| Since we last wrote I have transitioned
into a new position, the Central Africa liaison. While I get to
maintain an emphasis on education, my new responsibilities include:
serving as a facilitator of PC(USA) support for partners; providing
support for mission personnel; and being a resource person for the
PC(USA) and her presbyteries and congregations. Please pray that
God's grace will be with me as I try to adjust my focus to properly
take in this broader picture.
We are still living in Yaounde, and Christi continues to work
with the Joining Hands Against Hunger program. For now the network
has decided on two core focus points: (1) economic justice and
2) gender and development. Christi feels privileged to get to
know more personally the truly dedicated and experienced network
members and to appreciate their hard work to alleviate hunger,
poverty, and injustices. We'll share more about that in another
letter.
In early September I traveled to Rwanda and learned about the
church there. Called the Country of a Thousand Hills, or the Switzerland
of Africa, Rwanda reminded me of Njombe, Tanzania, where our family
lived nearly five years. But behind the beauty of the landscape
the country still faces the daunting task of rebuilding after
the war and genocide of 1994. A visit to a school where 60,000
people were killed, seeing mummified bodies laid out on palates
in dorm rooms, has burned vivid images into me as a reminder of
the terrible meaning of "genocide." The Presbyterian
Church of Rwanda engages herself in efforts to bring reconciliation,
healing, and hope to the population. Courses in reconciliation
are required at the Protestant Theological Seminary. The church
runs schools and centers ministering to children left homeless
due to war, AIDS, and abject poverty. Hospitals and health centers
are caring for the sick. The church is doing much, yet so much
more needs to be done. Your support of Presbyterian missions helps
our church to respond to the diverse needs of our many partners
around the world.
Peace be with you,
Jeff and Christi
The 2002 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 31
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