It's 2020! HAPPY NEW YEAR

from the Koellings and The Roots Network!

Thank you for your patience as we have worked to put this update together for you. It is surreal that we have entered into our third year of ministry as The Roots Network! As we look back on the last three months of 2019 and reflect on everything that God has accomplished here in East Africa, we are amazed by His grace and provision, humbled that He has allowed us to play a small part in what He is doing, and we are excited about what He has in store for 2020! 

Making disciples of Jesus remains our mission here in East Africa and 2019 was the year of the Strengthen Conference. Currently, the format is two days of leadership and discipleship training designed to strengthen church pastors, leaders, and members in the following topics: What is the Gospel?; Servant Leadership; Biblical Sermon Preparation; Evangelism & Discipleship; and Biblical Marriage. In October, we hosted two Strengthen Conferences, one in Rwanda and one in the DRC, and trained over 150 people. 

Not only has the Strengthen Conference been highly impactful, it has also affirmed just how great the need for this type of training really is. Pastors are hearing the Gospel for the first time. Leaders' mindsets are shifting from "boss" to "servant". Men and women are being challenged to love each other in counter-cultural ways. It truly is thrilling to be a part of what God is doing.

While Emily was stateside, the girls and I went trick-or-treating with friends. Abbott was Genie from Aladdin and Hannah was Mal from Descendents!

We are very excited about the launch of the PEFA Church Women's Sewing & Discipleship Program. This vision was birthed last January when Kristin Wilson visited a group of widows at Pastor Ezechias' church and, because of his hard work and your prayers and support, this one-year program kicked off in November. One teacher, twenty women, ten sewing machines, five days a week. These women are learning a trade and being discipled, and when they graduate they will have the opportunity to purchase their own sewing machine, support their families, and pass on what they have learned to other women.

An added blessing to Emily's trip to the States was that her dad's surgery lined up with the birth of my sister's second child and she made it to Longview just in time to welcome Emery Clare Daulong into the world on November 1, 2019! We are so grateful to our Board, our generous supporters, and to God for making it possible for her to be there for both of these important events and spend unexpected quality time with family.

This beautiful lady had a birthday and we celebrated the Big 4-0 with great friends! 

We feel very blessed that God provided us with a house in Kigali that enables us to host others. Not only do we have space for visitors from time to time, but we were able to have our awesome and crazy life group for Thanksgiving! This was our second Thanksgiving in Rwanda, but our first time hosting at our home, and it was an absolute blast. We had all the traditional food and treats...

...and introduced everyone to a favorite Koelling family Thanksgiving tradition. That's right people, Turkey Bowling has gone international! The funny thing is, turkeys and bowling pins are hard to come by in Rwanda, so we used a chicken and 2L bottles full of water for pins!

Over 100 pastor/leaders and 135 couples were trained at our December Strengthen Conferences in Burundi and Rwanda. A highlight was during one of our Q & A sessions when an elderly woman gave her life to Christ once Johnny explained to her that her sin was not too great to be forgiven!  

In addition to air conditioning, we were also given the gift of clean water. Our dear friend, David Winkler, came to visit us and brought a home water filtration system with him! Getting all of the equipment through customs was a full-blown adventure on its own but once we got that squared away it was smooth sailing! David's trip overlapped with our Strengthen Conference so he had the opportunity to teach pastors and church members on Biblical Marriage. David is a great teacher with a powerful testimony and we are so grateful for how God has connected our lives over the past two years.

The Force is strong with this one! Abbott has finally boarded the Star Wars train, much to her father's joy, and we went to see The Rise of Skywalker together here in Kigali. Bonding with my own child over things that were part of my childhood is a special thing!  

We are so proud of these two girls! No-one has had to adjust to new life in the past year and a half than them and they have done it with positive attitudes, smiley faces, and almost no complaining. We thank God for that grace in their lives. Establishing our own, new Christmas traditions with Abbott and Hannah here in our new home made Christmas morning feel both new and familiar at the same time.

What's Next?

2019 was an incredible year. It's hard to believe it has already come and gone! We have so much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to. As we transition into the new year and a new decade we are excited about what God has in store. We have six groups coming to serve on mission this year which is enough to be excited about alone, but there is so much more on the horizon! We see our discipleship ministry continuing to grow, we pray for all of the new cell groups that will be formed in Rwanda, Burundi, and the DRC, we are already aware of four locations in great need of clean water, and we have plans for at least four Strengthen Conferences in all three countries! Additionally, we are thinking beyond 2020 about where God will lead us and what that looks like for raising additional support. 

Pray - Give - Go

We are so grateful for your prayers and support. I don't know that we can convey the significance and power of knowing that we are loved. We've been here for a year and a half but our connections with so many of you have remained strong and authentic. We give God all of the credit, glory, and praise for the peace and comfort that brings, and for anything that He allows us to be a part of here. In our last newsletter, we listed some prayer needs and I wanted to give you an update on a few of them so that you can be encouraged by God's faithfulness...

• Pray that people continue to come to Christ and learn to follow him.
  • Every month we see and hear stories of people's lives being transformed by the Gospel.
• Pray that God would provide for the roofing needs at Horeb Church.
  • As I type this, the final nails are being hammered into the new roof!
• Pray for our family to stay healthy and safe.
  • Despite a few minor tummy issues, we have all remained relatively healthy.
• Pray for Hannah. She started "Play Therapy" due to increased worrying/anxiety that is likely due to so much transition. Pray that this will help her learn how to process life right now! We are super blessed that this service is available at KICS!
  • This has been truly incredible for Hannah. She is doing so much better and we absolutely see reduced worry and anxiety.
• Pray for our ministry teams in Burundi and Rwanda and their families.
  • All of our team members are thriving and their families are healthy. George and Brigitte welcomed their new baby girl, Makayla, into the world!
• Pray for mine and Emily's leadership over TRN.
  • We believe the ministry is thriving and we ask for continued prayer in this area.
• Pray for God to be glorified in everything that we do here.
  • We pray that this has been and will continue to be the primary characteristic of anything we do here.

As always, we are asking you to continue to pray for us. Pray that we would continue to have patience and to trust God's faithfulness, regardless of our circumstances. Pray that God will continue to provide what is needed to accomplish His mission for furthering His Kingdom. And pray that we will continue to see men, women, and children come to know Jesus Christ.

For more information on how you can be a part of what God is doing in East Africa through The Roots Network, please visit our webite...