I leave for Burundi, Africa on July 23rd for a 2 week mission trip. We will fly out of Orlando on United to Dulles airport and then we take Ethiopian Air to Addis, Ababa. We stay overnight in Addis and then travel to Bujumbura, Burudi.

While there, I will be teaching a 2 day Peacemaking seminar where I will teach a group of pastors principles of conflict resolution. The teaching materials come from Peacemaker Ministries. I was able to have the lesson translated into the native language, which will make it easier for the translators. I have only taught with a translator once before, while in Haiti, and that was a short lesson, so this will be an entirely new experience for me.

We will also be helping stucco some of the new homes that have been built. The photos below show what the mud brick homes look like. During rainy season, these homes do not stand up well to the elements, so our goal is to stucco them with cement to protect them from the rain.

We will also have the opportunity to meet with church leaders, people living in the area, and with some of the government leaders. Our main purpose there is to bring hope to people who represent one of the poorest countries in the world. Burundi is at the bottom of the list in terms of per capita GDP.

I have decided to trust God for my expenses for the trip, which will run about $3000 for the airfare, food, lodging, vaccinations, and other expenses. The airfare alone is $2190. I had planned to use part of my refund from the tax stimulus checks the government is sending out to pay for the airfare. To my surprise, I checked my savings account today, and the IRS deposited $2100 into my account! I don't think it's a coincidence that the amount is almost exactly what I need for airfare.

More importantly, Kim and I have been raising money to pay for the pastor's transportation costs, food, lodging, translation, and conference rental fee for the 2 day conference. The average cost per pastor is $80. So far we have raised over $1400. There is no cap on the number of pastors we can invite, so any additional money that comes in will automatically go toward bringing more pastors to the Peacemaker's Conference.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Peace and blessings,
John