Well folks, it’s hard to believe it, but here I am sitting at final debrief! At this time next week, I will be HOME (probably sleeping. Or eating.) This week is a chance to spend time with squadmates, tie up loose ends, and begin to let go and look forward to Month 12. For my next four blogs, I’ll be reminiscing about this past year on the Race.
Here’s Africa.
Month 1: Rukungiri, Uganda (small town)
Dates: September 10, 2015 – October 7, 2015
Team: Liora (Ashley Ancona, Hannah Lin, Jen Tillett, Alexa Anover)
Local Currency: Shillings 3000 shillings = $1
Local Language: Riyunkole
Ministry Partner: Cherished Life Ministries; North Kigezi Diocese; United in Missions
Ministry Partner Contacts: Enoch, Amanda, Evas
Enoch, Jen, Me, Ashley, Amanda, Alexa, Hannah, Enoch’s wife and children
What ministry looked like: We took part in a variety of ministries. Every Saturday, we went to Cherished Life Ministries, where we spent time with young unwed mothers and their children. During the week, our main ministries were visiting young adults in the community who had disabilities and hanging out at a secondary school for girls who were learning trades like cosmetology and tailoring. We also had the opportunity to go to the hospital twice to visit and pray with the patients there.
Baby Mercy at Cherished Life Ministries
Teaching the Cup Song to the girls at CBTC
One of the young men we visited with Evas
Living situation: We lived in a guest home on the grounds of the Diocese with Amanda, a long-term missionary there who became our good friend. The five of us slept in one room on mattresses and beds and Amanda had the other room. We had a living room and a kitchen, but the kitchen didn’t have a stove, oven, or refrigerator…it was basically a sink, counter, and some cupboards. We cooked on charcoal stoves. We had a bathroom with a shower and a Western toilet, as well as a squatty potty out back.
(all of the above photos by Hannah Lin)
Adventures: Safari, which included sleeping in our tents in the park and seeing tons of animals (including a lion); White water rafting on the Nile River
(photo by Alexa Anover)
One word to sum up this month: Joy
Read more:
Month 2: Kigali, Rwanda (home – city) Gahanga, Rwanda (church – rural)
Dates: October 8, 2015 – November 6, 2015
Team: Liora
Local Currency: Franc
Local Language: Kinyarwanda
Ministry Partner: Awakening Healing Revival Church
Ministry Partner Contacts: Pastor Fred Muyimba
Team Liora with Pastor Fred, his wife Mary, and family
(photo by Hannah Lin)
What ministry looked like: In the mornings, we went to the church, where two or three of us would teach English to a few adults from the community. The other two or three would go with Pastor Fred to do door-to-door ministry. When we did door-to-door, we would pray with people, and Pastor Fred would share the Gospel. In the evenings, we had church each night, and we took turns preaching.
Sam and Ananias, my English students!
Sometimes door-to-door ministry includes playing with adorable babies 🙂
(photo by Hannah Lin)
Living situation: We lived with Pastor Fred, his wife Mary, and six of their nine children – four girls in their late teens and early twenties, and two boys ages 8 and 9. They had four bedrooms and gave up two of them for us to sleep in. Hannah, Jen, and I shared a bed until Jen decided she preferred tenting outside, and Ashley and Alexa shared the other room. We had a living room. Cooking took place outside. The bathroom was separate from the rest of the house. We had both a squatty potty and a Western toilet. We took bucket showers.
Adventures: Finding my sponsored child, Jeannette; visiting the Genocide Memorial Museum, going to the movies to see “Pan,” attending the Global Leadership Conference
One word to sum up this month: Peace
Read More:
How to Meet Your Sponsored Child…the Unofficial Way
Month 3: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (city)
Dates: November 7, 2015 – December 4, 2015
Team: Liora
Local Currency: Birr 21 birr =$1
Local Language: Amharic
Ministry Partner: Youth Impact, Nehemiah Autism Center, Women at Risk
Ministry Partner Contacts: Masre Timiru
Hannah, Ashley, Jen, Alexa, me, Masre
(photo by Hannah Lin)
What ministry looked like: Ministry varied a lot this month. Masre, a first-time host, took us to many places where he volunteers or has contacts. We taught English and hung out with teenagers at Youth Impact, served as classroom aides at the Nehemiah Autism Center, and participated in the Women at Risk program by teaching English & Bible stories and playing with the kids as well as encouraging the women. On Thanksgiving Day, we walked throughout the city, handing out bread, talking to, and praying with the beggars that lined the streets.
Youth Impact
Nehemiah Autism Center
Living situation: We lived with a family from Masre’s church outside of the city. Tesfah and Beti are a couple in their thirties, and they have two children, Rakeb (who was 3) and Eldad (10 months). Their house was really nice. There were four floors. The first floor had an open area and kitchen, the second had another kitchen, bathroom, and living room/dining room, the third floor had three bedrooms and a bathroom, and the fourth had a bedroom, bathroom, office room, and open roof space. We had a shower and Western toilets. Alexa and I shared a room, while Hannah, Jen, and Ashley were in the other. We slept on mattresses on the floor. The area where we lived was mostly buildings under construction. It felt like living on the set of Divergent or some kind of dystopian future.
Adventures: My teammates all participated in the Great Ethiopian Run, a 5K with 40,000 paricipants, while I happily joined the spectators.
One word to sum up this month: Patience
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