Hi Friends and Family,

I’m writing to you from the Wycliffe compound in Juba, South Sudan and am a little over halfway through my trip. For the past 6 days, I’ve had the opportunity to meet the missionaries and the South Sudanese who work with Wycliffe here, and I have absolutely loved it! I’ve felt so welcomed by various people making sure I have what I need and looking out for me, and several people have had me over for dinner on various nights to get to know me better. Beyond that, I’ve loved being with people who have a love for linguistics and Bible translation. From conversations about the process of Bible translation to Greek and Hebrew to the software tools Wycliffe uses to aid the translation process, I feel very at home here.

But one of my favorite things has been sitting in with a couple of translation teams (the Avokaya team and the Fur team) as they work on translating the Old Testament. The Avokaya team, who I visited on Friday, were checking their draft of Exodus 21 and talking about various exegetical and translation issues that came up. The Fur team, who I visited on Monday, were checking their draft of Joshua 14 and doing the same. I’ve learned a lot by watching them and was able to help out in small ways when they had questions about the original Hebrew text or about the cultural context of the passage they were working on.

Today (Tuesday), I will leave Wycliffe’s compound and have a different focus for the rest of my trip. Pastor Nicodeme, a missionary from Rwanda, has been in South Sudan for the past two and a half months to figure out the logistics of his family and him living here starting sometime next year. The plan is for Nicodeme and his family to be joined by Evangelical Friends Mission (EFM) missionaries in the near future so that we can partner together in planting churches in South Sudan. I, two pastors from Rwanda, an EFM missionary, and an EFM director will spend the rest of the week with Nicodeme to be with him, encourage him, and help him debrief. I’ve already gotten to spend some good quality time with Nicodeme when he’s visited me at the Wycliffe compound and am looking forward to hearing more about what the past few months have looked like for him.

Finally, I’m so grateful for all of you! Thank you for how you’ve prayed and are praying for me and for how you’ve given so that I can begin a disciple-making apprenticeship with North County Project in January. Currently, I’m 73% funded! Thank you for your incredible generosity! As a reminder, if you’d like to partner with me through financial gifts, here are the ways you can do it:

• Online: Visit the NCP Apprentice donation page by clicking this link. Once there, scroll to find my name and select your gift amount. You’ll have the opportunity to indicate whether you are giving monthly or as a one-time gift.
• Credit Card: You may give online (as stated above) or by calling the EFM office at (303) 421-8100 to provide your information to a live representative.
• Automatic Bank Transfer: Download the form here and email it to Debby McElroy (EFM Bookkeeper) at debby@friendsmission.com. Please note that ACH payments are processed on the 10^th or 25^th of the month.
• Check: Mail a check to EFM, P.O. Box 771139, Wichita, KS 67277. Please mark your check with “Thomas Moore NCP Apprentice Support” and indicate if your gift will be recurring (monthly, quarterly, etc.). Make the check payable to “EFM.”

Thank you again for how you’re coming on this journey with me. I look forward to giving many of you more details about this trip. I’d love to meet with you to tell you more about it if you live in Southern California or talk with you over the phone or video chat if you live elsewhere.

In Him,
Thomas Moore

The post Thomas Moore | December Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

I’ve held off on this update for a while because I wanted to figure out some of what the next season looks like in my journey toward missions before writing to you all. The reality is though that there are still things up in the air. However, I want to let you know some of what’s been happening and what’s likely coming down the pipe.

First of all, thank you so much for the way you’ve partnered with me over the past year. I’m so incredibly grateful for that.

In regard to the things, I asked you to pray for last time, God has been so good in working through all of those. God did help the Carpenters to plan the Kumbya missionary conference and helped me as I supported them in that. It was exhausting, but we made it. God gave me so many sweet times of fellowship with dear friends before I left Rwanda. It was bittersweet because I knew I was leaving them but that I would get to see and be with many of you again. Every time I’ve lived in a new place, I feel like I’ve made a new home, and now Musanze, Rwanda is home too.

As for readjusting to life in the US, I’m surprised by how little reverse culture shock I experienced. There were a few small things, but for the most part, there are things that are normal in the US and things that are normal in Rwanda, and I don’t expect what’s normal in one place to be normal in the other.

Okay, so now to what’s happened more recently. At the end of September, I had the chance to participate in the second Luke 10 Exploration Trip to Greece with EFM. (As a refresher, Luke 10 Exploration Trips are trips that EFM is using to help discern where the Holy Spirit is leading us to start new fields.) We got to spend a good amount of time talking with Iranian and Afghan refugees and those working with them, and God’s definitely working among the refugees there.

Let me give you some context. The refugees in Greece are usually passing through on their way to somewhere else in Europe where there are plenty of jobs and they can make a life for themselves and their families. They’ve typically left everything behind but the clothes on their back to make the journey and have used most (if not) all of their money to pay smugglers to get them to Greece. Many of them are also disillusioned with Islam since they had to flee their country because of Muslim leaders.

In that context, God has given mission organizations and churches the opportunity to step in and be his hands and feet. Muslims are getting to experience God’s love as they receive food, clothing, and other necessities through these workers and as they hear these workers teach them about Jesus. But the situation seems to always be in flux in Greece, both because where the refugees are coming from changes based on what’s happening and because of the Greek government’s ever-changing policies towards refugees. It requires a lot of flexibility for those working with these refugees. As a discernment team, we felt God pulling us towards Greece and will be sharing more at EFM’s National Luke 10 Think Tank (more on that later).

Now for what’s happening in the near future. I’ll be going on another second Luke 10 Exploration Trip in the second half of October to Dubai, UAE, and Doha, Qatar. (You might remember that I was able to go on the first Luke 10 Exploration Trip to these locations a year ago.) We’re going back to meet with some of the people we met with before, get a clearer idea of what God’s doing among Nepali people there, and help discern if God’s leading EFM to send missionaries there. Additionally, our Evangelical Friends from Nepal will be discerning if God is leading them to send missionaries. If we went here as EFM, there’s a chance we would be going in partnership with missionaries from Nepal.

After this, I’ll join the National Think Tank in early November in Portland. The Think Tank will be made up of people who went on these trips and other Friends leaders, and together we’ll look at all the Luke 10 Exploration Trips that took place and make a recommendation to EFM’s board. The board will meet the next day to further discern, discuss, and make the final decision on what new fields we’ll start as an organization. We’re hoping that the Holy Spirit will show us at least five new fields to launch and that we’ll know which ones they are by the evening of November 9.

Finally, in the more (but not too) distant future, I’m anticipating moving back to Southern California in early January to reconnect with Granada Heights Friends Church and all the other people I know out there. I’m anticipating being there for at least six months although the exact timetable is still up in the air. If you’re living in SoCal, I’m looking forward to seeing you soon. If you’re living in Florida and I haven’t had the chance to see you yet, I’d love to get together before I move.

Friends, through all these trips I continue to be grateful for how you’ve supported me financially. Thank you for your generous support that helped me serve in Rwanda and go on these Luke 10 Exploration Trips.

Whew, this is a long update, even by my long-winded standards! Here’s how you can pray for me.

• Pray for the team going to Dubai/Doha to help discern God’s will for EFM and EFC Nepal in that context.
• Pray for the National Luke 10 Think Tank and EFM’s board as we (and they) look at all the trips and discern further what God’s leading us into as EFM and Friends churches in America.
• Pray for my personal discernment process as I consider Greece, Dubai, and Doha and look for where God’s leading me within where he’s leading EFM.

Thank you again, dear friends and family. Looking forward to this next season and whatever God has for EFM and me personally within that.

In Him, Thomas

The post Thomas Moore’s October 2023 Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Sorry again that it’s been so long since you’ve heard from me. I intended to send out updates to catch you all up month to month with what’s been going on, but with frequent trips within Rwanda and often being sick when I wasn’t traveling, I haven’t been able to do that. At this point, I want to give you an overview of what the past couple of months have looked like for me and tell you about one of the most exciting things that is happening here.

First, the overview. I’ve been very thankful to visit more of our Friends pastors and churches here in Rwanda. I had the privilege of staying with Pastor Silas and his family in southeastern Rwanda and visiting three of the churches in that region. Like the homestays before them, they received me and cared for me with such warmth and generosity even though my visit was shorter than we all would have liked.

Also, over the past several months, I’ve had the privilege of being at three different D4D (Discipling for Development) trainings. The D4D team did training in Musanze (where I live), Kayonza (eastern Rwanda), and Kibogora (western Rwanda). I was grateful to be at each of these trainings and to travel with the D4D team on the last two. I’m also thankful for how I became closer to them during the trips and for how they cared for me on the last trip when I became very sick. (Don’t worry. I’m more than fine now.)

And I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful it was to meet more of the Carpenters’ extended family and Jonathan’s immediate family. I had the privilege of spending a good amount of time with Brad’s parents when they came in the spring and with Brad’s brother and his family when they came this summer. I’m also so thankful for all the time I got to spend with Jonathan’s parents and sister when they visited and stayed at our house. (Jonathan is one of my housemates.) All of these people were so kind and warm, and I’m thankful for each and every one of them.

Now for that exciting thing I mentioned earlier, the missions conference in Burundi. Thank you so much for your prayers for us. God did some incredible things during that time as all of us at the conference had time to fellowship with each other and learn from each other that week. We had people from all over East Africa at the conference (Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Congo, and Kenya), several from the U.S., several from Latin America (Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador), one from Nigeria, and one from Nepal. I don’t know quite how to describe it, but it felt like a historic moment, part of a turning point for our churches here that we’ll look back at years from now.

Let me explain what I mean and give you some context. For many years, Friends missionaries have come to our churches in East Africa, but until fairly recently our Friends here had not considered sending missionaries of their own. Money was always one of the main obstacles. How could they support missionaries to go to another country with the same model they saw Westerners use? It just didn’t seem feasible.

Enter the missions conference in Burundi where Global Disciples taught about business as mission and Friends from Latin America and Kenya shared their paradigms of missions. I saw a lot of the exciting discussions our East African Friends leaders were having in their various groups and had the chance to talk with some of them about their thoughts on the different paradigms they were hearing. God truly used this time to further mobilize all of us, and I’m very excited to see in particular how he uses this to mobilize our Friends in Rwanda and Burundi who are in the beginning stages of missions sending.

As I wrap up this update, here are some of the ways you can be praying for me this month and next.

• Pray for me and the Carpenters as we reflect on my time here; that God will teach us what he wants to through that.
• Pray for sweet times of fellowship as I say goodbye to so many that are dear to me here.
• Pray for the Carpenters as they’re in charge of the logistics for the upcoming Kumbya conference and for me as I help them with that.
• Pray for me as I readjust to life in America at the beginning of next month. I’m looking forward to being back, but I know that there will be much for me to adjust to since I’ve been gone for a year.

Once again, thank you all for your partnership with me in prayer and financial support. None of what I’m doing would be possible without all of you. I’m so excited to see you all again, tell you more about my time here, and talk with you about what’s next. (I’ll also write about some of what’s coming next in my next update after I leave Rwanda.) And for those of you who don’t live in Florida, hopefully, it won’t be too long till I get to see you again.

Thomas

The post Thomas Moore’s Spring and Summer Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

At the beginning of the month, I had the privilege to stay with Pastor Tertullien and his family for a week in Kayonza, which is in eastern Rwanda. I was grateful again for all the hospitality they showed me, and by how they welcomed me into their lives by talking with me about some of the deep struggles their family has had. I was so honored by how they trusted me with those things. I also learned so much about Rwandan culture with Pastor Tertullien. We had many conversations about differences between American and Rwandan culture, and he would often volunteer things during that week as we went about life. It was such a blessing to get to know him and his family.

And then, in the second half of the month, my mom came to visit me in Rwanda for two weeks. It was such an incredibly special thing! She had the opportunity to meet many people that I know here, and we had the chance to do a number of more touristy things that I had not done here yet. We went kayaking on Lake Kivu, went on a hike to see the golden monkeys, and visited Akagera National Park with Tertullien and his wife where we saw many other wonderful animals. I am also incredibly grateful to the families of Pastor Tertullien and Pastor Simparinka for opening up their homes for us to stay with them during the second half of the trip. They both generously invited us to stay with them when we were in Kayonza and Kigali, respectively.

But I would like to share a specific story with you from my mom’s time in Rwanda although there are many stories I could share. After seeing the golden monkeys, we visited the Ellen Degeneres Campus of the Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund. (I know. It’s a mouthful.) It’s a place dedicated to telling Diane Fossey’s story, a woman who fought for the conservation of gorillas in Rwanda and is dedicated to continuing her work.

At the reception desk, we met and talked with two young women, one who was named Epiphanie. I started speaking to them using the Kinyarwanda I know, and they were shocked that a foreigner was using their language and that they were able to understand me. I told them that I was in their country and felt that I should use their language as much as I was able to, and I told them that their people and their language have value. At this point, Epiphanie started tearing up and had to take a moment to collect herself before we continued the conversation.

You see, very few foreigners learn any Kinyarwanda, including many of those who work in Rwanda for many years, and Epiphanie’s probably mostly used to interacting with tourists who wouldn’t learn any since they’re only here for a week or two. But there’s something powerful about learning someone’s language and culture, even if like me, you still have much to learn. By learning someone’s language and about their culture, you communicate love and value to the person you’re talking to, and it puts you in the posture of a learner rather than an expert. (All too often, it’s easy for us as Americans to come with an attitude that we’re the experts, which can sometimes create barriers to getting to know people.) For more about this, Thomas and Elizabeth Brewster wrote an excellent article in the 80s called “Language Learning is Communication is Ministry.” You’ll see the ideas I’ve mentioned above and others in their article.

If you’ve ever wondered why I write so much about learning Kinyarwanda and Rwandan culture, this is why. Sure, I absolutely have the opportunity to pray with people and to do some preaching and teaching, but the bulk of my work is getting to know the Rwandan people better and communicating Jesus’ love through doing that. And friends, in whatever country God sends me to next, it’ll be the same during my first few years there. The relational work of language and culture learning is vital for long term effectiveness in a culture that’s not our home culture, and it’s an important way of communicating love and value to the people I’ll work with.

As always, friends and family, I’m so thankful for your partnership with me, and I’m looking forward to sharing many more stories when I see you again.

In him,
Thomas

The post Thomas Moore- Ministry Update From February first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Sorry, it’s been so long since my last update. A lot’s been happening here, so rather than trying to put it all in one update, I’m going to try to write three updates over the next several weeks, one for each month of this year so far.

In my last update, I shared about getting to stay with Pastor Nicodeme and his family and the wonderful hospitality they showed me. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to stay with more of our Friends pastors, and their families. I am incredibly grateful for how each family welcomed me into their home and for all the things I learned with each of them.

In January, I had the opportunity to stay with Pastor Simparinka and his family in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali. He and his family are such gentle, peaceful people, and I felt such peace in being with them. During my time with him, I had the opportunity to meet many of our Friends pastors in Kigali to hear about how God has changed their lives through Discipling for Development (D4D), a whole life discipleship model that’s taking off in the Friends churches in East Africa. D4D emphasizes that God cares about every part of our lives. He cares about our relationship with him, our relationships with others, our relationship with the environment/things we have, and our relationship with ourselves. (Think of “relationship with ourselves” as our view of ourselves and how we take care of ourselves). Recently, I’ve been taking a look at my own life and praying and thinking about what I need to bring under Jesus’s lordship in each of those areas. What about you? What parts of these areas is Jesus calling you to follow him deeper in?

The following week I stayed with Pastor Jean Paul and his family who also live in Kigali. He and his family are incredibly funny. In the space of a week, we had developed a whole host of inside jokes that we were still laughing about when I saw them a month later. I had such joy in being with them! During that week I also had the chance to teach a few religion classes at Kagarama Secondary School. (Secondary schools are grades 7-12). I was so honored to be asked to teach. The lesson I was asked to teach most often was on Christian Commitment. Here’s the Cliff Notes version. Jesus has shown us so much love in all that he’s done for us, and our motivation in all that we do for him should be from love for him and others. It was certainly a reminder to me to check my motives and make sure I’m not just going through the motions.

Here’s a lesson plan for another class I taught at Kagarama Secondary School. I really enjoyed helping the students step into the story and imagine that they were these people hearing this news for the first time. All in all, it’s been a blessing to stay with these families and to meet all the people I got to during that time. I look forward to getting to know more of our pastors, their families, and many others during the rest of my time in Rwanda.

As always, dear friends and family, I am so grateful for how you have partnered and continue to partner with me in my work here. I’m already looking at the logistics for my return to the U.S. this summer, and I’m so excited to share with many of you in person about what God’s doing in Rwanda and about what might be next. It’s hard to believe my on-the-field training is ending in four months. I’m thankful for all that God’s done here in the circles I’m part of, and I’m looking forward to what he has next, both while I’m here in Rwanda and afterward.

In him,

Thomas

The post Thomas Moore: Ministry Update from January first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

It’s hard to believe I’m halfway through my time in Rwanda! It seems to just have flown by, but I think I always feel that way when viewing something in hindsight. It’s amazing how much has happened in just December. As usual, I’ll give you the overview. I stayed with a Friends pastor and his family for a week, a few weeks later I was extremely sick, and then the Carpenters and I went on vacation in south Rwanda. Boom! Done! Update finished.

Ok, but in all seriousness, here are the details and the rest of the update. During the last few days of November and the first few of January, I stayed with an Evangelical Friends pastor, Nicodeme, and his family. I was (and am) so grateful for all of their hospitality. They were amazing in how they hosted and cared for me. Also, during that time, the Friends church in Rwanda was fasting, and I was able to join them in the fasting and prayer gatherings at Pastor Nicodeme’s church. (It’s kind of a Ramadan-style fast where you don’t eat when it’s light out and only eat one meal at night.) I was so encouraged to see the faithfulness, passion, and joy of the members of his church who were at the daily prayer gatherings, and I’m so thankful for those who translated so I could understand the gist of what was going on.

Towards the end of the month, I became very sick. It was the sickest I’ve been since I’ve been here, and I’m still not sure what caused it. I went to see the doctor on Christmas, he prescribed some medicine, and I was doing much better within a few days. Can I tell you, though, how amazing of a community there is in Musanze? Although I was too sick to go over to the Carpenters on Christmas, they, the Millers, and Amanda Gibson brought me all the things “sick Thomas” needed that day and spent time with me even though I couldn’t go to any of them. I was reminded of Jesus’s words in Matthew 25 where he says, “I was sick, and you visited me” and “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” They were absolutely his hands and feet to me that day.

When I was almost all the way better, the Carpenters and I went to Kibogora (which is in southwest Rwanda on Lake Kivu ) for a week of vacation. It was very peaceful there, and the Carpenter kids were having a blast. It’s a beautiful compound that they can explore and play in. We also managed to get over to the nearby Kumbaya Peninsula on one of our days in the area, and I got to do some kayaking on Lake Kivu which was so restful for me and good for my soul.

Now it’s time for some more broad ideas of what the second half of my time in Rwanda looks like. The first half of my time has been focused primarily on language learning. I still have a long way to go with that, but I’ve also learned a good bit. The second half of my time here will be focused on homestays with Friends pastors so that I can learn from them (like what I did with Pastor Nicodeme and his family). I’ll get to learn more about family life in Rwanda, see how ministry is done here, and see how they do both of these things together. I’ll get to learn more about Discipling for Development (D4D) through their stories about it. I’m excited to learn all these things, but I’m even more excited to go deeper into relationships with those I know here and to meet new people here in our Friends churches. There are so many gracious, loving people here, and it’s an honor to get to spend time with them. In fact, as you read this, I’m in Kigali for two back-to-back home stays with two different pastors and their families, but more on that in the next update.

Thanks again for coming with me on this year of on-the-field training. I’m only able to be here, stay here, and thrive here because of all of you. Also, feel free to shoot me an email back. I would love to hear about what’s going on with you and your part of the world.

In him,

Thomas

The post Thomas Moore’s December Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Wow! It’s been a long time since my last update and a lot has happened. I’ll try to give you an overview. In the past few months, I had the opportunity to be a part of two Luke 10 Exploration trips with EFM; one to Tanzania, and one to the United Arab Emirates/Qatar. Luke 10 Exploration trips are exploratory trips that are part of EFM’s process for discerning where God is leading our organization to start new fields. In between those trips (and after) I’ve continued to work on learning Kinyarwanda, and I am incredibly thankful for my language partner, Innocent, who has been so patient with me as I’ve learned.

I had an incredible time on the trip to Tanzania in September. The team was made up of Burundians and Americans. Together, we prayed and discerned about whether God is leading the Burundi Friends Church and EFM to start work there. We had the opportunity to talk with missionaries working among the Zaramo and the Kutu, two unreached people groups, and to hear the missionaries’ stories. It was so encouraging to hear what God’s doing among both of those people groups. We walked away from the trip not sure yet of how God wants us to be involved long term but sensing that another trip there is needed to discern more.

The Tanzania Luke 10 Team

The Gulf States Luke 10 Team

Next up was the trip to Dubai, U.A.E. and Doha, Qatar in October. My heart was filled with so much joy in both of those places but especially in Dubai. This trip was geared at seeing what God was doing among the Nepali immigrants in both of those cities, and the team was made up of both Nepali and Americans as we discerned together. We got to spend a lot of time with Nepali believers in both places, hearing about what God was doing among them and we were grateful for all the hospitality they showed us. God is certainly working among them. On our second day in Dubai, we went on a tour with some Arab guides who told us more about Dubai’s history and Emirati culture, and my heart was so full to be able to spend time with them and learn more about them. I really wanted to hear their stories and get to know them more, but it wasn’t the time or the place for that. I am praying about what it would be like for me to work in either of those cities but ultimately, it’s about where God is leading EFM as an organization and where he is sending me within that.

A View of Part of Doha. Can You Tell It’s Bright?

In the times in between and since the trips, I’ve been working on learning Kinyarwanda more. The trips were beautiful and good interruptions, but it did mean I’d have to remember and get back into it after each one, so my progress has been a bit slower than I would have liked. As I said before, I’m so thankful for Innocent’s patience in helping me learn and for how close of a friend he’s become to me. I’m so encouraged to see the things God’s doing in his life as well.

So, how can you be partnering with me in prayer during this next season?

• Pray that I may continue to humbly learn Kinyarwanda, about Rwandan culture, and about how ministry is done here.
• Pray for the Carpenters as they settle back into life here after a missionary conference in Thailand.
• Pray for EFM as we discern where God is sending us as an organization.

Thank you so much, everyone, for your continued prayer support and financial support. I am so thankful that all of you are partnering with me and am excited to see what God will do during the rest of my time in Rwanda. I pray that in the midst of all of the anxiousness that can come with the Christmas season that God will give you his peace.

In him,

Thomas Moore

P.S. Lots of good things have been happening in December as well. I’ll talk about more of those in my next update.

The post Thomas Moore’s Fall Ministry Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Here’s the overview. My time here started with two main events during my first month, Kumbaya and a Future Missionary Training Trip, before settling into something of a typical rhythm.

So, first Kumbya. This is an annual conference where missionaries from all over Rwanda gather for rest and retreat. It has been going on for decades and is cherished by the missionaries here. I was very grateful to be a part of it and to get to meet so many people throughout the week and hear their stories. The teaching that week was on the Psalms, and halfway through the week we were given the opportunity to write our own psalm. So, I took my guitar to a secluded place, started a voice memo on my phone and just started playing. It was refreshing to write about the different emotions swirling inside of me and process it with Jesus. If you’ve never tried to write a psalm before, I certainly recommend giving it a try, whether yours looks like a song or a poem or maybe something else entirely. Pictured here is the Kumbya Lake View, From The Friends Cabin

Next, the Future Missionary Training Trip. It was such a joy to see people I knew and to meet people I hadn’t before. It was also such an honor to meet so many of the Rwandan pastors that the Carpenters have worked with for so long. For the trip, we spent one week in Kigali and one week in Musanze. Our time consisted of home stays with Rwandans the Carpenters know well, a training for Friends pastors, and D4D training along with hearing stories of how God is using D4D to transform people’s lives. Discipling For Development (D4D) is a whole life discipleship program that’s really taking off in the Friends churches here. It begins with letting God restore every relationship of our lives: our relationship with him, others, the environment and our resources, and how we view ourselves. One woman shared about how in going through D4D, God had restored her marriage and empowered her to create a better life for her family as he taught her how to better steward what he had given her. It was a powerful testimony, and I can’t do it justice in such limited space!

The Executive Council, Their Wives, The D4D Team, And The Team From The U.S.

After the team left, I began Kinyarwanda lessons with one of the workers at the Carpenters’ house, who has been such an incredible help. He is so patient with me as we build off what he’s taught me day-by-day. Also, shortly after the team left, I was able to move into a house with some other guys and have enjoyed some sweet times of fellowship with them. For the next few months, my primary focus will be on learning as much Kinyarwanda as I can and on going on two Luke 10 Exploration Trips. Pictured on the right, is my first attempt at transcribing Kinyarwanda into IPA.

Here are some ways you can be praying for me this month.
1. By the time you get this, I will be on a Luke 10 Exploration Trip in Tanzania. Luke 10 Exploration Trips are part of EFM’s discernment process about where God wants EFM to start new fields. Please pray for God’s leading as we listen to him, humility for each of us on the team to serve each other and those we meet, and for God’s wisdom in overcoming unexpected difficulties
2. Pray for wisdom in what to learn as I work on Kinyarwanda. Pray that I might learn it well enough to be conversational in it so that I might be helpful to Brad and Chelsea in the work that they’re doing and so that I might be able to connect with Rwandans in a deeper way as I talk with them in their language.

I know this has been a long update, but there’s just so much to tell. Thank you again for how you’ve partnered with me. Also, I would love to hear from you, whether by email or messaging me on WhatsApp or Signal.

In him,
Thomas Moore

The post Thomas Moore September Ministry Update first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

This team is traveling August 5-20 to Rwanda, Africa to be hosted by Brad and Chelsea Carpenter and several EFC-Rwanda leaders. The team includes Grace Broschk, Eric Johr, and Ellie Ware from North Olmsted, Ohio in Eastern Region, Nathan Macy from Wichita, Kansas in Mid America, and joins Thomas Moore from Florida, already in Rwanda, who connected with Friends in Southwest when at Biola University.

Please pray for this team of future missionaries!

• For a great experience of learning from EFC-Rwanda and the Carpenter family about cross-culture service, language learning, whole-life discipleship, immersion experiences, and missionary family life.
• That God would send more workers to his harvest field. For these future missionaries to gain discernment in the next steps the Lord of the harvest may be leading them towards.
• For EFM’s partnership with EFC-Rwanda and Rwandan future missionaries, potential new workers, and the sending church as we seek sweet fellowship in the missions-sending conversation and vision.

Find more information on EFM Future Missionary Retreats, Training Trips, Cohort sessions, and Luke 10 Trips here.

Complete this form to tell us more about your interest in missionary service.

Read about the Pathway to missionary service with EFM here.

Matt Macy
Director of Mobilization
matt@friendsmission.com

The post Future Missionary Training in Rwanda first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.