January 2022

Dear ITEM Family, this is probably going to be the final report of this trip. The last two days have been used mostly to get ready for the trip home. But even at that, they were not without some angst, uncertainty, and substance. Read on to get the details.

Dear ITEM Prayer Partners, I had the great privilege of being able to meet and spend some time this (Saturday) morning with our Burundi team along with our DRC assistant coordinator Joel Mananga. It was a beautiful morning for a chat as we sat outside our hotel under the shady breakfast nook, where we could feel the cool breezes and see the majestic mountains surrounding Bujumbura. Not a bad place to have a meeting! Certainly, it is better than those ubiquitous cheesy nature backgrounds on Zoom. We heard some very encouraging and exciting testimonies of what God is doing through ITEM’s work in Burundi. One story in particular stands out. We found it hard to believe and you will probably feel the same way. Click Read More.

Dear ITEM Partner, we met today with the ITEM’s Burundian team. This was not on our original schedule but decided to add it at the last minute. I am very glad that we did. Chris had a chance to meet and hear from the team and how God is using them. But in addition to that, I gained insights into the youth culture, which is important since my goal is to get an ITEM youth ministry started using apologetics as a platform. Click on READ MORE HERE to hear from Chris and his impressions of the meeting and more from me about the youth here in Burundi.

Dear Friends and Family, if you grew up in church, at some point you probably sang the words to Louisa M. R. Steads classic hymn “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.” The chorus of the song concludes with the lyric “Oh for grace to trust Him more.” We have needed grace to trust Him more today. CLICK READ MORE BELOW.

Hello Everyone,
Chris and I pretty much had a day off today before heading to Burundi to meet with two more country coordinators. So, I used the free time to show him around but the day still had some strategic moments.
Click Read More Below.

Dear ITEM Partners,

One of the great challenges for established organizations is the problem of mission drift. Mission drift happens when an organization slowly and imperceptibly moves away from the founding vision until ultimately the mission is abandoned. One of the primary reasons for this trip is to recast ITEM’s original mission with our country coordinators so that we can guard against the danger of mission drift. And I believe that took place today.

We began planning this trip months ago. The plan was to bring all of our country coordinators together, dividing them up by primary language and location. Get them visas, check. Covid tests, check. Transportation to their assigned location, check. Lodging during their trip, check. Sounds easy, uncheck. It’s been constantly changing for weeks. CLICK BELOW TO READ MORE.

On Sunday January 9 I will depart for Kenya and Burundi. In each location I will be meeting with ITEM Country Coordinators. Because of Covid and each country’s autonomous response to it, the planning of this trip has proven to be challenging to say the least. Click READ MORE below.