A Day with the Neighbors

Here in Rwanda there is an event on the last Saturday of each month called Umuganda. It is a long standing tradition in Rwanda to get the community together when there is a task that needs to be done. Umuganda does just that. The day is set aside to help make Rwanda a cleaner and better kept country. Everyone is to go out with their neighbors and clean up a particular part of the neighborhood together. When I first heard about Umuganda I thought you just went out and worked in front of your own house, but that would not be the African way. It needs to be done with your neighbors. In most countries in Africa there is a very high value placed on spending time with people, especially family, neighbors and friends. Umuganda is a great way to get something done, with your neighbors, while having a good time doing it.

This morning, I, Mark, participated in Umuganda. It was great. We cut some grass and pulled weeds in an area alongside the main road. It did seem we spent more time socializing than working, but that is why it was so good.

What would your neighborhood look like if you got out once a month with your neighbors and had a work day? Not only would it look like a nice place to live, you would see a lot more smiling faces.

A rainy day but no water in the tank...

We’ve had a LOT of good rain last night and this afternoon. Mark had a hard time sleeping with the sound of the rain on the tin roof and then this afternoon we had a hard time trying to have language lesson because for a time we couldn’t hear what each other was saying. We wish this house had gutters to collect all this great water since we are not receiving any from the city into our tank.

Mark ran some errands in town today - the most major purchase was a printer for FATER. They haven’t been able to use theirs and so this was a great help to the office staff.

As I said we had our lesson today and afterwards Mark and I went to a couple of different stores to do some grocery shopping. Mark decided to take me out for dinner – we went to a semi cheap place next to Nakumatt. For just over $10 total we each had a beef kabob, fries and a coke. Probably not the healthiest meal in the world but it was tasty!

We got a note from Margaret that Keith was to go home today! Less than a week after having open heart surgery! Amazing.

A Bird House??

After I went to bed last night I realized I forgot to mention something funny that happened yesterday morning.

Bruce had come over in the morning to talk with Mark about some stuff and since it was a nice day, they left the front door open. All of a sudden, in flew a bird! It was a little bigger than Emily’s parakeet. I tried to figure out what kind of bird it was but it was hard to really see it because it was flying around so fast and was really in a dither! I think it may have been a type of “Bee Catcher” but I’m not sure. It was flying way up high close to the ceiling and couldn’t find the door! We closed the doors to the rest of the house and opened the French doors wide but it just wasn’t able to figure it out. We ignored it for awhile and then after Bruce left, Mark got a broom to try to direct the poor thing to the door but it really didn’t help. Mark finally gave up but Mama Fifi gave it a try and she eventually was able to direct it outside! That bird flew straight into the tree in our yard and sat on the branch for a long time – I’m sure it was trying to catch its breath and figure out what on earth had just happened! it had a good story to tell its family that evening...

Specific Prayer Requests

Mark wrote this note and sent it our email contact list this evening.

We thought should send out a short email with a few prayer requests:

- Praise that Emily is not as homesick at RVA as she had been. Pray that she continues to adjust to dorm life, lots more homework and being away from home. This weekend she will be going camping with all the girls in her dorm. Please pray they have a safe trip and a good time.

- Our colleague Keith Ferdinando had a successful triple bypass surgery and is recuperating well (in the UK). Pray for a complete and speedy recovery and that he and Margaret will be able to return to Rwanda soon.

- Please pray that all the needed construction drawings etc. for the theological college will be completed soon, and for a reasonable price, so we can obtain the building permit. Pray that the land issues will be resolved and not be a problem in obtaining the building permit.

- Mark is overseeing the purchase of another small plot of land to give the college a bit more of much needed land. Please pray that the purchase is completed in good time. Pray too that more land would come available at a good price (and one plot in particular).

- Pray for our night guard, Uwimana, who is leaving his wife because she has been VERY unfaithful. They have 3 children, ages 6, 4 and 1.

- We found a good car to purchase at a good price but found out there may be problems with the paperwork. Pray it gets resolved soon, or that we will be able to find another car.

Thanks for all your prayers.

Cars and Language - things don't always go the way we plan

Well, we decided to buy the Land Cruiser that we saw on Saturday. Alexis is helping us with getting it registered in our name but first he needed paperwork from the owner. Come to find out, the current owner never had it transferred into his name and the guy he bought it from had never had it transferred into HIS name. So, the registration is still in the name of the first guy who owned it when it was brought into the country. Who knows where he is! Well, the current owner still has contact with the guy he bought it from so he is going to contact him (but I think he is in the UK). I don’t what exactly is going to happen. Basically, we need a document that proves that the duty was paid on it when it was brought into the country. Otherwise, we’ll be responsible for paying the duty. The tax office doesn’t keep such records – they depend on the car owners to keep the paperwork and hand it off to the next guy…

So, we haven’t paid for the car yet and we’re not sure we’ll be able to buy it. We may be back to square one on that deal. If so, it’s disappointing because this was the only decent car we’ve seen within our budget. Sigh. But, God knows all that and he’ll help us get through it all.

I went over to the Rossington’s this morning to observe their daughter during their homeschooling session. I was able to make some notes about a few things they could do differently, some things that they are doing well, and what they might consider for the future. I haven’t missed going to school every day but it was fun to watch and interact with Martha today and I think I was able to give them some helpful advice.

Mark and I had another language lesson today with Charlotte. She definitely doesn’t speak English as well as Joyce and she speaks Kinyarwanda differently (more sophisticated or proper, I suppose.) Joyce had learned it from her grandparents in Uganda so she speaks an older dialect. Or maybe it’s just a dialect from a different area of Rwanda. Joyce’s dialect is not necessarily wrong, it’s just different. At least, that’s what we understand. All that to say, we are having to relearn a few things or we are learning that there is more than one way to say the same thing. sigh. . .

After our lesson, another fellow came by to collect some money from me now that I am the college bookkeeper. He had built some bookshelves for the college. As long as he was here, we asked him to build a table for me to use as a desk. There are several tables in the house, but they are too tall for me to use comfortably with the computer so we special ordered a shorter table. If we like it, Mark might order a smaller table for his computer also.

We haven’t heard too much from Emily lately. Just bits and pieces. She went to Steve and Melinda McMillan’s house for lunch last Sunday. She said she has 4 tests this week in her 4 major classes. This coming weekend she is going camping with her dorm just outside of Nairobi.

It is pouring down rain right now! I really wish we had rain gutters so we could collect the rain water. Our tank is almost empty but the rain is coming down strong.

Opening Day of FATER

We went to the opening session at FATER this evening. There were quite a few students – I suppose 50 – 60. Most of them were returning students – only a handful of new students. The opening was similar to other schools' opening assemblies: Welcome to everyone, those who are new students this year stand up, those returning students stand up, introduction of faculty, prayers, singing, inspirational sermon taken from 2 Timothy, announcements, reading of the rules and regulations (be on time, turn off your cell phone when in class, etc. etc.) and so on. Because the college is starting an English track, some of the session was done in both French and English.

We were introduced and a couple students came up to Mark afterwards and thanked him for coming to work on the construction. I walked back with Gilles Bonvallat and Melissa Smith (the new gal who is teaching English). It was basically dark so that was interesting because there are no street lights and with the dirt road that is full of ruts, it makes for interesting walking! But we made it. Mark stayed and worked on putting a lock on the desk of the administrative secretary. He sometimes has to keep cash in his desk and needs a locking drawer. His name is Elias. He told me today that Mark is very good with tools and fixing things and now he can store cash without fear! He was very happy.

Earlier today, Mark went off to look at a couple of cars which didn’t impress him and he did some talking with people about the land. In the afternoon, Mark and I went together to look at one more car but it impressed Mark even less.

Sunday - a quiet day of rest

Today is Sunday and we got up and went to an 8:00 service. It was at the same church we went to last week called “Eglise Vivant” which means Living Church. Last week we went to the Kinyarwandan service so this week we tried the English service. It seems like a nice church but it is in a very large brick building with a metal roof with very little to help with acoustics. Then they turn the sound system up too loud so it becomes distorted plus it echoes. All in all the effect is not very pleasant.

Later in the afternoon we listened to one of Brent’s sermons from Lakewood (or 1BL as they write it now) that we had downloaded from the website. It was quite nice sitting in our somewhat comfortable living room, eating homemade ice cream sundaes while listening to the sermon! This evening we went to the Bonvallats’ for an AIM prayer meeting. We will start meeting with the other AIM missionaries now 2x month for prayer. There are currently 7 of us adults but more are coming in a few months to help teach at FATAR.

We’ve had word that Keith’s surgery went well and that he has been moved in a general ward now. He may come home later this week! Amazing! That’s after triple bypass surgery!

Car and Computers

This morning Mark and I met someone who was trying to sell a car. Unfortunately, it needs a new engine which then puts it out of our price range. In the afternoon we went and looked at another car which was much better. It is a 1990 short-wheel base Land Cruiser. It is in good condition with only a few repairs or maintenance items needed and is within our price range. It would be a good running around town car because it is not too big but not too small either. It will also get us out and about if we want to go visiting a game park or something. It is too small to carry a large group but mostly it is just the 2 or 3 of us so we should be okay. Monday we will look at a few more cars to see if any of them are better but probably not. We’ll let you know.

I spent a lot of time on today learning some of the basics of Excel and setting up charts for me to use for the FATER finances. It was a good exercise – I enjoy learning something hands on like that and being successful! I haven’t used Excel much at all so when I have tried to do something with it, it has been frustrating. I think I have a better handle on it now.

We watched another Star Wars movie this evening while eating soup, sandwiches and pumpkin pie. Emily sent a text message saying that she was available to talk so we called her and talked for a few minutes. She is about the same – active, busy with school, math is hard, dorm life gets crazy sometimes, etc. etc. She will be going to Nairobi in a couple weeks for mid-term. Next weekend she is going camping with the dorm in Athi River. (just outside Nairobi) Overall, she sounds good.

Friday Fun (okay, so cleaning clogged drains isn't exactly fun...)

In the afternoon Mark went to the Bonvallats to help Gilles with his car. I forget what they were doing but I think he was fixing the clutch pedal or something like that.

When he got home Mark had to take apart our kitchen sink drain because it was clogged up. Fortunately it wasn’t a time consuming project, just messy. But now our drain works well!

Then Mark went over to Rossingtons’ because they were having water pump problems again. However, that was a quick trip because by the time he got there, they all realized that the problem wasn’t with the pump but with the fact that there is no water in their tank! This neighborhood has not received water from the city for over a week now, which is why we have a water tank in the back yard. When the water comes from the city, it fills up our reserve tank and we can get by for a couple of weeks or more if we are careful. But we are only 2 people. Rossingtons are 5 in their family so they can’t go as long as we can on one tank. They are now buying jugs of water from the pump at the market until the water comes back on. We’ll have to start doing that if we use up our tank next week before the water comes back on.

After Mama Fifi left, I made a pumpkin pie. Actually, it was a squash pie but it was like a pumpkin but yellower. I had asked Mama Fifi to cook the whole squash the day before, which she was surprised about but I assured her I would make good use of it. I was disappointed in the pie though, it didn’t have much flavor to it. I will have to work on my recipe a bit.

The reason for the pie was because we had invited a couple over for games and dessert. I first met her, Michelle, at the ladies’ Bible study and then we met her and her husband at both the town meeting at the Ambassador’s house and the inauguration the embassy. He is Rwandan, she is American, he is now a US citizen. His story is that he went to the US 20 some odd years ago as an International Student and when he was finished with his BA he wanted to get a master’s but didn’t have money or scholarships so he got a job driving big rigs across the US. Eventually he bought his own rig. He said he’s been in every major city in the US except San Diego! (probably not Hawaii either…) At that time he did not plan to come back to Rwanda and knew he wanted to be US citizen. He said he was driving in Connecticut and met some folks who were evangelizing truck drivers at the truck stops. He told us, “Can you imagine? I met Jesus at a truck stop in Connecticut!” He then made a habit of stopping at the chapels at other truck stops around the US. (I didn't know they had such things!) At one of them, he met Michelle who was a volunteer. I think it was in Kansas or Oklahoma. They ended up getting married 8 years ago. They became active in a church and eventually became aware of God’s call on their life to be missionaries. They are now here, supported by their church and friends. They are building churches for small rural churches that can’t afford buildings but they are based here in Kigali. They said they are having a bit of a difficult time adjusting to life in Rwanda – even though he is Rwandan by birth, he has been gone a long time and is fairly Americanized now. It was interesting to here them struggle with the same things that many Americans struggle with out here. He lost several relatives in the genocide but his mom is still alive and lives in the country. She makes a living by selling sour milk. It’s the same idea as drinking buttermilk. For people without refrigeration to keep fresh milk, it’s the way to go.

We had a good time getting to know them a bit better and hopefully encouraged them a bit by being friendly.

A Fishy Lunch!

I wanted something different for lunch today so I asked Mama Fifi about buying fish at the market. She said that they sold nice fish at the market for less than 1000 RWF (1100 RWF is $2) so I sent her off to get one. She brought home a nice looking tilapia and proceeded to skin it and get it ready for lunch. After my lesson with Joyce, I went into the kitchen and Mama Fifi pointed at the head and asked me if I wanted it removed. I said yes! She proceeded to pop out the eyes, which I thought was strange if she was going to remove the whole head anyway but I figured she would take the head home and didn’t want the eyes.

When lunch came around, we had rice, cooked carrots and fish, with the bones, boiled in a tomato sauce. Mark dug out a piece to put on his plate and, lo and behold, it was the head!! So I guess Mama Fifi only asked me if I wanted the eyes removed. Mark put the head back in the pot and took another piece. We feed our guard every night so we saved the head for him along with another piece. The fish wasn’t too bad but was almost too fishy. The bones were annoying also. We’ll have to figure out something different. It is definitely cheaper getting the fish at the market compared to at the supermarket (frozen) but I need to figure out how tell Mama Fifi better what we like exactly!

This morning our colleague, Keith Ferdinando, is having his bypass surgery in Britain. He and his wife Margaret left here in September because he was having chest pains. He has been waiting all this time for the surgery. We are praying for a successful outcome.

What Mark is Doing

I haven't really mentioned much about the reason we are here - to construct a Theological College. On the surface, it seems that not much is happening. However, Mark has been gaining some momentum as he has been getting out and meeting architects, builders, engineers and government officials. He has come across two things that are delaying the beginning of construction.

I'll let Mark will take it from here:

First Delay: Building Permits. Our colleagues here in Rwanda tried everything they could to obtain building permissions before we arrived but they simply did not have time to do all that was needed with teaching and caring for all the other details at the theological college. There is still a lot that needs to be done like having a local engineer do the structural calculations and drawings, application letter, print all the architectural and structural drawings on the correct size paper, to the right scale, and some of it in color (or colour as they say here) etc. etc. I am moving ahead as fast as I can (and in Africa sometimes it is not too fast).

Second Delay: The Department of Planning thinks we should purchase a bit more land around the current plot giving the new theological college campus a more logical shape. While it would be nice to have the extra land, it is expensive. After doing some work on this it seems like we may have worked out a solution to this problem. Please pray it is resolved in a way that is economical for the college.

And on the car shopping front:
Looking for a car has been, well, interesting. It is unbelievable the prices of cars in Rwanda. There are lot of reasons for the high prices, which really don't matter, but it does make things difficult. A pick-up would be helpful for the construction but they are in high demand, and they get a lot of rough use. I looked at two 4wd double-cab Toyota pick-ups that were both about $12,500, and both were junk. I might pay $1000 for one of them, but not $12,500. So, we may need to reconsider what to purchase.

I did find a neat double-cab Land Rover pick-up (I bet you didn't know they even made such a beast) that was only $5000, but I would need a tow truck to get it home (along with about 6 months of overhauling) - which wouldn't be the first time we've towed a "new" car home!!

Thank you for your prayers on these matters and we'll keep you posted.

Mark

On a different note, we started Kinyarwanda lessons today with Charlotte, our new language helper, today. She is nice and speaks English but not as well as Joyce. She also speaks Kinyarwanda slightly differently - kind of like the difference of someone from the deep south speaking English to someone from California: same language, different accent. Pray for us as we adjust to this change and that we will continue to progress in the language.

Market

Joyce, our language helper started classes at the School of Business and Finance this week. When we met we knew she would have classes in the morning but would be free to help us in the afternoons. On Wed. she came to us and was distraught because the minister of education had announced that all students attending the college with government sponsorship (Joyce is one of those)would have to take their regular classes in the mornings and language classes in the afternoon! French speaking students would take English classes and English speaking students would take French. That means that she now attends classes from 8 – 5 every day and is unable to work with us. She is free on Friday mornings so she will come in then but that is not enough time for what we want to do so we will have to find another language helper. We are sad because we have developed a rapport with her and she is very sweet. She came this morning and walked with me to the market to buy fruits and veggies and to help with language. She was pleased that I was able talk to some folks, at least enough to say “I want tomatoes. Thank you!”

The market is about a 20 minute walk from our house to get there and 30 minutes getting back (it's uphill coming home!). It is an open air market although there is a roof covering most of it because it does rain a lot here. The sellers each have little spaces that I'm sure they rent. They are organized by what they are selling so if you want potatoes, you can find several vendors all in one place. Of course, some vendors sell more than one item so they aren't exactly in order.

You can find just about any fruit or vegetable there that you want - except lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower. You can also find fruits and vegetables that you probably DON'T want! You can also buy flour, sugar, shortening, etc. Oh, need a new backpack for you child's school books? You can get one at market. Need a new dress? Go to market, pick out your cloth from hundreds of varieties, and work out with one of many tailors there who will make a dress to order! I have been to the market twice (I usually send Mama Fifi) but because of the crowdedness and the commotion that is caused by my being there (not too many white faces at this market!), I have not spent much time just looking around and taking it all in. Hopefully, I will be able to go more often so they get used to me being there and I will be able to use it as an opportunity to meet people and practice language. Sorry, I will not be taking a camera to market. If you want to see it, you have to come with me!

Ambassdors - for the US and for Christ!

Mark and I went to a town meeting at the US Ambassador’s house this afternoon! The meeting itself wasn’t all that interesting but the food was good! We got there early (we weren’t sure where it was or how parking would be) and were offered a drink and then after a few minutes a worker brought out a platter of samosas. Yummy! I thought I was glad I came early because that platter wouldn’t be enough for everyone. Silly me! They brought out platters full of mini pizzas, spring rolls, fish fingers, cookies, cake, meatballs… it seems like I am forgetting something… We ate some of this and some of that while we were chatting and then after the meeting, the servers brought the platters around again, trying to empty them so we helped them out and ate some more of this and some more of that… It was late enough in the afternoon that we didn’t need to eat much that evening for supper!

Some of the women from the Bible study were also there and a couple other folks that Mark has met. Most people were quite friendly and introduced themselves. It was a good networking time. We were hoping to meet up with the brother of one of our former dorm kids. He was in the marines and is now working in the ambassadors office – we aren’t completely sure what his work is. However, he was out of town that day. We will hopefully connect with him soon.

One of the main points that the ambassador made during the meeting was that he is the US Ambassador to Rwanda but he is often stuck behind a desk or in meetings with other dignitaries. He wanted to remind us that we are all ambassadors for the US and that we are the face of America to the Rwandan people on the street and in our neighborhoods. While I want to represent the USA well, more importantly, I am an ambassador of Jesus Christ!

2 Corinthians 5:17-20

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 we reconciling the world to himself in Christ,

not counting men's sins against them.

And he has commited to us the message of reconciliation.

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors,

as though God were making his appeal through us.

Ephesians 6:20

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth,

words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,

for which I am an ambassodor in chains.

Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Back to the routine

This morning we discovered that Mama Fifi has been quite sick. She had had a cold before we left and it developed into Asthma. She came in but was coughing and looking terrible so we sent her home. That means that I will be doing a lot of laundry (which requires hanging it on the line, bringing it in when it rains, and ironing it), cooking (from scratch – no microwave or fast food) and housework on my own this week! I don’t mind doing the work, it just takes up time that I’d rather be doing something else.

Also, I went with Myriam Bonvallat to a women’s Bible study this morning. There were about 30 women from several different mission organizations and the embassy. They are just starting a new series by Beth Moore on the Psalms of Ascent (Ps. 120-134). There is workbook to do at home and a video to watch when we are together. Of course, food was provided along with coffee and tea and lots of gabbing and networking. There were 3 or 4 new ladies so I wasn’t the only one. It should be a good time of fellowship.

I forgot to mention that while we were at the conference friends of ours gave us bag that had our missing bed comforter and mattress covers! The bag had been found at Mayfield Guest House in Nairobi and our friends had driven from there to Uganda so they kindly picked it up and brought it to us! The Rossingtons kindly brought it in their vehicle to Kigali for us. Yeah! The comforter is now proudly situated on our bed, making it look a bit more like home.

Back to Kigali in Time for Lisa's Birthday Dinner

We left the resort on Sunday afternoon and headed back to Kampala (this time Mark and I were in the same car). We spent the night again with Lyn and I went back to Matoke Inn this morning to wait for the same taxi driver, Godfrey, to take us to the airport. Mark took a Boda-boda taxi (motorcycle) to the other side of town to meet with Chad who worked on the design and site plan of the college. Mark wanted to talk with him about the possibility of the college being required to buy more land and how that would affect the current plans. Mark said in the end they probably could have communicated just as easily over email but it was good to talk face to face anyway. Besides it gave Mark an adventure on the Boda-Boda and an opportunity for him to buy my birthday present.

After lunch at Matoke Inn, Mark and I were picked up by Godfrey and we headed off to Entebbe to the airport. We got there, again, too early, but we walked around a bit and got a drink and walked around a bit – the airport is not much bigger than Long Beach airport so there’s not much place to walk around… We kept watching the screen for our flight but mysteriously, it never showed what gate we were to wait at or what time boarding was to take place. Eventually, the news came over the loud speaker that the plane arriving from Kigali was delayed and they would let us know when our flight would board. So, we waited, and waited and waited. Finally they told us to go gate 2 (there are only 4 gates) where we went through security. We were ushered into a waiting room where we waited and waited… Finally, our plane arrived from Kigali and they loaded us up. It was the same plane that took us to Kampala but this time it was almost full. We took off over an hour late. The hour flight was uneventful. We were served drinks and cashews. Gilles and Zawa Bonvallat picked us up at the airport in Kigali.

When we got home we changed and headed out for dinner for my birthday. We decided to go to a Greek restaurant. After driving around a bit, we finally found it. It was very nicely decorated inside and looked very Mediterranean. We opted to sit outside on the veranda overlooking the city. The tables were set with cloth tablecloths and napkins, a silk rosebud and a candle. There were 2 forks, 3 knives and a spoon at each place! I think we used the correct utensil for the correct part of the meal! We decided to get fried cheese for a starter, hoping it was like the ‘Greek Cheese’ we used to get at the “Greek Club” in Bunia but it wasn’t the same. It was tasty anyway. We also got a greek salad which was similar to the salad they served in Bunia. For the main meal I got a beef kabob that was served with a pita bread and dipping sauce (similar to the sauce they serve at Daphne’s only better) and French fries. Mark got a “Prince George Steak” which was a steak with mushroom sauce. His also came with French fries. Both of our meals were really, really good! Mark got an chocolate ice cream sundae for dessert and I got a pot of coffee. We shared. It was a very nice birthday dinner but we wished we could have shared it with more family...

For my gift Mark found me a book on Birds in East Africa which covers Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda. It has lots of drawings of birds and descriptions to help me identify the ones I see here. We had a similar book in Kenya but we lost it on one of our trips – we think it must have fallen out of the car at one of our stops. I’m not very good at identifying birds but when I do figure out one, I write in the book where and when I saw it.

It was very nice to talk to family on my birthday over Skype. When the internet is working well, Skype is amazing. We are so blessed to feel so connected to family!

Conference Notes - Day 3

Stewardship of Resources

2 Basic resources from God:
His people
His property

Matthew 25 14 -30
· The master: Gave wisely
Trusted the servants
Left the servants unsupervised
· The good servants: Worked hard – gave their time and energy
Loved the master – love leads to faithfulness
Were faithful to the master
· The bad servant: Forgot he was a servant
Was lazy

Whichever way you choose, there will be a day of accountability but it is not about the amount but about the faithfulness.

Job 1:21 Every resource comes from God
I Timothy 6:7 The motivation for good stewardship of resources is love.
The action of love reflects the depth of love.

Luke 7:36-50 The woman broke all the rules as she was seeking Jesus.

The woman brought gifts (resources) to Jesus:
Tears
Hair
Kisses
Perfume
These all together were her identity – she gave all she had
She was motivated by love.

Jesus received her gift even though it was not acceptable to others

She had faith in Jesus Christ that he would receive her


Stewardship of Mission – Isaiah 6

Mission is about going
Missions did not start with Isaiah but in Genesis 3:9
God came down to seek his people
He is the God of Mission – he GOES to his people like Jesus went to Zacchaeus

John 10:10
Thief – comes to steal, kill and destroy
Jesus – comes to give life abundantly
Mission is about giving life

John 1:12
Mission brings all people together to the Father

A Letter from Emily

Hey,

Howʼs it going? Iʼm doing pretty good over here. The food is sometimes questionable and the people are kinda crazy sometimes but itʼs not to bad. I like all my teachers and am learning the amazingness of study hall. There are two other new girls in the dorm, Jill and Jasmine. (You should have totally named me a J name it would have been awesome)

Last night we had a dorm night. Dorm nights are when the whole dorm gets together and normally there is a theme. Last nightʼs was becoming a child again. We ate spaghetti on the floor (there was clean plastic on the floor, too), made bibs and wore them, played pin the center on the flower and watched Kung Fu Panda. It was lots of fun. When we were done with the spaghetti some of the crazier girls took the plastic outside and played slip and slide on it.

As soon as my grades get here from Sevenstar Academy, hopefully I will be able to get study hall privileges. That means I can go wherever I want for study hall (the dorm, the field, some place random). Right now I have to go to a class room and sit at a boring old desk. The library here is awesome and has lots of really good books. I have more homework here than I did anywhere else but I also have more time to do it. I decided not to try out for field hockey and am glad I did. The sports take out a lot of time of the day and I would be a lot more stressed about homework. The hardest classes that I have are biology, math, and world history. My math teacher is Mr. Massey, Rachel Masseyʼs dad (I met Rachel through Sevenstar and she is a very nice girl). Thursday night I didnʼt get my math homework so I called their house and asked if I could come over and get some help. They said yes and I headed up there. I got lost (sorta) and it took me a lot longer than I thought to find their house, but Mr Massey was able to help me and I got everything figured out.(I like being able to have a teacher right there to help me itʼs a lot better than trying to do it online).

Anyway I should go. I think I will come every Saturday and type a letter about my week. I would do it more often but I donʼt have time during the week.

I love you all.
Emily

Sunrise over Lake Victoria

I got up early this morning to watch the sunrise. Here are just a sampling of the photos!

This is the day the Lord has made!

Let us rejoice and be glad!

Conference Notes - Day 2

Stewardship of Leadership

Moses

Exodus 2:1-15 and 12:29

· In leadership there is a burden for the people:
If you don’t like the smell of sheep, don’t be a shepherd!

· When God calls leaders, he also trains them. God is never in a hurry to train a leader. For example: Moses: 40 years Jesus 30 years

· A leader has to be bold and have courage because he knows God is with him.

· A leader has to face challenges. If there is no obstacle in your work, you are in the wrong place!

· Leaders are vulnerable to burn out. (Ex. 18:17) They need to sit down and listen and they need to delegate. Also, when leaders become overtired, they tend to be overcome by their weaknesses. Moses’ weakness was anger. Anger can destroy good opportunities.

· Leadership requires humility. Numbers 12:3

· Leadership requires legacy: leaders ought to develop leaders

Deuteronomy 34:9 Moses developed Joshua to be a leader
Joshua was not intimidated by being in the shadow of Moses
Joshua did not try to overthrow Moses
Moses did not choose a leader like himself
Moses was a shepherd leader- He met God with a shepherd’s staff
Joshua was a fighter leader- He met God with a sword, ready for battle

Joshua
· Every leader must consult God
Joshua 9 – Joshua was deceived by the Gibeonites because he did not ask for guidance

· Leaders must commit themselves the their families to serve the Lord – Joshua 24:14-15

Jesus
· Jesus was a shepherd-savior leader Matthew 20:28
· Leaders must serve with love – John 13

· Leaders must invest in people – Jesus invested in 12 people


Stewardship of Time

Westerners have the watches – Africans have the time!

God gave us the gift of time – he created day, night, seasons

Ecclesiastes 3 – We are in a bracket of time but no one has the same bracket
The young take risks because they think they have lots of time.

Ephesians 5:16 – Make use of the time because the days are evil
Learn to love the Lord of the work more than the work of the Lord

Job 38:4 and following – God does not need us to get his work done! We cannot do god’s work without God

Don’t be busier than God! Take a Sabbath rest. Be a steward of Time.

Source of the Nile Gardens

After lunch today, I took a walk with some others to the “Source of the Nile Gardens”. There is a park about a 20 minute walk from where we are staying that has a monument and plaque stating that it was from that spot that John Hanning Speke had discovered the source of the Nile in 1862. Did you know that the Nile flows from south to north and passes through 9 countries? There are several rivers along the way that contribute to the Nile and we have seen another section of it not far from Rethy in Zaire (Congo). The monument we saw has a pillar with a stone for each country the Nile passes through and it points toward the source. The bottom part of the monument is shaped like a boat to resemble the mode of travel that Speke used in his explorations.

From this spot in the garden, we could see bubbles out in the river that are supposedly from the underground flow of water that supplies the water that goes to the Nile river and eventually ends up in Egypt and the Meditteranean Sea. Whether or not that is the actual "source" of the Nile, it is a very beautiful site and worth the walk.

Conference Notes - Day 1

Stewardship of the Environment

Genesis 2:5-20
God gave man the garden. It was a gift!
God prepared the earth for man. Sitting in a garden now calms the soul – why? Because that’s the way God designed it!
God gave man the garden to work it and to keep it.
God also gave man a helper – Eve
God gave man authority over all creation.

Genesis 6:5-8; 3:17-19; 4:11-12
Sin came into the world and creation suffered. The Land was cursed.
What can the Christian church (particularly in the African context) do about destruction of the environment? What are we giving our next generation?
· teach hygiene (proper waste disposal, maintaining pure water sources, etc.)
· teach rubbish care (proper disposal of rubbish; no littering, etc.)
· reforestation (trees are needed for fuel and building in Africa but they need to be replanted and cared for so the future generations have forests as well; planting and caring for gardens for rest and relaxation, etc.)

Stewardship of Obedience

Genesis 12:1-6
Abraham was told to leave his comfort zone when he was aged.
· He did not ask “Where?” “Why?” “For how long?”
· Can I trust God whatever happens to me??

Abraham did not know the road map but God said, “I will go with you”!! (Better than a map or GPS!)

God became Abraham’s shield
· our security belongs to the Lord
· We can trust our life to God!

God’s blessings are futuristic
· God never let Abraham down
· Matthew 1:1 = Jesus Christ – son of David – son of Abraham!!

First full day of Conference

The speaker for our conference the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda - Henry Luke Orombi. He has actually been in the news in US and if you want to know more about him, you can go to this wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Luke_Orombi He is a very good speaker, a man of God and will be a great encouragement to us throughout the conference. I will post my notes from his talks separately.

Each morning the kids have their own program so the parents can attend the meetings. I had been asked to tell the Bible stories for those sessions so I will go in to the kids' meetings just for that portion. Someone else has planned the games and crafts. We are using a simple VBS curriculum that uses the acronym FROGS for the theme: Forgiveness, Respectfulness, Obedience, Giving Thanks and Service. Someone who has just come from the US brought out several little frog things that can be used as prizes (bookmarks, plastic frogs of different types, stickers, etc.) to help the kids keep a bit of an interest in the theme. We have kids from age 2 – 11 but usually only the elementary age kids will join in the story time (I think the younger kids have their own story). We have 10 kids in the older group. I love telling Bible stories so I am very happy that they asked me to help in this way. However, next year it would be good if a team from outside of our group would be able to look after the children so that no one has to miss the sessions.

Mark will also be involved by leading an afternoon workshop on car maintenance. Today was a group of about 6 women who came and had questions about their vehicles. It was a hands on workshop one thing they wanted to do was to practice changing a tire. They had all been shown how to do it but had never done it themselves. Mark will teach them about the different fluids they need in the car, talk about brakes, hoses, and belts and also give them pointers on having regular servicing done and what to tell the mechanic to do, etc. It's amazing how many folks have been asking him car questions since we arrived!

First evening at conference

This morning, Mark and I had rides in different vehicles for the about 2 hour drive to Jinja. Jinja is on Lake Victoria and our “resort” was right on the lake The place we're having the conference at is nice but not as nice as some places we’ve been to in Kenya. The rooms are built as round huts. The place has lots of grassy areas and some nice bushes but they aren’t flowering much at this time of year. The main attraction is the pool which was actually 3 pools joined together and are of varying depths although none of them are terribly deep. Unfortunately, the water doesn't have enough chlorine and is not the cleanest. They also have a nice conference room for us to hold our meetings in and another room that multipurposes as a small dining room and the kids’ meeting room. It is a decent place and for those who live in the middle of nowhere in Sudan or Chad or Congo, it is a nice getaway place. For us coming from the US, it is a little bit shabby. It’s all in the perspective. The food is good. One thing they have that is really good is grilled meat – either chicken or beef kebabs. Yummy!

Besides the meetings with the speaker and testimonies and reports from different folks on what AIM is doing in “central region” (Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda), the conference is a good time to get to know new people, chat with people we haven’t seen in ages, show off kid and grandchildren pictures, and just relax.

It should be a good few days away!

Arrival in Uganda

Our journey to Uganda began very early - 5:00 a.m.– way too early. We ended sitting and waiting at the airport much too long!

The plane we flew on was a 37 passenger turbo prop with about 10 passengers on it. Too bad it wasn’t a long flight where we would want to stretch out and sleep! It was an hour flight but they served us a light breakfast (not terribly exciting). We were met in Uganda by a taxi driver that AIM uses, Godfrey was his name, and he took us to the guesthouse in Kampala called Matoke Inn (matoke – ‘mah toe key’ is the Swahili word for plantain bananas which they grow oodles and oodles of in Uganda). We passed the day there meeting others who are also going to the conference. Later this afternoon we went with our hostess for the night, Lyn Cooke (from England), to her apartment. She is a widow – her husband had been a pastor and when he died 5 or so years ago, she said, “Okay, Lord, now what?” and decided to come to Africa to work! I’d guess she’s about 50ish. She’s a pharmacist by trade but is working in the mission office right now in Kampala.

So, tomorrow we're off to Lake Victoria to our conference!

Emily made it to Kenya

We got a text message from Emily saying that she made it to Kenya and got through immigration and customs. She is on the bus heading to RVA. Depending on traffic she should be there 9:00 am her time. Hopefully she’s had a little sleep. She will be spending the day unpacking and meeting her dorm mates, etc. She’ll be exhausted tonight!

We just heard an African proverb on the radio: The man who marries a beautiful woman has the same problem as the man who sells corn by the roadside. So, what’s the meaning behind that one??

(Note: there are people along the roads who set up little grills and sell roasted corn to passersby)

Emily is off!

Well, I just heard the plane take off! Emily got off fine this morning. Her ticket said that she was allowed 20 kilos of check-in baggage. We knew her bag was overweight but we were willing to pay the excess. Unfortunately, they only let those with boarding passes up to the check-in counter so Mark couldn’t go in to pay for the excess on the credit card. However, when she got up the counter, it turned out that she actually was allowed 30 kilos and her bag weighed 29.4 kilos! So, there was no problem. We met the other RVA parents at the airport, some we hadn’t met before. There are 13 kids traveling together and they come from the US, Holland, Japan and one African family – I don’t know if they are Rwandan or working here from another country. Quite the international group! I don’t know if she is sitting next to any of them or not. It is not a huge plane load so there might not be assigned seating. In fact, it almost seemed like half the passengers were the RVA kids!

Mark and I leave tomorrow for Uganda for the AIM Central Region conference. It is an annual conference for all our missionaries who work in Uganda, CAR, Rwanda, Chad, South Sudan and Congo. We will know some of the folks who used to work with us in Congo and have now moved on to other places. Quite a few of them, though, are on home assignment right now. There are also a lot of new people. There is single gal coming from the US who will be at the conference and then she is coming to Rwanda for a year to teach English at FATER. We will be staying one night in Kampala and then going to Jinja to a resort/hotel there. It sounds like a pretty nice place. The Conference is from Wed – Sunday. We will come back on Monday. We are flying out at 7:00 a.m. Not quite as early as Emily's flight but early none the less!

Emily leaves for RVA tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the big day! Emily has been busy packing and organizing and weighing luggage and repacking and reweighing and reorganizing... but now her bags are ready and she is excited to go! Her flight is at 5:00 a.m. - what? Yep - 5:oo a.m. so we will leave the house at 3:00 a.m. Tonight it is early to bed!

It is interesting to note that 25 years ago we arrived in Africa to be dorm parents at Rethy Academy in Zaire (now DR Congo). While Emily was born at Rethy, she never really lived there because we moved to Nairobi when she was 6 weeks old. She is the only one of our girls who doesn't have memories of dorm life. Now, she is the one heading off to boarding school and we are the parents sending instead of receiving the kids. What a change!

We know that God will watch over her and keep her! Thank you for your prayers.

Roads in Kigali

Since not much is happening to write about, I thought I’d just tell a bit about the roads.

Here in Kigali, the main roads are paved and in good condition (I don’t think I’ve seen any pot holes). Many of them are two lanes going each way, the bigger boulevards have planters dividing them which are well kept (they put Long Beach to shame). Several of them have lane lines and even left turn lanes in some strategic places. There several roundabouts and a few with traffic lights, at least one has a left turn light. During high traffic times, one of the intersections with lights can be a little scary because vehicles are kind of pushing their way through and even though the speeds are slow, it’s hard to know exactly who is going where – plus pedestrians are trying to get across. Sometimes there is police officer directing the pedestrians which helps some.


The next level down are the cobblestone roads. These are pretty good except that you jiggle all the way. It is hard to carry on a conversation on these roads because the are so bumpy and noisy. But they are clean and usually in good repair. I’m sure they are cheaper to make than the paved roads.

The next level down are the grated dirt roads. These are smooth dirt roads and you can go at a normal speed except that the dust flies everywhere. I feel very sorry for the folks who live or work along these roads because of the constant dirt flying. The plants and buildings are all covered with red dirt. I noticed one house along one of these roads that had wisely painted their walls the same color as the dirt!

The next level down are the ungrated dirt roads like the one we live on. It is just like the roads in Zaire that are full of ruts and you drive on either side to avoid holes and ruts. Everyone in the car gets bumped around. It has the potential for being very dusty but you can’t really get up to speed because of the ruts so the dust isn’t too bad.

There are also the roads like Mama Fifi lives on that cars rarely travel on so they are actually pretty good. They are more “wild” with grass growing on them here and there.

Traffic flows on the right side of the road.

Oh, yes, the drainage ditches. All the roads except some of the ungrated dirt roads, have strategic drainage ditches along the sides. The ditches are 1 – 3 feet wide and 3 feet deep and are usually located right on the side of the road. It could be quite dangerous to accidently drive into or fall into one. The city is very hilly and when it rains, it really rains, even if only for 10 minutes. So to prevent erosion and unwanted runoff, etc., the city has built these ditches. If the road is paved or cobbled, then the ditches are cemented and some are quite nice looking actually. The dirt roads have dirt ditches dug into the dirt. We often see “workers” (probably prisoners) digging ditches along the side of the roads. It is all hand dug! I have no idea where the water in the ditches ends up. If you need to get across the ditch, there are various types of little “bridges” that help you get where you need to go. The construction of these bridges depends on the type of traffic going across them and whether they are in an area of high profile in town or if they are in residential areas.

The main road going to FATER is paved but the road you turn on to to get to the site is an ungrated dirt road. Mark may talk with the chief of the area to see if they can work out something to get it grated.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! The three of us enjoyed a quiet New Year's Eve at home, watching a video working on the computer, playing games, etc. At midnight it got very loud outside with lots of folks in the streets! There is a church down the street that had a late night meeting that added to the noise and celebration. We heard a few fireworks but we couldn't see them from our vantage point. Not much else to add - just Happy New Year and God bless you all!