Love in Action May Newsletter

Discipleship Group

Ministry in Africa gets more joyful when you see faith and love put into action. My ministry at Gitega International Academy has focused much on putting faith and love in action. We started our ‘Love in Action’ by going to serve at the Homes of Hope (Orphanage). It has been so rewarding to see our students who are almost exclusively  from affluent families, enjoying to serve the less fortunate, and do it joyfully.

So far we have done love in action in a bit more safe and familiar place such as Homes of Hope, which is also run by Youth For Christ. But tomorrow will be different as we will be serving beggars on the streets.

Discipleship Group

We have been meeting for about two months now with my discipleship group of 24 students. I have challenged these students to live out their faith and to be sacrificial. Tomorrow, Saturday morning we will go with the 24 students and about 8 staff and volunteers to serve beggars on the street. We will cook beans and rice and we will also provide them with bread.

One thing that is neat about this project is that the students and staff have all embraced the idea and have joined in the sacrificial participation. Students and staff have given up their breakfast bread in order to serve the bread to the beggars. Staff and volunteers have contributed their own money to buy rice, beans, cooking oil, salt, plates, cups, rental pots, and other items.

I have asked one of my discipleship student to preach a sermon as the beggars can only be addressed in Kirundi as most of them are unschooled. I also asked one of our staff to share the gospel. As we have prepared ourselves for this ministry to the less fortunate, we know the devil is not happy. This is why dear friends and partners, we need your prayers. Please pray that the sharing of food with the beggars will minister to all who will come. Pray even more that God’s kingdom will be more populated tomorrow as sinners get saved.

God has been so good to us and has given us favour. More students are giving their lives to Christ and having real tangible transformed lives. One of the house parents told me, pastor, whatever you are doing, keep doing it. Lives are being changed In a very surprising way. He said your discipleship team has made students come together 2 days a week and all the 24 students praying together. Parents are testifying to the change in their children. Glory is not mine but God’s.

Please pray as well for this one big need, a baptism service. After many of our students received Christ, a student came to me and asked to be baptized; we decided to think about the possibility of baptizing students who have clearly placed their faith in Christ. Today and tomorrow, the Burundi Youth for Christ Board is discussing the possibility of allowing baptism at Gitega International Academy. The BYFC National Director told me today that they will be discussing about baptism at GIA. He said, you know you guys from Canada and USA, it is easy to decide to do the baptism and just do it. But here in Burundi, we have so many things we have to consider and to examine the possibility. It is surely different here than it is in Canada. So please pray that we get the go ahead to baptize these students who are so eager to publicly declare their allegiance to Christ. Please pray that Christ culture will be valued above the local culture and yet that we will still be respect to the local culture.

Thank you for your prayers, support and partnership in God’s ministry with us. Just as Paul thanked God for the Philippians, we thank God for you for your partnership with us. We thank you from deep down our hearts.

Winning Poster

Students checking out the posters

Condom Education

Please pray also for Darla for strength as she is more than over-loaded with overwhelming number of sick students and even staff. The last 2 days she has been seeing sick students the moment she put her feet into the school and she had to force her way out as the students kept coming up to her way out of the doors. Please pray that the current outbreak of the virus will go away as soon as possible. We have been teaching some half full classes due to sickness.

No More Teen Pregnancy

HIV/AIDS in Africa

Darla has been working on a poster project with the students almost since we arrived at GIA. April 30 we had the deadline for the GIA school project to be done. It was a challenge as the students started from not even knowing what a poster was! A few of the posters are included below, as well as our winning poster. We will be submitting the poster to the Segal Family Foundation - youth engagement facebook page for another poster contest. If any of you get a chance, you can go to their page and check out our poster! They will be marking according to activity of the poster on their facebook page. 

Many blessings to you all. Thank you deeply.

Charles and Darla Balenga