Our Family...
We’re originally from Texas
We are a part of an awesome mission team here in Rwanda - we serve with the Kimbrows, Amoses, and Shewmakers
We are blessed to be a part of a fantastic national team here in Rwanda - God has called some amazing people to work here
We like Whataburger and the Houston Astros
We have two children -
Fred who is 12 and Tess who is 10 months
You can contact us at:
rwandachris@gmail.com
or
jshelby34@gmail.com |
Prayer Requests...
1. For our national team as we develop a strategy for reaching the nation of Rwanda with the gospel
2. For health and safety for Jill and the baby
3. For our consistent obedience to God and His commands
4. For our progress in language
5. For our teammate, Lori, who is dealing with some health issues
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Mailing Address:
B.P. 6490
Kigali, Rwanda, Africa |
Chris’ cell:
011 250 078 327 2931 |
Jill’s cell:
011 250 078 328 3346 |
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| Several people have asked us what we would like in a package. Below are some items that we can’t find in Rwanda. If you send a package, you can get a flat rate box at the post office for $37.00. Please write as low an amount as possible on the “value” portion of the box so we won’t get charged duty on it. The customs people get a little antsy when the value of the package is very high. Thank you so much for thinking about us! Packages are fun! |
Our address here in Kigali is:
Chris Shelby
B.P. 6490
Kigali, Rwanda, Africa
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Wish List |
Since we are getting ready to go back to the States on furlough on May 14th, it’s probably best to stop sending packages for the time being. If sent now, they probably won’t arrive before we go home. Thanks so much to everyone who has sent us packages during our first term here in Rwanda. It has been such a great encouragement and blessing for our family. Thank you so much! We’ll return to Rwanda on August 15th.
Chris:
Cheetohs
Recent editions of Sports Illustrated
Dr. Pepper - ( They can be shipped no problem! People have sent the plastic bottles in Ziploc bags and they arrived just fine!) **The Dr. Peppers would be my first wish on the list...even if you send just one, I would love it so much...**
Girl Scout cookies - I love Thin Mints!
Hot Tamales
Instant Jello pudding mixes... mmmm.... delicious...chocolate and vanilla
Mach 3 razor blades
Gillete after shave lotion
Pop Tarts - Strawberry or Cherry with the icing
Spices: Italian Dressing,
Whataburger ketchup packets, McDonald’s BBQ sauce packets, Taco Bell Hot Sauce (in ziploc bags)
Butterfinger candy bars
Pretzels
Gatorade mixes: orange and fruit punch
Book Wish List: “Once a Runner: A Novel” by John L. Parker, “The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy” by Bill Simmons
Jill:
Crystal Light single packets
Caffeine Free Diet Coke (in plastic bottles)
Fritos
Smarties
muffin mixes (blueberry, lemon poppy seed, chocolate chip)
cookie mixes
light brown sugar
Dry spaghetti sauce mixes
Assorted bite size candy bars (Snickers, Butterfinger, Kit Kat, etc.)
Canned chicken
Red Hots
White chocolate chips
Milk chocolate chips
Heath Bars
Cooking Spray
Magic erasers (the white pads you use to scrub marks off the wall)
Fred:
MacGyver Season 4 or later on DVD
Dr. Pepper
Oreos
Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
Butterfingers sticks
Sour Skittles
Fun Dip
Legos
Flaming Hot Cheetohs
Sour cream and onion chips
Double Bubble Bubble Gum
Cereal: Reeses Puffs, Lucky Charms, Cookie Crisp
DVD’s: The Night at the Museum, 1 and 2
Tabasco (original)
Nestle Quick Powders (any flavor)
Duct Tape
Bacon Bits
Tess:
Baby wipes
Diapers (20+pounds...Tess, not the diapers)
Books
Wind Up Toys
Raisins
Other baby snacks
Fruit snacks
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| Monthly Newsletters and Blogs |
| March 2010 As director of Youth and Sports at ATN, I have visited a couple of the neighborhood schools but I didn’t visit the
one with the children wearing the brown and khaki uniforms until last month. It turns out the school we call Kicukiro
Public School is the largest public school in all of Rwanda...and it’s just down the road from us. Charles Kabeza
and I met with their dean of students, Lambert, about opportunities and
needs at the school. It started with helping them complete a latrine project
but is turning into much more. Read more... |
| February 2010 |
January 2010 January in Brief...
Much progress has been made at ATN.
2010 promises to be a very busy and exciting
year! The really exciting thing is that in all the
programs and ideas that are being generated
and begun, our mission is to make disciples.
ATN’s board is being re-structured and
we are meeting to determine strategy for the
future. As coordinator for Community and
Family Development, some specific things I
am involved with are sports camps and
leagues, a women’s sewing project, a
women’s seminar, working with the local
schools, hosting a youth worker’s training
conference, and organizing a community
youth group for all missionary and crosscultural
worker kids here in Kigali. We find
ourselves with a lot going on! Read more... |
| December 2009 December was a busy month! It’s hard to believe it’s already over! The Lord gave us many opportunities to reach out to our community this month as we continue to make relationships with the people here. Read more... |
| November 2009 What a fantastic month! We have seen God at work here and we want to testify to what He has done.
Heath, David, Felix (our language teacher) Charles Mapenda (my friend from the Bible college) and I
traveled to a little village deep in the mountains of Eastern Rwanda to conduct a training seminar for
several of the local churches in the area. We were told to expect around 15 people. By the end of the
day Saturday, more than 120 were trying to squeeze into a little
church building, anxious to hear God’s Word. Read more... |
October 2009 Our missionary community has been working together to develop a vision and mission statements, as well as a
strategy for reaching the entire nation of Rwanda with the gospel of Jesus. We meet every Monday and spend
time in praying and planning. Read more... |
September 2009 The African Transformation
Network (ATN) community has
been holding a series of meetings.
We are working together to
develop a national strategy for
Rwanda. This past week’s meeting
was especially exciting as we were
able to develop a draft for a vision
statement. It was amazing how
everyone was “on the same page”.
At the heart of the vision is that we
desire for Rwanda to be saturated
with communities of obedient
disciples who themselves are
actively making other disciples in
Rwanda and abroad. This starts, we
believe, with Discovery Bible
Studies--opening the Bible with
people and allowing God’s Word to
speak and draw. Read more... |
August 2009 This month was a pivotal month for us
here in Rwanda. Our national team
hosted a Church Planting Movement
Workshop August 17-25. Last week,
people from almost 20 African nations
attended. The purpose of the
workshop was to study the scriptures
to find out how church planting was
intended. At the heart of it all is using
Discovery Bible Studies, allowing God’s
scripture to move in the hearts of
people. We were reminded of John
6:44, that anyone who comes to Christ
must be drawn by God. It is not our job
to convince, only to open God’s word
and allow it to do it’s powerful work, as
we live Christ before the lost. Our
team is excited and hallenged about
living a consistently obedient lifestyle so
we can say, “Follow me as a I follow
Christ.”...
On the heels of the continent-wide
Church Planting Movement
Conference, this past week we met
with our missions community to begin
developing a national strategy for
reaching all segments of the population
in Rwanda... Please pray with us as we
anticipate God’s mighty moving in this
country as His Spirit is poured out
when people hear Him and obey Him
and decide to follow His Son. Read more...
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| July 2009 Most of you know by now our water situation. For some reason, the city can’t figure out what’s wrong with the water system
near the house and we’ve been without water now for 3 months. As I’ve mentioned before, we’ve been able to fill our storage
tanks by hiring water trucks. This has become really expensive and we’ve been praying and thinking about what we should
do. Should we move? Should we stay and wait it out? It’s been tough because we really don’t want to move. We like our
house. We like our neighbors. And thinking about moving again gives me the cold
chills. The other day, we were at the doctor’s office, waiting for Jill to get in (that’s a
whole other story, a good one too!) and I was really feeling burdened by our situation.
I just didn’t know what we should do. I had already been looking around for
another house we could move into, but I had only seen houses we couldn’t afford
or ones that just didn’t work for us. We still didn’t have any water. I looked at Jill
there in the waiting room and said, “Can we pray about this water situation and
what we should do? I feel like we just need to pray about this right now.” She said,
“Yep.” And so we prayed together in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. Read more... |
| June 2009 One thing we have said over and over again about coming to Rwanda is that we wanted to come and “suffer with”
the people here. I received my first true glimpse into what this might be like last week. We took my mom to the southwest
part of Rwanda. We stopped outside of Butare at the Murambi Memorial. This was a technical school where 50,000
people sought refuge in over 5 buildings in 1994. The interwahme came and threw grenades in and then worked at killing
the ones who survived over the next four days. The bodies were buried in mass
graves. However, the bodies have been exhumed, preserved in lime and displayed
in the rooms as a witness to the atrocities committed during those days.
Juliette was our guide. She spoke no English. After the first two rooms, I had
seen enough. However, it was obvious Juliette was intent on us looking in every
room. It soon became clear why. Read more... |
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| May 2009 This has been a busy month of teaching for us in Rwanda. Our English program at ATN resumed after a two week
break to observe the time of mourning in Rwanda. Each missionary family has a day each week where we assist Felix, the
instructor. Jill and I take turns each Friday teaching the class. I just finished showing the movie “The Incredibles” to the
advanced class. They loved it! We are having fun getting to know the students and helping them improve their language
skills. We are praying that disciples will come out of these classes. I also had the
privilege to do a great deal of preaching and teaching this month here in Kigali
and throughout Rwanda. I have preached in three churches in Kigali and once
each in Butare, Gisenyi, and Byumba. I also began teaching again at the Bible
college here in Kigali. This term I am teaching a class on missions. I find this a bit
humorous considering I have only been a missionary for 6 months. I’m long on
theory and short on practice! But, I pray that God will use my ignorance to reveal
his glory. We are thankful for the opportunities God has given us to encourage
the churches here in Rwanda and to train future leaders. Read more... |
April 2009 It’s hard to believe we’ve already been in Rwanda five months. The highlight of April was definitely the arrival of our teammates Heath, Rebecca and Baby Pete Amos. They stayed in the states until their baby was born in February. We are so thrilled that they are here and settling in. In brief, here’s what else has happened this month: ATN received national registration. Because of this, Chris and David were able to receive year-long work permits. Answered prayer!
Read more... |
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| March 2009 Chris just finished his first term teaching the Gospel of John at a local Bible college. He gets a little break and then he will be teaching another course. At the end of this term, he showed the movie, “The Gospel of John”. At the portrayal of Jesus’ resurrection, the room erupted with “Amens”. Taking of cue from this, Jill showed the movie with English subtitles in the English class she was teaching. There is a mixed group of students--from Catholic nuns to non-believers. All were impacted by the movie. It was like hearing and seeing the life of Christ for the first time through their eyes. They were so amazed to see what it could have been like. It was truly interactive viewing with the students talking to the screen--gasping at the miracles, tsking at the Jewish religious leaders, weeping at the death of Lazarus and Jesus, rejoicing at his resurrection. The students did not understand all the words but they understoodChrist’s love for his followers and how far that love took him--to his death--and that it didn’t end there but in life to all who follow. Read more... |
| February 2009 We heard the question often as
we prepared to come to Rwanda: “So, what are you going to do
when you get there?” It’s certainly
a valid question and one that we
have wrestled with since we felt
the call to come to this nation.
What are we going to do in
Rwanda?
Without a doubt, our first goal
and priority is to make disciples,
men and women who will follow
hard after Jesus. But again, the
question has continued to surface: “Ok, that’s great...how are you going
to make disciples?”
We have committed this question
to the Lord and have asked
him to reveal whatever plans and
dreams He chooses for us to have.
This is his mission. We purposely
came to Rwanda without a set
agenda, without a 10 year plan, so
that we can be sensitive to accomplishing
the plans our Father
has for this place
So we stepped off the plane
and began to pray. “Father, show
us what we should do.” And he
has begun to faithfully answer our
prayers, as he always does.
I have been invited to teach at
a local Bible college here in Kigali.
The men and women I am teaching
have committed their lives to
be preachers, teachers, and missionaries
in Rwanda and throughout
the world.
Every Thursday night I get to
spend 3 hours teaching the Word
to Rwandans who are ready to
change the world for the glory of
the Lord. When I see their faces
each week, I see why we have
come here.
What an opportunity! God’s
plans are good and he is revealing
them to us one step at a time. It is
an honor to walk this way with
him. May his name be praised! Read more... |
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| Top row: Aiden, Jenny and Caleb Beck (have now returned to U.S.); Willy Niyonetze (advisor for
ATN); Charles Kabeza (administrative assistant for ATN and director of Xtra Mile Ministries); Murphy
Crowson and Marty Koonce (newly arrived, part of team moving to Musanze, Rwanda next year);
Felix Habyarimana (language teacher); David Kimbrow (Rwanda 08, accountant for ATN).
Bottom row: Chris Shelby (Youth Development Projects Coordinator for ATN); Joel Ndatsikira (advisor
for ATN); Justin Rudasgingwa (Vice President of ATN); Nancy Shewmaker (women’s projectssewing);
Sam Shewmaker (Director of ATN); Christine Crowson and Louise Koonce (newly arrived, part
of team moving to Musanze, Rwanda next year); Jill Shelby (working with English language program);
Tess Shelby (cute baby) |
| December 2008 We have been in Kigali, Rwanda for just over a week. We are flooded with emotions...excitement, anxiety, anticipation,
joy, helplessness, confusion, fear. Even though we have been here before, it was short-term and
we knew we would get to go back to familiarity soon. This time, we know we will be here for at least two
years before a furlough. So, we have been spending the last week
searching for a house and a vehicle. Locating a house here is a unique
experience. There aren’t any Century 21 signs posted in front of available
houses. Instead, you locate “agents”. As far as we can tell, these
are networkers...people who know people who know people. The
agents take you to houses and if you are interested you begin to negotiate.
After some searching and negotiating, we have found a house!
It’s a simple, comfortable concrete floor house with hot water and a
generator. We have also looked at countless vehicles. We praise God
that we have located and bought a good truck! Already we have been
warmly welcomed by our teammates Sam and Nancy Shewmaker and
our hosts Caleb and Jenny Beck. In addition, our Rwandan friend
Charles greeted us at the airport and welcomed us back. We are looking
forward to reconnecting with more friends and meeting new ones. Read more... |
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Visit the Shelby Family website:
http://web.mac.com/chrisshelby/The_Shelbys_in_Rwanda/Welcome.html |
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