Mama No Leave

May 9, 2013 By Murphy Crowson 6 Comments

The last three weeks have been very challenging with RaeAn. We think it started when RaeAn’s “baby baba” finally went bad and we stopped her bottle three times a day. For the first week after she “quit” she just wasn’t her sweet, normal self. She started to have more temper tantrums, more anger and exhibit extreme frustration with an increasing separation anxiety. Her latest phrase is:

Mama No Leave!

She found the story in her children’s Bible where Moses’ mother had to put her baby in the river and got very upset saying, “Mama sad, Mama sad.”

While watching a Winnie the Pooh video where the Mama Elephant lost her baby, RaeAn got so upset at the story that she had to turn it off.

Yesterday she brought in a big stuffed rabbit and a little stuffed rabbit and said, “Mama Rabbit, Baby Rabbit. Mama no leave.”

Since the day RaeAn went to live with her foster mother after she was found at the orphanage until recently she’s been on a bottle three times a day. We wonder if the loss of this comfort that she’s had these past few years has triggered this increased sense of anxiety and fear that Christine is going to leave.

This week is much better than the first but she still cries and asks for her “baby baba” sometimes. Even toddlers mourn and experience the feelings of loss. And RaeAn has experienced more lost than most at her age.

Join us as we pray for RaeAn, that God will comfort her heart and let her know that truly, Mama No Leave. Even more so, God No Leave. Pray also for Christine, she’s exhausted…

Thank you again for your prayers for our family, life and ministry this week in Rwanda. God is listening and He is answering!

Filed Under: Christine, Murphy, Pictures, Prayer Needs, RaeAn Li

God is Kind

May 8, 2013 By Murphy Crowson 1 Comment

Tuesday afternoons are turning into one of the highlights of my week as I work with 12-16 School teachers from the Cyabagarura Secondary School. We are using a Discovery Bible Study (DBS) process as we help them improve their English. It’s exciting to see their English improve each week. But more importantly, I love watching the Holy Spirit bring the Word to life.

In a DBS we always ask these three questions:

What does this teach us about God?
What does this teach us about mankind?
What does this teach you about you?

Here are some of the “takeaways” that the teachers shared yesterday from Genesis 3:14-24 (in their words):

God is powerful.
Respecting my husband comes from God.
Pain in birth is normal.
I must work.
Sin is the reason we have pain.
God makes judgements.
We came from dust. We will return to dust.
We must be humble and live simple lives.
We must choose between good and bad things.
We must pray for women when they give birth.
Nothing in life is free.
God is kind. Even though Adam and Eve sinned, he still made and gave them clothes to wear.
There are many obstacles against men.
It teaches me to obey.
As a teacher I must work hard.
One person’s sin can bring suffering to others.
I need to increase love for others.
We must fight bad actions.
We must judge whether something is good or bad.

When we let the Holy Spirit do the teaching look what amazing truths come forth from the Word of God! There’s no way that I could have covered all of those topics had I been “teaching” them. Rather, I was the facilitator, the Holy Spirit was the teacher, and the source was the Word. We also had fun learning English as well!

Thank you for praying for this ESL/DBS each Tuesday. Pray that out of this group of teachers God will open our eyes to see the people of peace He’s raising up to transform their families and communities.

Filed Under: Crowsons, Murphy, Pictures, Prayer, Prayer Answers, Prayer Needs, Rwanda

Seeking Peace

May 1, 2013 By Murphy Crowson Leave a Comment

19 Years

This past month marked 19 years since the Rwandan Genocide. We were invited by the ATN-Rwanda Xtra Mile Community to participate in a memorial ceremony held on April 7th. We joined thousands of others (pictured above) in a long walk to the genocide memorial in Busoga. There, we watched as they buried more bones discovered in the past year from the genocide and listened to speeches and songs written to help us remember. As we sat, women on my left and behind me were sobbing deeply. As their heads leaned against my shoulders I could feel their bodies shaking with grief as the tears came and came. I can’t imagine the horror they were remembering. My hope and prayer is that our presence and our prayers can be a part of their healing.

Seeking Peace

Jeremiah 29:7 is taking on new significance for us in Rwanda.

Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.

We are discovering that “seeking” peace involves praying for and working towards peace. We believe that long-lasting healing will come if Rwanda is blessed with long-lasting peace. Today, join us in prayer as we seek peace and healing for Rwanda.

Reach Few to Reach Many

We continue to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to raise up more disciple makers in Rwanda who will connect their families and communities to the Word of God and to Jesus.

One Disciple Making Movement (DMM) principle is:

Reach few to reach many…

As we have prayed these past few years for God to lead us to people of peace, we expected to experience a constant flow of new people of peace in our lives. However, we are realizing that we have to disciple, coach and mentor the ones He’s already brought us into relationship with rather than just constantly seeking new ones! Isn’t that the example Jesus provided? He ministered to multitudes but focused his discipling efforts on a few.

With this new insight, we are now focusing our prayers and discipling efforts on a handful of men and women God has led us to these past few years. Our prayers continue for God to raise up more disciple makers, but we are asking God to raise them up not for us but for those whom God has put us in relationship with. Please join us in prayer for these twelve people, that God would help us pass along what we have learned from the Word and that God would lead each of them to five people of peace whom they can coach, mentor and train in disciple making. Their names are listed throughout the week in our daily prayer targets.

Our family is doing well in answer to your prayers. We are so grateful for the abundance of blessings the Lord is lavishing upon us through you; our family, friends, supporters and prayer warriors!

Making Disciples and Seeking Peace in Rwanda,

Murphy and Christine Crowson

Filed Under: Crowsons, Missions, Pictures, Prayer, Prayer Needs, Rwanda

Still the Light

December 21, 2012 By Murphy Crowson

Merry Christmas from Rwanda! We’re enjoying having my mother, Judith, and my Aunt Rosanne with us this Holiday Season. This year, we have a special guest as you can see in the picture above:) As we celebrate the birth of Jesus in Rwanda, we are reminded that He is the Light and the great Healer. There is evil and darkness in this world which seeks to destroy the beauty of all that God created. But Jesus’ birth opened the door for healing, re-creation and victory over the darkness. We celebrate the hope of new creation this season as we remember the love that God lavished upon us in Christ.

We were encouraged by the following story and thought we would share. Blessings to all this Christmas Season!

In the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT

T’was eleven days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven’s gate.
their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.
they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
they were filled with such joy, they didn’t know what to say.
they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day. ”where are we?” asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
“this is heaven.” declared a small boy. “we’re spending Christmas at God’s house.”
when what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
those children all flew into the arms of their King
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus’ face.
and as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, “I’ll take care of mom and dad.”
then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
“Let My power and presence re-enter this land!”
“may this country be delivered from the hands of fools”
“I’m taking back my nation. I’m taking back my schools!”
then He and the children stood up without a sound.
“come now my children, let me show you around.”
excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
and I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
“in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT.”

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, Pennsylvania

Filed Under: Christine, Crowsons, Murphy, Pictures, RaeAn Li, Stephen & Matthew

20 Years of Marital Bliss!

December 19, 2012 By Murphy Crowson

On December 19th, 1992, I married a wonderful and beautiful woman and the last twenty years have been filled with all kinds of adventures and blissful happiness! I can’t imagine my life without her or the family that God has given us. I thank God for my soul-mate and am so thankful to share my life with her.

I’m also thankful for the heritage of faith that both sets of our parents passed on to us. A spiritual heritage that we are passing on to our children as well. Thank you mom and dad, and Milton and Judy for your faithful obedience to Jesus! We are reaping the blessings of your faith and service!

My only regret from this day……….those glasses! Hey, what can I say? That was the style back then and she married me anyway:)

Filed Under: Christine, Crowsons, Murphy

Filled with Gratitude

December 16, 2012 By Murphy Crowson

Happy Holidays from Rwanda! Our family is so thankful for your continued prayers for us these past few months as we settled into our new home and life in Musanze. We prayed for years that God would prepare us to live and serve in this valley and these past few months we’ve experienced evidence of his going before us to prepare the way. Be sure to see the slideshow below with lots of pictures!

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On August 3, we finished packing our things in Kigali in the morning, traveled to Musanze and then unloaded the truck in the afternoon. We’re only two hours north of where we were in Kigali, but moving a family was just as challenging! I forgot about all of the physical and emotional stress that this kind of transition brings on. Now, months later, we are “recovered” and getting used to our new life here.

We’re thankful for our new landlord, Jean Baptist Twahirwa, who went far beyond the call of duty to prepare a special place for our family to live. He’s not just a landlord, but a new friend. We’ve already been blessed with a meal at his home and were introduced to many of his family members.

We’re thankful for Eliezer and Seraphine and their 9 kids! (pictured in the middle below to the right of Nsenga and his family) Eliezer is my language helper and Seraphine helps Christine in our home. They quickly began introducing us to their friends and neighbors and have been a “key” that is helping us open many doors of opportunity for friendships in our community.

We’re thankful for Nsenga who watches out for our home, spends a lot of time teaching RaeAn Kinyarwanda and introducing her to the kids in our community (pictured far left). He lives 2 hours away by bicycle on the side of Muhabura volcano (extinct ). We were blessed last month to visit his family “on the mountain” and meet his mother, brother and grandparents.

We’re thankful to be with the Miller family (pictured below right) whom we’ve known for almost 12 years now. The Millers worked among the Kabiye people of northern Togo while we worked with the Watchi people in the south. Over the years our paths crossed many times as country teammates. Now we’re excited to be working with them together in the same place! They have four children, Abby, Aiden, Asher and Anna Marie.

We’re thankful to have Julie Reagan and Meredith Gravatte here as teammates and teachers. Together, with the Millers, we created the Virunga Valley Christian Academy where the kids from our two families are going to school. Julie and Meredith are doing a great job providing a challenging and supportive learning environment. Our school is already growing as we are planning to add two more students and another teacher in January. At that time the school will have seven grade levels! A special thank you to the churches and friends that support our families in this way!

We’re thankful for new partnerships between ATN-Rwanda and two schools in our community, Regina Pacis and Group Scholare Cyabagarura. Christine is pictured left with Claudette teaching English to preschoolers at Regina Pacis. We prayed for open doors where we could serve the communities here and God led us to these two schools. Not only are we finding opportunities to serve, we are getting to know and are becoming a part of the communities and families that the schools serve.

As we visit and become friends with more and more families here in Musanze, we continue to pray that God will lead us to “families of peace” who are hungry for spiritual transformation in their homes, communities and nation. To find these families, we are serving in every opportunity the Lord gives us, investing in new friendships in our community, prayer walking through Musanze’s neighborhoods and doing our best to be salt and light everywhere we go and with everyone we meet.

Thank you for praying so faithfully for us. God is listening and He is answering. May our Holiday Season be filled with joy and thanksgiving as we remember the abundant love our Creator has lavished upon us!

Filed Under: Christine, Crowsons, Missions, Murphy, Pictures, Prayer, Prayer Answers, Prayer Needs, RaeAn Li, Rwanda, Stephen & Matthew

Generations of Disciples

November 11, 2012 By Murphy Crowson

Jesus focused on making disciples. He did not come to start a religion or institution. ~ Aila Tassé

In September, our home became a gathering place as Asiel, Charlotte, Christine (from Gisenyie pictured far left) and Janet arrived from opposite parts of Rwanda for a day of spiritual encouragement, mentoring and a Discovery Bible Study (DBS). In October this group met again except that another person was added, Janvier, a girl from Gisenyi who is being discipled by Janet and Christine (from Gisenyi). That day, four generations of disciples met in our home for prayer, a dbs and spiritual encouragement.

As Aila mentioned above, we are not here to begin another religion or form another Christian institution. Rather, our focus in Rwanda is making disciples who make disciples who make disciples. So, you can imagine our joy, as we see multiple generations of disciples becoming disciple makers.

When I think about our role here in Rwanda, I think of yeast. God is slowly and gradually mixing us into people’s lives, family by family, community by community, to be light and salt. As our relationships deepen, we are seeing God use us to mold and shape people’s faith. It’s slow in the beginning (and we’re still in the beginning) but as more and more disciples obey Jesus, they will make more and more disciples.

Join us today as we pray for God to initiate a movement of Jesus followers who transform their families and communities as they discover and experience God’s Abundant Love and Grace.

Filed Under: Missions, Rwanda

A Place Where God’s Name is Honored

October 16, 2012 By Murphy Crowson

Greetings from Ruhengeri, Musanze, Rwanda! This past August our family successfully transitioned from Rwanda’s capital city of Kigali to Musanze (formerly Ruhengeri) in the north west part of the country. As we settle into our life and home here we are working hard to become a part of our new community through language learning and relationship building. Our prayer is that God will use us to be catalysts for community transformation.

Reflections from Nehemiah 1

When people talk about community building, community development or community transformation, they often turn to Nehemiah to gain insight and inspiration. Recently, as I was reflecting on Nehemiah Chapter 1, several things stood out to me.

Jeremiah was curious to know how those in Jerusalem were doing. He was concerned about their welfare and sought out information. He wasn’t a citizen of Jerusalem and we don’t think that he’d even been there before, yet he was concerned. Transformational leaders don’t just care about their own well-being. They are also concerned about the well-being of outside communities, cities and nations. Our love for Rwandans will push us to consider not our own needs and struggles but also those in the community in which we are living.

I also asked myself why he wept and mourned for a people he didn’t know and a place he hadn’t seen? Perhaps, his heart was broken simply because of the suffering of God’s people. It seems that this news from Jerusalem came as a total shock to him, having not been aware of the desolate state of Jerusalem and it’s people. But once he was aware, his heart was led to compassion. The more we get to know our community, it’s brokenness, suffering and need, the more our hearts long for transformation and renewal.

It was also interesting to me that following his mourning his heart turned to confession, not only of the sins of the nation, but his own sins and even the sins of his own family. “I confess that I have sinned against you.” I’ve heard it said many times that transformation begins with self. So does confession. Why should he feel guilty for the sins of others? He realized that he too was also unrighteous.

As I reflect on the suffering in Rwanda, my heart too is sick. Why was I spared the horror that Rwandans experienced? I have never suffered as they have suffered. Perhaps part of Nehemiah’s pain was the realization that it could have just as easily been himself and his family who experienced the destruction of their home and nation. Yet, he was spared as I and my family have been spared.

Finally, Nehemiah reminds us that Jerusalem was the place God had chosen for His name to be honored. Yet, it’s current state was no longer bringing honor to God. When people hear the name “Rwanda,” almost without question they think of the 1994 genocide. An event that reminds them of darkness and brings no honor to God.

Today though, Rwandans are writing a new, future story for their nation. We are praying that this new story will overshadow and even replace the dark history so that when people think of Rwanda, God will be honored. We are praying for a spiritual revival that recaptures the hearts and minds of the nation. A discipleship movement that wipes away the tears, heals the wounds and unites the people.

RaeAn is pictured above during a visit to Emmanueli Nsengimana’s home, one of our new friend’s in Musanze. You can see RaeAn holding the hand of his newborn son, Aimé (French name for “Beloved” or “To Love”). Perhaps the new story we are praying for will be written by the new generations represented in this picture as God raises them up. New generations who will write love, joy, unity, righteousness, truth and peace into the future story of Rwanda.

God had chosen Jerusalem to be a place where His name would be honored. Join us as we pray asking God to choose the city of Ruhengeri, the valley of Musanze and the nation of Rwanda as places where His name will be honored.

Filed Under: Growing Spiritually, Leadership, Murphy, Prayer Needs, Rwanda

China Adoption: Adopted Again!

May 24, 2012 By Murphy Crowson

On October 11th, RaeAn was granted her U.S. Certificate of Citizenship (COC) and her immigration to the United States was complete! We thank God for this answered prayer and are so thankful that this immigration journey finally came to a wonderful close! After her certificate was presented to us I was able to ask the USCIS agent about the upcoming changes that we had been hearing about for so long (the ones that caused us so much anxiety!) She said that there were going to be changes and in fact we were one of the last families to be able to process their N600K (application for Certificate of Citizenship for a citizen living abroad) at their office in Honolulu! That month, October, was going to be the last month that they would be allowed to accept and process applications. When I think about the providential timing and answered prayers to so many specific dates, [Read more...]

Filed Under: China Adoption, Prayer, Prayer Answers, RaeAn Li

China Adoption: USCIS Appointment

October 7, 2011 By Murphy Crowson

Last Wednesday (September 28, 2011), our guide delivered Raean’s US Passport with her IR3 Immigrant visa to our hotel. On Thursday morning we set off on our journey to Honolulu, Hawaii via Seoul, Korea. The journey was long and wore us out! I do want to say though that in my last 20 years of international travel I have never experienced better customer service than with Korean Airlines! I wish they flew to Africa from the States! When Stephen was throwing up during the night due to motion sickness they took care of our every need! They didn’t treat us as “customers” but as friends. So thankful for their service, care and attention! They also took great care of Raean and made sure we had bassinet seats and everything else we needed to take care of her.

After we arrived at the Honolulu airport (9am) we proceeded to immigration where the officer said, “Are you the family we’re supposed to ‘expedite’? We loved the sound of that! “Yes!” we replied. He told us he would make sure the USCIS got our file that day.

We rushed to get a car rental, find a bite to eat and then make photocopies of adoption paperwork in preparation for our appointment that after noon at 1:30 with the USCIS office downtown. I was only 10 minutes late after trying to find the office! I paid the N600K fee, submitted all supporting documents and then the immigration officer said that we probably needed to redo Raean’s passport photos (we had taken extras in China in prep for this appointment but the color was faded). I didn’t have Raean with me and their office was closing. So, that meant another trip into town on Friday to have her passport photos retaken and submitted. At this point, we had done all we could do. Now it was time to wait.

Yesterday (Thursday, October 6, 2011) the USCIS office called (and emailed) us our interview appointment date and time! We are hoping that this means THERE ARE NO PROCEDURAL CHANGES in the Certificate of Citizenship application process for us and that next Tuesday, October 11th, we’ll be able to complete the interview and receive her CoC.

In the last week we’ve been working on four paperwork issues at once and have made numerous trips to OfficeMax for copying, scanning and emailing:

Certificate of Citizenship: We now have an appointment for 10/11/2011 for an interview.
1st Post Adoption Report (PAR) for China: Our first PAR is due October 31st which means that we had to find an accredited Social Worker in the Ft. Worth area to visit us while we are in Texas and do a “home” visit and prepare all of the necessary documents to file our 1st PAR. To begin the process we had to fill out more paperwork and submit it to the agencies office in Austin, Texas (via email)
IMG Health Insurance: We were able to file the application and medical records this week and IMG already granted her Health Insurance Certificate adding her to our family insurance. They even back dated her coverage to the day she was adopted in China!
Re-Adoption in the US: We were able to file the necessary application forms and supporting documents with a law firm in Ft. Worth to “Re-Adopt” Raean in the US and get a court date for October 21st with the Tarrant County Court to complete the process. This will ensure that in US legal terms, she’s our adopted daughter! When the process is finished, we will have a US Adoption Certificate definitively stating that she’s our daughter! Here’s the legal wording that will be in the court document that we just love:

IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that Petitioners’ request to adopt the child in the United States be, and it hereby is, granted; that the name of the child be, and hereby is, RAEAN LI CROWSON; and that the parent-child relationship exists under Texas law between the child, RAEAN LI CROWSON, and Petitioners, MURPHY ATHEL CROWSON and CHRISTINE CAROL LANGSTON CROWSON, as if such child had been born to Petitioners.

If/When we receive Raean’s CoC next Tuesday, the next “filing” will be for her US Passport in Honolulu.

In-between all of this paperwork we have been able to enjoy several days at the beach, 2 snorkeling trips, a Hawaiian Luau, a visit to the USS Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbor and lots of swimming:) We’ve also enjoyed having Papa and Mama Dear (my parents) here with us as we continue to “bond” with Raean as a family.

We have had a few challenges in Paradise though…. The traffic in souther Oahu is TERRIBLE! One day we spent over 3 1/2 hours in traffic! Can you imagine my frustration! Raean DOES NOT LIKE BEING CONSTRICTED IN A CAR SEAT! Every car trip is fill with lots of tears crying for mama to rescue her! This is one active little girl that does not like to be tied down! On day three of our car rental this parking lot post/column jumped out of the ground and hit our car on the driver’s side causing some significant cosmetic damage! Did you know that Hawaiian parking lot columns are ALIVE! So glad we bought collision insurance. Lots more paperwork now though filing the claim. I joked that as we were coming to an end of our adoption paperwork that I was subconsciously looking for more! NOT!

We appreciate your prayers for our paperwork processing to much. It’s all coming together at once! If all goes as planned, expected and hoped, we will have Raean’s Certificate of Citizenship next Tuesday, apply for her US Passport that same day (with a two-day turnaround) and then leave for DFW next Friday night! We’ll let you know how things go!

Filed Under: China Adoption, Crowsons, Pictures, Prayer, Prayer Answers, Prayer Needs, RaeAn Li

China Days 8, 9 & 10: U.S. Consulate

September 26, 2011 By Murphy Crowson

We took the immigrant oath on RaeAn's behalf in fulfillment of the US Immigration requirements.

Last Friday, after getting RaeAn’s passport, we boarded a plane for Guangzhou, China. Our flight was super easy and RaeAn did great! She played, took her bottle and slept the entire trip without a single tear! We thought the altitude would hurt her ears, but evidently it didn’t!

As we exited baggage claim we were met by our new guide, Elvan. He’s hilarious! We have been laughing at this jokes and stories since we first met! When he was in school, he tells the story of how his English teacher wrote 45 English names on the board for the students to choose from. Peter, Paul, John, etc. Unfortunately, he was sitting in the back. So by the time it was his turn all that was left was “Elvan.” So, he’s been Elvan for the past 15 years!

Saturday morning our family went to a medical clinic where RaeAn had a Medical Exam in preparation for the US Consulate appointment. Saturday afternoon, Elvan and the guys spent two hours going over our paperwork to make sure every little detail was perfect.

Sunday we visited another Buddhist temple where Elvan explained that for the majority of Chinese people, Buddhism is more “tradition” than it is “religion.” We saw lots of people burning incense and praying to the different Buddha statues. Elvan mentioned that for most people there, they were just going through the motions as they have specific needs in their lives. Made me wonder how often we just “go through the motions” of worship on Sundays because of our Christian worship traditions. Is that what our God wants from us? It’s a far cry from loving God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength…. Something to think about for sure.

Sunday night we enjoyed dinner at Burger King! Yum, yum:)

Monday morning we went to the US Consulate (along with dozens of other families adopting from China) to finalize adoption paperwork and take the “Immigrant Oath.” The consular said everything was in order! RaeAn’s US IR3 Visa will be ready tomorrow! For those who have been following our adoption journey from the beginning, this was THE DAY that all of the paperwork was for! All the notaries, authorizations, home studies, fingerprinting, payments, applications, etc. were in preparation for this day! Hip, hip, hooray!

We’ll get her Chinese passport back tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday) and then Wednesday is a “free day”. Thursday we leave for Honolulu and more USCIS paperwork processing! Still praying that proposed changes in the Certificate of Citizenship application process won’t take effect until AFTER RaeAn’s CoC is completed….

It’s been one week since they first put RaeAn in our arms and everyday just gets better and better. She’s such a bundle of sweetness and joy! She’s bonding well with all of us, something we are VERY thankful for!

There’s one other thing I’d like to mention…When we first received her medical report at the time of her referral, it noted that she was “Active.” Oh my goodness, this baby is ALWAYS ON THE MOVE!!! The only time she’s still is when she’s asleep:) Go, go girl!

Posted more pictures… Enjoy:)