This past month of ministry, team Torch worked alongside the ministry, Rwanda Gospel Center.
During the weekdays, we went to the school – it is close to the house we were staying at, so we walked – and worked alongside the teachers. We taught English or other subjects, played with the children, and then helped them write out their homework for the day. The children that attend the school are ages 3-6. The school day ended at noon, and then we walked back home for lunch. Some of the children walked home with us since their homes were not far from where we were staying.
After we had lunch at the house, one of the things we did is go to a church in a nearby village to fix it up. It was about a 15 minute car ride, but we usually always took the bus. The rides there and back allowed for good conversations and also the hills were fun to walk up, too. In the church we did construction in, we moved things around, washed the floors, and painted the inside and outside of the church. Yes, even the outside walls made of concrete. In two days, there will be a new team from the World Race that will continue to finalize the work needed to be done at the church so that it can be opened in the next month. The team and I were so excited to be part of this ministry to help with the construction of opening a church in a village in Rwanda.
Another opportunity the team and I had was to go out and evangelize. In the first week, on our way to go and pray for a church member who broke his foot in an accident, we passed by some young adult men playing chess. We stopped. We played checkers with them. We shared the Gospel with them. We shared parts of our testimonies. Four of the people that were there gave their lives to the Lord that evening. We went and saw them once a couple of times after to continue to build the relationships. Praying God continues to work in their lives and that their hunger and thirst for God grows more and more and never goes out. Even in the challenging times.
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Here is a blog post that my teammate, Shelby Kaplan wrote about our classroom this past month.
Welcome to our classroom!
Teachers:
Sarah Zlibut:
The fun teacher who is always down to chase you and tickle you. Sarah loves to make best friends with the children (specifically the boys) and play soccer with them. She is great at playing with the kids at recess and getting all of their energy out. They love her like crazy!
Shelby Kaplan:
Hi, this is me!! I am definitely more of the nurturing teacher. I always find myself going to the crying child just to comfort them (and maybe baby them a little too). I love comforting children. I love wiping away their tears and kissing their boo boos. I want them to know that they are loved and that they are taken care of.
Students:
Brino:
Oldest and biggest child in the classroom. We like to call him our gentle giant. Everyday outside he takes care of the younger children who are hurt and alone. He picks them up and comforts them. He always has a smile on his face and shows so much respect towards us. He is always done with his work first and then sits pretty patient in the back. We also like to call him our class dad. He hates getting in trouble and when he does, he cries a little (and my heart hurts for him). Total sweetie.
Baracka:
This kid. He has eye lashes for days and his smile can win you over. He is a smart kid…he just likes to take his sweet time to get his work done. He gets distracted VERY easily and loves to catch our attention. He loves to be tickled and chased outside. He walks home with us every day and even holds teacher Sarah’s hand the entire time (he is definitely one of her favorites).
Yasipi:
She is outgoing and loves to laugh. Yasipi is a smart girl and fast at doing her work. She is always finished before some children even write their name. She is so fast that when the teacher is not looking, she will do other children’s homework. She seems to be quiet and timid at first but once she is comfortable, her wild side comes out.
Esther:
She is an actual gem. She is SO smart, but also loves to take her time with her work. She loves to stay distracted. Esther has a smile that says “I just did something I was not suppose to…but look at me, you can’t even be mad” and this is the truth. Esther is usually pretty quiet, but she is the jealous type. When she is holding your hand and someone else takes it from her she will slap them so hard, give them the “get away” kind of face, and then shoot you the biggest smile the moment you look at her. She is gentle…but don’t mess with her because she is not afraid to stand up for herself.
Eliza:
THE MOST CONTAGIOUS LAUGH IN THE WORLD! Seriously. I melt every time I hear it (even when she is being crazy and pulling my hair). This girl can HANG with the boys!! She loves to play rough and can be very wild. But even though she can be crazy, Elisa loves to be loved. She wants to touch you at all times (even when she is working on her homework). She will hold your hand anytime she has the chance and just wants to be with you. She wants to be seen and loved like crazy. Tickles are also her favorite and these will cue the most contagious laugh.
Teta:
Sweet Teta. She is very quiet, patient, and kind. We like to call her the mom of our classroom. She takes care of the younger children outside and you can always catch her with a little kid on her back. She is very smart and has beautiful handwriting. She has the cutest little voice and does one of my favorite versions of the song, “O lay lay chimichanga”.
Kelly:
Kelly is in the back row of the classroom. She sits by Cyusa Brez and they are basically besties. She is very smart and also gets her homework done quickly. She is focused and does not get distracted easily. She will sometimes help her friends who are struggling with their work. She loves to play with the boys and becomes cuddly on occasion. Kelly is known for sharing her food with the people around her and is very generous.
Cyusa-Brez:
We call him the smart-jock of the class. He literally does not have to try when doing his homework…he just naturally gets it. Super handsome kid and knows it. He can just smile and have anyone wrapped around his finger. Probably too cute for his own good. He always has his work done perfectly and wants to be called on by the teacher to tell the answer. He is very sporty and is always playing with the soccer ball at recess. He even wears the cutest orange Nike pullover and his cool points just keep increasing.
Beulla:
My girl. She reminds me of a princess because she exemplifies grace, kindness, patience, and love for everyone. She always has the brightest smile on her face and she has the kind of smile that has the whole world smiling back. Beulla never hesitates to help anyone who is in need. For example, she is always helping the boy next to her with his work and does this without any hesitation. And my favorite moments with her are when I say “I love you” and she says back, “and me, I love you.” This girl has my heart swept.
Allan:
Okay, this boy. He has me wrapped around his finger. He is seriously so tiny, like, he looks like he could be 3 years old. He is the smallest boy in the class but don’t be fooled, he has a BIG personality. He has a really hard time understanding how to do his work but when you just sit with him and walk him through it, he begins to understand. You just have to be patient wand encourage him that it is okay to try again and again! He needs someone cheering him on and I loved being his little cheerleader! But even though he might struggle in school, Allan will always know how to keep a smile on your face. He is hilariously wild, but in the best kind of way.
Brian:
Quiet at first, but wait until he opens up. He is outgoing, sporty, smart, sweet (most of the time), and can cause chaos in the class at times. He loves to hold our hands while he does work and gives the sweetest of hugs. Bryan is also accident prone and is literally always hurting himself. But lucky me, I love to comfort crying children 🙂 So I baby him all day long!
Cyusa Yannik:
He is a surprising one. He is a larger kid (seriously looks 7 or 8) and even looks like he would be a wild child. But in reality, he loves to love you. He gives the sweetest hugs. He is patient when you speak to him. He listens almost every time. He also needs a little extra help with his school work but when you help him, he really pays attention. He gets wild on the playground but when you have children pulling on you and you tell them to stop (but they don’t), Cyusa Yannik will literally walk over and pull those kids off of you. So even though he does it aggressively, it’s still pretty darn sweet. I don’t know, this kid really grew on me.
This school was built by our host and his reasoning is beautiful. He told us every day he would take his children to school and while he was driving, he would see children on the streets all day long. These children can’t afford or can’t get transportation to quality education. This broke his heart and after asking the Lord, he decided to build a school in the neighborhood. So these children now have the opportunity to have quality education that is close to home and at a low price. The Lord has his hand of provision over this school and He has protected the place. It was an absolute honor and blessing to teach every morning here. These children have been one my favorite blessings so far and I never want to forget them. And even though I have been such a short part of their story, they will forever be a big part of mine. Thank You Jesus, again and again.
– with love, Shelby
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This past month at the school, the team saw God’s hand and His provision upon this ministry in Rwanda. The last few days before leaving Rwanda, Nikki and I had a chance to ask our host, Moses, more in-depth questions about his heart, his vision, and hear more of his testimony and how God has used him and how God has been faithful throughout his lifetime.
Currently, the school that we worked alongside with has been struggling financially. The church that provided funds for it was closed last year due to the government increasing the regulations for keeping a church opened. So, long story short, after hearing his heart, we felt the need to do something. We did a 24-hour fundraiser in order to provide funds for school supplies and possibly even give the 5 teachers a little bit of salary, depending on how much was raised in this time frame. The teachers haven’t been paid for a couple of months, and they don’t even have much of a salary to begin with.
You want to know how much was raised?
About $1,200.
Yes. With the money, we were able to buy notebooks (3 per student), pencils, sharpeners, erasers, chalk, pens, toys for their recess time, AND also each teacher received $190 as part of their salary.
God is good. He is faithful. He provides.
While that amount might not seem like too much, it did wonders for the children and teachers. It was a blessing from above. To see God work and provide for His children was a blessing.
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Team Torch is now in Uganda. We will be heading to ministry location on Monday.
Soli Deo Gloria
SZ
