Girls Night in Gisenyi

Gisenyi was absolutely beautiful! Adrienne and I left Kigali around 7 am yesterday to go visit our friend Grace, whom had been our interpreter through Food for the Hungry, last year. Grace became a very good friend of ours during the trip, was in Adrienne and Berchimas’s wedding, and is just a blessing. When she had found out that I was coming, a plan began to form for Adrienne and I to travel to visit with her, just us girls. This weekend worked out, so we jumped on the bus (well, three different ones before getting out of Kigali town) and off we went through the mountains. Rwanda is called the Land of a Thousand Hills and goodness. We climbed more than a few on our way. It took about three and a half hours to get there, and actually, was a very pleasant ride. It allowed Adrienne and I to talk about a lot of things, and to just fellowship. I loved the ride there.

We arrived around 10 am and Grace met us at the station. She is now working for the UN in the World Food Programme and is in charge of logistics out in Gisenyi. The Congo border is only thirty minutes away, so she splits her time between those two centers. She is really happy having a job with the UN and has grown to enjoy the area she is in also. We went to her house for lunch and she made us omelette with bread (fried egg sandwiches!). It was delicious with the Rwandan tea she offered us also. We stayed at the house and rested as she went back to work for a few more hours, which was fine with Adrienne and I, as we were both exhausted from our travels. When Grace returned we headed to the lake.

Wow. I don’t know if there are words to describe the beauty of that place. There was a soft, tropical breeze coming off the lake, and the sound of the water lapping against the shore was soothing to my weary body. We sat around a nice table and just visited over our Fantas. We decided to order fish, and goodness. I was so glad we did! The fish was HUGE and coupled with the potato and banana chips, very satisfying. I probably could not have designed a more perfect evening to spend with such special friends. 

We were entertained by our conversation, memories and the various fishing expeditions going on around us. There were three young boys fishing right off the shore. I saw fly fishing at its finest! They didn’t catch anything that I saw, but sure looked like they were enjoying themselves. We also watched as the fishing boats paddled out to drop their nets as the sun set. It was absolutely breathtaking and reminded me of some scene out of that movie South Pacific. Really incredible.

We made our way back to Grace’s house and spent the evening just talking and laughing, as girls do. It was such a nice time of relaxing with my friends and I am so thankful that God allowed us to have that time. 

Old friends reunited

Today we were visited by Christophe, his wife and oldest daughter. They made the journey all the way from Kayenzi to Romera (the part of Kigali I live in) on two different buses and a motorbike. They started the journey at seven this morning and arrived to the house at ten am. It really struck me how different that might have been in the US. Not only would the journey have been shorter if they had simply jumped in their car and headed down well paved roads to our house, but also that they probably wouldn't make the trek simply to visit. To sit and fellowship with old friends. And not only did they just come to see us, but they also came bearing gifts. If you have been to Rwanda you understand that the culture here is a very generous one. (Something I greatly admire and hope to emulate). They came in with two bags, one full of bananas, both large and small, and avocado, and the other filled with pineapple. And oh, it tasted so sweet! The fruit they brought was freshly picked, rather than that of what we get here in Kigali, which has been harvested slightly unripe in order to last longer in the market. Rosa cut the fruit up for us and we sat in the sitting room and shared this incredibly sweet and delicious produce.

We sat in the sitting room of Adrienne and Berchimas's home, shared about how life was, reminisced about last year and simply enjoyed one another. Adrienne has a cd of the 'Rwanda Service' at Jubilee last year (after our team came back from Rwanda) and so we watched the worship service, presentation and greeting afterwards together. Christophe had learned 'Open the Eyes of My Heart' with all of our other Kayenzi friends last year, and we had sung that song in the service, so as it played we all sang along. It was a veritable worship service in the sitting room. And as I sat back and watched, I was almost overwhelmed. What a sweet thing?! Just like the pineapple I had just consumed, so now was this time of praising God with friends who made such a deep impact on me, but also worshipping in true Jubilee fashion. (Katie, Shy and Aaron were leading on stage). It was so beautiful. 

I think that days like today are those that we are to cherish. On Sunday the pastor who spoke at Rwanda for Jesus, where I went to church, was speaking about tasting and seeing that God is good. Not testing Him, as if He has to be proven, but instead tasting of His goodness. (To taste is to discern). Pastor Robert was a guest pastor from Uganda who was ministering here in Kigali, and his words hit me deeply. They were 'on point' as we would say at JWO. He said that when we allow ourselves to think of God as someone to be tested, we are not acting in obedience to what His word tells us. We magnify our problems as we complain and talk about them so much. Instead, we are supposed to be magnifying God, specifically through worship, and then the problems will be minimized. Magnifying God, praising Him through worship and song, puts the focus back on Him and allows Him to move on our behalf. The blessings of God are already there, but we do not see them manifested because we maybe have not blessed Him. We pray against things instead of praying praises to our Father. In God there is no bad. God is good, in His entirety. There is not even a smidge of bad in Him. And so as we glorify and magnify Him, we see His goodness. We TASTE His goodness, just as I tasted the extremely sweet pineapple today. We discern that He is omnipotent, loving, kind, gracious, merciful, provisionary and so much more. All we have to do is taste and see. To see His goodness in the smile of an old friend, the laughter of children, the beauty of His creation, the harvest of the land. Come, taste and see...

Two weeks from now

Two weeks from today, on the 25th of August, I'll fly out from Eugene, Oregon, and travel to Kigali, Rwanda. The trip to get there will no doubt be interesting, as I don't like to fly and have more than one 8+ hour flight. I'll also be traveling internationally by myself, something I've never experienced. I'm also completely in tune with the fact that I will probably be a little bit of an emotional mess, trying to balance the sorrow of leaving so many incredible friends and family members with the excitement of going back to a place that only ten months ago made such a deep impact on my heart. Wow... There will be a lot going on in those days. Prayers would be GREATLY appreciated.
I got an e-mail informing me that I will most likely be able to volunteer at the hospital in Gulu, Uganda, and even better than just volunteering, I'll be able to help with the new x-ray machine they just got. I'm not really sure how that will work out, as I have an understanding of American medicine and the language that occurs in a hospital is hard enough in English, but I trust that God will break down EVERY barrier, according to His good pleasure. The language barrier is something that I have thought about lately. To me a 'thigh' is a femur, and a foot comprised of tarsals, metatarsals and phalanges. So how much more interesting to try to explain these things to someone who may speak Acholi. This will be a growing experience for sure!
I have been wondering lately if I will, in fact, stay there for longer than two and half months. And how it will feel to leave Rwanda after only about 3 weeks to go to Uganda. Will I want to return to Rwanda? I feel like I will, but I really don't know at this point. I'm excited, though, and open to whatever God wants to happen.
Only two weeks from now... Wow...

And it grew...

"Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes." -- Isaiah 54:2

I leave in a mere 2 1/2 weeks to begin this adventure in East Africa. (I'm a little excited, in case you were wondering!) I fly out on August 25th and will be arriving in Kigali, Rwanda on the evening of the 27th.

Up until about a week and a half ago I was simply traveling to Rwanda in response to a longing on my heart and to see what could come of it. I didn't have an agenda but had an airline ticket and reasoned that the rest would fall into place as it was supposed to, probably after I arrived in Rwanda. I have never wanted this to just be a vacation or 'just a trip.' I have felt from the very beginning that if it turned out to be that, I would be sorely dissapointed. I have been praying that plans would come together and that opportunites would arise for me to not only build on relationships I have already established in East Africa, but also invest in the people there in a big way. Well part of it fell into place sooner than I had expected. Through an amazing series of events that I can only call a miracle, I met the director of an organization called Aid Africa, which works within the city of Gulu, Uganda, providing assistance to the people who live there. Most have been displaced from their homes in one way or another, and are refugees. Through various projects the organization has impacted the area, and after looking at the website (aidafrica.net) and seeing the opportunity to help, I've decided to pursue volunteering with them. This may come as an interesting turn to some of you, but I have prayed about it and feel like this is where I am supposed to invest, at least for this time. 

So the change of plans are that I will be in Rwanda for about three weeks in order to visit friends there and build on the relationships I previously made. (Also, seek out if there are opportunities for me to work there). Then, somewhere around the 20th of September I will travel to Northern Uganda, and will be there for a month, after which I will most likely return to Rwanda. In that time I hope to not only assist with the projects that Aid Africa has going, but also volunteer in the charity hospital (Lacor) that they regularly transport ill babies to. (If any of you are familiar with Aprovecho stoves, Aid Africa's director orginally traveled to Uganda on one of the stove projects). I have a desire to help hurting people and though it may be overwhelming at first, am very excited to volunteer in the hospital or in a local clinic. I am not certain whether or not I will be doing x-rays, as Lacor's x-ray machine has cobwebs all over it, but I am hopeful that my training will be of some value there. 

Though this has stretched my heart and mind quite a bit, I am excited for all the opportunities that will come out of this, and the opportunity to be immersed in another culture. Some of you have asked if you could help (financially) while I am in Rwanda. Up until now I felt as though it would be irresponsible to ask for that assistance due to the lack of clear vision. Now, though, with this more specific 'mission', I would invite you to invest. If it has been pressed upon your heart and you would like to, please do. The expansion of the plans has not only brought more excitement, but also extra expenses (such as lodging, food, inner-country travel, etc) and I would also love to bless the community there, as opportunities arise. If donating to this cause is something you would like to do, please contact me and we can decide what the best way for you to do that will be. 

Thank you, once again, for taking the time to read this. I am so thankful for your prayers and look forward to sharing the stories, pictures and memories of this with you.

The reason...

The reason for this blog is to update friends, family and anyone else who would like to know about my experiences and adventures while in Rwanda, Africa. I am going because last October I joined a team of ten other people from my church on a mission trip to Rwanda, East Africa. We spent 11 days in the country, being sent from Jubilee World Outreach, as we partnered with Food for the Hungry to help build a house for a needy family, conduct VBS for school aged children, and purchase five cows for needy families in the community of Kayenzi. As you can imagine the trip was a life changing experience for me, and opened up a part of my heart I had only guessed existed before. Upon returning to the U.S. I felt a deep conviction to return to Rwanda. Under the wise counsel of a few trusted mentors I waited to make any decisions, allowing my heart to settle and emotions to stabilize. However, after three months of prayer, waiting and resting, the urge was still on my heart, and had increased. I began to research the country at this point, investigating what I might be able to do there. I had seen such hope, promise and potential in the small East African country, but I had also witnessed an immense physical poverty. In a country where a whole generation seems to be missing due to the 1994 Genocide, there is an infrastructure that is being rebuilt, and simple things we take for granted here in the U.S. that are not available there. There are thousands of orphans, due to the Genocide and the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is effecting much of Africa, as well. So I found myself asking the questions, where would I start? How could I possibly help? And the only answer that came was to go and love. However that plays out, go and show God's unfailing love to the people there. 
So it was with a strong conviction, burning ache to help, and possibly a little bit of child-like faith in my heart, I purchased a plane ticket at the beginning of June and will be leaving to return to Rwanda on August 25th. As a U.S. citizen I can be in the country for 90 days without needing a visa, so I will be staying in Rwanda until the middle of November. At first it was my intention to obtain a job in Rwanda and stay for a longer period of time, however, at this time that door has not been opened, thus the need for a return flight. When I first arrive I will be spending some time in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, to visit with friends I met in October and also to seek out more of God's plan for me while I am there. I will be staying with a friend from Eugene, Adrienne, and her family. My heart's desire is to somehow serve, in the name of the Lord, this country. Though I don't know exactly how it will look yet, I have a faith that doors will be opened and purpose will follow.