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Thursday, 12 June 2008
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Well it is the night before we leave back to Nairobi, Kenya. We can't believe our time here in God's beautiful country of Rwanda has come to an end. This week has been full of life, light, laughter, and love. We spent Sunday, June 8th, at two different church services, performing songs, skits, and words of encouragement at both. It was such a blessing! Monday we traveled to a small church where several children and widows were gathered as we prepared to give our gifts of goats and medical cards. We performed for them and then asked if any would like to receive prayer. To our surprise, several of the women stood up and asked for prayer about everything from taking school exams to the healing of the sickness and demons. It was incredibly powerful. Afterward we were each able to hand a goat (or two) to the families and watched as they thanked us and walked off with their new gifts, light shining in their eyes. The second half of that day was spent with the children at New Hope Homes as we continued to build relation and love for the children there. Tuesday was an all-day event of traveling two hours to give out goats again, and once more, the women stood up and asked for prayer...for their families and friends, for the Youth of the nation...it was another humbling and powerful experience. Wednesday we spent all day at New Hope, painting murals on the walls of the houses and playing with the kids that we have fallen in love with. We painted on mural in each of the homes and the result was amazing. It was a fun project and I think it will bless the people who come to New Hope as well as the ones who live there. Three leaders from Compassion accompanied Pastor Andy Stanley (as well as a group of about 12) came to visit New Hope, meet the kids, then join us for dinner at the Mbanda's later that night. Mrs. Mbanda made a fantastic host as we ate an African feast and watched dancers perform traditional Rwandan dances far into the night. It was so much fun! Today we decided to take an African safari as a day of rest and within the first hour we saw giraffes, buffalo, impalas, and zebras, and as we went along with caught sight of baboons and hippos. God's creation is magnificent and as we reflected over the past ten days, we have realized that we have grown in ways we never knew we would, and the growing process will continue for the rest of our lives. We will be in Kenya for three days before we start the trek home (excluding those who are staying in London) but after that, you will be hearing these stories in much more intricate detail for yourselves. Thank you again for your love and support. This trip has been an incredible blessing.
In His Love,
Team Rwanda
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
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Once again I must apologize for the lack of updates on here. Many of our days start very early and end very late, and by the time it's all said and done, we are too exhausted to finish debriefing much less do anything else. But it is good! A quick update of the last few days....
On Friday, June 6th, we returned to New Hope Homes to just hang out and play with the kids all day. When we arrived, they were awaiting us on the front porch with playful eyes and bright smiles. We were like two teams, one on one side, and the other standing opposite them. For a second we just stood but something snapped and the two teams came together as one...within minutes people were jump roping, playing soccer, swinging...not one team member could be seen without a few kids gathered around wanting to play. We knew the kids by name at this point and we were able to begin establishing relationships with them. One person described the unique bond you find in certain children as 'the souls of the two people drawing toward each other in a supernatural connection'. The day was certainly a blessing to us and by the time we left, we were exhausted and ready to eat a good dinner, and begin our nightly debriefing which begins discussion about how we worked as a team during that day, what we saw God doing in and through us, and what we could have possibly done better.
On Saturday morning, after a half an hour of practicing our skits, we had praise and worship, ate breakfast then headed off to the Compassion project located in a very poor part of the city. We bumped along a very muddy road, up a hill, where a few buildings sat. We weren't sure what exactly we were looking at but we walked down a muddy hill to a small building packed with small bodies, but singing with very strong voices. Over 200 kids were squished together on wooden pews in this small room as we made our way across the front and sat down in the chairs they had provided us, facing them all. They performed songs of welcome, and some of Rwanda's traditional dances. As you looked out the broken glass windows, you could see crowds of children (and even some adults) gathering to look in and see what the 'mizungo's' (the name for white people) were doing. We sang some songs, did a funny skit, and then a more serious one called 'Burdens' and afterward. Scott got up and explained (through an interpreter which is how we communicate with most of these people) that Jesus Christ died for every hurt, whether physical or emotional, and as long as we keep praying to Him, he will comfort us in any time of need. Afterward, we went to take a picture with the kids, and they were so eager to be standing next to us that all of them were pushing up against us, trying to reach out and just touch us. After the picture was taken, they rushed around us, talking, laughing, pulling on us, holding our hands, and trying to get some some small part of our attention. It was very humbling and we can only hope that the message we shared would bring light and life into the lives of these children. Afterward, we met with the officials of the project who make it happen. We sat around a small room which was the office and drank coke, ate banana's, and listened as they explained that there were about 260 children with the Compassion project. Two were HIV+ as well as 31 of the parents. They are growing and we can only pray that they continue to grow and get the education that they need. Erica was able to meet the girl that she sponsors and it was such a blessing for us to watch them interact with so much love as they exchanged small gifts. That afternoon, we went to a genocide memorial. Talk about powerful, overwhelming, humbling, shocking....the genocide that hit Rwanda in April of 1994 stripped this nation of their identity until there was absolutely nothing left. Over the course of a few months, over 800,000 people were brutally murdered...women, children...it didn't matter. We heard testimonies, read stories, and even saw the skulls and clothes that were left on the people they found. Over 250,000 bodies were buried at this memorial and they are skill finding remains today. They had an exhibit which displayed the genocides that have taken place all over the world....Armenia, Turkey, Germany...the list goes on and on. Huge numbers of people being tortured and killed are shoved in your face and you must realize that each and every one was a human being with a story of their own. We walked away from that place with a better perspective, more respect, and a greater love of this nation which has come so far but still has so much healing and restoration to experience. They are in our prayers and I hope they continue to be in yours....thank you, I will update more later.
Saturday, 07 June 2008
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Since we got a bit of a late start updating the blog, I'd like to just go back and overview some of the things we've done so far. Our first morning after travel we started our day with a worship/prayer team session around 6:30 before eating a great breakfast and heading off to the Alpha Center School to play with the kids and help in any way we could. The school was tucked up into a dirt-packed side rode that slanted almost straight up. Getting a bus up there with the uneven terrain and awkward pot holes was quite an experience but our bus driver has proven himself trustworthy many times over.
When we arrived we were greeted by a beautiful woman wearing a bright green and yellow dress, wearing matching brown and white traditional African jewelry, and huge smile on her face. Pastor Winnie gave us a quick tour of the school before letting us go on our own (basically we had free reign to do whatever we wanted with the kids which was both exciting and a bit nerve-wracking...but mostly exciting). They are also in the process of building a multi-purpose classroom so the guys (except Jacob) headed off to work on that while the rest of us stayed behind and split into two teams to work with different age groups. There were about 60 kids between the ages of 1-7, so we decided to tackle the youngest one first while we still had the most energy
. We sang songs, danced, colored, and played with these beautiful kids for hours. They accepted us with open arms and boundless energy. You couldn't stand a minute without getting a tug on your hand, or a playful smile begging you to come and join a game...or make one up on the spot! We had lunch at Pastor Winnie's house before leaving to make a quick pit-stop at New Hope Homes which is the program we are partnering with over here. Mrs. Mbanda began New Hope Homes two years ago with one home and it now has three different homes which brings in orphans, feeds them, puts clothes on their back, and sends them to school.
None of us were exactly sure what to expect when we pulled up to the first home, but it was about to become the absolute biggest blessing to each of us. We met the mother's and aunties of the homes who are the primary care-takers of the children, as well as Tory who will be a senior at Oklahoma University in the Fall and has dedicated her summer to waking up and spending each day with these children for the whole summer. When we walked into the second home, there were 12 chairs set up for us to sit in while we watched the children put on a short performance to welcome us to their home. Their smiles lit up the room and we were smiling right back to receive it. After hanging out with everyone a bit longer, we took off for our last destination of the day...a gathering at the E.A.R church in the projects of Rwanda where poverty is ramp id. Our bus was put to the test (again)as we went trudging along through a narrow, unpaved road next to a market with people walking so close to the bus, we could stick our hand out the window and grab their arms. At one point our bus had to stop in the middle of a square surrounded by small shelters, and we were immediately surrounded by an audience of people staring into our bus, waving, talking, and laughing at us. I would best describe it as being a movie star mixed with an animal at a zoo. Soon we were surrounded on all sides, but somehow we managed to move along and squeeze our way to the church which was tucked back behind the shelters. We walked into what looked like an empty warehouse filled with wooden benches for pews, and a Rwandan flag along the entire front of the church against the wall. We listened as a group of about 13 sang and danced along with a bongo drum that stood no less than four feet tall. The drummer wore one of the biggest smiles I have ever seen, and the joy that radiated from his eyes was more beautiful than any piece of clothe or jewelry that could be bought. People slowly streamed in and finally the Pastor, a tall, confident, and handsome man, walked in to shake our hands and welcome us to his church. His suit-jacket held a pin that connected the Rwandan flag with that of the U.S.A. We performed a skit and sang some songs for them before sitting down to listen to a very simple, but extremely powerful message. The verse we focused on was John 13:34 which says 'A new commandment I give to you...love each other as I have loved you'. It lasted a little more than an hour and we loaded up the bus one more time that day before heading home to another wonderful meal cooked by Stratone and Vincent and then crawled into bed to wake up and start another blessed, spirit filled day... -
The Mbanda's greeted us at the airport with smiling faces and we followed them to their home in Kigali which is somewhat like a palace out of the Garden of Eden. The grass and trees are a thick, lush green the flowers of purple, red, yellow, and orange are bright and blooming. The house was built for missionaries and it is more of a blessing than any of us could have asked for. We have good food, hot water, and comfortable beds to sleep in. For some, this may not sound like the kind of 'roughing it' a mission trip sometimes sounds like. But we know that the real heart of missions is taking the gospel out to the world, and sharing the abundance of God's love with the nations. Because we have a home to come to at night, we have agreed as a team that we are called to go even deeper...to give even more in every event we have planned. The most amazing thing about our team is that we believe prayer is the most effective weapon for God's Kingdom we can use on this trip. We have come together many times in prayer to ask that great things happen, and God's will be done through us. Thus far, we have been incredibly busy loving on the children, and helping in any way we can. But we have been blessed more than we could ever imagine in return, and we know we still have so much ahead of us. I will give more details about our adventures here soon...again, I apologize for how long it has taken to get the team blog going and I hope you continue to check in and stay updated to what we're doing. Thank you for your support and prayers!
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Our Journey to Rwanda
I realize it has been almost a week since we left New Life to come here, and I sincerely apologize it has taken us so long to get to this point, but...we made it! We have been busy since we've arrived and we still have so much ahead of us.
By 2:30 p.m. on June 2nd, the World Prayer Center courtyard was buzzing with excitement. Backpacks were sprawled out everywhere and teams were running around like an army of ants trying to get together and figure out last minute details. I think Rwanda was the only whole team wearing our t-shirts so we were easy to find and obviously stood out. As we loaded up the buses, the enthusiasm in the air was so thick you could breathe it in. All of the hard work and meetings...everything we had prepared for had led us up to this day. Denver International Airport didn't know what was coming to them as our buses pulled up and 150 kids climbed out to check-in. We flew together a little over 8 hours to the London Airport and spent another 8 hours in London while waiting for our next flight to Nairobi, Africa (which also took a little over 8 hours). Once we made it to this small airport, the teams split up, and we were finally on our own. Four hours in the airport, another hour to Kigali, Rwanda, and we were finally there! Melissa was the only one who had an issue getting her luggage but she her attitude didn't wane a bit when her bag didn't show up and she received it two days later. So we loaded up our very tourist-looking bus and began our adventure...
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- Member Since: 5/30/2008
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