rwanda theological library project

Greetings!

2009-03-08T00:08:00.000-08:00

If you are new to our site or returning, thanks for checking us out! We hope you find information about our team, who we help, what we are doing, and the current status of our project helpful! We invite you into our project through this blog and welcome any ideas or support you may have. Cheers!

O U R T E A M
We are a group of four people that attended Church of Wrigleyville in 2007. At that time, our church leaders, went on a mission to Rwanda and brought back possible ways that we could partner with efforts already existing there. Of the potential projects, a desire to supply a theological library rose to the top! From there, informal meetings began and through that, our team was solidified. This project took a life of its own outside of the church and for the last two years has been the United States branch of what Tim and Jessica Brubaker strive to accomplish.

W H O W E H E L P
Tim Brubaker and his wife Jessica are full-time educators working with WorldVenture in a grass-roots level modular Bible school geared for pastors in ministry. While not teaching, he spends a lot of time writing books and materials in the Kinyarwanda language and preparing relevant curriculum materials. Most recently, Tim has assumed responsibility for planning and leading a team of Rwandans serving with New Creation Ministries (NCM) to begin a bachelors degree level Christian leadership training school. We are helping NCM to build out their library resources and to receive accreditation.

The bachelors degree program will be training these people. Rwanda is the most stable country in all of East and Central Africa – a great place to invest time and energy! The government is currently pushing for more education, especially in churches, in an effort to further educate their people. NCM has tremendous experience and a reputation for being the best at leading pastors and churches to transformation.

W H A T W E A R E D O I N G
When we started we had nothing: no money, no books, and no idea where to start. We were bequeathed $20,000 by a librarian to build the library. Books are expensive and so is shipping. (People got us discounted books, then actually had their congregations pay for them. Saddleback Church agreed to a partnership in which their missionaries carried our purchased books over in their luggage.) Currently, we have received donations of 10,000+ books from the Theological Bible Network and others. In addition, the Catholic Theological University (CTU) recently donated metal shelving units. The estimated cost of acquiring and shipping those books is well over $300,000 and God has done it with $20,000. We see God at work in the little trials. Obstacles always pop up, but we were reminded of Luke 16:10-11 “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much" We were all drawn to this by the spirit of truth's call. We had little, we now have much, and could easily have little again. The point is this: God works in His time and our responsibility is to be faithful to the Spirit's call!

C U R R E N T S T A T U S
We are hoping to ship a container in April, if the container is virtually full. We are also looking for computers to be donated or to find a way to receive them at a discount! According to a new Rwandese law, all computers brought into Africa must be new, nothing refurbished. We are currently estimating $10,000 for that effort, but whether it is $5, $10, or $0.30 we accept ANY amount that you feel compelled to give. You can donate through this link at World Venture. (Once there, click on the dropdown section for "Give to Projects." Scroll until you find "New Creation Ministries University Library.)

C O N T A C T I N F O
Thanks again for checking us out! If you would like to know more, there are three ways to do that:
1. You may write to Tim for monthly prayer updates (tim@ncmrwanda.org)
2. Request to join the Facebook group called “Brubakers in Rwanda – Ministry Updates”
3. Email our team at rtlpcow@gmail.com

In addition, you may want to add this blog to your Google Reader as we will be updating this regularly!

Our warmest regards,
The Library Team

Alicia Loucks
Cele Sachs
Jessica Kuras
David Kepley

Great News!

2008-10-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

The Theological Book Network is donating 10,000 books! We are most grateful for their gift to this project!

You may be asking the question, "How will all the books be transported?" We have found ourselves asking the same question. We have recently teamed up with Saddleback Church who regularly has teams flying to Kigali, Rwanda. We are grateful to those team members who take a box of books over with them. This helps in keeping costs low so more books can be purchased! We are also exploring the use of containers to ship the large load. Our goal is to have all of the books in Kigali by April 2009.

In addition to books for the library, we have begun to research possibilities for supplying 20-30 computers. Our team members are in the process of grant writing and applying to foundations.

Thanks for your support. This is exciting!

books have arrived!

2008-06-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

in april, over 200 books traveled with saddleback church members to kigali. they were received by tim brubaker of new creation ministries.

saddleback missionaries have graciously agreed to continue to take books with them throughout the summer as they travel to rwanda.

in the meantime, you can contribute to the bookshelves by checking out the rwanda theological library project's amazon wish list.

Thank You

2008-02-22T06:55:00.000-08:00

As we're pressing on towards sending our first shipment out, we give thanks to those that are helping along the way:

First, a thank you to Dave, Patrick and Jason for following through with the trip and going. Who knew that initial journey would blosom into this--expanding a library and furthering encouraging Tim and New Creation Ministries in Kigali that we are supportive and with them!

A very grateful thank you to Ginny, from Operation Mobilization, who is helping us get books at a large discount. This enables us to buy even more books from our donated funds.

Another very grateful thank you to Skip and Saddleback Church. They are having 200+ persons going to Rwanda by the end of March and are able to take the books we have purchased over to Tim. This is free shipping and will again, allow us to purchase more books from our donated funds. Lastly, but certainly not least, a thank you to those that have begun to donate books from the wish list. We are receiving and cataloguing these. Also a grand thank you to the family that donated a large sum to us for the purpose of expanding the library. In about a month's time, the first shipment of donated and purchased books will be in Kigali, Rwanda!

Cheers!

Dave, Cele, Jessica & Alicia

ururimi * la langue * language

2008-01-30T09:11:00.000-08:00

rwanda has three official lanugages: kinyarwanda, french, and english. swahili is also prevelant.

kinyarwanda is a tonal language that is spoken primarily in rwanda, but also in southern uganda, and the eastern drc (democratic republic of congo). it is part of the niger-congo lanugage family, or, more specifically, the bantu. swahili and zulu are examples of other bantu languages. "The most prominent grammatical characteristic of Bantu languages is the extensive use of affixes Each noun belongs to a class, and each language may have several numbered classes, somewhat like genders in European languages. The class is indicated by a prefix on the noun, as well as on verbs and qualificative roots agreeing with it. Plural is indicated by a change of prefix." (wikipedia)

bantu words that we've incorporated into english include: jumbo, gumbo, jenga, safari, simba, ubuntu, banjo, bongos, zombie, and conga.

french is a national language as a result of rwanda's colonization by belgium.

english is included due to entrance into the EAC (east african community).

when we initally conducted the needs assessment for this project, we envisioned providing books in all three languages. this seemed to most accurately meet our goal of supplementing a relevant theological library, equipped to meet the students where they are at. however, tim brubaker best explains our collective decision to build a predominately english library:

Our plan is to develop an English speaking library to undergird an English speaking degree program (B.A. in Biblical Studies). Ideally the time will come when we can offer programs in both English and French. But, at this point, we thought we’d begin with English. Kinyarwanda books aren’t an option (most of the Biblical Studies books in Kinyarwanda, which are few, were written by our ministry anyways).

amazon wish list

2008-01-23T16:24:00.000-08:00

we've recently added our top 50 books to an amazon wish list. they'll be shipped to a team member in chicago, and then held in donated storage space until we're ready to send them to kigali. if you already own a book that is on the list and are desiring to donate it, please let us know at rtlpcow@gmail.com, and we'll update the list accordingly.

thanks for your support!

welcome!

2008-01-15T19:23:00.000-08:00

welcome to our site!

this space is designated to share with you our current status on getting books to kigali, rwanda and to also invite you to join us in thought, dialogue and action.

this past summer, the church of wrigleyville sent three church leaders to rwanda to grasp how to better serve and love the people of kigali. by listening to various needs from the three upon their return, the four of us thought we could tangibly meet one: providing more tools and books to an existing theological library. currently, new creation ministries theology school houses the second largest theological library in the country, which fills a few bookshelves. the need is to provide more tools and resources that the common person and student can utilize and enjoy. this will also aid the school, which is run by tim brubaker, in the accreditation process. as last summer turned to fall, and fall to winter, our team looks forward to begin the purchasing, cataloguing and shipping process so that this next summer, the first shipments of books will be held and browsed by the people of kigali.

alicia, dave, cele and jessica are excited to reflect our community and be a part of making this project into a reality. we invite you to be a part of this journey as well. stay tuned. :)

cheers!