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God is Kind

May 8, 2013 By 1 Comment

ESL/DBS w/Cyabagarura School Teachers

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 Leave a Comment

Seeking Peace in Rwanda

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

Filled with Gratitude

December 16, 2012 By

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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Packing up in Kigali...

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.

Crowsons in Musanze - Fall 2012We’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.

Crowsons in Musanze - Fall 2012We’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.

Crowsons in Musanze - Fall 2012We’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!

crowsons-in-musanze-fall-2012-20We’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

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

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

Disciple Maker Kabeza

June 8, 2011 By

One of our daily prayers in Rwanda is that God would raise up more disciple makers (Luke 10:2b). We praise God for answering this prayer over and over. Here is a story about Ejide, a young man who came to Charles Kabeza (ATN‘s Director) asking to be mentored! Pray for Charles, that he would disciple Ejide to follow Jesus. Pray for Ejide as he seeks to be discipled by a Godly man.

Note from Charles Kabeza

Murphy,

I wanted to share with you a new opportunity that God has put in my way.

Last week I got a call from one young man who is a student at SFB (School of Finance and Banking). This young man is involved in the Xtra Mile Community in Nyamata.

When I met him he told me that he is involved in a Compassion International Program. That program advices them to have a mentor. From our conversation he told me that he has observed what kind of person he may learn from and he found that Karoli (Charles in Kinyarwanda) is the model person for mentoring.

His request is more than what compassion asks them to do but he wants to learn all aspects of life including spiritual.

For now I do not know well his commitment to Jesus but I will. So I wanted to share with you this as my intimate partner to promote DMM.

Please pray for me so that I can be really a good model not only a Christian by name.

Find the picture of Ejide and Kabeza.

Blessings,

Charles Kabeza

Filed Under: Featured, Prayer Answers, Prayer Needs, Rwanda

Praying for Gisenyi Disciple Makers

May 4, 2011 By

Praying for Rwandan Disciple Makers!

Charles Kabeza recently visited Gisenyi, Rwanda to follow up on three disciple makers who are actively involved in starting and leading Discovery Bible Studies. Here is his report… As you read, pray for Innocent, Vedaste and Christine, that the Lord would fill them with the Spirit of Truth and Power as well as wisdom as they make disciples of Jesus. Vedaste and Christine are pictured above…

Vedaste

We had planed to meet  at a college where he introduced the DBS. I met him there and I happened to meet a couple of others who are in that team, unfortunately many of them are still in holidays. But with small number I noticed that their meetings are about reading and studying bible (Vedaste introduced to them the DBS model for studying the Bible).

Christine

Since a couple of days ago, she has been in fasting prayers, so I managed to meet her this morning. My idea was for her to meet with Vedaste and let them know each other. This morning we were so blessed to have a DBS together and remind each other what God is doing in our lives. Christine gave us her testimony how she got to know Jesus and how she commit to serve him. At the end I asked them both to work as a team that is focusing on making Jesus disciples more than promoting this religion than that other.

Innocent

Yesterday I met him, and our conversation was about the progress of putting into practice what he learned in the last DMM (Disciple Making Movements) workshop. He is still confronting with his church leaders who think that his mind is to start a new denomination, yet his desire is about making the youth into a real disciples of Jesus. Though he still invite the youth for soccer every sunday morning and through that soccer some young people changed and get baptized.

I tried to encourage him and let him know that we pray for him. Finally, I asked him to join our team to Sudan and he said that he is interested to that opportunity.

Filed Under: Featured, Missions, Murphy, Prayer, Prayer Needs, Rwanda Tagged With: , , ,

Mama Gasaro – Part Two

April 2, 2011 By

After my visit with Mama Gasaro, the woman who lives across the valley from my house, I talked with some of the orphans in Extra Miles Ministry (a ministry to genocide orphans). Extra Miles started a benevolence committee that meets weekly to help vulnerable women. Mama Gasaro is one of many women who often go to ATN (our local non-profit organization) facilities on Saturday mornings for help and counseling. I asked if one of the orphans on the benevolence committee would accompany me to visit Mama Gasaro. It was decided that Gertrude would go with me. Gertrude is a genocide orphan in her mid-twenties. She attends a university here in Kigali. She is one of seven children in her family, however, her parents and all of her siblings were killed during the genocide.

Gertrude and I set off for the 1 hour walk to Mama Gasaro’s house. We had no way to tell her we were coming, she has no telephone, and I was not entirely certain I would remember the way. I did remember and Mama Gasaro was at home when we arrived. She was distressed because her baby was sick.

The baby has a heart problem and is often sick. We talked about her immediate needs to take care of the baby. Then I asked her if she had any ideas about what she could do to change her current situation. She told us that she wanted to study hairdressing. She had already researched and found a salon where she could study for three months. I asked Gertrude if she thought this was a good idea, she said yes. Gertrude told me that if Mama Gasaro knows hairdressing, she can find a job or perhaps even work out of her home. We prayed together, gave Mama Gasaro some money to take the baby to the doctor and made a plan to go together to the salon the next week.

During the week, I saw Mama Gasaro in my neighborhood. She was there to take the baby to a clinic. We talked for a while and I asked her if she would pray for the following two days. I asked her to ask God to give her an idea of how she could also help pay for the fees to study hairdressings. Her immediate reaction to this request was not positive. She said she had no way of helping. After she calmed, I told her just to ask God and see what happens.

Today Gertrude and I walked across the valley and met Mama Gasaro near the hair salon. Together we went and talked to the owner, a woman named Mama Fredy. Mama Fredy assured me that Mama Gasaro will be able to find a job or at least some clients after she finishes studying. I paid the fee and Mama Gasaro will start tomorrow. On our way back toward the valley, Mama Gasaro told us that she had prayed in the past two day. She told us that the idea God gave her is that after she finishes studying and finds a job, she is to help others. Praise God! I wanted to cry right there on the path. That is the kind of heart we are seeking. I have learned not to get excited early but to keep praying. Time will tell if Mama Gasaro will finish studying, find a job and help others. However, today I am encouraged and feel blessed that mine and Mama Gasaro’s paths have crossed.

Filed Under: Christine, Featured, Rwanda

Mama Gasaro – Part One

March 31, 2011 By

Recently, I met a young woman named Mama Gasaro. She has two daughters, one four year old and a six month old baby. I asked if I could come to her house and visit. We made a plan to meet so she could take me to her house.

When I asked if I could visit her, I assumed she lived in our neighborhood. I was wrong. We met and she was surprised that I wanted to walk to her house. She said it was far. I soon discovered that she lives in another part of town, across the valley from my house. It took us a little more than an hour to get there. I don’t think I would have walked had I known how far away she lived but I am so glad that I did. I have lived in this city for two years and looked out at this valley from my front porch everyday. I have prayed over this valley and this city many times. However, I had never really seen it until the day I walked through it with Mama Gasaro.

During our walk, I saw life in that valley and in her part of town through her eyes. We stopped and greeted women who were hoeing in fields. We greeted two women who were collecting very dirty water from a little stream that runs through the valley. We greeted men and women walking on the road or standing in front of their houses. We passed young men drinking beer in front of small shops tucked between houses. She told me about the schools and churches we passed. We talked about life in Rwanda versus life in America. She was opening my eyes to see life around me in a different way.

We walked and walked until the city started to look like the village and then we were at her house. She lives in a small one room mud brick house. There are maybe four feet between her front door and the back wall of the house in front of hers. She told me that her husband left her when she was three months pregnant with the baby. She has no job, no land to farm, and little hope. She didn’t have to tell me that she felt despair about her future, I felt it for her. How will she provide for her daughters? What about school fees and uniforms? What will she do? We visited for a while and I made a plan to come back and visit her again.

Mama Gasaro walked me part of the way home and as we walked, I watched cars much like mine race by us. How many times have I been the one in my air conditioned car racing past people much like Mama Gasaro, not really seeing them. I decided that I need to get out of my car more often and walk with people. On another walk through the valley to visit Mama Gasaro, a genocide orphan named Gertrude, told me, “When you drive your car you are rich, when you walk, you are one of us”. We all see the world through different sets of lenses. We see through our current circumstances, our experiences and our cultural mindsets. I have prayed many times that God would open the eyes of my heart to see things more clearly. I praise and thank him for this walk through the valley that helped open my eyes.

Filed Under: Christine, Rwanda

China Adoption Update – March 2011

March 1, 2011 By

“Mom, don’t tell me that we’re going to get precious ‘next year,’ I don’t want to hear that any more,” Matthew commented as Christine was discussing our adoption with the boys. Not that Matthew doesn’t what to finally get his baby sister, but rather, stop saying “Maybe next year.” When it happens, it will happen!

Indeed, it has been a long wait and the wait isn’t over! However, we are getting closer to the day when we can bring our Chinese daughter home. Read our China Adoption Page for an overview of our Chinese Adoption Process

In February the CCAA (China’s Adoption Authority) sent referrals for dossiers logged in their system through June 9th, 2006. Our LID (Log In Date) is July 12, 2006.

In essence, we are waiting in a super duper long line. Every 25-40 days the CCAA sends adoption referrals to agencies around the world covering a specific number of days. For example, this last batch of referrals covered six days (June 3 – June 9). Most batches in the past few years only covered 2-4 days. On average, to get through one month’s LIDs it took five to seven months of referral batches?

There are 32 days of LIDs that will receive adoption referrals left ahead of us. We are day 33. So, how much longer do we have to wait? It’s anybodies guess really. If CCAA continues at the pace they maintained over the past three years (average of 4 LIDs per batch in one month’s time) then we just have to do the math and we come up with around eight more months to wait before we get a referral. Of course, this past month the CCAA surprised everyone and sent seven days of LID referrals! If you do the math on that average then it drops our waiting time down to possibly 4-5 months!

Our USCIS paperwork is set to expire for the third time on April 20, 2011. So, we are currently in the process of renewing our police reports, updating our home study and resubmitting FBI fingerprints. Pray that we will be approved again, for the 4th and hopefully last time!

The most stressful part of renewing our paper work has always been submitting our fingerprints for the FBI background check. So, as we ask for prayers that our USCIS paperwork will be re-approved for the fourth time, we specifically ask that you pray that our fingerprints will be successfully resubmitted to the FBI.

We received an email today from the USCIS office in Nairobi saying that they would resubmit our fingerprint cards from two years ago (assuming that they are still on file). This is wonderful news, if it can work out! Let us pray that their efforts will be successful! Otherwise, Christine and I may have to fly to Nairobi, Kenya, make an appointment with the USCIS office and have our fingerprints retaken.

We appreciate so much your patience with our family in this long wait. We truly hope that we will truthfully be able to say to Matthew, “Next year buddy…”

Filed Under: China Adoption, Featured, Murphy, Prayer, Prayer Needs, Rwanda
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