Dear family and friends

We want to share some exciting news with you! We will be leaving for Kigali, Rwanda on July 17th for three weeks to partner with International Justice Mission (IJM). We were asked by IJM to come to Kigali, Rwanda to partner with and provide some trainings to their aftercare staff. IJM is a faith-based social justice mission that is at work throughout the world to bring justice and healing to both individuals and communities. IJM uses a collaborative model that works alongside nationals to prosecute cases in developing nations such as slavery, sex trafficking, illegal property seizure, illegal detention, police brutality, and sexual violence. IJM has a four-fold purpose: 1) Victim Relief; 2) Perpetrator Accountability; 3) Victim Aftercare; and 4) Structural Change. While cases are being prosecuted, the victims are offered protection and provided with aftercare services. Rwanda is just beginning their aftercare program, and we will be providing a training for their social workers to address psychosocial and spiritual needs of the victims that they work with.

Some of the topics we may be discussing together are: 1) Impact of trauma on the brain; 2)Stages of grief; 3) How to facilitate trauma and grief groups; 4) Training in narrative, art and play therapy, etc. We also will possibly be providing some individual as well as group counseling during our time in Kigali. We are so thankful for the opportunity to partner with Rwandans, and all that we will learn from them during our time together. We pray that God may use us to help strengthen their aftercare program, as well as to participate in both psychological and spiritual healing in the lives of those we will work with. We pray that we may come to know God's heart for justice and peace more fully. We are SO eager to learn from the IJM Rwandan staff!

We will be staying with our dear friends, Jerry and Cindy Prouty, who are in ministry in Rwanda. Jerry and Cindy help to run a guest house for African New Life Ministry. We are especially excited, as we will get to sleep in hammocks outside for our first two nights in Kigali (the guest house is full the first two nights that we are there;). We may not want to come inside to sleep, after falling asleep under the beautiful Rwandan stars our first two nights!

We would greatly appreciate your prayers as we prepare to partner with IJM for a short time this summer. We praise God for this opportunity, and that we are able to go during Ryan's graduate school break before his next semester. Please pray that God would prepare us spiritually, emotionally and mentally for this ministry. Pray that God would give us wisdom as we partner in providing some trainings for the IJM aftercare staff. Pray that we would depend completely on Christ to be our source of love, peace, wisdom and strength. Pray that Christ would be able to encourage the IJM staff in Rwanda through the relationships we will build. Also, please pray especially for the victims that we will be working with, for their cases and for their healing. Thank you so much for your prayers! We look forward to sharing in this ministry with you this summer, and sharing updates with you upon our return!

Peace,

Ryan & Marla

Here is a link to IJM. We encourage you to look
at their website to learn more about ways they are partnering to bring justice, peace and healing! www.ijm.org