Merry Christmas from Burundi! All the students have now returned home for the holiday break and are celebrating Christmas with their families and villages. The families at Matara will celebrate Christmas together for the first time in this new community!

Matara Update

These two families have much to celebrate, as they both have new additions to their families this holiday! Both babies, one boy and one girl, were born during the first part of December. The sweet little girl was named Niteka, which means ‘It’s an honor.’ The little bouncing boy was named Niyomwungere, meaning ‘God is our shepherd.’ As you can tell from these names, God’s blessing continues to fan this community, bringing forth names of promise, hope and gratitude.

Just this very week we harvested mushrooms for the first time, the newest addition to the Matara menu of vegetation. As you can see, they are cultivated indoors, more like a greenhouse setting. Mushrooms are considered by many to be a luxury crop, and our hope is that the chanterelles will bring a good price at the local market!

This is a snapshot of our staff in Matara in their new office space! Our team includes an agricultural engineer, social worker and micro-finance associate. These friends work alongside the families of Matara to assist them in learning the skills necessary to build a thriving community. They offer instruction, support, encouragement and friendship daily. It is a blessing to have such a great staff, so committed to the work and cheering the families along with genuine love!

Student House Update

Our students just completed their first term of the academic year. Sadly, the public school teachers are on strike again, which means 19 of our students did not get to take final exams or receive grades. They have been working so hard all term, and it is so disappointing to see the educational system break down and slow the learning pace of these dedicated students. Please pray for the dispute to be resolved soon so that the students can return to school and return to learning in 2010!

As for the remaining 18 students in private school, they completed the term – exams, grades and all! And we were so delighted to see the grades coming in – higher than ever before! Some students improved their grades from last year by 15 points, 18 points and even 33 points! It is so encouraging to see these students excelling and reaching their full potential. There is much to celebrate!

So we are celebrating – new babies, a harvest of mushrooms, a great Matara staff, dedicated students and some really stunning report cards!

Merry Christmas to all our friends… more Good News coming in the New Year from Burundi!