Sent to Rwanda

44  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  45  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.  46  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47  praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:44-47 This is a very familiar passage of Scripture. I could probably quote parts or at least paraphrase. In my mind, I had a picture of people who sold everything and lived on some kind of compound. None of them worked, but they grew their own food and just shared everything. Last week at Bible study we were discussing Acts 2. When we got to the end and this verse was read, the other women in the room laughed and said, “This is us.” My mind questioned, “But we have possessions. I have the couches we are sitting on. ...

My friend died last week. Really, he was more than a friend; he was my big brother. When I first found out, it was by email and I read it and said it out loud a couple of times, but a few hours later when it sunk in, I just hurt all over. I started thinking about my friend and was trying to think how we first became friends. We worked together and I thought he was pretty interesting and noticed he treated people differently. With respect. You see, we worked with people who were in a low place in their life. Some were homeless, ex-offenders, unemployed, underemployed, poor, hurting, lonely, and so on. But when they sat across the table from Roland, they were the most important person in his life. That's how he treated everyone, because honestly, we have all been hurting, lonely and poor. He didn't see the difference. He was a big brother to me (and so many). We did our favorite things together. If I could pick an ideal outing or activity, we enjoyed those same things. Softba...

Each time my ticket is purchased and I'm headed either to the US or from the US, I get excited...and confused. People say, “When are you going home?” And for a brief moment I pause in my mind, having a complete internal dialogue wondering where “home” is. And then I smile and give them the estimated time until my flight leaves. There is a familiarity of being in Oklahoma, but my life and work are in Rwanda. People in Rwanda will never know or understand that growing up I was a tomboy and had 14 blackeyes before I graduated high school. My friends and family in the US will never understand a culture where everything is negotiable and if you are sweet, you can bargain your way around things. Although my family have years of knowing me in ways people here never will, it is the same for people who do not see me here. Am I different? Somehow. I'm basically the same, but there are just...differences. A friend who knew me in the US came to visit once and...

Here’s more honesty: This has been the hardest, most difficult thing I’ve ever done. I get stared at and challenged daily because I do not look like the majority of this country. I pretend I am the tough, confident person they think I am, but I’m not and sometimes my day ends early because I am just worn out. I have experienced what has felt like every emotion possible, sometimes all in the same day! Things don’t work in my host culture as they do in my home culture and the rules and norms are completely different. I am reminded everyday that this is not my home, but in all honesty when I come back to America I am reminded that America isn't either.   What’s crazy is this: Even as tough as it is, I wouldn’t be anywhere else right now in my life. Someone asked me not too long ago why I stay, even with so many people coming and going, and constantly making new friends, why I’m still here? I responded that I am the best version of me here. I listen to God and want ...

So, I arrived in Rwanda to start a new adventure. You have been with me, prayed for me, and encouraged me when I was scared (even though I pretended I wasn’t).   This is probably one of the most difficult emails to write because I’m trying to sum up the last 3 years of my life in one (not so) simple message.   When I first moved here, I was doing communications for ROC, the organization that I came here with and fell in love with Rwanda because of them. I was facilitating a women’s entrepreneurship program. I started a Bible study for some junior high girls in my neighborhood and a ladies Bible study for other Americans. I was also volunteering once a week with an orphanage. I wanted to do everything, I wanted to see everything and meet everyone. Three months in, I was tired…and sick. The first year here, I was sick a lot. I think it was a combination of learning how to properly clean and cook food and just being smooth worn out. Everything was new and exciting and I didn...

I can't even believe that TODAY, three years ago, I moved here! Sometimes it seems like just yesterday and somedays it seems like I've been here longer. =) So today is a little glimpse into my house and some funny differences of living in Rwanda. I have come full circle. Since moving to Rwanda, I have lived in 4 houses. I moved into the first for only 1 month just to figure out what kind of living situation I would need/want. Then I moved into a neighborhood called Gaculiro pronounced something like: Gah-Chu-LEE-RO. In Rwanda, "r" and "l" are interchangeable, so it can also be Gacuriro, or Gacurilo. After returning to start my second year, I moved to a neighborhood called Remera and as of July 1, I'm back in Gaculiro. I live on Benjamina St., which was recently numbered KG 412.  Gaculiro is also called the "Vision 2020 Estates", it was designed by the government to promote the middle class of Rwanda. It is essentially a neighborho...

Pictured: Peter, me, his wife Chantal holding baby Faz (10 months), oldest son Fabrice (10), and middle daughter Fabiola (5). Peter has worked for me for about two and a half years as my day guard/gardener. I trust this man like crazy, even though we know very little about each other. Peter's English is about as good as my Kinyarwanda, which makes for difficult communication, but we try.  He is one of the hardest working men I know and I just love seeing his face in the morning ( and let's be honest, prior to coffee there are few people's face I look forward to ).  When we hired Peter, my first roomie Betsy and I were looking for someone to help with the gardening and a few things around our yard. We hired him one day a week. He continued to work hard and we kept increasing his work and salary. When I moved to a house with a larger yard, he came with us and again, another increase in pay. Now, to give you some context for pay scale. Peter is well paid for h...

We still need $1,600 to fully fund Duhu 4. Donate now I love when people ask me about our strategy for launching Duhu and I laugh and say, "We just did it." We researched curriculum, talked to a lot of girls and then sat around my friend's dining room table and decided we had gotten as far as we could without just trying it to see if it would work. The cool thing is: it worked. The girls came, they learned some cool stuff and now they are using it in their lives and sharing it with others. Shemsa (Duhu 2) was placed as an intern with one of our partnering tech businesses, Muraho Technology. She did so well, she was hired as a full time employee and is now paying for her own university fees and helping to pay one of her friends. Sister duo, Anais and Raissa (Duhu 3), took what they learned in our pilot Creating Entrepreneurs class, shared it with their mom who is in the process of setting up a flour processing business. Because of the partnership with the organ...

I jokingly said that last week was my first week of being a missionary, even though I’ve lived here for almost 3 years. It’s not that I haven’t been a missionary, it’s that I haven’t been a traditional missionary (but really, I’m not a traditional anything, so this really shouldn’t surprise anyone). The mission point leader, Damascene, in his home with scriptures painted all over his walls. A local, Rwandan-ran, organization partnered with a North American based organization to spread the gospel, bring up leaders and plant churches. Sounds good, why would I have any reason to be skeptical? I wanted to know what exactly the role of the North Americans was; I see North Americans, or Westerners come to Rwanda for some many different reasons and leave different impacts. I couldn’t fathom the work of 12 North Americans and 12 Rwandan ministry partners could leave a significant impact…on me! So it goes like this, each North American is partnered with a local “ministry partner”...

So, not sure what you want to give your mom this Mother's day? Why not make a donation in her name to support the young women's training program, Duhugurane "Let us learn from each other" and we will send her a handwritten card (or email--your choice) letting her know that you made a donation in her name.

We have 50 business days before the next Duhugurane class, Duhu 4. So we are launching our fundraising campaign! We need $5,000 before July 7 to have our next class fully funded. "50 in 50" means 50 women in 50 days. As we countdown to the next class, we are going to give you Facebook and Twitter updates about 50 Duhus. What is a Duhu? A Duhu is a young, Rwandan woman 18-25 years old who wants to change her life and her community. What is Duhu 4? The Core training is comprised of 160 hours of education in the areas of: Living in God's Zone (Strengths and Abilities), Personal Development, Interpersonal Communication, Work Habits and Conduct, Leadership, Safety and Heath at Work, HIV/AIDS and Gender-based Violence Awareness, Nutrition, Sanctity of Human Life, Worker and Employer Rights and Responsibilities, Financial Fitness and Exploring Entrepreneurship Training. Why is Duhu important? Duhu emphasizes to young women in Rwanda that...

Meet Tisee on the right. Tisee was one of my sister's best friends in high school. Tisee loves the Lord and loves serving the Lord in Rwanda. Tisee lives in America, but started coming to Rwanda the same year I had my first trip. We've never worked together, but this year we get a chance! She has asked me to join her working with her partnering organization, e3 Partners , at the end of May. And I said, "Yes!". So here's the deal...her friends and family have covered the cost of her trip and my fees, but we still need to make sure that people have Bibles and that the local church leaders can attend an evangelism conference. Using the I Am Second curriculum, these teams are sent into areas where local churches are planting new churches, the gospel is shared, hearts are convicted and souls are saved. I know it sounds funny..a missionary...going on a mission trip, because, well, you might think I live on a mission trip. But honestly, this is completely ...

So last week, we took off for a few days in Uganda, a bordering country to Rwanda. We went to a lake about 3 hours from Kigali. After spending one day just reading and relaxing, we decided to take a boat ride to see some of the islands around where we were staying. While on this tour, our guide told us he would be taking us to see “Punishment Island”, where women/girls used to be sent when they got pregnant out of marriage. (My friend Amanda asked where the men were sent who got them pregnant, our guide had no response.) So this is a drawing Punishment Island. It was about 50 feet across and was difficult to tell where the actual land was because of the high grass surrounding it. I have done a little reading about this and it is hard to tell exactly when this practice ended, but some guess around 1940. Poor men would also come there to collect a wife, because they couldn’t pay the bride price. So the women would either die of starvation, drown because it was rare that they woul...