The Power of Prayer...

I had serious nose bleedings over the past week. Five times. I had never had such bleeding before.

My wife is a nurse and she has not seen any such serious bleeding since 1990 when she was working in the Emergency Room at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. It was that serious.

Kristin consulted with our doctor, Chuck Lee in Colorado, over the skype and has given me treatments. But, she also sent e-mails to our prayer partners a few days ago. God's grace is never short of abundance! The bleeding stopped immediately and the past two days have been without the bleeding.

Praise the Lord who is gracious and faithful in answering the prayers of His people!

Praise the Lord for Kristin, Chuck and all prayer partners!

I would like to express my sincere and deep appreciation to all who have prayed for me. Your prayer support has been tremendously helpful! - Jeffrey Lee

Cape of Good Hope...Cape Point...

It was a mysterious feeling to stand at the south western tip of the African continent. For a moment, I was thinking of the people who turned around this tip from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean, such as Bartolomew, the first explorer. They must have traveled with the land on the left hand side all along. Then after passing this Cape of Good Hope, formerly known as Cape of the Storms, they could no longer see the land on the left hand side. They must have sensed a different weather as well as a different water. What an excitement they must have had!

It is now a mute point because of the Suez Canal that connects the Europe and the Asia, but before the Suez Canal all ships had to go all the way around this Cape of Good Hope. It must have been a long journey.

The surroundings of the Cape of Good Hope were pretty simple, but it was meaningful enough to stand at that tip of the continent. (I learned that the most southern tip of the African continent was approximately 300 km away, but this is the first turning point from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean.)

We also hiked to the lighthouse at the top of the Cape Point nearby. This lighthouse apparently had a very strong light that used to be seen from 56 km away; however, it was placed far too high (over 220m) that it was frequently covered by the mist, fog and cloud, resulting in very low visibility. Later, the current lighthouse was built at approximately 85 meters from the sea level. - Jeffrey

God's Providential Encounter...

On the way back from Cape Town to Kigali, we had to come through Joburg. The flight from Cape Town to Joburg got delayed and the check-in counter for the connecting flight was closed earlier than scheduled. We tried to find the office of this tiny airline of Rwanda (Rwandair Express) for hours going back and forth between A and B Terminals of the Joburg's huge O.R. Tambo International Airport.... without success. I ended up calling our staff at the bank to make contact with them. Frustrated, we had to sleep one night in Joburg unexpectedly.

The next day, we were arranged to be on another airline's flight (Kenya Airlines). But, the gate agent could not find our names. After making a couple of additional unsuccessful attempts to find Rwandair Express office, we finally figured out that they switched our first names and last names. So the gate agent could not find our names in the system.

Finally relieved, we checked in and were waiting in the gate area for boarding to Nairobi, Kenya to be continuing to travel to Kigali after a few hours of waiting. Tired but we were relieved and grateful that we finally were able to get on the flight to come back to Kigali. Kristin and I were discussing that we should not be annoyed too much by the unexpected circumstances because we do not have any control over them. But we could control over how we respond to such unexpected circumstances. We should not suffer from our own frustration and anxiety when the external circumstances are difficult enough.

That was when I met Rev. Billa Wilson Babu. He is from India and living in India. He was on his way back to India via Nairobi, Kenya after he attended a leadership conference in Joburg. He is a missionary from Bangalore, India to reach out to his fellow Indians in the Chennai area, southern India, who, however, speak different dialects than brother Wilson. He was a Hindu himself and he is now ministering to other Hindus. He is an educated man with a bachelor's degree, two master's degrees and a ThM degree. He is a pastor, a teacher, a husband and a father of three children. He is shepherding a small church, Bible Baptist Church, that has 10 families, but it took him six years to win these 10 families to the Lord. He also has Doulos Ministries through which he serves the sick people and provides education and training for the pastors and leaders of small rural churches in the surrounding areas.

I could sense that he was charged with a strong calling to serve his fellow Indians with the love that our Lord Jesus Christ has demonstrated to us and commanded us to live with. I could clearly feel his passion for God and compassion for his people. I was grateful to the Lord who has led us to meet each other.

So I said, "Brother Wilson, you and I are meeting today because we missed the flight yesterday. I trust it was God's will that you and I are meeting. Let us stay in touch for continuing our fellowship through prayer and support. Let us see what the Lord has in mind for us to do together." On site, we prayed and rejoiced together. It was God's providential encounter. -Jeffrey

466/64 Section B Cell 7 ... Robben Island, S. Africa

[Robben Island entrace...............466/64 (Nelson Mandela's ID) ............Nelson Mandela's cell]

There was an Opportunity International Africa CEO Conference in Cape Town during October 19-21. Kristin and I took Friday off and spent two days in Cape Town.

One of the first things we did was visiting The Robbene Island where the maximum security prison was located. South Africa's former president and a Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela spent 18 years at this maximum security prison doing hard labor. His prison life was because of the "Apartheid" that was prevailing in South Africa until 1994.

Anyone who is a South African or interested in Nelson Mandela knows what "466/64" means. It is the identity number for Nelson Mandela. His prison cell was in Section B Cell 7.

A small island, Robben Island, located approximately one hour by ship had many former political prisoners. Now it is closed, but it remains the World's Heritage Site, showing the cruel human mistake of "Apartheid." Our tour guide was a former political prisoner who spent 8 years at this Robben Island. I prayed that such a cruel human mistake like "Apartheid" should never happen again. - Jeffrey

The Book of Romans in Five Months !!!

Today, Wednesday October 14th, we have completed the study on the book of Romans. Praise the Lord!



The joy was great because we have been studying it for the past five months. Who are we?

[me, Kristin, Jooheum, Jihoon and Sangmin]

We are a bible study group of five, including three members of Korean international volunteers (KOICA), Kristin and myself. They are Jooheum, Sangmin and Jinhoon. Jooheum is a PhD candidate in Knowledge Science, Sangmin is a college student and Jihoon is also a college student in Korea. They came for the international service in lieu of their military service. They all work at RITA or Rwanda Information Technology Authority, the Rwandan government agency overseeing the ICT industry. They all assist the government in developing the ICT industry in Rwanda. Excellent young people!

In addition to their expertise in IT, they all have other specialty. Sangmin plays the guitar and leads us in praising the Lord. Jihoon is a photographer and takes excellent photos. Also he is very good at electronic gadgets. Jooheum is an expert in coffee, briliant with venture development and a guru in e-trade. What a group of talented young people!

We are meeting on Wednesdays and it is an exciting time for us to grow in the knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ through this time. We pray that we will also grow mature in our faith and love in our lives to be reflecting the light of Jesus to our friends, relatives, colleagues and the world.

In a couple of weeks, we will begin the study on the book of Ephesians.

We are excited to hear that a few more people may join us for the bible study. Praise the Lord!

Please pray for us so that our bible study may bear many fruits in our lives as the witnesses of the gospel of the Kingdom. Thank you, Lord, for your grace upon us for the past five months. I pray that you will continue to be gracious to us as we continue the bible study on the book of Ephesians. Amen! - Jeffrey

Rwamagana Branch Open!!!

On Friday, October 9th, we opened the Rwamagana Branch.

[<-- This is an earlier photo before the construction was completed. I forgot to take the camera.]

It is a regional hub branch to serve the entire Eastern Province for now. Actually, it looks bigger and nicer than the home office! It will house the Rwamagana EBU (Entrepreneurial Business Unit), Regional Support Center and one mobile branch when launched in December. The RSC will provide support for Ngoma EBU and Gatsibo NMO (New Market Office) as well. As we open smaller "spoke" branches or "points of delivery", as I prefer to call them, they will be served out of this regional hub. So it was a big celebration internally. Many staff members could not resis their joyful tears.

This was the third new branch that we opening this year. The first was opened in Nyanza, the south of Kigali, and the second one was in Muhanga (f.k.a. Gitarama), the west of Kigali City. Rwamagana is in the east of Kigali. So gradually we are expanding the network externally into the rural areas.

It was a soft-opening, celebrating the opening ourselves with a dozen clients. We praised God for His providence and prayed for His continuing grace. A few clients shared their testimonials. One of them said that she started with a $26 small loan that she used for retail trade as well as her school fee. It was 10 years ago. Now she owns two retail shops and is able to borrow and pay back $3,800. She is the leader for a group and is coaching others with business management skills. She also actively participates in the community and her church programs. She is also helping with orphans and widows. I thanked Him for His blessings on her.

In my turn, I thanked the Lord for His grace in the rough journey until the opening. I also thanked Him for the clients because of whom we exist. I thanked Him for all the staff I am privileged of working with. And I thanked Him for the transformation that He is achieving in the lives of our clients. I promised that UOB will not only be a bank that provides credit and savings, but it will also be providing micro insurance that will help our clients manage their life risks better. I also promised that UOB will continue to provide education and training so that their life quality will continue to improve transformationally in all aspects of their lives holistically.

We are planning to hold the grand opening ceremony early November with the guest of honor , most likely the central bank governor of the Eastern Province Governor, and the bank's board members. Praise the Lord! - Jeffrey

Talk with Young Adults on Money Matters...

On Friday, September 18th, I was asked to speak with a group of young adults on money matters at Christian Life Assembly. This group is called "Sparks" and the program was called the "Spark Talk." Approximately 50 young adults attended.


We talked about the ownership of money, dangers related to money, giving, saving, spending, debt management and how to resist the worldly temptation.


As some of you know, I was leading workshops and seminars on "Good Steward's Financial Management" back in the states. The topic is dear to my heart and it was a blessing to be able to speak on this topic to young adults who are exposed to the world temptations and misconcepts on money matters in many aspects.


According to Luke 12:15, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abudance of his possessions." Yet, we put too much value on the quantity of money we make and we have.


1 Timothy 6:9,10 says, "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." Yet, we see so many people around us who ignore this warning.


Hebrews 13:5 is a little more direct saying, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" Yet, we find it so difficult to live with contentment.



Money is a necessity for buying goods and services, and for storing some to prepare for contingencies, including unproductive olden days. But, its importance has been so elevated that it seems to have become the purpose of the lives of so many people. It is a disease: I call it "Affluenza." This disease is contagious and drives people to seek money or affluence with all their minds, all their hearts and all their strengths. They often compromise the value and ethics to achieve the goal. They are willing to use people to obtain the money. Sadly, even the Jesus followers frequently fall into this trap.


There is a cure for it. It is the stewardship. Once you acknowledge that the creator God and the redeemer Christ owns the heaven and earth and everything in between, you know that you no longer own anything. Nothing. Nada. Zip. He owns everything and we are only His stewards or managers.



But not all stewards are good stewards because there have been many bad stewards as shown in the bible. Good stewards not only know who the owner is but also use the money entrusted with them according to the owner's will. To illustrate this, there will be three types of questions people will ask as far as spending money is concerned:


First, "What do I want to do with my money?" --- This question is for those who think they own the money. The world is full of these people.


Second, "What do I want to do with God's money?" --- This question belongs to those who at least acknowledge who the owner is, but still desire to follow their own judgment and will when it comes to spending.


Third, "What does God want me to do with His money?" --- This question belongs to those who not only understand who the owner is but also try to discern the owner's will in deploying the resources entrusted with them.


I have seen so many people who are good stewards. They find joy and satisfaction from giving away the money for God's purposes. They are content with what they have been provided. They do not love the money. Instead they love to give away the money.


It is my desire to see more and more good stewards who are managing God-entrusted resources for His will and His Kingdom.


Habakkuk said, "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior." (H. 3:17,18)


May this confession be ours as well! - Jeffrey

Umuganda (2) in Rwamagana...

Umuganda is "community work" in Kinyarwanda. The last Saturday of each month is Umuganda. From 8AM to 11AM, all citizens of Rwanda are expected to participate in Umuganda. After the work, they gather together to hold a meeting to evaluate the work done and to acknowledge the participation.

Today, 57 members of UOB participated in the Umuganda in Rwamaga, Eastern Province. UOB has been operating in Rwamagana for the past 10 + years, but without a branch. We will open a regional branch next week. So it was a good opportunity to show UOB's support for the community.

Today's Umuganda was to help build classrooms for one of the primary schools in Rwamagana. We, meaning UOB staff and the local Umuganda participants estimated to be 300 in total, laid the foundation for three classrooms and made 400 cement blocks. The work involved digging, hoeing, shoveling, carrying cements and rocks, mixing cement and gravels. UOB also contributed 50 bags of cement that can produce 2,000 blocks.

The chief of the sector, called Executive Secretary, said that they will dedicate one classroom to UOB. We praised the Lord!

It was a great turnout for UOB and they all appreciated our participation. Without exception, there were people who were once prisoned, have been pardoned afterwards and are required to participate in the community work twice a week. Their participation helps them work together with the people of the community to which they belong. Most of them were involved in the genocide, normally suffering from the guilt and hatred. It is a great way of reintegrating them into the community.

At the end, they circled around and danced together their traditional dance to celebrate the work and to boost the morale.

Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity for us to work together through Umuganda! - Jeffrey

Ahhh... Kilimanjaro...

One of the dreams that I had when we decided to relocate to Rwanda was climbing the Mt. Kilimanjaro. Mt. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa with the elelvation of 19,331 feet and the fourth highest in the world. It is only a dream at present since I do not have a concrete plan, but it is a dream that is still well alive.

On the way back from Zanzibar, I had a wonderful opportunity to take a few shots of the Kilimanjaro from the airplane. The peaks were standing proudly above the sea of white clouds. What a scenery!

Ahhh... Kilimanjaro... Lord's willing, may I have the life-time experience of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, the roof of Africa, before its snow cap melts away! - Jeffrey

Anyone Interested in Kingdom Business in Rwanda?

Kingdom Business is a business that is dedicated to the Lord's Kingdom. You may take the nominal and legal ownership, but the purpose, mission and vision of the business is all for the Kingdom. Deeply rooted to the principles of Jesus Christ, a Kingdom Business aims to be run in a godly way with all profit dedicated to the Kingdom.

Microfinance is to assist microenterprise owners to graduate from chronic poverty. The main objective is to achieve an economic transformation.

Christian microfinance is to assist microenterprise owners not only to graduate from chrinic poverty (ecnomic transformation) but also to restore his/her relationship with self and others (social transformation) and to restore his/her authentic relationship with the Creator God and subsequently with neighbors. (spiritual transformation)

Microenterprise owners often get stuck with their retail trade businesses, such as selling fruits and vegetables on market days or by the streets, selling limited grocery items in a tiny store. This is primarily because they do not know any other businesses or because, even if they do, most of them are afraid of trying any other business. There is a great need to help develop and introduce other viable business opportunities for these poor people. This process is called "microenterprise development" or MED.

If the MED is conducted by a Christian and for the glory of the Christ, it is called Christian MED or CMED. This work may be carried out by NGOs. I desire to see that this CMED is carried out by a Kingdom businessman through a Kingdom Business because it would be signficantly more effective than otherwise.

At UOB, more than 80% of the 33,000 borrowing microenterprise clients are involved in retail trade services. I am prayerfully waiting for God's sending us some Kingdom businessmen and businesswomen who desire to serve the Lord through Kingdom Businesses. There are a lot of opportunities that can be done for the poor and ultimately for His glory. Moreover, the Kingdom businessmen and businesswomen would experience the divine blessings in the process through the heavenly peace and joy.

Is there anyone out there who hears God's calling? - Jeffrey