Sent to Rwanda

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...