Sent to Rwanda

Well, it's about that time. I'm pulling my suitcases out tomorrow, will start thinking about packing things away and heading back to the US this weekend. Summing up my trip is the hardest thing for me. It was difficult last year and even tougher this year. Everyone wants to know what I did while I was here, what did I see, eat, etc. So, I tried to share bits of that in previous blogs. As a summary, I would like to share what I have learned. When I was preparing to teach the youth class on the Holy Spirit, I re-read the book of Daniel. I'm not sure what was different, but that book impacted me in a very different way than ever before. I read of God's power, how He sent the Holy Spirit to illustrate His power to the unbelievers.  Through Tuesday Bible study, I learned that I have to ask for God to reveal Himself to me...and He will. I learned from the babies at the orphanage that bananas and hard boiled eggs smashed up together is pretty good in the afternoon. And, I ...

Today, I start my day with Ladies Bible Study. It is quite a collection of women from various parts of the world and backgrounds all studying God's Word. We start with a bit of fellowship and then move into the Bible study. First, in a group. Our leader goes over the Scripture and makes us start thinking about what the author is trying to tell us. Then, small groups. We number off, which felt a little awkward the first day, but is fun now because you never know who is going to be in your group. I like to think that God picks the groups. Then we discuss and pray. It goes about two and half hours. As we have been moving through the book of James, my favorite book in the Bible, we have been talking and reflecting on our own lives. The question today: Do we honestly live our lives as if God is in control? There was so much discussion about the will of God and there were some really good insight that I wanted to pass on: -Wherever you go, be in the will of God. -It is not we who wait ...

I was having a conversation with one of the KICS teachers about acceptable inconveniences in Rwanda. These are things that go wrong or do not happen as expected (mostly to our American standards) and here we just shrug our shoulders and go on. I mentioned earlier about the restaurants here. Service is horrible and slow. Someone will almost always get something they didn't order or an order will be messed up. And you ALWAYS double check your bill, because it is rarely correct. In America, there is NO WAY we would wait 45 minutes just to get our drinks. We would get up and leave and tell the manager how bad the service was and that we will never return AND tell our friends...something like that. Here, that is just the way it is. You can complain and remind them, but it won't help much. And the only fast food option is the homemade samosas (which are kind of like beef rangoon) and chapati (kind of like tortillas) at the gas station. But they are both really good and I eat them! ...

When we left the orphanage yesterday, Keli says that she prays that they will feel our arms all through the night. I thought that was a pretty good prayer for them. There were a few that were crying really hard. Instead of the baby massages, I choose to just hold and walk around with the crying ones. One little girl was crying so hard, so I just held her tight, sang to her and rocked back and forth with her until she finally gave up and went to sleep. I held onto her while she slept because I was afraid she would wake and because I wanted to snuggle on her a little longer. I don't know her name, but she was a sweetie. Out of habit, I say things like "It's ok. It's going to be ok" to them. But I catch myself thinking that I don't know what their future will hold, so I just said prayer for God to watch over them. Finally, I laid her down and she was so tired she barely budged. There was one little girl who had a herniated belly button, so her bell...

Well, for me it is already nighttime, for you it is probably around lunchtime. I laugh because it is only 7pm here and already I am very tired and getting ready to settle in for the evening. It gets dark at 6pm, so you feel like it is later than it really is. The missionaries say that 9pm is "missionary midnight" here. I'm not going to lie...I like going to bed early here because the days start so early. As I sit in my 2 stacked blue plastic chairs (we use 2, because 1 is not sturdy enough to hold a "well-nourished" Westerner, like myself) using the Internet in the promenade area of the Kigali International Community School, where I am staying, I am quietly listening to the sounds of Kigali. There are nighttime bugs that sound like Oklahoma nights, cricket-sounding bugs and occasionally this sharp kind of squeaking noise that Jane says are the lizards. I'm a big fan of the lizards. I'm thinking of letting some geckos go in my house in OKC when I get ho...

As of tomorrow, I will have been away from Oklahoma for one month. It is funny the things that I have really noticed that I missed, besides my family, of course. I told Keli Shreck that I would pay 100,000 francs for a Dr. Pepper (that is the equivalent of $200, by the way). I repeated the same sentiment later in the day to Bryan, who went into his cupboard and no kidding pulled out a bottled Dr. Pepper (which I haven't seen in one WHOLE month)--funny thing was that his youngest had drank about 3/4 of the bottle and when he opened it, it didn't even spew.  I told him it didn't count because it was flat, whew! I also miss my car, not just my little Fit, but the convenience of being able to jump in my car and go to a fast food restaurant or Wal-Mart to go pick something up. There is a convenience factor that I really miss. When we go to a restaurant to eat, I know it will be at least 2-3 hours. And you can't go to one store to get what you need. Over the counter medicin...

I'm sorry my writings have become more sparse that is due to a lot of things. Internet options changing frequently and also having a little bit of writer's block. With the Internet, I can use it at various places--the courtyard, the wall by the fence to our property, a local Internet cafe, etc--but it gets pitch dark here by 6pm and sitting outside in the dark leaves my legs mosquito bitten. I really don't want malaria just to use the Internet, so I'm writing when I can. =) There is something that has been running through my mind, so I wanted to share. It may not be a new idea for many, but for me it is a bit of an epiphany. Earlier, I pointed out some of the differences of Rwanda. Now, I am seeing some similarities. In America, we have created generations who are dependent on governmental assistance programs (which I am not bashing). Families have become so dependent upon these programs that to change them would dramatically affect so many lives and not in a positi...

I have been thinking how I am supposed to describe the images I saw yesterday and I'm going to do the best I can, so bare with me. We can't take pictures, so I will do my best. After 3 attempts, we were finally able to spend time at the orphanage. This orphanage was set up through the Catholic church because it is ran by nuns (P.S. they are so cute). They have visiting hours that people can come and spend time with the children everyday but Thursday. Wide-eyed, Amy and I followed Keli to a locked gate where we could see a lower level where children who were around 3-5 years old were playing. One little girl in a striped shirt and navy skirt saw that we were waiting by the gate for visiting hours to begin, she looked up at us excitedly and turned to run away. She was alerting the others that there were guests. Within a minute, about 20 or 30 small children came running up to us. They were chanting something in Kinyarwandan. The gate was opened and we were able to continue do...

I know I have mentioned the crazy moto taxis, but let me just reiterate. There is no comparison to anything like a moto taxi in America that I have seen. As you are driving along, these crazy komacazie drivers come out of no where on a dirt bike. People actually pay to ride on these things. So today, I had a Reese Witherspoon moment from Sweet Home Alabama, but instead of a baby in a bar...it was: You have a baby...on your back...on the back of a moto. So what did I do? Tell Keli to hold on so I could get a picture. Enjoy!

I have made a declaration among my friends here...I have decided that I have been spending 80% of my time working and 20% playing, as of Friday, October 1 that changes. I am still in the process of completing a couple of projects that I am mostly finished with, but am waiting on data from others. My first day upon declaring my freedom started with a trip to Furleps (I think that is the spelling). Keli Shreck and the boys picked up me and took me to have fun. We spent a great deal of time looking at some really awesome handmade items--some of which will be joining me on my return trip home. Next, to lunch. As I was putting my treasures in the car, a small child walks up to Keli and I saying, "Mzungu" with his hand out. He is one that breaks my heart to see coming. They wear torn clothes and many have no shoes. This group has been taught that white people have money and that he should beg from us. Keli's little guys were standing there watching him; he stood ab...

  This is a picture of my knee five days AFTER handball. Good thing I'm recovered so I'll be ready to go for this Sunday night. *evil smile*