Grieving

Paul E. Norton Dec. 24 1918 - Nov. 16 2010

My grandpa passed away this week. I am grateful that I had the chance to see him last July in Omaha before I left for Africa. Thanks to the blessing of Skype I was able to see him and tell him I love him once more, just hours before he was gone. He is not "gone" though, and this I believe with all my heart. He is in heaven at the best family reunion ever, face to face with his Redeemer, at home with his heavenly Father. I do not grieve FOR him, but our loss. I love my grandpa and will miss him very much.

"Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words."

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

I have now missed both of my grandfathers funerals. My grandpa Leeder passed away 13 years ago when I was on a church trip in Washington DC. It is hard not to be with family at this time, partaking in the reminiscing, the crying, the laughing and the celebrating. Last January my great Aunt Bernice went to heaven and I was blessed to be with family as we celebrated her life, and I know the healing it brings. It's much different trying to find that healing so far away, without the family that knew my grandpa.

Actually, 4 families at our school lost someone in their family in the period of one week. The Robinson's lost their grandfather, Micah lost her aunt to a long fight with an unknown cancer, the Miller's lost their grandma/great-grandma, and I lost my grandpa. While we have all agreed that this has been a hard horrible week, it has been good to have each other, to have people who understand this kind of pain and be so far away.

Thank you for all the love and encouragement so far.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. "

2 Corinthians 1:3,4

Rainy days and Mondays

do NOT get me down :)

Last Spring I would take whatever opportunities I had to go for a walk at the beach. I loved looking at and listening to the waves. I loved that whether it was sunny or cloudy, there was always a cool wind in my face. There are days here that I definitely miss those walks at the beach.

I'm sure many of you agree that it's a little harder to wake up on a Monday than other days, just having two days before without the alarm. Then again, many of you had the pleasure of "fall back" this weekend. We do not get that pleasure here in Rwanda. I'm sure if many Africans heard about Daylight Savings they would laugh at the crazy abazungu and our attention to time. No, like most mornings I woke up to Mr. Rooster, and then a little later, Mr. Alarm Clock, and dragged myself out of bed!

School was rather unremarkable today. The kids wanted to sing today, so we sang (they like the "Sunday School" song-track I have from WACC, and Jumpin' in the house of God - I wonder what the neighbor teachers think when we start jumpin'…). We learned how to compare decimal numbers and took a spelling pre-test. I introduced them to a new classroom management system (thanks to my friend Laura!) called BLURTS. It's awesome! They are now terrified of getting a tally mark on the board for a blurt… they were quiet and raising hands all day. Curious about tomorrow… :)

We have an ACSI representative here right now. We are officially candidates for ACSI's accreditation process, but apparently the initial visit 1.5 years ago did not go super well, so he is just here making sure we're moving in the right direction. Trevor (headmaster) thought it appropriate we welcome him with a song. With any luck, the video will be posted by the end of the week. Mr. Epp shared a lot about the christian education effort in Africa and it's very hopeful. There are a lot of growing schools around the continent growing students who recognize corrupt governments (i.e. withholding the development of clean water and electricity programs) and are learning to be moral leaders in their communities.

After school I needed to go to the post office. The sky was getting rather dark and the wind was picking up - so I debated whether or not to go out despite the storm approaching. The moto ride to the post office was 'interesting' - the wind pushed us around a bit, but we made it to our destination safe and dry :) Leaving the post office, I felt the wind in my face and decided to walk and enjoy the cool breeze (it had been rather warm throughout the morning). I walked the 2 miles back to MTN, where my favorite hang place resides: Bourbon Coffee. The walk was awesome. The wind was blowing hard, just like at the beach! I pretended I was walking along PCH instead of the highway filled with cars, motos, and busses pouring out their smoginess. I also enjoyed looking around and taking in the people, the buildings, the scenery. I could see my neighborhood across the valley. I walked past the Parliament building that still has the scars of the genocide on their west facing walls. Many people I passed appeared to be going home from work, hurrying to catch matatus or motos. I learned soon after I got here that it is not culturally appropriate to look a man in the face and smile (could be trying to assert authority or possibly that 'I'm available'), but I enjoy smiling and saying 'hi' to the ladies. Most Rwandan women walk around with no expression on their face, and they almost never initiate communication. As soon as you smile and say 'hi' though, eyes light up, and the greeting is returned "Hi!" "Hello!" "Bonjour!" "Mwirire" I felt the first drop of rain as I got to MTN! Thank you Lord for a wonderful walk!

At Bourbon I worked on some BSF and then finished a book I've been working on for the last week, "Echo in the Darkness" (Francine Rivers). So good! Some families from school came in to have dinner while I was there and I looked up long enough from my book to say 'hi'. When I was getting ready to leave, the waitress brought me my bill and told me one of the school families had paid for my coffee! The unexpected gift of generosity made my heart all warm and fuzzy! Which was a blessing indeed because I forgot about the dark clouds and rain until I walked outside. The warm fuzzies kept me protected while I took my first moto ride home in the rain! Oh the adventures :)

So that was my rainy day Monday :)

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18