Rwanda Adventure: Our letter
Putting these things together is a struggle. How do you begin? How do you ask for money (which always feels weird)? How do we adequately cast vision? I’m not sure we adequately answered those questions, but here is our letter.
We’re taking a trip to Rwanda in August and this is our pitch to close friends and family. If you didn’t get a paper version in the mail, we’d still love to have you a part of our support team.
Dear Friends & Family,
This is one of those letters that struggles to find a good place to start. It’s a struggle for us because we’re incredible thrilled, humbled, and don’t want to appear presumptuous. Your friendship means the world to us, and we wanted to let you in on something big that is happening in our lives.
On August 8th we are boarding a plane and embarking on a 12 day adventure to Rwanda. Yep, Rwanda, a country in Africa that has experienced some of the most horrifying violence of the past century…and we are asking our closest friends and family to help us get there.
If you’re like us, the details about Rwanda were fuzzy at best. Here’s a quick snapshot of what caused so much turmoil there: In 1994 Rwanda was thrust into a 90 day genocide that took the lives of 800,000 men, women, and children. Amidst the violence, an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 women were raped. These dark days has left Rwanda with an estimated 600,000 orphans, a tremendous AIDS epidemic, and thousands of families displaced in refugee camps.
Two years ago our church introduced us to Africa New Life Ministries, an organization that has been serving Rwandan children and families who were devastated by the genocide that took place there. Through Africa New Life Ministries, we started sponsoring Jovia Mutamba, an 11-year-old girl in Rwanda. Her family was displaced by the genocide and she lives with her mom and 4 siblings in a refugee camp in Kageyo (near the Tanzanian border). Our sponsorship provides school fees, scholastic materials, a uniform, shoes, basic medical insurance and the opportunity to participate in positive community activities.
This August Africa New Life is leading a team of us to serve local churches and schools who are helping families who are fighting and working their way out of these dire circumstances. It’s been a dream of ours to visit this country, meet Jovia (which we are thrilled about!), come alongside the good work that is happening there, and express the love of Jesus. Words cannot express how excited we are!
The 12-day adventure will cost $8,000 ($4,000 each). We thought of you and wondered if you would help us get there. Any measure of financial generosity you can provide will go a long way to making this dream of ours come true. If you can help, see below for details.
We are chronicling our preparations and adventures on our website www.captureyesterday.com/rwanda. Check out the site, or look for updates on our Facebook feeds. If you’ve got any questions/comments, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Thanks for looking this over, considering helping us, and being a source of encouragement in our lives. We deeply appreciate you.
Blessings,
Milo & Bethany Curtis
Want to help?
- Visit AfricaNewLifeMinistries.org by clicking here
- Scroll down the page till you find PDX-August-Milo-Bethany-Curtis and follow the onscreen instructions
Got questions? Feel free to email us at milocurtis.online@gmail.com
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