Letter

Earlier today I received a message from a Christian organization listing all the stores that do not wish to say MERRY CHRISTMAS or use the word CHRISTMAS in their promotions... and I was getting very upset and ready to complain to those stores... THEN... I received this message... which reminded me of the real SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS... This is a beautiful letter about Christmas and whoever wrote it is absolutely right! Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Letter from Jesus about Christmas -- 
 


It has come to my attention that many of you are upset because some folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival.

However, I do appreciate being remembered anytime. 
 


How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own.

I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth,just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER. 


Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town. 
 


Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8. 
 


If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list.

Choose something from it: 
 


1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time. 
 


2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them. 
 


3. Instead of writing to the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up.

It will be nice hearing from you again. 
 


4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here.

Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them. 
 


5 Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her. 
 


6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile;

it could make the difference. 
 


7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families 
 


8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name. 
 


9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you. 
 


10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence.

Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.


 
Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court.

And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love

and remember ...


I LOVE YOU, 
 JESUS

“.....for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)

“.....for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)

Dear Family and Friends,

We are thankful and blessed of God to be back in Rwanda at our Rafiki village. Our hearts are filled with joy to see our children, our ROS teammates, and our village national workers. And WOW, the new Dining Hall is nearly finished!

Bev is teaching our three year old Pre-K Class. We continue to be amazed with their increase in learning and use of English. Just recently they have begun to respond to a question in class using a complete sentence. Bev points and asks Olivier “What is this?” He responds, “That is a red triangle.” Correct use of articles and adjectives in English is wonderful progress....not to mention a correct answer........she is estatic!

Ken is catching up with the paperwork and construction projects. He continues to enjoy leading the nationals Bible study each morning.

We arrived in Rwanda on a Thursday and had duty that weekend. The children welcomed us back with a program on Sunday afternoon. What joy filled our hearts to hear these precious children singing hymns and reciting God’s Word.

One week after we returned school break began. We held GAMES (Games, Art, Music, Enrichment and Sports). This included walking to Mama Ronald’s shop to buy a “sweetie” (small candy), marching in our parade, a water race and sidewalk chalk body tracing.

And last, but not least, was shaving cream art!

We have heard God’s call to serve for the next two years in Rwanda with the Rafiki Foundation and we ask for your prayers as we are short of our needed support. We are now at 40% of our total for two years. If God has touched your heart with a burden for these Rwandan orphans and you would like to help keep us on the field in Rwanda, please contact the Rafiki Home Office with your pledge. Our ROS # 176 has to be on the paperwork in order for pledges to be appropriately credited to our account. Thank you for your encouragement as we serve here in Rwanda.

http://www.rafiki-foundation.org/ros/merrill/merrill.html

May the joy of the LORD be your strength.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Joyfully in Christ,

Ken & Bev

Back in Rwanda

Whew, it is so great to be back at the Rafiki Village in Rwanda. What a busy past three months. It was great to visit so many friends and family and meeting new friends along the way, but it was also very busy. We visited 9 States, spread out over the Southeast, Northwest and Northeast. Gave over 35 Rafiki presentations, slept in over 20 different beds and drove & flew thousands of miles. Of course we ate some of the greatest food, and that cost us a few extra pounds we brought back with us. As much as I like and enjoy the food in Rwanda and other places we have been blessed to visit. There is nothing like the diversity of food and unique flavors you can get in the United States.

We just can not thank everyone enough for everything you did for us while we were with you. Sharing your homes with us, setting up meetings with friends and church presentations, taking us to a beautiful Florida beach, rearranging your schedules to spend time with us. Providing a vehicle for us the whole time we were in Maine. Your hospitality was a true blessing to

us and will be long remembered and appreiciated. Even though schedules were hectic at times and we had no idea how the next event would take place, our very good friends' advice of "fun first", is great advice for all of us. "Fun first" is not an activity but an attitude of gratitude in what ever situation you find yourself. So thanks Jewel, for advice with the wisdom of Solomon behind it.

We were blessed to stay in some of the most beautiful settings that you can imagine. We never stop being amazed at God' creation and the goodness of His people.

We have been back in Rwanda for about a week now and it is a joy to be back with the children and our Rafiki team-mates. We arrived just in time to say good-bye to Cricket as she flew off to South Africa for some R & R with friends and family. And this week Annie flew out to spend a couple weeks with her family in Texas. We pray they both will get some much needed rest and return to us fresh and uplifted.

Rafiki Village Rwanda got it's first big rain last night, the past four months have been very dry. For the past couple of weeks we have received a few small showers of 1/8" to 1/4", but last night it rained for four or five hours and dropped a good 2". Even the small showers were helping to turn our village from brown to green, but last nights' rain will soak in and really make things grow. Bev and I are looking forward to having a garden this season and enjoying the fruits of our labor at the dinner table, thanks to those who generously gave us vegetable seeds to bring back with us. Of course with the rain come the bugs. Our porch and entryway was littered with flying insect wings and ants this morning. Thank the Lord for our screens and fairly tight doors, they do a marvelous job of keeping most of the critters outside.

The construction on our dining hall is coming along very well. We are praying we can occupy it by the first week of November. That will free up our Guest House for MiniMissionaries to come to Rafiki Village Rwanda. We would love to see you and have you visit us here, to work and play with the children and just enjoy the country of Rwanda. If you are thinking you might like to come to Rwanda please contact our Rafiki Home Office in the Orlando Florida area at 352-483-9131 or visit the web site at www.rafiki-foundation.org and click on the "Get Involved" link. You can also read our past newsletters from the web site, click on the "Where We Are" link and then Rwanda.

Thanks again to all of you for all your help, prayers and support.

Family Time

We are in Portland Oregon with all the kids and having a wonderful time with them all. Was able to spend a few days at the coast in Lincoln City. It was chilly and foggy most of the time, but we had a very nice place to stay and had a great time just hanging out and walking on the beach. Portland was in the mid to upper 90's and at the coast it was in the 50's and 60's with a strong wind most of the time. It was hard to believe there was that much of a temperature change in that distance.

On Sunday we were able to drive down to Salem and attend church with Hokie. We were able to share a little about Rafiki and their work in Africa with h

is Sunday School class. It was a wonderful time of worship with the fellowship at Salem First Baptist. In the afternoon we met with Josh and Heather Dunn, who are leaving soon for missionary training in North Carolina. It was wonderful to see their excitement and how the Lord is leading in their lives.

This week has been even hotter in Portland. It seems strange to come from Africa and be hotter here than there. We are blessed to serve in Rwanda. Where the days will be in the upper 80's and the in the sun it is hot, but if you can get into some shade with a little breeze, it is comfortable. And it will cool off during the nights to the low 60's by morning. We were so hot that we got a hotel room for a couple days so we can all enjoy the pool. It is like another mini vacation and fun to watch Audrey in the pool.

We have so enjoyed our time with all the kids and of course Audrey is such a delight.

Here we are

Bev and I are back on USA soil. In Florida at Rafiki's home office for meetings all next week. It is a long flight from Rwanda to Florida, but we praise the Lord we made it with all our bags and are not having hardly any problem with the jet lag. Although it is great to be in the US again, I can not help but think of what we left behind. Not that, our leaving will stop any of the work, our more than capable team is carrying on and will do a great job. I just miss Rwanda, the people and especially the children. Of course, we are sitting in a hotel room 3000 miles away from the family we want to see.

We have much to do while we are here on furlough for the next 3 months. Traveling to three corners of the USA, raising support in order to return to Rwanda for another two years. God has blessed us with the oppotunity to help orphans in Rwanda to a new life, to a wonderful Christian education, to become productive members of their country and most importantly to learn and trust in the Word of God.

Our Rafiki Village Rwanda now has 16 children and will soon be receiving 3 more. They are all precious gifts of God. I wish you could all see come see them, how God is teaching them and how they are teaching us. If you would like to have a life changing experience, contact the Rafiki Home Office in Eustis Fl, ask about a MiniMissions trip, at 352 483-9131 or go to the web site
http://www.rafiki-foundation.org/ros/merrill/merrill.html
If you can not come to Rwanda Africa yourself but would like to help with a monetary gift, again call or go to the web site and ask about helping support Ken and Bev Merrill, ROS 176. Another way to help is supporting a child at the village or helping with a construction project. There are many ways to help, even if you can not physically come to Rwanda.

The Grand BBQ

We have wanted to do something for all our workers for sometime and just could not think of what that might be. Well, last week we put together a BBQ Rwandan style. Goat brochettte and roasted green bananas and Fanta. Fanta is a generic name for all soft drinks. There is a very limited selection of soft drinks in Rwanda, all Coke products. We have Coke, Sprite, Fanta Orange and Fanta Citris. They all come in 30 cl bottles, in a few of the up scale stores you can now get Coke light in a can, but it is expensive.

First I had to buy two goats, which we promptly named "Medium" and "Rare". This , of course was a real big hit with the ladies at the village -not. In fact, some decided not to eat after they saw them tied up enjoying their last meal. After the meat was taken care of I purchased two large stocks of green bananas and a couple cases of mixed "Fantas." OK, we had the fix'ins now we needed the butcher, the mason to build the grill, the fire starter (which is an art in itself with local charcoal), and of course the cook. As it came to pass (I borrowed that line), God provided Janvier, our gardener. Who, as it turns out, seems to be able to do just about everything. The rest of the boys and I pitched in, but Janvier was the hero of the BBQ.

We built the grill out of some left over cement building blocks, roofing metal and rat wire screening. Janvier and crew went off to prepare the goats, while we continued to put finishing touches on the grill. This grill was a masterpiece, a three tier affair. The meat cooking grill was on the top, with the charcoal fire under that and could be feed from the opening in the back side. On this view side the mid section was for roasting the bananas under the fire pit and the very bottom was a warming oven. I take no credit for the design, it was purely Rwandan and worked great.

Since I have been in Rwanda I have eaten in many places and eaten many things that I would have never even imagined I would eat before coming here. I have even eaten their "special" Brochette, once. But let me tell you there is no waste with these guys. I will spare you the pictures but they clean and boil the intestines and about everything else that comes out of that critter. Then they somehow tie all those loose parts together and put them on a skewer to roast. AS I said I had already tried those once, and did not think I needed another round. The regular goat brochette was very good I do not know all the stuff they rubbed and socked into them but they were very tasty. As expected some parts were a little chewier than others, but it was very good. They also had some sauce they brush onto the bananas, with an old paint brush I think, that was very good also.

But the coup-de-gras was when they drank the liquid from the boiling pot. I drew my line in the sand on that one. No thank you very much.

The Mother's and children came up to enjoy it, I was surprised how the children went for those brochette. We feed nearly 70 people counting the children. What a great day and what great people to share it with.

When I was growing up in Maine one of the highlights every year was going to deer camp in the fall. Dad, Gramps and usually a couple other families all gathered at this small cabin up on the mountain behind our farm. There was a log book there that everyone wrote in everytime we went. The end of nearly everyones entry was, "and a good time was had by all." God bless, go out and have a great time with folks you enjoy being with.

Good day - even got some exercise.

This has been a great day in that we have our NGO paperwork renewal finalized, signed stamped and delivered. Annie's car paperwork has been approved by everyone with enough signatures and stamps on it to pass for a UN treaty. She is purchasing her insurance today and should pick up the car tomorrow. The crew was here today installing our satellite internet dish. Waiting now for the cement to dry for the support pole and they will set the dish tomorrow. I am praying for the service to be up and running tomorrow night. We are down to our last few children to do intitial interviews on for this first round, they will be completed before we leave on furlough. PTL.... All of our paperwork has been approved and the childrens lists will be completed.

Then this morning Sam and I went to one of the sectors to drop off blank forms for children interviews. It was quite a ways out and had to be back at the village to meet with the internet guys. Things were clicking right along, submitted our payroll to the bank paid the water bill and employee taxes then drove out to the Mwogo Sector office. God must have thought that these two guys have been eating to many brochettes lately and need a little exrecise. As we got out of the vehicle at the Sector office we could hear the sound of rushing air and the wind was calm. Right rear tire was going flat very quickly, oh well, we will change it after we give the papers to the social affairs officer. The spare tire is locked on to the rear carrier to prevent theft, great idea, except the key was a remake and was made of plastic i think. Luckily we stopped before breaking it off in the lock. Then we looked for the jack and wrench, no jack and the none of the ends of the 4-way would fit. So we started walking , it's about 10.5 km, but I was steam propelled by this time. Called Bev to see if someone could come out to get us, and everyone was busy and our car had a dead battery. Bev borrowed a car and met us on the road. We got about 3 km of exercise, which, as it turned out, was just enough to cool me down. Back to the village and picked up a jack and lug wrench, a good metel key, plus one of the guys to come along to help. Bev had to take care of things at the kitchen. Back to the truck and changed the tire with no problems, then back to the village to pick up Bev as none of our guys have drivers licenses and back to the truck. The local folks must have thought these muzugos had gone mad. They hardly ever see a white person out there and then to have them drive and walk back and forth a half dozen times in about 3 hours must have been the talk of the town. As it worked out, the satellite installers were also running late so we all got to the village at the same time.