Thank you for your support!

Thank you for your support and prayers, in helping to make our CleanWater mission trip to Rwanda, Africa a success.  You gave us the opportunity to teach Health and Hygiene, which will positively affect the lives of hundreds of families in Rwanda.

Love,

Ken and Val Robinson

Ken teaching Solar Water Disinfecting to Rwandan Leaders

Rwanda 2011

Rwanda II

Here is a link to more pictures of our Rwanda experience:

https://picasaweb.google.com/Gr8t2cu2/RwandaII?authkey=Gv1sRgCLLu1drl1tCjFw

Rwanda 2011

Hi Everyone:  Here is the link to our Rwanda pictures:  https://picasaweb.google.com/Gr8t2cu2/RwandaII?authkey=Gv1sRgCLLu1drl1tCjFw

Back Home In The USA

Hello Everyone:

Our Clean Water Mission trip was an outstanding success!  Thank you to everyone who helped to make this trip possible.  We had the most exciting, adventurous and fulfilling trip of our lifetime. The Peace-water training that we conducted was an outstanding success! We trained approximately 26 church leaders in the village of Kilbule and another 26+ in the village of Musanza in Health and Hygiene.

We enjoyed meeting and getting to know the so many new friends, and getting to understand their values and culture.  We were all extremely impressed with the strength and high level of faith displayed by the Rwandan's.  Although poverty levels are extreme in the area, and people still suffer the aftermath of the civil war and the genocide of 1994, the people displayed continuous love, true forgiveness, joy and kindness.

You can better understand the Rwandian genocide by reading "Lead By Faith" by Immaculee Ilibagiza, who survived the worst genocide in world history.  We met so many people who lost their entire families, yet still possess the strength and faith to carry on, which is truly remarkable.

There is so much more that Val and I will share with you in the near future, but I'm still trying to adjust to the time difference. (Rwanda is 9 hours ahead of California).

Val and I got back home last night. We started out on Friday at 7:00 p.m. from Kigali, Rwanda to Nairobi, Kenya (1 hour);  then to Brussels, Belgium; (8 hours); and then to Washington Dulles, (8 hours); and then finally to LAX (5 hours).  That was 4,258 miles and 25 hours later in the air, and 6 hours in airports. 

So glad to be home, but this was an experience that was life changing and one that we will never forget.

We are Here In Kigali , Rwanda and Loving it!

June 3, 2011

Hello Family and Friends:

We arrived here in Kigali, Rwanda last Friday, May 27th  in the afternoon.  We set off for Musanza, which is about 70 miles to the NorthWest in what is in the northern province of Rwanda.  The landsacpe is very beatuful with lush green mountqains, volcanos and rich valleys. This area is considered to be agricultural with many bannana plantations, sugar cane, and corn.  We saw beautiful volcanoes and breathtaking waterfalls. 
We also visited many of the villages as a part of the team's secondary mission of livestock (cows); maintenance.  This past week has been fantastic where we trained 28 leaders of the Musanza church led by Pastor Bernard.  Our team lead by Kriste, Greg, Val and myself, made a tremendous impact on the leadership.  There was so much love and we received many gifts from the congrégation after our first leg of the clean water training.

I'm at the internet cafe and the team is calling me to go.  We will upload the many pitcures later.  Sending our love to all those who made the trip possible and Val and I can't wait to share this wonderful experience with you.

Love,
Ken and |Val
We are now heading to the town of Kilbuye, which is about 2 hours south of Kigali.

12 Days and counting until our departure!

Clean water is essential for the health and productivity of a society yet... 

• 84 million people lack access to safe water
• 80% of diseases in the developing world are caused by a lack of clean water, sanitation, and hygiene
• Water-related illnesses result in 443 million days of school missed every year
• 5.5 billion productive work days are lost every year to diarrhea disease
• Treating a single case of a waterborne illness may cost more than providing a whole village with clean water for an entire year
• A child dies from a water-related illness every 15 seconds and 6,000 children die every day

This Is Wrong!  Together We Can Make A Difference!

The Global PEACE Plan

THE PROBLEM:

The vision behind the PEACE Plan is to mobilize Christians in local churches everywhere to address the world’s GIANT PROBLEMS.  These problems are found in the largest cities…and in the smallest of villages.  They are:

1.       Spiritual Emptiness

2.       Corrupt Leadership

3.       Extreme Poverty

4.       Pandemic Disease

5.       Rampant Illiteracy

THE HOPE:

Addressing the 5 GIANTS by doing the things that Jesus did and taught are the heartbeat of PEACE. 

The GIANTS are address by:

1.       Promoting Reconciliation

2.       Equipping Servant Leaders

3.       Assisting The Poor

4.       Caring for the Sick

5.       Educating the Next Generation

As the expression of Christ and the world’s largest distribution network, Saddleback Church and the Local Churches in Rwanda provide leadership and ownership of our PeaceWater effort.  This creates sustainable and reproducible Community Transformation.

Preparing for Rwanda Africa

We have been presented with an opportunity to participate in a mission trip to Rwanda, Africa in May, 2011. Our group will be a part of the Saddleback Church “Clean Water Initiative.” Our mission is to promote health and hygiene, as well as clean, safe, and accessible water through the P.E.A.C.E. Plan. We will be facilitating projects such as educating and networking, while sharing the love of Jesus Christ.

We believe God has shown us how we can contribute directly to this effort and help fulfill His commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:15. You can read more about our hosts mission work at http://www.PEACEwater.org

We’ve learned that 88% of all diseases in the developing world are caused by lack of clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. Cholera, hepatitis, typhoid, dysentery and parasites are some of the sicknesses that are spread by contaminated water. Over 6,000 children die every day! Treating one person for a waterborne illness often costs more than providing a whole village with clean water for an entire year.

We are writing to ask for your help in a few areas. First and foremost, we are asking that you pray for the success of our trip. Next, we are asking for your financial support if you can assist. We truly believe the Lord is directing this project and your financial donation will be used for this purpose. We need to raise about $7,000.00 to cover travel expenses for this mission trip to Rwanda. Your donation is tax deductable. Checks should be made out to “Saddleback Church Trip ID#6728” and sent to the address below. Yes, the money is important to us, but “where He guides, He provides,” so we know He will make a way, but we need to be assured that People of Faith are interceding as we take on this important mission trip.

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog and giving your support. We would love the opportunity to tell you about our experiences when we return.