Musings of a Mission Mom

The main speaker for the Kumbya Conference was Dr. Jim Copeland from World Venture. He's also worked with Promise Keepers. He talked about Shepherd Leadership. A big part of his job with World Venture is recruiting new missionaries and he travels around to college campuses, both Christian and secular, to do it. He hears a lot of reasons/excuses that young people give for not allowing God full control over their lives. A summary is that they are afraid God will tell them to go somewhere they don't want to go, marry someone they can't love, work with people they won't like, and do something they won't want to do. He said, "What do they think God is like?" What kind of a God wold create you with gifts and skills, say He loves you, and then try, on purpose, to make your life miserable?

I remember that when I was growing up, Africa seemed to be the place people were afraid God would ask them to go. The thought struck me that we've brought our children to Africa. They won't think of it as a vague, fearful place because they will have lived here. So, if, in the future, God calls them back here, maybe it won't seem like such a hard thing. Maybe for you who know us, your children will remember that their friends did it so they can do it, too. Or, just maybe they'll think, "If going to Africa is possible, whatever God asks of me is possible."

As we've met various missionaries of many nationalities who work in several countries with many different organizations, Patsy Claremont's book, God Uses Cracked Pots!, keeps coming to mind. I often feel like a "cracked pot" with many flaws and wonder how, or if, God can use me. Even now, with my role here still rather vague and undefined I wonder what I really have to offer.

Who is the person God can use?

Maybe it's middle-aged Nancy (names are changed) with blonde hair and a bright smile, who for several years spent most of her time in bed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome wondering if she'd have enough energy to take her next breath. Now whe leads worship in the large church her husband pastors in Kigali.

Maybe it's Joy, who studied opera and tried more than once to commit suicide as she suffered from depression. In desperation she told God she'd do anything if He would spare her life. God led her to service in Japan where she received the care and healing she needed and earned a black belt in Tai Kwan Do in the process. While she was teaching in Japan she connected through E-Harmony with a widowed dad with two small daughters who was a missionary in Rwanda. An incredible story later, she became a wife, a mother, and moved to Rwanda all in about seven months' time. They are here raising their daughters and training pastors.

Maybe it's gray-haired Mary, who was born to missionary parents and raised in Burundi. She went to England for college and worked as a Bobby in London before going to seminary and returning to Central Africa to plant churches.

Maybe it's young, trendy Audrey with a nose piercing, who was born in The Netherlands as a result of rape. Her very abusive childhood brought her to multiple suicide attempts.

Maybe it's her husband, Scott, with his earrings and tongue piercing, who grew up in a Christian home in California. God led them both to Hawaii with a mission organization where they met and knew God had brought them together. He gave them a vision and a passion for orphans in Africa. Now they are here, raising four small daughters, one of which they adopted here, and helping widows and orphans from the war to recover from trauma.

Maybe it's Bryan, a single man in his early 30's from England, who has been here for several years training and helping people to start small businesses. One of them teaches orphaned teens to create greeting cards. The profits help them care for their younger siblings and provide further training and education. Other businesses include selling computers and software, selling milk, and starting a preschool. His dream is to create a school where people can learn sound principles of business and economics and learn about Jesus.

Do any of these people fit your image of someone God can use in His Kingdom? A missionary? Just maybe God can use...me. Maybe He can use you.

Camp Meeting - Central Africa Style

From July 28 till August 5 the tip of a small peninsula in Lake Kivu was home to approximately 150 missionaries. This annual gathering for rest, fellowship, encouragement, teaching, and just plain fun was begun in 1946 by some of the first missionaries to this area. They represented several different denominations and mission groups and this is still true today. We met people who are from England, Scotland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, New Zealand, Germany and many states in America. They are currently working all over Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania. Some are close to retirement and others were new to Central Africa like us. It was a wonderfully diverse group with the common purpose to be obedient to God's call on their lives and to be a blessing to those among whom He has called them to live and work. This is Kumbya.




There are a half dozen or so brick cottages belonging to various missions where some people stay. These have cement floors, running (cold) water, and beds of foam mattresses on wooden frames.

Others stay in these huts which the Rwandan workers build the week before the conference starts. There were about 20 of these. Many people brought tents to pitch outside the huts for sleeping and used the huts for changing clothes.

Since Kumbya is only about 3 1/2 miles from

Kibogora, we stayed at our house.

No matter where one stayed, the bathroom experience was the same! The barrel holds water for flushing and the spigot is for washing hands.

It takes lots of wood to cook for 150 people at Kumbya.

The wood is loaded under the cooking surface from the outside.

Inside, large pots and pans allow food to cook quite nicely on the VERY HOT surface. Water was boiled for drinking and cooking.

Under one end of the cooking surface are two ovens. Garlic toast and pizza were two favorites that were baked in here.











The doors do need a little help to stay closed!

The chow line was a great place to get acquainted. The kids were usually at the front!

The meals were delicious and the fellowship superb!

Grace enjoyed her turn on the clean-up crew so much that she volunteered to do it several more times. We often heard a lot of singing and laughing coming from the kitchen!

This is a "sandbox" where the toddlers could play.

The girls really enjoyed getting acquainted with other kids who are living in Africa. Two teams of college-aged folks came through World Venture and provided activities and teaching for the teens and VBS for the younger children.










Big kids and little kids alike had fun in and by Lake Kivu.

Megan and friends.

An annual event at Kumbya is the early morning swim to Three Hump Island. That's the small one just left of center. Swimmers gathered just before dawn to be ready for the 6 AM start. About 20 brave souls participated this year--no Frymans! Dave joined those who rowed dug-out canoes alongside the swimmers for safety and Grace and Abby cheered them on.

This Dave was the first to complete the 1 1/2 mile swim. He felt so good he decided to also swim back!

The rest of the swimmers took advantage of the boats for the trip back to Kumbya.














The swimmers returned to the enthusiastic cheers of Kumbya campers. Megan and I decided that our congratulations could wait until later in the day.

The winners! Johnny, third place; Louise, second place; and Dave, first place.










Our last day together began with worship on the beach. The weather was chilly, but our hearts were warm as we worshipped and gave thanks for a wonderful week.

After a long and full week, Abby and Emily decided to take it easy for awhile.











Singing around a campfire under a clear, star-filled night sky was the perfect ending to the week. We are so glad we could participate in Kumbya 2007 and are grateful for all we learned from those more experienced with life in Central Africa.