Rwanda Email #4

Hello Friends and Family,

I realize this is a bit late, so I thank you for your patience. I thought I should send a last week update before a summary. Mostly it will help me gather my thoughts and try to slow the whirlwind that has been spinning in my head the past 8 days or so since my last update. Be warned-this is a LONG note. 

First, I am home. It was a long 40 hour jaunt, but it was smooth and filled with as much rest as you can expect on a plane. It is good to be back. I missed my family dearly while gone and wished they could be there to walk the dusty roads of Rwanda with me. God willing, that may happen. 

The last week in Rwanda was jam packed. My last update was from our visits to the memorials. After those visits and the weight of emotion that came from that, it was a pleasure to immerse myself in serving Africa New Life at their school in Kayonza. We met James, the librarian, and his committee late Monday morning when we walked into a light, airy, huge space lined with new bookshelves and tables. The walls were painted and the room was ready to turn into a new library. It was very exciting to see! The tables were stacked full of textbooks. Piles and piles of textbooks. Since we were not fully prepared for such inventory, the first day in the library was slow. On Tuesday, we arrived with more of a plan, still, it was a bumpy start as we worked with James to understand his vision and plans for the library. There was a huge learning curve on both sides since we all had to figure out how to effectively process textbooks and figure out the computer system (which by the way is said to be the only one of its kind in a school library in Rwanda. Pretty cool:)). The dewey system would not be practical for so many textbooks, so that was quickly tossed and new organizing tools were implemented. With a haphazard book processing system, we were able to process, inventory, and shelve 600+ English textbooks by the end of the day. Upon arrival on Wednesday, we streamlined our process and were able to process and shelve all the textbooks. James needed the books on the shelves before the start of school the next Monday, so computerized inventory of the books would have to wait. He just wanted them on the shelves ASAP. So that is what we did. Our team was amazing and God even more amazing. During the day I looked at the massive piles of books that needed to be processed, organized and shelved and doubted that it would happen. You of little faith...I would hear. So I would muster up faith the size of a mustard seed and I saw God move that mountain of textbooks onto the shelves! Wow! Wow! Wow! Was written in my journal at the end of the day. We have done what God called us to do, and we left there peace-filled, knowing He will complete the work He began. In fact, when we returned for worship on Sunday, James proudly showed us the library with the fiction and non-fiction books up on the shelves. He and his committee worked the remainder of the week to prep the space for the start of school. It was a sight to behold:) [side note...some team members spent time with the kids and women speaking, visiting, hanging out, and digging into God's Word. The depth of Bible knowledge and the spiritual maturity of the people in all locations visited, made our hearts sing and our spirits humble. We have much to learn from our brothers and sisters in Rwanda].  

Wednesday night we headed to Akagera game park/resort. The road was long, dusty, and VERY bumpy. It far surpassed any ride at Disney for action and adventure! Along the way, streams of children (partially naked, dirt covered, barefooted) poured out of the clay homes that lined the road. They shouted gleefully with the biggest smile possible, "Muzungu!!" as their little arms were completely outstretched and their little hands waved vigorously to greet us as we passed by. In each one, you could see the image of God radiating out of them. It was awe inspiring, humbling, and super fun all at the same time. My words could never fully capture the energy, the hope, that was felt and seen as we passed through those small villages. It is an experience that I pray many of you will have one day in your lifetime. 

Our stay at the resort was nice. The staff was lovely, the accommodations pleasant, and the food was tasty. The best part was being able to take a long hot shower (as opposed to the military shower=water on/off, soap up, rinse, done that we had to do at the guesthouse). We embarked upon a "safari" super early Thursday morning. We were told the animals were all up North, so we would likely see none. This info was given after 45 min of paperwork and paying. Not encouraging, but some on our team had prayed that we would see giraffe, and God in His faithfulness provided. The park guide was astonished and said we were so very lucky to see such a creature. We were not surprised and knew luck had nothing to do with that majestic creature standing 30 feet from our bus, munching on his morning leaves. Not one prayer went unanswered on our journey. Not one. 

After a quick breakfast, we headed to Kageyo, a settlement on the Tanzania/Rwanda border. Again, a long, dusty, bumpy road was traveled. I have to give props to the drivers at ANLM. They are amazing!! Bosco drove us the last week and again, words can not fully describe the way he skillfully drove us around the Rwandan countryside.  My journal entry for Kageyo is long. Lots of history. While there we did many home visits to sponsor children as well as served the staff by preaching, teaching, and painting 2 Sunday school rooms. We had 2 days there and next to meeting Clementine, they were probably my favorite. The picture above is one of a small section of the new farm land (red peppers, I believe) that is being cultivated. In the center is an old, tattered, blue tent, which the people lived in for many years before the government built homes for them in 2005. You can see a few of the homes in the background. I thought this was a perfect picture of what God is doing out there in Kageyo. Such hope and growth can be seen all over the community. There are 850 sponsored children there that attend the new ANLM school. Many of them worship at the new worship center built by ANLM. Many have been fed physically and spiritually as they heard the gospel and have believed and been baptized. The community is being transformed one life at a time by the love of Christ. It really was a huge privilege to see God's mighty hand at work in this quiet, remote area of the world. It was very difficult to leave on Friday. On one side lie a community filled with hope, love, despair, and poverty. One the other side were the new, hand plowed fields growing the first fruits for the people. I was reminded of the verse God gave me last year in preparation for this journey. It is from Matthew 9:37,38 and says "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." God knew many would come to Him. They have hearts ready to hear His truth. Sadly, Jesus knew the workers that would go out would be few, so the disciples were told to pray that more would go. How many will He bring to this area to help with the harvest? I pray He will bring many, for I have seen with my eyes that the harvest is indeed plentiful but the workers, while faithful to His call, are few. Perhaps you will go? 

Our last few days were not as full. Saturday was completely a down day. After morning worship, I took a nap, had lunch and headed out with the team to shop for souveniers. Sunday morning was filled with a wonderful, high energy, Spirit-filled worship of the Lord of Lord and the King of Kings in Kayonza. Truly an experience to remember. Sunday evening we had a pizza party with the ladies at The Esther Home. These young women are interviewed, carefully selected, and then provided with a 4 year scholarship to college. It was fun to listen to their stories and see how very different their lives are from ours, yet still see many similarities, as well. In fact, I think the similarities outweigh the differences. On Monday, we spent the morning at the Dream Center in Kigali. Clementine was there to greet the bus, and I had the privilege of giving her a Bible written in Kinyarwandan. We did not have these when I visited her home, so I had planned on giving it to the staff to deliver to her at a later date. What a treat to get to see her smile one last time and hand her God's Word. Priceless! That evening we took the staff out to an appreciation dinner. Many had been with us for the full 2 weeks and had sacrificed time with their sweet families to care for us. It was fun to spend time with them, hear about their families, and share a meal. Fellowship is always best when food is present. That is a universal truth:) 

A good night's rest and a morning of packing led up to our journey home. It was hard to leave Rwanda and its lovely landscape and even more lovely people. Again, I must tell you that my heart overflows with gratitude for your love and support. With out you, this journey would have been impossible. I hope to consolidate my thoughts more and really pull out the ways God revealed Himself to me through this experience. That will follow. I have over a thousand pictures loaded and I pray God will help me compile them in some sort of slideshow that I can post online. Pray for that miracle to occur since I am very technologically challenged:) Please feel free to send requests of photos of different parts of the trip that interest you. Zip me any questions that you might have. Call me if you want to talk. I have TONS to share:)