Emertha's Mission.

Through a friend, I met Emertha. She works for the City of Kigali, but has a deep passion to reach out to children who live on the street. She started her mission in 2005 through radio broadcast. She gathered up a group of girls, some who go to school, some who do not, some who have homes, and some who do not. Since 2005 she has been working to find most of these girls homes. Along with finding them homes she has held counseling sessions with them where she asks them about their home situations, trauma, and life. Also during the time she helps to teach them about sex and how to protect themselves against unwanted pregnancy. There are currently four girls who have either had children or who are currently pregnant. She also teaches them soccer, which gives them an outlet and a sense of hope. Like I said, I met her through a friend just by random chance. In my time here I will partnering with her on her mission. She currently has three proposals for finding ways to provide schooling, school lunches, and soccer shoes for these girls. Many of the girls cannot afford the public school fees that every student has to pay in order to learn. For those who actually can afford school fees they sacrifice their lunch and often do not eat but maybe one meal a day. We will be meeting with the girls twice a week both on Tuesday and Sunday afternoons.

Some Pics from KICS...

So here are a few pictures from KICS. The first picture is of the back of the school. All of the classrooms are located in the building shown an actually face the courtyard. The building is not enclosed, which is kind of neat, especially when it rains. My classroom is located just left of the center of the building. The other pictures shown are of my five biology students. The first one is Roland. His parents are from Burundi and Rwanda. Then there is Moe. Her family is from Japan and have lived in Africa, Great Britain, and else where. Sarah is next. Sarah and her three other siblings are here with there parents who work for Food for the Hungry. Brenda her mom is the current head mistress of the school. Camilla is next. Her family is from Rwanda and Finland. Last, but especially not least is Michael or also known as Mikel. He is Sarah's oldest brother. Not included in the picture is Corey. He left about a month ago with his family. They are currently in the U.S. on furlow. They are quite the fun students!

Joy.

One of the biggest joys of my life right now is a group of about ten to twelve, 11-16 year old Rwandan boys that I am coaching soccer and English to every Sunday afternoon in the valley. They were passed on to me by a World Relief intern who was leaving the country and heading back to the U.S. Together, the boys and I, share the love of soccer and life. They are some of the most energetic and fun-loving kids. We laugh a lot. The first time I ever asked them to start moving around and playing they all together started to dance and jog in place. It was magnetic and all I could do was laugh. Last week after practice we took some time to just talk and hang out. During that time Sammy, who we call the "translator" because he does most of the group translations, started to talk about how many muzongo (white people) here do not love Africans or black people. He told me in his own words that for some reason they just don't seem to like us, but there are some muzonogos who do. He then said to me that he can tell I love them and am not one of those muzongos who hate. It made my heart melt, not because anything I had done, but I truly believe they have seen Christ in me.

A Lot to Praise.

I feel like there is so much to be thankful for today. Today a friend and Lauren's friend Jackie arrives from Baltimore. Along with her comes a bag full of goodies from my parents! It makes it feel like Christmas day! Also, this week we officially signed a contract for a house. We finally have a permanent home to live in! What a blessing. For the last two months Amy and I have been living temporarily in two different homes. It will be such a blessing to finally move into a house that we can make our home. Our prayer, and Linda's our newest roommate as well, that our house is a place where people feel welcomed, loved, and the presence of Christ. I am so excited to finally have a home, a room where i can settle. Also, this week I had a meeting with the Food for the Hungry International country director about me teaching english to his Rwandan staff. In return he is going to help me process my work visa or permit. I am super excited about interacting and teaching more Rwandans. A lot of things to be thankful for and to Praise God for...

Teaching Me.

"So the church is not to be understood primarily as a means to the end of transforming society. This would be to trample over the uniqueness and infinite worth to God of the Christian community. Besides, the amazing and profound fact is that the Church most transforms society when it is itself growing and being perfected in the love of Christ. In fact when the Church is taken merely as a means to transforms society, very little is accomplished. For in that case the uniqueness of the Church is denied and we enter the battle on the same terms as secular and godless forces. We assume the battle for right and justice can be won by force, by technique, by doing. It can't These very clearly are not the weapons of Christian warfare (Eph. 6:10-20). Truly Christian transformation of culture comes through Christlike (and hence sacrificial) love, community, and being.

But this fact by no means cancels out the responsibilities to do, to act, to walk in the words of God. Rather, the being and the doing go together. The being is fundamental, but the doing is the natural result."
~From The Community of the King by Howard Snyder

There are two things I really feel like God is teaching me right now. 1) That we are peacekeepers. That we are to encourage peace and community amongst friends and Christians. As Christians we are to give the benefit of the doubt, to NOT talk about people when they are not there to defend themselves, and to not create walls of self-protection. 2) That as an ambassador for Christ we are to just be in Christ and to be present in the community. As Christians we are NOT to assume right and justice can be won by force, but by growing and abiding in Christ. It is solely about you and God, your relationship in Him. First, abide and then everything else flows out of that.

To Pardon.

Lord make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
Seek to be consoled, but to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
~Saint Francis Assisi

CLA.

They aren't afraid to raise their hands in praise. They aren't afraid to work hard or take a risk. They love Jesus and truly do represent Christ and the diversity of the kingdom. The church I have found in Rwanda is called CLA, Christian Life Assembly. They are a lively Christian church that truly does a great job of reaching out to Rwanda and the community. Even though english is the main language spoken they will often do many worship songs in kinyarwanda, the language of Rwanda. It is very obvious that they love to Jesus. For the last several weeks I have been attending CLA and already feel like family. I am in the process of becoming more invested there as I pursue a cell group, a small group to be in. I think what I love most about CLA is just that people are not afraid to praise God. Sometimes in American and maybe this is true in other places as well, as Christians we start to care more about what others think and how they are perceiving us and so we become timid in the way we praise God. We begin to be afraid to raise our hands in praise or to pray out loud. We start to care more about people then God. I deeply appreciate the abundant life that is evident in this church and the mere fact that people care more about their hearts for and towards God then they do about what people think. They praise Jesus through words, prayers, raised hands, song, and dance. They are focused and grounded on Christ and Christ alone.

New Friends.

Meet some sweet new friends of mine. The picture of the crazy man with the headdress is the Ntumba's driver. We (Amy, Linda, and I) are staying at the Ntumba's house in Casse Sociale until they return from the U.S. They have been there on a long term visit. Joseph is the driver for the Ntumba's and with them being gone he has been taking care of us and driving us to the many places we need to go. He has become quite the dear friend to all of us with his African sense of humor and deep willingness to serve. He is also our translator in most situations. He says that his english is "not good" but to us he has been a blessing to have around. About the picture in the middle. All of us teachers and American's living abroad have just fell in love with a place called Amohoro Amani. The word amohoro means peace. In my opinion, this place called Amohoro is a little piece of heaven right outside of Kigali. It is a sowing shop owned by a genocide survivor and widow named Grace. With the opening of the shop Grace has provided many jobs to widows. She not only gives them a job, she gives them purpose. She loves Jesus and provides bible studies for the women. I truly believe her business is being blessed because of Grace's sweet obedience, humility, and heart for God. She is the sweetest, dearest woman you will meet and she truly does make great bags, bed spreads, aprons, and skirts and it is all for the Lord. Last, but not least is a picture of our newest roommate and KICS teacher Linda. Linda has officially been here one week and what a blessing it has been! She joins us from Houston, Texas. She is a great person and loves Jesus deeply. She is going to do amazing things here in Rwanda through KICS, World Relief, and working with local orphanages. I truly feel blessed to have her here and look forward to walking beside her and seeing how God uses her here in Rwanda.

KICS Kids.

I promise that our KICS kids really do not look like that, but I think these pictures do capture the personalities of some of our students. They are quite the fun group of kids. They are all unique with fun spirits. They just want to laugh and have fun as any student would. They also love to play with my computer as we and use my photo booth program which has the capability of changing the way you look simply by the touch of a button. Currently at KICS we have about 45 students in grades K-12. Next year we are looking at bringing in more students from all over the world. There have been several Rwandan families, specifically, who have been applying to KICS. We hope to live up to our name KIGALI INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SCHOOL. We desire to be a real international school with students from many different ways of life and backgrounds. That is our desire. We are off to a good start with us already representing 10-14 different countries.

12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by^[c] one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body. ~1 Corinthians 12:12-20

YL in Africa...

Lately God has been laying on my heart the teenagers of Rwanda. Many of them have lost parents in the war/ genocide and are currently the head of their households. Many of them have been orphaned and abandoned. People often talk about how young the people of Rwanda are mainly because many of the adults and elderly were killed in the war. It is true, the main population of Rwanda is young, they are the survivors. Young Life is in most countries in Central/ Eastern Africa, all except for Rwanda right now. Interestingly enough, the President of Rwanda met with Denny Ryberg about a month ago and gave him PERMISSION to bring Young Life to the country of Rwanda! Can you imagine a President of a country asking you to share Christ with the country he oversees? People are already praying about all of this. Please partner with me in praying for not just the people of Rwanda, but for the teenagers specifically. They are the next generation that has the ability to continue to change the pain and past of Rwanda. They have the ability to take the pain and make it into something great and good. Please pray that God would bring workers here to reach out to them and to share his good news with them. Please pray that the teenagers of Rwanda would be apart of making Rwanda a light in the midst of darkness. God is moving here, God is good, God is doing a great work in Rwanda... Please pray for the Lord to open up and bring Young life here... http://sites.younglife.org/sites/Africa/default.aspx

Kigali Genocide Memorial.

No words can even begin to describe the death of a million people in 100 days... Rwanda is compared in size to Maryland. It's unimaginable. I went to the Kigali Genocide Memorial and it is hard to find the words to explain what I read and saw. The hardest part about the whole war for me is learning that before colonization the Rwandans were united in tribes, languages, and were intermarrying. They were not divided at all. It wasn't until the Belgiums came in and forced division among the people by creating identity cards based on physical features and giving certain classes privileges and jobs that Rwanda found itself with "ethnic" divisions. It is amazing how as humans some times we think we have the best intentions, but find out later that we were completely wrong.

A Way of Life.

Carrying water for blocks, even miles, is just a way of life around here. Everyday when you drive the roads, you will see children probably as young as two to adults of all ages carrying water jugs. They are walking to a local spring that provides water for that area. You will also often see people with several water jugs strapped onto bikes. You notice it most when they are straining, walking, and pushing the bike up a hill. Most of us have no idea what it is like to not have indoor plumbing or facets with easy access to water. For us in American, life just comes easy, things are in abundance, and we have all we need. Lately with changing houses and thinking about, even for in Rwanda, how blesses I am, I have been trying to place myself in the shoes of the typical Rwandan who does not have a car, works for little pay, has no indoor plumbing or water, only has a few sets of clothes, lives on less then $2 a day, etc. It is hard to imagine because I think my mind has been clouded with so much that it is hard to imagine having so little. Even for me, I see having to walk to get water as an inconvience more then just a way of life. I think it is a complete mentality shift that is hard to envision, to imagine until you really are living simply without all the luxuries of the world/ America. I think one of the most beautiful projects going on in much of Africa right now is well digging. I have run into several people, specifically those working for Living Water, whose sole purpose in Africa is to dig wells and provide clean water for those who do not have it. I have been researching websites of those who are digging wells in Africa and would like to share them with you. In American, we have no idea what it is like to not have clean water or to have water that is fished out of a puddle. Without local springs and a willingness to walk to get it the only other resort for people is puddles or any other place that might just contain water. There is a great need to pay for and to build wells. I am just so thankful for those companies, organizations, and projects who are taking it upon themselves to make this "need" of fresh water a reality. Here are some websites: 1) Living Water- http://www.water.cc/main.aspx 2) Blood Water Mission- http://www.bloodwatermission.com/ 3) Charity Water- http://www.charityis.org/current/

Doctors Office in Kigali.

How would you like this to be your doctor's office? There just so happens to be another missionary here named Jenny. At first people got us all confused, but I would just say "she is the pregnant, married Jenny and I am the teacher, single Jenny." It made it all clear once they realized she was 6.5 months pregnant. She is due August 1st and last weekend I happened to be in town with her and her husband Caleb when we had to swing by her doctors office for a quick visit. I obviously did not imagine a typical American doctors office, but when we pulled up we all laughed at bit at the building. My only comment was "well, we do live in Rwanda." The doctor, according to Jenny, was great. He is an American doctor who just opened a practice here to help the community.

My Backyard.

All these pictures are of the daily things I see in my neighborhood. Currently, I am living in a house of a family (the Ntumba's) who are in the U.S. on break. They should be back in June. We do live in a really nice neighborhood with big houses about the size of some houses in the U.S. This is definitely abnormal. The upper class of Rwanda typically live in either a big house or a townhouse. It is said the rich people live on the hills, while the poor live in the valleys, which is true. Most roads are dirt, even though there are a few of the main roads that are cement. Also, with it being the rainy season right now, there is a ton of potholes. If you get car sick really easily, you might not want to drive in Rwanda or you might want to opt to walk. I generally walk to school. It takes about 15minutes to get there. I always enjoy those walks because it is cool, already there is a bunch of people out working on building houses, and it gives me time to think and talk with Amy, another teacher from KICS. What I tend to love most about Rwanda is how green it is? Would you have ever imagined it to be so green and beautiful?

First Week.

This was my first week of school! It went well. I have high school biology every morning from 8:30-9:30, then on Mondays I have physical education in the morning and in the afternoon. On Wednesday, I have Health. I teach K-12 for both of those subjects. On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, I do not have classes. Sunday night, before my week started, I was a bit nervous and felt quite unprepared. I was feeling attacked. Also, my stomach was acting up again and leaving me worried about the week. So together, with a friend, we prayed for healing and for a great, God-centered week. I really think God answered those prayers this week. First, after Sunday's stomach issues and praying for it to be completely healed, I can say that as of Sunday night, I have not had a single issue! It is healed! Praise Jesus because feeling sick was not fun ;-). I love how God answers prayers. I love how he also has the power to give and take away. I love how he has the power to heal even the most simplest of stomach issues. God also just blessed this week in school. It just went well, even though on Monday I was a little nervous and wondering how it would all go. Once the nervousness passed I just really enjoyed the rest of my week. The kids are great. All of them are very fun spirited and come from all around the world. In my one biology class I have three American kids, one Rwandan, and one Asian. It is quite a small, diverse class. Having such a small class allows us to take moments to joke and talk. It also gives us the ability to transition well and my favorite part is that there is no big behavioral issues from kids acting out in order to get attention or what not. It is just a blessing to be able to get to know these kids in such a small, intimate setting. Also, this week in P.E. I used the BIG parachute that I brought from home. The kids absolutely loved it and kept asking me all week if we could play with it. I will try to get some pictures for you to see. My hope and prayer as another week quickly approaches is that my room would be a place where kids have fun, feel safe, feel affirmed, and loved. I just deeply desire for my room to be a place where kids feel accepted and God's presence. Also, as a teacher I just hope to be able to lift up and inspire all the kids that cross my path. Thank you for all your love and prayers this past week! I definitely felt them and deeply appreciate you coming behind me as I have begun this new challenge. You are deeply appreciated. Thank you.

Compelled.

Yesterday I was compelled to take every child I saw home. Much of my day was spent at the Mother Theresa Orphanage in town. It is one of two traditional orphanages left in Rwanda. After the genocide there was a large number of children without parents. Rwanda because of the genocide has changed the way they take care of their orphaned children. They no longer place children in orphanages, but place them in homes of the elderly, widows, or have people within the community check in on children who are old enough to run their households. So yesterday, I went to the orphanage. When I arrived I went directly to the infant section. There was about 20-30 children in the room. It was their feeing and changing time, so Lauren (another teacher at KICS) and I tried our best to help out. It was my first time using a cloth diaper, which was quite a sight. The Rwandan women giggled and somewhat willingly helped me. After all of the children were fed and changed, which is never ending, we just sat and held whatever babies we wanted to pick up and just played with them. They loved to be held. They loved to tickled. They just simply loved our attention and clung to us. What surprised me was that they hardly ever cried. Also, they knew that if they cried they would not be picked up. I also noticed how alert they were. Going to the orphanage was not hard for me at all. Seeing all of the babies was not hard either. I think the hardest part was the smell and it seemed like every baby I picked up was wet and needed to be changed. It made me think about how often they have to sit in their dirty diapers with minimal attention. After being with the babies, I went over to the room that had babies between 1-2 years old. The room was full of yelling, crying, and giggling until I walked into the room. I am not sure how often they see white people because when I walked in they all went silent and one child actually started crying. Eventually I went over and knelt down to a group of them and they started giving me "five" and hitting my hand. Before too long about six children were around me and started pushing one another, so I order to keep them from fighting I just started walking around the room. They began to follow and chase me. It became a game. Before the end of my time there, I went over and picked up this one child who laid on the floor the entire time I was there. I held him for about ten minutes and the hardest part for me was once I put him down he started wailing. It broke my heart because I didn't want him to hurt. As I picked up another child he came over and just stood their clinging to my leg and resting his head on me. I am not sure I have ever experienced the realm of emotions I did yesterday. All of those children are precious, specifically in God's sigh,t and it breaks my heart that they do not have parents to continually reflect that to them.

No Guidance.

I think when I was in college I took for granted the benefit of having a career center to go to or having parents who were there to talk to me about possible career or jobs I could pursue. On Monday, I was sitting with two Rwandan girls about 25 years old. We started to talk about what they do for a living. The one is a designer. She designs logos for shirts and colors them. The other works for World Relief. I think I asked them how they got into their professions. The designer told me she had found her gift at a very young age. Her gift according to her was her abilities and talents. She went on to explain how many people her age are still looking for their gifts and may never find them. I asked her to explain. She said this happens because most of them do not have parents because they were all killed by the genocide, they do not have people to guide them. There is no older adults to give them advice on what professions to go into. She also said when students come out of university they have no clue how to even get experience or to pursue jobs. There is no one to guide them. The society is seen as a young society because there is a large gap between young adults and the elderly. Most of the adults between the ages of 30-60 were killed. I had never thought about this. I knew many people had died in the genocide, but I never even thought about what it would be like to try to pursue a profession or a degree without parents or any adults to affirm you, guide you, or invest in you. Now I know.

Red Light Green Light.

After dealing with a few days of not feeling so well, I am finally starting to feel better! According to the U.S. embassy doctor, whose kids go to KICS, I had salmonella. How I got it I do not know. I think that is apart of living in Africa, sometimes you just don't know where you get things from. Anyways, I am doing fine. I am just watching what I eat so I can get the good bacteria built up and back into my system. Over the course of the last few days several events have occurred. First, I moved from living in the Food for the Hungry guest house to living in the home of Ntumba's. They have a big house with a few luxaries, so I definitely am feeling quite priviledged at the moment. I will be here for a month before Amy, Linda, and I move into our permanent house, which is only a few blocks from where I am now and the school. Also, the second event to occur was I met with Felicity the President of Rwanda's Women's National Soccer Team. She is a very strong, capable woman who some men involved in the Women's programs are threatened by. They are threatened because she really desires to see women have a chance in this society and she is not afraid to challenge those individuals who are using the program for job security and money. She wants women's soccer to excel, which is why FIFA appointed her President and Nike is hiring her full time. Thankfully there is a group of people, including the German coaches who have been brought in to help with training, who fully support Felicity including Kyle (National Head Coach), Caleb (fitness trainer), and myself who also desire to see women have a chance through the game of soccer/ football. The meeting with Felicity was quite productive. She has cleared me to play for one of their professional teams in the region called Ramera! Also, there is talk between her and Kyle about my involvement both coaching and playing with the National team. I will update on that as it comes. All that aside, life is good here. The children I run into every day continue to make me smile. They are some of the most sweet, fun individuals to be around. Today when I went for a run I came across some school children. They all caught up to walk with me. We started playing a pseudo game of red light green light where if I sped up so did they, if I slowed down so did they, if I stopped they stopped too. All of us just kept laughing out loud and smiling.

Its Real.

I have been here exactly one week. Hard to believe. It is definitely real for me because these last two days I have been feeling quite fluish from what I think is the food and the water. I am not drinking the water, but I am sure certain bacterias are definitely getting into my system. It is kind of hard to avoid. I am hoping in a day or so it will pass, but for now could you just pray for my body? It hurts and my stomach is not my friend right now. Getting sick while being in a foreign, developing country is just one of the prices to pay. It happens. Its not a big deal, it just takes time to pass and is a small price to pay.

Children of Rwanda.

The children of Rwanda. One of the highlights of my day today happened while waiting for a cab. Amy, another teacher from KICS, and I were waiting outside our gate when we saw a few children running down the road towards us. Before we knew it the few turned into about 13 children who all were dirty, did not smell good at all, and one child specifically had open sores all over his head, which I was told comes from either malnutrition or lice. Yet, they all had big smiles on their faces and were full of life. They came running up to us shacking our hands, some were a bit shy, and telling us their names. Knowing children often love having their picture taken I asked them if they would mind. They were ecstatic and immediately began posing. Since there was so many of them they would push and climb on each other to make sure they made it into the photo. After I would take it they of course, immediately, wanted to see the picture and would surround me often grabbing at the camera to get even a glimpse at their own faces. As soon as they all got a glimpse, the process began again with them posing and yelling "hey muzungu, muzungu" to which I joked, "excuse me I have a name." They often quickly fixed themselves and would say "Jenny, take picture?" It was fun to joke and play with them. They loved every minute of it and so did I.