Mark's Trip to DR Congo

October 2009

Dear Family and Friends

I, Mark, was asked to take a trip to Adi, Congo to help some missionary friends with some tractor, car, motorcycle, truck and ??? repairs. I thought it would be fun to tell you about it but it is a bit longer then usual so please bear with me.

Sunday Sept. 27

Fly from Kigali, Rwanda to Kampala, Uganda

Monday Sept. 28

Apply for Congo Visa at Congo Embassy. I could get one at the border when entering Congo but the one I can get there is only good for 9 days. I need at least a 15 day visa.

Go around town and look at used motorcycles to see if it would be worth importing one to Rwanda. I found they were not a bad price, but were in bad condition. I think I will pass.

Tuesday Sept. 29

Take care of a bit of business at the AIM office in Kampala then go to town to get my passport, and a 30 day visa (I don’t need that many days but it is better than 9).

Wednesday Sept. 30

Up at 5 am to catch 1 ½ hour flight to Arua, Uganda. Glenn Wilton was waiting for me at airport. We went into town to pick up supplies, market for food, fuel for car, mail etc. (took about 4 hours). Went to Uganda Immigration and got stamped out of Uganda. We drove for a bit on a dirt road then Glenn told me the section of road we were on was actually the border between Congo and Uganda. We took a smaller rougher road for a bit then stopped at a gate (a pole across the road) for Congo immigration and customs. A guy who works for Glenn took our passports and went into an office (with mud walls and grass roof). While we waited a guy came out and said Hi, then he went back into the office. Glenn said that was the guy doing the customs check. About 15 minutes later Glenn’s worker came back with our passports stamped into Congo and we were ready to go. That was like no other border crossing I have ever been through. Too easy for Congo. I guess the bigger crossings are a lot more hassle, that is why Glenn likes this one. One other thing about this crossing: no military. They are all up north providing security against the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army). That war is a whole other story. After about another hour of driving (on roads that made me know I was back in Congo) we arrived at Adi.

Adi was looted during the war in Congo in 1996 (the same war we had to evacuate for). Because of the looting, there were a lot of parts missing from / problems with the tractor, motorcycle, truck as well as other things that needed fixing. After about a 10 year absence Glenn and his wife Sandy returned to Adi to continue their ministry. Glenn had purchased most of the missing parts, and had put some of them on the equipment, but most of the things still did not work for one reason or another.

Oct. 1 to Oct. 14: The work days.

Work days #1 to #3: The tractor & grass cutter

Installed a rebuilt injection pump, injectors, replaced missing fuel and injector lines, did some rewiring etc. etc.

There is also a big grass cutter that goes behind the tractor that had some leaking oil seals. Replaced the seals and sharpened the blades.

Now after 13 years Glenn can cut the grass on the airstrip with the tractor & grass cutter. Why is it so important to cut the grass on the airstrip? In Africa we have ant hills (actually termite hills). An ant hill hiding in even a foot of grass would really ruin a pilot’s day. So now with short grass comes the peace of mind knowing that the mission planes can safely land at Adi in case of emergency or the need for evacuation.

The air compressor in the shop stopped working today. Found that the capacitor was bad. Glenn just happened to have one that was a close enough fit to the bad one, replaced it and now we have compressed air again to help with the work.

Work day #3: Land Cruiser

Spend a bit of time to see why the 4-wheel-drive was not working. It is electronically controlled. This is going to take some doing. I’ll save it for later in the week.

Work days #3 to #5: Motorcycle repair

Glenn has a motorcycle to help save on expensive fuel costs. It was stolen during the war and somehow they ran it out of oil. He had sent the engine to Kampala, Uganda for someone to rebuild. When he got it back and put it in the motorcycle, it would not start. It has been sitting now for about 2 years. After a bit of checking I found that the engine had no compression because the valve adjustment was too tight. I adjusted valves and got the engine running, sort of. After all the years of sitting, the carburetors were full of crud so I removed them and decrudded them (took them apart to clean them). Engine runs fine now.

Also found lots of little electrical problems and other little things wrong so spent part of a day fixing lights, broken choke cables, charging the battery, fabricating missing shift linkage, cleaning out the cooling system and checking the thermostat (yes, a water cooled engine), checking to see why the horn did not work, etc.

On day #3 it rained in the afternoon. Glenn has a 55 gallon drum of water that is painted black that is sitting on the roof of his house. It is plumbed into the shower in the house. Obviously, on a sunny day the water gets warm. And more obviously, on rainy days it does not. Had a cold shower tonight.

Sunday Oct. 4 went to a French service in Church. The guy spoke really softly so could not hear him too well. Too bad. Spent part of the afternoon on Google to see if we could find a wiring diagram for Glenn’s Land Cruiser to help us figure out why the 4wd is not working.

Work day #5: Land Cruiser

One of the back windows on Glenn’s Land Cruiser did no go down. Took off the door panel and found a gizmo had come loose. Put the gizmo back on and now it works.

Work day #6: Motorcycle

After a bit of fiddling around with the choke cable trying to make it work better I got to go on a motorcycle ride while Glenn cut the airstrip with the tractor. It was fun until the choke cable worked its way back out and made the engine stall. The battery is no good and this morning we needed to jump start it. This is a 500cc bike and only has an electric start (no kick start). We tried push starting it but it would not work. One of the workers came to the airstrip to keep the kids away from the tractor so he rode his bike back to the house to take the battery out of the Land Cruiser and bring it back with jumper cables. The motorcycle started right up. I decided to get it back to the house and park it. Will work on the choke cable another day.

Work day #6: Land Cruiser

Took another stab at the 4wd today. Found there was a short in the wiring at the motor on the automatic hub on the left side. I was able to remove the motor and reinstall the hub in the locked position. So for now we are leaving the auto locking hub button pushed in. This will lock the right hub. With both front hubs locked all you have to do is put the transfer case in 4 wd and voila, you have 4 wheel drive! Glenn will have to replace the auto locking hub motor some day so he can go back to having auto locking hubs again.

Work day #6: Big table saw

Glenn has this big table saw. He is helping make doors (no Home Depot around here) for the student housing units for the Adi Bible School. The saw helps cut the wood (obviously). A few weeks ago he was cutting away when the motor started to slow down all on its own, and then pop. Something blew and the motor stopped. Turns out the capacitor blew on this motor, too. Wouldn’t you know it, Glenn had another capacitor that was just right for the job. I am thinking maybe his generator is underpowered or something causing the capacitors to blow. Anyone have an idea???

On day #6 it rained again in the afternoon. Did not bother taking a shower (see above).

A little about Glenn and Sandy Wilton

Back in the day when Lisa and I first went to Zaire (now DR Congo) we were dorm parents for Glenn and Sandy’s daughter Karen when she was in 2nd and 3rd grades. Karen is now married and has a child.

Glenn and Sandy’s house was badly looted during the war, and then sat empty. When they got back to Adi they found all the windows were gone, holes in the ceiling, doors gone or locks broken, most everything was taken, and things were a real mess inside. Glenn has done an excellent job of putting things back together. There is no electricity at Adi so Glenn has installed 2 sets of solar panels and batteries, one set runs a small 12v. refrigerator and the other set is for the 12v. house lights and an inverter (a gizmo that converts 12v. to 120v.) The 120v. electricity charges laptop batteries and runs the modem for internet (which gets its signal from Uganda about 30 miles away). It also runs a duplicating machine where Glenn and Sandy print booklets in Bangala for the Bible School in Adi and for other Bible Schools. They also print Sunday School lessons, hymnals etc. for the church. There is very little in print in the Bangala language so this work is essential.

Rain water is collected by rain gutters and goes into an underground cistern. It is then pumped up to an over head storage tank by a 12v. water pump, and into the infamous black 55 gallon drum used for a water heater (rather, a water warmer that gets cold fast).

In addition to the Adi Bible School, there is a hospital here that Samaritans’ Purse has been heavily investing in. SP has installed a big generator and water system (a well I think) for the hospital. There are some SP guys coming soon to finish installing solar panels so they don’t have to run the generator as much.

Work day #7 Motorcycle & Ford

Got the choke connector set up a bit better. I think it will work now. I took a look at the old Ford Truck. It is a 1979 Ford truck that is really rusty and is missing a lot of stuff because of the looting during the war. Inside the cab is basically stripped bare. The seat, speedo and all the gauges and wires are gone. Under the hood it is not as bad but it does not look great. The front driveshaft and tires are gone, too. Glenn has new tires and a few of the missing parts. I kind of feel it would be like the “Junkyard Wars” I saw on TV to get it running again. It does not need a speedo etc. to run and we could rig up something for a seat, but I told some of Glenn’s workers here that we should dig a real big hole and bury it!

But Glenn would like to have a work truck around, and especially this one because it has a dump truck bed on it. I told Glenn that we should remove the cab, engine, transmission, front axle etc. cut the frame in half and turn the truck into a trailer that he can pull with his tractor. I also told him we can mount the PTO (Power Take Off) driven winch to the front of the trailer and connect it to the PTO on the back of the tractor. That way the dump bed will work / go up. We’ll see if he buys the idea.

Work Day #7: Had a fight with a steering wheel

Glenn had not quite finished cutting the airstrip the other day so he went out this morning to finish it up. It started to rain while he was out but he really wanted to get the whole thing cut so he stayed out and finished in the rain. When he got back he said he wanted to look at the loose steering on the tractor. Long story, but to fix it we needed to remove the steering wheel. After about 2 hours we got it off – we won! (normally it takes about 4 minutes). I think we have the problem figured out with the loose steering, but in doing so we opened up a can of worms. Will try to finish it up in the morning.

Glenn said he likes my idea of turning the old Ford truck into a trailer. We will see how it works.

Work Day #8: Can of Worms in the Tractor Steering and the Truck

After putting the worms back in the can and fixing the problem with the tractor’s steering we started in on the Ford truck. With the help of some of Glenn’s workers we had the truck’s cab ready to take off by the end of the day. We will pull it off tomorrow.

Work Day #9: Reincarnation of a Ford Truck

After getting everyone in position we picked up the cab and put 2 long poles under it to raise it up off the frame. Then we just pushed it off to the side. Rather easy actually. Then it was time to remove the engine, transmission and everything else that was not needed. The idea here is to use just the rear axle, dump bed, the rear half of the frame, weld a hitch on it and then put on some new tires to make a trailer. Glenn has an old trailer tongue / hitch that we will weld to the frame so it can be attached behind the tractor. The last thing to set up will be to relocate the truck’s shaft driven winch so it can be powered by the tractor’s PTO. The winch is what is used to raise the dump bed to dump it. Next week is going to be a lot of fun.

It rained again this afternoon so since we have Church tomorrow Glenn fired up the generator to power the electric water heater so we could have a hot shower.

Sunday Oct. 11 went to the French service again. This time I could hear the preacher a bit better. After lunch had a nap and worked on this letter a bit.

Work Day #10 to #13: Truck into Trailer

The bulk of the work these 3 days involved taking a bunch of measurements to properly mount the hitch, the PTO driven winch, reinforcements, make up a new drive shaft for the PTO etc. etc. By 3PM on my last work day at Adi we pulled the “new” dump trailer out into the middle of the yard and gave it a try. It worked beautifully. I thought these last few days was going to be a lot of fun. It was but it was also a lot of work. Time to clean up and get ready to go home.

Thursday Oct. 15

Get up at 4 AM and drive from DR Congo into Uganda. Catch a 1 1/2 hr. flight to Kampala, Uganda then another 1 hr. flight down to Kigali, Rwanda. I have been away for almost 3 weeks. It is good to be home. We basically got everything done we set out to do during my time at Adi. I was last in Adi about 15 years ago when I did a lot of the same kind of work. Perhaps I will do this trip again in another 15 years.

Thanks for your prayers!

Mark Sudman (for all of us)

Prayer Letter - September 26, 2009

September 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you for your prayers over the last month. We have now had 3 weeks of classes at Kigali International Community School (KICS) and while there were a few small bumps, things are going great. PTL! The teacher who was delayed because of the illness of her mom was able to arrive on time. Her mother made a much quicker than expected recovery. We have a great God! While most of the textbooks have made it, there are still a few we are waiting for. PRAY for their quick arrival.

We are now looking at what we will be doing next as our original commitment to help at KICS as the Transition Administrators is about to end. On Sunday, Sept. 27, Mark will be leaving for a several week trip to Adi in DR Congo to help our AIM colleagues, Glenn and Sandy Wilton, with some car, truck, tractor, motorcycle and ??? repairs. Please PRAY for a safe and effective trip and that he will be a blessing to those he helps there. PRAY, too, that he can get a Congo visa in good time and all the flight connections work well. PRAY for Lisa as she stays in Kigali—for safety at home and as she drives to and from KICS. Also PRAY as she considers continuing on at KICS to help coordinate their accreditation process.

The wives and children of the two AIM AIR staff who were killed in the airplane crash have returned to the US to seek God’s will for their futures. Please PRAY that they will be acutely aware of God’s comfort and guidance.

Please continue to PRAY about the delay in construction of the theological college (FATER/Rwanda Institute of Evangelical Theology). PRAY for details to come together so that we will be able to start construction soon.

Emily has been at RVA for a month now and is adjusting well to 11th grade, a new dorm mom, and a new roommate. We are thankful for her good health and positive attitude. PRAY that her mid-term weekend with friends in Nairobi (Oct 9-13) will be pleasant and restful.

Thank you again for your prayers! You are a blessing to us!

Mark and Lisa and Emily Sudman
BP 1299
Kigali, Rwanda
Mark-lisa.sudman@aimint.net

Emily arrived at RVA

Well, Emily made it to RVA and is getting settled in. Her flight was supposed to leave at 11 am on Friday so we were going to leave at 8ish to get there early (We can see the airport up on the hill from our house – it’s only a 15 minute drive). There is a new “Bourbon Coffee” place at the airport by the main entrance and they sell really good French style Chocolate Croissants so we thought we’d get one for a breakfast treat before she got on her plane. I decided to check my email one last time before getting ready to go and discovered one from RVA saying that the flight was changed to 3 in the afternoon! I was just starting to call one of the other families who would be putting a child on the plane when Mark’s phone rang and another dad was calling to let us know the same information. That dad went to airline office to verify and get the kids’ tickets confirmed for the new flight.

So, we went off to KICS instead to do a bit of work and Mark ran off to the immigration office to drop off stuff for the latest visas. Unfortunately, immigration is being very picky about the photos we are trying to use and they still didn’t accept them. Bother. We ate lunch with the teachers at KICS and then took Emily off to the airport. All 7 of the RVA kids were there and ready to go. They got on with no problem. Emily said that this time the plane had assigned seating – it’s a smaller plane with about 30 seats so up till now it’s been open seating. She ended up not sitting with an RVA kid but next to a gentleman. It’s only an hour flight so it’s not a big deal. She also ended up in the emergency exit row (we thought minors weren’t supposed to placed there). She said it was a little “freaky” when the attendant came and gave instructions on how and when to open the door. She was told she could change seats if she didn’t want the responsibility but since the gentleman was also in the row with her, she stayed put. You always go on faith that you won’t need the emergency door anyway.

Emily said her new dorm mom is nice. She doesn’t know yet how strict she’ll be. Hopefully strict enough without being a tyrant. She is still in the dorm building called “Kedong”. Kedong is divided into 5 sections, each with it’s own dorm mom’s apartment and it’s own entrance. Last year she was in Kedong Upper East. This year she is in Kedong Middle West. She was assigned a roommate – someone either new or returning after a furlough – but she isn’t back yet so Emily has her own room for now. She thinks maybe she’ll be alone the whole semester. She said that’s not a bad thing.

Emily got her class schedule and got into all the classes she wanted. She has American history, PE/Bible (alternating every 6 weeks), English, Pre-Calculus, French 3 and Chemistry. She thinks French and Chemistry will be the hardest and unfortunately, they are the last two periods of the day. She doesn’t like that but there’s not much she can do about it.

Saturday at KICS we had a “Meet and Greet” in the afternoon. It was kind of like an open house only the classrooms weren’t open. The teachers were set up around the courtyard and the parents and families came to them and introduced themselves. There was a food table with sodas, cookies and samosas. There was also a table with samples of the school supplies which the kids are to bring with them. I haven’t counted up the names of who signed in but we guess there were about 150 people there – about ½ of the families represented. We were pleased with the turnout and with the general atmosphere and attitudes of everyone. Some parents noted there was a “different spirit” at this gathering.

Sunday we hosted an informal afternoon gathering of our AIM team. Bonvallats and Rossingtons had been gone for the summer and are now back so we wanted to welcome them. Also, I wanted the Maxwell family (new principal at KICS) to get to meet the AIM folks so I invited them. The Bonvallats had visitors from Congo who we also invited. We were 23 total! I made a birthday cake for Mark (chocolate cake with banana cream filling and fudge frosting!) and others brought fruit, popcorn, carrot sticks and muffins. It was fun. There were 9 kids who thought it was fun to try to catch and hold the kittens. When the kids were distracted with eating, I caught the kittens and hid them in Emily’s room. The kids then had a game of “hide and seek” with the kittens but the kids never did find them! After they left, I found the kittens snuggled up, sound asleep on Emily’s bed, none too worse for the extra excitement!

Well, I guess that’s it for now. It’s time to get ready for school and a new week. The first grade teacher arrives Thursday, (I think) with his wife and 1 year old. I think they will be staying with us for a few days. Should be fun!

Another busy week!!

Don’t have much time but thought I’d send a quick update.

I cut my last letter short on Sunday because I thought we were going to have the boys back here but it turned out they stayed at their new place after all. We’ve been without guests now for a few days! We’ll probably have the first grade teacher with his wife and 1 year old stay with us next week for a few days until we can get them into permanent housing. Guess God knew we needed a big house!

Speaking of the house, we skyped for 45 minutes with the family whose house we’re staying in. They had been planning on returning in January but due to medical complications they’ve decided to stay in Canada for recuperation and to let their boys have a full year in the same school. So, that means we can stay in this house until June if we want!

The work at school is continuing – things are kind of a blur. We are still incredibly busy trying to get teachers settled and everything ready for the first day, 1 September. Now we have to just ask – “Is this required for the 1st day?” Not everything will get done. Crazy thing is, we still have applications coming in from new families! We have just about reached our limit of students that we can handle for this year. Some classes are bursting at the seams to be sure!! God is blessing!

Last night Mark, Emily and I went to an Indian restaurant for dinner to celebrate Mark’s birthday (a bit early but Emily’s classes begin on his birthday). The food was good, service great, atmosphere fun, prices a little steep but okay for a celebration. The highlight was that Emily had heard that this place would sing happy birthday so we told them, without Mark knowing, that we were celebrating. After the meal was cleared away, the lights went out (there were candles on the tables) and we heard some banging in the distance. Soon there were about 10 employees banging on trays like drums and singing “Happy Birthday” – first in English, then in French. Then they sang the “Jambo” welcome song in Swahili and a little bit in English. It carried on for quite awhile as they all danced around the table making a lot of noise and having Mark stand up and be thoroughly embarrassed! Great fun! He said it wasn’t as bad as Johnny Rebs or Joe’s Crab Shack, though! They brought out some ice cream topped with bananas and apples. I wish I had remembered to grab my camera.

We are taking the staff to Lake Muhazi today for their staff meeting just to have new venue. Kind of sick of being around the school! Hopefully we’ll be able to have lunch out there – we’ve had a hard time getting ahold of the restaurant to ask about it. Also, we wanted to take Emily out there so she is coming with us.

Emily leaves tomorrow morning for RVA. Won’t see her again until Thanksgiving Day! She’ll have a new dorm, new dorm mom, new roommate, and most of the same dorm mates. Some of her old friends are coming this year who she hasn’t seen since 3rd grade! Some of them were kids I taught in Kindergarten! How did they all grow up so fast?? My baby is going into 11th grade!!!

Gotta go get breakfast and ready to head out!

Another crazy week!!

We have had a busy week with late nights but things are getting done.

After writing last week I made some soup which we enjoyed. We all (Mark, Emily, Chris (the teacher from MN) and I decided we’d go to the airport early (four more teachers were due on a flight that evening) and get an ice cream cone at the Bourbon Coffee shop there. As we were clearing the dinner table, Mark got a phone call from Bryan, the school board chairman who we’ve been working with closely this summer. “Where are you?” Bryan asked. “The teachers are here and cleared through customs already!” Come to find out, we were given the wrong ETA for their flight. So much for getting ice cream.

So we dashed to the airport and sure enough the teachers and those who went to meet them were all standing around outside in the parking lot waiting for us and the other family who was hosting one of them. We stood around for a bit chatting and getting to know one another.

We took another guy teacher, Jack Beach from Tennessee, with us to stay at our house. The others each went to different houses. Jack will be teaching HS math, physics and PE. Jack and Chris have been staying with us all week. They are nice guys and will be good additions to the teaching staff. We’ve been calling them the “boys”.

Monday to Friday have been long days at the school office for me with meeting parents, filling Trevor Maxwell (principal) in on details he needs to know, receiving payments, answering questions for the new staff, trying to help figure out the schedule of classes for HS and MS with Trevor and Holly (a returning teacher), writing and answering emails, etc.

Mark ran around all week with the teachers (or for them) – setting up bank accounts, looking for housing, dropping off visa paperwork at immigration, going back the next day with copies of the signed contracts for the visas (the letters of appointment he’d dropped off the day before weren’t good enough), trying to work with landlords to get leases signed and working on getting the houses in shape, shopping, etc, etc.

A couple days we didn’t get back to our house until 8 or 8:30 at night! I am extremely thankful for Musengimana who works for us right now. I would give her a list in the morning of food we needed at market, a meal we needed to have ready for us in the evening, and laundry or other household tasks. When we got home, the house was clean, dishes washed and put away, laundry washed and ironed, fruits and veggies in the fridge, and dinner ready! I would never have survived this week without her!!!

Emily has been going in with us to school and helping out a lot. She has basically been a go-fer (you know: go for this and go for that). She has made copies, run around delivering supplies to classrooms, sorted out the new books that have arrived, helped teachers find things, babysat for the Maxwells while they went house hunting, etc, etc. She’s gotten to know the new teachers pretty well and enjoys hanging out with them. She said it’s been better than sitting around the house with nothing to do.

To add to the excitement of the week, Trevor hired 2 more teachers: A first grade teacher who hopes to leave the US September 2 or 3 and another middle school teacher who will fill some gaps. She hopes to arrive the 2nd or 3rd week of September. We start school on September 1 so someone will have to substitute for a bit while we wait for these to come but at least they are coming!! God has been blessing the school in tremendous ways!

Saturday I wanted to take Emily to a large market to look for some clothes. She has worn through some of her shorts and capris. The boys wanted to go along as well so we all went together, although Mark and the boys walked around together while Emily and I hit the clothing area. This market is really huge – Fruits and vegetables of all types, dried beans of many colors, shapes and sizes, dry goods like flour, sugar, etc, meat and fish – fresh, frozen and dried, hardware supplies, kitchen supplies, baskets, buckets, luggage, shoes, bed linens, towels, - well, I suppose this market is Kigali’s equivalent to Wal-Mart only it’s more like a swap meet/farmer’s market. Most of the clothes are used (I saw one with the Goodwill price tag still on it). Emily and I just wandered around the different stalls until we saw something we thought might fit her. In the end she got a couple pairs of PE shorts, a couple pairs of capris and a pair of track pants. She did all the bargaining herself – in French! I was impressed! The merchants all seemed to think she was cute and gave her reasonable prices. More than Goodwill but way cheaper than new. The boys didn’t buy anything – just looked around.

In the afternoon, Mark and the boys went to the “girls’” house to help hang up mosquito nets and other things. They tried to get things settled with the boys’ landlord so they could move in soon but that is going slowly. Emily went swimming with the Bonvallat family who just got back from their summer travels to the US (for work) and Switzerland (for medical checks and visit family). She is not pleased with the pool – said it is getting too green.

Saturday evening Mark, Emily, our friend Melissa, and I went out to dinner to a nice restaurant (décor was beautiful; food okay; price way too expensive) just for fun. The “boys” met the “girls” at an Indian restaurant which we haven’t tried yet. Said it was quite good.

Well, I will have to tell you about today’s church service later. We thought the boys were moving out into their own place today but I just got a message from Mark that they are coming back and sleeping at our house. No problem – except I sent one of their blankets and comforter to loan to another new teacher flying in tonight. I need to go see what I can find in Finnerty’s things and figure out supper…..

Things never quite go as planned here. At least we have plenty of water and electricity!

Saturday events

Well, the city was replacing valves or something for our water main pipes up the road from us and on Friday afternoon we got word that the work was finished and our tank was filling up! That was very good news.

For the last several weeks it has been very dry and dusty here – no rain at all which is in stark contrast to all the rain we had in Jan – Apr! The last couple of weeks it even became quite hot – not humid, thankfully – but hot. Friday late afternoon we noticed a change in the weather. A wind came up and clouds (not dusty haze) appeared. In the evening we watched a fantastic lightening storm (we live on a hill overlooking the city). Then, the power went off… but a few hours later, it was back on again.

I woke up to a steady rain on the roof – what an amazing sound! Normally I go back to sleep but I couldn’t stop wondering if the kittens were okay. They are just over 6 weeks old now and we can no longer contain them easily so we decided to let them roam the yard with their mom. (They are not inside cats.) Since I couldn’t sleep I decided to get up and check email and stuff that I hadn’t been able to do that evening with the power off. The kittens were fine – they and Mom have a nice hiding place. They could have gone into the outside kitchen where they have been for the last 6 weeks but that would have been too easy! While checking email, there were some really close, loud, bright claps of thunder and lightening. Mark woke up then and came in to unplug the internet and computers just in case we got hit by lightening they wouldn’t get zapped. So, I went back to bed and slept.

The rain continued steadily for most of the morning. I was hoping to do a couple loads of laundry, since we had water, but with the rain, I wouldn’t be able to dry the clothes. About the time it quit raining and I decided that laundry might still be a possibility, the power went off again. Musengimana, who works for us, told us she noticed the wires on the pole in the street by our house crackling. The ended any hopes of getting laundry done…

Around 8 pm we had guys from the electric company come by to check out our problem. They said it was indeed a problem at the pole and they would have to come the next morning to climb the pole and fix it. Our landlord happens to work for the electric company so he is able to help us expedite these things. This morning during church, Mark got a text message from our landlord saying that there a guy who could climb the pole but Mark would have to go pick him and his ladder up. So after we got home, Mark went off to collect the fellow and his ladder. About an hour later, (29 hours after it went off) we had electricity again! So, tomorrow, (I don’t do laundry on Sundays) I hope to get some laundry done!

To add to our Saturday evening fun –

We had invited a another family over to play games for the evening but they cancelled because mom wasn’t feeling well. Okay, a restaurant in town was advertising live music – acoustic guitar, saxophone and clarinet. Sounds good – we decided to check it out. But we needed to wait for the electricity guys to come and they arrived too late to go to the concert. So, we called Melissa to see what she was doing – after chatting with her family on the phone, she was going to watch a movie and we could come up and join her. Emily and I walked up to her place and were just getting settled into a movie when Mark called – the teacher who we were expecting to arrive Sunday at noon (he will stay with us for a week or so) actually was due to arrive SATURDAY at noon but his plane had mechanical problems and he was delayed! His new ETA was 9 pm Saturday. We hadn’t made his bed yet! Mark and Trevor went to the airport to meet him and sure enough, he was on that flight! Mark let us know that he had indeed arrived so Emily and I rushed home and made the two guest beds and got candles ready, etc for him. Whew! I’m glad we had a little warning! We told him he could take a cold shower or a warm bucket bath. He opted for warm bucket bath. I’m looking forward to a warm shower soon!!

He is a nice guy. Came to teach MS/HS French and Maths. He is from the Twin Cities in MN. His accent makes me homesick for the Schendel family!!

Well, I better go work on supper and getting ready for the other new teacher who is staying here.

Water situation

We are officially out of water in our storage tank. The city water that usually comes in to fill the tank has not come in for a 2 or 3 weeks but we have seen guys down the road working on a water main pipe. Yesterday it looked like they were getting closer to being finished so we are hopeful that water will come in a couple of days.

But we still have access to water – it’s just not convenient. This is where our camping experience comes in handy!! There is a community water tap down the hill from us, near the market. This is where the folks who do not have plumbed water go on a daily basis to collect water in their plastic jugs. It is a very common site to see children and adults carrying water jugs (from 5 liters – 20 liters / 1+ - 5 gallons) down the street. I am constantly amazed to see them carrying full 20 liter jugs on their heads!! When we need to buy water, we have one of our workers get a water guy to bring us some. There are young men who go up and down the streets all day with a wheel barrow full of water jugs – I’ve seen them pushing up to 5 or 6 jugs of water at a time. We have a large drum we put outside our kitchen door that the guys fill for us and then we have buckets in each bathroom that fill for washing up. Our worker, Musengimana, will hand wash some clothes for us today (the machine we have is a European front loading machine which is hard to use without plumbed water – I miss my simpler twin-tub machine we had in Nairobi.) These guys are super strong from pushing their wheelbarrows of water jugs up the hill – especially our dirt road that is full of deep ruts. We pay 250 rwf per 20 liters which is 44 cents. The water itself costs (if we were to go down and get our own jug filled) 100 rwf per 20 liters so these guys are making 26 cents per jug or about
$1.50 per wheelbarrow, if they can handle 6 jugs at a time. My guess would be that from our street to the water tap plus waiting in line, round trip would take them 45 minutes to an hour. We hear their wheelbarrows starting around 5 am and they keep going all day until dark (6 pm or so). I’d say they might make $8 - 10 a day hauling water!

The kittens we have are getting big and harder to contain in a safe place. We gave up last night and let them be free – figuring they were more apt to get hurt trying to get out than being out. They are so cute running around in the garden. I just hope they don’t find a small hole somewhere and get stuck! They are trying to figure out if they should be friends with the dog. Their mom is very friendly with the dog so I think they’ll warm up to her soon enough. The African gray parrot may be a harder friendship to create – I don’t know – but again the mom cat and the bird get along ok. (I’ve even seen them “kiss” – very funny!)

Well, I’m off to get breakfast and then to work. It looks like we’ve got a 1st grade teacher now. He won’t get here until a month or so after school starts but at least he’s coming. The other big hole is Kindergarten and we are realizing we could use another middle school teacher – we have full classes which we weren’t expecting. We had planned on doubling up a couple classes (like soc. Studies or Bible) but now with the larger classes we can’t do that so we need to have more teachers to cover each class. I think it will work out – the teachers will just be stretched.

Kumbya

We just got back from a week away at a camp called “Kumbya” so I thought I’d write a bit about it before we get swamped with life again!

Kumbya (pronounced: KOOM-bee-yah NOT kum-bye-yah like the song) is a “camp” that was established by missionaries several decades ago (60 – 80 years I think – not quite sure). I’m a bit hazy on the history but my understanding is that way back then, the government gave or sold a peninsula on Lake Kivu to the Free Methodist missionaries working in the area. At some point several mission organizations banded together and create a camp area for missionaries serving in the “Great Lakes” region of Africa (basically Rwanda, Congo, Uganda, Burundi). Each organization built a “cabin” for their missionaries to use and now there are about 8 of these. They are actually brick buildings with tile roofs. I only went into a couple of them but while they are all different, they all basically have a main living/playroom with 3-5 small bedrooms and a small kitchen of sorts. The one we stayed in was the only one we know of that had a flush toilet! Our kitchen was a closet sized room with a cupboard on one side for storing dishes/food and a table on the other side with a 2 burner gas stove and a few pots on a shelf. There was running water coming into the kitchen but no sink. We had buckets that we used to wash dishes on the porch outside. The back yard looked out onto the lake and we ate all our breakfasts out there. There was a large fire ring in the back yard where we sat around a fire a couple of evenings. We had a fire in the inside fireplace one evening but it was pretty smoky the next day in the living room. There is no electricity on the peninsula but there are a couple of generators they use for the evening meeting time. We used kerosene lanterns or candles to light our cabin.

There are not enough cabins for everyone so several people pitched tents all around – there are no actual campsites – just where you want. There are pit toilets in different locations around the peninsula so most folks camped within easy walking distance to a toilet. A third option for sleeping was to request a “hut” . Some local guys came in a day or two early and constructed temporary grass huts for those who had requested them. I didn’t actually look in one but I think it would have been a fun option for kids or families who didn’t own tents.

Another building at the camp is a meeting/dining room/kitchen. This was an L-shaped building. Everyone ate breakfasts in their cabin or campsite but we all ate together in the dining room for lunches and suppers. The meals were prepared by a crew that is hired just for the week but some have been doing it for several years now (one said he’s been cooking at the camp for 30+ years.) Some missionary wives plan the meals ahead of time and do the shopping in Kigali. The meals were simple but very good. I was impressed. We ate things like Enchiladas, pizza, spaghetti, fish and chips, burritos, soups, salads, mac and cheese, etc. It was all cooked over wood stoves or in wood ovens.

The basic schedule was:
Breakfast/clean-up
Morning worship / Bible teaching (kids younger than HS had a VBS program at this time)
Tea break (I provided goodies for one of the tea breaks)
Small group discussion/prayer or women’s/men’s group teaching time (HS discussion time + VBS)
Lunch
Free time
Supper
Evening Meeting
Hang around the cabin/hit the hay

Every year a speaker is invited to come for the week. This year it was a pastor and his wife, Terry and Kelleen, from a church called CrossOver in Spokane, WA. He was very good. She was also good when she led the women’s meetings. His talks were mostly taken from John 13-14. Hers were from Ps. 46.

For most folks, the free time was spent at the beach on the lake. There is a very nice cove where there is some sand and some grass and trees. It was definitely the place to be in the afternoons. There is platform (everyone called it a dock but technically it wasn’t a dock) a few yards out from shore where some folks (mostly kids) would swim to and sit on or dive off from or play “king of the dock” (Emily’s favorite). Over the years different mission groups or missionaries have donated or loaned “toys” to the camp – innertubes and other floating devices, a small 1 – 2 person sailboat , a motor boat with water skiis, a kneeboard and other pull toys, and kayaks. Mark took Emily out on the sailboat one day and taught her the basics of sailing. He also got the motorboat going and took the high schoolers out knee boarding one day. He took the younger kids out on a big tube that is designed for pulling behind a boat. Emily went out kayaking with friends a few times, went cliff jumping (estimated to be about as high as a high dive at a pool), built sand castles/kingdoms with the younger kids or just chilled out and read. I spent most afternoons at the beach watching Emily and the other kids while reading a book or chatting with other moms. If I wasn’t there, I was taking a nap or doing laundry or other household chores at the cabin. When Mark wasn’t in a boat on the water, he was looking at someone’s car or other items that needed fixing.

The evening meetings were varied.
Saturday night was an introductory meeting.

Sunday night Kelleen gave her testimony.

Monday a missionary who has been in Rwanda for 25+ years gave a testimony/talk about how God has worked in his life over the years.

Tuesday the missionaries who were at Kumbya for the first time gave testimonies (Mark shared).

Wednesday night the “Kumbya Development Committee” (KDC) gave a report of the plan for the future development of the area. Simply put, it has come to the attention of the government that the peninsula was “given” to missionaries years ago but those people are no longer around. The administration of the land and usage of it has been very loosely structured over the past few years. Because Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa and land is valuable, the government requires that all land be owned and used for specific purposes. The KDC has been formed and there is now an association that has been formalized which will then take over legal ownership of the land. They then have plans to build a few “luxury” tent sites and dining area on a different part of the peninsula which will be used for “ecotourism” to satisfy the desire of the government. The missionary camp section will remain virtually untouched and still be used by missionaries needing a retreat/rest. One of the huge draws of the land is that it is one of few places on the lake where the indigenous trees and shrubs are untouched and it has become quite a sanctuary for birds.

Thursday was the mandatory camp event – “Skit Night!” There was a huge variety of hilarious skits and amazing talent. One skit was a mockery of a well meaning American evangelist who came to Africa to preach using idioms and very American phrases. It was then “interpreted” to the audience by a “local” interpreter. Everyone was roaring in laughter! One mom performed a beautiful dance/sign language of a worship song. A family of 3 kids did a percussion trio using local instruments that was extremely well done. Emily and I taught the group one our family favorite camp songs: “Wa-da-lee-ah-cha” One 10 year old girl sang a worship song she wrote – phenonmenal. A 5 year old girl sang the worship song “Holy is Lord” and did a super job but when she came the words “It’s the anthem of the Lord’s renown” she sang “it’s the antelope the Lord’s renown”! Very cute! It was a fun evening.

Friday night was “Movie on the Beach”. They took the generator down to the beach, hung a sheet between two trees, set up a computer and projector and speakers and showed “Madagascar 2”. While it sounded like fun to watch a movie on the beach like that, we didn’t really care about watching that particular movie and neither did Emily’s 2 RVA friends so we invited them over to play “Settlers of Catan” with us. We were 6 (Melissa went to Kumbya with us) so we used Emily’s new extension for the first time. It made for a long game but it was fun. We sat out on the porch with lanterns all around us. The moon was pretty bright so that helped.

A tradition at Kumbya each evening is to award the “Cuckoo Award”. Basically, “friends” nominate their friends who catch them doing something silly or “cuckoo”. One night it was given to a lady who that morning had groggily gotten up and started making Kool-aid but instead of putting the powder mix into water, she put in the pitcher of milk! One Jr Higher got it for acting silly out on the lake, thinking no one else could hear him but he didn’t realize that the sound traveled far out there. Others received it for similar moments of silliness.

There is a family here whose grandfather had worked in the area as a missionary. Dave (the grandson now working here) never met his grandfather but recently met a man who had been a boy growing up in the same area as Dave’s grandfather and he knew him. This elderly man, Larry, shared many stories with Dave which Dave wrote down and shared some of them with the group in the evenings. Most of them were about Larry’s pet chimpanzee named Wimpy. Between Wimpy’s funny antics and Dave’s good story telling, we all enjoyed the stories from the past.

One of the big blessings that God provided at Kumbya were friends for Emily. We didn’t know of any kids her age who would be there at the camp this year. There were some girls a couple years younger who she would have hung out with – and she did some of the time. But when we got there another family from Uganda was unloading their car not far from our cabin and Emily instantly recognized 2 kids from her class at RVA! One is staying with the other’s family in Uganda for the break. She didn’t know them too well but they all got along great and enjoyed doing things together. It made the week a lot more fun for her to have kids her own age to hang out with.

Thursday morning the tradition at the camp is to have swim out to “3 Hump island”. It has been determined that it is 5 kilometers round trip. The swim starts at 6 am (less current) and was finished by 9:30 ish. In the group swimming this year were 6-10 adults, the high schoolers and lots of kids (there is a lot of peer pressure to do this event!). Most of the kids had some sort of floatation device to help them. Everyone made it to the island except for 3 kids. Mark took the motor boat out to keep on eye on everyone and several local fishermen were hired to also row alongside to help keep an eye on everyone. Only 4 attempted to swim back so everyone else was shuttled back in the boats. It wasn’t a race per se but Emily was the first one to make it to the island and she was hardly winded or tired. Some of the adults maybe would have given her a bit of competition but they stayed with their own kids. On the way back it was 2 adults, Emily and one of the other RVA kids (who we think only did it to keep Emily company). She ended up slowing down to stay by her friend who was extremely tired but they both made it and now they have bragging rights! In the “record books” from recent history of the camp, Emily is now the youngest swimmer to reach the island the first and maybe the youngest to go round trip! It’s really not a race but more of a “Hey, guess what I did?” type of event. After the swim, some ladies had pancakes ready for the swimmers which Emily scarfed down! I don’t think I’ve ever seen her eat so many pancakes in one sitting!!

I mentioned that the kids had a time of VBS while the adults had their morning meetings. One of those days, the story was about creation and a missionary who came in from Uganda had found some of the long balloons used for making animals. The idea was that the kids would make balloon animals as a craft. I happened to be sitting on the beach with some other moms when she delivered the balloons to the lady in charge of VBS. All the moms there commented what a good idea that was but none of them knew how to make animal balloons and they were wondering if there might be anyone there who did know. I, of course, spoke up and said that Mark knew how. So, the next morning he spent an hour or so making animal balloons for some very delighted children. In fact, that afternoon, I spotted one girl out swimming in the lake with her animal balloon right there with her!! They asked him to make some more during free time on a different afternoon but he got busy pulling kids on the boat so Emily ended up doing it instead.

The camp actually keeps going until Monday morning but we left Saturday morning so that we’d have a day to rest at home before going back to work on Monday.

Traveling to Kumbya from Kigali took us about 7 hours. There are 2 different ways to go so we went one way there and the other way back. We decided we like the 2nd one better. But both ways were very pretty. This country is truly hilly! And the people farm it up and down all the steep hills! We saw coffee, tea, corn, rice, wheat, cabbage, grasses, manioc, bananas, and lots of other crops growing. It was amazing and beautiful. Sometimes driving through a small town I felt like I had gone back in time a hundred years or more. It is very difficult to describe the scenes and yet it is beautiful. The kids along the side of the road would call out to us – often asking for money or plastic bottles but some just greeting us and waving. There was one group of adults along the side of the road that we think must have just come from a gathering of some sort but when they saw us, they gathered and began singing us a song!

Journey Home from the Retreat

Just a quick note to let you know I made it home from the retreat. Mark isn’t back yet.

We had a good time and it’s a beautiful place – unfortunately it was overcast most of the time so we didn’t get any super pictures and it rained off and on – but it was still really pretty.

It was nice to get out of the city and hang out with colleagues for a couple days.

There were 5 cars there – 2 from Uganda and 3 from Kigali. When we were loading up our car, Mark discovered we had a flat tire so he changed that and we were on our way. The 2 cars from Uganda were caravanning, Bonvallats and us, from Kigali, were caravanning and the other car, Rossingtons, wanting to get home, went on ahead. We were caravanning with the Bonvallats because we wanted to see some property they are possibly going to build a camp on. So we headed off down the road and then we got a phone call that one of the cars going to Uganda was having trouble. Fortunately, they had made a wrong turn and were on the same road we were on, just ahead of us. But, Mark realized that the car we were driving was getting really hot so he stopped and we had to add water. We eventually caught up to the other car. The other car going to Uganda had taken some of the broken down car’s passengers and continued on, caravanning to Kigali with Rossingtons. (Going through Kigali is one way they could take to get to Uganda).

The car that broke down was the Hollenbeck’s. Bonvallats ended up towing Hollenbeck’s car to the closest town, Ruhengeri. Mark had to stop every so often and put water in the car we were driving. We ate lunch at Ruhengeri and the guys found a flat bed truck that could carry the Hollenbeck’s car to Kigali. Dale Hollenbeck, rode in the truck with his car and we rearranged passengers and stuff in order to all fit in Bonvallat’s and our car. However, our car didn’t look good. The water pump was leaking like a sieve and we had to stop every 5 or 10 minutes and refill it with water. Oh, Bonvallats waited with Dale to make sure the car got on the truck okay. We started off because we knew we would be slow (we were up in the mountains and going up and down steep hills.) Finally it got really bad and Mark began to think we would have to find a different way to Kigali. I think I forgot to mention that we had Steve and Debbie Wolcott with us and they had a plane to catch; we transferred them to Bonvallat’s car at the restaurant. Anyway, as we sat by the side of the road, we were watching as several public transport vehicles kept passing but they were all full. They we saw a safari tour company vehicle coming that looked like it had empty seats. One of our passengers (Kathy Hollenbeck) waved at them and they actually stopped and came back to see if we needed help. Here was Mark with 4 women, 2 kids and an overheating car on the side of the road. They happened to have enough seats for us and said they were heading to Kigali and we could hitch a ride – free! So we piled into their vehicle, leaving Mark with the vehicle.

Everyone has now gotten to Kigali safe and sound although the car on the truck is having difficulty getting off the truck. Mark just now got here. We have Kathy Hollenbeck and 2 of her boys sleeping here, Dale and their other boy is sleeping at Bonvallat’s. A single gal went to spend the night with Melissa. We were able to get bus tickets for the Hollenbecks and the single gal so they can go on to Uganda in the morning. Their car will have to have the engine overhauled here in town and he’ll have to come back later for it.

We are all tired but God took care of us and we’ll sleep well. Tomorrow will be busy with getting everyone to the bus station and starting to work on vehicles. Oh, yes, Wolcott’s arrived in Kigali with enough time for a cup of coffee with the Bonvallats and still get to the airport on time. Rossington’s helped the other car from Uganda get to a coffee shop in town to meet up with friends. We assume they made it back home okay – we haven’t heard otherwise.

Looking ahead

Just a quick note to let you know that we are heading out tomorrow for a weekend retreat with other AIM missionaries. There will be about 8 from Uganda (including Steve and Debbie Wolcott) joining the 7 of us from Kigali plus kids (9 I think-7 boys and 2 girls!)

We are going to a place called Ruhengeri. It is in northern Rwanda, near the volcanoes. We won’t be in the town of Ruhengeri but in the area. Ruhengeri is well known here by tourists because it is a stopping point before going on to hike to see the gorillas. We won’t be looking for gorillas this time around.

A strange turn of events has occurred here for me. The school we are helping out during their transition, KICS, is in the process of interviewing a potential principal and he and his wife will be coming to Kigali next week to have interviews in person. However, the school board, not sure if this candidate will agree to come or not, wanted to present a Plan B to the parents at the school. So, they asked me to be part of plan B! IF there is no principal in place by September, I will be the interim, temporary Elementary Principal!! It’s definitely a stretch but I will see what I can do. I am praying that this fellow will agree to take the position so I don’t have to !!!

Please pray for more teachers to come next fall and for the administration positions to be filled.

Thanks for Praying!

Thank you for praying for our family in Santa Barbara. Mark's brother, Bill, never had to evacuate which was very good. Mark's mom, Beverly, and Stephanie did evacuate for a couple of days. Beverly stayed at a friend's house near the ocean and Stephanie went an hour north to a friend's house for the weekend. They returned to a house intack but a charred hillside for a view. Stephanie spent an afternoon vacuuming the driveway, patio and pool deck to get rid of ashes. But they are no worse for the wear. This was Beverly's 2nd evacuation in 10 months - the 3rd major fire in Santa Barbara in the same 10 months. Pretty soon the hills should be all burned off and they won't have to worry about wildfires for awhile!

New house, new "job"

Well, we moved over the weekend and are fairly settled into the house except I haven’t organized the kitchen yet. It is a big job and I haven’t had a chance to tackle it yet. It’s a functioning kitchen just has too much stuff in it and I want to clear some stuff out and put in some of my stuff.

The new house is at least twice as big as the house we were just in and probably the biggest house we’ve ever lived in. It is way too big for the two of us but we will probably be hosting a few guests over the next couple of months. It is a very nice house as well – tile floors, large spacious rooms, decent furniture, nice front porch. But it has a few downsides: the kitchen is too small, the fridge is way too small, the house is situated sideways on the property so the “front of the house” and the porch faces the wall dividing the house from the neighbors. The kitchen is in the “back” and it looks out at the “Annex” – another building in the back with 3 more rooms plus a kitchen/laundry room; not a nice yard view like the other house. The living room and the bedroom we are using as an office face the yard and overlook the city but it’s not quite as good a view as the other house. We have a better view of the airport though. Can definitely watch the planes coming and going. We also have 3 pets now: a dog (no idea the breed but yellowish, short haired, medium sized and friendly), a cat (small gray tabby – reminds me of “Cindy” but much smaller), and an African gray parrot that talks all day long – mostly says “Hi mom”, “Gasuku” (it’s name which means parrot in Kinyarwanda) and lots of squeaks and whistles. It also sometimes says “No!” and something else I can’t remember but it is a very distinct Irish accent! The dad of the family we are house sitting for is Irish. They are all outside animals although all three have ventured inside at least once. The workers feed them and take care of them.

We have also started a new temporary job – we are the “transition team” at a school here in town. The school, Kigali International Community School (KICS), is a Christian school that several of the missionary kids go to. The short story is that they have had a very major upheaval and all the administrative staff and most of the teachers are leaving! They are interviewing a candidate for principal who is coming out next week to talk directly with the board before making his decision. But in the mean time, they asked Mark and I to spend time with the current principal to find out about the ins and outs of the school and then later we will pass the info on the to new guy, whoever he is. We were asked because: 1) the construction project is on hold for now and we didn’t have much to do 2) we have worked at schools in various capacities for many years 3) we are neutral and almost completely unknown to the school. So, starting Tuesday, we have been leaving by 7:30 am and learning about how to run a school! Up until now, we sometimes were still in bed at 7:00 and often didn’t get around to breakfast until 8:00. This has definitely changed our lives for a bit but we were probably getting a bit lazy.

We are still trying to have language lessons. Oh, and the new house comes with new workers. The inside worker, Musengimana, only speaks Kinyarwanda so that forces us to use what we are learning. She is extremely nice and patient with us. She helped the Finnerty’s learn the language so she knows what we are trying to do.

Because of all this, I need to close and go to bed. It is almost 11.

Good night!!

Prayer requests

Thank you for praying for our family!

First we have those in Santa Barbara. Mark's mom, Beverly and Stephanie have left their home near Goleta as the fire is blowing in their direction. They left before it was necessary in order to beat the traffic. This is the 2nd time in a year that Beverly's house has been threatened by fire!

Mark's brother, Bill, who has MS is also living in Santa Barbara and is on the edge of the evacuation area. He is hoping to be able to stay put.

Please pray for safety for all the residents and especially for the firefighters. Also pray for peace of mind for Beverly and Bill as they wait this out.

Then there is little Abbey. She finally got in to see a specialist and after running some tests, it has been determined that she has a problem with her urinary tract. Sometimes when her urine goes from her kidneys to her bladder, instead of continuing on to her diaper, it goes back up into her kidney. This obviously is not good and can cause infection and scarring. She will be on low grade antibiotics to prevent infection and be monitored for a year. At that time it will be determined if she has outgrown the problem or if surgery is necessary. Please pray for healing, for wisdom for the doctors and for peace of mind for Joe and Rebekah as they trust in God's sovereignty.

We are praising God for Christopher today! Today is his 2nd Birthday! The family will be celebrating at the Angel Game tonight. Christopher loves to say, "Go Angels!"

Moving Day!

Today is moving day! In case you don’t remember, when we came here we moved into Keith and Margaret Ferdinando’s house because they had left suddenly in September for health reasons. It has been really nice because we have been using their furniture and dishes and we haven’t had to buy anything major yet. Well, Keith had bypass surgery in January and now they are returning to teach at FATER on June 2. So we need to move out of their house in order to get it cleaned up and ready for their return.

There is another family, Patrick and Valerie Finnerty and their two boys who live 4 houses down the street. They are not with AIM but with the Vineyard church in Canada, although Patrick is Irish. Valerie is Canadian. Anyway, they had scheduled a furlough from May – January and wanted to keep their house in tack so we are moving in there! We still don’t have to buy furniture and appliances and stuff, yet.

We spent about 2 – 2 ½ hours this afternoon and got 95% of our stuff packed up and ready to move (we don’t have much…). Mark said he wanted to have a cup of coffee before putting things in the car and I thought that sounded like a good idea. Well, seeing as how this is Africa and rainy season no less, while we were enjoying a short break and a storm came in and now it is DOWNPOURING outside. So, I decided I’d write a quick note. It’s almost dark now so I don’t know if Mark will want to move still tonight or not. However, we would be very culturally Rwandan if we move after dark! We’ve been told that because of trust issues, they don’t want the neighbors to see what they own so they move their stuff after dark.

Once we get our stuff over there, we’ll probably be pretty well settled by Monday. That’s the goal anyway. We also hope we’ll have better internet connection over at the other house. They have a different system, which I haven’t tried to understand the difference, but Mark is hopeful that it will be more consistent.

Yesterday we decided to go into town to get some sewing supplies for our curtains. We brought out some of our curtains from the US but the curtain rods are different here so we need have an adjustment made to them in order to use them in the new house. Anyway, we took “our” car. It’s not in our name yet, nor have we paid any money for it but we have it in our driveway and Mark has done a lot of work on the electrical wiring. The part of downtown that we went to is very “African” in that the road is more narrow and there are a lot of small shops all lined up side by side and lots of people spilling out on the sidewalk selling things – fruits, vegetables, tablecloths, phone cards, lots of stuff. It’s not really an area with many “wazungu” (white folks). After we found a shop selling what we needed and headed off to our next stop, we were driving up this crowded road, dodging pedestrians, motorbikes, cars pulling out of parking spots, etc. and Mark honked the horn. He looked a little funny and then honked again. I asked him if was doing that on purpose and he said, “No!”. Then he realized that if he turned the steering wheel a little bit, the horn would honk. All of a sudden it started honking and wouldn’t stop! There was nobody in front of us but it appeared that this “muzungu” (singular form of wazungu) was in a big hurry! Everybody started looking at us, some started motioning for Mark to stop honking the horn, and basically everyone got out of our way! Mark was trying to keep the steering wheel steady so it wouldn’t honk but at the same time was trying to find a place to pull over. The street was jammed with parked cars but finally he found a spot with a small car and he scooted in beside it, still sort of in the road but at least other cars could get around him. The horn was blaring away! Several guys ran up to us to “help” as Mark got out of the car. Mark popped the hood and one guy started to open it but stopped when Mark told him he could take care of it. The guys all stood around and watched as Mark disconnected the horn and finally the blaring stopped! Mark made a comment about the “crazy muzungu” driver and they all laughed. Then we were on our way again. Mark worked on it today and figured out what had broken which caused the horn to stay on like that. I’m sure there will be more adventures with this car until Mark gets all the kinks worked out. Overall, it is a decent car, though.

We were able have someone take the curtains today to sew the tape on them that is needed for the curtain hooks. Hopefully we’ll be able to hang them on Monday next week. The house has curtains, we just thought it would be nice to use ours since we brought them.

Well, the rain has stopped and it is time to get supper on the table. Talk to y’all later.

Transportation

There are several modes of transportation here. Mostly people walk. You can imagine in a “Land of a Thousand Hills” the people are in good shape with all the walking they do!

A few have bicycles but because of the hills, bikes are great for going downhill, not so good for going up. Those who can afford it, which is a smaller minority, own cars.

Then there are the “taxis” which are minivans that hold 10 or 12 people. There are a few larger ones but mostly they are the smaller vans. In Kenya a minivan is called a “matatu”. These are fine if you want to go where the van is going.

If you want to go somewhere more quickly or to a specific spot that is not on the taxi’s route, you can take a “moto-taxi” (moto for short). These are small motorbikes. There are oodles and oodles of these zipping in and out of traffic. Sometimes I imagine them as little ants. The driver wears a reflective vest that is good for seeing him at night. Also, the drivers wear helmets and carry a helmet for the passenger. I suspect the driver will be fined severely if caught with himself or his passenger not wearing a helmet. Most of the motos have small motors and are not able to go very fast, especially uphill. That is a good thing. Mark has taken a moto around town a few times. It saves money on gas but it can be a little nerve wracking. I haven’t been brave enough or needed to take one. For the number of them we see around, I’m surprised that we really don’t see too many involved in accidents. The car drivers are used to them and they all watch out for each other.

Often the moto passenger has something he or she is carrying. I have seen babies on passengers’ backs. Sometimes there is a big bundle between the driver and the passenger. Usually if the bundle is large, though, the driver puts it in front of him. A few times I have seen a driver with a small child riding up in front of the driver and the parent as the passenger. Occasionally I have seen the passenger with something long on his shoulder, like a board or a metal pipe. The funniest thing I saw the other day was a passenger with a car tire balanced on each knee! I wished I had a camera. It really was a bit comical to see this moto with these two big tires on either side of it. I suppose if it had crashed, it would have been a bit more cushiony. . .

Speaking of transportation, we are only waiting now for one more signature on a piece of paper and then the car we are buying will be officially ours!! The problem is, the guy whose signature we need lives about 6 hours away and he has to sign it in person here in Kigali. We were told he was coming to town today but we haven’t heard if he made it or not. We have the car sitting in our driveway and Mark has gone over it and made a list a mile long of all the things he wants to do to it when it is ours. He has also already gone through the wiring and taken out unnecessary items and moved some wires around or connected them using wire connectors instead of tape, etc. It will be nice when it is truly ours!

Wedding

I am WAY behind in writing about our happenings here in Kigali. I will to catch up a bit by filling in the highlights. Emily came back from RVA on March 28 and we had a great month with her. The following is about her first day home. It is longer than what I normally like to post but hopefully somewhat interesting!

Emily was REALLY tired but glad to be here. The day before leaving RVA, all the dorms have clean up and packing jobs. Obviously, they have to pack up everything and get it put into the storage room and then wash everything in the dorm really well. Since everything is packed, including bedding, Emily’s dorm girls have a tradition of just staying up all night watching movies. The RVA bus was leaving Kijabe to go to the airport around 4 a.m. anyway so it hardly seemed worth it to go to bed, right? The problem with the bus is that it takes a full load of students to the airport but they are on a variety of flights. So even if your flight isn’t until noon, you still have to get up and out by 4 a.m.! Fortunately for Emily this time around, her flight was one of the earlier ones so they didn’t have to wait around too long. She said that RVA gave them a “boxed breakfast” with cinnamon rolls and juice and maybe a yogurt, I forget. So, that was nice.

After chatting for a bit and looking at pictures, Emily went in to take a nap. Mark and I headed off to a wedding! The cousin of one of our friends here, Alexis, was getting married and Alexis invited us to the wedding. We were excited to have the opportunity go to a Rwandan wedding. There is a traditional dress that the women attending weddings (and other special occasions) wear but I didn’t have one. Myriam wasn’t going to the wedding because of her kids so she offered for me to borrow one of her outfits. It is basically a full length skirt and then a long matching piece of cloth that you wrap around like a towel but it goes under one arm and up and ties at the other shoulder. So, it just drapes down from the one shoulder. A camisole or tank top type shirt is worn under the draping the cloth. The one Myriam loaned me was really pretty: a royal blue lace with sequin all over it. When I buy one, I will not get that type but rather one that is more flowing and lightweight. Hers was very heavy with all the sequins. But, I was dressed appropriately. Mark actually wore his sport coat with a shirt and tie.

We went to the wedding with Gilles and Bruce (their wives stayed home with the kids) and they said it was just a short 10 minute walk down the hill to the church. We had never just walked down the hill; we usually go to the main road. Unfortunately, it was an extremely clear day, with nary a cloud in the sky which here in Africa makes for very intense sunshine. In other words, it was a really hot day! We started down a “road” but it was too narrow for a car. We walked past some houses and then Gilles and Bruce had a discussion about which way to go. We ended up backtracking a bit and walking on a path between more houses and down another “road” and past more houses – all the time going downhill. It turned out to be more than a short 10 minute walk – I think we walked about 30 minutes but maybe they walked slower because of me. I have shorter legs and I was in a long dress. By the time we got to church we were 15 or 20 minutes late but we were escorted to benches up near the front and still waited 10 – 20 minutes for the wedding to start.

Once the wedding started, it was pretty much like an American wedding. The family was escorted in and then the bridal party and the bride. Mark was able to get some pictures of the bride as she came down the aisle – but wait! There were two brides! Did he get pictures of the right one? Turns out, he did! Come to find out, to save money Rwandans often share the church/pastor/choir/ etc. for their wedding ceremonies. Not a bad idea. Instead of the bride and groom standing in the front during the ceremony, they had chairs for them to sit in during the music, sermon, etc. When they took an active role (ie: exchanging vows and rings, etc.) they stood up. One very annoying part of weddings that we’ve been to in Kenya and now this one, has been the photographers. Because this one was a double wedding, there were double the photographers/videographers. These fellows were not at all shy about getting the best picture which meant they surrounded the bride and groom so completely that none of the guests could see a thing other than the backs of the photographers! And then, some of the guests and family wanted pictures so they just went right up front and crowded in to get their pictures! It reminded me of paparazzi! The cutest, though, was a small boy, probably about 6 or 7 who wanted to get a picture. He went right up there with the rest of them. He kept looking back at his family for confirmation. Very cute fellow.

Well, the ceremony, which was all in Kinyarwanda, was about an hour and a half – prolonged by having to have two exchanging of vows and all. (Fortunately, there was only one sermon!) After we all went out of the church, it was explained to us that the bride and groom would be heading off to get photos taken in town. There is large roundabout downtown with a statue and fairly nice landscaping that is very popular for taking wedding photos. (It is unofficially known as the “wedding photo roundabout” when giving directions.) They were due back to the reception in 1 ½ - 2 hours. Bruce and Gilles opted to stick around and socialize but since Emily had just arrived, I wanted to go home and wait. However, we weren’t sure we’d be able to find our back up the hill! Alexis said, “No problem!” His son could escort us back up the hill. So we headed back up the hill with a 10 year old guiding us. We know the shortest distance is, “as the crow flies” – well, the path this little guy took was “as the water flows”! We literally walked back up drainage areas (dry – remember I said it was a really hot day) between houses and gardens, one time even going under someone’s clothes hanging on a line! No one seemed to mind us cutting through their yard and many greeted us but most just stared. A few greeted our guide by name although his name has slipped my mind.

By the time we got home, remember it was all uphill this time and still quite hot and I had on a heavy dress, I was dripping! I took a shower – my 2nd for the day! Emily was awake and decided to go back with us to the reception. When we got a phone call from Bruce saying that the bride and groom were on their way back, we put our wedding clothes back on and got in the car and drove back to the church (using the main roads – not as direct but easier).

We arrived just before the bride and groom. We were led back inside the church which had been rearranged a bit for the reception. The reception was only for the couple we were there to see – the other couple had their reception somewhere else. At the front of the church was a table for the bride, groom, maid of honor and best man. They were facing the guests. Next, on both sides of the church, several rows of benches were replaced with plastic chairs facing the middle. These were for the families: his family on one side and hers on the other. The rest of the regular church benches were arranged as normal for the guests. Also up front was the cake. Here, instead of stacking the cake tiers on top of each other, they have a metal stand type of thing and each cake layer is on its own platform. The whole thing was covered with netting to keep the flies off. We sat on the groom’s side, on the benches but close to the family section.

After most of the guests were seated, the bride and groom were announced and came in. They did the SLOW processional this time (and it was a large church). At weddings at Rethy, they did this same processional. It’s pretty much two tiny steps forward, one step back. The whole time there was music and cheering and excitement all around. During the reception the father of the groom (or his representative) gave a long speech welcoming the bride’s family. Then the bride’s father (or representative) reciprocated with a long speech. The groom’s father and mother offered sodas to the bride’s father and mother and they drank a little bit together. After a lot of talking and hand shaking and soda drinking, sodas were passed around to all the family members and eventually to the guests. Pretty much the entire reception was one speech after another and since it was all in Kinyarwanda, we don’t really know what was being said but basically the families were welcoming each other and telling what the bride price was and what their gifts were to the new couple. Occasionally the bride and groom stood up and acknowledged what was being said. There was a master of ceremonies who was in charge and there was a choir that sang periodically.

When it was time for the cake to be cut, our friend, Alexis, excitedly motioned for Bruce to go up front. They wanted him to open the “champagne”. It was actually sparkling cider but Bruce did it with great flourish – shaking the bottle well and letting the bubbles flow all around. Before cutting the cake, there were sparkling candles in the cake that were lit. We found out later that this represents cooking their first meal for guests. Also, as the bride and groom went up to cut the cake, a couple of ladies stood behind them and sprayed shaving cream that showered around them – probably bubbles would have been a bit better… We found out that this represents---ahh, umm--, we forget what the shaving cream represented. When the cake was finally cut, the bride and groom took platters full of pieces of cake around to each of their family members. This represents their first show of hospitality as a couple. By this time we were thinking a little piece of cake sounded good but, alas, it wasn’t served to the guests – only family.

Following the cake ceremony was the gift giving. The families went first and made big speeches as they went up and presented their gift to the new couple. (One thing we’ve discovered in church is that Rwandans aren’t afraid of microphones or being in front of a crowd!) Fortunately, all the cows and goats that were being given were not actually present at the church! By this time, the speeches had been going on for quite awhile and a couple different people approached the MC and told him to hurry things along a bit! The choir (who all got cake, I might add) was looking particularly interested in heading home. Finally, it was the choir’s turn to present their gift and give their speech. Bruce and Gilles had slipped out by this time but we still had our gift and weren’t sure what to do it with it. Mark talked with Alexis and asked if he was going to have to speech when we gave our gift but Alexis said he would speak on our behalf. Mark was a bit relieved. Since we had no idea what people were saying, it was difficult to know what would be a culturally appropriate gift-giving speech – especially since we had never met the couple before. Eventually Alexis motioned to us and told us to get in the gift giving line. We made our way up to the front and Alexis took the mic. He gave a nice little speech, introducing us to the family. We really don’t know what he said but it was met with approval as there were several “Ehs” and nodding of heads and at the end we received some cheers and a round of applause. We then went up to the exhausted looking bride and groom, gave our gift and our attempts of greetings and hugs.

We were now free to leave. The church, which had been fairly full, was now quite sparsely occupied as people were heading for home and dinner. It was after dark already. As we were getting into our car, we were asked to drop off some of the family members which we were happy to help with. By the time we got home, we were hot, hungry and tired. Emily was a trooper and survived the whole event. Our understanding is that the family gift giving and speech making would continue on for quite a long time...

April Prayer Letter

April 27, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

This morning we took Emily to the airport. She will be away for another 3 months at Rift Valley Academy. Saying goodbye was not easy, but it was a bit easier knowing she likes RVA and the people caring for her. While we did not do too much while she was home, we did have a great time dying Easter eggs and going to the Akagera game park (with another AIM missionary, Melissa Smith).

In our last email we asked you to pray about a series of meetings that took place last week concerning the Bible college (FATER/Rwanda Institute of Evangelical Theology) and its independent legal status and accreditation, moving from French to English as the main language of instruction, and exploring the potential for partnering with other institutions as we seek to make best use of the Rwandan Evangelical Church’s resources.

We are praising God as all the meetings went well with no major road blocks. We still need to pray that everything continues to move forward and that God’s will is made evident concerning possible partnerships. It is clear to us that until the partnership decision is finalised we are in limbo and cannot begin construction.

So what will we do in the mean time? No twiddling of thumbs here! We will continue our Kinyarwanda language study as well as look for opportunities where our skills can be of help to those around us. While that sounds a bit vague for now, we hope to finalise it very soon.

Thank you again for your prayers for our family and ministry.

Mark and Lisa & Emily Sudman

Prayer Requests for Special Meetings

Dear Family and Friends,

Our colleague, Bruce Rossington, just sent out a short prayer letter that we thought stated our prayer requests for the coming week well, so rather than come up with our own wording, we will use his.

We would like to ask you to pray for a series of meetings that are due to take place this week (Tuesday to Friday).

The Bible college (FATER/Rwanda Institute of Evangelical Theology) is at a critical stage in its development, as it seeks independent legal status and accreditation, moves from French to English as the main language of instruction, and explores the potential for partnering with other institutions as we seek to make best use of the Rwandan Evangelical Church’s resources.

It is an exciting and challenging time and busy people from Rwanda, Uganda, UK and USA have blocked out time in their diaries to give the issues the detailed consideration that they demand.

Please pray for us all this week:

- That the key people would make it to each meeting
- That we would communicate effectively, despite linguistic and cultural barriers
- That graciousness would abound
- That a passion for God’s glory and the good of his Church in this region would sweep away self-interest
- That we would finish the week in unity, having agreed on how to move forward

Above all, pray that the Lord’s will would be done, despite, and even through, our weakness.

These meetings are crucial to us, the Sudmans, because the final decisions will impact the future direction of the construction which we came out to oversee.

Also, Emily leaves April 27 for Kenya for another 3 month term at Rift Valley Academy. Please pray we have a good final week together.

In Christ,
Mark and Lisa

Apology

Sorry for the delay in adding to the blog. We have many stories to tell, but little time to write them down at the moment. I hope to catch up in a week or so.

Please keep praying about our car. The owner says the paperwork is very close to being completed. We are still waiting...

Blessings to you all.

Day of Mourning

This morning the sun rose as usual. The birds are singing. There is a thin fog hovering over the city in the valley just below us. Overhead the sky is gray. Mornings like this could bring rain or it could clear up in an hour or two. The day has begun like any other day in Rwanda.

Except it isn’t.

There is a silence outside. No crews working on the house across the street. No voices of neighbors greeting one another on the road. Not even the wheelbarrows full of plastic bidons of water rattling up on down the road. Today is a national “holiday”: Genocide Memorial Day or some have called it the “National Day of Mourning”. 15 years ago today 100 days of hell broke loose in this small country. During that time over 800,000 people were horrifically and systemically killed. Hundreds of thousands more were maimed, tortured, left for dead. Yet they survived.

We have heard snippets of stories from real people:
“My aunts and uncles were killed and buried in a mass grave.”
“My family had to identify the bodies of our relatives who were thrown into a shallow grave after being killed with a machete.”
“I hid in the bush with my baby on my back. We only had the clothes we were wearing. It was pouring down rain everyday. We were soaked, no food, no water, no shelter.”
“I saw my relatives being hit in the head and slashed with machetes.”
“My father had his eye poked out and his leg slashed.”

These are what people who we know have said. We know only a handful people. There are thousands of stories which are being remembered today.

In one book I read these statistics about children survivors (1995 National Trauma Survey by UNICEF):
99.9% witnessed violence
79.6% experienced death in the family
69.5% witnessed someone being killed or injured
61.5% were threatened with death
90.6% believed they would die
57.7% witnessed killings or injuries with machete
31.4% witnessed rape or sexual assault
87.5% saw dead bodies or parts of bodies

This is just the children. It does not specify how old these children were who were surveyed but assuming they were up to 18 years of age, now these children are from 15 – 33 years old. Maybe the young ones have forgotten the images but none of them can forget the struggles they have had to live with; many without a family support system, without education because there were no funds, without … well, the list goes on and you can fill in the blanks.

Today there will be “commemorations” throughout the country. The main one will be just up the road from us at a Memorial site called “Nyanza”. The president will come there and “officially” open the site. There has been work going on for weeks along the main stretch of road near us – cleaning up, tree planting, new signs, fresh paint – all in anticipation of the president’s visit. The BBC radio has said that 1,000s of Rwandans will go there today to pay their respects and to see the president. What the president says today will be very important to the healing of the country.

We have questions which are very difficult for us to ask and even more difficult to get answers for:

15 years ago 15% of the population was targeted by the majority of the population. Someone on the radio today said that while it was neighbors attacking neighbors, she sees the event as a mass hatred. The killers were in essence brainwashed through propaganda until a mob mentality was established. The mind set was not “I’m going to go kill my neighbor today.” It was “Those people belong to a group of people who we’ve been told are bad/evil/oppressive. We need to eliminate that group of people for the good of the country.” But my question is: How are those who killed, those in the majority of the population, how are they spending today? Many have repented and asked forgiveness. Many are still in jail. Many may be living in our neighborhood or attending our church – but we don’t know. But what images do they have? What do they tell their children? Did their children witness their father killing their neighbor’s children – the friend they walked to school with and played with on Saturdays? Are those people still brainwashed? Do they still believe the demons in their head that those other people are evil?

What about those who refused to be brainwashed? Instead of joining the mob, they reached out to save and rescue – many of them being killed because of their kindness and courage. What became of their orphans? What are their families commemorating today?

The country will never forget and the motto is “Never Again”. But, how does a country move on? How does a country heal? All of this is too overwhelming for me. It is too big for my mind.

Unfortunately, it is not only Rwandans who live with horror in their memories. Congo has millions dead in the last 10 – 12 years because of conflict, lack of medicines, lack of food and water and proper hygiene. Uganda has been plagued by the Lord’s Resistance Army for years and years. The children live in fear of being abducted into the army and those who are will have R-rated images in their heads forever. Then there is Chad and Sudan and Somalia and …

Sunday is Easter.

We pray that the HOPE of Salvation and Forgiveness and Reconciliation will be preached throughout this land of Rwanda and beyond.

2 Corinthians 5:17 - 6:2 (NIV)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 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. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says,
"In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you."

I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

Emily Home!

April 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

It is great to have Emily home for 4 weeks for her semester break from Rift Valley Academy in Kenya. She has had a great semester, made friends , kept her grades up, and cut her hair a bit. We are looking forward to a short family vacation after Easter.

Next week is a week of mourning all over Rwanda marking the 15th anniversary of the beginning of the 1994 genocide. This morning we went to the Kigali Genocide Memorial. We had wanted to go there earlier but waited for Emily so she could go with us. The Genocide Memorial is not the typical kind of place that you might want to visit as a tourist (or a resident for that matter), but is a place that you must go to. It tells of the history leading up to the genocide and its causes, how brutally 800,000 men, women and children were killed in about 3 months, sometimes by friends or neighbors. There is also a mass grave containing over 250,000 bodies. When we got home Mama Fifi, who works for us in the house, told us that 3 of her family members are buried there. I shed a few tears at seeing pictures of some the children who were killed and reading descriptions about them and their families, and also when seeing the skulls of victims, some of them with large holes smashed in them.

I seriously doubt this kind of thing will ever happen again in Rwanda, but it does say something about the spiritual maturity of the church 15 years ago. Our hope is that the Theological college will train up godly pastors who will help the Rwandan church to grow into the pure and holy bride God intends. If you would like to see more about the memorial go to
http://www.kigalimemorialcentre.org/

Please continue to pray that our car situation works out soon and for our granddaughter, Abbey, who is still having a few tests on her kidneys. Praise God with us as Lisa and I celebrate 31 years of marriage next week!

Thank you again for your prayers for our family and ministry.

Mark (for all)