Chrissy's Spot

What I Learned in Burundi

2011-04-15T23:51:00.000-07:00

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TRAVELING
1. Every trip seems longer when you're on bumpy roads that keep you from reading, sleeping, or sitting in one place for very long.

2. If you're on a dirt road that turns to mud because of all of the rain, and you come to a hill that you keep sliding down despite 4-wheel drive, all you need is the equivalent of $2 to pay about ten youth and one old man to push your car up the hill.

3. If your battery dies because you made a five minute stop but left the lights on, you can probably find someone who will take the battery out of their car, connect it to your battery using wrenches and only charge you $2 for the service.

4. Rainbows are worth stopping for.

DROP TOILETS
1. No matter how little water you drink, you will still have to use a drop toilet an average of three times per day.

2. Wood and cement floors are vastly preferable to tin ones that ominously creak and bring up horror stories you've heard of people falling through drop toilet floors.

3. Not just any drop toilet will do. At schools visitors are only allowed to use the teacher's toilet (not the students) and at some churches there are VIP toilets for pastors and visitors that are cleaner and which have less steep and/or more solid flooring. If you start walking towards the wrong one, you will be gently guided towards the correct toilet even if it's farther off and you just really need to go now.

BUILDING
1. Everyone is building something. It could be a church a school or a clinic, but everywhere we went there seemed to be bricks, stones and people working away.

2. Building is cheaper in Burundi because they can make there own bricks. The soil is ideal for brick making and, unlike Rwanda, there's no law against cutting down trees to use to fire the bricks.

3. In some places the church members bring stones for new foundations each time they come to church. They carry them on their heads, drop them off in front of the new building site, and, when enough have been gathered, they start building the new foundation.

4. Everyone contributes to the building of a new church. Those who are able make bricks, build the foundation and walls, etc. Those who don't have the physical strength bring food to feed the workers. Each family in the church donates bags of cement, tin for the roof, or becomes responsible for buying a window or a door. In this way the Friends Church in Burundi is moving towards its goal of eventually having a church on every hill.

BECOMING FAMOUS (at least with the pre-teen crowd)
1. It's very easy to collect a mob of people. Simply walk through a school yard or any other place there are children and you will instantly become the center of attention. (Note: this apparently only works for white people.) You may feel like the pied piper as everywhere you go, you will literally be trailed by 100's of children.

2. Shake one child's hand, and there will be a hundred more waiting. Maybe not as good as being asked for an autograph, but it definitely makes you feel loved.

3. Break out a camera and all chaos could ensue. If the flash goes off, be prepared for squeals and loud exclamations. If you make the mistake of showing some of the children the picture you just took of them, you will soon be mobbed by others wanting to have their picture taken too.

THREE PILLARS OF THE BURUNDI FRIENDS CHURCH

1. Evangelism:
Stories are told of men walking two full days in order to reach a church plant location, preach for the weekend and then walk home again.

Leaders are being trained in every church to teach small groups and eventually become teachers and pastors at new church plants.

Churches look for where people are coming from on Sunday mornings. Some church attenders walk an hour or more to Sunday services. Their home communities become the next targets for new church plants.

Pastors take one day a week to visit families in their communities, they take believers along with them who have experienced God's power in their lives, and through their testimonies new families are coming to Christ every month.

2. Education:
Almost every church we visited had a primary and secondary school on its grounds. Often times the church would start the school, and the government, after seeing the good work the school was doing, would provide funds to expand the school and pay more teachers.

At Kibimba there is also a theological training school and a technical school which teaches woodworking and mechanic skills.

The yearly meeting also sponsors a yearly VBS program which thousands of children attend.

3. Health: Many churches also have a clinic or a hospital on their grounds. They serve their communities by providing much needed services especially for pregnant mothers and those with HIV/AIDS.

STORIES ABOUT MISSIONARIES
1. Building: Missionaries directed the building of many of the first churches in Burundi. One missionary didn't have use of his legs, but that didn't slow him down a bit. He had such phenomenal arm strength that he was able to walk around using his crutches. He could also easily climb onto walls and help with the building there. In order to make it easier to supervise the work, he had the church and the school built as one building.
2. Saddened by Death: At one missionary station we visited the graveyard where missionaries who died on the field were buried. There were the graves of two young children who had died soon after birth. There was also the grave of a missionary who had died during a hunting accident. While hunting he and his hunting partner came across a leopard. As they backed away from it, he tripped and the leopard sprang on him. His partner shot the leopard, but the bullet went through the leopard killing the missionary. Very sad for all involved.

BURUNDI INGENUITY
Don't have a step ladder? No problem, just use the pulpit. Don't have money to buy a drum set? No problem, just make your own.

October 2010 Newsletter

2010-09-07T08:31:00.000-07:00

UBUZIMA MORINGA
As the Thomases prepared to leave on furlough, we began to talk as a team about how to reassign some of their responsibilities here in Rwanda. Debby asked me if I would be willing to be involved with Ubuzima Moringa, the kingdom business that she has been working hard to get started for the past year or so.

The goal of this business is to provide nutritious moringa leaf powder at an affordable price to the many people in Rwanda who are in need of more vitamins, proteins and minerals in their diet. This is a kingdom business that strives to reflect God’s kingdom through the product it provides, through relationships with investors, employees and customers and through its business practices. The proceeds from this business will mostly go towards the Discipleship for Development projects that the Rwandan Friends church is facilitating.

So far, trees have been planted, staff hired, a small production facility has been built and many other first steps have been taken to establish this important business. However, there is still a lot of work to be done.

Currently we are trying to gain approval from the Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS) to begin selling our product in Rwanda. We hope to have approval by the beginning of November so that we can start marketing the product and finish our larger production facility.

Right now my tasks include meeting with employees, helping with goal setting and training, meeting with RBS in order to align our production system and final product with their standards, helping to market moringa powder for sale in larger markets, and meeting with some NGO’s to see if moringa can be used in feeding programs, especially those for people with AIDS.

I’m excited to see how God will use this business to improve the lives of Rwandans and to spread his good news. Please pray with me for quick government approval of our product and for the success of this business in the coming months.

A TEAM FROM TEXAS AND THE KUMBYA MISSIONARY CONFERENCE
In July a team from Friendswood Church in Texas came to see the work EFM is doing in Rwanda and to help with VBS at Kumbya. Brad Carpenter and Molly Black were two of the Kumbya conference planners and they also facilitated the team’s visit. I had the task of planning breakfasts for 25 people during the week-long conference. At the end of the week, we were sad to say goodbye to the Thomases as they returned to the states for a year-long furlough.

TEACHING IN KIGALI
In August, Molly and I began interviewing 58 teachers from four different primary schools in and around Kigali. After determining each teacher’s level of English, we divided them into two classes: beginning and intermediate. It’s exciting that after only one month of teaching, we’re already able to see improvement in their English.

SECOND ASSESSMENTS IN THE NORTH
During the first week of October, Molly and I stayed with the Denhams in Kidaho and helped them to assess the progress of about 60 teachers at the three Friends schools in the North. On average students improved one level on a nine-level scale. It was good to see how much teachers’ English has improved since we began teaching in February. At the end of this month we will award certificates to those teachers in the North who participated in the English training.

June 2010 Newsletter

2010-09-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

UNEXPECTED CHANGES

The second term is almost over, and since school started in February there have been several unexpected changes. The first is that mid-way through the second term one of the teachers at George Fox School of Butaro decided that he would rather go to university in Uganda than teach. As a result, I agreed to take on two of his English classes and a biology class until a replacement could be found.

Also during this second term the Denhams and I traveled to the Friends school in Kemembe near the southwestern border. We assessed the teachers and talked with the headmaster about the possibility of sending teachers to their school. After looking at various possibilities, we decided to suggest to the church that the Denhams finish this school year at ESK in Kidaho and then move to Kamembe to work with the teachers there during the next school year. In June this decision was approved by the church’s executive counsel.

The third change is that Molly Black will be joining the English teaching team in August. After much deliberation, the parents of the African Jungle Christian School decided to lat down the school in June. Molly decided to finish serving her two-year term by working with teachers in the Friends primary schools in the Kigali area. At the end of this term, I will be moving back to Kigali to work with Molly. The Denhams will cover the three schools of Kidaho, Rugarama and Butaro during the last term of this school year. I am sad to be leaving Butaro where I have been so warmly welcomed, but glad that our efforts can be multiplied and spread to other schools.

TEACHING IN BUTARO
For the last seven weeks of the second term I have had the pleasure of teaching Biology three times a week to the freshman class. It has given me a better understanding of the challenges and difficulties faced by teachers here, especially in the areas of class management and lack of supplies and materials. In teaching, I have also become an expert on the endocrine system and on reproduction of plants and animals.

TEAM RETREAT
In April the whole team was able to spend a long weekend together on the shore of Lake Kivu. It was the last time that we were able to be together as a whole team. We did a shortened version of the Discipleship for Development foundations workshop. It was a fun, relaxing time of being together, and we all came away with a better understanding of the Discipleship for Development methods and philosophy.

THE TEAM IS GETTING SMALLER
In May we said goodbye to Drew Miller and Johnny Kaye. They returned to Oregon to prepare for University in the fall. Then in June, with the closing of the African Jungle Christian school, we said goodbye to Liz Wine. She returned to Kansas where she will take a position as a resident director at a Mennonite university. Now the Thomases are making their final preparations for departure at the end of July. They will return to Oregon for a year-long furlough. During this time their children will have their first experience of American schooling. Pray for them.

CLOSING THE AFRICAN CHRISTIAN JUNGLE SCHOOL
In June I was able to return to Kigali for several days in order to help close down the African Jungle Christian School. It was a bittersweet time working side-by-side with many of the parents and students whom I served during my first two years in Rwanda. Next year the students will be in many different places. Some will be home
on furlough, others will attend the Kigali International School, and some will be homeschooled. Molly Black, one of this year’s teachers, will join the English Teaching Team working with teachers in Kigali.

February 2010 Newsletter

2010-09-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

NOT RELYING ON MY OWN STRENGTH

During the last three months I've found out just how limited my own strength is. I find myself exhausted from trying to put together an English program from scratch in a place where communication, travel, and scheduling are all challenging tasks. My to-do list keeps growing and so does the number of relationships that must be nurtured and maintained. My stamina is depleted by constant transitions; frustration crops up due to lack of communication and fuzzy expectations; and I fight a constant battle to maintain flexibility in the face of plans that seem to often go awry.

If this English teaching program depended totally on me and my abilities, I'm afraid it would fail to live up to expectations or would soon fall apart. However, I'm confident that it is God's program, and that he is the one maintaining it and forming it into an instrument to be used for his purposes. He doesn't expect me to make everything happen. This program doesn't rely on my strength but on his. How reassuring it is to know that God is holding it all together and that at those places where I feel most inadequate, ill-prepared or just plain exhausted, that's where his strength comes through and where his power is made perfect.

As the English program coordinator I can often fall into the trap of believing that my role is central and that this program is relying on my creativity, my knowledge and my strength. But over and over God reminds me that it is his program. He is at the center keeping it all together. I don't have to strive and strain to make it happen; I simply have to rest in Him and be obedient to take the next step, to do the task at hand, and to rely on his strength rather than my own.

Cooking Dinner

2010-03-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

Staying with the headmaster's family means that I have the benefit of his wife's wonderful cooking. Last Saturday I finally had time to watch as Mama Shaka (women here are called by their oldest child's name) prepared the evening meal.

First let me describe the work area. The kitchen is a separate building from the house. This is a good thing since wood and charcoal fires are used and there's not much ventilation besides the door. There are two places in the back for wood fires with three stones around each one to put pots on. Above this area is a rack to dry wood to be used in the future. There are also several charcoal burners. During the preparation of this evening meal one wood fire was used and two charcoal burners. There are no tables or other raised surfaces -- all preparation is done on the ground, either in the kitchen or outside, while sitting on a mat or a low bench.

Dinner preparations began around 5:30 p.m. On the menu was meat in a meat sauce, fried sweet potatoes, peas and local greens (called dodo), rice, and chai (hot tea with milk).

Mama Shaka and one of her sister-in-laws began by peeling the sweet potatoes while the house worker started the chai by boiling fresh milk with water on one of the charcoal burners. The other charcoal burner was heating up and on the wood fire the peas were being cooked.

Next Mama Shaka got a tray of rice. She picked through it removing rocks. After washing it she put it on the second charcoal burner to cook. At this point the peas were removed from the wood fire and the meat was put on to boil. More wood was added and my eyes started to water from the smoke. Next she added the tea to the milk and water mixture and set it aside to be strained by the house worker into a large thermos. Charcoal was added to the burner and Mama Shaka put oil in a pot to heat up so that she could fry the sweet potatoes. While those were cooking she peeled and cut four large tomatoes and four small onions for the meat sauce, checked the rice, removed some of the coals from that burner and added some more water to the rice to cook a bit longer. She also had time to feed the baby while she waited for everything to cook.

(In the meantime the house worker cleaned the yard and took down the laundry and the sister-in-law washed the dishes from earlier in the day.)

After around 20 minutes the sweet potatoes were removed from the oil and the oil saved for future cooking. The meat was removed from the wood fire, the broth saved in a pot and the meat cut into small pieces. The meat was then cooked in a pot with some oil on one of the charcoal burners. The rice was removed from the other burner and the dodo was put on to boil. After the meat had been cooked for a while, the oil was drained off and the tomatoes and onions were added with some salt. Slowly the broth was added until it had cooked down into a nice meat sauce.

Once the dodo had boiled, the water was drained off and the house worker squeezed out the rest of the water by hand. Then the dodo was cooked with four skinned and sliced tomatoes, two small onions and some salt. The peas were added and it cooked for a little longer before being put in serving dish.

At 8:00 p.m. after two and a half hours of cooking we sat down to a delicious dinner, well worth the time and effort.

Our Little Car

2010-02-07T06:56:00.000-08:00

So, what do a small stick, a metal bolt and electrical tape have in common? They were all used last Saturday to fix our car on the side of the road. Matt, Gayle, Bonaventure (ESK headmaster) and I had gone into town to pick up Bonaventure's wife from a women's meeting and get some things from the market. As we left the church where the women had been meeting, Matt all of a sudden couldn't put the car in gear while the engine was on. After spending several minutes trying to figure out how to release the hood, he was able to take a look at the engine. Matt discovered that the clutch cable had broken in the past and been repaired with a piece of rubber that had broken off due to the heat of the engine. He determined that he could temporarily fix the cable by attaching something stiff to it using electrical tape. Unfortunately there was no tape in the car, so we sent Bonaventure off on a taxi bike to buy some. He came back just as it was beginning to downpour. Matt had to pay a young man about 25 cents to hold his umbrella while he taped a stick and a mettle bolt to the cable. The fix worked and we were able to finish our trip to the market and return to Kidaho without further mishap.

A little background on the car:
It is a Suzuki that Dave bought for us last fall. Some money had been raised to buy the Thomases a new car, but instead they decided to rebuild their engine and use some of the left over money to buy a car for us, the English teachers. Dave spent some time looking for a something that was in his price range and that could handle the road between Kidaho and Butaro, which is a very bumpy dirt road. He finally found this car. It didn't look like much on the outside, but when he had a mechanic look at the engine, he decided that with a little bit of work it could be a good car for us. It ended up taking three weeks of work -- some body work, a new paint job, some work underneath, and fixing the electric windows. Luckily there was a church worker who was able to accompany the car to the mechanic and make sure that they did the work well. The weekend after I arrived in December, the car work was finished (for the time being), and at my first team meeting I was brought out to see my "present" which had decorated by the Thomas children, and I was given a set of car keys.

Having a car opened up a new possibilities. However, this included driving in the midst of Kigali traffic, stopping and starting on the 1000 hills of Rwanda, and doing my best to remember after 7 years of driving an automatic how to drive a manual car. So you can imagine that I was a little hesitant at first to drive my new car much.

I drove the car for the first time in December during the 4 hour trip up to Butaro. Half of the way the car was packed with 5 full-grown -- three church leaders and Brad sat in the seats, and Dave sat in the back "trunk" area. I managed to miss the many pedestrians, motorcycles, bicycles and other vehicles that crammed the roads, and, for the last 50 minutes, I successfully navigated the dirt road from Kidaho to Butaro without mishap. However, I was pretty tired and happy to turn the keys over to Brad for the return trip to Kigali.

My second trip was into Kigali town center. During that trip I locked the keys in the car, but was able to pay someone $2 to get them out for me. In the process I discovered that the car is not that difficult to break into.

Since then I have driven the car many times with only minor problems. We are hoping that it will provide at least two years of somewhat reliable transportation for the Denhams and I and that when something does go wrong it can be easily fixed (perhaps with just a stick, a bolt and some tape).

The Teaching English Program

2010-01-27T22:47:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I've been working on during the last month is an overview of what the Teaching English Program will look like. For those of you who are interested, I'm posting the text of that overview here. Tomorrow I will be sharing this with the Yearly Meeting Action Planning Committee (of course they will get the Kinyarwanda version that I'm presently having translated). My hope is that it will give us a common understa

Background
Now that the Rwandan government has determined to change the language of education from French to English, the continued success of the Rwandan schools depends on the ability of their teachers to use English. Many of these teachers have very limited English and will need help in order to become proficient enough to conduct their classes in English. All teachers stand to benefit from more English instruction even if they are currently considered proficient by government standards.

The Rwandan Friends church has four secondary schools in which teachers need more English training. Through EFM, American Friends churches have agreed to partner with Rwandan Friends churches in order to provide English teachers for this program for the 2010 and 2011 school years. So far three long-term teachers have been recruited to work with teachers in Kidaho and Butaro and two short-term teachers have been recruited through June of 2010 to work with teachers in Kigali.

Teachers are recruited for this program based on their willingness to serve and their calling to teach English as a ministry and as a way to impart God’s love to others. While there are many ways to be in ministry (evangelizing, preaching, serving, giving, etc.), those involved in this program will strive to minister through teaching English and building relationships with teachers and others in their school’s community.

Mission Statement:

Our purpose is to help teachers in the Rwandan Friends Schools become proficient enough is speaking, hearing, reading and writing English that they may teach their subject well in it. In the process, we want to give them the skills they need to continue learning English even after we’re gone. We also want to enable them to improve their methods and skills as teachers.

Methodology Statement:

Every aspect of our program will reflect God’s love and truth and will be considered ministry. This includes classes, observations, relationships, living situations, etc.

Our program will focus on content related vocabulary that teachers need for their every day classes.

Our program will be student centered. As much as possible we will assess individual needs and tailor content to fit with what teachers need most to learn in order to be effective.

Our program will focus on all four content areas: reading, writing, speaking and listening. We will periodically assess these four areas in order to show progress and identify teachers’ weaknesses and strengths in English and where they need to focus their learning.

Our program will use language learning projects in order to empower teachers to develop their own learning programs so that they can continue to learn English even after this program is over.

Our program will use interactive methods of teaching in order for students to put into practice the things that they are learning. This may include but is not limited to, conversations, games, debates and multi-media presentations.

Role Descriptions:

Program Coordinator

Work closely with school administration and teachers to develop an English teaching program that fulfills this program’s mission as stated above.

Help with program design. Make sure there is consistency between programs at all three schools.

Develop assessment tools and reporting procedures.

In conjunction with school administrators, develop annual or bi-annual reports to be given to the Yearly Meeting.

Recruit and assign teachers to schools and approve their schedules.

Encourage and support program teachers – spiritually, relationally and professionally.

Teach English classes to teachers in Friends schools.

Build relationships with teachers and school administrators and regularly pray for them.

Maintain communication with English teachers. Plan meeting times and facilitate communication between program teachers, between teachers and other EFM team members and between teachers and school staff.

In conjunction with school administration, award certificates to teachers who complete levels of the program.

Long-term Teachers (1 yr. +)

Administer assessments and report progress to school directors.

Plan courses and individual lessons that will focus on all four content areas while also addressing teachers felt needs.

Observe teachers in classroom and give feedback.

Provide structure for language learning projects.

Provide opportunities for teachers to listen to a native English speaker in class, small group and individual settings.

Teach English classes to teachers in Friends schools.

Build relationships with teachers and school administrators and regularly pray for them.

Encourage teachers to learn English and make it as interesting and enjoyable as possible.

Short-term Teachers

Provide conversational practice for teachers.

Teach short courses (1 month) in areas of interest.

Help with English club lessons and/or activities.

Help with assessments and program planning as able.

Work with individuals or small groups.

Assist with PILOT method teaching.

Assist with language learning projects

School Administration

Provide necessary support personnel: school/community guide, support teachers, language helper, person to schedule observations, etc.

Provide incentives and the time for teachers to attend English training.

Work with the program coordinator and program teachers in order to establish a schedule and to maintain consistency between programs at all three schools.

In conjunction with program coordinator, develop annual or bi-annual reports to be given to the Yearly Meeting.

Build relationships with program coordinator and program teachers and regularly pray for them.

Provide space for classes and necessary equipment (i.e. blackboards, desks, chalk, etc.)

Limit outside expectations placed on program teachers so that they can fulfill the mission of this program and keep this program and its ministry as their top priority.

Communicate well with program coordinator and teachers. Let them know quickly about problems or concerns. Inform them of schedule changes, vacations and holidays. Explain to them, or assign someone to explain to them, the many things that Rwandan teachers may already know, but which they will have no idea about. (Grading system, discipline, teacher etiquette, etc.)

Where necessary, provide housing for program teachers.

Give feedback in regards to program effectiveness, assessment techniques, ways to improve the program, etc.

In conjunction with the program coordinator, award certificates to teachers who complete each level of the program.

School Teachers

Participate in assessments and classroom observations.

Regularly attend English classes and put into practice what is learned.

Plan and implement language learning plans and complete homework/practice assignments.

Provide feedback in regards to skills/vocabulary needed, ways to improve program, etc.

Butaro and Kidaho

2009-12-16T22:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was able to travel to the two schools where the Denhams and I will be teaching English. All classes except 12th grade are to be taught completely in English this year. The government has provided some training to teachers during the school vacation times and most teacher's studied some English during their schooling. However, many still need a lot of help with pronunciation, content specific vocab., and becoming more proficient in reading and writing. This year's seniors will be the last class to take their national exams in French. In 2011 all teachers will be given an exam in English which will determine if they are competent enough in the language to continue teaching. Here's some brief information about both schools.

KIDAHO: ESEK
20 - 25 teachers
600 students with plans to increase enrollment to 700
The school offers three majors: Two are in the sciences (Physics, Chemistry & Math and Math, Chemistry & Biology) and the third is Human Science (History, Economics & Geography)

This is the school that the Denhams will be at. They will be living in a guest house attached to the headmaster's house.

This school is about 2.5 hours drive from Kigali on fairly good roads.

BUTARO: CGFB (College of George Fox Butaro)
25 staff -- 11 teachers, 2 watchmen, 7 administrators (principles, dorm parents, etc.), 4 cooks, 1 cowboy (yes, they have their own cows)

500 students from grades 9-12. (They used to have 7th and 8th graders also, but the government recently decided to move these grades to the primary schools so that they would also be considered part of free public education. Next year 9th grade will also move to the primary schools.) Students come from every province of Rwanda. Their families are usually poor farmers so the tuition at this school is lower than some.

The school offers two majors: Human Science (History, Economics & Geography) and Accounting. For the accounting program they use a computer lab, but due to the age of the computers only seven are still working. Computer Science is a class that is offered to most students. They do theory in the classroom during the day and then actually use the computers in the evening when the generator is running.

Butaro does not currently have electricity, but the school has a generator that is turned on every evening from 6:30 to 9:30. This provides electricity to the school, the local Friends church, the pastor's house and a few other locations.

This is the school that I will be working at. I'll have a room in the headmaster's house. Here is a picture of me with his wife and six children.

After reaching Kidaho, this school is another 45 minutes on a somewhat bumpy dirt road. Busses only travel back and forth on market days (Wednesday and Thursday), so people who need to travel other days pay a moto about $6 for a ride. However, we have a small car that we'll be using to go back and forth.

Returning to Rwanda

2009-12-12T06:35:00.000-08:00

On December 3rd I left the Northwest, but instead of heading straight to Rwanda, I made a stop in Minnesota to visit some friends. First I was able to spend two and a half days with the Bennetts. I had taught Megan and Mellissa at the missionary school in Rwanda and it was great to see them and their family while they're home on furlough. I was able to help Barb with a Rwandan dinner at their church, help out in Megan's 5th grade classroom, hang out with the girls while Garry and Barb went out, and build a snowman in the beautiful snow.

Then I went to visit a good friend in Minneapolis. Aimee and I have been friends since highschool. We both went to George Fox and I was able to stay with her in Seattle before I left for my first term in Rwanda in 2006. While I was in Rwanda, she married Jeremy and they moved to Minnesota where he is from. It was fun catching up, seeing the chickens they raise in their back yard, getting a tour of their house which they are remodeling, and hanging out with Aimee at a craft sale.

On December 7th I left the states to return to Rwanda. After 24 hours of flights and layovers, I arrived at the Kigali International Airport and was greeted by the Thomases, the Carpenters, Molly and Liz. It was great to return to 78 degree weather, my old house, and new, more comfortable living room furniture. The last few days have been busy with learning Kinyarwanda, helping Molly and Liz out at the school while Johnny and Drew are in Kenya, running errands and having meetings. Next week Dave, Brad and I will be going to Kidaho and Butaro to visit with the school headmasters and the area administrator. I'm looking forward to moving to the Ruhengeri area, probably in January, and getting started with teaching English.

It's Thanksgiving Time!

2009-11-23T14:47:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is this Thursday and I'm looking forward to spending time with my family at my grandparent's house in Talent, Oregon. The recent tradition has been for my brother Eric and I to drive from Idaho to Talent on Wednesday and spend the weekend with my mom's parents. Sometimes other family members will join us, but this year will be especially memorable. Not only is it my first Thanksgiving with my grandparents in three years, my younger brother and sister will also be there for the whole weekend and my parents will be able to join us for a couple of days in between scheduled work. Also, I have many things to be thankful for. Here are just a few:

*All of the people I've been able to reconnect with while on furlough (and people who have let me sleep on their floor or in their spare room while I've traveled)
*Great training time in Colorado
*Wonderful co-workers (Denhams, Thomases, Carpenters, Molly, Liz, Drew and Johnny)
*Supportive friends and family
*Being able to buy my plane ticket to Rwanda for the 7th of Dec.
*EFM Board meetings in Canby, Oregon, accompanied by very good food
*A brother who's willing to take on the responsibility of my house and all the details of selling it now that he's moving to Oregon
*Fun games with my sister, although she should know that it's only polite to let your older sister who you haven't seen in a long time win
*Watching movies with Donald who always asked, "So what did you think of that movie? Did you enjoy it?"
*Eric's cooking
*Skype, e-mail and Facebook which allow me to stay connected to folks in Rwanda as well as those here in the states
*The warm weather that I'll find in Rwanda
*Friends who live in Minnesota giving me a reason to stop there on my way back to Rwanda in December
*Stopping in at the Yearly Meeting office just in time to be invited to their monthly staff lunch

October Newsletter

2009-10-26T07:56:00.000-07:00

BECOMING LIKE CHRIST
In Philippians 3:10 - 11 Paul writes, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” The first part of this verse sounds pretty nice. Who wouldn’t want to know the power of resurrection? All of us want to have life and be able to live it to the full. None of us want the spiritual and often physical and mental death that are associated with sin. But what about that second part? Do we really want to fellowship with Jesus in his suffering? Do we really want to become like him by dying to ourselves? That sounds a little too painful. Shouldn’t life with Christ be filled with joy, health, love, etc.?

It would be nice to think that the resurrection God offers us is as easy a transaction as accepting a gift at Christmas time. But the truth is that true resurrection cannot take place until a true death has occurred. And how can a true death occur except through sorrow and suffering? It is one of the paradoxes of life that true growth, joy, love, good character, wisdom, etc. can only come through trials, difficulties and pain. Dying to self is not easy, but through it we are able to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.

Living in Rwanda has not always been the easiest thing for me. However, I’m convinced that God is using even the difficult and painful things in order to bring me to a place where I can know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing with him in his suffering. May He do the same for you.

SUPPORT UPDATE

I am now 50% supported. This means that I still need to raise a little more than $1,000/month in pledges. I must be 100% supported before I can buy my plane ticket. I'm hoping to arrive in Rwanda by the end of November so that I can have time to get organized before school starts in January. If you would like to become one of my financial supporters please e-mail Laurie in the EFM office.

Five Weeks in Colorado

2009-10-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

From September 14th to October 16th I was in Monument, Colorado at Mission Training International. For the first three weeks I was with 41 other missionaries from 19 different agencies, going to 21 different countries. SPLICE (spiritual, personal, lifestyles, interpersonal, cultural, endurance/enjoyment) is a program that gives new missionaries information and skills needed for working in a new culture. We learned about the "twangs" of expectations, conflict styles, coping with stress, and many other issues. Here is a picture of some of the participants crossing the "transition" bridge. That represents the "settledness" of one's own culture transitioning to the chaos of entering another culture and then transitioning again into a "settledness" in the new culture.

On the weekends we were able to go to the Garden of the Gods and to Pike's Peak. It was great to have Matt and Gayle Denham there. We were able to get to know each other and to discuss some of the details of teaching English in Rwanda.

During the last two weeks we went through the PILAT (program in language acquisition techniques) training. We learned great methods for learning and/or teaching language and we learned to hear and make sounds that our outside of the regular 44 heard in English. What I learned in PILAT will be helpful both as I teach English and as I learn Kinyarwanda.

Visiting the Redwoods

2009-09-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

In August I was able to take a week-long vacation with my friend Tami Burton to see the Redwoods in Northern California. We borrowed a tent from her cousin and camped out in Kalamath. On the way there we stopped at Peterson's Rock Garden, a volcano interpretive center and the Vortex.

On Tuesday, we arrived at the campground after dark. It was a little difficult to put the tent up, seeing as neither of us had ever done such a thing before, but after an hour we had it all together.

The next day we went to the nearby Ocean World. We got to pet star fish, watch the fish in the huge aquarium, see a baby seal in training and enjoy the sea lions' tricks. The highlight, though, was petting the sharks.

On Thursday we took the scenic tour down the Boulevard of the Giants. We enjoyed hiking around and taking lots of pictures. We wanted to visit a replica of Hobbits Town, but unfortunately it was closed with "No Trespassing" signs all over.

Friday we went to the Trees of Mystery. It was fun seeing the lightning shaped trees, enjoying the music at the cathedral trees where many weddings are performed annually, and riding the gondola over the forest. (At least I enjoyed that part, Tami got a little sick.)

On Saturday, we drove to Talent, Oregon, where my grandparents live. It was fun spending time with them and beating my grandpa at dominoes and cards. After speaking at Talent Friends Sunday morning and enjoying a potluck with the church, Tami and I drove to Newberg so that I could meet the next day with the rest of the Rwanda English teachers. It was a great vacation, but over too quickly.

Itinerary for While I'm in the States

2009-08-03T15:47:00.000-07:00

July 17 - Arrive in Kansas
July 19 - Speak at North Ridge Friends Church in Wichita
July 22 - Arrive in Seattle, Washington
July 26 - Speak at Hillsboro Friends Church in Hillsboro, Oregon
July 26 - July 31 - Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends Churches at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon
Aug. 2 - Speak at East Hill Friends Church in Kent, Washington
Aug. 4 - Meeting in Newberg with Team Rwanda
Aug. 9 - Speak at River of Life Friends Church in Post Falls, Idaho
Aug. 10 - 15 - Trip to Redwoods in California with Tami
Aug. 16 - Speak at Talent Friends Church in Talent, Oregon
Aug. 23 - Speak at Boise Friends Church in Boise, Idaho
Aug. 30 - Speak at Melba Friends Church in Melba, Idaho
Sept. 6 - Speak at Greenleaf Friends Church in Greenleaf, Idaho
Sept. 13 - Speak Speak at Meridian Friends Church in Meridian, Idaho
Sept. 14 - Oct. 2 - Attend Splice Training in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Sept. 20 - Attend Denver First Friends and share with Sunday School classes
Oct. 4 - Speak at Northwes Friends Church in Denver, Colorado
Oct. 5 - 16 - Pilate training in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Oct. 11 - Speak at Colorado Springs Friends Church
Oct. 18 - Speak at Whitney Friends Church (still to be confirmed) in Boise, Idaho
Oct. 25 - Speak at Star Community Friends Church in Star, Idaho
Nov. 1 - Speak at Homedale Friends Church (still to be confirmed) in Homedale, Idaho
Nov. 5-7 - EFM board meetings in Canby, Oregon
Nov. 8 - Speak at West Chehalem Friends Church in Newberg, Oregon
Nov. 10 - Meet with FWMF group in Newberg

July Newsletter

2009-08-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

Almost Finished But Just Beginning

This is my last newsletter from Rwanda as a teacher at African Jungle Christian School House. School officially ended on June 26th, but unofficially I’m still sorting books and trying to get things organized for the new teachers. Molly Black arrived on the July 12th, so we have an overlap of four days during which time I will try to tell her everything she needs to know in order to prepare for the upcoming school year. Liz Wine, the other teacher, will be arriving mid-August and school will begin the first week of September. They’ll have a lot to do in order to be ready for the 15 students that will be attending the school next year.

On July 16th I will be returning to the states, but not for long. I’ve applied and been accepted to return to Rwanda to help teach English to the Rwandan Friends schools teachers. I’ll be joined by four to six other English teachers, all from Northwest Yearly Meeting. This means that there will be up to eight new Rwanda field members this fall. The board recognizes that this could put a tremendous strain on missionaries already on the field, so part of my job description will be to lift as much of that burden off of the shoulders of Dave, Debby and Brad as possible. They would like me to be back in Rwanda by mid-November so that I can take care of as many details as possible before teaching English starts in January. However, before I return I must raise support for the next two years.

My (hopefully) four months in the states will be full with visiting friends, family, and churches; doing training, etc.

Northwest Yearly Meeting

2009-08-03T15:09:00.001-07:00

I was able to spend several days with my parents in the Kent, Washington area before heading off to Yearly Meeting on July 26. In the morning I spoke at Hillsboro Friends Church before going to the George Fox Campus where Yearly Meeting is held.

It was so good to see so many old friends and to reconnect with people all across the yearly meeting. During my time in Rwanda, I always felt the most homesick during the week of Yearly Meeting because I knew that I was missing out on time with my extended church family. The yearly meeting week is now a day and a half shorter and culminates with a celebration banquet, but other than that not much had changed since I last attended in 2006

This year it felt as if my whole family was there. My parents, two of my brothers, my sister, my grandmother, many cousins, and two uncles and aunts attended. I stayed in La Shauna, a brand new dorm that was just beginning to be constructed when I left for Rwanda. The temperature rose above 100 degrees several days, which made sleeping a bit uncomfortable, but luckily the meeting rooms were all air conditioned.

On Sunday night I was able to meet all of the other Team Rwanda English teachers at the Outreach Celebration. We also participated in the EFM workshop Tuesday afternoon and were commissioned by the Yearly Meeting during the celebration banquet on Thursday. I'm really looking forward to working with these people in Rwanda. The team includes Matt and Gayle Denham, Paul and Miriam Bock, Johnny Kaye, and Drew Miller.

Visiting in Kansas

2009-08-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Wichita Kansas on Friday July 17th. I spent four days there with Michelle Carpenter. During that time I was able to meet with Liz Wine and share with her about the school and the students in Rwanda. I also had the opportunity of attending North Ridge Friends church on Sunday and sharing with them about my work in Rwanda and what I'll be doing when I return there at the end of the year. The rest of the time was spent working on my on line classes, meeting people, enjoying lunch in the Amish town of Yoder, eating ice cream and Donita Carpenter's home-cooked meals, and going to my first big-screen movie in many months.

June

2009-07-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

Spirit Week
This year the Sagers suggested that we have a spirit week at school. I divided the students into three teams and they participated in various competitions such as six-legged relays, carrying eggs in spoons, team posters and verse presentations. Each day students dressed up according to various themes:
Monday-- crazy hair day, Tuesday -- accessory day, Wednesday -- twin day,
Thursday --crazy shoe day, Friday --wear your parents' clothes day.

Final School Performance
On Friday June 5th we did our final performance of the school year. Students sang, did skits, played instruments, read stories and recited verses. We had a good sized audience including several new families that will join our school next year. Afterwards we enjoyed an amazing potluck dinner.

School Remodeling
In preparation for the new students next year, the parents decided to remodel the school's garage into a second classroom. This meant that the last two weeks of school were a bit chaotic. Workers came in and painted everything, laid tile in the garage and installed better lighting. We also ordered new desks and chairs and had tables built into two of our smaller rooms in order to make the rooms more usable. I think it will be very nice for next year's teachers and students, but it's been a bit hard to have school in the middle of a work zone.

Bennetts Leave and Brad and Chelsea Arrive
On June 16th the Bennetts left for furlough. They'll be spending some time in Japan before heading back to Minnesota. On the same day Brad and Chelsea Carpenter arrived after almost a year long furlough. Michelle Carpenter, my former teaching partner, also arrived for a short visit. One of Brad's Rwandan friends arranged for them to be greeted by a Rwandan dance troop. It was great fun watching the dances, drinking sodas and catching up.

Agricultural Fair
On Thursday June 25th, we spent the afternoon at the Kigali Agricultural Fair. There were booths showcasing seeds, bottled juices and traditional medicines. There were business that sell seeds, cheese and silkworm start up kits. There were mini coffee roasters, tea processors, and bikes that carried milk canisters. There were specially bred cows, goats and chickens. And there were lots of people and lots of sun and not too much shade.

Last Day of School
June 26th was the last day of school. I was sad to say goodbye to my students. It's odd to think that next year they will no longer be my responsibility. Now I'm just faced with the task of trying to get everything organized and in place for Liz and Molly, the new teachers.

May

2009-06-21T03:57:00.000-07:00

SHEPHERD LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
Dave Thomas helped to organize the second annual Shepherd Leadership Conference for the first week in June. He also spoke for one of the sessions. One exciting development occurred on Thursday of the conference -- the first ever Rwandan missionary sending agency was formed.

COFFEE WASHING STATION
On the 18th we were able to take our last field trip of the school year to a coffee washing station. Students learned how coffee beans are washed sorted and sun dried before being sent to the coffee roaster.

NEW STUDENTS
After our field trip we looked at the list of students who were asking to join our school next year. We had the potential for 21 students, but decided that that would be too many. We ended up with 15 students for next year: seven 7th graders, two 5th graders, one 4th grader, one 3rd grader, and four 1st and 2nd graders. In order to provide enough room for so many students we also approved remodeling the garage of the school into another classroom.

GARAGE SALE
The Bennetts, one of the school families, leave for furlough in June. In order to prepare, they were cleaning out their garage and the accumulated stuff of the past 10 or so years. Barb Bennett decided to hold a garage sale and invited other missionaries to come and sell any of their excess stuff. I cleaned out old books from the school library and some of my students made treats to sell to customers. Unfortunately, I ended up buying more things than I sold, but most of it was books and supplies for school.

CHOIR CONCERT
The last Saturday and Sunday of the month were taken up by choir. On Saturday we met in the morning and Karamera, the local Friends Church pastor, spoke to us. In the afternoon we had a concert along with the other two church choir. On Sunday afternoon there was another concert with two other visiting choirs. I enjoyed the time with the choir, but two concerts in two days with lots of preaching in Kinyarwanda made for a long weekend.

April

2009-06-21T03:30:00.000-07:00

April was a busy month. On the 4th I had my third birthday in Rwanda and throughout the month we celebrated five or six other student or parent birthdays. On the 7th we returned to school after spring break and three students were added to my class, the Sagers home from furlough. On the 9th Michael and Melissa headed back to Oregon having completed three months in Rwanda.

On the last Monday of the month the school took a field trip to Gako Farms. This farm is a training center for new farming and livestock raising methods. We saw kitchen gardens, bag gardens, and planting, fertilizing and mulching techniques. We visited the animal barns and cages and saw the baby bunnies, cows and piglets. It was a great field trip and afterwards we enjoyed a picnic lunch at the Sager's house.

March

2009-06-21T03:17:00.000-07:00

At the end of March I was able to travel to Bukavu, Congo. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera with me, so I have no pictures of the trip. Bukavu is a sprawling town on the southern shores of Lake Kivu. I stayed in a hotel that had a partial view of the lake and at night you could see the lights of the fishing boats.

While I was there, I visitted the family of one of my friends, Alphonse. They fed me lots of fish, potatoes and ubugali (a kind of pasty dough made from casava that looks like mashed potatoes, but is rather tasteless on its own). They talked to me in their limitted English and in Swahili with lots of signs. Alphonse's mother and aunt did some traditional Congolese dancing for me which is very different than Rwandan dancing. For one thing it uses the hips a lot more and the arms less; the ryhthms are also different.

I was only in Bukavu for two days, but during that time I could see that the town seemed to be somewhat poorer and less well kept up than Cyangugu on the Rwandan side of the border. However, the people that I met were friendly and welcoming and I enjoyed my time there.

February

2009-02-17T08:10:00.000-08:00

From February 7 to 14 we had school at Kumbya, a Missionary owned piece of land near Lake Kivu. We decided to have a sort of outdoor school where students learned skills such as fire building, bird identification, sailing, shelter building, map reading, self-defense and more. Luckily I didn't have to teach all of the lessons. Various parents volunteered to teach different lessons in which they had expertise. Dave Thomas was a boy scout in his youth so he helped with survival skills, Barb Bennett has a black belt in Tai Kwon Do and helped with self-defense and Corline Pomeroy has been a sailing instructor and helped teach the children some basics about sailing.

Students were split into two teams: girls vs. boys and we invited two boys who live near Kumbya (their dad is a doctor at the Kibogora Free Methodist hospital) to join us in order to make the teams even. We had various competitions throughout the week including treading water, building shelters, sighting birds, skits, and more.

We went to Kumbya because several of the parents are involved in a project to transform Kumbya into an Eco Tourist destination and a group from EMI (Engineering Ministries International) had come to survey the land and draw up blue prints for the proposed buildings. This meant that students also got to learn how to survey land and test water, and they were able to interview the engineers and graphic designer about their jobs and see them at work.

Toward the end of February we also had our annual Valentine's Dinner for parents. During the dinner students entertained with singing, instruments and poetry reading. Afterwards we had a round of "The Newlywed Game" and Michael and Melissa Chapman emerged as the winners.

January

2009-01-16T05:27:00.000-08:00

Over Christmas break one of my friends paid for me to return home and surprise my family. It was great to show up unannounced and see the surprise on my mother's face. I spent one week with my parents near Kent, Washington, another week with my brother, sister and friends in Idaho, and the last few days in Newberg, Oregon. During that time I was able to attend church at both Melba and North Valley Friends Churches, celebrate New Years at the White's house in Idaho, join in an extended family celebration at West Chehalem and do plenty of shopping and activities with friends.

I arrived back in Rwanda on January 8, four days before school started. I returned to an empty house, but it wasn't empty for long. Melissa Smith, a one-year missionary with Africa Inland Mission, moved in at the end of January and Michael and Melissa Chapman also arrived for a three month stay. Melissa is a teacher by profession, so she helped me teach at the school in the mornings and in the evenings taught English for teachers of the local Friend's secondary school. Micheal interned with Debby and helped to do a lot of the work for the start up of Ubuzima Moringa, Debby's new business that she hopes will get moringa powder into the hands of those who need it most.

Building the wall

2008-12-21T05:23:00.001-08:00

For the last month or so this is what my driveway has looked like -- full of cement blocks drying in the sun. Because of new government regulations, we can no longer have our green fence that separated us from the road. Instead we've had to build a wall. At first the officials were just going to come and cut down our fence along the main road, but Dave convinced them to give us a couple of weeks to build a wall. Once that was done, they came and told us that we also had to get rid of the green fence next to the dirt road on the other side of the school. So all the workers came back and started making more bricks for the second wall. This work means piles of dirt and rock outside the school gate and in my driveway, lots of workers digging, carrying, building, etc, and more noise outside during the school day. This last week it rained during our PE time. Not only did we end up playing a type of tag game inside, we also had an audience of about 15 workers who were taking shelter on the school porch. I couldn't understand everything they said, but they sure seemed to find our game amusing. I'm glad that by the time we return from Christmas Break the wall will be finished.

Thanksgiving and Christmas Programs

2008-12-21T04:08:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving all of the students cut out pictures of things they were thankful for and put them together into one of the letters of the word "thankful". Then each one wrote a short paragraph about what they were thankful for. We presented this collage along with Thanksgiving stories and memory verses for parents' day. One of my students who has struggled with stage fright was finally able to read his whole story in front of an audience without breaking down in tears. I'm very grateful for such wonderful students and supportive parents. The next day, Thursday, we all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving feast at the Bennett's house. Included in the meal were three turkeys they'd raised themselves, (close to) pumpkin pie, cheese cake, mashed potatoes, and just about all the possible trimmings that you would have in the states. The only thing I missed were the black olives; you can't get those here.

Usually the Christmas program has been Michelle's responsibility. Without her here, I wasn't sure what I would do, but then one of the parents, Barb Bennett, volunteered to teach music and organize the program. She's done an amazing job teaching Megan and Gwen guitar, Alandra recorder, Aren soprano sax, and Melissa and Hugh trumpet. She is also an accomplished voice teacher and the students sang three great songs with solos by several of the students. Unfortunately Hugh had already headed to the UK with his parents for Christmas break so he is pictured here. The next evening we gathered with many other ex-pats for a caroling time and sharing of Christmas goodies. Altogether it was a great way to end the school year and begin the Christmas break.

Another Field Trip

2008-11-21T05:53:00.000-08:00

Last week we went on our second field trip of the year to see a fairly new Rwandan business that makes various kinds of flours. Debby had noticed their product on a local supermarket's shelves and thought that it might be helpful to see how they processed their flours as she might be able to learn from their process for her moringa business. We decided that it would also make a great field trip for the school. We drove to the facility about an hour and a half outside of Kigali. We were able to see the casava trees where they harvest the leaves for a flour popular here in Rwanda.

Then we went to the area where they plucked and ground the leaves.

We followed the process as the leaves were dried and packaged.

The owner of the business was very friendly and informative. It was great to hear about how his business had evolved and how he had invented many of the machines used by the workers. Afterwards he and his wife treated us to some fantas, goat shishkabobs, and a type of donut that is popular here. They also sent us home with samples of three types of flours that they make at their facilities.

Ministry Philosophy

2008-11-03T06:35:00.000-08:00

In my newsletter I took a short excerpt from this paper. For those of you who are interested, here is the complete version:

First of all, what is ministry? Is it preaching, counseling, singing, teaching? It can be all these things and more. And yet, it’s possible to preach without ministering; it’s possible to sing without ministering; and it’s possible to minister without doing any of these things. So what is ministry? In 2 Corinthians 3:18 – 4:1 Paul says that our ministry is to be reflections of God in the world: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” Later, in 2 Corinthians 5: 18-20 Paul says that we also have the ministry of reconciliation: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” This passage seems to point out that ministry is not only for pastors, church elders or those considered leaders in the church. It is not just for Sunday school teachers, choir members or those who have been trained at Bible colleges or gone to seminary. Ministry is for everyone who goes by the name of Christian. It is a part of living in relationship with God. If we are truly being indwelt and transformed by the Holy Spirit, then we can not help reflecting God’s glory and, in the process, calling others to reconciliation with God.

The first focus of ministry must be on our own relationship with God. It becomes obvious that ministry is not something that we can do in our own strength and power. Just as the moon can not shine on its own without the sun, we can not reflect God’s glory through our own efforts at righteousness or ministry. In ministry, our focus is not to be on making other people right with God, but rather in positioning ourselves in such a way that God can shine on us and that his glory can then spill over into other’s lives. It is not a matter of coming up with the right words, but a matter of allowing God to speak through us. It is not a matter of cleansing ourselves so that God can use us, it is a matter of allowing him to transform us as he will. We must allow God to work in us before we can expect him to work through us. We must be reconciled with God and experience an authentic relationship with Him before we are able to encourage others to be reconciled with God and to be in relationship with Him. It is only by allowing God to work through us that people can catch even a glimpse of who God truly is and who he wants to be in their lives. We must love God with all that we are before we love our neighbors as ourselves; for if we do not know God, how can we reflect his glory or help others to know Him? Prayer, knowledge of scripture, and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us is more important than having “work” to do. Ministry is not something we do only on Sundays, during counseling sessions, or through preaching and teaching. It is a way of life that is rooted in Christ Jesus. As Jesus says in John 15: 4 – 5: “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

The second focus of ministry must be on telling others what we have learned of God. We are not to be silent. If we hide our light under a bushel, it is more than likely that the flame will go out. If we do not share God’s glory with others, its light may well flicker and die in our own lives. Giving testimony to God’s transforming power not only makes it more real to us and others, it also encourages us to continue walking in faith. If we have walked with God through our own sorrows and hardships, if we have seen his transforming power in our own lives, if we have heard his voice and learned to trust it; then we have something to offer to others who are in sorrow, are in need of cleansing, or are in search of direction. From the reality of our own experiences, we can speak into other’s lives and become true ministers of reconciliation between them and God.

So what is the purpose of ministry? If we are followers of Christ then our purpose must be the same as his. At the beginning of his ministry he stood in the synagogue and read these words from Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4: 18-19) In John 10:10 Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” From Jesus’ words it appears that the purpose of our ministry is to preach good news -- the good news of reconciliation to God and new life in him. It is to proclaim freedom -- both from the spiritual enslavement of sin and from physical enslavement to human masters. It is to give sight to the spiritually blind that they may see the truth and no longer be blinded by Satan, the father of lies. It is to release the oppressed from their unnecessary guilt, their spiritual and physical poverty, injustice, etc. It is to proclaim the Lord’s favor -- to let people know that he is not an angry, vengeful god, but that he is ready to accept them into his family as brothers and sisters with Christ. In short, the purpose of our ministry is to help others to live life to the full, to bring them out of the darkness of spiritual death and into the radiance of Christ Jesus our Lord.

But one might ask, how is this ministry accomplished? What must I do to minister to others? In one sense the answer to this question is very easy – you must do whatever the Lord asks of you. But at the same time this presents another difficulty – how do I know what he asks? It is easy to look at what someone else is doing and to see our ministry as lacking in comparison or to feel inadequate for the task of ministry (especially the up-front styles such as preaching and teaching). However, there are as many ways of ministering as there are people. God uses our unique gifts, experiences, cultures, abilities, strengths and weaknesses. The ministry he has for each of us is one that only we may do. Sometimes it may look similar to what other people are doing, but because we are each unique members of the body of Christ, our ministries will be uniquely fitted to each of us. One might preach, another teach, another serve, another give money, another pray. But that’s just on Monday. On Tuesday God may ask each one to minister in completely different ways based on the people they are interacting with and the situations they are in. This is why it is so important to maintain our relationship with God through prayer, fasting, reading of scripture, worship and other spiritual disciplines. We must learn to hear his voice, sense his direction, and allow him to work through us if we are to be effective ministers in the situations he has placed us in.

Finally, ministry comes out of weakness. According to Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, Christ’s power is made perfect in our weakness. Other people must know that without God we are nothing. It is only because of His grace and His spirit that we are able to be of any help to others. Spiritual pride (or any form of pride for that matter) has no place in ministry. We do not preach ourselves, but Christ crucified. We do not minister so that our greatness and righteousness can be seen, but so that God’s glory might shine forth. Ministry is a continually humbling experience as we realize over and over again that we have nothing to offer, only God can fill the needs that others have.

Field Trip to Gahini

2008-11-01T10:43:00.001-07:00

This month the school took its first field trip of the school year. We went to visit a hospital in Gahini that specializes in prosthetics for those with weakened or missing limbs and in physical and occupational therapy. Most of the patients that we saw were children, many of whom had cerebral palsy or were recovering from surgery. After having a tour of the facilities and meeting staff and patients, our students gave a mini-concert in which they sang some songs in Kinyarwanda and played instruments. (Barb, one of the parents, has been coming in once a week to teach music. Along with teaching instruments, hand bells, and sight reading music, she has been preparing the kids for this mini-concert in Kinyarwanda. I'm so glad that I have her to take Michelle's place in teaching music.) Afterwards the patients and staff sang and danced for us before we headed over to Vim and Berta's house for lunch on the lawn. Vim is a surgeon and he and Berta (who are from South Africa) and have been at the hospital for many years. All in all, it was a very successful field trip.

Youth Group

2008-11-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

On the last Friday of every month we have what is called TCK night. TCK stands for Third Culture Kid. All ex-pat kids in Kigali from 7th to 12th grade are invited to attend. It's kind of like a youth group, but instead of being sponsored by a church, it is sponsored by a group of missionaries who see the importance of making a place for these kids to gather in order that they might form deeper friendships and see what God might have to say to them in the very different context they are living in. These youth come from a variety of places: USA, Canada, South Africa and Belgium, just to name a few. However, they all have the common experience of living in a culture that they don't quite fit into while at the same time not quite fitting into their country of origin's culture either.

TCK night is a mixture of games, food, and devotional time. There are usually around 25 kids in attendance and 5-7 adults who help out. It was begun by Kent Smith, a parent of students in the school where I teach. Since I arrived in Rwanda I've been able to help organize and lead the monthly TCK nights. It's been great to get to know some of the many TCK's in Kigali.

My First Rwandan Wedding

2008-10-11T22:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to my first full Rwandan wedding. Augustin, who was Brad's language helper and who is part of my choir, was getting married. He invited me to come along to all of the ceremonies as the choir's representative. I arrived at his house a little after 7:00 in the morning. Two other ladies who were part of the wedding party helped me to dress in the skirt and sash that are traditionally worn at occasions like this.

By 8:00 most of the grooms wedding party had arrived. It consisted of his four grooms men, best man, family members, church leaders and various other people. I think that we filled four or five cars. We drove to the bride's house where she joined the groom in his car. Then we proceeded to the local government office for the civil ceremony. This lasted for about an hour and ended with both the bride and groom reading vows while the held the Rwandan flag.

Then it was back to the bride's house for the traditional ceremony. This necessitated a change of clothes. As we waited for the bride and her attendants the grooms family presented their gifts, (including the traditional hoe) the bride's family offered everyone drinks, and the old men representing the two families made appropriate comments. Finally the bride was ready. She was proceeded by drummers, singers and dancers. The groom had a brief interaction with her male relatives and when they accepted him, the bride place a head band of beads and fake hair on his head. They came and greeted both families and then they were seated in a small pavilion with their attendants. More singing, dancing and talking ensued,a and the ceremony ended at around 1:30. I realized that we were bound to be late for the church ceremony that had been announced for 2:00. We still had an hour drive ahead of us back to Kagarama Friends Church, plus the bride and groom had to change again for the church ceremony.

The church ceremony ended up beginning a little after 3:00. There was singing by my choir and by the choir of the bride's church. There was a sermon and then exchanging of vows and rings. Finally, all of the pastors present came and prayed for the couple. It seemed somewhat similar to an American wedding except that the bride and groom were seated for most of the time, instead of kissing when pronounced man and wife they simply hugged and shook hands, and there was an offering time when the bride and groom held baskets and people came and put money in them.

The church wedding ended around 5:00 and by 5:30 people were getting ready to go on to the reception held in the hall of a Catholic church in town. We arrived at the hall by 6:00 but it was another 30-45 minutes before the wedding party arrived as they took a detour for photographs. There was another giving of fantas (otherwise known as soda pop), more bantering between the families' representatives, cutting of cake, and finally the giving of presents as people formed a line and delivered gifts to the bride and groom, sometimes pausing to make a comment.

There was still one more ceremony left, but by this time it was 8:30 and I decided to go home instead of participating in it. However, I am told that after the reception everyone goes to the new couple's house and the bride's family brings food, pots, pans, blankets, etc. Kind of like a big house warming. I was told that this ceremony can go on into the early hours of the next morning and yet the couple will still be at church on Sunday morning (weddings are almost always on Saturdays), even if they are a little late.

First Day of School 2008-9 School Year

2008-09-16T23:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our first day of school. It felt a bit empty with only five students and one teacher, but it was still a good day. We spent the morning going over schedules and expectations. Then we covered history, math, language and Bible before lunch. After lunch we had time for French and typing on the computers, some more math, writing and art. Here are some pictures of students working on decorating their art folders. The last 20 minutes of the day we celebrated Aren's birthday with brownies and home made peanut butter ice cream. A pretty perfect ending to a pretty perfect day.

Kumbya 2008

2008-08-27T03:00:00.000-07:00

From July 26 to August 3, I was able to attend the annual missionary conference held at Kumbya on the beautiful Lake Kivu. Missionaries from Uganda, Burundi, Congo and Rwanda attend. This year there were about 150 participants. A team from Rosedrive Friends Church in California came to be a part of the conference. Greg Pricket was one of the speakers while the 7 college age students directed the Jr.High and High School meetings during the week. We also had a Rwandan speaker, Antoine Rutaseri, who spoke about God's heart for the region. It was an amazing week of fellowship, fun, learning and more. Pictures are of 2 Rosedrive team members making breakfast. Rosedrive leaders Greg and Mike in the Friends cabin, speaker Antoine, and Philip and the girls doing a skit for skit night.

Youth Conference in Kamembe

2008-08-05T23:40:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, July 23, Philip and I got on a bus with six other youth from our area to attend a youth conference in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. Each day a different leader spoke. The afternoon we arrived Nicodem, the pastor of the local church, spoke about the history of the Friends Church. He started with the early church and gave a brief overview of general church history also. It was a lot to cover, but he did it in less than 3 hours. Here's a picture of Philip next to some of Nicodems notes for the lesson.

On Thursday, Chrisostom spoke about trauma and how it impacts people emotionally, spiritually and physically. Then we broke out into small groups to discuss how trauma affects the church and what the church should be doing to help it's members heal from trauma. Here's a picture of Nicodem (on the left) and Chrisostom (on the right).

In the afternoon groups of four or five people went out to invite people in the neighborhood to the youth rally on Saturday and Sunday, and some groups who had people trained in EE (Evangelism Explosion) went to Evangelize in various homes. Philip went with one of the EE groups and they were able to share the gospel with three women, two of whom were Muslims. All three accepted Christ and committed to coming to the rally on Saturday and Sunday.

On Friday we heard from the leader of the Friends Peace House in Kigali. He spoke about the Quaker testimony of peace and how that is lived out in the church here in Rwanda. He also had a question and answer time for the youth, both about peace issues and the church in general.

Philip and I had hoped to stay until Saturday; however, because of a community work day Saturday morning no buses would be traveling. This meant that we had to leave Friday night in order to get to Kumbya where a missionary conference would begin Saturday.

Traveling with the Choir

2008-07-22T01:07:00.000-07:00

At the end of March I was officially welcomed into the choir. Now I get to sing every Sunday morning and attend the all-night prayer meetings the last Saturday of every month. I still don't know all of the songs, but I'm pretty good at the dancing.

Last week the choir began preparing for its trip to Ruhengeri. We were invited to participate in the 20^th anniversary celebration at the Friends’ school there. Each day we practiced for about two hours and on Wednesday there was an all-day and all-night prayer meeting. We started at 9:00 AM Wednesday, took a 3 hour break in the late afternoon, and then continued until 5:00 AM Thursday morning. It would be hard enough for me to stay awake in such a long meeting conducted in English, but as this one was in Kinyarwanda and I ended up falling asleep several times before it was over. However, the loud synthesizer music, praying, and dancing helped to wake me up.

We left for Ruhengeri early Saturday morning. The choir assembled at the church by 7:00 AM and then we walked down to the center where the van taxis assemble. From there we took two busses to the city center where we purchased our tickets to Ruhengeri. The trip took a little more than 2 ½ hours. I was very relieved to find a near bye toilet when we finally arrived in Ruhengeri town -- there are no restroom breaks when using public transportation here. In Ruhengeri we found three taxi vans to take us the rest of the way to the Friends’ school. There were about 57 people in the group; this meant that we were cramming 19-20 people into vans made for 15. Luckily, we didn’t have too much luggage as people here pack light for trips. I had the most with my full backpack, blanket, and pillow.

We finally arrived at the school at 2:30 -- just in time for introductions and lunch. Following lunch we had a break to set up our beds and rest a little. All of the girls stayed in the dormitory as most of the students had gone home on vacation. The dormitory is made up of two large rooms full of wooden bunk-beds. There were no electric lights in the room we stayed in, but there were huge glassless windows with wooden shutters that let in light during the day. Unfortunately they also let in cold air at night. Because Ruhengeri is at a higher elevation and near the volcanoes it got very cold at night and even rained several times while we were there. The rest of the evening was taken up by a concert (several choirs singing) and preaching. I went to bed around 8:30, but everyone else stayed up for dinner and fellowship.

On Sunday I was awakened at 6:00 AM by the other girls getting ready for the day. Even though most of them hadn’t gone to sleep much before midnight, they were awake early. They thoughtfully sent someone to get hot water for me so that I could wash. The wash rooms were made up of concrete floors and walls, but no roof. They did have a wooden door for privacy, though. One of the girls helped me wash my hair. Her name was Alice and she spoke the best English of any of the girls there. She took me under her wing for the weekend and made sure I knew what was going on.

At 9:00 the festivities began. We had to meet outside because there were so many people. About 5 choirs were invited to sing and we all had our places to one side on backless benches crammed pretty close together. At the front was a covered area for the public officials, church leaders, and other important people in attendance (even the chief of police came). On the other two sides they brought out all the school desks for spectators to sit on. There must have been close to 1,000 people there. The ceremony lasted all day. Despite a little rain and some intense sunshine, choirs kept singing, dancers danced, preachers preached, and a history of the school, speeches and gifts were given. At 3:00 they fed everyone and gave us Fantas to drink, but it still wasn’t over. Finally, at 5:30, it drew to a close.

Afterwards our choir and a choir from a local university met together to sing, pray and dance. Next we were given an hour or so to go into town. I went with some of the choir members to a small restaurant owned by a church member. There we were given beet juice and enjoyed replays of the day on a small T.V. Back at the school we got ready for another concert in the evening. By 10:30 PM I was so tired that I had to go sleep. However, they thoughtfully woke me up at 11:30 for dinner and tea.

We woke up at 5:30 AM, Monday morning in order to be ready for the taxi at 6:30. The taxi vans came and picked us up at the school; however, our van had to get it’s tires changed and inflated, check it’s oil and get gas before we could actually leave Ruhingeri Town (and it did all of this with us still in it). Transportation sure is different here. We got back to Kigali around 10:30 AM and I spent most of the rest of the day sleeping.

Michelle and Brad Have Left Rwanda

2008-07-22T00:26:00.000-07:00

On July 10, 2008, a very sad event occurred: Brad a Michelle boarded a plane to head back to Kansas. Brad will be getting married in a month and he and his wife will return to Rwanda sometime next year. However, Michelle is ending her time teaching here and is going back to a job at a public school in Kansas. I will miss her immensely. I don't know how I would have survived the past two years without Michelle's support and encouragement. Teaching by myself in the coming school year is a daunting prospect. Please pray for another teacher to be approved and sent before next spring when families who will have been on furlough in the fall are coming back.

YCEW was here!

2008-07-21T22:59:00.000-07:00

The YCEW (youth challenged to expand their world view) from Northwest Yearly Meeting arrived during the last week of school. They spent that first week hanging out in Kigali, getting over jet lag, and visiting various sites of interest. They were able to attend choir practice with me on Wednesday and an all-night prayer meeting Saturday. They were also able to attend our final school performance and took excellent pictures for me. You can check out their blog at ycewrwanda2008.blogspot.com to get their views on the trip.

The second week they were here I was able to go with them to visit two Friends schools in the Northern Province. We spent the week visiting, eating, and playing soccer and volleyball with students. There were some very large spiders in our living quarters and hornets in the squatty potty, but they only contributed to the authentic African experience.

We spent one day visiting a school in Butaro which has about 500 students and is located in a beautiful area near a waterfall. They are currently working on expanding their boys dorm and getting more computers so that they can add an accounting major. The students were in the midst of exams, but we were introduced to them and Brad and one of the YCEW members shared testimonies with them. Then we had lunch with the staff, and a pastor in the area shared about how he had been a part of the Nyabingi cult before coming to know Christ. We ended the visit with a trip to the waterfall. There we saw the beginnings of the hydroelectric dam that will provide electricity to the area. Currently the school uses a large generator to provide power in the evenings, but it is very expensive to run.

The rest of the week we were at ESK, another Friends school. Most of the students there spoke some English and Drew (one of the YCEW members) practiced his French with many of them.

On Thursday we played volleyball, and some of the students thought the YCEW team was crazy to keep playing despite the rain. While it rained, several of the students wanted me to teach them English songs, so I wrote out a couple of hymns for them and we all sang together. Then they taught me some choruses that could be sung in Kinyarwanda, French, and Swahili.

Friday was a national holiday celebrating the day the RPF freed Kigali in '94. We went to a local celebration that included singing, speeches and some amazing dancers. We felt like celebrities the whole time as we were seated in the VIP section and both before and afterwards we were surrounded by people staring at us and children who wanted to shake our hands. In the evening we attended chapel. We were told it would only be about an hour, but with 5 choirs, some testimonies, some preaching and introductions of the whole team, it was at least 2 hours long.

Saturday morning we had a cultural discussion with some of the students about school, dating, family and personal space. Then in the afternoon we had a friendly soccer match at the local field. There were a lot of spectators who gathered to watch the white folk play and who were sure to laugh at the more obvious mistakes. Some seemed quite amazed to see girls play, which seemed a little strange since there were also some Rwandan girls from the school who were playing.

On Sunday we split up and went to four different churches. I went to a small church with Emily, Drew and Gabby. Our interpreter was a little difficult to understand, but we did our best to pay attention. There were many more children than adults in the church and they were very enthusiastic singers. Emily shared her testimony and we all greeted the church. That evening we returned to Kigali.

The last week of YCEW's stay I was mostly only able to spend evening times with them as we listened to Brad and the Thomases share about their calls to missions and debriefed their time here. I was sad to see them go on Saturday, but glad for the time I was able to spend with them.

Final Day of School

2008-07-21T22:35:00.001-07:00

On the last day of school we had our final show-and-tell. Hugh and Patrick surprised us by bringing school t-shirts for everyone. Then we enjoyed watching a movie together. For lunch, all of the older students who had made their project goals for the year went to lunch at a local oriental restaurant. Then we returned to the school to clean up and give final gifts.

Because this was Miss Michelle's last day she had prepared special gifts for each student. She gave each one a photo collage of themselves during the past two years, and she gave a devotional to each boy and a cross necklace to each girl. Then, amidst many tears, she told us how special the last two years have been for her and how she hopes that each student will understand the importance of keeping their relationship with Jesus a top priority.

Not only is Miss Michelle leaving us, but the Sagers and Smiths are going on furlough next year and Breanna will be attending RVA. School just won't be the same when it starts again in September. (Here's a picture of Michelle and the Sagers.)

Final School Performance

2008-07-21T21:52:00.001-07:00

On the last Thursday of school the students gave a performance for parents and guests. They had been working on songs and skits for several months, but during the days leading up to the performance we had practices almost every day. Michelle did a great job at teaching them some very difficult songs including "Mom Sense" (everything a mom would say in 24 hours), and "I Am"(a Christian Rap). Also, the girls sang "A Spoonful of Sugar," the boys sang "Heigh-Ho," and everyone sang "So Long, Farewell" at the end of the program. Students didn't just memorize the words to the songs; they also had to learn choreography for each one and find costumes. It was a lot of work, but they did a wonderful job. In addition to the songs there were two school skits, verse recitations, flute and recorder playing, and the giving of awards. Also, Michelle and I prepared a special skit for the enjoyment of the students. She was the hands and I was the body in "The Morning Routine" skit; it was great fun and the students loved it, especially the part where I tried to put on makeup.

July Newsletter

2008-07-17T00:54:00.000-07:00

MINISTRY IN RWANDA

Through teaching missionary children I have been able to be a small part of many of the things that God has been doing here in Rwanda. Here is just a small glimpse of the various ministries the people I serve are a part of here in Rwanda:

Henry Pomeroy is Country Director for Send a Cow. Send a Cow is a Christian NGO providing training and support in integrated cropping and livestock agriculture, together with the gift of an animal —usually a cow, goat or rabbits. Caroline teaches English at a vocational training school in a poor neighborhood of Kigali. She is also working for A Rocha, a Christian conservation organization, putting together resources on stewardship.

Gary Bennett works with an association of Grace churches helping them with church development. This involves starting new churches and encouraging existing ones to grow. He also works with New Creation Ministries which is training pastors and considering starting a University level degree program. He is the field treasurer and does a lot of administrative work. Barb is teaching English at New Creation Ministries and teaches music from time to time in several other schools and organizations around Kigali. She is hoping to start a kids’ Bible club in her yard as part of her Kinyarwanda study.

Kent and Michelle Smith are in Rwanda with the Assemblies of God mission. Kent has been helping with the administration of their Bible school and has been the liaison between the mission and folks back in the States. He has also began a Saturday soccer club for youth in Kigali where he is using the sports program to disciple both youth and coaches. He is hoping to get enough funding to open a full youth center in 2009.

Patrick and Valerie Finnerty are in Kigali doing church planting on behalf of the Vineyard church. They have a small congregation in which they are discipling leaders, evangelizing and doing some development work in the community.

Kelly and Laura Sager are here as strategy leaders sponsored by Southern Baptists. They work with all denominations in developing strategy for reaching Kigali for Christ. Some of their projects include leadership and discipleship training, teaching English, and bringing in volunteer teams to do prayer walking, medical care, and more.

Dave and Debby Thomas have been working to develop a new program called Discipleship for Development. It’s goal is to help transform communities through the presentation of the gospel in a way that affects all aspects of life —farming, relationships, sanitation, business, etc.

February Newsletter

2008-07-17T00:48:00.000-07:00

LEARNING TO TRUST

One of the things that I’ve noticed about being in Rwanda is that I have a lot more time. My days are still composed of only 24 hours, but somehow those hours don’t get quite as filled up as when I was in the states. This was nice at first, a break from the hectic schedule I used to maintain. But gradually I began to fill up the empty hours with lesson planning, tennis, meetings, book club, tutoring, etc.

Lately, I’ve begun to wonder if I might be addicted to getting things done, to being productive, to needing to have every one of my hours and days counts for something, to seeing tangible results and changes because of my efforts and work. Not that these are bad things, but I often find myself too busy or tired to do things well. I’m often falling short of my expectations and wondering if anything I’m doing really makes a difference.

In contrast, during my prayer times, I’ve been feeling God’s call to just be with Him, to sit and listen, to put aside my to-do list of memorization, reading and prayer items and to just be in His presence. He’s calling me to stop relying on my own strength, knowledge and skill. He’s reminding me that I’m not the one in charge of the relationship and that I can’t force a “successful” time with Him through my scheduling and efforts.

If I really want God to show up and speak to me, I have to just be and stop doing. I have to just wait and listen and perhaps feel like I haven’t accomplished anything at all. After all, this relationship isn’t really about me and what I’m doing, it’s about God and what He’s doing in and through me. Sometimes the way to be truly effective is to do nothing at all, to realize how weak and ineffective I am. That is when I’m finally able to allow God to work through me and accomplish something worthwhile.

My Sister Came to Visit

2008-06-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

Through a generous grant from the Muhr foundation (otherwise known as my parents) my little sister Bethany was able to come and visit me for the month of May. Since school was still in session for the whole month, this meant that she really got to see what I do everyday. And, since she had time, I put her to work grading, teaching math and doing various other tasks. It was great to have a teacher's aid for a few weeks. I also let her relax on Mondays as we went to the pool with the Thomases and played some tennis on the courts. Here's a picture of her relaxing with Gwen.

On several of the weekends we planned fun excursions. One Saturday we went shopping in town. Bethany did a fairly good job of bargaining, especially with me as she tried to get me to pay as much as possible for the gifts we bought together. On another Saturday we went to see the gorillas (see previous post). For the final Saturday of her stay we visited the game park in Akagira. Here's a picture of us in front of the giraffes.

It was great having Bethany here, and the month seemed to go by much too quickly.

Tracking Gorillas

2008-05-24T22:55:00.000-07:00

In April all of the parents at our school decided to give Michelle and I a gift certificate to go and see the gorillas. This was a pretty unexpected surprise. Even though all of the guide books say that anyone coming to Rwanda shouldn't leave without seeing the gorillas, I hadn't expected to see them because it's pretty expensive.

Michelle and I booked our trip for May 17, during the time my sister was visiting so that she could come with us. We left for the park at 4:30 in the morning and arrived at the tourist office before 7:00AM. We met our guide and the four people we'd be trekking with. They were all Rwandans, but three had been living in the states for many years and were just visiting family here in Rwanda.

It took us about 3 1/2 hours to reach the gorillas (mostly hiking up hill). We went to see the Kwitonda family which has 16 members. We were allowed to stay for an hour during which time we watched them eat, play, climb trees, pound their chests, etc. Gorillas are pretty amazing creatures. Here are a few pictures that I took of the them:

Field Trips

2008-03-14T07:54:00.000-07:00

Rose Plantation
As a school, we were able to go on three field trips this last spring. The first one was to a rose plantation. We were able to learn about the growing and caring of roses and a little bit about marketing. Most of the roses grown here are flown through Kenya to a European market, but some are sold in the country. Afterwards students wrote poems, some that were just fun, and some that reflected what they'd learned.

American Embassy
Our next field trip was to the newly built American Embassy. President Bush arrived early in the spring to open the Embassy (the Sager's were able to be there to see him arrive at the airport). Soon after we were able to see it for ourselves. We learned about the different safety issues taken into consideration when it was built and where the materials came from (many things were shipped from the states or other countries because most Rwandan building supplies are not of a high enough quality). We also met many of the staff and learned about some of their jobs. There are six marines stationed at the embassy and they told us about their role here and what kinds of things they would do in an emergency. Our tour guide was in charge of granting (or not) visa requests and told us what kind of things she looks for in applicants. One of the most popular features of the embassy was its drinking fountains, a novelty in Rwanda. Any time we passed one, all the students would stop to get a sip. An interesting fact that we learned was that the ambassador at the time of the genocide had once been a missionary kid in Burundi and was the only US ambassador to Rwanda who actually spoke Kinyarwanda.

Wood Carver
Our last field trip of the year was to a well known Rwandan woodcarver's shop. He studied in Europe, but then came back to Rwanda to work. He created the carvings in Rwanda's main genocide memorial and has done art shows here, in Europe, and in Canada. He showed us the process of making a carving, beginning with the drawing and continuing to the finished product. Here is a picture of him working on a small statue.

Saturday Concert

2008-03-08T00:23:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, March 1, we all went to the first Enric Sifa concert here in Rwanda. (You may remember that Enric is the young man I've been tutoring.) The concert was held at a local church and there were several hundred people there. It was great to see him take these first steps and to hear some of the music that he's been working on. Now he is off for a tour in the United States and I'll have a few more hours each week to fill with things other than teaching.

Joining the Choir

2008-03-08T00:22:00.001-08:00

At one of our team meetings I mentioned that I'd like more opportunities to interact with Rwandans and practice my Kinyarwanda. The Thomases suggested that I might enjoy participating in the choir. At first I was a little unsure of the idea. Even though I enjoy singing, singing in Kinyarwanda (possibly in front of the whole church) was a bit daunting. However, I decided to give it a try and showed up at my first practice. I had hoped to just observe, but that's not how guests are treated here. I was introduced and then had to go up front and give a little speech. They invited me to come to all of their practices and my name was entered in the roll book. Since then I've been trying to memorize songs (I've only gotten one down so far) and attending as many practices as I can. They haven't asked me to sing with them on Sunday yet, for which I'm very thankful. I think it may be several months more before I know enough songs to attempt that. Also, I'm still getting used to being stared at during practice as people walk by the church and notice me with my white skin; I do stick out a bit. Usually there has been someone at choir practice with enough English to translate for me. However on one or two occasions there have been miscommunication or no one has been there and I've had to try and tell from tone of voice, circumstances, and body language what might be going on. It's definitely been an interesting and educational experience.

Valentine's Week

2008-02-16T07:49:00.000-08:00

Valentine's week was pretty busy for us. Even though Valentine's Day was on Thursday, we had our class party on Wednesday, the day that the kindergarteners join us. It was fun to hand out Valentines, eat candy and cupcakes and play games.
At the beginning of February students had decided to once again put on a Valentine's banquet for their parents. During art time they created place- mats and other decorations. Here's a picture of Michelle standing by one of the well decorated tables.

On Thursday and Friday afternoon they prepared the food. Our menu was as follows:
Drinks (water or grapefruit crystal light)
Salad
Stromboli (choice of ham or sausage)
Dipping sauce
Dessert (cookies and chocolate milkshakes)

Here is a picture of the students busily at work making and decorating cookies.

The students also prepared poems and short stories about how their parents had met. Afterwards they played recorders and bells and sang several songs they'd been working on including one song in Japanese that they'd learned from a guest speaker who taught them about Korea and Japan in January. Needless to say the parents had a great time.

Earthquake in Rwanda

2008-02-05T07:34:00.000-08:00

We had an earthquake here last Sunday. Here's some information that Michelle wrote up for our prayer partners:

You may have heard about the earthquake that took place in Rwanda today (Feb 3). It happened around Cyangugu, which is about a six-hour drive from where we are in Kigali. The news states that at least 25 people have been killed and many others, maybe up to 200 people have been hurt. We felt the aftershocks this afternoon. We are now hearing about family members of those we know here who have been hurt. We have also heard that some churches and homes have been destroyed. There are some Friends churches in the area, but we haven’t heard yet how they have been affected. Please pray with us for the people in Rwanda who are dealing with loss and pain at this time

Celebrations

2008-02-03T06:13:00.000-08:00

In January I was able to be part of three different celebrations. The first one was the Thomas's celebration of 10 years of ministry in Rwanda. On a Monday night we gathered with 40 - 50 friends and church leaders to celebrate the work they've accomplished since they first came in 1996. We watched videos they've made for furloughs in the states, heard people share what they've learned from the Thomases, and enjoyed a meal together.

The next celebration was an engagement party for a Rwandan couple. I didn't personally know the family, but they invited all of us "muzungus" (white people) to come to the ceremony. We arrived at 11:00 and were told that it would last until 1:00. However, the grooms family was about an hour late so it didn't end until about 3:00. There was also some misunderstanding over how the ceremony should go. The grooms family was from a more rural area and the bride's family was from Kigali. Traditionally there are four ceremonies in the wedding process, but in more urban settings the first two (gaining permission to get a bride from the family and formally asking for the specific bride) are combined into one. This led to some confusion and we never did get to see the bride. However, after the ceremony it's a tradition for them to talk over what went wrong and how it might be avoided the next time. It was interesting to hear them talk through the miscommunication so that everyone could understand what had happened and learn from it.

The third celebration was Alandra's sixth birthday. We celebrated by having one of her favorite meals, spaghetti, and chocolate cake. She got some amazing princess dresses to dress up in and some other great presents. We ended the evening with a great game of Twister. The next day we had a small party at the end of the school day and all the students gave her cards and birthday compliments. Birthdays are such fun.

So far 2008 is off to a great beginning. I look forward to seeing what else I get to celebrate this year.

First Week Back at School

2008-01-18T06:52:00.000-08:00

Michelle and Brad arrived back from Kansas last Saturday (January 12). Chelsea Roberts also came with them to do a three month internship. School started up on the 15th, Tuesday, and Michelle did a great job getting over jet lag in time to get back to teaching.

Tuesday afternoon we had our first guest speaker of the year. Barbara Bennett is the mother of two of our students, and she spent six years in Japan and three in Korea. She shared with the students a little about what it was like to live there, taught us some about the writing systems of the two countries, and did a cooking demonstration of a type of pancake that has quite a bit of cabbage in it and can be topped with something like barbeque sauce.

Next week we will be incorporating two new students into the school one day a week. Cooper and Nissa, two of the younger Sagers, have been doing kindergarten at home with their mom, but starting next week Philip Cox will take over 3rd grade one day a week so that Michelle can work with Cooper, Nissa, and Alandra. We're all excited about welcoming them to school.

Tutoring

2008-01-04T04:21:00.001-08:00

One of the things that helps to keep me busy, even when school is not is session, is tutoring. Since last August I've been tutoring Enric, a young Rwandan man, who is taking American high school courses on line. Sometimes it's a stretch to try to remember how to do Algebra. I'm also learning that writing essays is a much more difficult process when your first language isn't English. However, it's fun to work with someone who has such an enthusiasm for learning.

Enric is a very talented musician who has just released his first solo CD and is planning to do some concerts in the states (Oregon, Idaho, and Washington) later this year. To view his video made here in Rwanda or to hear some songs in Kinyarwanda, check out his web site at enricsifa.com

Here is some information about him from one of his web sites:
Rwandan born Eric Nshimiyumuremyi (now Enric Sifa) was orphaned by the tragic events of the 1994 genocide and its devastating impact to his country. At age nine he began to live on the streets, trying to find any way to survive. He struggled daily to get food and shelter, suffering from loneliness, abuse and hunger. On a Saturday night in 2000, Enric was severely beaten in a nightclub. That night as he lay awake in pain, he felt so miserable because he had no one to help treat his wounds. He heard a voice telling him not to return to that life. The next Sunday morning he wandered into a church. In that church, he found his passion again in music. This music was free, and the people treated him well. Enric's heart began to feel hope for the first time so he gave his heart to God. At 14 years old Enric began writing music. Today at the age of 20, Enric has composed over 60 songs in both the Kinyarwanda and English language. He has appeared on Rwandan TV and radio, performed for government dignitaries, including the president of Rwanda, and toured twice in the United States with the music group, Hindurwa. Enric's dream is to travel the world and speak about how people can make the world shine by loving each other, and sing to people about God's power to change anyone from the most hopeless circumstances.

Christmas Break

2008-01-04T03:26:00.001-08:00

Michelle and Brad both went back to Kansas for Christmas break and the Thomases and Philip (a six-month intern from Southwest Yearly Meeting) went to Lake Kivu. That left me all alone for the holidays. But, luckily, the Bennetts invited me to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with them. They had a beautiful tree and decorations up all around the house. On Christmas Eve we went to a candle lighting service with which Barb Bennett was helping. It was all in English. It was great to sing Christmas carols with 100 or so other people.

On Christmas morning Melissa and Megan were up early, excited about opening presents. It took about 2 hours to get through them all and I enjoyed opening up gifts of tennis balls (yes, I've taken up tennis since I've been here), candy, and a beautiful print of a painting done by Barb's dad. (You can see it in this picture of the Christmas tree after present opening was finished.) Barb is an excellent cook and our Christmas feast wasn't lacking a think. She even made egg nog for us on Christmas Eve.

The next day the Bennetts set out for Uganda and graciously allowed me the run of their house. I read, slept and generally had a good time. On the 27th I left with the Sheers, co-workers of the Bennets, for Lake Kivu. I stayed in the Friend's cabin at Kumbya, swam every morning and slept and read a lot. It was a very relaxing four days. Here is a picture of some fisher men on the lake.

Some of the families also staying at Kumbya had to return early due to school starting at Rift Valley Academy on the 2nd; however, after they left, we heard about the election results in Kenya and school was postponed until things are more stable there.

On New Year's Eve I stayed with the Thomases at Kibogora where we stayed up until midnight watching movies. On the first of January, I was on my way back home to Kigali. School resumes on the 15th of January and I look forward to another week of doing very little work and generally enjoying myself. Sometimes life in Africa can be so difficult. :)

Christmas Program

2008-01-04T01:22:00.001-08:00

On the 14th of December we had our annual Christmas program. It was entitled "Christmas Around the World" and included Christmas music in different countries' styles, information about Christmas traditions around the world and a nativity reenactment. Afterwards we enjoyed cookies the students had decorated. For the program we needed a Christmas tree, so we had one of the workers cut down one of the trees on our fence line and decorated that. Here's a picture of Michelle and I in front of it.

The last week of school we had a chess tournament (Darby and Brick tied for first place) and on the last day of school we had a present exchange and watched The Polar Express.

Thanksgiving

2008-01-04T00:22:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving
This year we had a Thanksgiving presentation on Wednesday that included turkey stories, poems and more. Here is a poem that one of the students wrote and read:

Mashed Potatoes on Thanksgiving Day

By Tegan Sager

Thanksgiving comes, but once a year.

I can’t wait for potatoes to appear.

They come on a hot steaming plate.

It would be a shame if they were late.

They are marvelous to eat,

Not to salty, not to sweet.

I’d eat them with turkey,

But not beef jerky.

Eating potatoes make me feel perky.

I wish Thanksgiving came every day,

So with my mash potatoes I could play.

Don’t sit with someone in a bad mood,

Or they will make your potatoes taste like dog food.

Eating potatoes is really fun.

I can’t stop once I’ve began.

Students also sang alto and soprano parts for two Thanksgiving songs, played recorders and made treats for our Thanksgiving "feast" of cookies and various snacks.

The next day we were invited to celebrate at the Bennett's house. About 21 people were present and we all enjoyed a real Thanksgiving feast of turkey, potatoes, gravy, pie and more. Afterwards we had a fun gift exchange and some singing.

Field Trip to the Sugar Factory

2007-11-24T02:56:00.000-08:00

During October the school took its first field trip of the new year to the only sugar factory in Rwanda. They process sugar cane into refined sugar. Here is one of the students reports on the experience:

Sugar Factory

One gloomy day my school and I went on a field trip to a sugar factory. After school when it came time to go, it was pouring rain. We ran to the cars and decided who went in each car. When we were all ready we went off on the road to Uganda. When we got to the incredibly big gate we found out that the manager was late. We waited and waited. Brick, Darby, Aren and I played Eye Spy. Then finally we got to go in.

When we all eagerly walked in we met the manager and he gave us a tour of the sugar factory. First we saw the humongous trucks with a load of sugar cane being emptied into a big container. It smelled horrible. Workers had big sticks with metal things on the end to bring the sugar cane onto a conveyer belt.

The sugar cane was split open to get the juice out. Then the machines mixed the pulp with water to get the last liquid out. These people didn’t waste anything; they took the pulp and burned it to make electricity and boil the juices.

The machines put the juice in to the big boilers to get the non-sugars out. When they had finished with all the boiling the sugar came out fine, but sticky. We all got to taste a bit. After, the machines spun the molasses out of the sugar to make sugar crystals. We also got to taste the sugar crystals. Then we went outside, and some people bought molasses, we took pictures to.

After everyone was ready, Some people and I went back to their non smelly houses. And some people stayed to look at chickens. When I got back me and Aren had a sleepover. I think the sugar factory was awesome.

The End

Life Science

2007-10-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

This year we are studying biology which means lots of fun science projects. Some students especially enjoy the dissections that we've been able to do. The first dissection was done on a rooster. This rooster was a gift to the Thomases, but was being kept in the yard of Michelle and my house. It was continually crowing and we couldn't wait for the day of dissection. Those who wanted to were able to see the entire process -- the slitting of the neck, the pulling of the feathers, the removal of the insides, etc. Then we took its wings and looked at the way the muscles and bones move together. However, one of the best parts was eating it for dinner in the delicious chicken casserole that Debby prepared.

Our next dissection was of a cow's heart. This took a little more effort to obtain. People don't usually buy the whole heart here, so the first two attempts resulted in workers bringing back partial or already cut hearts. Finally, a Rwandan friend who speaks fairly good English volunteered to try to get us the kind of heart we needed. He succeeded for the most part (although the veins and arteries were cut off from the top of the heart). He said that if he went to the place where the cows were butchered, he could get us a better heart, but we decided to make do with the one we already had. The students really enjoyed the dissection, especially Breanna, Darby and Brendan who enjoyed trying to pull coagulated blood out of the blood vessels. We can't wait until the next dissection comes along.

Note: Breanna is thinking about becoming a doctor and really enjoys all the dissections, so for her Christmas present I wrote her this little poem and illustrated it with photographs of our dissection of the cow's heart.

The Heart

The cow was alive, but now it is dead.

Perhaps it was killed by a shot in the head.

Perhaps it was sick or old or in pain,

But what can I say? Its loss was our gain.

For in giving its life it gave more than just meat

And some fat for the hungry people to eat.

It gave us the best that it had to give,

It’s four-chambered pumper that helped it to live.

Yes, its heart we received with awe and respect,

For we’d eagerly waited for one to dissect.

The heart of this cow was large and quite red.

The reality better than all we had read.

We carefully cut it, then pulled it in two.

The atriums and ventricles came into view.

And with awe and excitement we all gathered ‘round

To see what else in this heart could be found.

With the knife in her hand and a gleam in her eye,

Breanna dissected while others stood by.

And the things she discovered amazing and odd

Should cause us, each one, to give thanks to our God,

Who gave us all hearts so strong and untiring.

A God so creative is truly inspiring.

October Newsletter

2007-10-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

RIDING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT

Charles is the taxi driver that we call when we want to go places in Kigali. About once a month I find myself in his cab heading to Bible study, book club, a restaurant or a friend’s house. The roads in Kigali are always crowded with pedestrians, bikes, motorcycles, cars and trucks; and Charles always seems to be in a hurry. At first, if I was the “lucky” one in the front seat, I would be tense the entire ride just waiting for the sound of bones crunching or of metal scraping. I would often have to resist the urge to yank at the steering wheel or yell out warnings. However, Charles always manages to avoid any serious mishap. I’ve come to believe in his driving abilities. Even if my eyes tell me that he’s about to hit some unsuspecting pedestrian, my experience tells me that he’ll avoid any and all collisions, even if only by the narrowest of margins.

As I was riding with Charles last week, I began thinking about how my trust in his driving abilities is similar to my trust in allowing God to direct my life. When I first let God into the driver’s seat, I flinched at each new turn. I wondered if God really knew what he was doing, or if he would wreck my life with his crazy driving. He took me along roads I never would have traveled on my own — around road blocks I thought were impassable, through narrow ways I didn’t think we’d be able to fit through, and along bumpy paths I thought might shake me to pieces. But the longer I’ve allowed God to direct my life, the more I see that he is an excellent and trustworthy driver. I’ve learned to relax in the knowledge that God will bring me through anything safely and that I’ll end up just where I want to go.

Sarah Visits Me

2007-10-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

Sarah was able to return to Rwanda with me and spend three weeks before going to Kenya and then back to the states. It was fun to introduce her to people here, take her to the genocide memorial and have her help in setting everything up for the first week of school. I was also very glad to have her help teaching math for the first couple of weeks so that I could take care of other details that always come up the firs couple weeks of school.

July - Kumbya

2007-10-21T06:39:00.000-07:00

The last week of July missionaries from Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, and Uganda gathered at Kumbya on the shores of Lake Kivu for a week of relaxation, fellowship, and learning. This yearly gathering has continued since the early 1900’s with short hiatus around the time of the genocide. The Carpenters, the Thomases, and I filled up the Friend’s cabin and there were about 200 other people there occupying tents, cabins, and grass huts. The guest speaker spoke about shepherd leadership and how we can better encourage and motivate those we work with. Some highlights of the week were the movie on the beach (Cheaper By the Dozen), skit night, and the two to three hour swim out to Three Hump Island and the canoe ride back. Here's a picture of one of the grass huts at Kumbya.

Time in Tanzania

2007-10-06T04:51:00.001-07:00

In August I was able to visit my friend Sarah Black in Tanzania for ten days. She had just finished a two year term with the Peace Corps. Right before I arrived, she was in a restaurant that was robbed. This was traumatic for her, but she wasn’t hurt and they found her passport so that she could leave Tanzania when planned. We spent three days in Dar Es Salaam where I experienced my first ride on a taxi bus. Basically they are the size of 15 passenger vans, but with anywhere from 20 – 30 people crammed in. Then we spent four days on the island of Zanzibar. It was a very restful stay with lots of walks on the beach, some snorkeling, and time relaxing and enjoying God’s beautiful creation.

Burundi

2007-07-16T04:20:00.000-07:00

On Thursday I went to the visa office to see if I could withdraw my passport fot the weekend so that I could accompany the Carpenters to Burundi. I wasn't too hopeful that I'd get it, but people's prayers must have been effective because I left at 4:00 PM with not only my passport, but also my visa. Of course, since they rushed it through, there was one small mistake: instead of giving me a two year visa, they only gave me a three month one. This means that I'll have to go back in soon and get that fixed.

This last weekend I found myself spending a lot of time in the car. We drove for about six hours on Friday to reach our first stop in Burundi--Kibimbe. There we visited the hospital, church, and primary and secondary schools. We also met the superintendent, clerk of the yearly meeting, youth superintendent, director of the hospital, and several pastors. Then we took a "quick" trip (on one of the bumpiest roads I've been on yet) to see a bridge that Dave Kellum built at a place where about 90 people a year had been dying from trying to cross the river to go to the market.

On Saturday we visited about five churches, one of which had a service to welcome us. Every time Donita (Brad and Michelle's mother) took a picture, they would cheer and afterwards we were mobbed by children wanting to get a closer look at us and women wanting to shake our hands.

On Sunday we attended a big meeting celebrating the setting off of another monthly meeting in the north of Burundi. The meeting went from 9:30 to 3:00. It seemed like just about every important person in the yearly meeting talked, four or so choirs sang, and then Brad preached. Afterwards they served lunch to at least 100 people. We stayed at a Catholic guest house Saturday and Sunday night and then left to return to Kigali on Monday morning at 6:00 AM. It was a quick trip, but we fit a lot in to the three days.

The Last Month of School

2007-07-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

The month of June was a very busy month. Our regular PE teacher left at the end of May, so another one of our parents volunteered to teach swimming for the last month and a half of school. We also had several birthdays, including Debbies.

The students were busy with lots of presentations. The older students have been studying U.S. history and had three parts to their final projects. They had to make a timeline for a section of history, choose a person from their time period to write a biography about, and memorize a famous speach from their time period. We seperated the timeline presentations and speeches into two Fridays. During the first one we covered US history from 1600 -1800 and had Susan B. Anthony's speech on women's rights, Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, the introduction to the Declaration of Independence and Red Jackets speech to the Iriquois Six Nations. On the second Friday we had the last 200 years of US history, 250 years of Canadian history (for our two Canadian students), and recitals of "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," Roosevelt's "a day that will live in infamy," Trudeau's speech at Canada's proclomation ceremony and the full "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King Jr. Also on the second Friday, Alandra, Gwen and Megan shared stories that they had written. Alandra's was an especially funny story about a princess kidnapped by a bad guy named Stinky.

As soon as these presentations were over, it was time to prepare for our end of the year program. We had to rent a room as we were expecting 30+ people to attend including Michelle and Brad's parents and brother who came with a Saltshaker team of thirteen people from Kansas and one from California. We decided that this presentation would be full of fun skits and songs. We began with "show and tell" in which four of the girls showed us a Rwandan dance they'd been learning and about half of the students performed on violin, banjo, or piano. Next, we did several skits based on ones that Michelle and I had seen at various camps and had reworked to reflect parts of our school day. We also played the cup game to the song "Screendoor on a Submarine," played several songs on recorders, and the students sang very funny renditions of "There's a Hole in the Bucket" and "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better." Even the refreshments of cookies and pretzels were made by the students. We were told that it was the best program of the year.

While the team from Kansas was here, they not only came to our final presentation, they also helped teach English at the secondary school, helped to build an addition to the school, did some presentations on "True Love Waits," visitted with youth in Changugu, played volleyball, soccer and basketball with youth, visited memorial sites and the Akagira National Park, and of course did a little shopping. This definitely kept Brad busy; however, Michelle and I only joined them for some of their activities. The team was only here for a little over two weeks, but it was fun to get to know them and spend some time with them.

Brad and Michelles parents are staying for several more weeks and they have plans to go to Burundi and Uganda in the next couple of weeks. If my visa comes through, I may go to Burundi also. My other plans for the summer include sleeping, planning for the next school year, working on my Kinyarwanda, and attending the camp/conference for missionaries on Lake Kivu the first week of August.

Visa Issues

2007-05-29T09:05:00.001-07:00

In January I submitted my passport and paperwork in order to receive a 2 year visa. However, 4 months later, I still don't have one. It appears that the visa laws changed in January and the Friends church must now have all the paperwork done that officially registers them with the government before the government will process any visas for them. The church has been in the process of getting this paperwork for several years. Perhaps the process is slowed because they are not a big or rich denomination and they refuse to bribe anyone. Anyhow, I really hope that I can get my visa in the next couple months as I would like to leave the country this summer to go to Burundi with Brad, Michelle and their parents and to visit a friend in Tanzania who is working with the Peace Corps.

May and April Update

2007-05-29T07:47:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that April and May are already gone. It's been a busy couple of months. The week after spring break we had an Easter egg hunt at the school for all of the students and their younger siblings. We decorated the eggs at the beginning of the week and had the hunt after school on Friday.

Also in April, we had two guest artists. One was from Canada and did a chalk drawing for us. The other was Megan and Melissa's grandfather. He drew a picture, cut it up and had the students draw the pieces and then put it back together again. Can you tell which is his and which is the student's?

Our house worker, Agnes, invited Michelle, Brad, Bethany, Scott and I to her house for dinner one evening. We were able to meet her seven children, her sister in law and her nephew and neice. He children sang several songs for us and we sang "If you're Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands" and "O Holy Night" for them. We ate dinner with them and stayed talking for several hours. It was a good thing that Brad was there to translate for us. My kinyarwanda is still barely beyond the meeting and greeting stage.

In May one of the rabbits in our back yard gave birth to eight baby bunnies. They are very cute and lots of fun to hold now that they are several weeks old.

Students also took their first standardized test in Rwanda. This was new as some of the students have never taken such tests before. We had them brought over from the states with a short term team. We did testing in the mornings and then activities in the afternoons. On Thursday, Barb Bennett came in to do cooking with us. We made meatloaf and microwave cupcakes. It was a little messy, but lots of fun.

Other exciting news is that we finally have water. After two plus months of carrying water and conserving as much as possible, Debby got someone to come out and figure out why we weren't getting water in our pipes. They discovered that the pipe we had paid for and had connected at our expense had been cut, and no one had told us. It's been reconnected now, and even though we don't have water all the time, the situation is much better than it was. Of course, to make up for that, the electricity went crazy a couple of weeks ago. The voltage got up to 305 and fried several appliances. We couldn't use it for about three days. It even started a fire in a house near Brad's. One of the things ruined was our wireless internet box, so now we all congregate at the Thomas' to use their internet until we can get a new box.

March and April Happenings.

2007-04-09T09:47:00.000-07:00

Many things have come and gone since my last posting -- our first kinyarwanda lessons, my birthday, spring break, Paul and Miriam Bock. Since I wasn't on the ball enough to post about all of these events at the time, here is a brief overview of the last six weeks.

LEARNING KINYARWANDA
We've started having two hour lessons on Monday mornings. So far I can't say much and it takes me so long to think of the words I want to say that I don't have too many conversations. Here are some words in Kinyarwanda:

Muraho = hello/how are you (lit. Are you alive?)
Muraho neza = Are you well?
Amakuru = How are you?
(Ese) umeze neza = Are you well?

Ndaho (S) / Turaho (P)

Yego = yes
Nimeza = good
Meze neza, ayawe = I’m well, how are you?

LEARNING TO PLAY THE GUITAR
There's an old guitar that someone left here a while ago. I replaced one of the strings, borrowed a beginner's book from David Thomas and started practicing. So far I can only play a few songs and four chords.

VALENTINE’S DINNER

For Valentine’s Day the students decided to treat their parents to dinner. The students made bread, spaghetti, cookies and ice cream. The parents enjoyed both the food and the program put on by the students. The program included readings of original works, songs, the playing of recorders, and much laughter.

OUR FIRST FIELD TRIP

We went on our first field trip in March. We visited a tea factory about an hour and a half away. There we were able to see how the tea was processed — from the picking of the leaves to the bagging of the tea.

SPRING BREAK

Because of the many visitors coming in March and April, we enjoyed a two week vacation. We were able to go to Kibogora on Lake Kivu once again. It was nice to read, rest and relax at such a beautiful place.

VISITORS

Paul and Miriam Bock came to visit the week of April 1 – 8 after spending a week in Burundi. Miriam’s parents were missionaries in Burundi, so she really enjoyed visiting places she remembered as a child, including the Friends cabin at Kumbya.

MY BIRTHDAY

Since my birthday fell during Spring Break (April 4), the students threw me a party on the last day of school. In honor of my 30th birthday, they all brought me 30 of something. Presents ranged from 30 roses to 30 pieces of rice to 30 rubber bands. On my actual birthday we went out for Mexican food, and one of my roomates Bethany made an amazingly delicious chocolate cake.

FIRST RIDE ON A MOTO

I rode on a motorcycle for the first time ever in March. Motos are a common, inexpensive mode of transportation. They’re quite fun too, as long as it’s not raining.

April Newsletter Article

2007-04-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

“...and leaving yourselves in His hands, learn to be literally careful for nothing; and you shall find it to be a fact that the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Hannah Whitall Smith

I have been learning these past months what it means to rest in Jesus. I’ve been learning how to be like the birds and the flowers who do not worry about food or clothes, money or water, cockroaches or mosquitoes. I’ve been learning how to cast my cares on Him and bear the burden that is light by being yoked together with Him. I’ve been learning how powerless I am to change one hair on my head, add one hour to my life, or change something about my character; while learning His ability to do all of these things and more. I’ve been learning that I can’t control much of anything including myself, but that if I rest in Him He brings transformation, the fruits of the spirit, and a future worth living for.

I’ve been realizing that nothing good in me comes from myself, nothing I’ve accomplished is my own doing, I can claim none of my talents as my own. Everything is a gift of God, a sign of His working through me and in me.

So if I strive to do good works, to change myself, to be good, to make my life perfect, to change the world, then I’ll fail. But if I rest in God, trusting Him to do the work, having faith that He will do as He promised, then I know I will have life abundantly and be able to live it to the full.

Here I thought that I was coming to Africa to be a teacher, but all along God knew that I was also coming to be a student.

Tour of the Gardens

2007-02-27T07:27:00.000-08:00

Today Debby showed Michelle, myself, and two visitors around her gardens. She explained farming methods she's experimenting with as well as other work that she's doing in order to help alleviate some of the poverty here in Rwanda.

We began in the backyard where she's planted this kitchen garden. It's made by piling dirt, mixed with fertilizer(manure or composted material), into a mound. You'll notice a small brick pathway between bamboo poles where one can walk up to put compost in the hole at the top (see picture on right) or to water the plants with grey water from the house. Debby encourages people to place one of these near their kitchen door for convenient access to popular cooking vegetables and herbs. There is enough room on the mound to plant 20-25 cabbages which is a staple food here.

Also in the back yard are some examples of sack gardens made of fifty pound sugar/burlap bags filled with half fertilizer and half dirt. In the middle is a column of rocks that allows water to reach all parts of soil in the sack. Small holes are made in the sacks to plant the seeds. These gardens are about 10 months old so much of the crop has already been harvested from them leaving large holes in the sides. A sack garden will grow about 10 cabbages, 10-12 green pepper plants, or about 25 onions. These are a very inexpensive type of garden. If you had to buy everything (sack, fertilizer, seeds) it would cost less than $5. The sack itself is only 20 cents.

The next stop was the garage where Debby had several rocket stoves. These stoves are designed to use a minimum amount of fuel while producing a maximum amount of heat. The body of the stove is made of clay. The small golden platinum plate in the bottom section allows for better air flow. Debby has trained around three hundred people in the making of these stoves. Recently they were tested by a representative from the UN milenium project. They were tested along with other models of stoves presently used in Rwanda and were found to be the most effecient of them all. To the right is a basket with a sawdust or cotton stuffed bag that can be used in conjunction with the stove to increase fuel efficiency. Rice or other food can be brought to a boil then placed in this basket for an hour or two to finish cooking. The basket is also an ideal place for making yogurt or for keeping food hot.

Next we moved to the larger field below the house. A newer experiment for Debby is rainwater harvesting. When it rains the water naturally flows down the road and into the cement ditch at the head of the garden. From there it flows into a 5ft. deep by 10ft. square pit. This water can then be used to water crops if there are a couple of dry weeks during the rainy season. Having this water can make the difference between bringing a crop to harvest or losing the whole thing. Unfortunately it is expensive to build, so Debby is looking into other methods for helping farmers when expected rain doesn't come.

The latest farming method that Debby is working with comes from Zaire and is called farming God's Way. This method was pioneered by a former tobaco grower who became a Christian and felt that he should plant food crops instead of tobaco. However, his food crops weren't profitable. As he prayed about what to do, God helped him make connections between things he already knew about farming in order to come up with a much more effective way to grow food in Africa. This is a non-tilling, mulch based farming method. It starts with laying down a good mulch using the organic material left over from previous crops. This mulch protects the soil from being compacted or washed away by the rain. You can see that old corn stalks are used on this part of the field. Using a hoe planting stations are dug at specific intervals. After the first rain seeds are planted in these planting stations with a small amount of fertilizer.

The next part of the garden uses a double digging method for growing vegetables. In this method the top layer is moved so that the subsoil can be broken up. Then the topsoil is moved back and mixed with fertilizer. By breaking up the subsoil, roots grow straight down instead of spreading out. This means that they can be planted closer together, yielding a larger crop in the same amount of space. This is a very labor intensive method of farming. In the next growing season Debby has plans to possibly combine this method with the Farming God's Way method. By adding mulch the field, the soil should compact more slowly increasing the number of years between the double digging process. (Right now she's been double digging it every year.) Here are some green peppers and egg plant that were growing in this part of the garden.

The second half of the field contained about 200 moringa trees. (Debby's nurseries have produced 3,500 since she started the project a year and a half ago.) The leaves are very nutritious. They can be eaten fresh, but many people prefer the dried powder form. The stems and branches that are left over can be fed to livestock. Animals that eat moringa tend to gain a third more weight than other livestock. The seeds can be crushed to produce an oil finer than virgin olive oil that doesn't turn rancid. Then the parts left after making the oil can be used to clarify water. Virtually every part of the moringa tree has one or more a practical uses.

Virtual Tour of My House

2007-02-04T21:51:00.000-08:00

We'll begin the tour outside. Here is the gate and the path leading to our house. The picture is taken from outside our kitchen door. Across from the kitchen door are the goat pens and the turtle pond.

At the end of the house opposite the gate (and on the far side of the garage) is the basketball hoop and the water tank. It is important to have a tank so that we do not totally run out of water during the many times when their is no water coming through the pipes. The tank will last us a couple of days if we're careful, but we've still had quite a few days where we had no water at all except for what was carried in by the workers. On top of the roof is the hot water tank. Each day we refill it and the sun heats the water for the next morning. It works very well when the sun is out, but when the day is rainy and cold we only get luke-warm water at best.

Now lets go in and take a look at the kitchen.

At the moment we have two refridgerators (not counting the one out on the porch). This is because the original one (on the right) was too small. The Thomases gave us there old one (on the left) but when we plugged it in it no longer worked, even though it had been functional 24 hours before when they removed it from their house. So after all our meat and cheese was spoiled, we went back to using the small one. We hope to get the larger one fixed or out of our kitchen, but after two months we still haven't made progress on it. There have been too many other things to fix. You might also notice our small stove. We did have a bigger one with a pilot light, but this ate up so much propane that we sold it and received this one from the Thomases when they bought a new one. We are hoping that the smaller stove will influence how much food our cook makes for us. She has only been making us two meals a week, but even after eating it for seven days and feeding much of it to our night gaurds, we still don't always get it all eaten. Across from the stove is the sink, and kitchen window.

Leaving the Kitchen through this door we enter the dining room and then the living room.

We just got the chairs and couch back from somone at World Vision who had been borrowing them. I twisted my ankle moving the couch, but it is fine now. The cushions on the couch and chairs are only foam, so we were glad when we found a couple of feather pillows in one of the closets; them make it much more comfortable to sit for more than a few minutes. The book shelves behind the couch contain the many books that have been left here by former occupants and visitors. When we first arrived they were all stored out in the garage, very dusty and not inviting at all. I cleaned them up, discovered quite a few doubles and somewhat complete series and arranged them so that we might actually read them and let others borrow them. Also behind the couch is our "catch all" table. Right now it has our broken alternator box, (that's what happens when you plug too many things in, I guess) one of Bethany's craft projects, a VCR we borrowed and other miscellanous items.
Leaving the living room behind we enter the hallway.

The first door on the left leads back to the kitchen and the first door on the right is Bethany's room. You'll notice the mosquito netting that we're all glad to use at night and the air holes in the top of the wall that often let in gecos. Next, on the left, is the small bathroom. It is hard to shut the door unless your stradling the toilet, but other than that it works pretty well.

Continuing down the hall, the third door on the left leads to the large bathroom. We have lots of cupboard space, but half of it is too high to reach without a chair. You might notice that the curtain doesn't quite fit the window. This is because when we gave our seam- stress measurements for it she misunderstood them and made the length the width and vice versa. Next to the toilet you might notice some water on the floor. This is because our sewer line seems to be clogged and we haven't got if fixed yet. It adds an interesting aroma to the bathroom, but we have hopes that it will be fixed before too long.
Directly across the hallway is my bedroom. The other girls let me have the room with the double bed and the halogen light. It's a little bigger than the other two rooms, and the light is nice when the electricity is working. I haven't had the chance to decorate it much yet except to hang some of my Christmas presents in the window and on the doors of my closet.

The last room on the left is Michelle's room. It's small, but she's managed to fit everything she needs into it.

At the end of the hallway is the garage. We have an extra bed and matress set up in it for possible guests. However, Debbie needed extra room to dry Moringa leaves, so right now the beds and the garage table are full of leaves. Our garage is a good place for them, because if they are dried in direct sunlight they lose much of their nutritional
value.

At the back of the garage is a little storage room. Right now it's filled with Brad and Michelle's trunks which number 10 in all. They each brought three themselves and then had Adam and Chelsea bring some more when they came for Christmas. Talk about getting lots of presents.

January Newsletter: Being Content

2006-12-29T12:17:00.000-08:00

" I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4: 12b-13

I have rarely been hungry or in want, but I’m still learning how to be content in any and every situation. I’m learning how to be content when there is no power, no hot water (or water of any kind), and no fast food. I’m learning to be content when my stomach is upset, my skin itches from bug bites, or I’m tired from jet lag. I’m learning how to be content without a car, without knowing what people are saying to me, without being able to find a place where I can truly be alone, and without snow for Christmas. I’m learning to be content with small lizards and large roaches living in my house, with a dog that growls at me no matter how many times he’s seen me walk through his yard, and with a cat that sheds all over our couch cushions.

So, how am I finding contentment? In the same place that Paul did — in God, who gives me strength and through whom I can do all things. I’m finding contentment in the relationships he’s given me, the beauty of the countryside, the peace of the lake in the morning, the light of understanding on a student’s face, the excitement of trying something new, the sweetness of a chocolate peanut butter ball that Michelle’s made, the joy of singing Christmas carols with friends, the laughter that comes so often, and most of all from the realization that God is with me in every situation.

Getting to Kibagora

2006-12-29T11:47:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday we set out to spend the week at Kibagora on Lake Kivu. Normally it's about a 5 or 6 hour drive from Kigali, but in our case it took 12 hours. We left Kigali at 11:00 AM and at 1:30 (20 minutes past Butare) we heard a funny noise, lost the power steering, and the temperature gage shot up. We pulled over, lifted the hood and discovered a broken serpentine belt. Brad called the Thomases who connected us with a mechanic from Butare. He came out and said that a bearing had broken and shredded the belt. He was able to fix the bearing, but we had to get a new belt from Kigali. The Thomases connected us with Marth who lives close to Kibagora and had gone to Kigali for the day. She would be leaving to go back home around three. We contacted her, she agreed to pick up the belt for us, and all that we had to do was wait in the car until she arrived. We all settled down with our books, prepared for a couple hour wait. What I didn't plan on was becoming the center of attention for all of the Rwandans passing by. Some asked about our car, some asked for money or food, some practiced their English and many just stood watching us through the windows. The day was slightly warm so all of our windows were down and there never seemed to be less than two people at each window for the whole time we were there. I told Michelle that it gave a whole new meaning to having people read over your shoulder. At 6:30 it was getting dark and we were very glad that the mechanic finally arrived with the belt and bearing; however, it took him several times before he was finally able to figure out how to put the belt on. We were finally ready to go at about 7:30. Martha had brought us some food and she followed us to the turn off to Kibagora to make sure that we got there fine. At almost 11:00 PM we finally arrived at the gate; a full 12 hours after leaving Kigali.

The Week Before Christmas

2006-12-26T09:40:00.000-08:00

Brad's best friend and girlfriend were visiting from Kansas, so we got to do all the fun tourist things this last week. Here are some pictures from the Akegira National Park that we visited last Tuesday. We saw all sorts of animals. Two of us took pictures with the baboon and it ate peanuts out of our guide's hand.

From Wednesday to Friday we went to a nearby lake; it was very relaxing.

On Friday afternoon we went to the last kings palace and to the national Museum in Butare.
Atraditional King's palace

Fast food in Rwanda -- roasted corn on the cob and goat shishkabobs and a Coke or Fanta to wash it down

The Last Week of School

2006-12-26T08:46:00.000-08:00

December 11 -17 was the busiest week since I’ve been here. First, it was the last week of school before Christmas break and we had a big school presentation planned for friends and family on Friday afternoon. Michelle and I were also trying to get in conferences each afternoon with all of the parents. At the same time, the triennial conference of the Young Adult Quaker Association of Africa was meeting at the main Kigali Friends Church, just meters from my house. (I had registered for the conference before coming to Rwanda at the urging of a Kenyan Friend who I had met at the Would Gathering in Lancaster, England in 2005.) So I was teaching during the day and trying to finish up all of the details for our Christmas presentation. In the evenings I was attending the conference and trying to remember the names of all of the people that I met from Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya. The evening sessions often went to close to 11:00 PM with lots of singing, dancing, and preaching. On Saturday those attending the conference went to the Genocide Memorial Museum and that evening Brad’s girlfriend and best friend arrived to spend a week with us. Here are some pictures from both the school’s Christmas presentation and the triennial meeting of Young Adult Quaker Association of Africa.

Tegan and Darby play the violin Singing Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer

Wesley and Gwen sing "Jingle Bells" / Burundi Drummers

Rwanda Dancers

A group from Kenya in front of the Genocide Memorial

Rwanda Yearly Meeting

2006-12-04T09:21:00.000-08:00

This last week was the 17th Yearly Meeting of Rwanda Friends Church. It lasted all week, but I only attended the morning service on Sunday. We arrived at the church at 8:30 AM to hear the drum corps from Burundi. (Burundi is known for their drumming, Rwanda for their dancing.) It was an amazing group of about 15 men dressed in white and pink robes who drummed, sang, and acted out skits about peace. Afterwards we went into the church for a service that lasted until 1:30 PM. They announced new appointees to different boards/committees, welcomed representatives and those visiting from Burundi, recorded a minister, had at least 4 choirs perform and had a message preached. The Thomas arrived at about 12:30, so they were able to participate in the last hour. David then went to the celebration for the pastor who was recorded. I don't know how he stayed awake during the many speeches. He and Brad didn't return until 6:40 or so. It is very nice to have the Thomases back, and Michelle and I look forward to having Breanna, Aren, and Gwen at school tomorrow.

Some pictures from Rwanda

2006-12-04T08:52:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent pictures. The first one is of the six students we've been teaching so far reciting some verses for our Thanksgiving program. The other two are from a cookie exchange that was organized by the US military atachee's wife. They had a huge house with a full size Christmas tree. Michelle and I decided that we couldn't pass up the opportunity of having our picture taken with it. It was almost as good as a Santa Clause. About 20 women showed up at the cookie exchange. Women from the US, from the Netherlands, from Madagascar, and possibly from one or two other places. We all came home with about 72 cookies. It's a good thing the Thomases have a freezer and we have a Christmas program coming up at the school. I wouldn't want to eat all of those cookies on my own.

Cleaning House

2006-11-27T07:13:00.000-08:00

Michelle and I spent the whole day today cleaning the kitchen of our new home. It hasn't been used for a few months and dust tends to build up, even behind cupboard doors. While removing and washing all of the dishes, we came across quite the assortment of items. There were bout 30 lids that had no containers, Tupperware, Rubbermaid, 4 strainers, two sets of plates, 4 tea pots and much more. Luckily there is a top shelf that can't be reached without the aid of a chair, so we put all of the things we probably won't use there. The rest of the dishes, pots, pans and bowls fit into the cupboard space, and we even had some room to spare. I guess we can go buy some more stuff now. :)

Cleaning the pantry was another adventure. We had to throw away quite a few things as the expiration dates had passed, or bugs had gotten into the bags. However, Katie (the previous occupant), left us several types of spice mixes so we can have good old American tacos, spaghetti, apple cider and more. We even found a mix for German chocolate cake. Of course the directions are in German, so it might take us a while to figure out how to make it.

We’re hoping to move in this Friday as we expect the Thomases to return on Sunday. However, most of the things left to do are minor like rearrange the furniture, decorate for Christmas, etc. It will be nice to have a house to call my own again.

Language

2006-11-27T07:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the third Sunday that I’ve spent in Rwanda. The translator told me some of the meaning of the songs and made sure that I knew what scripture or song number we were turning to. However, I did understand more on my own this Sunday. The words “goalie,” “candi,” “Brad,” “New Gospel Singers,” “Aleluia,” and “Amen” were clearly discernable to me. Unfortunately, they didn’t help me much in deciphering the meaning of the message.

To help us learn more Kinyarwanda, Michelle and I scheduled our first language lesson last Saturday. However, our proposed teacher had something come up and we’ve yet to reschedule. I think that this inability to communicate is one of the most frustrating things about being in Rwanda. When Brad’s not here to translate, it is especially difficult. On Saturday Michelle spent at least 20 minutes trying to figure out what a lady who had come to our back door desired. Finally she discovered that the lady wanted a bag to carry some items home in. She gave her the bag, and was very glad when it was returned later that evening. One evening when I was working at the school a couple of boys came by looking for someone. I had no idea what they wanted, except they came in, looked around, and after a lot of Kinyarwandan that was like gibberish to me, said the word “people.” They finally left, but the experience left me with an even stronger desire to learn some of the language of this place, just so that I’ll understand a bit more of what is going on around me.

Thanksgiving Day

2006-11-23T10:35:00.000-08:00

Today is Thanksgiving Day and since most of the students at the school are American, we have today and tomorrow off. (Two of the students are Canadian, but they don't mind celebrating Thanksgiving twice, once in October and once in Nov.) At about 1:00 we went to the house of one of our students families for the traditional Thanksgiving feast. There were about 40 people there and, of course, that meant lots of good food. We didn't have any turkey, but most of the other traditional dishes were there, including my favorite -- pumpkin pie and whipped cream. After lunch there was even the traditional football game on television. Through the internet we were able to see the Dallas Cowboys take on Philadelphia.

Afterwards Brad, Michelle and I came to a nearby internet cafe and Brad showed me how to set up my computer to use skype (a great program that allows you to call anywhere in the world for about 3 cents/minute using the internet). I was able to call my family and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. Isn't technology great. I truly have much to be thankful for this holiday.

Shopping

2006-11-16T09:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my first foray into the city of Kigali. Michelle, Brad, and I went to buy things for our houses. Michelle and I got fabric for curtains, cleaning supplies, garbage cans, plug adaptars, and more. I got my first cell phone, and Brad brought various supplies for his house that he just moved into last weekend. After five+ hours of shopping we still didn't get everything done that was on our list, but at this point it was dark and shops were closing. One thing that we didn't get done was registering my passport. Surprisingly enough, the American embassy is closed on Wednesdays here.

Here I am in Rwanda

2006-11-13T03:11:00.000-08:00

I arrived in Kigali at 8:00 PM on Saturday. All my luggage arrived at the same time I did, so it was a good thing that both Brad and Michelle met me at the airport. On Sunday morning Brad spoke at a small church in Kigali and Michelle and I tagged along. The service was about 3 and 1/2 hours long and our translator didn't tell us much of what was going on, so I mostly just watched the kids and noticed how many times the pastor said "candy." I later learned that this means "and" in Kinyarwanda. In the evening we had dinner with a missionary family whose two sons attend the school. Monday was mostly spent going over curriculum and getting my computer set up. Tomorrow will be my first day in the classroom, but mostly I'll just be observing and helping out. There are only 6 students there right now as the others are on furlough. It will be nice to be able to ease into the teaching. Right now Michelle and I are staying at the Thomas' house as a family will be using our house for the next couple weeks as they attend a conference. This means that I can't fully unpack yet, but that we also have solar electricity for when the power goes out. (We've been without power most of today.)

November newsletter article

2006-11-09T14:16:00.000-08:00

FINALLY, I'M ON MY WAY

Sometimes it is hard to be patient. I have been ready to leave for Rwanda since late summer. I had rented my house out, packed my bags, and made arrangements for my car and various other responsibilities. Of course there was still the small hurdle of raising support, but I was sure that it wouldn’t take more than a month and a half.
Three months later, I am finally leaving. My support is in, and the last couple of days have been a whirlwind of arranging plane tickets and taking care of last minute details. As I look back, I can see that God has used this time to prepare me for the job ahead.
I was able to substitute teach in several elementary classrooms in Idaho while I raised my support through Friends churches there. This gave me some much needed experience in elementary classrooms, which are much closer to what teaching in Rwanda will be like than the junior high classrooms I’ve been in the last seven years.
During this last month I found a book called Holy Ways at the library that has really given me some insight into spiritual disciplines that I need to employ during my time in Rwanda. Also, I was able to spend some great time with friends and family and attend some retreats with my extended church family.
I may have been in a hurry, but God knew just when I was truly ready to go.

Support Update

2006-08-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful to those churches and individuals who have decided to support me both financially and through prayer. On Friday, November 3, I reached the 100% mark on my financial support. The following week I was able to buy my plane ticket for Kigali, Rwanda. I leave for Rwanda on Friday, November 10 (my father’s birthday); so by the time you read this , I may already be settling into my new home. If you’d like to contact me there you may use my e-mail address: cjmuhr@yahoo.com or my physical address: E.E.A.R., B.P. 1689, Kigali, Rwanda, Africa

August Newsletter Article

2006-08-29T11:05:00.000-07:00

Summer Happenings

Morocco Trip with YCEW
From June 18 to July 20, I was able to visit Morocco with the Northwest Yearly Meeting’s YCEW team (Youth Challenged to Expand their Worldview). Among other things, the team of seven youth and two leaders visited workers in Morocco, led a weeklong VBS, worked at an orphanage, visited with Moroccans, helped at an American- style school, and rode camels. Because of this experience, several of the youth felt that God might be asking them to consider working in a foreign country. What a blessing it was to be a part of this group. Check out our blog at ycew.blogspot.com to see pictures and read team members’ postings about the trip.

Northwest Yearly Meeting
From July 22-28, I was able to attend Northwest Yearly Meeting sessions. I helped with the youth program, attended the Mission Rally and mission board meetings, led a couple of workshops, and enjoyed connecting with friends and family who were attending for the whole week or just for an evening.

Deputation
After yearly meeting I was able to begin traveling to various churches to share with them about the call that God has given me to go and teach in Rwanda. It’s been a pleasure to be able to share with so many people and to experience their encouragement and support. If you’d like to keep up with what I’ve been doing and where I’ve been, you can check out my blog at christinasspot.blogspot.com

From Seattle to Talent

2006-08-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

After yearly meeting I began my travels to various churches. I began by visiting Aimee in Seattle. We went to a Mariner's game, Pike's Place Market, the library, and a movie night at the church. We also attended a Hiroshima memorial event in a nearby park. On Sunday I spoke at North Seattle Friends. It was wonderful to see people and to hear about what women at the church were doing through their quilting ministry. I hope to see some of them in Burundi next year when they deliver their quilts.

While in Washington I also spent some time with Mike and Delonna in Tacoma. Dalonna's cousin Hannah was visiting and I took her to the glass factory. We rode the Link (Tacoma's light rail) to every stop it made in downtown Tacoma. Isn't free transportation great?

On Monday morning I set out for the coast. On my way there I stopped at Camp Berachah to visit my brother Donald and have lunch. Then I continued on to Bay City, Oregon, where I was to stay with my friend Jessica. During the next couple of days I visited with the Troyers and folks at the Surfside camp at Twin Rocks. Before I left Wednesday morning, I was able to participate in one of the high school camp's early morning worship times.

Wednesday evening I arrived at my grandparent's house in Talent, Oregon. I was able to spend a whole week with them. We had icecream every night and they thouroughly spoiled me. On Sunday I spoke at Talent Friends and was able to enjoy a church potluck afterwards. My cousins (once removed) from Washington were also down visiting their grandparents and it was good to see them too.

Deputation Itinerary

2006-07-31T10:22:00.000-07:00

Here is my tentative itinerary for the next month and a half. I'm hoping to be leaving for Rwanda by the end of September. However, I'm only at 15% of my needed funding, so that means that the other 85% would have to be raised in the next month and a half. Please be praying for my travels and levels of prayer and financial support.

Sunday, July 23: Hillsboro Friends

July 23-28: North West Yearly Meeting

July 29: Spend time with Thomases, see Newberg's Old Fashioned Days fireworks

Sunday, July 30: North Valley Friends

July 30-August 6: Visit friends in Seattle

Sunday, August 6: Seattle Friends

Aug. 6-12: visit friends in Netarts, spend time with grandparents

Sunday, August 13: Talent Friends

Aug. 13-20: spend time with grandparents, visit Friend's View Manor (?)

Sunday, August 20: West Chehalem Friends

Aug. 21-Sept. 2: Visit brother in Alaska

Sunday, September 3: Open

Sept. 3-17: Be back in Idaho for various appointments, pack things for Rwanda

Sunday, September 10: Meridian Friends

Sunday, September 17: Greenleaf Friends

Pictures of where I'll be living and working in Rwanda

2006-06-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

The house that Michelle and I will be sharing is in a compound that includes a church and the Thomas' house.

Kagarama Friends Church.

Here is the front gate of my future house.

Front Door

Side of House

Back of House

Here is the building where school will be held.

Who I'll Be Working with in Rwanda

2006-06-12T09:55:00.000-07:00

Dave and Debby Thomas and their children Breanne, Aren, Gwen and Alandar.

Michele Carpenter, the teacher fro pre-K through 2nd grade.

Newsletter Article: God's Call

2006-06-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

Here's the main part of my first newsletter for going to Rwanda:

God’s call to go to Rwanda was unexpected. But when does God ever do what we expect? I was comfortable in my life, and I thought the coming years would continue to follow in the pattern of the previous: teaching middle school, volunteering with youth, enjoying friends and family. God had something better planned. He decided that it was time for something new and proceeded to shake up all of my plans for the future.
It began at the Northwest Yearly Meeting’s fall mission board retreat. Debby Thomas, an EFI missionary in Rwanda, sent a letter requesting that EFM (Evangelical Friends Mission) send a teacher for the children of missionaries in Rwanda. There are 25-30 children in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, who have previously been homeschooled by their parents. By setting up a school with professional teachers, parents would have more time to pursue the call God had given them while knowing that a quality education was being provided for their children.
As I thought about this idea, I became more and more excited about the possibility of teaching in Rwanda. God confirmed this call in me over the next two months as I e-mailed Debby, talked about going to Rwanda with my friends and family, and then applied and was accepted by EFM. As I pursue this calling, I am excited to see what new experiences and relationships God will bring into my life.

Ending the School Year

2006-06-11T08:18:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday was the last day of school at Lake Hazel Middle School. It seems weird to think that I will not be back in the fall. Altogether there were 15 teachers retiring or leaving for other reasons. I guess I started a trend.

The last few days I've been trying to get everything packed up as I won't be back to Idaho until September. I have to figure out what to take to Morocco, what to pack for the two months of traveling around the Northwest in July and August, what to pack for Rwanda, and what to put in storage. I've also taken two carloads of stuff to the Melba Friends Church yard sale and I'm still finding more stuff that I don't need to keep. The plan is to finish up by Wednesday morning and then leave for Oregon with Joyce who is going to be in the MAT program at Fox for the next year. I'll be staying with my aunt and uncle in McMinville until Sunday the 18th when I'll start orientation for the YCEW trip to Morocco. We'll fly out on Wednesday the 21st and return just in time for Yearly Meeting. It's going to be a busy summer.