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Dear Friends,

I got a phone call last night from Lyn Lusi, asking for prayer for Mama Muliri’s daughter ChouChou, who was in the hospital, in a coma, suffering from something they weren’t sure about—malaria or encephalitis. I called and spoke to Mama Muliri afterward, and we prayed.

This morning I got an email from Lyn saying that ChouChou had passed away. Her kidneys and then her liver had shut down. I just spoke to Lyn by phone.

What I didn’t know is that Mama Muliri’s older daughter had died in the same way, just prior to her wedding several years ago. She also was 24 years old. This is a huge blow, particularly as someone has told them today that Chouchou was poisoned. There are moments in time when we see things starkly.

This is a moment where Mama Muliri (who has pioneered the work of HEAL Africa in many areas dealing with gender-based violence, training counselors and developing curricula, to the seeds of the gender and Justice program), really needs your prayer and thoughts. She’s going to have huge demands on her time as the family mourns and prepares the funeral. Her husband has high blood pressure. The doubts and fears that surround people in Goma are being magnified by this loss. The only antidote is the power and grace of Jesus, surrounding her and her loved ones in the way that only the Spirit can. We pray that the peace of Christ, which passes understanding, will be physically felt by Mama Muliri. That this terrible loss be transformed into a witness of the power of love. The love that is promised in the Bible, that nothing can separate us from: “for I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38.

This death of ChouChou is more than the loss of a dearly beloved child. It is a declaration of war. What Mama Muliri has accomplished by bringing the issue of sexual violence into the open has certainly threatened many kingdoms. The teams of HEAL Africa are bringing light into areas of deep darkness, and the dark doesn’t like it. This type of loss will be felt by everyone at HEAL Africa, and we ask your prayer teams to consistently pray for Muliri and for all the family, and for the staff of HEAL Africa. We know it will have a huge effect. The spirit and the physical are much more closely entwined (or visibly so) in Africa than they are in the Western world. I think we just mask it differently. But I pray that this tragedy will be transformed into a sign of blessing. I have no idea how this can happen, but I know that “all things are possible to them that believe”. And God’s power is stronger than darkness. God’s love-light will not be put out.

When our son Chad was 11 he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and operated upon. While he was in the operating room I had an experience of the presence and peace of Christ unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It has given me the strength and faith to do anything I’ve done since. That was 22 years ago. I felt surrounded by prayer of people I didn’t even know. I still can remember that assurance that—even if I lost Chad, if I lost Dick, if I lost our other children, if I lost…and I went down the entire list…I would be OK. That for me has been the bedrock of my faith, of who I am.

I pray the same for Muliri now, so that she can continue to be the bearer of light, an encourager, a warrior for peace. Please pray with me. Ask your prayer warriors to pray, please. Pass this on to those who might be interested, and who can stand with our sister in Congo. There is nothing more powerful than prayer!

Thank you,
Judy

HEAL Africa (US)
Judith A. Anderson
Executive Director
P.O. Box 147
Monroe, WA 98272

Office: 360 863 3380

Paul and Christine Kroeger
June 9, 2010

Dear friends and family,

Career Guidance service Corner:
One of you asked, "Do you use the Biblical spiritual gifts given by the Holy Spirit?" Yes, we do offer a Spiritual gifts inventory based on the work of Peter Wagner, but is optional. According to Wagner, any natural gifts used intentionally for the glory of God become our spiritual gifts. I have been careful about overly emphasizing ones gifts, because we serve a Master above. Two books I often recommend to my clients are: "What's So Spiritual About Your Gifts?" by Blackaby & Blackaby and "Born for Battle" by Arthur Mathews. Both books have been very helpful to me personally.

I have asked my recent client, who is an adult Third Culture Kid, if I could talk a little about my experience working with her. During my interviews with her, spread out over two months, I was reminded of the word from 2 Corinthians 1:4-5 "the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.........". I have re-read two books with her. "Third Culture Kids: The experience of Growing Up Among Worlds" by David Pollock and Ruth Van Reken; and Ruth Van Reken's book "Letters I Never Sent". I especially recommend "Letters I Never Sent" — you will cry. Please write me if you want to know more about the book. There is a great review about this book on Amazon.com

GIAL, Training School:
June 5th was graduation day for GIAL, and also marked the end of the school year for them, although Paul is still marking his students' term papers. Two of Paul's thesis students graduated this spring; one of them defended the thesis just a few weeks ago, which kept Paul busy right up to the end of the term. We are looking forward to the summer break.

2010 GIAL (M.A.) Graduates

Family Corner:
We had a lovely Memorial Day weekend celebrating Ruth's graduation (MA in Urban Planning). We are very proud of her, and thankful for the opportunity to meet some of her friends and professors. Sarah drove with Paul's mother from Boston, so we had the extra bonus of seeing them too. We plan to drive out west next week to visit Katie and Matt, staying with former students and colleagues along the way. Our two other daughters will fly out to meet us there for a long weekend together.

Prayer Request:
We have received the following requests from some of our former students this past month:
—for complete healing for Matt (serving in SE Asia) from Hepatitis. Please pray specifically that the Hep B viral count will go down.
—for Alison after a particularly emotional weekend visiting neighbors who experienced a traumatic incident.
—for JW, perseverance and discipline in writing.
— for BL,on a 4-week trip which is mainly to obtain a visa platform in a difficult-access country.

We would also appreciate your prayers for good family time with our children in California, for safety in all our traveling, and for some good restful time during the summer break for Paul.

Thanks for standing with us!

Under his Grace,
Christine and for Paul