MelissaOnTheMove- Going Global ’09

My story begins about 3 years ago. Never being someone to think much beyond my own scope of problems, I definitely never even thought twice about injustices on the other side of the globe. But God caught my attention and made an imprint on my heart and soul that leaves me no other choice but to do anything I can to help. Now I am calling upon my family and friends to help support me in this endeavor.

I have the privilege to travel to Africa for a third time. This will be my second journey to Rwanda. Rwanda has a special place in the heart of my church, Manchester Christian Church. A group of 6, myself included, traveled to Rwanda this past summer in hopes of partnering with a church to help one other grow in different aspects of our lives. We were incredibly blessed to have had Pastor Theo of Harvest Church enter our lives. Here is a Rwandan man who has overcome such incredible odds and has dedicated his life to enriching the lives of people in his country- and beyond! He has opened 47 churches- mainly in Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo. He also has helped create job opportunities for people with HIV/AIDS. He started a support group for women, men and children where they go to create products to sell to support their family. At the end of our trip, MCC and Harvest Church decided to enter into a global partnership to become better together.

This time 13 MCC members are traveling back to strengthen this partnership with Harvest Church and Rwanda. We will be meeting with a steering committee made up of 7 pastors, who work with other PEACE teams, helping the teams decide which area in Rwanda would be best served by their group. This is an amazing opportunity that I am blessed to have been invited to join. The 13 of us will help navigate through what MCC’s future looks like in Rwanda. Where we will be working, what our main focus will be- there is a lot to be decided and I am honored to help work through this crucial time in our partnership.

Never being very good at asking for help this is a very humbling experience, but knowing the end result will help my plight for Rwanda, I ask you to think and pray on

how you might be able to support me. I am reaching out for donations to help cover the expense of the trip. It will cost me $2300, which I am mostly planning on paying for through my job, but would very much appreciate any donation you are willing to offer. If you decide financial help is an option you are able to contribute to, you can mail a check made out to Manchester Christian Church to 23 Highland Park Avenue Manchester NH 03109. (I ask for you to not note my name or anything that would denote the check going to a specific fund as it creates problems tax wise) By sending a check, the support given can be used as a tax deduction as an added bonus! If financial help is not an option (or even if it is!), I also am asking for your prayers. Pray that God will be there with us on this journey. That His hand will be evident in all we do.

If you want to learn more about PEACE, please check out www.thepeaceplan.com A quick over view is that we want to be ordinary people, empowered by God, making a difference where ever we are. PEACE is different from ordinary missions as we empower local people to become self sustaining so work and progress will continue even if we aren’t there.