December 9, 2006
Shyira, Rwanda
King Family Christmas Newsletter
We welcome this Advent to season celebrate the coming of Christmas, and the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. As we look over our pictures from this year, the beginning of our fourth year here in Shyira, we are thankful for:
- The continued good health of our family, especially the children, who continue to thrive here
- The good health of our extended Rwandan family-Moses, an orphan who stays with us is growing and thriving and teaching Lydia a lot of the local language Kinyarwanda; Nkurunziza, an HIV orphan we welcomed into our household, is doing well and was third in his class this past semester; Lucien, who received an open heart operation to repair his heart, has recovered and is in good health; Aniset, another orphan who spends some of his vacations with us, continues to do well at his school, and was first in his class this past year.
- The celebration of our church’s 75th anniversary
- The expansion of our HIV program-counseling and treatment
- The arrival of the Kohls from Germany. Matthias is an OB/GYN and his wife Iris is a gifted teacher and has started teaching English classes; their daughters are Lydia’s favorite playmates.
- Our new car. Breaking down on every trip, we realized, was not that much fun. We haven’t broken down once, since we have the new car—praise the Lord!
- Lots of visitors, including the King grandparents, and, soon, Louise’s parents, too.
- The addition of a "welcoming” team at the hospital, composed of 3 strong Christians from our church. We are hoping they will help bolster the atmosphere at the hospital with Christian love (“…the greatest of these is love” 1 Cor 13:13).
- The continued training of our 4 Residents. The first one, Dr. Masoda, will take his Family Medicine exam in December, Lord willing.
- The construction of 2 new houses and one building at the hospital.
- The decision by the African Development Fund to take on the hydroelectric project for the hospital and surrounding area. This means they will help us find funding, but there is still a lot of work to do as we work together to find other partners to make the project possible.
- The success of the new nursery school/kindergarten that we started with the help of local leaders.
- The faithful support of so many people back home, through prayer, financial donations, and help in other ways. We pray that this ministry is a blessing to you, too, for without this help, we would not be able to do anything.
As we look forward to the next year, we ask your prayers for:
v The continued safety and health of our family
v The timing of our trip home (likely to be in Spring 2007)
v The decision about whether or not to send Sara to Rift Valley Academy boarding school in Kenya
v Continued unity and love in our Christian community here at Shyira Hospital
v Effective administration of the hospital
v The fruition of our Houses of Hope project, to provide housing for needy HIV patients
v Our work with the ADF to find financing for the hydroelectric project from international organizations, foundations, USAID, etc.
v Continued financial support for our family, as we are still in transition to a new sending agency
v That the hospital will continue to serve well the people here, meeting both physical and spiritual needs.
v That we would teach well the other doctors and nurses here-not only about being good physicians, but also about the Great Physician
Pray for us, as we pray for you all too, wherever you are.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
Much love from all the Kings and wishes for a blessed Christmas and New Year,
Contact Information:
Caleb and Louise King
Shyira Hospital
BP 26
Ruhengeri,
Rwanda
Phone, in Rwanda +250 0830 7417
For donations:
King Family/Shyira Hospita
c/o DOCS
PO Box 24597
St Simons Island, GA 31522
Call Caroline at 912-634-0065 with questions
