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Spiritual Warfare |
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 Special Report:
The bus was headed from Burundi to Kampala. To say the roads are not in good condition is vastly understated. Driving in East Africa is dangerous at the best of times. Taking public transportation is really an act of faith. It was dark and the bus was going a bit too fast trying to make up time. The passengers were dozing trying to get as much rest as possible on the long, rough ride. Suddenly without warning the bus was hurling off the road. It was a sharp curv e and the driver could not get the big beast around it. The bus flipped over strewing luggage and people in all directions.
Unfortunately the scene above is not that unusual. What was unexpected is that the bus was carrying the ICM National Director for Burundi, Rev. Painito Ambuka. He was on this particular bus because he stayed in Burundi to make sure visitors like myself made it safely onto our planes for our trip back to the USA….
September 17th... ICM International Council Meeting
 ICM leaders from around the world came together in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Every year the National Directors from around the world gather together as the ICM governing council to discuss our values, vision and purpose. We hear what God is doing in the various countries and seek to understand what He is calling us to as a team. This year Painito Ambuka joined the gathering and shared how the Lord had given him favor in the small country of Burundi.
Painito is an ICM graduate of our BA program in Kitale. He and his wife Rose felt a call to take the Good News to Burundi and open up an ICM training center. Believing that God was going before him, he and Onesmus Weru of Kenya, went on a fact finding trip for a week and returned back to Kenya
with a 22 acre campus given to them by the Burundian
government. Not long after that initial visit he received a small grant to get started and launched a training program with pastors and Christian leaders.
Painito left the International Council meeting a day early to go to Burundi to make sure everything was in place. The President of Burundi, a Christian, had agreed to officially dedicate the land on Monday September 22nd. Painito had invited the members of the ICM governing council along with others to the dedication, so he returned to help his wife Rose prepare for the visitors and the dedication.
September 22nd... Meet the President
 Four of us, Myron Goodwin, James Kamau, Paul Giesbrecht and myself flew into Burundi on Sunday September 21st to participate in the dedication of the property. What none of us could have foreseen was the extent of the government support. We were met at the airport by the protocol officer from the President’s office. We were given a driver and a vehicle to take us around to meet with ministers and government officials. On Monday the 22nd we drove to the property overlooking Lake Tanganyika. The President had given us 22 acres of prime land to build an extension site of our Africa Theological Seminary.
We began to suspect that this was more than a simple ceremony as thousands of people began arriving along with TV, radio, and newspaper reporters. The national drum team (unlike anything we had ever seen) was there along with special dancers. The President showed up within the hour and immediately walked over and laid the foundation stone. We went back to the special tent for dignitaries where the governor of the state gave a welcoming address. I spoke after the governor and then the President spoke about the need to have a training facility to train people in God’s word. It was an event that none of us will forget.
That evening we met with the head of national security. He shared some of the dreams of the President and the country. The next morning before catching our plane we went by State House and met with the President for about 15 minutes. After praying for him we were whisked away by protocol to catch our flights. None of us will forget the amazing few days in Burundi.
September 25th...The Finale...Click here for more....
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 July (1962)
Burundi is a small country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda on the north, Tanzania on the south and east, and the Democratic Republic of he Congo on the west. Although the country is landlocked, much of the southwestern border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika.
Burundi is one of the ten poorest countries in the world. Due to civil wars, Burundi has a low gross domestic product, unstable population growth, and sparse resources. Cobalt and copper are among Burundi's natural resources.
September 25th....
 International Christian Ministries is about passion for a purpose. We live to disciple. Painito almost lost his life in pursuit of that passion. Working on a very slim budget he has little money for the luxury of a car or for flying. In order to get the work done he and Rose take public transportation to and from Burundi. After the exhausting schedule of the International Council meeting and then the visitors and dedication in Burundi he had to board a bus for the two day trip back to Kenya.
Painito now lays in a hospital in Kampala. The National Director o f Kenya (Stephen Mairori), Tanzania (James Kamau) and Uganda (David Omalla) are making sure Painito receives the best care possible. His left arm and hand were crushed. The surgeon told that team that he had done the best he could and the rest is up to the Lord.
Please pray for Painito that God will restore full use to his hand. We know that God has a special plan for Burundi and that Painito and Rose Ambuka are critical to that plan. We also know that Satan is real and seeks to thwart those who serve the Lord Jesus. Prayer is our primary weapon as we seek to reclaim and disciple those whom the enemy has stolen. Join us in praying for Painito and for the work in Burundi.
Phil Walker
President, ICM USA
Donations for Painito’s medical costs can be given at our web site:
www.icmusa.org
or by sending a check to:
ICM, Painito Fund,
Box 9071,
Bakersfield, CA 93309
September 30, 2008 Update on Painito
Dear all,
Tomorrow we will fly Ambuka to Nairobi from Entebe Airport in Uganda at 5:00am and then to Eldoret Kenya arriving 8:00am.
Keep praying that Ambuka regains the use of his hand. It is receiving some blood, but just a little.
Pray also that God will keep providing for his medical bill. Kampala hospital has taken over US$1,400.00. That is almost all they had.
Prof. Beseye has been an orthopedic consultant since 1976. He is the one who has been treating Ambuka. He says “I am using the wait and see method on this hand.” He has given us the OK to transfer Amkuka to a Kenyan Hospital. We (ICM Kenya & ICM Tanzania) have decided to take Ambuka to Eldoret referral Hospital. Let us keep on believing that God has restored the use of Painito's hand.
Onesmus
Hope of Africa Fund
The Hope of Africa is Jesus, nothing more or nothing less. We in ICM are committed to partnering with you and those in Africa to ensure that every man and woman has a chance to hear the Good News of Jesus and to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Your donation to this fund helps make this goal a reality. To donate on-line just click here.
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