First, I want to apologize for holding out on blog writing for so long. I've been keeping pretty busy in Africa and loving every exhausting moment. I'll try to keep up with blogging a littl emore regularly though. Last month, my team ministered in Rwanda, "The Land of a Thousand Hills." I'm sure there were at least 1,000! Rwanda is an absolutely gorgeous country. I was impressed by how forward-moving the country is. Looking from the outside, you would never guess that the genocide occurred here just 17 years ago. However, if you spend just a little time talking to the people who live here, the remnants of the genocide can be seen in everything.
While in Rwanda, my team had the privilege of teaching English and working with Victory Mission Church in Kabuga, a small town outside of the capitol city. I LOVED teaching English. In the morning, we taught children. It was so fun to play games, sing songs, and even practice a skit with our students. I was so proud of our kids on the last day when they showed off everything they had learned. They are so smart! In the evening, we taught English to young adults at the youth center. This was a bit trickier because they all knew English really well and they wanted to learn more technical things like verb tenses (past perfect contintinous, anyone?). Katie took the lead and was a fantastic teacher (once she re-learned the material online). These classes were also an opportunity to share our faith. The last day of class we had our students practice their English by debating whether or not Jesus is God. It was a sweet opportunity to have everyone studying the Bible.
As much as I loved teaching English, my favorite parts of the day were the walks to and from ministry. In the morning, neighborhood kids would drop whatever they were doing and sprint full speed at us to give us hugs. On the way back from English class in the morning, our students would hold our hands and walk us halfway home. Walking back from English class in the evening, our students would often walk us all the way home sharing their stories. Hugs from little kids and listening to incredible stories! It doesn't get much better than that. The stories were really amazing and I would love to share them with you. The story that impacted me the most was Mama's, the wonderful woman/mom in Rwanda. I'm actually seriously looking into finding someone to write her a memoir because she has a beautiful testimony. I'll try to post a blog soon sharing the bits of her story that were shared with me.
We spent some time last week as a squad, rafting the Nile and changing teams. I am now a member of Red Thread. Our name is for the unbreakable red thread of Jesus' blood which connects us all and that we sew everywhere we go. Kate Hughes (from my previous team, Chi Rho) is my fabulous team leader. My other wonderful teammates are Erin Olson, Val Youmans, and Becca Diederich. I've loved getting to know each of these ladies. It's so great having a small group of 5. I think we'll be a pretty tight group. Pictures to come. Please pray for our team as we minister with Cornerstone Community Church in Bunamwaya, Uganda.
