Kibuye

This weekend we had a staff retreat in Kibuye at Lake Kivu, about 3 hours west of Kigali. We stayed at the Bethanie House, a Presbyterian retreat center. The location was absolutely beautiful! Some have asked about the accommodations. Its hard to describe, because it doesn't seem fair to compare to other hotels or retreat centers I've been to. After all, I am in Africa :) I shared a room with Gerda, she's the Kindergarten teacher and is from Holland. I love getting to know her! Our room had two small beds (with mosquito nets!), some tables, and a bathroom with running water! (no hot water or toilet seat, but we managed fine) :) There are some pictures on facebook if you haven't checked them out already.

After the 3 hour windy car ride (yay for anti-nausea pills), we threw our stuff in our rooms and went down to the boat 'dock'. 17 of us got on a wooden boat and began our adventure to Bat Island. Half way there, David gets up to go talk to the captain of the boat - apparently we were heading to the wrong Island. So there proceeded to be a bit of an argument (not heated thankfully) about location and price, and after 10-15 minutes we were on our way again, to Bat Island. The whole trip took about an hour as we did not go very fast.

When we got there, David immediately began to lead the group up a trail to the top of the island. I made it about half-way before loosing my breath and thinking I didn't walk to continue to fight my muscles and knees. I got some great pictures of the bats, and the dark clouds that were forming. Mala and I decided to head down the trail together and meet up with the other half of the group that came on a boat after us. The kids got some swimming time in before the water got choppy and it was decided that we should head back before the rain started. As soon as everyone got back from the hike we hopped in the boats and headed back to the Bethanie.

A few minutes after we leave the rain started to come DOWN. And with the wind, the little cloth roof over our heads did not provide much protection. Most of us hunkered down and hid in the middle of the boat under our towels. But as soon as those got wet, we realized there was no reason to hide. We were just wet! It made for some fun times, fun pictures, and fun memories. We made it back safely in less than an hour, and had some time to dry off before dinner.

After a nice dinner we shared in a time of worship and teaching. Dr. Miller spoke about taking advantage of the opportunities we have each day to worship and glorify God. He said that it could be easy to think "Well, I took a big step of faith and moved to Rwanda and so that's good." While that's good, we have to continually be aware of where God is leading and what big and small things He is offering to us to be a part of. After that I went back to room, deep in thought about my time here in Africa and what, beyond teaching 18 wonderful 6th graders, God has in store for me here.

I brought along several of Donald Miller's books with me. I brought these because I find that I can re-read them several times and gain something new. I chose "Through Painted Deserts" and picked a chapter from the time he was at the Grand Canyon and was waiting to hike down into the canyon. These passages stood out to me from chapter 9:

"Imagining the {Easter sunrise} service reminds me again that life is more than clothes and cars and a new flavor of toothpaste, that it is community and creation and beauty and humanity. And I think I am starting to prefer the latter to the former; by that I mean I am getting used to not having any music or television and not pulling over and buying something as a way of feeling some kind of change. There is a serenity in life, after all, and once a withdrawal is felt at having left the lies behind, a soul begins to feel at home in its own skin."

"I begin to think of my time at the canyon in these terms, as learning to dance in a new way, the first few lessons had me feeling clunky and awkward, but soon they will give way to a kind of graceful sway, and I won't stop at gift shops or hunt for a television, but like Paul I will be able to stand over a pot of boiling beans for hours and feel completely content, as though there was nothing in life that I was missing out on. It gives me a little joy to think about things this way, and I smile at a couple as they pass me along the guardrail, and I pull a bit of pine needle off a tree and roll it in my palms and smell the mintlike scent of creation as I let the green shards spill from my palms to the path along the rim. And I think to myself, There is nothing I am missing. I have everything I was supposed to have to experience the magnitude of this story, to dance with God."

Sometimes I feel like I might be missing out on something. I am here, and I am involved and I love what I do, but is there more? Jesus says in John 10:10 that He came so that we may have abundant life. Am I living an abundant life? I think I am learning a new definition of abundant life here in Rwanda. I don't think I fully grasp it yet, but I think I'm on my way.

Saturday morning we spent more time in worship, and Dr. Miller spoke about balance. It was a good time of reflection, a time of rest, and I time to just be, and realize that enjoying the beauty of this place is glorifying to our Creator, and this is the abundant life.

What a Weekend

Many of you by now have seen the pictures of our trip to Akagera! I had a blast going to the animal park and seeing such beautiful creatures. I am now in love with giraffes… specifically one I named Josephina :)

One of the dad's at our school, Mr. Robinson, offered to take many of the teachers at KICS, along with a visiting friend from Texas, to the park on Saturday. The drive to the park was about 3 hours, driving mostly east. Akagera National Park is on the eastern edge of Rwanda and borders Tanzania. We got to see a lot of Rwandan life along the way and my favorite part of the drive was waving to kids as we passed.

I wasn't really sure what to expect, as I had heard that this park did not have as many animals as parks in other countries (and it is also MUCH cheaper), and I did not want to get my hopes too high. As we got to the entrance to the park we saw a few zebras in the distance. As we drove through the park, at first, there was a lot of burned area and therefore not much wildlife. Then someone spotted baboons! They were far away and hard to see and I did not get a picture, but I think someone else did. It continued to get better as we drove. We stopped at 'Hippo Beach' and though there were no hippos surfaced, there were lots of beautiful birds! Soon after we drove towards some plains and we began to see lots of impalas, zebras, and even some cape buffalo and a warthog! My favorite however were the giraffes. It was so cool to stop, get out of the car and walk towards them! They were not to sure what to think of us, but thankfully they did not go away! We stayed in the area for lunch and were able to get a lot of great pictures. As many now have said, "I'll never be able to go to a zoo again!"

Today was a very different kind of day. This afternoon, after church, several of the KICS teachers went into town to the orphanage. I had never been to an orphanage as they do not really exist in the US anymore. I've often heard friends say "I just want to go hold babies in…" some country. That's what I did today. And it was hard. This facility allows visitors every day but Thursdays, from 3-4pm only. So that means for 80-100 kids they only have a few nuns to take care of them the rest of the time. It takes me a long time to process events mentally and emotionally - I have a feeling I'll be working on this one awhile. I could not comprehend the life I got to be a part of for one hour.

As soon as I walked in, little girls came running toward me and just latched on. So I sat down and let them sit in my lap. One girl did not let go until I had to leave. During the hour several other kids came and went, sitting, jumping, playing around me. They played with my hair, they counted marks on my t-shirt, they looked down my t-shirt (yup, the skin is white there too!), and just held on. I would say the average age of the kids was 2, but the range was probably 1 to 3. We 'talked' and sang and laughed and played.

It was hard to see them in a physical state that would be considered unacceptable in the states. They (and their clothes) smelled of old urine, many had scabs on their heads, the little girl I was holding had a very deep cough, and some of the young ones showed signs of malnutrition. There were flies everywhere. So what does one do? James says "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." (1:27). Is visiting enough? Hopefully for now. I pray that these children do have visitors and that the women in charge have the strength and endurance to continue to provide the love and care these children need each day.

That's all for now. I'm quite exhausted. We have the day off in Rwanda tomorrow as it is Inauguration Day. (It was just declared a national holiday last Friday!) I hope you all have a good Labor Day!

Love you all~

Answer to Prayer part 2

I haven't been very emotional since I arrived in Kigali. A few moments here and there I have felt some highs and lows, but when I'm sad I don't cry or show any kind of physical reaction. Yesterday, on the walk home from school the tears came out of no where. It had been a good day, nothing out of the ordinary to report, but there I was walking and crying, and I couldn't make it stop. I just suddenly missed my mom :( I realized that I could not pick up the phone and just call her whenever I wanted, and this just made me so sad. It was then that I realized that it was my 'one month anniversary'. Honestly, it's amazing I've lasted this long emotionally. Three weeks in Korea and I was a homesick mess!

This morning when I got up and online to Skype with Pami, my mom called as soon as I signed on :) (sorry for the delay Pami!) It was such a comfort to sit and talk with her for 20 minutes and catch up. Little moments like that mean a lot to me.

So, all this to say, I am not a big believer in coincidences, but instead I believe in answered prayers and grace filled blessings.

In our Bible lesson today we looked at the song "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" - I've been singing it all day:

1. ’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
   Just to take Him at His Word;
   Just to rest upon His promise,
   And to know, “Thus saith the Lord!”
   • Refrain:
     Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
     How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
     Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
     Oh, for grace to trust Him more!
2. Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus,
   Just to trust His cleansing blood;
   And in simple faith to plunge me
   ’Neath the healing, cleansing flood!
3. Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus,
   Just from sin and self to cease;
   Just from Jesus simply taking
   Life and rest, and joy and peace.
4. I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
   Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
   And I know that Thou art with me,
   Wilt be with me to the end.

Answers to Prayer

I find sometimes that I am quite lame at recognizing answers to prayer. I either forget to pay attention or I take them for granted far too often. It was very difficult to be ignorant this week…

I thank you all for your prayers for my health. While I was quite sick, it only lasted about 24 hours. I could almost feel the sickness rushing through me ;) Teaching is far more pleasant when one can stand up straight and speak in full sentences :) I am thankful for God, my Healer!

One of the prayer requests a student raised in class was quite serious. A woman, a colleague of the student's uncle, was kidnapped in Sudan. When she told us this, the woman had been in a slave camp for 101 days. On Tuesday, we heard news that she was released over the weekend after 104 days of captivity with no ransom paid! We are very excited that she is safe, and on her way home and beginning of journey of recovery. Some great conversations were had in class related to miracles and missionaries and courage. I am thankful for God, the All-Powerful!

Last night I went to a Bible study here in our neighborhood. It is a group whose home church is here in our neighborhood, Christ Church Rwanda, which is where I attended this past Sunday. There were 11 of us that met to study the book of John. It was fun to look around and see in addition to 4 Americans, people from Scotland, Ireland, England, Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya. Some of us are teachers at KICS and others work for NGO's here in Kigali. It was nice to venture out and begin meeting people in our neighborhood/community. It was a great study that ended with a discussion on how keep away from falling into a mindless, cold routine when it comes to 'religion' and stay 'real'. I am thankful for the provision of community!

I'm still struggling with my geometry class, and definitely need to make it an issue of prayer. My students come from all walks of life, but they seem to find unity in disrespect. They disrespect each other, they disrespect me, and they disrespect the school. It is a small class, but I think the smaller numbers are giving them confidence to unite together against me - or I'm just being paranoid! Scary high schoolers!! Yet, I am still thankful for God who brings unity and mercy and grace and love.

While I was writing the last paragraph I got a Skype call from my LCMS friends! Seeing them in school, getting ready and doing what I consider "normal" prep for the school year made me a little sad that I am not there with them. I have been doing really well considering homesickness, at least, better than I thought I would. I find that the worst moments come when there is little to do and my mind wanders back 'home'. I am really beginning to enjoy Kigali though and feel more comfortable with life here. I love my new friends and its a joy and adventure to get to know them each day. This weekend some of us are going to Akagera, a game park here in Rwanda, and I'm looking forward to the outing! I am thankful for God, the All-Knowing, the Alpha and Omega, my Provider, my Friend.

Love and miss you all! May God bless you abundantly with His goodness and mercy!