Category: GLO

Good Health this Christmas

Good Health this Christmas

Widow Alice’s 6-year-old daughter died because she didn’t have the equivalent of the cost of a Starbucks coffee… how could that be? Her daughter was sick, and Alice had no money to get her treated. She asked her neighbours for a loan, but they were likewise destitute. So she set about making a clay pot as quickly as possible to sell, but during those lost hours, her daughter’s illness proved fatal. I’m shaking my head in disbelief as I write this… it is so wrong! We can stop something like that from happening again this Christmas for 5,000 of the […]

No more crashes this Easter!

No more crashes this Easter!

I’m a man of faith. I believe in Jesus’ resurrection, which we will celebrate this coming Sunday. But some things are beyond resurrection! “One of the major challenges we encountered was the lack of adequate equipment such as computers.” Taken from an update by a GLO partner in 2023 So many of our amazing leaders, and their teams, struggle on, using tired laptops which are painfully slow, often crash and are barely able to handle the demands of opening a spreadsheet. We need to do something right now. I once lost three weeks of work when my computer crashed – for these key leaders […]

All Good Things Come to An End…

All Good Things Come to An End…

Or Do they? Nothing has brought me more joy and pain in 25 years of ministry in Burundi. Maybe that’s a little overstated, but building what is considered the best dedicated conference centre in the country certainly caused many sleepless nights, stressful days, frustrating weeks and more. Phase 1 launched in 2009, Phase 2 in 2021. It’s been a looooong journey, through the upheaval of renewed violence in 2015 when the country imploded, through Covid shutdown… but King’s Conference Centre as a social enterprise has more than survived… it has thrived! And the key person coordinating and leading several dozen […]

“I used my sweater to cover the stain…”

“One day, while sitting in class, my makeshift pad leaked. When I stood up, I realized that I had stained my school uniform. I asked a classmate if she could spare a pad, but she too was in need. I wrapped my jumper around my waist and requested permission to leave.” For Exaveline, what should be a typical day turns into a recurring nightmare when her monthly period arrives. At just 16 years old, she cannot afford sanitary pads, and she has exhausted all possible methods to prevent staining her school uniform. Unfortunately, her attempts often fail, leaving her feeling […]

Stunning Modern-Day Miracles!

Stunning Modern-Day Miracles!

You might struggle to believe some of the following stories from last month’s outreach. I hope not though. ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever’ (Hebrew 13:8). So here are some feedback highlights, having asked folks to pray last month as we sent out 1,439 young evangelists from 88 churches for two weeks all around Burundi.  The top-line summary is that they saw over 23,000 people come to faith! It’s the modern-day Acts of the Apostles! Here goes: An Urge for Healing In the small village of Bwambarangwe in Kirundo province, 41-year-old Diomede had lain paralysed from the waist down and […]

Righting a Wrong for Pastors on the Scrap-Heap!

Righting a Wrong for Pastors on the Scrap-Heap!

Sometimes it’s just plain wrong…and we have to do something about it. It is wrong that a pastor serves God faithfully his whole life and then ends up with no pension, in total poverty, abandoned by his children, dying penniless and uncared for, sometimes regretting he’s given his life to the Lord’s service in the first place. And yet such a scenario is relatively common in a country where very few people get a pension. Daniel was a pastor for 36 years before retiring. He reminisces: “I taught the Word of God in schools, planted many churches and mentored many people… […]

A Thrill of Hope…

A Thrill of Hope… Gloria Smiling with her sewing machine

Look at Gloria’s glorious smile! Her life has been totally transformed. She was trafficked to the Middle East and spent ten years in prostitution. Hers was a truly hopeless and miserable life. But when she managed to escape back to Burundi, our Ephraim tracked her down and found her living in total poverty.  He rescued her, trained her to be a tailor, got her a sewing machine, and now she’s able to make a living and provide for her daughter. Listen to her in this short film… Just beautiful! What I love is that with just £25/$30, we can help a […]

Hope for the Desperate in Burundi…

Meet my youngest, Josiah, as he shares with me in this short video on a desperate need right now in Burundi. Economically, Burundi has never been worse, even in the war years. There’s virtually no fuel, food prices are exploding, and the nation is back to being both the poorest and the hungriest country in the world (according to the World Bank). One of our staff recently commented that Bujumbura was ‘like a ghost town’. And yet, I’m so encouraged (and challenged) by how our faithful partners model such joy amid crisis, holding on to the Saviour and reaching out […]

Beautiful Healing Testimonies from Burundi!

Beautiful Healing Testimonies from Burundi! United Christians in Evangelism

Last Sunday night, we had an evening meal with GLO Partner United Christians for Evangelism (UCE). They are a superb outfit doing incredible things on minimal funds, which is what I find so utterly inspiring. When I was last out here in October, we had done an outreach in Gatamba in Karuzi Province, which had been a real adventure and very fruitful – some of you might remember the demon-possessed lady Teresa who had thrown both her shoes at me from the crowd who was then prayed for, set free, and helped to make a fresh go of life having […]

Bringing Christmas Hope!

Hope is in the air.  Francine is widowed with 7 children. Life is unbelievably tough. Her ‘house’ is a hovel – actually probably quite like the stable Jesus began his life in – without a toilet, electricity, or a front door to lock and provide security. But with your help, their lives (and others) will be radically transformed this Christmas! ICJ’s work in Murwi is about so much more than hand-outs. We’ve come alongside the poorest of the poor to journey with them out of extreme poverty. We’ve built a community centre with electricity so the kids can do their homework […]

Choosing Between Your Children

The new school year is big business in the West, with supermarket aisles crammed full of uniforms, pencil cases, notepads, and more. I asked my daughter Grace to film me as I recounted one of the most moving encounters I ever experienced with a mother desperate for her children’s future: Even a hard-working family with a modest income will struggle to shoe, clothe and supply stationery to all their children. Often, they’ll only be able to equip one or two of their children with the bare minimum. I can’t imagine having to choose between which of my kids get to […]

(STOP) Their Education Bleeding Away!

It’s taboo. It’s hidden. It’s devastating. So many girls suffer in silence, in shame, in sadness. We interviewed a few of them in the poignant video below. Now that we have a teenage daughter, this issue resonates even more deeply with us than before. We would do everything in our power for her to thrive and not miss out on her studies. We all are (or have) sisters, daughters, nieces, etc. So this is something we can all relate to and do something about. We can all spare £4/$5 to help one (or 5 or 10 etc) precious teenager in […]

Burundi Bread and Butter Needed Now!

Great Lakes Outreach is a lean machine, I’m proud to say. And we use donated money carefully, accountably, and strategically. Today is the culmination of 6 months’ intensive work, and is the launch of our spanking new website. You might think we commissioned a marketing agency for £20k, but no, it was all done in-house, so huge thanks to Paul and Adam – great work guys! Why not take a look now, starting with the stunning short film on the front page explaining what GLO does?  I’m very encouraged as we continue to have a nation-shaping impact. There are masses of positives in […]

Doubling Easter Hope in Burundi Now!

You will be healed if you have sufficient faith. Still sick? It’s your lack of faith! That loved one of yours who died? It was because they sinned.You can have anything you set your heart on… Just claim it by faith, and God’s Word says it is yours! Amen?  Hmm… I hate false teaching, heresies, lies like the above. Sadly, they are very popular and common in Burundi. The Church is growing – you could say exploding in growth – which is wonderful. But the challenge of that growth is the prosperity gospel drivel disseminated on the radio, from the pulpit, or in the classroom. And why […]

From Beggars to Entrepreneurs in Burundi!

This is a guest blog by my Norwegian friend Arne. It’s something we’re looking to get involved in. It is so strategic, so empowering, so beautiful.  This short film (under 4mins) explains the concept: Over to Arne: Hello folks! Why do we think that the solutions for those who are poor in Africa are different from the solutions in the UK, USA and Norway? Every human throughout the world has God-given talents, as well as needs. The need for a job, to feel wanted and valued, to provide for the family, and to have a relatively predictable and secure future […]

You did it and they’ve got it now!

Do give yourself 57 secs of joy by watching this! This is just the briefest of messages feeding back on your beautiful response to our Christmas appeal to provide health cards to several thousand desperately needy folks. £2.50/$3 was what it cost to provide them and their immediate families three years of access to medical care. We filmed this at one of the handout events where a thousand people received their card.So we say A MASSIVE THANK YOU on their behalf. Oof, there will be fewer senseless deaths! With guaranteed healthcare provision, they’ll have deep peace rather than crippling anxiety! […]

The Satisfying Death of CIP… or the RIP of CIP!

The Satisfying Death of CIP… or the RIP of CIP! a man with a staff stands next to a fire in the street

Last Friday in Bujumbura, CIP was shut down, wound up, put to bed. Let me explain why that is probably GLO’s greatest satisfaction to date in our involvement in Burundi: In April 2015, a political (and therefore national) crisis came to a head as the sitting President announced he would indeed stand for a third 5-year term in office. The constitution stipulated a maximum of two 5-year terms elected ‘by the people’. His first term had been elected by parliament as Burundi ended its 13-year war. So can you see how both sides would interpret the situation differently? His side […]

Building Now to the Glory of God!

Building Now to the Glory of God! A montage of photos from the new KCC development

I’m seriously excited, because this last week has been almost 12 years in the making. Check out this 1-minute clip with photos… But honestly, there were times when I doubted we would we ever get to this point. Let me explain: We helped Scripture Union launch the King’s Conference Centre in 2009 (See this video). It’s a sustainable success story and a hit with locals and international guests alike. Not only do several dozen staff receive a good salary to provide for their families, but profits are ploughed back into Kingdom projects like pastor-training, youth camps, and Bible distribution, etc. Beautiful! But then to our horror, the neighbouring […]

To Your (and Their) Good Health This Christmas!

Widow Nadine’s 6-year-old daughter died because she didn’t have £2.50 ($3). £2.50 for a life. That is so wrong! I tell her tragic story in this short 2-minute film. Basically, for £2.50 ($3), Burundians can get a health card valid for three years for the whole family, which will allow them to get treatment at a government clinic without incurring crippling debts.  Sadly, Nadine didn’t have this card to get her daughter treated, and her neighbours didn’t have the money to lend her either, so she hurriedly set about making a clay pot (her skillset) to sell… but there was not enough […]

Tears of Joy in Burundi

I’ve watched this three times now, and cried the first two. It’s just so beautiful! Honestly, please watch it, you won’t regret it! It goes down as one of the top ten meetings of my life…  So here is a huge thank you to those of you who responded to last week’s email. Actually, the point of the email was to highlight the grace of God as the foundation of our lives during times of crisis, as evidenced so beautifully by many of our precious Burundian brothers and sisters; not to ask for money – that was just a PS at the end, offering […]

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