Sent to Rwanda

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...

For all the Gen Xers who know the quote, "I have to keep my feet on the ground" because you repeatedly watched the movie Never Ending Story as a child, thank you for screaming it out with me as you read it. For everyone else, there is a movie called Never Ending Story about a little boy who reads a book and becomes a part of the story. Early 80s, very cool. But two lines have been running through my head for the past month, the childlike Empress calls to Sebastian, " Bastian, why don't you do what you dream, Bastian? " and Bastian responds, " But I can't, I have to keep my feet on the ground ." I have two friends who have both blogged or told me personally to fly recently, jump off the cliff into whatever Jesus is opening up for you unashamedly and without reserve. Now, even though I live in Rwanda and some may think that I, too, am one of these dreamers. Let me assure you, I am not. When I do something I am going to read the research and...