr. flight home, or at least to Houston. The descent into Houston evokes joy…..we are back in the USA! All bags have arrived (Yeah!). We hug our wonderful teammates from Lafayette who will have one more short flight to get home; how this team has bonded! The Houston group reunites with family and everyone is heading home. Our suitcases are full of dirty laundry, but we are so full with everything God has allowed us to see and experience. Our hearts are full of joy as well as sorrow for the trials our African family still endure. We’ve seen God at work in powerful, miraculous ways! We have bonded with our brothers and sisters in ways we could never have imagined, and we are grateful. And now we begin to digest it all! Processing will take time, and we know that the Lord has something special for each of us as to how He wants to use all this in our lives. Some of us will probably return to Kenya and Burundi; some may not be able to. Regardless, this has been a life changing experience that God will use in incredible ways both for our benefit and for the benefit of His Kingdom.

We encourage team members to come up with three descriptive words that will capture their experience. My three for this trip are:

Healing: We saw God bring deep inner healing to deep inner sounds, those of our African friends and in us as well.

Haunting: As we heard the testimonies of the people, began to feel their pain and anguish, we are haunted by the mental pictures formed in our minds.. We don’t want those images to fade, but to remind us of the work yet to be done.

Hopeful: God is at work in Kenya and Burundi! The Christians we worked with there are amazing; such self sacrifice! Hearing the testimonies of those who have come to the Lord are thrilling. Seeing the changed lives of those involved in our ministry projects energizes us to keep these ministries going and expanding so that many more may benefit. The transformation of the lives of the street guys and the women in the ministry projects confirm to us that God is very much in the miracle working mode…..even today.

Our sincere thanks to all of you who have supported this ministry outreach with your prayers and financial support. You are an integral part of the team; we couldn’t have done anything without you! Thank you!

Please continue to pray for our partners in Kenya and Burundi, Judy and Peace and all those who help them. Pray for the ministries reaching out to those living in the Kibera slum, rural villages, genocide widows and orphans and those living on the streets. All are loved by Jesus!

Pray about coming with us next time so that you can experience for yourself the joy of being on mission with the Lord; you will never be the same! We can safely say that everyone on this team has been changed….for eternity.