Ten Talents International Blog

Do you know the story of David & Benjamin?  They are two of the newest boys to come into the Home of Innocence.   Benjamin was very ill when he first was brought from the government’s center for street children (considered a prison by many) to the Home of Innocence.  His health has gone up and down since that time last fall but many times he has been sick and weak.  Ngoga (our Rwanda National Director) has taken him to multiple medical clinics at different times.  Finally, recently he was seen at the main hospital in Kigali.

This was Benjamin the day he was found in the street children's holding center.

The doctor who examined him at the hospital found that Benjamin has a serious heart condition and it requires surgery immediately.  Literally, his life is in danger. The surgery is a heart valve replacement and is not available in Rwanda.  We are looking at other countries for surgery, possibly India or the US, or even Sudan since we may be able to get him there sooner.  We have added an option to our giving page if you would like to give towards Benjamin’s heart surgery.  It is providential that Mike is in Rwanda right now because he is able to work on details like getting Benjamin a passport, as well as checking on what treatments they are giving to sustain him in the meantime.

This is Benjamin in March of this year. You can see he is happy and his inner glow shines through.

Please be praying with us for God to provide for Benjamin’s heart surgery, transportation, recuperation, and other needs (can you help?).  We expect this to cost around $15,000.  Please also pray for God to sustain him so that he can make it until the surgery can be arranged.

Benjamin is in the hospital right now.

Thank you & God bless you.

Lisa

This morning Mike left for a 3 week trip to Rwanda, along with one of our TTI volunteers.  We would appreciate your prayers first of all for their travels: for them to make all their connections, for their luggage to all make it there safely, and for general traveling mercies.  You could also be praying for their time in Rwanda to be effective and for them to accomplish all they have set out to do.  Mike will be spending time checking on the children in the sponsorship program, as well as the boys in our in-home program, the Home of Innocence.

Adrian- one of the boys in the Home of Innocence

The Home of Innocence and our office had to move to a new place (the previous landlord was trying to raise the rent unreasonably).  The blessing in this is the new home is larger, so we may be able to bring in more boys who have no place else but the streets.  Mike will be talking to government officials about possibly getting some boys who are being held in a detention center (just for being on the streets).  He will also be finding out how we can move forward with the TTI registration (we have agreements from the local governments but are still encountering other delays).  Please pray for him to be given favor with those he speaks with, and for all obstacles to be removed.

I do find it ironic that he is leaving today- which just happens to be exactly 12 months after our family was last in Rwanda.  Do you know about our plans for this fall?  We are praying & believing for God to provide the support needed for our family to be in Rwanda for 9 months & be able to really move the ministry forward there.  Will you agree in prayer with us?

Thank you!

God Bless You,

Lisa

My heart this morning is drawn to pray for the country of Rwanda. I am praying for President Paul Kagame & those in leadership to be led in the decisions they make. That they would do what is right and just. I am praying for the continued healing of a nation that has been through the devastation of the 1994 genocide. That those who are spiritual leaders in Rwanda would “stand in the gap” for their nation (Ezekiel 22:30a “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land.”) I am praying for the people of Rwanda: for them to find the peace, healing, and wholeness that comes from the abundance of a life lived in Christ. I also pray for the blessing of prosperity, not poverty, for their nation and people. I pray Rwanda would rise up and be a beacon of righteousness amongst the countries of Africa.

I pray 1 Corinthians 1 for them: “26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Would you take some time to pray for Rwanda this week too?

God Bless You,

Lisa

For everyone in the Vancouver, WA area: From April 26th to 29th the Engedi Cafe will be donating 100% of proceeds to Ten Talents International.  Come in & enjoy a specialty coffee drink or all fruit smoothie in their relaxing atmosphere & donate to Ten Talents International at the same time!  Here is the information about Engedi:
Monday – Thursday,  6:30am – 3:30pm
“Refreshing Ministries One Cup at a Time”
Location: The lobby of the US Digital Outreach Center
1400 NE 136th Ave Vancouver, WA 98684
Our Mission: To be a refreshing oasis to our local community by helping fund the US Digital Outreach Center and in turn create a ripple effect sharing Christ’s love.  100% of proceeds help support the 23+ ministries in our outreach center!
Did you know?:  All recipe ingredients are free of preservatives, colors, & artificial sweeteners!   You’ll love our fair trade, organic Café Femenino espresso and even if you’re not a coffee drinker, our real fruit smoothies and hot cocoa made with homemade chocolate sauce are delightful.
About our name: “Engedi” is an actual place in eastern Israel which for hundreds of years has served as a refreshing oasis in the middle of the desert to weary travelers.  Our hope is that you too will be refreshed by our delicious drinks as you refresh our Outreach Center with your visit.
About Café Femenino coffee beans:  A new specialty coffee, Café Femenino is giving strength, unity, and hope to women in other nations around the world.  Vendors selling Café Femenino beans donate a portion of their profits directly to women coffee growers to help break the cycle of abuse and poverty in third world countries.  This gives them their very own money for the first time in their lives and helps provide grants to fund leadership training, education, nutrition, develop alternative income sources, and improve conditions for their families.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

If you are unfamiliar with the location of the US Digital Outreach Center (also the location of our Ten Talents Int. office), it is located inside the US Digital Building on 136th Avenue, north of the DMV/Winco and south of 18th Street.

There is even a small children’s area in the cafe area, so even with little ones in-tow you can stop by, be refreshed, and give at the same time!  Tell your friends!

God Bless You,

Lisa

Our next team meeting for the Rwanda mission trip is Monday, April 26th at 6:30pm at the US Digital building. See our “Short Term Missions” page under the “Get Involved” tab, for more information about this trip- maybe you want to come too?

Mike has successfully returned from Mexico. He had a good trip & was able to identify many needs. In fact, the orphanage has so many needs that it is going to take discernment to identify which ones to focus on! Pray for wisdom for Mike.

Please also pray for all of our team members, both the Mexico team and the Rwanda team, as they trust in God to be their provider and take care of their financial needs.

Our God is able to do great things!
God Bless You,
Lisa

Mike left early this morning to go to Mexico for 3 days.  He is going to visit the orphanage that the mission team will be working with in June & deciding what kind of project the team will be working on there.  Please pray for him to find all the resources he needs and for everything to come together for this trip.  He could also use your prayers because he has been struggling with a cold- not a good thing anytime, but especially when you’re traveling & trying to get things done!  You can find out more about El Sauzal orphanage by visiting their website at www.elsauzal.org

God Bless You,

Lisa

We are working on getting out our March (!) newsletter.  Do you get our newsletter in the mail?  Help TTI save time and ministry resources by sending us your email address!  It takes a lot of time & effort to print, stuff, label, and mail hundreds of newsletters- if you are able to receive your newsletter via email please contact lisam@tentalentsint.org.  Thank you!

Theogene (from the Home of Innocence)

We praise God for all he is doing and using Ten Talents for his work.  Please continue to keep this ministry in your prayers.  We pray always for God to increase the ministry by providing more supporters in general and more sponsors for children.  We seek to further His kingdom and reach out to “the least of these”.

Blessings,

Lisa

Our next meeting for the Rwanda Team is Monday, March 29th, 6:30pm at the US Digital Building.  There is still room for you in this team & we are really going to have a full & fun trip together!

We had 2 volunteers in Rwanda earlier this month that have now arrived back home.  (I’m sorry our blog was inactive for a few weeks- we had publishing issues & had to have it moved to a new host.)  Although this note is a few weeks old now, I thought it would still be good to share it with you

“We have not only been taking sponsorship applications, I believe it is at 4 or 5 now, but lots of pictures of children to update their profile. Every morning Ngoga has several people waiting at the office with their children in hope that they can [get their children sponsored through] TTI. The other morning one woman was there asking for help to return to the Northern Province. She has been here unable to support herself and her children. It was heart breaking, a mother trying to do what is best for her and her family but still in such desperate situation. I don’t know what decision was made but I thought at that time I was glad that I didn’t have to make that decision.

On Tuesday we registered one little girl who was brought in by her Dad, who is HIV positive. She is his last daughter and he wants to make sure that she is in the best situation she can be in. She is such a sweet little girl. Another child was brought in by his Uncle as both his parents are deceased. Ngoga has a very difficult decisions to make about each and every child presented to him. But the positive aspect is he personally knows each child and their particular story. Both of the children were accepted into the program, which will give them and their family hope for the future.
…  I have such heart for the people here and their struggles.

The boys at the [Home of Innocence] and I played UNO yesterday again. They have really learned to play well and enjoy it. If anyone wants to know what to send to a child a special gift, a book would be very good but make it an easy one to read and understand.”

Ngoga (our Rwanda National Director) does a great job running the operations in country and ministering to the kids.  Please continue to pray for him & his family, as well as our other staff there (house mom, house helper/cook).  Pray for wisdom & the strength to continue to minister, protection and provision.  We also pray for more sponsors so that more children can experience the hope that a little help provides.  It is amazing how small changes (like being able to get an education) can make life long differences!

Ngoga & boys in the Home of Innocence enjoying Uno

Thank you for partnering with us.  It truly is a privilege to do this work.

God Bless You,

Lisa

The great news is that people responded to the opportunity to provide a new home for Alice & Claude & their family (Alice & Claude are sponsored through TTI) & we were able to purchase the home for them & move their family into a new, safe place for them to live and grow. The house still has work to be done on it (this we will need to raise funds for & the team that goes in September will get to do some of this work), but it is an improvement none the less (see my last post for a photo of their previous home).

We have one of our volunteers in Rwanda right now, and she was able to help the family move into their new home. Here is what she said about it:

“It went very fast as they have only a few possessions. On the first trip we put everything in the way back of the Suzuki. Alice and 3 of the children went on the first run with everything except her cooking things. The second run we took the cooking things, a couple of stools,and their water container as well as Claude. Claude is a very good boy. We saw many of our sponsored child on the road walking to school so we photographed them in their school uniforms.It is amazing the difference a sponsor can make in these children’s lives.”

It’s not too late for you to join the September trip too- contact us if you are interested!
God Bless You,
Lisa

People gave & now Alice & Claude (along with their mom & younger brothers) will be moving into a new home! There is still work to be done on the house to bring it up to the ideal, and we will be looking to raise more funds to cover the upgrades to the home. The team going in September will get to be a blessing to this family by helping to work on their home! One of our volunteers from the US got to be there for the signing of the papers & hopefully I will be able to post pictures for you when she returns.

If you are interested in going with us to Rwanda in September please contact us! Our next team meeting will be happening in March & we still have room for more people to join us!

Praise God for what he is doing & we keep looking to him for more & more!
Blessings,
Lisa