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Brundi
Report - The Work of For His Glory International
By
Andy Kennedy
 [Note:
The author is a former accountant and small business advisor
with Cottrill, Arbutina & Associates. He and his wife
Amy are co-founders of For
His Glory International, a Christian ministry presently
involved in Pittsburgh and the central African nation of
Burundi. Since 1980, the Kennedys have ministered globally
in more than 25 nations.]
Our
outreach is in the central African nation of Burundi. Our
headquarters is in the capital city of Bujumbura, although
our ministry reaches out into all the 16 provinces. Burundi
is about the size of the state of Maryland, but has a population
of more than 8 million.
Team
- Our team includes Chris Ndikumana - a Burundian minister
of the Gospel who works for For His Glory International
as our national representative and as my personal interpreter
when I am there. Chris speaks English and of course French
and Kirundi which are the official languages of Burundi.
We
are also in close relationship with a number of Christian
businessmen (including women also) and other ministers with
whom we share ministry opportunities in Bujumbura and the
surrounding provinces.
Vision
- Our vision includes
- Primary - training young ministers
for the work of the Gospel. My energy has been mainly
directed at the development of curriculum for this training
school. Ministers from the US will join with Burundian
ministers to present this curriculum in four training
centers located in four main population centers in the
outlying provinces. In this way we reach out to young
ministers who are not able to come directly to the city
of Bujumbura for training. Most of them are multi-occupational;
working as pastors or teachers in one or more small village
churches (much like the days of the itinerate preachers
in the US who went from village to village on horseback)
as well as holding down small jobs and of course tending
to their crops in an effort to feed their hungry families.
For this reason we must bring the training to them. Because
most of them have never had "formal" biblical
training, our outreach to them represents a truly amazing
leap forward in their development as able ministers of
the Word of God. We are also hoping to add a 'radio program'
to our training outreach as many young Burundians listen
to radio
- Secondary - participation
with local ministers and churches in an effort to encourage
and development the growth of the Christian community
within the nation. We do this primarily through teaching
and ministering in churches, house fellowships, school
Bible clubs and university groups.
- Secondary - humanitarian assistance
to poor villages with a special emphasis on reaching out
to the Twa. We have assisted with the funding and development
of clean water projects, sanitation projects, literacy
programs, medical supply distribution and have an ongoing
project for the construction of houses for Twa families.
We also have assisted with the funding and distribution
of seeds to poor families so that they might grow their
own crops (beans mostly) and have supplied goats for milk
and for fertilizer. We also fund a special outreach in
the small village of Busiga located in the Ngozi province
near the border of Rwanda. In this region we minister
to a highly marginalized and disenfranchised pigmy tribe
indigenous to Burundi called the Twa or Batwa. This tribe
is in desperate need of every kind of humanitarian assistance.
Because the government is so poor they are general 'left
out' of even the most basic assistance that the government
provides.
Needs:
- Stability - continued political
stability in the country and of course economic growth.
Also, FHGI, as with any non-profit, needs additional sponsors.
There is a great deal of work that needs to be done. The
financial challenge is always big!
- Prayer Requests - for continued
open doors to Burundi and the stability of the nation;
for the safety of our associates there; and for the continued
growth and development of our outreach there.
Praise:
We pray for and thank God for the leadership of Cottrill,
Arbutina and for their vision and heart to assist us! May
God pour out His Blessings on them in business and family!
| Photo Gallery: |
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| Visiting with children from a
local Christian day care. |
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| Ministering at a church in Muyinga
- a "city" to the northeast of Burundi. |
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| Ministering at a church in the
village of Gatumba. |
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| Ministering on the patio of the
Presidential Palace. The President has a worship service
at his home every Sunday evening for dignitaries and
visitors of state. God only knows how I got invited
to that!!! |
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| Ministering at small house meeting
in Bujumbura. |
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| Ministering at small house meeting
in Bujumbura. |
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| Ministering at small house meeting
in Bujumbura. |
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| Ministering at small house meeting
in Bujumbura. |
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| Training day with group of young
ministers. |
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| "Boys" from the village
of Busiga; near the Twa settlement. Boys will be boys!
They loved the camera but the girls stay away. |
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| The small man in the red sports
coat (Mark is his name) is an elder of the Twa tribe.
One of my truly great privileges was being invited to
come into his grass house. |
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| Sample of a poor Twa grass house.
Not as big as a minivan. |
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| Mark (in sports coat), his family
and his grass house. As a muzungu (white man) it was
an amazing privilege for me to be invited to come into
his house which is right behind him. His family of six
sleep in there, have a spot to boil water, and it is
no bigger than a minivan. |
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| Twa villagers from the village
of Busiga. |
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| Training day with group of young
ministers. |
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| Copyright © 2010
For His Glory International. Used with permission. |
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