Ministries of Jeffrey and Kristin Lee in Rwanda

Hearts and Hands International

2012-01-28T22:56:00.000+02:00

Hearts and Hands International Banner

On January 23 and 24, Hearts and Hands International, in collaboration with UOB, provided medical and dental services for Rwandans in two villages in Gicumbi District: Bwisige and Muko.

Hearts and Hands International is a S. Korean NGO that focuses on providing medical and dental services for developing countries to help advance His Kingdom. It is a mission organization. Hearts and Hands International received the Rwandan government's approval for its Rwandan operation in December 2011 and this outreach is the second to one made in September 2011. Missionary Minsoo Koh is the country director in Rwanda, who himself is a veterinarian doctor. Kristin is serving this ministry as Director of Program and coordinated this outreach.

Patients waiting for their turns

In this year's outreach, a medical doctor, two nurses, a dentist, an oriental medicine doctor, two dental technicians and several other assistants participated. On Monday, Kanombe Hospital, Rwanda's military hospital also participated with its mobile clinic and a few medical staff. The mobile clinic was provided by the Korean government last year.

Several hundreds of Gicumbi residents benefited from the medical and dental services and hundreds of UOB's clients were among them. Along with the health outreach, "Jesus" film was shown to hundreds of children which was produced in Kinyarwanda. To most of them, this was the first movie they have ever watched. It must have been a blessing to them.

Dr. Jun treating a patient

On Wednesday and Thursday, Hearts and Hands International also conducted an outreach in Musanze at two places: ISAE, Rwanda's college of agriculture and an Anglican church where the services were provided in September 2011 also. They also provided medical and dental services for Korean residents in Kigali on Friday.

The 8-member mission team included an 89-year old man who is the father of the medical doctor. He has been attending church services for most of his life but met Jesus in person when he was 85 years old. He is now serving at a church by cleaning the bathrooms every Sunday. He was an inspiration to me. May his service inspire many others to imitate the service spirit to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world!

One of the health centers

The team also included a high school student who is graduating next month and a retired police officer who used to be Chief of Police for the City of Seoul, a high rank police officer in S. Korea. The medical doctor will arrive in Seoul midnight on Sunday and continue traveling to Mokpo over night. After arriving in Mokpo around 5AM on Monday, he is planning to go to work. What a commitment he has! They all gave me different types of inspirations and challenges through their sacrificial services. May God bless them to live an abundant life in Christ! - Jeffrey

Shalom Bible Study Members

2012-01-28T06:34:00.001+02:00

Shalom Bible Study in August 2011

Shalom Bible Study or SBS has been around for the past three years. We started with five and have now grown into 17, including SBS B that spun off last year, plus several who have gone back to Korea.

SBS members are diverse. Most are KOICA volunteers, but it also has a missionary family, a businessman and a high school student in addition to our couple.

I am introducing some of them as follows:

Minsoo Koh and Aesim Kim - A missionary couple. Minsoo Koh was a veterinarian and Aesim was a teacher. His mission program centers around providing medical and dental services through Hearts and Hands International, a Korean NGO. They have a son, named Kyungchul who is now 15 years old. He is an active participant of our bible study despite his young age.

Jihye Moon and her art class students

Sejun Park - A businessman. His family is still in Nairobi, Kenya, but will eventually move to Kigali. He runs a health equipment business. His passion for God is apparent. He plans to run a bible study with his employees from next month.

Sunghye "Anna" Yoon - A KOICA volunteer. An athletics teacher at a secondary school in Musanze. She has been showing great transformation lately. She is also involved in "home building" projects for the poor.

Jihye Moon - A KOICA volunteer. A sculptor and art teacher. She is serving now at an orphanage house in Kinamba, Kigali.

Minjung Kim and her students at KIE

Minjung Kim - A KOICA volunteer. An athletics teacher at Kigali Institute of Education. She is good at swimming and gymnastics.

Hye-young Choi - A KOICA volunteer. An athletics teacher at a primary school in Musanze. She used to participate in speed walking competition and also to coach people.

Isaac Baik - A KOICA volunteer. An instructor at Kigali Institute of Science and Technology in Kigali. He is sepcialized in mobile technology.

Karam Kwon - A New Village Movement volunteer. She is serving in a team to help transform a village in Kamonyi District.

Saangkeub Lee - An intern at UOB. He is a student at Seoul National University Graduate School. His heart is in sustainable international development.

There have been many others who have gone through the Shalom Bible Study. I really enjoy the fellowship with them. I see and feel the spiritual growth that is taking place in our hearts. It is only by God's grace to have this fellowship and is a tremendous blessing to us all. Praise the Lord! - Jeffrey

Johns Hopkins University Global MBAs

2012-01-25T22:47:00.000+02:00

On January 19th, 24 global MBA students from Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business gave the presentations about their projects in Rwanda. A four-student team worked with UOB on designing an ideal mix of agents to serve its clients in Gicumbi and Kiramuruzi through mobile banking. There were four other teams that worked on other projects, such as solar energy company, health clinic and Rwandan art-craft maker.

These students began their research on the assignments in the U.S. a couple of months prior to their arrival in Rwanda approximately 20 days ago. For three weeks, they had been on the ground, conducting field studies with their sponsors.

Our team students were all sincere and hard-working. They went to Gicumbi and Kiramuruzi, spotting the client group meeting places and potential retail agents on the Google Map, using GIS mapping devices. They also analyzed the data with qualitative as well as quantitative tools. At the end, they made recommendations and conclusion. After the team's 30-minute presentation, other students and sponsors were invited to critique their presentations. It was exciting to listen to their presentations and see the dynamic exchanges of information and analysis.

They have now gone back to the U.S. For the next month of so, they will refine their report and submit it to the faculty for grading. A copy of their final report will be made available to us. I look forward to the final report that will contain fresh perspectives and suggestions for us to consider in developing an agent network that will provide easy and convenient access to cash for our rural clients.

A total of seven MBA students from a different school in the U.S. is scheduled to come to work on two projects with UOB in May. It thrills me to work with "borrowed talents" who bridge the gap that exists in certain fields in Rwanda. - Jeffrey

Sam and Kristine from Harvard College

2012-01-22T20:17:00.000+02:00

Sam and Kristine are sophomore students at Harvard College. UOB receives many interns throughout the year, but rarely receives undergraduate students as interns. Sam and Kristine were exceptions and good ones.

For the three weeks until they left on January 15th, they worked on several projects and they diligently worked even over the weekends. To Sam, this trip to Rwanda was the first overseas trip ever. His grandma was very worried, understandably so. Kristine once had a trip to China, but it was short and she stayed only in Beijing. So this was her first trip to a developing country.

They acted maturely and responsibly. They delivered the outcome above expectations. They designed five icons for micro finance functions, developed the contents for 2011 annual report, researched on NGOs in Rwanda and made recommendations for improving UOB's website. Also, they conducted a couple of researches on micro finance through CGAP.org and MicroSave.org. Their reports were concise but sufficient.

Overall, I enjoyed having them as interns and realized how well disciplined they were, indicating how well they have been raised in their families. Kristine is the only daughter of a friend of mine, Jonathan. Good job, Jonathan! - Jeffrey

Kininya Sewing Project Graduation

2012-01-21T20:41:00.000+02:00

All students together

January 5th was a special day for 16 women at Kinyinya Church that has been founded and supported by a Korean missionary, Ms. Bohye Kim. They graduated from a sewing school that lasted for eight months under the teacher, named Felicite. We have been privileged to sponsor this project with the support of friends in the U.S.

After the eight-month training, only 10 people were able to pass the test to start commercial production. They will begin with five sewing machines in five groups. As their skills develop further and they gain more commercial business, an over-lock machine and zig-zag machine may be provided for them to enhance their commercial competitiveness in the area.

Each student receiving a certificate

They started with practicing hand-sewing initially and gradually learned more difficult skills. Now they are able to produce primary school uniforms, shirts, simple dresses and gift items. Yes, they still need to improve further, but their development has been significant.

During this training period, these women also learned English from Betty, an English teacher. English is an essential language to be able to conduct business with foreigners, or called "abazungus" in Kinyarwanda. Rwanda is in transition from francophone to anglophone and most Rwandans are still pretty rough with their English.

English teacher (Betty), Felicite, Kristin

It is our prayer to see them continue to develop until they become commercially sustainable. May the Lord's grace be upon them! - Kristin

January 14, UOB Day

2012-01-15T17:23:00.000+02:00

UOB Gospel Singers. They are wonderful!

On Saturday, January 14, there was UOB Day at Lemigo Hotel, Kigali. This is the fifth UOB Day since we started holding it.

UOB Day is a day when all UOB staff gathers together to worship God, praise Him for who He is and what He has done through UOB. We also acknowledge the people who have been newly promoted, welcome new members to UOB family and appreciate those who have worked at UOB for five years and 10 years.

In January, we also award prizes for the teams that conducted Process/Service Fit Test best and produced most inspiring transformation stories of our clients. Rusizi EBU pretty much dominated all the prizes on transformation this year.

Sharing 2012 Business Plan

Also in January, we review the last year's performance and the new year's business plan, as we call it "God's mission for UOB in 2012." Each year, we establish a theme that integrates our spirituality and management objectives. Last year, it was "Shalom" and the year before last year it was "Arise." In 2012, the theme is "In Christ."

Throughout 2012, we will study and meditate on the heavenly blessings embedded In Christ. The preacher delivered a message based on Colossians 2:9,10. Also, we use it as an acronym to implement management actions: I.N. C.H.R.I.S.T. stands for:

2012 Management Theme "IN CHRIST"

Implement!
Nurture!
Control!
Help!
Relieve!
Initiate!
Sustain!
Transform!

Each item has one or more actions that will require everyone's participation. Everyone of 240 staff. There is no one who is left out of UOB's management theme for the year. All participate throughout the year and all celebrate at the end. It is a collective and mutual empowerment. It is integral and holistic.

Giving a UOB logo pin to Nick Meakin, a new staff

Making announcements for those who are promoted

On this UOB Day, we had one more special activity. We produced a Rwanda map of 10 feet x 10 feet and asked all EBU relationship staff to put stickers on the map indicating the places where our group meetings take place. Over one hour, our staff working at 11 EBUs placed the stickers one EBU at a time, bending and kneeling on the map. The final product was gorgeous! This map will go on one of the walls in my office. This map will be used for establishing the network of agents to implement mobile and agent banking.

Staff praise the Lord together

A staff placing the stickers on the Rwanda map

I sincerely prayed that we will receive His favor in implementing mobile and agent banking to relieve our EBU relationship staff from handling cash. May the Lord bless our effort! - Jeffrey

Urwego Opportunity Bank (UOB)

2012-01-07T14:19:00.000+02:00

UOB Home Office

UOB is the first and largest microfinance bank in Rwanda.

And UOB is a Christian bank.

Its owners are three Christian international NGOs. Their investment purposes are not to maximize the financial return on their investments, but to see the holistic transformation among Rwandan people. So the mandate is to maximize the holistic transformation impact among people with the maximum outreach within operational sustainability.

UOB is the largest among micro finance banks and non-bank MFIs in Rwanda in loan portfolio, deposits and the number of clients being served. So I suppose we are leading the outreach.

UOB reached, by God's grace, the operational sustainability in 2011 even after our staff received a significant bonus in December.

UOB has been implementing various strategies and programs towards holistic transformation, specifically through client transformation and corporate transformation. These strategies and programs have been implemented under transformation principles: holistic, integral, intentional, institutional, progressive.

So, now mission accomplished? Great job and go home?

Absolutely not. There is more work to do.

Now we should be going even deeper into rural areas to serve the under- or un-served people of Rwanda.
Most of its staff is Christians. I would call it extended outreach.

Now we should be more conscious about maintaining the sustainability. There are many minefields in the microfinance operations that may lead us back into a loss.

Now we should allocate more resources to be transformed internally and transformational externally to clients.

So, the task has become larger and more complicated. It is a challenge, but it is a worthwhile one.

Every first Tuesday morning, all senior leadership gathers together for intensive prayer for an extensive list of prayer subjects. It is a time of blessing and comfort. It is a time of encouragement and edification. We adore God for who He is, confess our sins to Him, thank Him for His wondrous grace and present our supplications.

We weep and cry out for help. But we surrender. To His sovereignty. To His plan to be manifest in His time.
We dedicate our lives to Him. To His authority. To His providence. To His commission. Great Commission.

He is God.
He is God of love.
He is God of goodness.
He is God of faithfulness.
He is trustworthy.
He is gracious.
He is God.

I am grateful for the opportunity to lead UOB.
It is almost three years since I have been leading UOB.
It has been a time of tremendous blessing, learning and growing.
I love leading UOB and coaching my colleagues.
I love worshiping God through our work.
I love serving God in and through life.
I love God of goodness.
I love God.

Glory be to God Almighty forever and ever! Amen! - Jeffrey

Business As Mission Ideas for Missionaries...

2012-01-07T07:41:00.001+02:00

Ji-Young and David

On January 2nd, Monday, Ji-Young Rhee and her assistant David Kim from San Jose, California gave a presentation about business as mission (BAM) ideas for Korean missionaries and Korean NGO leaders in Rwanda.

Business As Mission or BAM is not a new idea. It has been around. It was formalized in Christian circle in 2004 when Lausant Movement adopted it formally.

BAM is different from Business For Mission where you run a business and intend to use a part or all of the net profit for mission purposes.

BAM is also different from Business And Mission where business usually provides a platform to enter into a country where a missionary visa is not granted.

BAM is a business of which the purpose is to be self-sustainable with profit, to witness Christ's love and values through godly business practices and personal life, and to create impact that will help restore the broken relationships with the Creator God, other people and the rest of the creation.

Sister Ji-Young Rhee is an amazingly energetic, passionate and God-loving woman of God who will go anywhere and everywhere in the world if she can be of help in advancing God's Kingdom. She does not go with the Word alone, however. She will go with practical business ideas for micro enterprises usually of appropriate technology (AT). She is therefore tremendously resourceful. She is a software engineer by profession. But she is the wife of a PhD in mechanical engineering and the mother of three sons. Also she is now Chairperson of the board of Messengers of Mercy (M.O.M.) that provides a variety of resources, particularly medical resources, for the mission fields. In addition, she has now formed a Kingdom business, called E3Empower, which will gather and supply a variety of resources for the mission field, not to make a lot of money, but to be self-sustainable, to witness Jesus as the Savior and the Lord through godly business practices and to create the lasting impact in helping restore the broken relationship between God and all His creations. Yes, it is a BAM!

Ji-Young shared biblical foundations for BAM but also showed a variety of resources that included teaching materials for children, materials for creation science, natural farming ideas and methodology, affordable and effective water purifier, durable and affordable lights, solar cooker, solar charger etc.

All missionaries and NGO leaders were amazed and impressed. Ji-Young promised to continue her support for Rwanda. Missionaries and NGO leaders agreed in principle to find a way to work together managing the resources together with shared responsibilities.

We thanked the Lord for sending her (and her assistant David Kim) to Rwanda and expressed our appreciation for their coming to Rwanda and commitment to supporting Rwanda. - Jeffrey

Ministry Updates - December 2011

2012-01-02T21:44:00.000+02:00

Dear friends, family and fellow Kingdom workers,

The month of December was the culmination of God's grace upon UOB in 2011. Here are the highlights:

1. UOB's loan portfolio surged to Rwf7.9 Billion at one point and finished the year at Rwf7.6 Billion, a 10% or $1.2 million growth from November and an almost 100% surge from YE 2010! It has been a dramatic ride in 2011 with a $6 million expansion in our financial support for the economically active poor and God has been at the center of all this amazing ride. The deposit balance has also continued increasingto Rwf5 Billion. We had to draw down on the loan from BRD and IFC. We were thankful for the credit facilities that were placed beforehand for these positive circumstances. Although there were some glitches, our staff has handled all things without major crises. I am grateful for and proud of our staff.

2. UOB's loan portfolio quality remained excellent with PAR>30 days at 0.86%, an improvement from November 30th (1.2%) and YE 2010 (1.3%).

3. Thanks to strong operating performance, coupled with tight operating expense control, UOB has been profitable since February 2011. We do not have the December figure yet, but we are expected to report a profit with operating sustainability in 2011. Praise the Lord! I am so glad to report that our staff has been paid 100-120% of their monthly salary as bonus in December. All our staff is appreciative and I am personally so happy for our staff, even happier than when I was paid a fat bonus in the U.S. This happiness cannot be snatched away by anyone else. It is mine to keep!

4. The number of active borrowing clients that UOB serves has continued to increase to 40,663, an increase of 898 clients from a month earlier. The total number of clients was over 120,000, thus showing a strong outreach performance as well.

5. The number of clients who are receiving monthly lessons of Holistic Life Improvement training is slowly but steadily increasing with approximately 6,500 having been trained in November. This produces transformation impact among our clients.

6. UOB started in-house testing for mobile and agent banking in December. A beta pilot testing will begin in January with four groups in Kigali. For this purpose, we are meeting several prospective agent network managers for a potential relationship.

7. We disbursed two Christian private school development loans in December. This has been made in cooperation with Edify, a US NGO, which desires to support Christian education at private schools in developing countries. UOB is the only partner in East Africa.

8. UOB has a tradition of reaching out to even less fortunate people in Rwanda with gifts financed by UOB staff's voluntary contribution matched by the bank. I was able to join this visit to a small village (Umudugudu) in Masaka where 19 families of parent-less young people are living together. These 19 families are all genocide survivors with the ages ranging from 18 to 43. We shared God's message of faithful love, of being freed from the past pain and of living a hopeful life in Christ. Each family received 25 kg of rice, 10 kg of sugar, 10 bars of soap and 5 liters of cooking oil. They asked us to pray for them since they will be relocated to different shelters in 2012. Another group also visited 3 other families of similar circumstances.

9. Korean missionaries in Rwanda continued the monthly prayer fellowship and it was a blessing to us all. May this fellowship enhance the spirit of edification and collaboration!

10. Kristin and Jeffrey received and had fellowship with several visitors. Ms. Ji-Young Rhee, a BAMer (Business As Mission implementer) and a great supporter for missionaries came to visit UOB and Rwanda with one of her associates David Kim. Ji-Young has shared a message at UOB devotion and presented BAM materials and appropriate technology items to the UOB leadership team and will present the same to Korean missionaries. She also wanted to learn more about how God is working through UOB and transformational Christian micro finance. Jeffrey met and had a fellowship with Rev. Jong Pyo Im and his wife. They have been serving Africa for the past 30 years as missionaries. It was a great blessing to fellowship with them. UOB also received a couple of Harvard College students as interns for a few weeks: Kristine and Samuel. UOB will also receive another intern (Saangkeub Lee) from S. Korea for several weeks.

11. The Kininya sewing project that Kristin is handling continues to progress well. Out of 20 women who have been trained for the past nine months, 10 have been selected and they will start a commercial operation from January 2012. Their skills are not quite professional yet, but we trust they will improve further. We are excited!

15. Jeffrey continued serving God's people through preaching at UOB staff devotion, St. Etienne Cathedral and Agape Korean Church in Rwanda under establishment. He also led the weekly Shalom Bible Study, studying the Sermon on the Mount. It is a time of mutual blessing and spiritual growth.

16. We have the following Prayer Requests: Please...

* Pray for the UOB's continuing holistic transformational development through Christian micro finance in Rwanda.

* Pray for the scheduled beta pilot testing for mobile and agent banking in January
* Pray for a scaled-up progress in UOB's agricultural lending program.

* Pray for Kininya sewing women to be able to begin their commercial operation well from January.

* Pray for God's wisdom and guidance in designing effective educational finance products that will benefit many students in Rwanda

* Pray for our children (Amanda + James, and Joyce) who are still trying to figure out what God has in store for their lives on earth.

* Pray for God's peacefulness in the heart of Kristin's mom during her last days of life on earth

We appreciate your partnership with us through your prayer and support in 2011! Look forward to continuing our partnership in 2012!

I wish you and your family a blessed New Year!

Humbly and gratefully in His service,

Jeffrey and Kristin Lee from Kigali, RWANDA,

Happy New Year 2012...

2012-01-01T22:27:00.002+02:00

New Year's Day in 2012.

A new year has begun.
A new sun has risen.
A bright one.
A hopeful one.

No matter how glorious and joyous the previous year may have been,
No matter how many pains and sorrows it may have given,
The old one should be sent away.
That should be floated away.

The past is a cancelled check that is useless.
The future is an undue promissory note that cannot be used now.
The present is cash on hand that is priceless
That is available for use here and now.

No matter how promising the new year may look,
No matter how uncertain it may look,
No one and nothing can be more promising than Jesus,
No one and nothing can be more certain than Jesus.

On this first day of 2012,
On a strong promise of hope in Jesus I stand
On a clear certainty of rest in Jesus I find
On this first day of 2012.

On this first day of 2012.

- Jeffrey Lee

Shalom Bible Study Year-end Thanksgiving Gathering...

2012-01-01T16:02:00.000+02:00

On Friday, December 30th, Shalom Bible Study had a joint gathering between two groups. Including children and four guests, we had a group of 25 people. We first enjoyed gourmet foods that a few families prepared. They were delicious!!! May God bless those hands that cooked the food!

We had a great fellowship, eating, meeting new people, talking.

We watched a DVD, titled "Widow and Oil" based on 2 Kings 4:1-7. The situation that the widow had to face was challenging. Elisha was asking her "What do you have?" The widow said, "Nothing!" Indeed she was poor, but she had something. A little oil. God blessed this oil and multiplied it to fill dozens of jars that were borrowed from her neighbors. God's unceasing flow of blessing may only be experienced when we trust that He will provide in His way.

We all have something. Actually many things that we have received from God. But often we forget to see what we have received. Rather we tend to focus on what we wish to have or what we do not have. This causes a false sense of poverty. We should focus on what we have received and we now have, and be thankful to God who has provided. From there, we will be able to experience His abundant provision even more.

We all expressed our gratitude to God in prayer. Lord, thank you for this year's blessings! May we even more deepen our faith and trust in You in 2012 to experience greater abundance of your grace! - Jeffrey

UOB Staff Outreach to the Needy...

2012-01-01T15:56:00.000+02:00

On December 28th, Wednesday, UOB visited 22 families who were less fortunate than most of UOB staff. They are young genocide survivors without their parents. These visits are part of our staff's annual events to share God's love with those who are less fortunate than our staff. This year's visit is the second in a row after the last year's and were made in two groups. I joined a group that visited 19 families who are living together in one umudugudu (village) in Masaka.

UOB staff raised $800 and the bank matched the raised fund to provide 25 kg of white rice, 10 kg of sugar, 5 liters of cooking oil and 10 bars of soap. The 19 families we visited had a total members of 35, with their ages ranging from 18 to 43. They all had unforgettable pains that haunt them from time to time. But now they are living together as a community where all share the earnings and spending together based on the needs. Their shelters are temporary and eventually they will have to relocate to where the government designates. They had some concerns about this planned relocation since they are also growing pineapples where they are now, which help them financially.

Two of our staff also had similar pains in the past and their testimonials and encouragements were powerful. They have been able to overcome the past pains and challenges by surrendering their lives to Jesus who has faithfully cared for them to date. I shared the Word also, but I trust their encouragements were a lot more inspirational to them. I prayed that they will follow the same path in their journeys of life. I was proud of our staff.

They are growing four cows two of which were young calves. The little one was only one month young.

In a tiny living room where we met, I found a poster that showed several hands held together. Unity and cooperation were what I was able to read out of it.

I prayed also that their community living will only strengthen their unity and cooperation further. - Jeffrey

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-24T22:40:00.000+02:00

December 24, 2011, it is Christmas Eve. As usual, it is a quiet day and evening. But it is a lot closer to the first Christmas Eve. It was a silent night and holy night.

Kristin and I spent time, after dinner, reflecting on God's overflowing grace poured upon us in 2011. Indeed our experience of God's grace in 2011 has been undeserving and more than we could ever ask for. Of course, we had challenges and hardships. But all the experiences have produced goodness somehow.

* God kept us both healthy ... although I still had a few near-passout experiences on the airplanes.
* God solidified our mutual love and understanding even stronger than ever.
* God kept our children safe and healthy. He brought James (our son-in-law) back safely from Afghanistan.
* God kept using me in preaching and teaching the Word while growing my faith and maturing my trust in Him. He has been transforming a few young people in the Shalom Bible Study, noticeably to others. PTL!
* God prospered UOB by doubling our micro loan portfolio over the year, while maintaining an excellent portfolio quality. Also He enabled us to achieve the operating sustainability. I cannot be thankful enough to Him. He increased the number of clients we serve to over 120,000, an incredible amount of trust in us, and allowed us to scale up client transformation through Holistic Life Improvement modules. We must prove faithful since we have been given the trust. (1 Cor. 4:2)
* God expanded Kristin's sewing project for 20 women and her outreach to the needy.
* God kept our parents healthy while extending the life of Kristin's mother although in bed. We pray that her last days on earth may remain hopeful for the time to see the Lord face to face.
* God allowed me to climb and to stand on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro with four friends of mine. It was a thrilling and unforgettable experience! We called ourselves the Five of the Fifties. We all made it to the top!
* There are numerous more blessings that God gave us throughout 2011...

But, the greatest gift and grace that we have ever received and ever will receive is Jesus who came to earth in human flesh. God's divine incarnation. God made flesh. Eternity came into time and space. Glory turned to sin. Creator became creation. Unbearable and inconceivable. Simply undeserving. Amazing grace.

So, Christmas Eve can hardly be "Jingle Bell" or "Dashing through the snow" to me. It is a holy night, making me solemn, humble and ever grateful.

This Christmas Eve, though, had a difference. We were reflecting and talking, listening to the music sung by Placid Domingo, Jose Carreras and Diana Ross with the Vienna Symphony on December 23, 1992. Their music was a good company to our dialogue.

On the Christmas Day, we celebrate the birth of the Savior. But His birth is meaningful only when He becomes our Lord as well. His birth and redemptive death on the Cross bear fruits only when our hope for the promised return of our Lord becomes evident in our lives, His return being not as the slain lamb but as the Lion of Judah. As the King of the kings and the Lord of the lords. Not to die again but to judge and reign.

On this Christmas Day, may this confession be ours together! May we worship Him with deep gratitude. Thank you, Lord! - Jeffrey

New Creation Ministry Graduation

2011-12-21T21:06:00.000+02:00

[Gary Scheer... Graduates singing "Jesus loves me"....One of the graduates with Gary and his wife...
UOB Gospel Singers... UOB Gospel Singers leading the praise... Guests at the graduation ceremony]

On Saturday, December 10, New Creation Ministry (NCM) held a graduation ceremony for 18 pastors who completed their 2-year training through NCM's Pastor Training School.

NCM was founded by Gary Scheer, a missionary from Colorado, USA, who has been serving the Lord in Rwanda since 1979. His ministry focus has been on training pastors and church leaders who are influential to so many people in Rwanda.

On December 10, 18 pastors graduated. They included two Burundians and one Ugandan. They all were grateful for the teaching. They sang a song "Jesus loves me this I know." They looked so serious and their seriousness made me smile.

UOB Gospel Singers were invited to lead the praise time. I am so grateful for UOB Gospel Singers because they are so talented, first, but more importantly, their hearts and passions for God are so inspiring.

I was thinking of Gary and his wife Lori's dedicated service for the past 30+ years for Rwanda, and became so humbled. They are good friends of mine and Kristin's, and I became deeply grateful for them to the Lord. Gary has recently filed for a university level accredited school, called "Christian Leadership Institute of Rwanda" or CLIR. Once approved, it would be the first Christian accredited university for leadership education and training.

May their ministry be more abundantly blessed!

Below are some photos. - Jeffrey

Good Steward's Financial Management...

2011-12-11T06:59:00.006+02:00

On December 4 and 11, I led a seminar on "Good Steward's Financial Management" at Agape Korean Church in Rwanda. This 8-hour session dealt with the issues related to our financial matters.

The world is full of a disease, called "Affluenza." Affluenza is contagious and causes high fever to people when infected. It also has serious side effects. It makes people greedy and crave for materials and money. It also makes people fall in love with Hedonism, Materialism and Consumerism. It is a disease.

The most effective cure for Affluenza, particularly for Christians, is stewardship. It means realization that God owns everything and we are only managers or stewards. This is true because God owns mankind two times: once through His creation and twice through His redemption (buy-back) at the expense of Christ.

But, not all stewards are good stewards. Good stewards are those who not only accept God's ownership in everything but also make conscious efforts to managing possessions according to the owner's will.

The following questions may illustrate three types of people well:

1. Most people: "What shall I do with my money?" (my ownership and my desire)
2. Stewards: "What shall I do with God's money?" (God's ownership but my desire)
3. Good stewards: "What does God want me to do with His money?" (God's ownership and God's desire/will)

This good stewardship should be apparent and manifest in four aspects of financial management: Earning, Giving, Saving and Spending. I call them "four pillars of financial management."

Earning should be without greed to make money money. Whenever we feel we should make more money, we may fall into temptation. Earning should be without sacrificing any relationship, particularly family or friends, or health. Earning should also be without 'love of money.'

Giving should be made in priority. The first portion of the fruits should be dedicated to giving. It is a grace of giving. Giving means allotment according to God's will: God's portion, Neighbor's portion, Government's portion and my portion. This allotment means responsible giving. Moreover, sacrificial and generous giving has been encouraged because the best antidote to 'Affluenza' is giving.

Saving should be made in preparation for unproductive times and unpredictable events. Excessive accumulation of wealth without consideration for the owner is foolish, according to the Scriptures. The world tries to fool us with false calculation for the retirement needs. Retiring is re-tiring, a process to change the tire and keep going.

Spending is critical to all aspects of Good Steward's Financial Management. Uncontrolled spending will likely put pressure to all other aspects of financial life. It will tempt you to earn more, to give less and to save less. One should be cautious about "lifestyle creep" where your spending increases in anticipation of an increase in earning. Rockefeller suggested a 10-10-80 rule in that giving the first 10%, saving the next 10% and spending within the remaining 80%.

"One who gives away what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose is a no feel." (Jim Elliot)

It is my prayer that all who participated in the seminar may put a few lessons into their practical use. - Jeffrey

Ministry Updates - November 2011

2011-12-01T21:45:00.001+02:00

Dear friends, family and fellow Kingdom workers,

The month of November was another slow month at UOB due again to the seasonality, but the month was yet full of excitements. Here were the highlights:

1. UOB will distribute 7,000 English bibles to the leaders of trust groups so that their children may have English bibles and the Word of God may be passed unto the next generations. World Bible Translation Center is sponsoring these bibles. UOB received the first supply of 1,000 bibles and 480 bibles have been distributed in Gicumbi. It is our prayer that God's Living Word may impact young people of Rwanda. This was done as part of my plan to visit field staff at least once a year.

2. Mona Park from Philadelphia, PA, Kristin and I had an opportunity to visit one of Savings Circles HOPE International is supporting in cooperation with Rwanda's Anglican Churches. These Savings Circle are informal groups where they save regularly and lend to other members through which they grow their wealth gradually. UOB is exploring the possibility of providing linkage loans and services to help them graduate up to the formal financial services sector.

3. Korean missionaries in Rwanda continued the monthly prayer fellowship and it was a blessing to us all.

4. UOB signed a loan agreement to use Rwf575 million (approximately $1 million) from Rwanda Development Bank (BRD). With this funding, UOB has now secured a total of $5 million for 2012. Along with equity capital and deposits, this should be sufficient to cover all funding needs in 2012. Praise the Lord!

5. Kristin and Jeffrey received and had fellowship with several visitors, including Mona Park, wife of the senior pastor for Jubilee Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Byungsan Chung, a missionary with YWAM UK and Young Chun Byun, a missionary based in the Philippines. Their visits are always encouraging and uplifting.

6. UOB received the final report that documented UOB's Social Performance using CERISE format. It was the first time that we received such a report on social performance. It has provided a good guidance on what we should improve.

7. In November, UOB received several audits, including EU audit, Gates/Master Card Mid-term audit and Earnst & Young external audit for the third quarter. Audits are good in a sense they establish accountability, but too many at the same time create a significant burden. Nonetheless, our team has handled them pretty effectively.

7. As of November 30th, UOB's loan portfolio remained pretty flat Rwf6.9 billion, slightly lower than October 31st. This slight decline reflects the low seasonality in October and November.

8. UOB's outreach, however, continued to expand with its borrowing clients totaling 39,765, a few hundreds clients more than October 31st. This is wonderful in light of the challenges that we face in the field, particularly competition from new banks.

9. We continued our preparation to offer the third-party remittance services, including Western Union, Money Gram and RIA This will enhance UOB's product offering, in addition to the US dollar, wire transfer services and FX services that have been launched recently.

10. Meanwhile, PAR (Portfolio At Risk) > 30 days increased to 1.2% from 0.72% a month earlier, an undesirable move but this level still represented a very healthy level. We shall closely monitor how it moves.

11. We provided a 2-day credit training for approximately 18 staff on micro business lending (MBL). This group of people included 10 people who were selected out of the last month training group of 20 plus Loan Underwriting Team and other related staff. We trust that these training will provide competence in serving our clients who desire to graduate to individual loans from group loans.

12. A group of four graduate students from Johns Hopkins University will be working with UOB on a project related to agent banking. We had the first telephone conference in October and they will work off site until January when they will be on site for three weeks to produce a white paper proposing an effective implementation plan on agent banking. We look forward to working with them. Also we are in contact with St. Mary University in California and George Washington University MBA students on different projects.

12. The Kininya sewing project that Kristin is handling continues to progress well. Out of 20 women who have been trained for the past six months, 10 are able to produce simple products in commercial quality. They keep practicing their skills through pilot testing work. From January 2012, they will be able to generate income out of sewing. Later next year, they plan to form a cooperative to be more formal and to be able to bid for bigger contracts. We are excited!

13. Jeffrey continued serving God's saints through preaching at UOB staff devotion and Agape Korean Church in Rwanda under establishment. He also led the weekly Shalom Bible Study, studying the Sermon on the Mount. It is a mutually blessing time.

14. We have the following Prayer Requests: Please...

* Pray for the UOB's continuing holistic transformational development through Christian micro finance in Rwanda.

* Pray for the scheduled pilot testing for mobile and agent banking in December
* Pray for a scaled-up progress in UOB's agricultural lending program.

* Pray for a mission team who will arrive in December with a focus on Business As Mission (BAM) products for Rwanda

* Pray for God's wisdom and guidance in designing effective educational finance products that will benefit many students in Rwanda

* Pray for our children (Amanda + James, and Joyce) who are still trying to figure out what God has in store for their lives on earth.

* Pray for God's peacefulness in the heart of Kristin's mom during her last days of life on earth

We appreciate your partnership with us through prayer and support.

Gratefully and joyfully in His service,

Jeffrey and Kristin Lee from Kigali, RWANDA,

7,000 English Bibles for Rwanda

2011-11-18T06:25:00.010+02:00

UOB has agreed to work with an NGO in the US to distribute 7,000 English bibles to Rwandans. UOB has received the first batch of 1,000 bibles and on November 18th, we distributed 480 bibles to Gicumbi, a northern part of Rwanda.

Most of UOB clients cannot read nor speak English. But their children are learning in English at their schools. It is our desire to see these English bibles passed onto the children of our clients so that the Word of God may be spread to young generations of Rwanda.

UOB has approximately 40,000 borrowing clients. So it is not feasible to distribute the bibles to all. So we will distribute the bibles to each trust group's committee members. In Gicumbi alone, there are almost 3,000 clients and the committee members are approximately 480, hence 480 bibles. We distributed the first four bibles to the leaders of a group with whom we spent time discussing about how we can better serve them. This group was started in 2003 and has since been continuously increasing their activities.

One of the members mentioned that "UOB was the first institution that empowered women and we will never forget that." What an encouraging statement! We praise the Lord who has been at the center of all we have been doing. - Jeffrey

HOPE International and Savings Circle...

2011-11-17T06:03:00.004+02:00

On November 17th, we had an opportunity to visit one of the Savings Circle that HOPE International is helping to form and run in Rwanda. Savings Circle are informal groups where members gather together, save regularly and lend to other members. HOPE is working with Rwanda Anglican Churches in helping the poorest of the poor learn to save and borrow to increase their economic activities.

The Savings Circle that we visited was involved in growing coffee, raising pigs and chickens, growing vegetables etc. The members were 183 in total operating through 12 Circles under the leadership of Pastor John, who was joyous with a big smile all the time.

Through their enhanced economic activities, they are now building a new church building and a new home for the pastor, where the Savings Circle also meet. The meeting was with the leaders of Savings Circles and their president. They all were proud of the achievements with deep gratitude to God who has enabled them to start the savings and improve their basic life quality.

They had a request for considering a loan for them to buy a truck to transport their produce faster for a better value. Also we discussed about "Linkage" loans to help increase their economic activities. We prayed together for God's blessing and provision in their endeavor to eradicate the poverty. - Jeffrey

Sylvan

2011-11-14T18:27:00.006+02:00

Sylvan used to be a security guard for the house where we are staying now. He was transferred to another house by the landlord, but a few months ago, he was let go when the tenant decided not to keep him.

He moved to our neighborhood staying with his friends. He has been doing some cleaning at our place and Kristin has arranged with other homes to use his cleaning services to help him earn money for his living.

But his heart was in riding the motor taxi. He has secured a riding license but he also had to secure a jacket and rent a motorcycle to do the business. Unfortunately he did not have sufficient resources. We wanted to be of service to him.

Now he is riding the motor taxi for a few days a week while he is still working as a janitor and a home assistant from time to time. He also has a sponsor for his secondary education.

One day, he has shown up on the motor taxi. He wanted to show us how he was doing it. We took a few photos. He was happy. He has regained dignity and become more hopeful than before. He is still poor by any standard even in Rwanda, but now he is hopeful that he will resume his study and he will be able to look forward to the future, one that empowers him to endure and persevere the present challenges in hope. He has been a blessing to us. - Jeffrey

November 13, Sunday --- God's Glorious Riches

2011-11-13T06:51:00.006+02:00

Today, November 13, 2011, I preached at Agape Korean Church in Rwanda. The second Sunday of every month is my turn.

The sermon was titled "God's Glorious Riches."

God provides for His people. When He provides, He is not stingy. He provides abundantly. His abundant provision is often overflowing. Based on scriptures, "my cup overflows", "barns will overflow", "my carts overflow", "my lips overflow with praises...", "overflowing joy" and "overflow with the expression of thanksgiving."

One observation from these scriptures is that the cup or container must be filled first before it can overflow. Thus, if the container is small, things can overflow more easily than when the container is big. In other words, the smaller the container, the easier the overflowing will be.

This container can be compared to one's own desire. If one's desire is big, it will be difficult for him or her to experience the overflowing until his or her desire is filled. On the other hand, if one's desire is kept small, he or she will be relatively easy to experience the overflow.

Let me explain this in another way.

Let us suppose there is certain quantity of substance to be put into one's container. If one's desire is big, he or she will feel that he or she is not filled, thus feeling he or she needs more. On the other hand, if one's desire is small, he or she may feel fully filled, thus overflowing the substance out of his or her heart.

Normally, people are willing and able to share with others to the extent of the overflow and to be thankful to the extent the overflow.

Christians should make conscious efforts to reducing the desire under all circumstances. That is how we could be thankful always more often than not.

Regardless of the size of our containers, however, God's glorious riches can fill and overflow all our containers combined because His glorious riches are far greater and more than anyone can ever imagine.

First, Philippians 4:19 says that He will meet all our needs abundantly according to His glorious riches. All our needs could be tremendous but God's glorious riches will be more than enough to meet and exceed.

Second, God's glorious riches not only provide for our physical needs, but also provide for the "things above", as commanded of Christians according to Colossians 3:1,2. They are made available through God's grace and in Christ. (Ephesians 2:6,7)

That is why someone said that God's GRACE stands for "God's Riches At Christ's Expense." I think it makes perfect sense.

How do you experience God's glorious riches, then?

Let us try to find the answers from Ephesians 3:14-19. This passage suggest three ways:

1. "through the power of the Holy Spirit who is in our inner being, we may be strengthened." The presence and work of the Holy Spirit make it possible for us to experience the glorious riches. The Holy Spirit provides us with the channel to God's power and His riches.

2. "Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith." Christ's indwelling signifies His reigning over our lives and our submission to His authority. This is made possible only when we have genuine faith, not necessarily the faith that saves but the faith that sanctifies. Then, we can fully experience His glorious riches.

3. "we may have power by being deeply rooted and established in love." We also can experience God's glorious riches when we are full of love that has been manifest in our lives, which we do not deserve. Love embraces everything and represents the essence of all riches that are made available by God. We should be deeply rooted in this love.

May we all fully experience and enjoy these glorious riches through the power of the Holy Spirit, genuine submission to the authority of Christ and being deeply rooted in love that encompasses everything! - Jeffrey

November 10, Thursday...Korean Missionary Fellowship

2011-11-10T22:45:00.004+02:00

From last month, Korean missionaries in Rwanda started a monthly fellowship gathering. We gather together to fellowship over a potluck dinner and through prayer.

There are six families in Rwanda and each family's ministry is quite different from each other. Someone does church planting, another focuses on pastoral training and bible distribution, another carries out mercy ministry through medical and dental services, another gets involved in community development, another plans for agricultural project and education. We need each other's support and encouragement. It has been a blessing to all of us.

Not only Korean missionaries in Rwanda but also some missionaries in other countries have also joined the fellowship. One missionary from Kenya is in the process of setting up a branch for its pastoral teaching school branch. Another missionary who is now in the Philippines is planning to relocate to Rwanda after his 10-year ministry in the country. I have also received a phone call from a missionary who is now in Burundi and is planning to relocate to Rwanda.

It it my prayer that this gathering will develop into a fellowship that builds up each other through prayer and caring. May the Lord keep us in unity and under His gracious care! - Jeffrey

New Bible Study on "Sermon on the Mount"

2011-11-04T06:24:00.004+02:00

On November 4th, Shalom Bible Study began a new bible study on "Sermon on the Mount." It will take at least 5 months to study the 5th, 6th and 7th chapters of the Gospel according to Matthew.

[Missionary Koh is not in the photo, taking this photo.]

A total of 11 people have begun the study. Our group has a diverse age group from teens to 50's. After a split in August, SBS has grown again to 11. It is God's grace that we continue growing in number of people who desire to learn more about the Word and God's will. May God's faithfulness and goodness continue to prevail upon us and our group over the next 5 months or so.

The Sermon on the Mount was the first public message that Jesus delivered to His disciples to be different, as the citizens of His Kingdom, from the worldly people. May we learn and live godly lives through which His gospel message may be spread to others! - Jeffrey

BRD Loan $1 million Signed...

2011-11-02T21:03:00.006+02:00

On November 1st, UOB signed a $1 million worth local currency loan agreement with Rwanda Development Bank (BRD). BRD is Rwanda's development bank that provides funding for the sectors commercial banks are not willing to support without risk mitigation, such as education, agricultural, micro finance and development projects. This is the first formal event that we have sealed off after UOB signed an MOU with BRD in 2009.

This loan will be used to help expand UOB's micro credit programs. It has taken quite a long time, but it has finally been signed.

God has been gracious to UOB in funding. UOB has now secured all funding required for the whole year 2012 even before the year begins. It is significant because we are projecting a growth of $5.6 million in 2012. Praise the Lord! - Jeffrey

Ministry Update - October 2011...

2011-11-01T06:11:00.004+02:00

Dear friends, family and fellow Kingdom workers,

The month of October was a little slow in UOB activities due mainly to the seasonality, but we still had a lot of excitements going. Here are the highlights:

1. Jeffrey attended the Opportunity International CEO Conference in Franshhoek, S. Africa.: It was an important strategic meeting, clarifying the vision, mission and triple bottom lines that OI Network is pursuing under the new leadership of OI Network and GMO (Global Microfinance Operations). We praised the Lord together, particularly on how God has been blessing UOB and its clients for the first nine months of 2011.

2. Shalom Bible Study (SBS) completed the study on the Book of Acts in October. It has been a 10-month long journey. We praise the Lord for His grace poured upon us through the study. SBS will study the Sermon on the Mount for the next several months.

3. Korean missionaries in Rwanda started their monthly fellowship and prayer meeting in October. We trust that we may edify and encourage each other through these meetings.

4. Jeffrey organized a training seminar on "Rwandan Culture" for Koreans. Gary Scheer, a 30 + year long missionary from the U.S. was the speaker and 30 people benefited from Gary's insightful views on Rwandan culture.

5. Jeffrey received several groups of visitors, including 23 IFC delegates under its Corporate Leadership Program, 26 Rice University MBA students. We pray that what God is doing through UOB are also transforming the visitors to have a better and more clear perspective on the underprivileged people in the developing nations.

6. Jeffrey had an opportunity to meet Mats Tunehag, a Swidish expert on Business As Mission (BAM) along with a few other Kingdom businessmen, including Tom Philipps, a long-time friend and supporter of UOB. It was an exciting and encouraging time to meet them and share common world views on God's grand salvation plan, particularly on BAM. May God advance His Kingdom through many BAMs particularly in the hostile strategic frontiers for world mission.

7. As of October 31st, UOB's loan portfolio reached almost Rwf7.0 billion or US$11.6 million, slightly higher than September 30th. Honestly, we anticipated a slight decline in October due mainly to the seasonality. Despite our little faith, however, God has shown His good will and power through the last minute spurt beyond our imagination. During the month, the portfolio balance dropped by as much as Rwf500 million. God's amazing grace is abundant and we honor Him!

8. UOB's outreach also continued to expand with its borrowing clients totaling 39,427. This was attributed also to God's grace that enabled our staff to make an effective outreach.

10. Meanwhile, PAR (Portfolio At Risk) > 30 days remained strong at 0.72%, well below 1%. This is marvelous!

11. We provided a 3-day credit training for 20 young people on micro business lending (MBL). 10 people will be selected out of this group to attend an intermediate level of credit training to be held in November. This is to prepare our staff to be able to handle our clients who desire to graduate to individual loans from group loans.

12. The Kininya sewing project that Kristin is handling continues to progress well. 20 women are now making more complex products. It has been six months since the projected started, but at their request we agreed to extend the training period for two more months.

13. Jeffrey continued serving God's saints through preaching at UOB staff devotion and Agape Korean Church in Rwanda under establishment.

14. We have the following Prayer Requests: Please...

* Pray for the UOB's continuing holistic transformational development through Christian micro finance in Rwanda.

* Pray for the scheduled pilot testing for mobile and agent banking in December
* Pray for a scaled-up progress in UOB's agricultural lending program.

* Pray for God's wisdom and guidance in designing effective educational finance products that will benefit many students in Rwanda

* Pray for our children (Amanda + James, and Joyce) who are still trying to figure out what God has in store for their lives on earth.

* Pray for God's peacefulness in the heart of Kristin's mom during her last days of life on earth

We thank you for standing with us in our ministry through prayer and support.

Humbly and gratefully in His service,

Jeffrey and Kristin Lee from Kigali, RWANDA,

7 billion people on earth...

2011-10-31T06:07:00.005+02:00

Today, October 31st, 2011, the earth population reached 7 billion. This compares to 2.8 billion in 1955. It is projected to reach 9 billion by 2045. Can the earth take these many people?

Some call it a population bomb.

Every second, 3-5 people are newly born. On November 5th, the population has already reached 7 billion and 1 million. It is scary.

Can the earth supply the food for its population?

One out of every seven people will go to bed hungry every night. It is a cold reality of hunger and poverty.

Most of us who are reading this article do not worry about the hunger. But there are people who are hungry and in poverty. We cannot and should not ignore these people. We should do something to help these people graduate out of the chronic and absolute poverty. - Jeffrey

Shalom Bible Study (SBS) Completed the Acts...

2011-10-28T06:27:00.007+02:00

Praise the Lord!

Shalom Bible Study completed the study of the Book of Acts over the past 7-8 months. We celebrated God's grace over our study and our successful completion. Through the study, we witnessed how the great commission was emphasized to all of us, how the church was born when the Holy Spirit descended upon the saints, how the early church in Jerusalem was established and ministering to people, how Stephan was martyred and how the church was forced to be scattered, how the apostles proclaimed the gospel with miraculous signs and wonders, how the apostle Paul was boldly witnessing who Jesus was and what He has done for us and how we may know God and may be saved. What a powerful journey of the Holy Spirit!

We all learned that the Acts of the Holy Spirit have not ended at the 28th Chapter of Acts. We Christians are called to continue writing the 29th Chapter of the Acts through our lives. Whether we participate or not, the Acts of the Holy Spirit will continue and when we do we shall share the joy of our God. If we do not, we will miss the opportunity to be part of God's grand salvation plan.

Shalom Bible Study dates back to 2009 when Kristin and I started a small bible study with three KOICA volunteers: Jooheum, Jihun and Sangmin. The SBS started growing gradually and we ended up splitting the group in August 2011 since it was getting far too big. For this study, some members started the study together but had to go back to Korea without completing the study, but new members also joined in the process. The members who remain in the SBS now include:

Missionary Koh's family (Mrs. Koh and their son Kyungchul)

Deacon Sejun Park

Jihye Moon

Minjung Kim

Hyeyoung ChoiSunghye Yoon

Isaac Baik

Garam Kwon

Kristin and me

From the list of topics and bible books that I suggested, we have agreed to study next on the "Sermon on the Mount." Many wanted to study on "Good Steward's Financial Management" but this study has been decided to be shared with the members of Agape Korean Church of Rwanda on one Saturday.

We rejoiced greatly together in the completion and encouraged each other to be faithful to the

next study.

I have included a few photos that show the SBS history:

[A group photo taken after SBS was split, August 2011]

[A group photo taken after the study of Ephesians, March 2010. Junghee, Jihun, Yeonhee, Sangmin and Jooheum]

[A group photo taken after completing the study on "Romans." A humble beginning in 2009 with Jooheum, Jihun and Sangmin.]

To date, SBS has completed the studies on "Ephesians", "Romans", "God's Names and Titles", "Kingdom of Heaven and Kingdom Life" and "Acts." May God continue to lead us to improve our knowledge of God and His will so that our lives may reflect His will and love to bring Him the glory that He deserves! - Jeffrey

Opportunity International CEO Conference

2011-10-25T06:33:00.006+02:00

On October 24 and 25, there was Opportunity International CEO Conference held in Franshhoek, S. Africa. Franshhoek means "French Corner" that is 45 minutes away from Cape Town and is known for its Alps-looking mountenous scenery and wineries.

Originally, this conference was organized as OI Africa CEO Conference. But OI Network has newly appointed the CEO for its GMO (Global Microfinance Operations) and this new CEO wanted to conduct a brainstorming session on OI's triple bottom lines with the 9 CEOs in Africa

and 2 CEOs in Eastern Europe. Along with him, Chairman of the OI Network Board was also in attendance and so are many other GMO chiefs, such as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Risk Officer, Chief Information Officer, Chief Auditor and a few functional directors for African regions. There was a group of 26.

On the first day, all country CEOs gave a short presentation about how they are performing in their respective countries, YT September, and a snapshot budget for 2012 and their funding needs. On behalf of UOB staff, I was pleased to report how God has been graciously blessing UOB and its clients for the first nine months of 2011. A 77% growth in loans and 48% growth in deposits, operational self sustainability of 111% in September, an excellent PAR>30 of 0.74%, significant client growth, improved productivity and efficiency, apparent progress in client transformation etc.

Moreover, I was only one presenting that was not in need of additional funding for 2012, while all others asked for additional funding, except for Eastern European implementing members, since we have already secured all funding required for the projected growth of almost 50%. We praised the Lord! Besides, we were projecting an annual OSS of 102% with a projected ROE of 10%, the mandated maximum ROE.

On the second day, we spent an extensive amount of time brainstorming about OI's triple bottom lines: Transformational Impact, Sustainability and Outreach. Normally I remain quiet in the conference unless there are essential issues to be discussed. But I was encouraged by both the OIN Chairman as well as the new GMO CEO to speak up and share our experiences at UOB. I ended up presenting the Christ-centered, client-focused service graphs that are tied to the OI's triple bottom lines and triple transformational impact graphs. They all liked it and I was happy to share what has been used at UOB. The leadership also asked us to assist other implementing members to enhance their client transformation efforts, such as Holistic Life Improvement modules. Absolutely!

It was an intensive two-day meeting, but we all felt encouraged by the OIN executive leadership's commitment to the Christian-faith and to transformation. We all left hopeful for the progress to be made over the next six months or so until we meet and report the progress. May our good Lord bless the OIN leadership to steer the largest Christian microfinance organization in the world into the right direction where God's glory may be manifest in an uplifting way! - Jeffrey

Meeting with Mats Tunehag

2011-10-21T06:26:00.004+02:00

On Friday, October 21st, 2011, I had one of the exciting moments of meeting someone you wanted to meet. I met Mats Tunehag. He is one of the world-renowned experts in Business As Mission or BAM. He is serving the Lausant Movement and writes many articles and books about BAM.

He came to us as part of Bridge 2 Rwanda's guests. B2R is an NGO founded by Dale Dawson, a Christian investment banker who turned himself to the Kingdom business of bringing resources and borrowed talents to Rwanda. He is a member of UOB board.

[Chuck, me, Mats, Tom and Russ. Dale had to leave for an appointment.]

Along with him, Dale this time brought several friends, such as Tom Phillips, a long-time supporter of UOB and Opportunity International. He has already started a chicken farm and is starting a mini hydraulic power plant. Both of them are Kingdom businesses dedicated to His Kingdom. We also had Chuck Weldon and Russ Bylsma who are in hospitality business. They came to Rwanda to see if they can start a BAM in the hospitality industry. Mats Tunehag has come to observe what is happening in Rwanda.

We had an exciting time, sharing what the Lord has done in our lives and what He has bestowed upon us. We easily clicked because we shared many common views and identified a few mutual friends. What a small world! He told me that after this visit to Rwanda he would be going to New York to speak to Korean American BAMers. We quickly identified 'who's who.' Isn't it amazing?

May God bless all my brothers in Christ and many of His people to be great blessings to others who are in need through the Kingdom businesses! - Jeffrey

IFC Corporate Leadership Program Delegates

2011-10-18T21:46:00.004+02:00

On October 17 and 18, I had an opportunity to meet with 26 delegates from IFC (International Finance Corporation), World Bank's arm to assist the private sectors of the
developing countries. These delegates came to Rwanda as part of its Corporate Leadership Program designed to develop the emerging middle management leadership.

On 17th, a group of 9 delegates visited UOB and we talked about who we are and what we do. They also attended one of our client group meetings.

On 18th, I again met with the 9 delegates for one and a half hour about leadership: what it is and how it should be to be effective. I also shared my faith journey to Rwanda and Christian values. They all appreciated my sharing. Praise the Lord!

After this session, we met altogether with a couple

of other local leaders in a group setting for an hour. We discussed a few issues that were most appealing to them.

They are future leaders of IFC. UOB borrowed $2.5 million from them to finance UOB's micro finance activities. But, the process was far too long and we almost gave up a few times along the way. I emphasized to them that, in the information age, speed in providing service was critical. In the industrial age, a big fish ate a small fish. But in the information age, a fast fish eat a slow fish. They took my constructive criticism graciously. That gave me some hope.

They met also with President Kagame and they all were excited about this photo. Why not?

- Jeffrey

Rice University MBA Students

2011-10-12T05:17:00.003+02:00

On Wednesday, October 12, 2011, I had a meeting with 23 Rice University MBA students over breakfast. This is the third time meeting with Rice University students. Rice University is a Christian school based in Houston, Texas, in the U.S.

These students come to Rwanda to work on business venture projects, primarily in health care and IT. This program is led by Professor Marc Epstein who used to also teach at Harvard University.

This time, the students had five groups, including one specialized in education. Each group had its own product brochure and they were quite impressive. One of them was solar-powered learning device that can easily be distributed at affordable prices to children.

I shared with them about micro finance and UOB. I also shared briefly about my faith journey to Rwanda as Marc dragged me into it. He told me later that he and many students appreciated my testimony about Christian faith and values. Praise the Lord!

It is always refreshing and encouraging to interact with young intellectual minds. Conversation is fresh and stimulating. That is how I learn and grow. Learning never stops.

May these business ideas be incubated into viable enterprises to help Rwandan transform! - Jeffrey

October 9, Sunday... Life Worthy of the Calling...

2011-10-09T06:30:00.003+02:00

On Sunday, October 9, I preached at Agape Korean Church in Rwanda, the only Korean church in Rwanda.

The following is the summary of the sermon:

We all desire to be called by someone who is significant. Christians have been called by the Almighty God who created and has been operating the entire universe and everything in it, beautifully, perfectly and harmoniously. What a privilege it is! How? In many ways, but here is the most typical one. "Come to me." Some were called also by way of "Come and see" or "Follow me."

Matthew 11:28-30 describe "the Greatest Invitation" as John Stott called it. His invitation had two components.

First, Jesus called the most burdened and weary to Himself so that He may give the rest by lifting off the burden and carrying it on their behalf. Indeed, He carried the burdens of all sinners on the cross and died the redemptive death. This rest is not a physical one but a spiritual one, the salvation from eternal condemnation. (Isa. 53:6; John 1:29; Hebrews 19:28)

Then, is it an once-in-a-life time event? No. The calling to restore the relationship with God may be one if the calling is responded properly, but it is also an on-going event where we can receive and enjoy His rest everyday as we surrender ourselves to His authority.

The second component of His invitation was "Take my yoke" and this signifies the call to our surrender/submission to His authority. Jesus was the Savior in the first calling and Jesus is requiring us to submit ourselves to His authority as the Lord and Master in our everyday life. But His yoke does not produce another burden but instead, "you will find rest in your souls" for His yoke is light and easy. Christ's yoke is indeed the necessary boundary for our freedom we enjoy in Him. (Please refer to the previous blog-post for more details.)

Then, what are the spheres of our life that enable us to find rest for our souls? There are six spheres, the first two of which are related to God, the next two to self and the final two to others:

1. Worship: It is natural that we, as God's creations, find rest when we worship the Creator God. We worship Him through praise, confession of our faith, offerings. God commands us to worship Him alone, for there is no other God and none like Him.

2. Growing and maturing faith: There are so many voices that tempt us to believe: the Satan, the world and the self-righteous inner voice. But we will find rest for our souls when we believe what the Creator is telling us. He urges us to use the shield of faith against the flaming arrows, the ungodly temptations.

3. Holiness: Holiness is God's essence. He calls us to be holy also. (1 Peter 1:15,16) He even urges us to perfect the holiness. (2 Corinthians 7:1) We will find rest for our souls when we pursue God's attribute. Pursuing holiness requires cleansing unholy and ungodly attributes and behaviors. This process requires unceasing repentance and prayer for forgiveness. He promised to forgive our inequities when we repent. (1 John 1:9)

4. Living according to His will: Life require endless decision-making. Each decision is made on the basis of something that we believe and value to be right. No one wants or intends to make a wrong decision. Jesus is urging us to make our decisions according to God's will. God's will includes ones that are general in nature and that are particular to individuals. His general wills have been revealed through the nature (visually), the Scripture (verbally) and Jesus Christ (both visually and verbally). His particular wills that are applicable to individuals have been and are being revealed through the understanding of the Scripture, counsel with the wise and the godly. It takes commitment and obedience to live according to God's will, but when we do, we find rest in Him for our souls.

5. Sharing the good news: Salvation by His grace and through our faith in Jesus Christ is indeed a good news. If we choose to keep the good news to ourselves, it is a selfish decision. It is natural to share a good news with family, friends and even strangers if indeed it is a good news that does not bring you any harm. The spiritual good news that Jesus is the Way to the Father God must be shared with all nations as His witness to the ends of the earth until He returns as the King of the kings and the Lord of the lords on the Day of the Lord. (Matthew 28:19,20; Acts 1:8; Matthew 24:14) We find rest for our souls when we do the Great Commission of God.

6. Serving the neighbors in love: Loving and serving the neighbors, particularly the underprivileged ones, is also a mandate. (Deuteronomy 15:11) It is a new commandment and when we obey it the world will know that we are his disciples. (John 13:34,35) When we love others, we have completed the law. (Romans 13:8) When we love each other, God's love is made complete. (1 John 4:12) We find rest for our souls when we obey God's command.

Now we know that we have been called to come to Jesus to receive the spiritual rest and to take on Christ's yoke to find rest for our souls. Then how do you live such a life?

In Ephesians 4:1-6, Apostle Paul is urging Christ-followers to live the life worthy of the calling we have received.

1. Be completely humble and gentle: In Matthew 11:29,30, Jesus was describing Himself to be gentle and humble. They are Christ's attributes and He is urging us to be like Him. To be humble is before God who is almighty. When we humble ourselves before Him, He promised to lift us up in His time. (1 Peter 5:6) Humility comes before honor. (Proverb 15:33) To be gentle is towards others. John Stott called gentleness "tamed or controlled strength." Whatever strength we may have should be used in a controlled or tamed manner. This way, we will be able to live a life worthy of His calling.

2. Be patient bearing with one another in love: This is required not when everything is going well or as expected. This is required when things are not going well, when someone is rubbing you off, when you dislike what someone else is saying or doing, even when someone hates you or persecutes you for no reason. So it is not easy. It is easier said than done. Rather it is tough. Nonetheless, that is the way we should live. We recite in the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Our forgiving our debtors comes before God's forgiving our debts. It is a sobering command. But that is how the body of Christ grows and we grow in Him. (Ephesians 4:15,16)

3. Keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace: God is one. The Spirit is one. The Lord is one. We were called to one hope. There is one faith. One baptism. One body. (Ephesians 4:4-6) Before Jesus was arrested to complete His redemptive death, He prayed three times each for Himself, for the disciples and for all saints. In His prayer for all saints, He prayed for unity among the saints. So unity among saints is not an option but a mandate. We should make every effort to keep this unity. The best way to keep this unity is through the bond of peace. God is the King of peace and Jesus is Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6) Jesus was the peacemaker between the Holy God and the sinful men by becoming the sin and the curse. So we Christ-followers must also be peacemakers. Peacemakers are blessed because they shall be called the children of God. (Matthew 5:9) The author of the Hebrews urged us to be in peace with everyone, if possible. (Hebrews 12:14)

We Christ-followers have been called to rest in Him and to take on His yoke to find rest for our souls. We are also urged to live a life worthy of the calling by being completely humble and gentle, being patient and bearing with one another in love and keeping the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. We pledge to do so because we love Him and love to serve Him by honoring and obeying His commandments. May we all be living a life worthy of His calling! - Jeffrey

Christ's Yoke... Necessary Boundary for Freedom

2011-10-03T06:51:00.005+02:00

On Monday, October 4, I preached at UOB staff devotion. The message was about "Christ's Yoke" based on Matt. 11:25-30. This was in commemoration of John Stott who now went to the Lord to rest in peace.

In the passage, Jesus gave two affirmations and made two invitations.

Two affirmations were that 1) God revealed Himself completely through Jesus Christ and 2) God revealed Himself only to His believers like little children.

There is no way any man may be able to know God unless He himself reveals. He has revealed some through nature and more through the Scriptures. But His revelation was made complete through Jesus Christ who Himself was God and came down to earth as human. Jesus was the Word made flesh. (John 1:14) In nature, God's revelation was visualized. In the Scriptures, His revelation was verbalized. But in Christ, His revelation was both visualized and verbalized. What a blessing it was to know Him.

Two invitations were to His followers that 1) "Come to me, you weary and burdened. I will give you rest." and 2) "Take my yoke for it is light and my burden is light." As Savior, Jesus invited people to come to Him for rest. His way of giving the rest was by lifting up the burden that we humankind were carrying. He carried the burden Himself on our behalf as the Lamb of God. (Isa. 53:6; John 1:29) At the same time, Jesus also invited us to take His own yoke. This is the claim for His Lordship over His followers and it balances against the rest that He provides. But, His Lordship is not burdensome to people. Rather it is easy and light. This is the necessary boundary for the freedom He provided when people accepted and believed the Truth. (John 8:31,32)

A good analogy for the Christ's yoke is fish that is in water. She enjoys all the freedom as long as she is in water. If fish decides to jump out of water to explore the world outside water, she immediately faces danger and risks her life. We as Christians need this yoke that is obedience to His authority, particularly His Word.

May we enjoy the freedom that is abundantly provided within the Christ's yoke that is easy and light! - Jeffrey

First Science Competition in Rwanda...

2011-10-02T13:32:00.007+02:00

On Saturday, October 1, five KOICA volunteers jointly held the first Science Competition in Rwanda. The competition was held among high schools (secondary schools) for team competition and also for individual competiton. The areas of competition were:

1. Dropping eggs from the highest p

oint without breaking them.

[some of the samples]

2. Making bridges with chopsticks which can hold the heaviest weight

[photos of a bridge holding a weight of 20 kg, second right below]

3. Flying gliders longest

4. Shooting water longest

The participants also competed on solving mathematical problems.

The winners received NetBook computers and they all were excited about the significant and valuable gifts that they received.

It was very well organized, well attended and well executed. Kudos to young KOICA volunteers!

It is their hope that this tradition will be continued to spark the interest of young students in science that will be the basis for this country's dream to be the East Africa's ICT hub. - Jeffrey

Ministry Update - September 2011

2011-10-01T06:18:00.004+02:00

Dear friends, family and fellow Kingdom workers,

We continued to experience God's grace also in September.

The following highlights the ministry updates for September 2011:

1. I visited four EBUs in September: Ngoma, Kigali West, Musanze EBU/Branch and Kigali East. I listened to their opportunities, challenges, transformation progress and requests. I met some clients to see how we can serve them better.

2. UOB did an outreach to Nyaruguru District in collaboration with a medical/dental mission team from S. Korea under an NGO called "Hearts and Hands International." Our clients and potential clients received medical and dental services from a total of 14 people, including a medical doctor, two dentists, a nurse, three dental hygienists and several assistants. Kristin joined the team for a week to serve Rwandans in Musanze and Nyaruguru Districts. They altogether treated 400 patients and provided medicines for hundreds of more people. They plan to continue to send mission teams every six months and we agreed to collaborate.

3. We held the quarterly board meeting. The board blessed three initiatives that we proposed on agricultural lending, EduFinance program and mobile/agency banking. We are thrilled to proceed with the initiatives.

4. We started providing "linkage loans" for the informal savings and credit groups in the villages. We hope to help build their economic and financial capacities to graduate up to the formal financial sector. We partner with Catholic Rescue Services and CARE International for now. We are also talking with HOPE. We hope to see up to 100,000 Rwandans benefit from this program by the end of 2012.

5. We signed a definitive agreement with Edify to provide private school development loans to Christian schools. We look forward to seeing Christian private schools expand their services to Rwandan youth. We will start a program under which up to $100,000 may be provided within a year.

6. As of September 30th, UOB's loan portfolio exceeded Rwf6.9 billion or US$11.5 million, up 4.5% or Rwf300 million (US$500K) from August 31st. This translates to a 77% growth from YE 2010! I am amazed by the continued growth that God is allowing for UOB in 2011. It is all God's grace and we praise Him!

7. UOB's outreach also continued to expand with its borrowing clients totaling 39,040, an increase of 1,506 clients from the previous month-end. This was attributed also to God's grace that enabled our staff to make an effective outreach.

8. We continued our preparation to offer the third-party remittance services, including Western Union, Money Gram and RIA This will enhance UOB's product offering, in addition to the US dollar, wire transfer services and FX services that have been launched recently.

9. Meanwhile, PAR (Portfolio At Risk) > 30 days remained strong at 0.74%, well below 1%. This is marvelous!

10. We have expanded our agricultural loans to rice, maize and Irish potato farmers.

11. UOB had an off-site monitoring meeting with the BNR, the central bank, in September. While we are still waiting for the final examination report from the central bank, the off-site meeting indicated an improved rating overall.

12. UOB received 1,000 English bibles from Bible League in the U.S., which are part of a total of 7,000 bibles to be supplied to UOB. These will be distributed to the committee members of trust groups in hopes that they will be passed down to their children to help spread the Word of God to young generations in Rwanda.

13. Jeffrey continued serving God's saints through preaching at UOB staff devotion and a Agape Korean Church in Rwanda under establishment, and leading Shalom Bible Study. We are still studying the Book of Acts (of the Holy Spirit).

14. We have the following Prayer Requests: Please...

* Pray for the UOB's continuing holistic transformational development through Christian micro finance in Rwanda.

* Pray for the steady implementation of UOB's e-Wallet strategy.
* Pray for a scaled-up progress in UOB's agricultural lending program.

* Pray for God's wisdom and guidance in designing effective educational finance products that will benefit many students in Rwanda

* Pray for our children (Amanda + James, and Joyce) who are still trying to figure out what God has in store for their lives on earth.

* Pray for God's peacefulness in the heart of Kristin's mom during her last days of life on earth

We thank you for co-laboring with us in our ministry with your interest and support.

Joyfully and gratefully in His service,

Jeffrey and Kristin Lee from Kigali, RWANDA,

Trip to Musanze...

2011-09-23T05:57:00.005+02:00

On Friday, September 23rd, I made a trip to Musanze, the north western hub in Rwanda, to visit UOB staff at Musanze Regional Center and to meet the Irish potato farmers. Emmanuel Mugandura traveled with me as an interpreter.

Musanze Regional Center houses Musanze EBU (Entrepreneurial Business Unit), Musanze RSC (Regional Support Center) and Musanze Branch, with a total staff of 21.

Musanze EBU serves over 4,000 clients in six districts: Musanze, Nyabihu, Rubavu, Ngororero, Burera and Gakenke through 11 relational staff while Musanze Branch serves an additional 2,000 clients since it was opened in early 2011.

Our meeting with the staff lasted for about three hours, centering around the bankwide performance update, new products and services under development, listening to their feedback on new products, their opportunities and challenges, and their requests.

After the meeting, we visited Irish potato farmers in Kinigi, a sector in Musanze District. This is where you begin your mountain gorilla trekking. We provided input financing for 47 farmers through KOABIKI cooperative about four months ago and the first cycle is ending soon. I wanted to talk to the cooperative leadership about their experiences on farming this past season and with UOB.

We began the meeting with a thanksgiving prayer to the Lord whom we worship together. I was delighted when Emmanuel, the chairman and president of KOABIKI, suggested that we begin the meeting with a prayer. Several members who attended the meeting as KOABIKI's leadership were all Christians!

This past season, they faced several challenges in growing Irish potatoes. First, they had a drought in early growing season; second, they had unexpected rain that also damaged the crop and third, they had a disease in late growing season that most adversely affected the harvest. Nonetheless, Emmanuel, the cooperative chairman and president, said that he was thankful to God who has kept the damage to the level that most of the cooperative members are able to absorb. The technical adviser to the cooperative said that 70% of the 47 borrowers were able to increase the yields significantly thanks to the input financing provided for them. We praised the Lord!

They made a few requests and we all agreed to expand the relationship. The cooperative has 76 members and this season up to 60 members will apply for the loan.

We are planning to scale up our input financing for Irish potato farmers in the region, including Nyabihu, Burera, Rubavu Districts, in addition to Musanze District. May God continue to be gracious to them in transforming their holistic lives! - Jeffrey

Young Technocrats in Rwanda...

2011-09-20T05:24:00.007+02:00

Rwanda has many young people who were educated in the developed countries and who are now serving the country in government posts. They are young technocrats.

[This photo is of President's Forum with Young African Leaders in the U.S.]

They are smart, reasonable, ambitious, hard working and motivated to help Rwanda transform into a self-sustainable country. They are willing to listen and learn to improve in every aspect. They are anxious to see the jigsaw puzzle pieces come together to draw a complete picture for the government, for the country and for the people of Rwanda.

I had a private meeting with a director general of a government agency along with two senior policy analysts at the President's Office. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss about how to improve certain policy and procedural issues at the subject government agency. (I am afraid that I cannot disclose the agency for privacy and in courtesy.) This particular agency has been enforcing certain regulatory issues but far beyond the extent of rational comprehension from the perspective of an expatriate who is coming from a developed country that has already gone through such a process.

This director general is not an ordinary person. This person is a Harvard Law School graduate and is smart. This person could be proud and possibly conceited. But this person was eager to listen and willing to make changes. Two senior policy analysts also have similar calibers and maintain the same attitude towards changes and learning.

How impressive they are!

This is a huge difference that the Rwandan government has and that most of other developing countries do not have. These young technocrats are the next generation leaders for Rwanda and present a great hope to this rapidly transforming country. With the visionary leader, President Paul Kagame, who leads the country with principles and discipline, these young technocrats can develop the country into an exemplary knowledge-based affluent society which most of African countries only dream of. May this become a reality in Rwanda! - Jeffrey

Trip to Ngoma EBU and Kigali West EBU...

2011-09-16T07:19:00.006+02:00

On Friday, September 16, 2011, I traveled to visit Ngoma EBU and Kigali West EBU. This trip was made as part of my annual plan to visit all business units to meet with the staff and clients to assess their needs and to take appropriate actions. Daniel Ryumugabe, Director of Transformation Impact traveled with me as the interpreter.

Ngoma EBU (Entrepreneurial Business Unit) serves three districts in the Eastern Province: Ngoma, Kirehe and part of Kayonza. A total of eight Relationship Staff are now serving over 3,700 clients, some located 78 km away from the EBU office. Ngoma EBU is one of the top performing business units in all aspects: outreach, lending staff productivity, transformation activities, PAR control, recovery etc. It was great joy to talk to the Relationship Staff who are serving the clients with clear mission and right attitude.

I spent good amount of time asking them about the initial 4-week training when they form a new group. During this initial training period, approximately 25% of the interested applicants drop out. But it is a necessary process to screen out those who will not abide by the rules established for the trust group. After the initial training is completed, the EBU Leader makes the final visit and determines if the group is ready to borrow or not. With the leader's approval, the group will receive their first loan in two weeks. Thus, it is taking approximately six weeks from the first contact until the group receives the first loan. It is a long process, but this process has played a significant role in helping develop a healthy habit in honoring the debt obligations and keeping the loan portfolio quality strong historically.

On the way back, we also visited Kigali West in Nyabugogo, Kigali. They had just moved to this new office about two weeks earlier. Kigali West is also one of the top performing business units,

serving a little over 3,700 clients, with seven Relationship Staff. They maintain an excellent teamwork and their productivity is the highest among 11 EBUs. We had a wonderful discussion about the expansion plan for greater outreach in three districts they serve: Gasabo, Nyarugenge and Rulindo. They have a strong motivation to serve the clients well and a good discipline to balance between humble service and stewardship. I love them.

Whenever I visit the field offices, I am tired physically but greatly encouraged and uplifted spiritually. They are the faces of UOB and the ambassadors of the gospel. I am honored to be serving the Lord together with them. - Jeffrey

UNCDF Article about UOB Mobile Banking...

2011-09-14T22:05:00.007+02:00

UNCDF stands for United Nations Capital Development Fund.

UOB received a $200,000 grant from UNCDF in 2011. This fund will be used to develop mobile banking and agency banking solutions to expand UOB's outreach to the rural poor. It is part of tireless effort to expand the financial inclusion.

In this regard, UNCDF published an article about UOB and its mobile banking development effort recently.

I hope you enjoy reading it. - Jeffrey

http://www.uncdf.org/english/news_and_events/index.php?record=222

Medical and Dental Mission from S. Korea...

2011-09-14T21:43:00.007+02:00

[Dental services.............................Medical services................................Patients waiting outside........]

Hearts and Hands International is an NGO in S. Korea. Its focus is to provide medical and dental services for the poor in developing countries in the name of Jesus Christ, reflecting His love.

Hearts and Hands International is in the process of establishing its first overseas office in Rwanda. Dr. Minsu Koh, a veterinarian doctor by profession, represents Hearts and Hands International, but came to Rwanda as a missionary to help establish its first overseas office in Rwanda. His wife Aesim and their son Kyungchul came together.

As part of its initial mission programs, Hears and Hands International has sent a group of medical and dental professionals recently, totaling eight. They included two dentists, one physician, two dental higienists and two assistants. Together with five additional people who are expatriates to Rwanda, they provided medical and dental services in Musanze and Nyaruguru Districts from September 12th to 15th. All in all, they treated approximately 400 patients and provided medicines for a few hundreds of additional people.

Kristin as a registered nurse in the U.S. was one of the Rwandan residents who helped the ministry. And, UOB worked together with Hearts and Hands International in its outreach and ministry to the residents in Nyaruguru.

Hears and Hands International plans to send the health care mission team every six months and UOB plans to continue collaborating with them in their outreach and ministry. Their commitment to serving the poor is in line with UOB's mission and also with what Jesus himself said in response to John Baptist's question if He (Jesus) was the messiah:

Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." (Matthew 11:4-6)

May God bless His people who are doing good works in the name of Jesus and spreading the good news to the poor! - Jeffrey

God's New Society...(Ephesians 2:11-22)

2011-09-11T06:43:00.011+02:00

I was privileged to preach today at Agape Korean Church in Rwanda. Here is the summary of the sermon.

When God created the universe, everything was orderly with perfect harmony. Of course without sin. It was Shalom: Absolutely sinless peace of God. God said that it was good.

When the human accepted sin into them, however, all the order, harmony and peace of God were shattered. Along with them, the relationships with God, others, self and all the creation were also broken. There was no longer Shalom. And the cause of the problem was the sin.

God did not give up on the sinful humanity, however, because He loved the humanity too much, whom He created in His image. He had a way to save them. His way was Jesus Christ. Whoever believes in Him, who died for all humanity bearing all sins, to be the way to salvation may be saved.

The cure for the sin was the cross and Christ's shed blood on behalf of the humanity. It was the innocent life of the Savior but it was the gospel: the good news for us.

The collective body of these believers was called the church. John Stott called the church "God's new society" to the humanity and the community that people labeled "Christianos" or "Christians" because the only common ground for these people was Christ whom they love and serve.

This new society was the only group of people who demonstrated that the irreconcilable relationships may still be mended and healed because the holy and sinless God and the sinful humans were reconciled by the peacemaking Jesus. The Ephesians 2:11-22 describes that the Jews and the gentiles were also reconciled because Jesus, who is the peace, tore down the wall and made them one. What seemed impossible was made possible in God and His grace. Through this community, one may taste a glimpse of restored Shalom again. This Shalom will be fully and completed restored when Jesus returns, we believe.

This new community of God should have three characteristics:

1. The community of faith: The community of these people should have the same confession of faith. It should be in line with the great confession of Peter: "You are the Christ, the son of the living God" who died for us. The scripture guarantees that we will receive the Holy Spirit as the gift when we repent our sins and receive forgiveness. (Acts 2:38) So this community becomes that of the Holy Spirit experiencing God's power and that of the worship to God, that of the prayer and that of the scriptures.

2. The community of love: The community of these people should be of love because God is love. (1 John 4:7,8) He gave us this love as the new command because, when we love each other like Jesus loved us, it evidences that we are His disciples. (John 13:34,35) Love is the essence of Christianity and without it whatever we do is meaningless.

3. The community of mission: The community of these people should be of mission because it is the purpose of His salvation for us. The body of Christ, the new community, is not whole at present. He is crippled because not all members of His body have been added to His body. Thus, mission is necessary to help make the body whole. Until it is completed or made whole, we are only work in process. Mission is for all saints, the whole church.

Lausanne Covenant declares that the Whole Church is responsible for taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World. The Cape Town Commitment, the third Lausanne Congress held in October 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa, declared that the mission should be integral and the integral mission should include not only the proclamation of the gospel but also the demonstration of the gospel. It is every Christian's mandate to be involved in mission, not just of the pastors, the missionaries, the mission department etc.

May God's new society advance and expand not by force or by words but by the Spirit alone so that the world may know that He lives and saves the poor in spirit. - Jeffrey

September 11... 10th Anniversary...

2011-09-11T06:42:00.008+02:00

[On this day of the 10th Anniversary of September 11, I reflect on the unbelievable and unbearable tragedy that took place 10 years ago. It is a clear evidence of the broken relationship that resulted from the sin that came into the humanity. The following is an e-mail message that Sukhee Kang, the Mayor of the City of Irvine California, sent out via an e-mail.]

On the morning of September 11, 2001, our world changed forever when four planes - hijacked by terrorists - crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

In that brief moment, nearly 3,000 innocent people lost their lives. The overwhelming majority of them had no choice in their sacrifice. Since then, thousands of service men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice in the struggle for peace, freedom and finding those responsible. Many joined our military expressly because of 9/11. They serve proudly, courageously and freely to preserve our freedom.

Of all the tragic images of 9/11 - and there were many - the sight of America's first responders going UP the stairs of the Twin Towers as workers and visitors ran DOWN the stairs will remain with me forever. They showed absolute courage and selfless devotion to saving lives.

The American people lost their mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, colleagues and friends, but it did not lose its courage and unity. Ultimately, the attack on our country ten years ago galvanized our nation into action. Last May, we were all reminded of that horrific day in 2001 through a promised kept by

America to find those responsible and bring them to justice with the capture of 9/11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden.

On this day of remembrance, I am asking you to take a little time to reflect on those that we have lost and those who are fighting for our freedoms abroad everyday. We also must remember what our first responders sacrificed on that tragic day. Please take time to remember the power of the human spirit - the acts of bravery and selflessness by the first responders like police officers and firefighters.

Most importantly, remember our promise to never forget both the good and the evil - it will help us to stay aware and vigilant signifying that our nation continues; our nation endures.

Sukhee Kang, Mayor of the City of Irvine, California

May the true peace that may come only from the Prince of Peace be restored in this peace-less world! - Jeffrey

On Top of Mt. Kilimanjaro...

2011-09-03T10:26:00.024+02:00

From August 28th to September 2nd, 2011, five of my friends in their fifties, including myself, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa (5,895 meter high), through the Magangu Route or affectionately called "The Coca Cola Route."

Five friends were Min-young Jung, Jae-sup Choi, Jay Yoon, Bohye Kim and myself.

Before the Climb...

In September 2009, when I was flying from Zanzibar to Nairobi, Kenya, the pilot drew our attention to Mt. Kilimanjaro on our left. Through the window, I saw Mt. Kilimanjaro for the first time which was sticking out through the sea of clouds for the first time. It looked even mysterious.

"Ahh... Kilimanjaro... may I climb this mountain while I am still in Africa..." I murmured. It became a dream and it was two years ago.

In August 2010, I sent out an invitation to my friends to form a group to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Initially ten people signed up. After two months, two dropped out. Early 2011, another dropped out and two more dropped out in June 2011. Thus, we have become "the Five of the Fifties" since we all were in our fifties.

Two came from New York, one from Korea and two from Rwanda. I knew them all but they did not know each other mostly until we all met in Moshi Town, Tanzania on August 26th. Before they arrived in Moshi Town, all had to exercise and prepare for this climb at their own pace and their own way. Two from New York were most serious. One climbed to the base camp of Mt. Everest and the other trekked to the base camp of Mt. Ana Purna. I did my share of preparation by climbing the tallest mountain in Rwanda, Karisimbi (4,508 meter high); hiked in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado for five days; and hiked various hills and mountains in Rwanda. Others had also prepared for the climb similarly until we all arrived in Moshi Town, Tanzania on 26th.

This hike had been a dream for two years and in the works for the past one year.

The Climb...

Day 1 (August 28th, 2011)

Early in the morning, we gathered in a small dining hall after breakfast for a worship. Brother Min-young Jung shared the message. He is a career missionary who is currently a member of global leadership team for Wycliffe Bible Translators International.

After our own worship service, we were transported from Buffalo Hotel where we stayed to Akaro Tours office first and to Marangu Gate (1,895 m).

After registration, we started hiking a trail that led us to Mandara Hut (2,700 m). We passed through Montana Forest, a rain forest, and a little bit of moorland or heather. It was a blessing that we did not have any rain while passing through the rain forest. It was a short 4-hour walk and we all felt great. Walking through a rain forest without rain is a great experience.

The Mandara Hut comprised A-framed cabins where in total 60 people can sleep. The cabins had solar panels, but due to gloomy days they must have not gathered enough sun lights for the lighting. To our surprise, we received warm water for washing and great meal for dinner.

Day 2 (August 29th, 2011)

Before we took off from Mandara Hut, we posed for a photo. We were still smiling, not knowing what was waiting for us up there. From Mandara Hut, we were still passing through the heathers. On the way, we saw many plants that were unique to Mt. Kilimanjaro. They were beautiful. We were unable to see the peak because of clouds that were covering up the summit.

Our guide, Jimmy, was a veteran climber. He has reached the summit more than 100 times. This 38-year old guide has reminded us a familiar expression in Swahili: "Pole Pole" meaning "slowly slowly." We have heard it numerous times but we were not sure how slow the pace should be. It was Jimmy who set the pace and we had to follow him. At first, the pace was far too slower than we anticipated. But we soon realized that it had to be that way.

After a six-hour hike, we arrived at Horombo Hut (3,700 m) where up to 120 people can sleep. Horombo Hut also includes A-framed cabins but these cabins were larger than those at Mandara Hut. At this height, the clouds were below the camp site. In other words, we were above the sea of clouds. It was enough to amaze us. After a delicious meal, we went to bed pretty early.

Day 3 (August 30th, 2011)

This was the acclimatization day. From Horombo Hut, we set out to climb to Zebra Rocks and Mawenzi Hut (4,200 m) and came back down to Horombo Hut. It is said that people start experiencing altitude sickness from the height of 3,700 m. Thus, we added one additional day to the hike schedule, like many others.

From Mawenzi Hut, we were able to see two peaks: one is Mawenzi Peak at 5,165 m and the other is Kilimanjaro Peak to where we were heading. In distance, we were able to see our target and we all were excited to see the tallest mountain in Africa close by although the way to reach the top looked somewhat overwhelming.

To this point, however, our excitements outweighed the pains and agony that we had to endure.

Day 4 (August 31st, 2011)

Early morning, we set out from Horombo Hut where we stayed for two nights towards Kibo Hut (4,700 m) from where we were trying to hike the summit. On the way, we passed through "No water point." From this point and up, there is no running water. We hiked the alpine area, also called "The Saddle" towards the Kibo Hut. It was called "The Saddle" because we were passing through what looked like a saddle between the Kilimanjaro Peak and another mountain nearby. It was windy and dry. Jimmy's walking pace became even slower than before. We all had to learn to be patient.

Jimmy explained that there are at least three reasons for slow walking. First, it helps with acclimatization. Second, it helps conserve the energy. We realized we did not have to sweat during our hike. Third, it helps get accustomed to the pace of hike when we will attempt to hike the summit. It did not take too long until we witnessed what he meant.

After approximately six-hour hike, we arrived at Kibo Hut that was mainly a stone-built house with several rooms. We were assigned to a room with several bunk beds and two other ladies joined us in our room. Christina was a Belgian young lady traveling alone and Maria was a Dutch lady who came with her friend but the friend chose to stay at Horombo Hut because she felt scared by the steep slope to the top.

We ate the dinner at 5Pm and from 7PM we were encouraged to take a nap until 11PM when we will have to wake up and get ready to climb to the summit. We arranged with five additional porters who will help us individually by carrying the backpack and providing assistance as necessary. My assistant was called Bakal.

Day 5 (September 1st, 2011)

After preparation, we lined up and headed out in one line with the headlamp turned on. We were a party of 12, including the guide and his assistant guide Johnson in addition to five of us and our assistants. It looked like a little fun until we soon realized it was not a joking matter to climb the hills that are covered with screes. It was tough to walk in altitude to begin with and it became worse as we walked along the path covered with screes. It was slippery and required more attention and energy than before. Moreover, we were hiking in the middle of night. We were tired and sleepy.

To keep us from falling into sleep, Johnson led the assistants to sing several songs constantly. Nonetheless, we found ourselves losing our consciousness momentarily several times on the way up. After five hours of hike, slow but gruelingly exhausting, we started seeing the sky behind us changing its color to orange. The sun was getting ready to rise. We were still seeing lines of lights quite significantly above us, indicating that the Gilman's Point was still far away. Some of us started falling behind and losing strength and breath.

Before we reached the Gilman's Point, the sun was rising. Jung and I decided to sit down and see the sunrise. It was beautiful, but more importantly it was a moment of rest that we treasured highly. Catching up with my breath, I was praying that the lights of the gospel may shine Africa like the rising sun.

After the sunrise, we felt it was getting warm pretty fast. But we could not speed up our hike because altitude sickness was kicking in fast. Slowly but at a steady pace we endured the last pitch of the hike to reach the Gilman's Point (5,681 m). Gilman's Point was rather small, disappointingly. Somehow I was expecting a plaza, but it was a small open space with a wooden sign.

This alone was a great feat for us, but we could not settle there and stop there. We took a few photos and wanted to take longer rest than before. But Jimmy was urging us to keep walking. We were told not to rest longer than 5 minutes.

We had to press on towards Uhuru Peak (5,895 m). Jimmy pointed at the Uhuru Peak. It was at the other side of the crater rim. It did not look too far from Gilman's Point. But we soon realized that it was a lot further than it looked and a lot tougher than we hoped. Nonetheless we continued our slow hiking to gain additional 200 or so meters but the distance was far enough to cost us more than two hours.

Two hours of grueling hike hit us with various symptoms of altitude sickness. It included headache, nausea, dizziness, lack of breath, chest pain and vomiting. Moreover, we were physically tired and extremely sleepy. We were walking like dead people, exhaling as much carbon dioxide as possible and inhaling as much oxygen as possible. Several times, our steps were misplaced and our assistants had to hold us up not to fall. We felt like giving up.

But... we were too close to the summit to give in. It was a mental battle and a will fight.

On the way to the Uhuru Peak at the crater rim, we passed through Stella Point that was the gateway to the top for the Machame Route, the other route open to amateurs, and walls of glaciers. Glaciers were a lot more than I expected. But we were told that they were retreating fast from the peak and thus melting also fast. It is anticipated that glaciers will soon melt away.

The Uhuru Peak was like it was moving backward. We had to pass through several moments of reaching the peak, but each time Uhuru Peak was pushed farther away. Eye sights were getting weak and our will was dwindling.

At last, however, the Uhuru Peak came in sight.

We pushed ourselves with the last remaining energy. And we finally reached the peak.

Hooray!

It was 9:01AM on September 1st.

We were at the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro finally after nine hours of grueling hike. One of us ended up vomiting at the peak. Nonetheless, we all took photos with our best efforts for smiling.

There was no snow or ice at the top. It was rather dry and dusty. But it was cold.

I originally planned to spend time praying for Africa and people of Africa. But we were not allowed this relaxed time. Our body was also not very cooperative. Our prayer time was quick but nonetheless we prayed for God's grace upon the countries and peoples of Africa.

Jimmy was now urging us to walk down, not too fast but as fast as physically possible. Altitude sickness may only be cured when the altitude is brought down. Our body was

heavy and sluggish. We felt like sitting down and even better sleeping, but we were not allowed to do so. After sitting down for a few minutes, we were urged to keep walking.

Coming down through the steep hills from Gilman's Point was another challenge. It was a slope of almost 60 degrees and covered with screes. It was impossible to walk in normal steps. I chose to run and slide down on the screes, as if I was skiing the slope. It was fun to certain extent, but my body was physically weak because of lack of sleep and strength.

We all arrived back at Kibo Hut around noon. We were given two hours of rest. We all fell into sleep immediately, regardless of dust covering our clothes and body.

After a quick meal, we had to continue our hiking down from Kibo Hut to Horombo Hut. It took us another three hours. It was far better than at the top, but it was still a long walk after the grueling hike to the summit.

By the time we arrived at Horombo Hut, we were completely exhausted. But we felt great about being able to reach the summit. I even took a cold shower at Horombo Hut (very chilling) to wash the dust and smell. Overall we hiked more than 15 hours today. After a quick dinner, we felt into a long sleep around 8PM.

Day 6 (September 2nd, 2011)

We woke up around 6AM and prepared for the final day of hike to come back down to the Marangu Gate. It will be another 6 hours of walking. The hike was light and easy after the previous day's exhaustive hike.

Finally we reached the gate and filled out the final registration to receive the certificate for the successful hike to the summit. It was a great feeling for all of us. One of us got injured on the knee because of continued pressure from the long hours of hiking down. Finally she had to be transported via a car through a rescue road when two hours were left before we reached the gate. Previously, she had to receive assistance from Jimmy and Johnson.

On the way to the summit, we saw beautiful plants, rocks, birds, some animals, skies, clouds, sunrises, glaciers etc. Here are some photos.

[We had a total of 18 people who helped us throughout the journey and they were great!]

[We posed for a photo after all having received the certificates of the climb at the Akaro Tours office. It was a great feeling.]

I felt so grateful for the opportunity to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and equally for the opportunity to fellowship with my friends whom I treasure a lot.

May this joy of climbing the tallest mountain in Africa empower us in a great way throughout our lives! Shalom! - Jeffrey

D-1 for Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro...

2011-08-27T14:32:00.003+02:00

We are a group of five who are all in the fifties of age. One is from S. Korea, two are from New York and two are from Rwanda. We all arrived safely yesterday.

We have been planning and dreaming to climb the tallest mountain in Africa: Mt. Kilimanjaro. This roof of Africa is 5,895 m high and is the tallest as a stand-alone mountain in the world.

Today, we registered with the tour company and had a briefing with the guide and the assistant guide. The guide's name is Jimmy and his assistant is Johnson. Jimmy said that he has reached the summit more than 100 times. He gave us trust we need in our guide. He is 38 years old with two daughters.

There are six routes to climb the mountain but only two are available to amateurs. One is Marangu Route and the other is Machame Route. They have nicknames of "Coca Cola Route" and "Whisky Route", respectively. We came to Moshi Town with an understanding that we would be climb the Machame Route, but on the way from the airport we were informed that we would instead climb the Marangu Route. It was a pleasant surprise because we wanted to take on the Marangu Route initially but we were told that we were too late to reserve for the Marangu Route because only Marangu Route has the huts where you can sleep. On the Machame Route all hikers have to sleep at the tents.

At any rate, we all are nervous about the climb, but we are also excited about this opportunity of life time to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.

We will meet at 8AM for a worship and will depart at 9AM.

I hope to write an update after a successful attempt to reach the summit, Uhuru Peak. There we hope to pray for the continent. May God's mercy be with us. - Jeffrey

August 19th, Friday...BNR Meeting on E-Payment...

2011-08-19T05:05:00.005+02:00

Rwanda is a small country. But it has a big dream and ambition in implementing E-Payment systems. It has launched the Automatic Transfer Services, including RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) and ACH (Automated Clearing House), and recently CDS (Central Depository Securities). There are some glitches and hick-ups but it is moving along. Sooner or later, all the issues will be resolved and they will work smoothly, I trust.

On Thursday, August 18th, bank CEOs and MDs in Rwanda met with the BNR Governor, together with the SIMTEL CEO. SIMTEL runs Rwanda's national payment switch, called RSwitch. The meeting was focused on ATMs, POS and international credit and debit cards.

In Rwanda, the reality of E-Payment is pretty bad. Many ATMs are down and international cards are not accepted at most of the ATMs. Thus, international tourists and visitors end up suffering from this situation. Obviously the story reached the country's President and

members of parliament. The pressure is on and the central bank Governor is putting his hands on several issues directly to improve the situation.

UOB has also introduced ATMs and is getting ready to roll out the chip and PIN proprietary debit cards. We call them UOB Grace Cards. But in light of the prolonging down time for ATMs, we are hesitant in rolling them out. It was agreed that SIMTEL would send out the ATM up-time report on a daily basis. SIMTEL will also provide the BNR with the plan to strengthen the POS accessibility. We will see.

Soon, however, I trust that ATMs will have more up-times than now. Also, most of ATMs in Rwanda will accept international credit/debit cards for cash withdrawal. The number of merchants that accept international card will increase based on enhanced POS availability and accessibility.

More importantly, however, Rwanda will soon see a more innovative mobile banking solution implemented. This will be the first of its kind in the world and UOB will be part of this exciting initiative. When it is fully launched with proper functionality, it will significantly improve the under-served people's access to and inclusion in the financial services. And that is exciting indeed!

I look forward to witnessing this happen soon. May it come true, Lord! - Jeffrey

D-10, Hike Kilimanjaro 2011! - August 18th, 2011

2011-08-18T06:40:00.005+02:00

Today marks D-10 for "Hike Kilimanjaro 2011!"

I set out for this journey about a year ago. It was the step that I was taking to realize the dream that I had when I was seeing the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro that stood out over the white cloud in an airplane that was flying by the tallest mountain in Africa in 2009.

19,340 feet high... or 5,895 meter high...

Africa's roof...

The tallest stand-alone mountain in the world...

The Snow of Kilimanjaro...

The Leopard of Kilimanjaro...

Whatever it may be, it is an exciting dream of one's life time.

Some people call it "Every man's Everest" implying relative ease in climbing the summit. Well... only 40-45% of people who attempt the summit are successful in standing on top of the mountain. So it sounds like the description is downplaying the challenges that people need to overcome to be able to reach the summit.

We started as a group of 10 in August 2010. Quickly a couple dropped out since they changed their travel plan for their 30th anniversary. Out of eight, another dropped out when we had to change the route from the Marangu Route or "Coca Cola Route" to the Machame Route or "Whiskey Route." We now have to stay in the tents throughout the 5 night-6 day journey. Again out of seven, two people had to cancel their trip because of their family emergency. They made all flight reservations and payment for not only Mt. Kilimanjaro Hike but also a safari scheduled after the hike. It was unfortunate. But things like that happen in life.

So we are now a group of five: two from Rwanda, two from New York and one from S. Korea. Four men and one female. All are in their 50's. So we are the "Five of the Fifties."

To prepare for this hike, I have climbed the tallest mountain in Rwanda: Mt. Karisimbi at 4,508 meter high. I trekked 5 days in Colorado mountains. I have hiked for the past two months every weekend for 4-6 hours. I have also spent quite a bit of time strengthening my body fitness during the weekdays.

Whatever worth they may be, now we have left only 10 days before we will start our climbing on August 28th. I cannot deny some nervousness but rising excitements far outweigh the nervousness.

I have a dream... a dream of standing on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro and of praying for Africa and people of Africa... praying for God's special grace upon them so that they may now experience the real freedom that comes only through the faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord of all nations. May this dream come true, Lord. - Jeffrey

August 16th, Tuesday... BNR Examination

2011-08-16T05:42:00.003+02:00

UOB dates back to 1997 when World Relief Rwanda started Urwego Community Banking, providing micro finance for Rwandan poor as a post-genocide relief work. It became an independent MFI in 2004 and became a licensed bank in 2007 when it merged with Opportunity International's green field bank.

Since it became a bank, BNR (National Bank of Rwanda) has kept postponing its first examination on UOB until July when we suddenly received a team of five (5) bank examiners from the central bank. They stayed at the bank for almost a month to examine the first and largest micro finance bank in Rwanda. Obviously they did not have an established examination procedures on micro finance banks. So it was a learning opportunity for them.

Overall, the examination processes went well.

Today, they wanted to talk to me, asking several questions to which they could not obtain answers from our staff. This meeting went well.

Now we are waiting for the examination report. We are praying that the report on this first ever examination will come out clean and positive. It will be another opportunity to witness how gracious our God is. - Jeffrey

Rwanda Monetary Police Statement... 1st half 2011

2011-08-09T06:37:00.005+02:00

Rwanda's central bank is Rwanda National Bank (BNR). It holds the country's Monetary Police Statement meeting twice a year. Today was the day the BNR held the meeting

to cover the first half of 2011.

The following were the highlights:

1. Rwanda's economy grew 7% for the first six months, a face pace compared to its neighboring countries. The growth resulted from a balanced growths in agriculture, industries and services sectors.

2. While growing fast, Rwanda contained its inflation pretty well at 5.8% during the first six months of 2011, despite the pressure coming from droughts and rising oil prices. Most of its neighboring countries suffered from two-digit inflation rates in the mean time: Uganda at 15.8%, Kenya at 14.5%, Tanzania at 10.9% and Brundi at 8.6%.

3. Exports increased 48% in value and 58% in volume. Coffee, tea and minerals accounted for 72% of the exports. Meanwhile, the growth rate in imports remained at 13% in value and 15% in volume, mostly in capital goods rather than consumer goods. Exports covered only 21% of imports, yet an improvement from the previous year. With the cross border exports included, exports represented 25% of imports. Rwanda's FX reserve was enough to cover the six months worth of imports, another improvement from the previous period.

4. Rwanda's banking industry registered a 12.6% growth in loans for the first six months of 2011 with the deposits at 15.1% during the same period. UOB's growth was at a significantly faster rate with the loans at 51% and the deposits at 26%, respectively.

5. Rwanda's banking industry also saw an improvement in its Non Performing Loans (NPLs) to 9.2% as of June 30th from 12% a year earlier. But UOB's NPL rate was negligible at 0.06%.

6. Rwanda's national debt represented only 26% of its GDP, a healthy level, while the fiscal debt issues plague the U.S. and the EU countries.

Overall, Rwanda's economy remained very healthy with a solid growth in GDP, a good control in inflation, rising exports and contained imports, and a growth in banking lending to the private sector.

But, Rwanda should continue to be vigilant in monitoring and taking proactive actions to prevent the potential adverse impact that may be derived from the rising oil prices, droughts in East Africa, fiscal debt crises in Europe and the U.S. and subsequent turbulence to the global stock market. It is a challenging time to all countries, including Rwanda. So far, nonetheless, Rwanda's economic development has been impressively healthy and sound although the outlook for the next six months to one year remains pretty gloomy. - Jeffrey

How KIVA works...

2011-08-08T06:44:00.003+02:00

Kiva.org is an internet platform that allows individual lenders around the world to identify and lend their money to micro businesses around the world.

It is a simple illustration but it is easy to understand how it works.

UOB is one of the implementing partners for Kiva and is raising up to $115,000 a month for Rwandan micro businesses. During August and September, UOB is allowed to raise even higher amounts to provide funding for agricultural farmers.

It is a wonderful platform for every man and woman who is interested in lending to micro enterprises around the world to help them alleviate their chronic and extreme poverty.

I suggest you try it out to find out how much intangible but powerful benefit you can provide for them with as little as $25. - Jeffrey

http://vimeo.com/16991128

Perfecting Holiness (2)...

2011-08-07T05:48:00.004+02:00

I preached at Korean Church of Rwanda today, August 7th. My message was titled Perfecting Holiness (2) because it was the continuation our my previous sermon based on 2 Corinthians 7:1.

Holiness is a heavy word, but it is God's mandate for His people to be holy as He is. Also we were told to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. Now, perfecting holiness is even heavier word. But the scripture suggests that we pursue perfect holiness by purifying ourselves from everything that contaminates our body and spirit. (2 Corinthians 7:1)

Can we ever achieve it? The scripture says we can, but not on our own strength but on His strength. Hebrews 12:23 implies that there are "perfected spirits of righteousness." That is why Paul was so assured that the good work that the Lord started in us will bring it to completion until the Day of Christ. (Philippians 1:6) Paul himself was looking forward to the "crown of righteousness" that is bestowed upon him as he had fought the good fight, finished the race and kept his faith in his letter to Timothy. (2 Timothy 4:7,8)

How can we achieve this perfect holiness? Only through relentless repentance (1 John 1:9) and training on godlness (1 Timothy 4:7,8)

There are several types of purity.

1. Absolute purity belongs only to God Himself. There could be relative or created purity that existed with humanity before the fall and with the angels part of whom also fell out of the purity.

2. Through Jesus, we have gained access to the purity again. It is called the positional purity that comes from our restored relationship with God. But this purity is a perceived purity, not real purity.

3. Ultimately when Jesus returns to reign and to establish the new heaven and earth, we have been promised to re-gain the purity through a glorified body of Jesus.

4. Until the ultimate purity is fully restored, we are living with our efforts to gain practical purity. This is what 2 Corinthians pertain to.

We talked about what areas we should focus on in purifying ourselves.

1. Behaviors: 1 Peter 1:15 says that we should be holy in our behaviors as the Father who called us is holy. The behaviors that contaminate us include a) the behaviors that hurt others directly (robbery, theft, etc.), b) the behaviors that hurt others indirectly (pollution, tax evasion etc.) and c) the behaviors that contaminate ourselves (drug, smoking, alcohol etc.) Instead, we should focus on behaviors that edify and benefit others, such as charity, relief and development.

2. Words: While the behaviors can be somewhat controlled by our will, our tongue is uncontrollable, the scripture says. (James 3:6-12) The most obvious words that contaminate us are lies since they are in direct contrast to the truth. The second types of words that contaminate us are unwholesome talks. Ephesians 4:29 is suggesting that we should not allow any of these unwholesome talks come out of our mouths. We should also be careful about what we talk about ourselves since God also warned that He will listen to what we say and respond. We are God's precious children and we should not try to downgrade ourselves from this lofty relational position.

3. Minds/Thoughts: If the tongue was uncontrollable, our minds are impossible to control. Tongue may still be put to silence but thoughts will never be silent. Thoughts will determine the behaviors. Behaviors will form habits. Habits will affect character and character will determine the destiny. In our illustration, our destiny is holiness. Our minds contaminate our spirit and body through temptation of our old selves that spring from the sinful nature. That is why the Christianity begins with the spiritual bankruptcy as written in Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." That is why Paul emphasized that transformation begins with the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:2 and Ephesians 4:22-24) This belongs to the spiritual reformation.

To put this in the right context, we should begin with the confession that we are the sinners and we cannot do anything to save ourselves. We can find this salvation only in Jesus Christ whom God sent to us for redemption. This renewed mind will change and renew the attitudes of our minds. This renewed mind and attitudes will positively affect our behaviors, refraining from the behaviors that contaminate our holiness instead encouraging us to do more good and constructive works. Through repeated good behaviors, we will begin to form godly habits. These godly habits will help form our godly character like that of Jesus. Through this exercise, we will attain God's holiness in our lives gradually but surely. Of course, in between, we should repent whenever we find any guilt in our lives and practice godliness even harder.

Pragmatically how do we know if I am in line with God's will? The scriptures. Hebrews 4:12 says that the scriptures are sharper than any doubled-edged sword and can pierce our souls, bodies, joints and marrows. The scriptures can even know what we are thinking in our minds. We should therefore listen to, read, study, meditate on and memorize the scriptures with diligence. Then we should go to the Lord on our knees repenting, asking for forgiveness and pledging not to repeat the same sins. This process is called "Sanctification" that leads us to God's holiness.

Brothers and sisters, we should focus more on perfecting holiness by purifying ourselves from everything that contaminates our spirits and bodies because it is God's mandate. Eventually and ultimately, we trust that we will be like Christ in His image but only after our tireless efforts, not to gain salvation, but to perfect holiness that we can achieve only through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul was praying for the saints at the Thessalonian church in 1 Thessalonians 5:23. May this prayer be your and my prayer!

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Amen! - Jeffrey

August 5th, Friday...Shalom Bible Study (SBS)

2011-08-05T05:43:00.005+02:00

When I first came to Rwanda, I started a bible study with three KOICA volunteers: Jooheum, Jihoon and Sangmin. Later, Junghee joined. With Kristin, we had a wonderful time of blessing through this bible study. We named it Shalom Bible Study or SBS.

After one and half years, they all went back to Korea. But it was a send-off of SBS graduates to live a godly life like light and salt of the world in Korea where materialism and worldly temptation are high. They all are doing well, living a victorious life.

After they left, the SBS members changed quite a bit. All male membership changed to predominantly to predominantly female membership. Yurim joined us while they were still with us. Anna later joined us. Then, Seungback, Eunyoung, Minjung and Isaac came to study the bible together. Even Rev. Myungha Hwang joined the SBS. Also, Hyosu, Saerom, Jihye, Hyeyoung, Minki and Esther followed the suit. The bible study group became too big to meet in our living room and to maintain the intimacy of a small group bible study.

So, we chose to split the SBS into two groups according to the principle of multiplication. The split occurred in July 2011. I continue to lead a group and Rev. Hwang will lead the other group. It was not easy but everyone understood the reasons and accepted it.

Meanwhile, Eunyoung got injured when she slipped around a pool and was taken back to Korea as she was about to return to Korea after a 2 and a half year service. She became the 5th graduate of the SBS. Jaeyoung and Seungback also went back to Korea.

Rev. Hwang took Esther, Yurim, Hyosu and Minki. I took Anna, Jihye, Minjung, Isaac and Hyeyoung. We regained the intimacy in the bible study.

Tonight's SBS was the farewell and send-off for Saerom who returns to Korea around the midnight. It was also the welcome to another missionary family: Dr. Minsu Koh, his wife Aesim and his son Kyungchul. Missionary Koh is a vet doctor and has responded to God's calling for mission and came to Rwanda. The photo above was taken after tonight's bible study.

It is a blessing that the SBS has been growing to split and to send off several graduates.

May God bless and multiply the SBS in Rwanda to be a community for raising Christ's ambassadors of the gospel! May they live a godly life and be a blessing to others! Amen! - Jeffrey

BRD Development Fund (BDF) in Rwanda

2011-08-03T05:41:00.006+02:00

BRD stands for Rwanda Development Bank in French. It is a government-owned bank focusing on providing long term credits for development projects in Rwanda.

BRD had two subsidiaries, called BRD Development Fund (BDF) and BRD Advisory Services (BAS). BDF was managing several credit guarantee funds while BAS was providing professional advisory services for the investors, businesses and even MFIs.

[Minister of Trade, Francois Kanimba, addressing at the BDF Launch Ceremony]

BRD Board decided to merge BDF and BAS to create a new BDF. The merger took place in March of 2011 and it has since been developing its organizational structure to be on its own. Part of the organizational structure development efforts was forming its own board.

Its first board meeting took place on August 2nd, Tuesday, with its seven board members. I have been honored and privileged to chair the board.

I have a pretty demanding job of running the largest Christian micro finance bank in Rwanda with many projects and programs currently under development. But I have decided to serve the board mainly for two reasons:

1. I have 20 plus years of experience in US SBA guarantee program and I think I can bring some value to the board.

2. I am convinced that a well-run credit guarantee program, like BDF, can help a developing country like Rwanda to boost its economy and businesses to a higher level.

I committed to serving the board for only one year so may God help me in adding value to the board and to the Rwandan economy within the limited time. - Jeffrey

Saints John Stott and Yong Jo Ha Passed Away

2011-08-02T06:23:00.009+02:00

On July 28th, John Stott went to be with the Lord. He was 90 years old. He was a huge pillar in the evangelical world. He wrote 30 plus books and led the evangelicals to stay on course. He was a giant in faith. His writings and teaching were so powerful and influential that many Christians mourn over his death but we know that our sorrow is his joy.

His retirement sermon was on "Christlikeness" and he wrote a book, titled "In His Likeness." He pursued his personal holiness strongly while he was strengthening the Church, the body of Christ.

Doug Birdsall, Executive Chair of the Lausanne Movement said in his fueneral, "John Stott's focus was the cross. The church was his great love. World evangelism was his passion. Scripture was his authority. Heaven was his hope. Now it is his home." It is very well put.

Surprisingly, a few days later, August 1st, Yongjo Ha, a renowned pastor and teacher in S. Korea, also went to be with the Lord. He was still young, relatively to John Stott, but had been struggling with illness. He preached on Sunday, July 31st, and that night he had a stroke and did not wake up from the coma. He established one of the largest churches in the world, a Christian book publishing company and a Christian TV, CGNTV. He supported other Christian schools also. He was also a faith giant and a godly saint. His books and teaching were so inspirational that many people wept and rejoiced with him, including myself.

Loss of two godly saints in a week's time grieves my heart. How can it not?

But, I know that they are with the Lord and they deserve a good rest with the Lord. Because they fought the good fight, finished the race and kept their faiths, like Apostle Paul did. (2 Timothy 4:7,8) May they rest in peace with the Lord! May we continue the race that is still left for us until we will see each other again! - Jefrey

Ministry Updates - July 2011

2011-08-01T07:12:00.002+02:00

Dear friends, family and fellow Kingdom workers,

The month of July was a little volatile but we ended up seeing a continued trend of improvements in all aspects of UOB ministry.

The following highlights the ministry updates for July 2011:

1. We provided HLI (Holistic Life Improvement) training for 7,683 clients in June. HLI has 60 biblical solutions to life situations in business management, personal household finance and health management. It is an important mission for us since our objective is to see holistic transformation of the people we serve.

2. We signed an agreement to provide Western Union money transfer services. WU is the largest money transfer service provider in the world. We will also sign up for Money Gram and RIA, the second and third. This is part of the overall FX operations that we are implementing.

3. As of July 31st, UOB's loan portfolio has gained a slight growth to Rwf5.95 Bn or US$9.9 million. Client numbers also continued a growth trend although the growth pace slowed down a bit in July.

4. Meanwhile, PAR (Portfolio At Risk) > 30 days remained strong at well below 1%.

5. We continued to work on designing the EduFinance products for CSL (Career Student Loans) and VSL (Vocational Student Loans). They will be pilot-tested with a few selected schools in September.

6. Under the e-Wallet strategies, we installed three (3) ATMs and they have gone live with RSwitch in July! Praise the Lord! Also, we distributed UOB Grace Cards to our staff for further testing. We also continued our discussion with an e-payment service provider for collaboration. Please stand with us in our endeavor through your prayer.

7. After we launched our first micro insurance product in June, we received three claims in July. One was the death of a client, another was related to the death of a client's spouse and the other was the death of a client's child. After we collected all evidencing documents, we have made payment within 48 hoursIt was a record speed to Rwandans who are used to a prolonged proces of months before they get paid.

8. We were successful in disbursing production loans to 650+ rice farmers in Rwamagana after a series of challenges which by God's grace we were able to overcome. We are now working with additional farmers for rice, maize and Irish potatos.

9. Shalom Bible Study (SBS) has grown into two groups as the group was getting too large. If a group is too big, then some people may choose to sideline, we cannot care for them well and the room for others to join is limited. Overall it was a good decision. The other group is being led by a missionary from S. Korae. We praise the Lord for this blessing.

10. The Kininya sewing project that Kristin is handling is progressing well. 20 women are now making sample products.

11. Jeffrey continued serving God's saints through preaching at St. Etiene Cathedral, UOB staff devotion and a Korean church being established.

12.Prayer Requests: Please...

* Pray for the UOB's continuing holistic transformational development through Christian micro finance in Rwanda.

* Pray for the steady implementation of UOB's e-Wallet strategy.
* Pray for a tangible progress in UOB's agricultural lending program. It has stumbled a lot lately without making progress.

* Pray for God's wisdom and guidance in designing effective educational finance products that will benefit many students in Rwanda

* Pray for Joyce who is now in Milan, Italy but will transition to Benetton's young artist developmnt program in Italy.

* Pray for God's wisdom and guidance on a new health clinic project that Kristin is praying about

* Pray for God's peacefulness in the hearts of Kristin's mom during her last days of life on earth

Our son in law James has safely return to the U.S. from Afghanistan. Thank you for your prayer support!

We thank you for standing with us in our ministry.

Joyfully and gratefully in His service,

Jeffrey and Kristin Lee from Kigali, RWANDA,

The Story of Florida's Transformation...

2011-07-28T04:55:00.004+02:00

Mukantabana Florida at her business place in Nyabugogo.

Florida Mukantabana is exemplary of the verse “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required...(Luke 12:48)”

Although Florida is a widow with two children, she believes that, because of her thriving business, it is her responsibility to serve those less fortunate around her.

Ten years ago Florida joined UOB and received a loan of $43. She has a wholesale produce business where she sells in-demand products such as cabbages, oranges, and citrons. Throughout the years, as her business has grown, she has increased her loan size to more than $800.

As a result of Florida’s success she is able to provide food for her family, pay school fees, and cover medical bills. Her profits have also allowed her to repair her home’s iron sheets that had been torn off. And whenever one of her family members is in need she graciously provides for them.

Florida is a part of a Community Banking Group that is trained with UOB’s Holistic Life Improvement (HLI) modules. The lessons from the modules have helped her business thrive, particularly lessons about customer care and saving for the future.

The HLI modules have encouraged Florida to depend upon the Lord with every detail of her life and business. It could be very dangerous to work at her shop because her shop is close to a busy road. So, she knows it’s the Lord who protects and keeps her safe everyday!

Florida has become a leader among her colleagues, and she sets an example by freely giving to her church, and by loving and serving her neighbors and those who have experienced great turmoil in life.

What an example Florida is to all of us who have experienced God’s goodness! Let us remember her story the next time God provides an opportunity for us to minister to those in need. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required...(Luke 12:48)”

How a Coffee Business Brews Reconciliation in Rwanda

2011-07-25T07:29:00.006+02:00

Christianity Today included an article about a coffee business that is brewing reconciliation in Rwanda. It is an alternative capitalism that is a Kingdom Business or Business As Mission (BAM).

An industrial psychologist, Jonathan Golden was successful in his business. But he wanted to do more meaningful work. He was challenged by a Rwandan bishop and started buying coffee from Rwanda and started supplying coffee to churches in the U.S.

Jonathan added a catch phrase of "DrinkCoffeeDoGood" to his NGO activity.

He paid more than the fair trade price to the coffee farmers in Rwanda and Haiti. Through this coffee business he has witnessed reconciliation between two people groups in Rwanda and he has also had opportunities to witness Jesus Christ through good work that he was doing.

He has a dream to expand this coffee business to help advance His Kingdom even further.

May this short article bless and challenge you to get out of the comfort zone and to think out of the box to help those in need, as mandated by Jesus Christ! - Jeffrey

For more information, please check out the following website.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/june/alternativecapitalist.html

To learn more about the company, please check out their website as follows:

www.drinkcoffeedogood.com

July 22nd, Friday... Shalom Bible Study Multiplies

2011-07-22T06:21:00.006+02:00

When God created the universe, he ordered Adam to multiply and fill the earth. To fill the earth, the number had to increase but not all could live together. They had to scatter. When his people refused to scatter, God intervened and scattered his people by force.

Church is the body of Christ and the collective body of believers. The universal church, as a whole, is one but comprises a multitude of local churches. Originally and idealistically, church is an organism, not an organization. It is a dynamic and living body. Thus, it is natural for a living cell to grow and multiply.

Shalom Bible Study (SBS) is a bible study group of believers. It has been dynamic and growing in number. Since we are meeting at home, too large a group presents a few challenges.

1. Some people hide behind the number and choose to remain silent at the meeting, be absent from the study meeting or come unprepared for the study meeting. The split will make the bible study more intimate and beneficial.

2. Others who may be interested in joining the bible study choose not to come because the group is too large. The split will create a room for others to join.

3. Leaders may not be able to care for the members as closely as when the group is smaller. The split will allow the leaders to pay attention and provide care that the members deserve.

Thus, SBS has decided to split it into two groups. I will continue to lead a group and Pastor and Missionary Hwang will lead the other group. We announced it today and appointed a coordinator for each group. We decided to leave the decision of which group to join entirely up to the members. We also agreed to gather together once in a while to confirm the oneness or unity. Also, each group leader agreed to cover the other group if one has to travel or miss the study meeting.

Christ declared that he and the Father were one. He prayed that his disciples became one as he and the Father were one. Oneness is unity and the center of the relational gospel. But oneness does not have be always physically one, in our case one group. Oneness may exist even when one is split into two or more. It is called "unity in diversity." It is not easy but it is possible particularly when we put our trust in him.

God himself exists as the triune God: one God in three persons as the Godhead. It is trinity or three in one.

We have chosen to pursue this "unity in diversity" or two groups in one.

All members have accepted it graciously. Praise the Lord! I pray that this may become a model in the society where getting big is the dominant norm even in the Christian world.

Oh Lord, may you walk with us in this journey together so that all of us may experience your presence and power, while we pursue unity in diversity through the split of the Shalom Bible Study. May you be honored and glorified! - Jeffrey

July 18th, Monday...USAID Meeting.

2011-07-18T06:36:00.002+02:00

I was called to a meeting with Special Advisor to US AID Administrator, Dr. Maura O'Neil. Her business card also showed "Chief Innovation Officer." I liked the title. The purpose was to discuss how to facilitate women entrepreneurship in Rwanda. I realized that I was the only man among seven invitees.

I suppose I was invited to bring a financial perspective to the topic as the head of a bank of which 90% of its clients are women.

Among many, I appreciated meeting two ladies who were exemplary women entrepreneurs in Rwanda and whom I wanted to get connected with.

One was Immy who currently owns and manages Karisimbi Coffee. She now owns two coffee washing stations and exports all fully washed coffee. She studied business for her bachelor's and master's degree. She was quite an intellectual woman. A Korean coffee company has been looking for a reliable Rwandan coffee supplier. We agreed to follow up.

The other was Zalfut who started a college that is now educating 2,200 students on nothing but tourism. The school name is Rwanda Tourism University College, aptly. UOB is now introducing a series of EduFinance loans for students and RTUC would be a wonderful test school. We agreed to follow up.

It is encouraging to see that Rwanda is promoting gender equality not just verbally but also practically. May the women potential and power be fully developed and blossomed! - Jeffrey

July 16th, Saturday... Mt. Jali Again

2011-07-16T05:22:00.006+02:00

[Jihye Moon, Missionary Bohye Kim and Hyeyoung Choi... me with the Kigali City in the background on the way down]

Mt. Jali is the tallest mountain in Kigali with its height at 1,866 meter from the sea level. We started our hike from 1,300 meter high.

For the second time, I climbed Mt. Jali today with three ladies. When I climbed it for the first time, I suffered greatly because the initial ascent was so steep that I could not keep up with the group at all.

This time, it was still hard to climb it for the first 30 minutes, but I felt a lot easier and more comfortable even with the initial ascent than before.

This is the sixth week in a row that I have been hiking at least once a week for longer than 4 hours. We have decided to climb it again next Saturday.

All these are part of the preparation for the "Hike Kilimanjaro 2011!" scheduled for August 28th. There are a little more than 40 days left before the D-day. I am planning to go for a 10-hour day hike to prepare better for the fifth day of the Mt. Kilimanjaro hike which requires a 13-15 hour hike including the summit attempt.

After the hike, I took shower and had a bowl of tempura udon that Kristin cooked. Fatigue made me fall asleep and it was the sweetest 2-hour nap that I had ever had in recent years. Thank you, Lord! - Jeffrey

July 14th, Thursday... UOB ATMs Now Connected

2011-07-14T06:26:00.005+02:00

UOB has pledged to roll out its 2-year e-Wallet strategies over 2011 and 2012. Its e-Wallet strategies has five components: Debit card, ATMs, POS devices, mobile banking and agency banking.

Today, two of these five components have been implemented, at least partially. The launch has been extremely quietly fast compared to the way all other commercial banks have been doing. It would not have been made possible without God's special grace and UOB IT team's dedication. Praise the Lord!

UOB has designed its first debit card and named it UOB Grace Card. It was named so in hopes that all users may experience God's grace. It is a smart card with a chip in it. It has been distributed to UOB senior leadership for testing. It will then be distributed to all UOB staff and eventually to clients over time.

UOB has received three ATMs and has been testing them for some time. It needs to be connected to the national payment switch, called RSwitch operated by SIMTEL, to be inter-operative with other bank ATMs. But RSwitch has experienced quite a number of issues in implementing the inter-operative connectivity among all financial institutions. After a long hassle, however, UOB ATMs have gone live today! Praise the Lord!

Thus, UOB has become the first and only micro finance bank in Rwanda that has its ATMs that are connected to the RSwitch.

Debit cards are still a symbol of wealth and status in Rwanda. Now we are planning to distribute these cards to the poor. I trust these cards will boost the dignity of the poor tremendously. Also, they may access the cash more easily and conveniently through ATMs, in addition to physical access to branches or cash distribution by UOB lending staff.

Now we will be working on developing mobile and agency banking solutions to make the cash access by rural clients really easy and convenient. We plan to test the mobile banking solution in September and begin the first batch of agents by December 2011.

May we continue to receive your favor, Lord! - Jeffrey

July 11th, Monday --- Rwamagana Rice Farmers

2011-07-11T05:55:00.005+02:00

In Rwanda, approximately 90% of its population is related to agriculture, directly or indirectly. Agriculture is essential to Rwandans. Rwanda's traditional main staple has been cassava, beans and bananas. Rice has become one of the government's strategic crops and its consumption has been on the rise. Currently, Rwanda is importing 90% of its rice needs in the country, primarily from Tanzania.

Thus, UOB has pledged to provide agricultural finance and rural savings for rice and maize (another crop of growing demand) farmers. For the past year or so, we have tried to make agricultural finance for rice and maize farmers without much success. The low success rate was partly because the Rwandan government's last minute breach of its covenants and intervention that did not require an agricultural finance.

It happened again a few weeks ago with the rice farmers in Rwamagana.

So I decided to make a trip myself to meet with the leadership of TWIBUMBE, a union of 11 rice cooperatives governing approximately 2,200 rice farmers. TWIBUMBE means "united." The primary purpose of the meeting was to see how we can begin the initial relationship.

Initially the meeting was going well, but we realized we came to impasse at a point because the union leadership was unwilling to agree on what is a common practice in banking: directing the sales proceeds to the bank for the purpose of controlling the funds flow. We already made a few concessions during the meeting, but we could not make concession on this issue.

After 3 hours of frustrating meeting, we had to leave the meeting with the union chairman's promise to deliberate the issue at its board meeting in the afternoon. We felt disappointed, but we could not concede on all issues.

Agricultural finance is of high risk without collateral and adequate compensation or risk mitigation, at least in Rwanda. That is why all commercial banks are shy away from agricultural finance. We made a pledge to agricultural finance based on the mandate to serve the under-served, but we could not compromise too much on the principle of stewardship.

On the way back, we prayed together for God's intervention so that the leadership may have clarity in their thinking. We have seen and heard so many stories where the cooperative and/or union leadership has caused many harms to the members (farmers) because of their irrational decision. We had many farmers at stake.

At 7:40PM, I received a phone call from Agricultural Finance Officer, Jean de Dieu, that the union chairman called and informed him that the union board has accepted our condition. I praised the Lord with much delight in my heart! "Glory be to God!"

We are now working on providing agricultural financing for 1,200 farmers through 9 cooperatives. We pray that this will pave the way for the farmers to access more financial and educational resources going forward.

We are also talking with another rice cooperative in Kamonyi that has approximately 1,000 farmers.

Agricultural finance is clearly an un-walked path for me and UOB so we are putting our feet into the water in great faith like the Israelite priests did when they were crossing the Jordan River into the promised land. May the good Lord walk with us in this journey! - Jeffrey

July 10th, Sunday... Perfecting Holiness (I)

2011-07-10T06:16:00.004+02:00

In Rwanda, a Korean church is under establishment.

It is a humble beginning at present since 30 or so Koreans are now gathering every Sunday to worship in Korean language. But a Korean language worship began about a year ago when Koreans in Rwanda started meeting on last Sunday of each month to worship and fellowship together. This monthly gathering has now turned to a weekly regular worship.

Several missionaries have agreed to take turn in sharing the message and I am one of them. On Sunday, July 10th, it was my turn to preach.

I shared the message, titled "Perfect Holiness", based on 2 Corinthians 7:1. I had to split the message into two parts: an overview and pragmatic sanctification. I will cover the second part next time.

Here is the summary of today's message delivered in Korean:

History is His story: His story of love for the humans. His story is well reflected in His Word: The Bible. The story comprises four parts: creation, corruption, Christ/cross and completion.

At creation, all things were perfect, sinless and holy. It was Shalom.

This Shalom was broken and lost when sin entered into human life. Human became corrupt.

God so loved the humans that He sent His one and only begotten Son, Jesus, to become sin and die on the cross on behalf of all humans. God showed the Way to salvation and to restored relationship with Him, the taste of Shalom again, but only partially.

God promised that He will complete His grand salvation work on The Day of the Lord, the day He returns as promised. There will be Shalom again.

Until then, we are called to the ministry of reconciliation. We are commissioned. This commission requires us to share the good news of Jesus with all nations whether we are in season or out of season. Internally, it also requires us to cleanse everything that contaminates our body and spirit, perfecting holiness, as a member of God's holy family.

How do we cleanse ourselves?

First, by repentance. We cannot be cleansed without confessing our sins and asking for forgiveness. It is the promise. (1 John 1:9)

Second, by practicing godliness. Practicing godliness is beneficial to us since it has the promise for this life and the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:7,8) It requires us to surrender ourselves to the authority and power of the Holy Spirit, day by day and moment by moment in our lives.

Perfect is too noble to follow, but it is a command since the Bible says, "Be perfect as the Father in Heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48) Holiness is too divine to imitate, but it is also a command since the Bible says, "Be holy as God is holy." (1 Peter 1:15,16) Combining these two commands looks impossible to digest. Nonetheless, it is a command and a few scriptures present some hopes.

Hebrews 12:22-24 says, "But you have come to.... to God, the judge of all, to the spirits of all righteous men made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant... " There will be righteous men made perfect. It sheds a ray of hope to what appears to be a hopeless command.

Also, Philippians 1:6 says, "... he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." What a promise it is!

I concluded the message by quoting Apostle Paul's prayer for the Thessalonian saints: "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

Indeed it is my prayer for me as well as all my brothers and sisters in Christ. "Amen!" - Jeffrey

July 9th, Saturday... UOB Day

2011-07-09T05:56:00.004+02:00

We hold UOB Day twice a year on the second Saturdays of January and July. On UOB Day, all UOB staff gather together to praise our God, pray to Him, listen to His word and share how He is working through UOB.

The theme for 2011 is "Shalom", the peace of God. From January UOB Day, we have been talking about "Shalom" several times through Gary Scheer, a 30+ year missionary to Rwanda from the U.S. Indeed we all Christians are commissioned to be involved in this ministry of reconciliation of all things to the creator God.

UOB is considered a BAM, Business As Mission. Its motive, vision, mission and core values clearly reflect it. UOB is in this divine reconciliation ministry through Christian micro finance. Christian micro finance is not only a means to help Rwandans transform economically, socially and spiritually. It is also the object for God's Shalom. Micro finance itself needs to be reconciled to God, meaning restored completely to "Shalom."

Thus, UOB's management theme was chosen to be "S.H.A.L.O.M." It stands for:

* Scale up!

* Harmonize!

* Achieve!

* Launch!

* Optimize!

* Maximize and Minimize!

Under this theme, God has been so gracious to UOB in 2011. We have experienced His grace in so many areas. So we honored Him and praised Him wholeheartedly together. We also prayed for His grace during the second half of 2011. We watched a "God Provides" DVD produced by Crown Ministries on the theme of "Widow and Oil" where God indeed blessed and provided for a widow ample oil through a miracle performed by Elisha. We also shared how God has been gracious by sharing the progress that UOB has made this year. We also pledged to continue to put our trust in the Lord, not leaning on our own understanding.

It is a great blessing and privilege to work with God's people in this reconciliation ministry at UOB. Thank you, Lord! - Jeffrey

6 Hour Hike...

2011-07-04T20:19:00.004+02:00

Today was the fourth day of weekend hiking that I started four weeks ago.

It is a hiking around the Kigali City, but hold your hurried assumption that it must be an easy city walk. Kigali City is built upon hills so the city itself has many hills and small mountains. Wandering around the city is in itself a hiking. There is a reason for calling Rwanda "a land of thousand hills."

[This is a common scene of Kigali City that is built upon hills]

Four weeks ago, I hiked 3 hours 40 minutes. The next week, 4 hours 10 minutes and the following 5 hours 10 minutes. Today, I was able to extend the hiking time to 6 hours. I did not measure the distance, but it would have been a good 15 mile distance. The hike included seven hills that I had to climb. Some continued an uphill climb for more than 40 minutes. So it is not a small hill.

Kristin normally walks with me for the first hour and goes back home. I continue waling and hiking by myself until my course is done.

Now I have only 50 some days left before the Mt. Kilimanjaro Hike scheduled for August 28th. I am planning to continue hiking at least once a week for at least 5 hours until the departure time.

Next time, I plan to climb Mt. Kigali and Mt. Jale, one at a time, plus some extended walking in the Kigali City. I trust this exercise will be helpful when the time comes. - Jeffrey

July 4th, Monday - Liberation Day in Rwanda

2011-07-04T06:10:00.002+02:00

Fourth of July is Independence Day in the U.S. It is now celebrating the 235th anniversary.

Closer to home, it is Liberation Day in Rwanda.

Liberation Day is to commemorate the ending of the 1994 Genocide that lasted 100 days. This year was the 17th anniversary since it was ended. 17 years seems long, but it is far too short for so many people to erase the horrible memory. So in the memories of many people, the despicable tragedy remains fresh no matter how hard they try to forget. It is just too hard to do it.

Nonetheless, Rwandans have a strong resolve not to repeat the same tragedy. So people remind themselves and each other of a short phrase: "Never again, never!" Indeed, such a tragedy should never be repeated not only in Rwanda, but any where in the world. Never should it occur again in the human history.

Rwandans have made a remarkable achievement in reconciling two mutually disliking clans over the past 17 years. How can a 17-year long effort completely heal the deep wounds that have been made over many decades, but the progress appears apparent and impressive.

Rwanda has also seen tremendous progress in economic development over the same period. Economic development covers a broad spectrum, including health, education, agriculture, infra structure, environment attractive to foreign investors, governance, ICT.

Moreover, the government has made conscious efforts to fighting chronic poverty and corruption. President and his cabinet members seem determined and hopeful to see the country's remarkable transformation within their generation. It is considered likely as long as they stay on course at least for the next few decades.

On the other hand, some international media are making a sensational report on human rights issues in Rwanda. I do not know the details of what is happening in the whole country and I am inclined to agree that there may be some concerns about human rights issues. But as a former S. Korean citizen who lived under serious human rights challenges in the 1960's and 1970's in S. Korea, I am not convinced of this argument. Some also argue that President Kagame is a new dictator, but I am not sure he is indeed such a bad dictator. I would agree that he is a pretty demanding boss, but the country's remarkable progress may not have been made possible without his demanding attribute.

Overall, I would argue that we should learn to see the overall balanced score of the country's performance, without being skewed too much with biased opinion on soar spots. However you cut it, Rwanda is progressing remarkably well and fast to become Africa's sterling exemplary country, like Asia's four tiger countries in the 1990's: S. Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

I pray sincerely on every Liberation Day that Rwanda is liberated forever not only from the haunt of the tragic genocide but also from other challenges that have held back Rwanda and many other African countries. That is liberation from malaria, HIV/AIDS, chronic poverty, corruption, tribal strife and dependence on foreign aid. May it become a reality in Rwanda sooner rather than later, oh Lord! - Jeffrey

Akagera National Park in Rwanda...

2011-07-02T14:34:00.013+02:00

[Top to Bottom, Left to Right: 1) Akagera Lodge from swimming pool, 2) Swimming pool and Lake Ihema from Akagera Lodge, 3) The largest floating island covered with 4) papyrus trees like this, 5) A couple of fishermen putting their nets, 6) Birds nesting at a bird sanctuary island, 7) A bird resting from diving to catch fish and 8) A beautiful sunset scenery]

On July 1st and 2nd, Kristin and I made a quick trip to Akagera National Park, Rwanda's only gaming park located at the eastern end of Rwanda bordering Tanzania. Missionary Bohye Kim and Pastor Younghee Seo from S. Korea traveled with us.

It is approximately 2,500 square kilometers big, one ninth of Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and five times larger than Ngorongoro Crater National Park in Tanzania. It has several lakes inside the park, including Lake Ihema, the second largest in Rwanda, after Lake Kivu.

It was a short trip, but we drove around the southern part of the park to watch some animals and in the afternoon we took the boat riding to see some crocodiles, birds and hipos. The lake was so tranquil as the surface was so smooth like a glass. At one point, Roger, the boatman, turned off the boat engine. It was so quiet, free of any noises but chirping sounds of birds. It was heavenly.

We had the privilege of the company of Bryan Havemann, the park manager, for our boating trip. He explained that Akagera has tremendous potential as a game park. It does not have too many animals at present, but it used to have over 300 lions and quite a few black rhinos, thus having all big fives. (lion, rhino, leopard, elephant and buffalo) But now, the park does not have lions and black rhinos. They were all killed during the war by soldiers and by poachers over time. Bryan explained, however, that the park has more than 110 elephants and many other animals and that the park has started fencing up the park to bring back lions and black rhinos within a year. Also, the park is well known for 500 species of birds that it has.

The absolute number of animals needs to increase, he admitted, to be considered one of better game parks in Africa, but many actions are currently under way and he is optimistic about the progress to be made to be recognized as a good game park within several years. He used to be a senior ranger at the Kruger National Park in South Africa and has accepted the offer to run the Akagera National Park in hopes of being part of the remarkably fast transforming Rwandan economy and tourism, like many others who share the sentiment.

Not too many game parks have lakes that Akagera has. Lake Ihema, located inside the park, has 35 species of fish. With ample algae, fish have plenty of food. Inside the lake, there are many crocodiles some of which are as long as the boat we were riding, approximately 4-foot long. Also there are a few floating islands that are covered with papyrus trees. We took a boat to see the islands and we found them amazing. The largest one was 100 meter wide and 200 meter long. I did not dare to step on it but I heard that its floor is soft and cushy. It floats within the lake as the wind blows.

Also we saw a bird sanctuary where komorans, herons, and other birds were nesting. Both crocodiles and these birds would not be around without ample fish around them.

We were lucky to capture the sunset scenery on our cameras. It was spectacular.

It was a short trip, but greatly rewarding and relaxing. - Jeffrey

Alliance Agreement with SURF Rwanda Signed...

2011-06-30T05:53:00.005+02:00

On June 30th, Thursday, Gabo Wilson of SURF Rwanda and I signed an MoU to collaborate in providing assistance for the 1994 genocide survivors.

SURF Rwanda stands for Rwandan Survivors Fund. It was founded in 1997 to help survivors of the Rwandan genocide deal with and recover from the tragedies of 1994. It has been supporting a wide range of services for victims in Rwanda, and assisting survivors in the UK.

Funded by a variety of organisations and individuals, SURF acts as a channel to distribute financial assistance to groups, individuals and charitable organisations in the day-to-day operations of bringing the people of Rwanda hope, safety, and a decent standard of living.

A veteran in dealing with the issues effecting the survivors, SURF holds the belief that support must address the host of difficulties and issues facing victims. Any one angle of assistance on its own, be it medical, economic or social, would be an incomplete answer. SURF provides an appropriate and integrated response to the needs of Rwandan survivors by supporting numerous projects geared at confronting the diversity of their needs.

This alliance is centering around providing micro credits and appropriate training for SURF Rwanda's clients (1994 genocide survivors) who have been on its program for some time to be able to graduate to a sustainable and commercial level of micro finance. SURF Rwanda will establish a couple of funds for this purpose, totaling $60,000 that could increase upon satisfactory performance, and its mature clients will be placed on this program to graduate to become self-reliant.

Both UOB and SURF Rwanda share the same vision of holistic transformation in the lives of Rwandan poor and look forward to their collaboration. - Jeffrey

Evidence of Faith Required

2011-06-29T05:42:00.004+02:00

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8)

It is so true that we are saved by His grace and through our faith.

But, genuine faith is evident in his or her life. In other words, faith that does not show its evidence in his or her life may not be genuine. I am not trying to be judgmental, but I will have a reason to ask why.

I have watched this video clip of Paul Washer's message that is hitting the nail right on its head. He spoke this shockingly biblical message to youth in 2002 and his message carries a clear truth to many Christians to date.

Here is Paul's bio.

Paul Washer became a believer while studying at the University of Texas. He completed his undergraduate studies and enrolled at Southwestern Theological Seminary, where he received his Master of Divinity degree. After graduating, he moved to Peru and served there as a missionary.

Paul ministered as a missionary in Peru for 10 years, during which time he founded the HeartCry Missionary Society to support Peruvian church planters. HeartCry's work now supports over 100 indigenous missionaries in over 20 countries throughout Eastern Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Paul now serves as one of the laborers with the HeartCry Missionary Society (www.heartcrymissionary.com). He and his wife Charo have three children: Ian, Evan, and Rowan.

I pray that you will be challenged and blessed by this message. There are three clips on youtube, which make up the message. - Jeffrey

http://www.google.rw/url?url=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DuuabITeO4l8&rct=j&sa=X&ei=vCcPTufUBM2XOpq5yLQL&ved=0CFMQuAIwCg&q=paul+washer&usg=AFQjCNF1wOf2-WzMuV8zXbziWrn2HSDqNw

First Annual Report for UOB plus many more...

2011-06-28T05:54:00.005+02:00

[The first annual report for UOB..............................With Suzie after we gave her a photo frame that had a farewell message "We all will miss you, even the lizards on the walls will miss you." She burst into tears.]

For the first time for UOB, we published its annual report for 2010. The theme for 2010 was "Arise and Shine" based on Isaiah 60:1. So the annual report carried this theme on its cover. On the back, it stated our declaration as "Christ-centered and Client-focused" organization. We are proud of the fine work that our staff produced without professional help.

Also, we have composed and produced a UOB song that is quite rhythmical. People like it and we hope to see this song sung by our staff and clients. It carries a gospel message in identifying who we are.

UOB has also produced its first portfolio folder that may be used in presenting its materials to donors and visitors. It may also be used for presenting to prospective institutional clients. Surely it will make our presentation more professional.

In addition, we are in the process of producing UOB Intro Video plus its Welcome Kit that includes UOB's history, statistics, mission, vision and values. All these, we trust, will gain respect and recognition from visitors on what we do in Christ's name.

For all these upgrading efforts, I must recognize three individuals: Suzie Hofert, Daniel Ryumugabe and Shami Mugisha.

Suzie is a volunteer from the U.S. She has been at the center of coordinating all the efforts in producing these marketing and promotional materials. She mobilized all possible resources to get the job done, including her parents. She also taught English to our staff. All her class students appreciated her efforts and expressed their appreciation with several gifts. June 30th is the last day for her 6-month volunteering and we wish her the best.

Daniel is Director of Transformational Impact. He has been involved in editing the contents and providing direction for Suzie's work with Welcome Kit, portfolio folder and annual report.

Shami is Manager of Marketing. He designed the annual report's graphics and produced the UOB Song with his own initiative.

We at UOB are so grateful to God for all these committed people whom He has provided for us and we are privileged to work with them.

Praise the Lord! - Jeffrey

Surrender to the Holy Spirit...

2011-06-26T20:16:00.006+02:00

On Sunday, June 26th, I had the privilege of preaching at St. Etien Cathedral where I worship. I am one of a couple of lay preachers who take turn in sharing God's word.

Today, my message centered around God's plan for sending the Holy Spirit to His people.

The coming of the Holy Spirit may have been a surprise to the Jews, but it was according to God's perfect plan. After the original Passover in Egypt for the Exodus, it took the Israelites 50 days until they arrived at Mt. Horeb to receive the Ten Commandments through Moses. Even now, the Jews celebrate the 49-day Refinement Steps until the day of celebrating the receipt of Ten Commandments.

It was not a coincidence that the Holy Spirit came upon the 120 saints on the day of Pentecost, the 50th day from the Passover. It was God's plan to send His Spirit to dwell in His people after His Son Jesus completed the redemptive sacrifice on behalf of all humanity, once for all. The Law was succeeded by God's grace through Christ's redemption and it was followed by the coming of the Holy Spirit who indwells us, the saints.

The Holy Spirit empowers God's people to be His witness. (Acts 1:8), The Holy Spirit enlightens us as He, the Spirit of Truth, teaches us and helps us remember all the teachings of Jesus. (John 14:26) The Holy Spirits convicts us when we are in sin and comforts us through God's grace and mercy. The Holy Spirit intercedes us even when we do not know what to pray. (Romans 8:26)

The Holy Spirit is clearly a gift from God as the evidence of our salvation, the restored relationship between the Creator God and us, the sinners, but forgiven sinners. (Acts 2:38) It is the baptism of the Holy Spirit that God the Father provides for His people by His sovereign power. What a privilege!

According to 2 Corinthians 6:19,20, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. This is a progressive transition from the Old Testament temple where the God's presence was at the Holy of the Holy at the Temple. When Jesus came to earth in human flesh, He described himself to be the temple. When He surrendered His life into the hands of the Father on the cross, the curtain of the temple was torn into two pieces, thus allowing for direct access by His people to God the Father through their Chief Priest, Jesus Christ. Now God's presence is in the bodies of His people. Since our bodies were bought at a price, we ought to honor God with our own bodies.

The best way to honor God is worship. A worship offered in truth and spirit is a spiritual act of worship and it is offering our bodies as living sacrifices. (Romans 12:1) Offering our bodies as living sacrifices means crucifying ourselves to the cross. It requires us to surrender our lives to the authority and power of the Holy Spirit in every moment of our lives. It then helps us achieve practical righteousness and personal holiness, through what is called sanctification.

When we surrender ourselves to the Holy Spirit to a full extent, we are under the total influence of the Holy Spirit. It is the filling of the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5:22,23) Through these experiences, we become more like Christ little by little.

2 Corinthians 7:1 urges us to perfect holiness by purifying ourselves from everything that contaminates our body and spirit. Would it be ever possible that we perfect holiness? Philippians 1:6 says so. He who began the good work in us will complete it until the day of our Lord's return.

Paul encouraged and prayed for the saints at Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 as follows:

"May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

May this be my and your prayer! May we continue to seek God's favor in our unceasing effort to perfect holiness through our total surrender to the authority and power of the Holy Spirit until the day of the Lord. Amen! - Jeffrey

Musanze Branch Grand Opening

2011-06-24T04:55:00.008+02:00

[The venue for grand opening.... UOB's New Musanze Branch .... Tape cutting by Northern Province Governor, BNR representative and Branch Leader]

[Note of Thanks to all guests ... Northern Province Traditional Dance .... With Bishop Rucyahana, Bishop Laurent Mbanda, good friends of mine]

On Friday, June 24th, we held the Grand Opening ceremony of UOB's Musanze Branch.

Before the ceremony, we campaigned in the city of Ruhengeri, Musanze District's capital city, with roller bladers and motor cycles. A truck carrying a large speaker made a noise with UOB song and other songs.

Our ceremony was represented by the Northern Province Governor, National Bank of Rwanda, Musanze District, Bishop John Rucyahana and Bishop Laurent Mbanda, the bishop for Shyrah Diocese of the Rwanda Anglican Church. The ceremony included traditional dance and music by professional dancers unique to the northern province. Also there were many guests, including clients like Antoinnette. She started banking with UOB in 2002 with a small borrowing of Rwf20,000 or $35. In less than 10 years she now borrows Rwf10,000,000 or $17,000. What an economic transformation she has achieved! We were proud of her and she was grateful to God who enabled her and to UOB that has provided support when she needed.

Musanze Branch is one of the largest and best branches that UOB has. It will serve UOB's clients in several districts in and nearby Musanze District, including Ruvabu and Burera. Recently, UOB made the first agricultural input financing to Irish potato farmers in Musanze. It was agreed that will continue to explore additional collaboration opportunities with the Northern Province Governor. We praised the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness. - Jeffrey

Rwanda National Agricultural Show...

2011-06-12T07:01:00.006+02:00

[Left: Jean de Dieu, Agric Finance Officer (left) and a staff holding the award received from the Ministry of Agriculture]

[Right: Our staff together with the KOABIKI team, growing Irish potatoes that UOB financed]

Rwanda's Ministry of Agriculture hosts a national agricultural show for a week or so. This is the place where all stakeholders to Rwanda's agricultural sector gather together to exhibit, share and learn from each other.

In 2011, this agricultural show took place from June 6th through 12th at the Mulindi Exhibition Center. This year UOB was one of the sponsors along with seven large corporate sponsors and the only bank that sponsored the event. UOB set up a booth and talked to people who are interested in agricultural finance.

At this show, KOABIKI, a cooperative growing Irish potatoes in Musanze, a northern district, was exhibiting the Irish potatoes that they are growing. KOABIKI has 47 members and UOB made its first agricultural financing for them. It was a great reward feeling for us.

The Ministry of Agriculture gave UOB an award for its commitment to the agricultural finance and its quality service. We praised the Lord in appreciation! - Jeffrey

Micro Insurance Launched Finally...

2011-06-11T16:29:00.004+02:00

On June 1st, UOB launched the long-waited micro insurance product... finally! It is the first micro insurance product launched in Rwanda.

The first micro insurance product that was launched was Enhanced Credit Life. A typical credit life insurance provides protection against the death of a borrower and pays off any debt outstanding. Normally this product is available only to the well-off. The micro insurance product is available to all the group loan borrowers.

In micro insurance, there is no medical check-up and everything is applied based on the information disclosed by the insured. Even when a claim is made, it follows a streamlined method for prompt payment.

Micro insurance is made available through a business model that has primarily three components: Front Office, Back Office and Risk Carrier. In UOB's case, it is a little more complex with arrangements among UOB, MicroEnsure, SORAS and Hollard. Micro Ensure is the world's largest micro insurance broker, a member of Opportunity International Network, and provides the product design, administration and claim handling. SORAS is the second largest insurance company in Rwanda and provides the legal platform. Hollard is a South African insurance company that undertakes all the risks related to this transaction through a joint venture with Micro Ensure.

It is an Enhanced Credit Life insurance product, because:

1. it provides not only the payoff of any outstanding loan, but also funeral benefits for the remaining family if a borrower passes;

2. it also provides the funeral benefits on the deaths of a borrower's spouse and of up to four children;

3. it also provides a coverage on business properties when lost through fire.

UOB is also exploring the possibility of developing an insurance-tied savings product, an enhanced health insurance, mobile-banking-tied life insurance.

Micro Ensure has developed also Weather-Indexed Crop Insurance product in cooperation with Ministry of Agriculture of Rwanda. UOB has been actively involved in the product design and implementation phases.

We praised the good Lord who continues to use UOB as an instrument to bless the underprivileged people of Rwanda. - Jeffrey

Loan Agreement Signing with IFC...

2011-06-02T07:00:00.006+02:00

On May 26th, UOB signed a loan agreement to receive $2.5 million from International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of World Bank group. It is known to be a privilege in the micro finance industry that an MFI receives a loan or an investment from IFC since its due diligence process is pretty challenging and IFC normally provides subsequent technical assistance (TA) support after a loan and/or an equity investment. Indeed, it took more than 10 months until it came to fruition.

It is the first case in Rwanda for any financial institution to receive a local currency funding from IFC and also is the first case within the Opportunity International network.

With the loan, UOB will be able to expand its service to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), particularly in the rural areas.

At the signing ceremony, the Minister of Trade and Industry Francois Kanimba and the Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda Ambassador Claver Gatete were present. During the key note speech, Honorable Minister Kanimba said, "Rwandan Government named 2011 "The Year of SMEs." With the additional resources available from IFC, the SMEs will surely benefit, particularly in the rural areas."

Jeffrey Lee said, "UOB is a leader in micro finance, using proven methodologies as well as efficient and affordable technology solutions. With the additional resources, UOB will be able to facilitate its outreach to the under-banked and under-served clientele in remote areas."

We praised the Lord for His ample provision of financial resources for UOB to help the underprivileged people of Rwanda.

Also IFC signed an agreement jointly with Business Partners International, a South African SME lender, and Rwanda Enterprise Investment Cooperative (REIC) to support the SME industry. - Jeffrey

Holistic Christian Transformation - Shalom

2011-05-25T05:06:00.003+02:00

When you happen to meet someone who shares the exactly same view on critical thoughts, you get chilled and excited with goose bumps, to put it mildly. That was the case. I had that experience at the Hope Leadership Summit.

Luis Sena is Director of Institute for Christian Transformation in Dominican Republic. He is now collaborating with Esperanza International, DR, reaching out Haiti. He was serving for Food for the Hungry for 28 years with 24 years as National Director before he retired to this institute.

He was talking about Holistic Transformation that should be manifest in microfinance. In other words, micro finance is not just a means or tool to achieve the holism but microfinance itself should be holistically redeemed by God's grace according to His salvation plan. Microfinance is to help the poor. But the poverty is not just material. It is also mental, psychological, emotional and spiritual. When we sin, our relationships with God, others, self and other creation are all broken. Salvation is the process of restoring these broken relationships to the original sinless perfect harmony, called Shalom. In the bible, all things, not one thing left, but all things need to be reconciled to God, thus achieving the redemptive work in whatever we do. All things include micro finance or any thing that may look trivial in human eyes.

I think this is well summarized in the following sentence.

"the NATURE of poverty is fundamental RELATIONAL and the CAUSE of poverty is fundamentally SPIRITUAL" - Bryant Myers

This sentence is quite profound. In other words, our poverty is caused by the spiritual reasons: i.e. fall of humanity and the way it is manifest is through our relationships. Thus, all things, whether sacred or secular, need to be reconciled to God to restore the Shalom that God desires.

Even those who are living in affluent countries and who appear to be happy may want more (greed in the state of poverty) or unhappy because of complex relational challenges due mainly to human greed. We all have some state of poverty. We all are impoverished in one form or another.

Thus, all our efforts should focus on holistic outcome/transformation no matter what we do and how we do. That is walking the talk and living out the belief. May this truthful presentation transform many hearts and minds of Christians to help transform the world to be closer to the world to come when our Lord Jesus returns.

Luis and I agreed to stay in touch to learn from each other and to sharpen each other. May we experience mutual learning and edification. - Jeffrey

Joseph, Man of God with Forgiveness

2011-05-25T05:03:00.006+02:00

[The Millenium Theater Entrace.... A statue of a lion and a lamb. Lion symbolizes God Father and a lamb symbolizes the slain lamb, Jesus. Salvation belongs to the Father God sitting on the throne and a little lamb who has been slain without a sin. They are our salvation.]

Usually, people talk about Broadway when musicals are discussed, whether they on-broadway or off-broadway shows.

I found one way-off-broadway show that is larger in scale and much godlier than most of on-broadway shows. It was not in Los Angeles or Miami or Philadelphia or Chicago or San Francisco.

It was in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. It is called "Millenium Theater" run by Sight and Sound. In the neighborhood, there are no other shows or commercial neon signs. Only this theater stands out next to a Amish farm.

This theater can house almost 3,000 guests at one time. The stage is the largest that I have ever seen for commercial purposes. The technological skills produced Joseph to fly in the sky in his dream. Dozens of animals were mobilized and used for the musical, including camels. Moreover, the actors were using the entire theater as the stage. People run down on the hallways and horse barns appear on the side walls. Egypt's palace, spinx, pyramids are all coming alive with the props and actors in harmony. Even more amazing than all these was that all they produce and show are biblical contents. For the past 35 years, they have been producing and showing only biblical contents, primarily people in the bible. It was all started by a photo grapher who wanted to share his work in a way to celebrate God's creation. With some sound and light effects, his show began drawing interest from the neighbors. So he has started producing Christian musicals solely for the purpose of praising God's grace. It has now grown to be one of the most prominent musical theaters in the nation over 35 years. It is unbelievable that this size of musical theater can sustain its operations in a relatively small county, producing and showing only Christian musicals. Ordinary talent offered in genuine spirit may turn to be fragrance to God and may bear many fruits beyond our human imagination. It cannot be sustained without God's grace.

Joseph was a man of God, upright with integrity and humility. He was patiently waiting for God's right time for him to be called into His ministry. He was also a man of wisdom, using God's perspective on all decision-making processes. The most powerful display of his godliness was when he boldly forgave all his brothers who sold him as a slave to Egyptian merchants and lied to their father, Jacob, that he was killed by wild animals.

His comment: "you have tried to harm me but God has turned your sinful intent to produce His goodness. He has sent me ahead of Israel so that Israel may be saved from the severe famine." What a tremendous confession of his faith in God! May this all be our confession in our lives, whether we are under God's grace or not. We should be thankful all the way. - Jeffrey

HOPE's Thurman Award for Rebecca - Two Consecutive Years for UOB Clients

2011-05-22T05:49:00.006+02:00

God has been so gracious to UOB in 2011 in many ways.

[Left: Thurman Award was given at Celebrating HOPE Event on May 21st.

Right: The Thurman Award for 2010 went to Chantal who is pictured with her husband. Unfortunately we did not

have Rebecca's photo as I was writing this blogpost. Lower Right: The Thurman Award 2011]

One of the special blessings that we have received is the winning of Thurman Award by UOB's client for two consecutive years from HOPE International. UOB's client, Chantal, won this award in 2010. This year, it has been awarded to Rebecca.

Thurman Award is an award given out to a special client whose transformation stories have been most inspiring and producing tremendous impact in the lives of other people. Many MFIs in the HOPE network (15 countries) are filing applications and only one client is selected for the Thurman Award in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Thurman who was the founding CEO of HOPE International. It is not common that one institution wins the prestigious award for two years in a row, so it was made possible only with God's grace.

Rebecca joined UOB's trust group in 2006 with a small $38 loan. Since then, she has continued to grow her business and along with the business growth her borrowing amount has also grown now to $2,000. She has several businesses: a retail shop selling drinks and groceries, a community gathering place and a banana plantation. All these have been done over 5 years. Rebecca is a tremendously gifted entrepreneur.

But it was not just her entrepreneurial skills that helped her transform economically, but also her social impact that she produced that made her eligible for the Thurman Award. She has four of her own biological children and she has four more of her adopted children. She cares for them equally with love. Moreover, she has been compassionate towards other less fortunate people in the same village. Her lending staff was giving an example of a young man who did not have a job or a business to run. Rebecca bought a motorcycle and now he is riding it as a motor taxi, earning money for his family. Rebecca is also inspirational to her friends and relatives with her commitment to faith in Christ. She attributes her success to God's grace without hesitation. She desires to help others as much grace as she has received from the gracious God. It is a story of economic, social and spiritual transformation.

I received the award on her behalf in front of more than 500 donors and HOPE staff. She has received a HOPE logo wooden sculpture and a $500 prize. This award will be given out to Rebecca on UOB Day in July in front of all UOB staff and some others who have been exemplary in their transformational activities. Rebecca is only one of 34,000 borrowing clients and one of 94,000 deposit clients whom we are privileged to serve. This kind of transformational stories may grow more and more as time goes by when we commit ourselves to providing transformational training for our clients as if we work for the Lord. (Colossians 3:23)

Praise the good Lord for His wonderful grace poured upon UOB! - Jeffrey

D-100 - Hike Kilimanjaro 2011!

2011-05-20T15:22:00.003+02:00

Seven friends and I have a plan to hike Mt. Kilimanjaro in August 2011.

[This photo was taken from an airplane in 2009, which gave me the dream to hike it.]

Today is D-100!

Now the countdown has begun.

Some statistics:

Two are from Rwanda, two are from New York and four are from S. Korea.

Seven are in their 50's and one in his 20's. (Originally all would have been in their 50's but at the last minute one has inherited to his son.) Their ages total approximately 400 years.

Five are men and three are women.

There is only one couple.

All desire to reach the summit, but the probability is only 50%.

So far we have exchanged 14 correspondences.

We all are excited!

Hooray! - Jeffrey

Seeing Friends and Family...

2011-05-18T14:11:00.013+02:00

[From left to right: Rev. M.S. Ahn and her wife Shinjong in L.A....

Jennifer, Hyunjoo, Mike, Chuck, Lim and Eunice in Colorado...

Amanda, our daughter in Clovis, NM]

[NB: I regret that I forgot to take a photo of our daughter Joyce!!!]

[Jean-Suk, In Kim...................... Julie and Jean-Suk's wife.......... Mindy and Sunghoon Song in CA]

Traveling is such a joy. You get to visit and see new places that are beautiful and interesting. You can also get away from your daily routines for refreshment. These are fun.

But greater joy is to see family and old friends. Absolutely!

During our trip to the U.S. we have seen our daughters, relatives and many old friends.

We saw many friends and brothers/sisters at Logos Central Chapel in Denver. We stayed at Dr. Chuck and Eunice Lee's home in Littleton, Colorado for five days. We had a meeting with several couples to give them a ministry update. We saw Elder Hahm's family, Mr. Wonjoong Kim's couple, Rev. Randy Joo, Rev. Kenny Hong, Linda Paek, Lim and Jennifer Ko, Mike and Hyunjoo Kim.

We visited our daughter Amanda in Clovis, New Mexico. She is serving the country now as an officer at US Air Force. James was not there because he was deployed. We also saw Saul, Amanda's new dog.

We stayed at Mr. Sunghoon and Mindy Song's home in Rancho Palos Verdes, California for four days. We were Sunday school teachers together for Senior High School students at Oriental Mission Church, Los Angeles. They are lovely and godly people. Their home was high up in a peninsula with an ocean view. Spectacular!

In California, we saw Jinsoo's family, my wife's cousin in Irvine, California. We also had dinner with In Kim's couple and Jean-Suk Kim's couple. They are old friends from Oriental Mission Church. We ministered together at the Sunday school, too. We also saw many old friends who were students or teachers at the OMC College Department in the 1970's and 1980's. Wow... what a bunch of friends! Rev. Sunja Kang, Rev. Peter Song, Rev. Taejong Lee, Rev. Kangkuk Kong... Kristin saw Soonae Lee, her close friend while I was meeting Mijin Barret, a prayer supporter for our ministry. We also saw Ji-young Rhee, a long-time colleague for BAM (Business As Mission) while we were presenting to the believers at Irvine Baptist Church.

In New York, we saw Kristin's family, including her ill mother; her brothers and their wives, and many others, such as Mr. and Mrs. Yeunho Suk, Koomin Chung, Jun Kim, Yeonhee Han, Minja Lee (my sister), Mr. and Mrs. Jay Yoon, Mr. and Mrs. Jae-Sup Choi, Jennifer Oh (Kang), Dr. Karl Kim and Mr. and Mrs. Cho (Kristin's friend Myunghee Kim's couple) We could have met a lot more people if we wanted to, but we did not have enough time.

In Philadelphia, we saw our daughter Joyce. She is now working for Urban Outfitters, but she is heading to Milan, Italy on May 28th for an 8-month internship with Design Boom. She may continue to stay in Italy for a year-long program with Benetton, but it is uncertain. She has also been admitted to Peace Corps but the deployment date has been postponed. It was a great joy to see our children grow up to be independent.

We also saw Rev. Steve and Mona Park, shepherding Jubilee Presbyterian Church in a suburban Philadelphia. The church moved to a new compound even with a cafe, called Cafe 25 Ten, in reference to Deutoronomy 25:10 about Jubilee. We also spent time with Mr. Insoo Kang who is Director of Mission for Jubilee's English Ministry. Jubilee is supporting us with prayer. We appreciate their support.

Now I am in Lancaster, PA attending Hope International's Annual Leadership Summit. I see old friends and colleagues in the Hope International network.

Relational joy is greater than geographical joy, I would say. - Jeffrey

Dr. Bryant Myers at Fuller Theological Seminary...

2011-05-14T07:47:00.004+02:00

Dr. Einstein is the icon in Physics. Michael Jordan is the star in basketball. Babe Ruth is the legend in baseball. ...

Who would be the guru for the international development industry?

It is Dr. Bryant Myers.

He was a VP at World Vision for several years. Now he is professor of international development at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is a practitioner as well as an academia. His book, "Walking with the Poor" is the bible for anyone who is pursuing a degree or a career in international development.

He emphasizes holistic ministry.

A quote:

"The NATURE of poverty is fundamentally RELATIONAL and the CAUSE of poverty is fundamentally SPIRITUAL."

It is a profound statement.

Why am I talking about this?

Today I met him in person. It was such a wonderful opportunity to listen to him. His advice was golden. Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to meet Dr. Myers! - Jeffrey

A Long Distance Road Trip...

2011-05-11T14:47:00.008+02:00

[At a coffee shop by a stream in Vail... Colorado Ski Museum in Vail...... A California coast scene..]

[Endless freeway in Arizona ... Pelicans in the sky in California.......... A beautiful California coast]

A road trip is fun in that you enjoy freedom and openness. It is inspirational when you sense God's marvelous creation from spectacular beauties abound on the way.

Starting from Denver, CO, Kristin and I took an extensive 25-day road trip from April 27th.

First, we drove up to Granby in the mountains. It was a short 2 hour trip. From there, we drove to Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It was a 7-hour drive and the sceneries were panoramic and spectacular. I have already posted a blog on this trip.

From Pagosa Springs, we drove down to Santa Fe, New Mexico for 3 hours, continuing to drive to Clovis, New Mexico where Amanda is living. It was another 4 hour drive.

From Clovis, we drove to Flagstaff, Arizona for 9 hours. The following day, we continued to drive to Los Angeles, California. It was another 8-hour drive. Of course, we drove around in Los Angeles and Orange counties visiting friends and churches.

From Los Angeles, we drove to Green River, Utah for 9 hours and continued to drive to Denver, Colorado the following day for 5 hours. We stopped over at Vail, one of the finest and the most famous ski resorts in Colorado.

When we returned a rental car on May 17th, the total mileage that we had added to the Chevy Impala was more than 4,000 miles or 6,400 km. Wow...

During the road trip, we saw snow capped mountains, gushing rivers, evergreen pine trees, high flying eagles, white clouds decorating blue skies in free style, dry but crisp deserts, endless flat plains, incredible cliff dwellings, vastly scattered fire-burned forest, cowboy families herding cows and sheep. We also experienced mineral hot springs at Pagosa Springs, saw friends and families, and tasted delicious foods. It was well worthwhile.

I don't think I will miss long-distance driving for a while.

We thanked God for His traveling mercy on us during the trip. - Jeffrey

Cliff Dwellers at Mesa Verde...

2011-05-06T16:00:00.004+02:00

[Mesa Verde National Park.........Cliff Dwellers lived in places like this and there are 4,000 sites like this, small and large]

Mesa Verde National Park is in Colorado, close to the Four Points where four states meet: Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. The site above is called Cliff Palace, the largest of 4,000 sites. This place has approximately 130 chambers and it is believed that 125 people lived there and the place has been used as a town hall for many smaller cliff dwellers in the area for the purposes of gathering, trading and ritual activities.

It is mysterious that American Indians who chose to live in open caves like this for less than 100 years disappeared out of these cliff dwellings suddenly as if they all raptured. It is suspected that they could no longer live there because of the prolonged droughts that are estimated have lasted for 23 years around early 1900's.

Architects are said to find the construction of the buildings to be very sophisticated with accurate geometry used for the construction. Water was collected from drips and rains. They grew agricultural crops and made potteries.

Whatever the reason may be for their choice of living under the big rocks and for their sudden disappearance from these cliffs, it is amazing to go back to their ancient living through these sites. - Jeffrey

5-day Hiking...and 7-hour Spectacular Driving...

2011-05-04T17:46:00.014+02:00

[Trees after snowing.... The whole world was covered with snow....... Have you seen this lately?]

While Kristin and I were in the Rocky Mountains, I had an opportunity to practice hiking for five consecutive days from April 28th through May 2nd. Every day, I hiked on average for 4 hours a day and the last day I was able to hike 20 miles from Grand Lake to the condominium in Silvercreek nearby Granby over 7 and a half hours. It was great joy and blessing to me that I was able to finish it despite weather challenges due to sporadic snowing. I originally planned to hike for 6 days to prepare for the 6-day hike that I am planning to do in climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) in August along with seven others, but I had to settle for 5 days.

During five days, almost everyday it snowed. On Friday, I had to settle for walking on tread mill, but overall it was a wonderful experience to walk the beautiful Rocky Mountains covered with snow.

On May 5th, Kristin and I drove from Granby to Pagosa Springs. It was a 300 mile distance and it ended up with 360 miles because we got lost once in the mountains. It was a spectacular view all the way with the mountains still covered with snow and the blue sky contasting with white clouds. It was sunny and everything was photo perfect. I drove for seven hours but it was a very plesant drive and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Throughout the journey we praised almighty God who created this beautiful nature with His word. Much of the nature has been ruined by human destruction but we could still feel the unspoiled beauty of the nature. America is a blessed country. - Jeffrey

Snowy Day in the Rocky Mountains

2011-04-29T19:58:00.005+02:00

[Snow falling at The Inn at Silvercreek ................Snow-covered trees making a beautiful scenery]

On the second day in the Rocky Mountains, it snowed the whole day. Thus, I could not continue my planned hiking after yesterday's 3 hour 35 minute hiking. I had to settle for a 6-mile walk on a tread mill in the gym. It was boring...

I am hoping for a sunny day tomorrow to continue my hiking.

Nonetheless, the snowed Rocky Mountains was beautiful. Everything was white. While we were in Rwanda, we could not see the snow, except on the top of the Mt. Karisimbi in December 2010 when I hiked it with a few friends. Even it was just a sprinkling of snow that melted after 11AM.

This snow in the Rocky Mountains is real white snow. Pure and powdery snow. Kristin and I enjoyed the snow very much. - Jeffrey