Dusting off my blog and sending an update

I'm really excited to share with you about our next stage in our work in Rwanda. But first, a little background. More than 10 years ago, I made a decision to start a Master’s program because I wanted to be the director of a non-profit organization. As I sat in a session with the CEO of the National Big Brothers Big Sisters organization, she shared how so many non-profits have been ran poorly and she didn’t want to see one more Big Brothers Big Sisters local office have the same fate. It was a challenge, a charge; something I felt deep in my bones.

Now that I’m leading a ministry in Rwanda, I want to do it well.

Over the last few months, the Rwanda staff and I have been working on a 3-year strategic plan and each staff person has their action plan for 2017. I’m so proud of the work our Rwandan staff has put into making sure our work is sustainable. But through this process, I’ve realized that we need a stronger organizational foundation under the Rwanda side of our work if we hope to build and expand.

Some highlights of our plan:
For Belay Global
·         Grow to 2 more cities in Rwanda within the next 3 years
·         Begin vetting 2 other African countries within the next 5-10 years.
For Rwanda
·         We want to launch a business incubator for our young Duhu entrepreneurs to begin working out of our office, which gives us more one-on-one attention and discipleship opportunities.
·         For DuHope, we want to see the women making $150/m by the end of the year. This is 5 times the average wage in Rwanda.
These goals will help us spread the gospel of Jesus in a tangible, life changing way. I LOVE IT!
Years ago, I sat with a consultant in the US who challenged us to make big, audacious goals. These are big, audacious goals and I believe with God all things are possible. We have prayed over these plans. We are pulling together the gifting that God has put on our team and have given each team member a charge. And as excited as I am about working with my team in Rwanda, I see these big, audacious goals needing more support, more foundation.

As the Executive Director of Belay Global, it’s up to me and the board to begin working on this foundation to make sure we can support the dreams of our amazing team. So, I'm back in the US for a season. I will be dedicating about 6 months to come back to the US to build support and advocacy from March – September. I will be visiting places that I have visited on short term trips to deepen our networks and meeting people doing similar projects to learn from them. It's very hard for this Sooner-born girl to admit, but I will be spending the first couple of month in Austin, TX to learn from other organizations working abroad and also spend time with other business incubators to learn how to help young entrepreneurs launch their businesses.

I need your continued support and prayers. I’m very excited and very scared. It’s a big job ahead of me, but I know God has been with us every step of the way and I have no doubt He is already orchestrating this trip. I’m excited about leaving the Rwanda team to keep working, growing, and building this ministry and also sad, because I don’t want to miss out.

If you want to help this trip start out on a strong note, feel free to drop a little money in the plate. =)  belayglobal.org/donate  

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