Headed Back to Rwanda!

Dear Friends, Family, and Supporters,

After a long, extended time at home, a new adventure back to Rwanda is ahead of me. As of September 1st I will begin full time staff as the Special Projects Director for an organization called Project Rwanda (www.projectrwanda.org). I wanted to share the great news with you! I will be flying back to Rwanda September 6th. I will be working with Project Rwanda in many fashions, but my main purposes will revolve around coordinating the Wooden Bike Classic race and helping with the bike distribution program that distributes bikes to farmers through microfinace loans.

I am very excited about returning to Rwanda! It is almost hard to believe that in less then three weeks I will be back. I have deeply missed my friends and work there. I encourage to join me once again on the journey back to Rwanda. Just like last time, I will be writing and updating my blog: http://mountain-tops.blogspot.com/. Please feel free to check it out and stay up to date with what is going on.

Also, before I leave and even over the next year I will continue to collect soccer cleats, socks, shirts, and shorts. If you are interested you can either mail these items or drop them at my house. All mail, donations, and/or love notes ;) can be sent to this address:

Project Rwanda
c/o Jennifer Conaway
P.O. Box 193
Musanze, Rwanda
East Central Africa

Even though I will be receiving a paid salary, I am still accepting donations for school fees. Currently, myself along with the amazing St. Matthews By the Sea Church have been sponsoring three students, Sureyman, Napathali, and Gaston. There is still a great need to sponsor other students. Please, please consider sponsoring.

Last and probably most importantly, can you please continue to pray for me and the country of Rwanda. Whatever God lays on your heart, just pray. Thank you for sharing in this excitement with me.

Lots of love to you,
~Jenny

New Rwanda

New video by Bridge to Rwanda. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwRgLnVI2so

Rwanda Goes English!

So, just the other day it was announced and in the newspapers that Rwandan schools have FINALLY gone English, meaning they are no longer going to teach in French, but require all schools to teach in English! This may not sound like a big deal, but i promise you it is!! For people in Rwanda, only knowing French and Kinyrwanda can be somewhat paralyzing when it comes to communicating with the rest of the world. For instance, if someone were to go just north to Uganda and/or Kenya where almost all nationals speak English fluently, already they struggle to communicate! The language of business, science, and the rest of the world is English, not french. In my opinion, this is the best thing for Rwanda. I am so excited to see the country continue to take steps towards development and prosperity. It is always one step at a time and for Rwanda this decision is a big one and will really turn the country around when it happens!! I am so excited!

Sureyman's Family!

I didn't have room in my newsletter to tell you much about Sureyman's family. Sureyman is a boy about 15 years old. He was one of my players from my boys soccer team I coached on Sundays. The entire time I coached him he never asked me for anything. If anything, he was always helpful and courteous. He was one of my favorite players because he ALWAYS gave his best and always had a smile on his face. Over time, he just grew on me. I came to rely on him to lead the team and translate for me if need me. I also felt as a coach he was a player I could trust and would keep the team in line if needed. Like I said, he never asked me for anything until one day I could tell he was in distress. He is a very bright kid and loves school. The day I noticed he was distressed, he told me his brother had lost his job and now he wasn't sure if he would still be able to go to school. After some thought, I volunteered to help him and have been thus since. Unfortunately, his brother is still without a job, but over time have in some senses taken in their family and helped them when they need it. I think my biggest motivation behind helping them is that I just trust them. I am confident that anything I give them is going to what it should and is absolutely being spent wisely. God has also shown me that they are for Him and deeply love him. I think God has also broken my heart for them because their parents threw them out because they were too old to take care of them, which happens often here. One of my biggest goals for my time back in Rwanda was to help get Sureyman in a good school. Like I said, he is really bright, but unfortunately, he was going to a school far away from his brothers and that was not one that would provide the education he needs to survive in Rwanda. Just yesterday, I met with Sureyman and his two brothers. We had a tradition African meal at a restaurant called Karibu. We also talked through getting him into school and he has already applied to a school right down the street from his home that is considered one of the best Rwandan schools in the country.

Six Bags, Eighteen Hours, and a Few Hundred Dollars Later...

Six bags, eighteen hours, and a few hundred dollars later all donated supplies, soccer balls, pumps, goalie gloves, cleats, socks, jerseys, baby clothes, food, donated laptops, books, shoes, school supplies, and more made it to Rwanda. I think I packed a half a bag for me and the rest was all the donations people have so generously given to me to take back to Rwanda. It was amazing what people donated. A wonderful lady named Virginia donated an entire bag of baby clothes that went to my friend Grace at Amahorro Imani for the women she knows and works with, as well as two other girls I know who have new born babies. Carroll Indoor Sports Center donated TWO bags full of used soccer balls. Imagine deflating all of them!! As well as at least twenty NEW MLS jerseys. Pictured the kids faces when they saw them!!! Most of the balls and jerseys either went to my friend and fellow soccer coach Kyle or George who runs the Saturday soccer camp for "street" kids and youth. There was even about twelve soccer balls that were color coed to share the gospel donated by a Myersville Baptist local youth group that also went to George and Kyle to use for evangelism. I think overall I brought back with me at least FORTY SOCCER BALLS!!! All of which will go to good use. In my opinion, it is just so worth it to bring all of that stuff back. I guess, one of my favorite parts about doing what I do, is being the person who gets to hand that stuff out or get the right equipment to the person who needs it most. I often will pray over the stuff and ask God who I should give it to, for him to place a person on my heart. I also believe that bringing all of that back with my as luggage is the absolute cheapest way to do it. My mom can tell you... mailing packages is expensive. The only other option would be to send a container, which often takes six months and is an absolute headache to try to get out of customs! Also, don't forget the hefty taxes they throw on top of the already $6,000 container you paid for. So, in my opinion, spending a week packing, hulling, and paying for all of the luggage that I brought back with me is just worth it. It is so worth it to see people's faces and to know the donations are going to the people who need it most. Thank you for being apart of making that happen!!!!

Salsa Lessons.

So, pretty hilarious. My roommate Amy started taking Salsa lessons a few months ago. So, when I returned of course I joined her. For the last two weeks, every Thursday, Amy, myself, and a few others go to Salsa lessons at this place called Torerro for an hour and half. We have three Rwandan teachers. Other then feeling like I have two left feet, I also get accused of not throwing enough hip into it and forgetting the steps. It is definitely humbling to learn something new, especially when it comes to dancing. Who wants to look like they are bad, I mean come on!! Either way it is really fun and after we go hang out with friends at a place that has "Salsa night." I call it applying your new found skills, where you take what you learned in the lesson and actually dance at a place that hosts a night for it. The only difference is you have about ten times as many people watching you and if you mess up... well... it's not just you that knows, ha.

Futsal, Futsal, and More Futsal!

Since I had been gone, one of the neatest developments was the Futsal league. Right before I left, I connected my friend Kyle with Gad, who was a Rwandan interested in creating a Futsal league for Rwanda. Now, you may be wondering if I am just misspelling futsal to mean football. Actually no. They are the same game but different. Futsal is a game similar to football (soccer for us Americans). It was developed in Brazil by taking a deflated football (soccer ball) and stuffing it with socks. Genius! Obviously, there are always deflated are broken balls around that no one wants, so the Brazilians utilized what they had and created a new game called Futsal. The game has now become known world wide and has its own international league. The game is also great for developing skills! Because the ball never bounces off the ground, players are forced to play with their feet and pass. Unlike in Rwanda, where players like to just kick the ball and pass uncontrollably. Playing Futsal is the best thing a player can do to help build their technical skills. So.... it is amazing that the game has now come to Rwanda! While I was gone, Kyle and Gad created a league. They started playing every Saturday at Eco Belge, the Belgium school in town. They took kids that we were already investing in from Saturday soccer camp and my own personal teams and just started teaching them the rules and how to play futsal. Just a few weeks ago they had a big tournament, where teams were able to compete against one another and receive a trophy if they one. The players really, really wanted to win and get the trophy even if it was a $10 plastic one. It means so much to them to win. Also, what is exciting, is that Kyle has also started up a girls league that plays every Friday. Just last Friday, I was able to go and play and coach!

Family of Five.

During my time in Rwanda, my little family of one (me) has grown to a family of five. First, there is my sweet puppie Colby. We found her on the street at about six weeks old. A few kids who live behind our neighborhood were playing with her. She looked tired and ragged. So, to keep the kids from complaining I paid them off for $2USD and took her home.
Then there is the Sureyman family. Sureyman is one of my boy soccer players. He is about 15 years old and an amazing kid. When he was just on my team he was always so thankful and helpful. If I needed anything, translation included, I would always go to Sureyman. Over the course of the year that he was on my soccer team, he never asked me for anything, that was until he was desperate. So about eight months ago I began to take him and his two other brother in as my own. Their parents are still alive, but too old to take care of them. Usually when that happens they throw them out of the house, which is what happened to Sureyman and his brothers. They were left to fend for themselves. I didn't know this at first, but over time and through conversations with him I learned more about his situation and God just broke my heart for them. So, I kind of took them in and began assisting Sureyman with school fees and their family with money for food. The below picture is a picture of Sureyman's older brother who I had just met for the first time in August. I had talked to him on the phone and through e-mail for several months, but in August we finally met. He said he had to meet me because Sureyman kept telling him that I was like his mom. They really are like family.

Oh My Gosh He is Going to Eat Me!

Through the generosity of Kids Across Africa, I was able to go see the famous Silverback Gorillas! It was amazing, but not without a little mud and sweat. In order to get to the Gorillas we first had to hike for about two hours up the side of a volcano/ mountain. It was no easy task. It was straight up and if you have not worked out very much, like myself, you definitely could feel it! So... we hiked and when we finally reached the top we were met up with the Gorilla trackers who stay near the Gorillas at all times to protect them against poachers and any other people who many want to hurt them.
We walked about a 100 yards in before we saw him! He was the daddy of them all and he let us know. He grunted at us and let us know that he was protecting his clan. All I could to do to not turn and run was grab on to my dear friend John Wilder. I think I might have even covered my mouth from letting anything come out as he walked within a few inches of my legs. If he wanted to bite me, grab me, or hurt me he could have and probably would have done it in a matter of seconds.
A few minutes passed before yet again he passed by us as he went back into the brush and back with his group. After he went back into the group we were able to get closer to the eighteen other gorillas, but before we did a curious little one year old baby pounced out to greet us. Once he saw that we were definitely not other gorillas he jetted back into the bushes.
When we finally reached the other gorillas it was a sight to see and they did not seem to mind at all that we were there. We saw one gorillas climbing a tree in hopes of claiming a good piece of bark for his mid-day lunch during what the guides called their "social hour." At times the gorilla would throw down a few pieces to the other eager gorillas below. At the bottom of the tree there were mommas and new born babies, mommas without babies, and lots of little one to three year old babies.
They all were sitting around eating almost anything they could get their hands on that was green. While we were diligently taking pictures, we would often witnessed a gorilla fight, literally. When one gorillas of higher status wanted something from another of lower status, the high status gorillas would just walk over and just take it right out of the hands of the gorillas. The lower status gorillas would grow and make awful noises out of protest.
After a few minutes of fighting they woulc calm down and continue eating. We also witnessed little babies wrestling. Often the older babies picking and pushing around the younger ones.... interestingly enough just like humans.
Who would have thought?! Overall, it was a great experience even though at one point I really thought the main male silverback was going to eat me or at least take part of me with him. It was just an amazing experience. Thank you Kids Across Africa!

The House Next Door.

We have lived in our house for about seven months now and have lived next to a huge abandoned house. The house, according to locals, was abandoned by a Belgium business man right when the genocide began. Currently the house is still unfinished, is falling apart, and has bullet holes all over its exterior. It is some times hard to look at it because it is a sure sign of what life was like during the genocide and most international workers response to the beginning of the war. So many people just picked up and left. In the movie, Shaking Hands with the Devil, you see exactly that. You see many, many white people and upper class Rwandans pushing, shoving, and hurrying to get on the last few planes out of Rwanda. It is so sad to see because people who do not necessarily fit that description also try to get on the planes, but you see militia push them away and deny their right of passage away from the all the fighting and killing. So, this house just reminds me of the genocide. It also reminds me European wealth because it is this large, expensive house amongst more modest houses. When I would tell people about the house they would often ask if anyone lived in it even though it is unfinished. Based on what I know, I would always tell them that people do live there. I often see people going in and out of the unlocked, vacant gate. Also, at times we even see people upstairs during the day. I was told that the homeless and those who need a space to work often reside there during the day. To me this house was a sign of the past like I said, but also just emptiness, death, and abandonment. That was until the other day when I was laying in my bed. As I lay there in silence people began to sing. From where, I had no clue, but it sounded like it was coming from the abandoned house. Then I began to hear drums and the sounds of people dancing. I just layed there thing this may just be a one day event and then quickly drifted off to sleep. Then the following day I came home from town. As I walked up my steps I began to hear the same familiar singing from the day before. It was joy to my ears. It was beautiful and a reminder of life in Rwanda. So, instead of walking into my house and occupying myself with what I should clean up in my house or eat from the pantry, I walked out my gate and in the direction of the abandoned house. The gate was wide open and there were people sitting on top of the fence around the house. They waved at me and welcomed me in. As I walked in people began to smile and sign louder. As I took steps onto the driveway and closer to what was going on children began running over to me and of course yelling Muzungu, Muzungu! As I looked up I saw about thirty Rwandan women of all sizes and ages just signing, dancing, and practicing their traditional Rwandan dance. It almost brought tears to my eyes. Not only was I welcomed into a place that has for so long been a sign of death and abandonment, but I saw one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my time in Rwanda. I saw women just being women. Just praising the Lord. Just having fun and loving on each other. It made me proud to be a woman. It also made me proud to be living in Rwanda. It brought hope to me as I looked at how a group of women could take this place and transform it into a place of meeting. It was just so beautiful...

Coming Home!

There's nothing like a best friends wedding to bring you home. See you all in September and October! The things I look forward to the most:

1) Jumping on the bed with my nephew.
2) Hearing my nephew talk for the first time!
3) Seeing my family.
4) Seeing my best friend Jesse get married.
5) Hanging out with friends.
6) Using a washing machine!
7) Sleeping in my own bed.
8) Taking a shower without having to hold the shower head.
9) Eating honeycombs, pops, and any other sugary cereal I can get my hands on with milk that doesn't taste like it came straight from the cow.
10) Driving!
11) Going to movie theater as much as possible.
12) Watching tv.
13) Good American food.
14) Having electricty that does not go out.
15) High speed internet or internet at all!
16) Fall weather, the leaves, the smell... so nice.
17) Cheesecake, icecream, milkshakes, snowballs... the list goes on.
17) Just being home...

Along for the Ride.

The Kids Across Africa football camp finally arrived. For the last week and half we were up in Musanze, a district about two hours outside of Kigali, putting on a five day camp that served 130 Rwandan kids and 22 Rwandan coaches. It is kind of complicated to explain, but there was ten teams and each team had two coaches as well as one player coach from America. There was about 20 or so American staff, fathers, and sons from America who came for the event.
The event was kicked off on Tuesday night and ended on Sunday with a huge awards ceremony that took place in the main stadium of the district. Throughout the week the ten teams, ages 10-12, 13-15, and 16-18 learned skills from their coaches and competed in afternoon matches.
Each match counted towards an overall tournament that ended in a semi-final and final match. It was a big deal for the players and coaches.
More importantly then the details of camp was the little and big ways God showed up. For the last four or five months I have had the privilege to help coordinate this camp.
For me, this camp was so much more then some big soccer camp. It was God being faithful and teaching me how to walk, lead, and organize in his name. From my first meeting with Gregg Bettis the President of Kids Across America, God continue to reveal his visions for this camp. As we all took babysteps forward God led and helped provide the right people, money, and set-up for how this camp should go.
Even to the simplest thing such as a bracelet God took care of the details and allowed for 130 kids from the Musanze district to hear about life and how their lives can be lived for Jesus. There are so many other ways that God was faithful and moved and work.
I really wish you could have been there because trying to put it all into words on a blogger just does not suffice. All I can say is that God showed up from the littlest of ways to the biggest.
He knew every person, every player, and every coaches who was suppose to be there. He knew the good, the bad, and the ugly of what putting on first time camp can bring. He also knew that something like this would not only grow me, but would teach me more about letting go and trusting him to fulfill his plans.
Trust can be such a hard thing to learn in life. Some times I feel like I am so far away from grasping it. Actually, maybe trust isn't even something you grasp, but like a relationship, it is a process. There are moments of great trust and moments of where you struggle and feel nervous about every turn in life.
Even though I am so greatful for the opportunity to work with KAAC and help organize this camp, I think I am even more greatful for the hard lessons that were found within.
As Oswald Chambers always says... God cares less about the goal and more about the relationship and the process itself. To God be the glory.

Zambia and Beyond...

School ended on June 20th and on June 27th, I set off to South Africa to meet one of my best friends from high school Drew Myers and his girlfriend Jackie. We spent a few days in South Africa seeing penguins, whales, sharking diving (which I was sea sick for the whole time), the ocean, and so much more. South Africa is a beautiful place. It is also ridiculously cold right now because it is their winter. (South African Coast Line) I called South Africa Little America because being there did not feel like Africa. It felt more like I was in the U.S. then in Africa still. After South Africa we went to Zambia for a few days. While in Zambia we took a seven hour bus ride to Victoria Falls. The falls are unbelievable!
(Victoria Falls) They are so powerful and yet so beautiful all at the same time. They are so powerful that you can see mists from miles away and while you are there you get soaked from the mist that comes up. Victoria Falls is about a mile and 1/4 wide. You can only see the 1/4 of it on the Zambia side, while the rest lies on the Zimbabwean side. So even though you feel like you get to see so much of the falls, really you are only getting to see a small portion.
(Drew, Jackie, and I... love them!) Unfortunately because of the political instability, not many people get to see Victoria Falls completely, except if you are lucky and get to go on what is called the Micro-light! Thankfully we did get a chance to do that. It was honestly probably the best part of the entire trip. We were high up in the sky flying over the falls. We could see hippos, crocodiles, and elephants all from above.
(My friend Vaughn from Zambikes) My German born driver even let me drive. It was a blast. After that we headed back to Lusaka where I met up with my friends from Zambikes. They broke us in by eating traditional food with our hands. It was great! I also got to meet many of the Zambians working for them who are helping to build their bicycle work shop. It was great to be able to see them and see what they are doing and how they are doing it.

End of the School Year!

The end of the school year has finally come! With it comes excitement, but also a few tears as any end of a chapter in your life or new season does.

As much as I look forward to a break, it has been sad to say goodbye to those students who I have grown so fond of. Throughout this year, the one class I have worked with the most is the 6th grade. I have had them for homeroom, science, history, and P.E.
They are a fun group of students all having very diverse personalities and backgrounds. For instance, they all pretty much come from different countries, Russia, Ghana, Philipines, Rwanda, Canada, U.S. There is seven of them in total. I just love this group of kids. They have made me laugh so much!

With the end of the school year, KICS has many things to celebrate and be thankful for. First, we had our first ever field day that was more fun then all of us imagined it would be. Our students competed in team competitions, relay races, individual competitions, and team cheers. It all led up to the end of the day when totals were calculated and one overall winner was named. At the beginning some of our students were not that into it. Plus, it did not help that most of them had no clue what a field day/ play day was. We are not in America that is for sure. But, by the end of the day pretty much everyone, from the kindergarteners all the way up to our secondary students, were giving their best and really into every activity. They were cheering and determined to win. It was also really neat to watch the older students help the younger ones. The teams were created with each having a student from almost every grade. KICS also can celebrate because we had our first ever graduate. Roland was our only one and was the first.

Playing with the Girls.

Here are some pictures from our last IS Kigali game in Byumba. Liz and Jen came with me. It was about an hours drive. We played in a stadium that stands on one of Rwanda's highest points, so it was a bit colder then normal. Byumba is definitely one of the most beautiful places in Rwanda.
This us turning and faces the fans. We are suppose to wave at them, which i think could possibly be one of my least favorite things. I get embarrassed.
I think Jen laughed the entire time we warmed up. For warm-up the team does very interested moved. They are almost like dance moved. They also try to pick the most complicated to see if I can keep up. Lets just say I try my best. Pic of the team.
They teach me.
It was so great to have friends from home at my game to actually see me play. It was nice to have my oen personal fans. Thank you girls, your the best!