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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 [email protected].  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

On February 15th is our next informational meeting for the June mission trip to Ensenada, Mexico. It is not too late for you to join us! February 22nd is the next meeting for the September trip to Rwanda. More info is on our short term mission trips page.

Exciting news! Do you know about the “Home for Alice” project? Alice & her brother are both sponsored under Ten Talents Int. They, along with their 2 very young siblings and single mother, live together in a very bleak home. The only toilet is a hole in the ground (completely exposed) between their home and another home. The tin roof is full of holes and the rain in Rwanda can come down hard & fast many times. Here is a picture of the family outside their house now:

Our organization has decided that we can help this family. We have been raising funds so we can purchase a modest, but decent home for this family to move into. We have found a newly built house that would be a safe & livable for the family. What a blessing this will be!

So, the exciting news is that we are only $500 away from the amount we need to purchase the home for this family! So close! The children’s mother works hard to care for them and supports them by buying vegetables from the market & then reselling them in other areas, but the amount she is able to make is not enough to change their current living situation- but we can make a difference! If you would like to give, you can do so through our giving page here on the website, or by mailing a gift to our office.

Praise God for bringing us this far!
Blessings,
Lisa

Here are some of the details we shared about the September Rwanda trip:

What we will be doing:
* ministering to street children in the feeding program
* Visiting and playing with the children in the Home of Innocence
* Service project for Alice & Claude’s family (“Home for Alice” project)
* Visit genocide sites
* Visit and pray over the Acres of Hope

The tentative dates for this Ten Talents trip are September 21st – October 6th.

The cost is $3500- part of which was to cover the “Home for Alice” project; however, we have had donations come in to help fund this project, so depending on the number of people who are going on the trip, the cost could be reduced to $3300.

We are asking interested persons to submit an application, with the application fee of $200 due February 22nd (refundable up until May 1st). If you would like to break the trip cost up into payments, here is a suggested schedule:
* Additional $550 due March 29th
* Additional $550 due April 26th
* Additional $550 due May 24th
* Additional $550 due June 21st
* Additional $550 due July 26th
* Final $550 due August 30th

Each of the dates in bold above are also a meeting for those going on the trip.

There is also a team coming from the group Courts for Kids that Ten Talents International will be hosting in Rwanda September 23rd to October 4th. This team will be building a sport court at a local elementary school (where several of our sponsored children attend). As we have it set right now, the dates of the TTI team trip overlap with this trip, and you would be welcome to participate in both.

For more information please contact our mission trip coordinator, [email protected]

We would love to have you come with us so we can show you why Rwanda is so special!
God Bless You,
Lisa