Thank you!

I can't believe my time in Rwanda has already come and gone. I could have never imagined all that God would do in my life while here in Rwanda and the challenges and blessings I would experience. I am so thankful that I was able to have this time in Africa and I am so thankful for all of the support of my family and friends. Everyday I was greatly encouraged by all of you! A special thanks to my wonderful sister who collected so many lovely notes, pictures, and bible verses and put it into my Africa book. I can't describe what it meant to hear from someone I loved every morning! God has greatly blessed me with so many wonderful people in my life. 

A special thanks to Kimmee, Mom, Dad, Matt, Dan, Maddi, Courtney, Leanna, Paige, Emily, Lindsay, Brenna, Joel, Allie, Victoria, Kalia, Christina, Miranda, Andy, Kenton, and Chris for writing a special note in my book. You all are wonderful and I love you!

A Day in the Life of a Rwandan

I had the amazing opportunity to spend the day with a Rwandan village woman and her friends and family. Our group attended a program called&zizi Life, which provides an opportunity for foreigners to go into a Rwandan village and spend a day working alongside the people. Azizi Life also employs village woman as artisans and sells their products in the U.S.

We started the day by meeting up with the woman and splitting up into groups to head to the woman's homes. Sarah, Sam, Kevin, Michael, and I went to Sepirata's home where she lives with three of her four children. We began the day with prayer and then by being dressed in a traditional African skirt and head scarf. Then we grabbed our hoes and headed down the road to a field Sepirata's uses at her parent's home. The plan is to plant cassava soon, so our task was to dig up all the weeds and prepare the dirt for planting.  We worked in the wonderful dirt as many of the community members looked on and kept encouraging us. Within about 45 minutes we had dug up a little more than half of the small field and it was time to continue on with our day.

We headed back to the house, put away our hoes, grabbed our jerry cans, and headed towards the watering hole. We had to walk a little way through the village and down a pretty steep hill to reach the running water bore-whole. After each of us filled up a jerry can, we made the trek back up the hill to Sepirata's house. Our next task was to take all of the kernels off of dried corn cobs so that they could be ground up and made into cornflour. We all sat on benches around a mat and talked and laughed as we worked on the corn. They then taught us how to put the corn in a round flat basket and toss it to get all of the chaff off. 

After we finished the corn, we washed up for lunch. The ladies served a delicious lunch of cassava, beans, and avocado. We each had a bowl and in African style, used our hands as our utensils. It was great to be able to just sit down with Sepirata and two of her neighors and talk and eat together. 

When we finished lunch and had a bit of a break, we headed over to another village woman's home. Florida had hosted some other people from our group for the morning, and in her home we had our weaving lesson. The ladies showed us how they extracted the sisal fibers from a giant plant, died them, and then wove them into jewelry and bowls. They then helped us make our own bracelets out of the sisal fibers. We had a ton of fun just sitting on the ground between the women and making bracelets together.

It was during this time that I got the chance to hold a 5 month old Rwandan baby on my back. Ever since I came to Africa, this is one thing I really wanted to do. With only a week left, I was running out of time. But after one of the translators heard that I wanted to hold a baby, they went and got one of the woman's babies. She brought the beautiful little baby and helped me tie it on to my back with a blanket just like an African woman would. I was just sitting there enjoying having the warmth of the baby on my back, when a wet warmth started moving down my back. I quickly realized that the sweet little baby had peed all over me. I just laughed and kept the baby until it started to fuss. Everyone in my group just laughed with me. I spent the rest of the day with a lovely wet sweatshirt and wet jeans.

After we finished with our bracelets, we headed to the main Azizi Life building to look at the crafts and then headed for a quick dinner. It was really an amazing experience and meant so much after having spent the last three months in Rwanda. 

I Will Follow You

"I Will Follow"

By Chris Tomlin

Where you go, I'll go
Where you stay, I'll stay
When you move, I'll move
I will follow...


All your ways are good
All your ways are sure
I will trust in you alone
Higher than my side
High above my life
I will trust in you alone


Where you go, I'll go
Where you stay, I'll stay
When you move, I'll move
I will follow you
Who you love, I'll love
How you serve I'll serve
If this life I lose, I will follow you
I will follow you


Light unto the world
Light unto my life
I will live for you alone
You're the one I seek
Knowing I will find
All I need in you alone, in you alone


In you there's life everlasting
In you there's freedom for my soul
In you there's joy, unending joy
and I will follow

Ever since I heard this song for the first time I absolutely loved it. The lyrics so closely matched the cry of my heart and my mission to serve Jesus with my life. As I took the steps to come to Africa, I heard this song countless times and it became the theme for my adventure abroad. It has been amazing how many days I have needed a little encouragement, and this song "happens" to come onto my computer or IPod. Every time I am once again reminded of why I am here in Africa and the mission God has called me too. He has called me to follow Him, move for Him, rest in Him, serve for Him, and love in His name. I have been extremely challenged and incredibly blessed in this pursuit, here in Africa and in America. So everyday I will renew my commitment to follow Him and serve Him with my life. 


On a lighter note, today was day 100 of being in Africa. It is absolutely incredible how fast the time has gone by. I now only have 1 week to soak in all that Rwanda has to offer and prepare myself for the journey home. Wow!

Remember Rwanda

Starting today, Rwanda moves into Genocide Memorial Week: a seven day period of remembering and grieving the horrible atrocities that ravaged the country 18 years ago. This next week, and most of April, will be a difficult time as the people relive what happened to them and their families and choose in what ways to deal with the grief and continue the healing process. Some will choose to let the built up tears fall for the tragedy they experienced, others will participate in large rallies of grieving, others will speak out for the world to never let something like this happen again, and unfortunately, others will lash out in anger and violence. Rwanda has come a very long ways in the last 18 years, but underneath all of this progress is a country that is still figuring out how to deal with the grief and pain of 10 million citizens.
Please take time to pray for Rwanda today. Pray that they are able to grieve together and come out as a stronger nation. Pray for the continued healing of every citizen, from those who lost nearly every family member to those who participated in the killings. Pray that God continues to envelope this nation in his healing mercy and is allowed to be the Comforter of this nation. Also, please pray for our GoED group as we watch our friends and neighbors bare deep grief, and as we process our own feelings and find our position in this week of grieving.

Showering in the Rain

Great shower spot

This last week we have been rationing water like crazy, as the city of Kigali has turned off our water and we only have one tank of water left. This has meant 2 min showers for the last few days and then no showers since yesterday morning. This would usually be fine, except we had an epic Just Dance 2 Party last night and weren't able to shower after sweating like crazy. This morning we were all feeling ready to take a shower, but that wasn't possible... that was until Rwanda sent a shower our way.

When the rain started pouring down this morning, Mikaela and I decided to head out and have some fun. We started on the trampoline and pretty soon Sarah, Sam and Leah decided to join us. As we realized this might be the only shower we have for a while, we got some shampoo and found some spots where the water was poring off the roof. So at the end of our classroom all of us girls took our showers in the wonderful Rwandan rain. No doubt it was the coolest and most shower I have ever taken!

Hanging out in the rain

UGANDA!

Four days, two nine hour bus rides, a great day of exploring Kampala and shopping for souvenirs, one epic rafting trip, and lots of sweating later, my trip to Uganda has come and gone. It was quite the crazy adventure, but it was great fun and a nice break before classes start tomorrow.
We left the house at 4:30 on Monday morning to catch a bus to Kampala. We were told it could take anywhere from 8 to 15 hours to make the trek across the border of Rwanda and up to the capital city of Uganda. Luckily our bus ride was pretty uneventful, the border crossing went smoothly, and we made it into Kampala in about 10 hours. After arriving at the bus station, we all squeezed into a matatu and headed off to our hotel. We were quickly introduced to the craziness and chaos of Uganda as our matatu dodged in and out of the cars and the people. It definitely had a very different feel than Rwanda.
We quickly settled in to our beautiful guest house and had a wonderful early dinner. We then went out on the town for a little while to get a quick look at some of the city and go to ice cream for Arley's birthday. We walked up the road about fifteen minutes to an ice cream shop that our house parents used to go to when they lived in Uganda. The ice cream tasted SO amazing, A because it was really well made and B because I haven't had one of my favorite desserts in two and a half months. After singing to Arley and celebrating, we walked back to the guest house. We all headed to bed pretty early because we were exhausted from getting up at 4:30 and spending the entire day on the bus.
The next morning we had breakfast and headed out in groups with Ugandan guides to take us around the city. We started by heading into town to the big market and walking through it to experience the craziness of it all. We exchanged money to get some shillings, saw the soccer stadium, and then headed to the largest university in Africa to take a look around. We then went to lunch at a small African restaurant and caught a matatu back towards a small craft market near our guest house. We spent the afternoon there getting souvenirs at the cheaper Ugandan prices. We all ended up with a bag full of trinkets to take home to family and friends.
We quickly headed back to the house and got ready to head to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. The food was so delicious and gave us a nice break from African food. We then headed about an hour to the outskirts of Kampala to go see a traditional dance performance. The show was very interesting and demonstrated traditional African dances from all over Uganda and also traditional African instruments. We all had a great time watching the dances and many people went down at the end to play the drums and dance around with the performers. The night ended pretty late so we just went back to the guest house and prepared for the next morning before heading to bed.
I woke up on Saturday morning at 4:15 to Skype my family for my brother's 27th birthday party. It was so great to be able to see all of them together and be a part of the celebration. By the time I was done Skyping, people were starting to get up and ready for our day of white water rafting. The bus picked us up at 7:00 am and we drove around the city picking up other rafters before heading out an hour to the Rafting Center. Once we arrived we filled out our paper work, had tea, and got briefed on the the schedule for the day. We then headed for the bus, grabbing life jackets, helmets, and breakfast on the way to the bus. It took close to 45 minutes to reach the edge of the Nile where we were putting in for the day. We all geared up, got a safety briefing, and then divided into groups to get in boats. I was in a boat with Leah, Sarah, Sam, Carly, Julie and Kevin and our guide named Ollo. We were the first boat out on the water and Ollo gave us more safety lessons, taught us to paddle, and had us practice flipping the boat and getting back in. We were pretty excited as we headed down the river to our first rapid as the lead boat.
We went through eight different rapids ranging in degree from class 3 to class 5. As we told our boat guide we wanted to go the wild route, our boat flipped seven different times. It was exciting and nerve-racking as we paddled into each rapid and you wondered if/when the boat would flip. It was pretty scary as you entered the water, but if you just wrapped yourself in a ball you would pop right up and there was always a kayak right there if you needed them. It was scary, but I never felt too scared to keep going.
My favorite trip down the rapid was on one of the class 4s. We flipped up near the top of the rapid, and I popped up to find Leah pretty near me. We were looking at each other and asking how the other was doing when we saw two kayakers coming towards us and telling us to swim. As we looked over, we saw a HUGE wave just below us. We each quickly swam and grabbed on to a kayak and hung on for dear life. I watched as Leah and her kayaker went through the wave, and my kayaker and I skirted more around the end. It was actually super fun and both Leah and I thought it was great way to go down the rapid.
That was pretty much our crazy day on the Nile. There is obviously a lot more to say, but I think pictures and videos will do a much better job telling the story. We will be getting those soon so hopefully I can put them up. Just for my mom, grandma, and anyone else who is freaking out about my rafting adventure, yes, it was scary, but the guides took really good care of us and all 10 boats made it down safely without injury. We had a wonderful day and got to experience the beauty and power of God's creation.
We headed back to Kampala exhausted, slightly sunburnt, but having had the time of our lives. When we reached the guest house we all got quick showers and then headed up the road for one more chance for ice cream. We took in the night as we walked home, enjoying the chaos and energy of Kampala for one last night.
We left the guest house at 7:00 am the next morning to head home on the bus. Again it was a pretty uneventful long drive. Thankfully we were on a little bit nicer bus, which made the bus ride a little more comfortable. I slept most of the trip, warmed by my slightly burned skin and exhausted from the eventful day of rafting. The nine hours went quickly and before I knew it we made it to the Kigali bus station. We all jumped in taxi cars and headed towards home. On the way, we got stopped by a huge convey of UN vehicles. It took about 15 minutes for all of them to pass. We were later told that they were headed to South Sudan. It was pretty interesting to watch.
We got home and had Aidah's lovely cooking and then just chilled for the night. Our classes start back up tomorrow with Post Colonial African Literature and we had a little work to do for it. We also have a religions in Africa that begins on Tuesday.
I can't believe we are already to the last portion of our semester. I only have 33 days left in Rwanda! It has seriously flown by faster than I could have ever imagined. I am so grateful that God brought be on this adventure and I am so glad it's not finished yet. God has amazing things planned for this next 33 days!

NLCA: Day 28-31

Day 28: March 18

       I finally got bored today. With my lessons over, all my literature books read, my journals caught up, all the available movies watched, and the students busy with studying, Ali and I had very little to do today. We went to church on campus, and then came home to our room. We finished the last little bit on the water project we have been writing for Headmaster. I wrote some letters to people at the school to give them before I leave and I taught Ali to play cribbage. I had some lunch and tried using the Internet with little success. Before dinner, Peter and Touch came over to use the Internet. Peter worked for a few hours trying to get his Facebook and Email working, and I tried to help him for about an hour. It was a very patience-testing hour as the Internet was going extremely slow and everything I tried to fix Peter’s Facebook didn’t work. Finally, I gave up and Ali and I went to dinner. After we finished eating, we came back and did a little bit of journaling and re-watched one of our movies. After doing so little all day, I am actually looking forward to the craziness of tomorrow. Only two more days to take this all in and begin to say goodbye.

Day 29: March 19

       I spent much of today tying together loose ends and getting things in place before Ali and I leave on Wednesday morning. We had some extra school supplies that we turned into Moses and also gave him our time sheets and evaluations. Then we headed to Headmaster and showed him the finished water project. At this point we have no idea what will come out of it, but Headmaster said he was very impressed and it was exactly what he wanted. He also told us that we are invited to his wedding in November. We had no clue he even had a girlfriend, let alone that he had a fiancée. In his words “I always wanted to marry a mazungu (white) girl, but none of them would ever stay in Kayonza. So I found a girl in Rwamagana and I am going to marry her." Ali and I couldn’t help but crack a smile as he told us this. 

       After our quick meeting with Headmaster, it was time for teacher teatime with wonderful tea and chapotti. We greeted and talked to the teachers and then we headed to work in sponsorship for a while. The office was a little crazy with most of the staff in and many children working on writing letters to their sponsors, so Ali and I took our work out into the cafeteria. Besides the wind blowing our papers around every so often, it worked out to be a pretty nice office. We also got to see many students and families walk in and out of the building. We had one little girl that was maybe two years old, who came in with her mother and older sister. She was absolutely adorable and walked right up to me and grabbed my hand. She then brought her beautiful little face right up to mine and just stared at me for a little while, mesmerized by my white skin. She hung around our work area for a few minutes, and Ali and I enjoyed making her smile and laugh.

       We worked until lunch, and then took a quick break before Ali headed to teach her classes and I headed back to sponsorship. In perfect timing, I finished organizing the last drawer of files and recording all the data on the spreadsheet. I ended with an hour left until Ali was off, so I went back to my room and began to work on a drawing I am giving to the school as a thank you. I worked for about an hour, and then went to meet up with Ali to head to the Internet café. After I finished everything there, I headed back and worked on my drawing until dinner.

       At dinner, we sat with a small group of girls, two of my P4 students and two of Ali’s P3 students. We had a great time talking with the girls and getting to know them since we have never really had the chance to in the classroom. Another one of Ali’s students, Mark, came over and talked to us also. Then headmaster came over with John Bosco, a girl that was new to the school, Alexander, and Lionel. It was great to chat with them and encourage them in their studies. All four are great kids, and do extremely well in school. Alexander and Lionel told us how they were excited to stay at school during the upcoming holiday to study for their upcoming national exam. Really? They are so driven to succeed and make something of themselves. It is so great to see driven young men who also work to pursue Jesus with all they are.

       Our time here at NLCA is quickly drawing to a close. Only one more day on campus, one more lunch of beans, rice, and matoke, one more dinner of beans, rice, and African tea, and one more day to see the smiling faces we have come to love. We have one more day to soak it all in and be a light to the students and faculty of NLCA.

      

Day 30: March 20

       Today was a wonderful last day on the NLCA campus. We spent most of the day walking around campus saying goodbyes and sharing a few more smiles, laughs, stories, and hugs. We woke up to a knock on our door this morning, and it was Daniel bringing us a gift one of the students had given to him to give to us. Unfortunately we didn’t know who the student was by the name on the note, but we each got a lovely bean necklace. We got up, ran, showered, and began to clean our room. We then headed to my P4 Purple class with stickers so I could say a final goodbye to my students. Teacher tea was next, and then we continued into Baby Class, Top Class, P1, P2, and P3 to say goodbye and give them stickers. In Ali’s P3 Orange class, a little girl saw me wearing the necklace I received this morning, and told Ali and I she is the one who gave us the gift. We were very excited to figure out who gave us the necklace and we thanked her. After we had visited all of the lower level classes, we headed to our room and gave it a very deep cleaning in preparation for Auntie Jackie to move back in.

       We had lunch and were invited to Teacher Annette’s classroom so she could sing us a traditional song for our African literature class. Teacher Annette and Teacher Evas had written out a song in a Ugandan language and they taught it to Ali and I. There were always a few lines that were to be repeated throughout the song as Teacher Evas took the main role, so Ali and I were able to pick up on those and sing along. It was actually pretty fun and we got it on video for our project. We spent most of the afternoon with Teacher Annette. She told Ali and I a traditional story at one point and then randomly had me get up and tell it to her students. Ali just laughed at me as I tried to retell the story simply but without forgetting the details. At the end of the school day we went to find the little girl who gave Ali and I the necklaces. We found her outside her classroom and gave her a shirt my sister had made and gave to me to bring to Africa. I was so excited to be able to return this girl’s sweet gift with one of my own and finally give away the shirt my sister sent.

       At 3:30 we had a staff meeting and the teachers gathered to say goodbye to Ali and I. Moses, Headmaster, Teacher Julius, and Teacher Rita talked and thanked us for our work. I was able to stand and read the teachers a letter Ali and I had written and also present them with the picture I had drawn for them. I was really glad that they enjoyed it. We then sang a few songs together, the first being the “Apples and Bananas Song” sung by Teacher Annette and filled in by me. We then worshiped together by singing “Amazing Grace” and another song. The teachers then surrounded us in prayer and presented Ali and I with gifts. We each got a beautiful African skirt, bracelets, a necklace, and earrings. It was so generous of them and they are a great reminder of our time here. We put on all our new attire and got many pictures with the staff.

       We continued walking around campus after the meeting and taking pictures with students. Daniel, Belise, and Christine came over and we gave each of them a chocolate bar that we had decorated and went outside to get pictures together. As we were taking pictures, a group of kids came up to watch us. I saw a little girl and thought I recognized her as the girl I drew in my picture. I ran and grabbed my laptop to show her the picture and it was in fact her. The little girl, Ameena, and I got a picture together along with the picture I had drawn. I also gave her a t-shirt that I had made in America. It was a huge blessing that God brought her my way, because I was praying that I would get to meet her before I left.

       We started watching High School Musical 3 with Daniel, Belise, Christine, and Touch before we headed to dinner. We had our last beans and rice, but unfortunately no African tea. John Bosco found us at dinner and then we brought him back to our room to give him gifts from Ali and I. I gave him a t-shirt and note and Ali gave him a bible with both of our favorite verses in it. John Bosco is an awesome kid and he really touched Ali and I, so it was great to be able to give him something. We hung out with a bunch of kids in our room for a little while and as they left, we began to work on journals and finish getting things arranged in our room.

       We went out for the boy’s prayers tonight and read them a letter and took pictures together. I couldn’t help but notice how much younger they look to me now than when we first arrived. I guess I have come to love these boys and feel a need to be a protective older sister. I wish I could stay and watch over these boys and watch them continue to grow into wonderful young men. Since I can now only do that from afar, I am so thankful they have so many other wonderful people here at NLCA looking out for them.

       Tonight’s our last night here at NLCA. It’s our last night of having our boys' singing and voices lull us to sleep, the last night of checking our room for mosquitoes before we go to sleep, the last night of sinking into the crevasses of our bed, and the last night Ali and I will fight for the covers in our sleep. The last night… 

Day 31: March 21

       As I left New Life Christian Academy this morning, a lovely feeling of contentment filled me. I have been so blessed this last month, through both the challenges and the wonderful times, and I felt God’s presence every step of the way. As much as I am sad to leave NLCA and all of the wonderful people, I feel so content that God gave me the time I needed there to grow and discover more of His plan for me. I am ready to take the blessings I received this last month and live into them to bless others. I am going to miss being on the NLCA campus, but I know I will always be a part of their family and them a part of mine. I don’t know what the future holds, but I hope God is not finished with my connection to NLCA yet. Whatever His plans, I am content to live in them and serve as He directs me to serve.

       On the first day of practicum, I wrote a few hopes I had for my time at NLCA. I wanted to revisit these and see how they played out over the last month.

Hopes for my time at NLCA:

·      Get to know all the names of the my brothers in the house

o   Fail. I probably only know the names of about half the boys in my house. I really wish I could have played a game to learn all of their names, but I also realize how hard it is to remember all of their names especially when they go by two or three different names. But I do feel like I shared very special times with all of them and made memories that will last a lifetime.

·      Form lasting relationships with the students and staff

o   Though we have only known each other a month, I am so excited to see where my relationships with the students and staff will go. I have so much love and respect for all the people I met at the school and I am going to miss them dearly. I pray that God allows my relationships to continue to grow even across thousands of miles.

·      Grow in my calling as a follower of Jesus and as a teacher

o   I feel like I grew a lot over this last month. In many ways, I don’t know how to name it, but I have a feeling I will be discovering it over the next year. I feel like I was challenged and encouraged in my relationship with Jesus and have spent the last month relying on Him for my strength. I pray that I can continue receiving my strength from Him. I also feel like I grew a lot as a teacher. I can’t say that I didn’t have moments of me thinking I was insane for wanting to become a teacher, but I think in the end I was encouraged and challenged to be a teacher.

·      Reach out to the community of NLCA

o   This is something I didn’t really have to try for, but just came to me. I spent everyday on the NLCA campus, living among the students, interacting with teachers, and being involved in campus life of NLCA. The community was at my fingertips, and I just had to be flexible and take part in it. It was exciting and exhausting, but I was so blessed by the community of NLCA.

·      Serve every day with all I am

o   I feel I really put my whole self into my experience at NLCA. Every day I tried to engage in the lives and the students of NLCA and open myself to what they could teach me. I was so blessed because I pushed myself to really engage in the experience.

·      Challenge myself in my abilities as a teacher

o   I was challenged beyond what I could ever imagine while teaching in the classroom. Almost everything I have ever learned about curriculum and instruction did not apply whatsoever. It was me, 60 Rwandan children, a piece of chalk and a chalkboard. Everyday I stepped into the classroom I was challenged to communicate better, reach out to my students more, and creatively and simply present the lesson.

·      Step out of my comfort zone and allow God to use those moments

o   I think I was challenged to step out of my comfort zone a lot this last month and God met me in those moments. I was able to interact with so many amazing people in the perfect moments that only God could have brought together. God really stood by me, and I was so blessed.


P.S. There is a ton more pictures on Facebook if you are interested.