Odeth is a Rwandan missionary who did her DTS (Discipleship Training School) in Rwanda in 2004.  For the last 8 years, Odeth has served with YWAM here in Kigali.  She has had a variety of roles, including kitchen manager (Wow.  Its really a hard job)!   She has also taken several courses to help her in ministry, including an introduction to Primary Health Care course, and a Foundations in Community Development course.  For the last 4 years, she has been serving with a department called APRECOM, and leading it for the last 2 years.  APRECOM stands for AIDS PREvention, Care and Outreach Ministry.  She and several other staff work to support widows, orphans, and people with AIDS.  They hold support groups, have counselling sessions, do home visits to isolated people (and help them get to the hospital when they need it), pay funeral costs, pay school fees for children who would not otherwise be able to get an education, teach workshops on nutrition, sanitation & good parenting, as well as help adults learn skills to generate income.

Odeth works very hard to help the ministry continue to function, not only participating in ministry herself, but also planning, budgeting, reporting to ministries that sponsor APRECOM’s ministry activities, and training the staff she works with.

Many of you have heard the story of us visiting the widows during the genocide mourning time last year.  This is the kind of ministry Odeth is leading.

Odeth married in 2008 and has 2 little boys.  Her husband has a full time job as a driver.  I have been shocked to learn that despite the amazing ministry Odeth is involved in, she has no regular support except the money that her husband earns.  (This is one of the reasons they are not working in ministry together.)  Each day Odeth travels over and hour to get to the office/ministry, because it has been cheaper to live there.  This lessens her time with her children as well as with the ministry (and is tiring for her).

In January, she and her family are taking a leap of faith to move closer.  Her presence here on base will also be valuable to those of us living here!  We are working with her here to help raise support locally.  We would also love to see some pledged, consistent support come in for her living expenses from overseas.

About $650/month can support her family, including rent, food, and school fees, so a consistent pledge of $25 or $50/month could go a long way.  (Mike and I have pledged to help her with $80/month 6 months, with the hope that in that time we can reduce it as we see support coming in for her from local sources – that by July she will have at least $80/month coming in from here.)  I know you have not met her, but I can certainly vouch that for my time and effort in the things I have been able to teach her, she has been a great investment!

If you are interested in supporting Odeth, please email me and we can work out the specifics!