It’s officially month three (holy moly, I know) and I’m both surviving and thriving here in Ethiopia! But I wanted to take a second to share my overall favorite part of month two in Rwanda.
Month two was all about consistent relationships. Relationships at the coffee shop, with our “host,” with the airtime salesmen, relationships galore! And through these relationships I learned so much about what Fusion 3 is all about. But before I get on that boat, I’m going to share a little more about each of these relationships.
These are my friends Lilian and Patrick. I met them the first time we went to the supermarket in town. As we entered, I saw a little stand I could buy airtime (or minutes on my phone). Lilian works there selling airtime. I think Patrick works there as well, but really Patrick just does it all, I swear. At least 4 different jobs and around every corner you go. The first time I bought minutes from Lilian I distinctly remember Patrick coming around the corner as Lilian was entering the 12-digit algorithm into my phone and he said, “Teach her so she can do it herself next time.” Every time we went to the supermarket from then on I got to see them and continue building our relationship.
This is my friend Odette. Odette is someone I like to refer to as my BFF. I met Odette the first time we were in town and stopped by the coffee shop respond to some e-mails. That day she informed me all about town as we asked her questions galore. The next time we were in town and had a question we went immediately to Odette. The next time we wanted coffee we went immediately to Odette. When I learned how to count to 5 in Kinyarwanda I immediately went to Odette. When I went to a wedding and wanted to show someone my dress, bet you can guess what I did… I went immediately to Odette. Because that’s what BFFs do, ya know???
This is my friend Cymentha. Cymentha is 17 and the actual coolest (not just the coolest, the actual coolest people). I met Cymentha at church one day when she translated for my friend Jackie and I. Instant friends. That’s Cymentha’s personality. One day she cooked us a true Rwandan meal and spent two hours asking us all about the race, in awe of how we decided to “leave everything and follow Jesus,” wondering what it would look like to do so in her own life. She said that with everything we are doing she wanted to do something for us – she wanted to encourage us. She wanted us to know that we are loved and admired and making an impact. That God is for us and He will continue to be with us and is proud of us. She left us with far more than she could have ever imagined.
This is a little boy that lives right down the street from the house we stayed at this past month. One of my teammates met him as she went on a walk and as I ran into them later in the day he quickly melted my heart into a little puddle that I had to later pick up off the ground. He doesn’t speak English so it took a few minutes for us to get some smiles out of him, but once we did he was a ball of love and it was so dang hard to leave.
These are our friends JC and Franny and their little son Broo. They took us in for pretty much our whole stay in Rwanda, and they are the real deals. JC worked with our budget and said he wanted his home to be a missionary’s home. He wanted to serve people who were serving others as best as he could. He was willing and eager to connect us with everyone he knew. They invited us to weddings and even took us to get African dresses made! They let us serve them and their staff dinner and even served us dinner our last night. We claim them as our Rwandan family.
This is my friend Tomas. Tomas is the real MVP. He works/lives at our Kigali home. Tomas only speaks Kinyarwanda. It’s funny because before the race when people asked what I was most excited for one thing I always said was “for the Lord to show me that language is not a barrier.” That was proven through our friendship. Tomas taught me how to count to five, and how to say egg, carrot, water, fire, how are you, I’m fine, thank you, smile, and way more. I will admit, at times it was a struggle and there may have been a week where I walked around saying “this is ready for you” when I thought I was really saying “fire,” but for the most part we were always able to figure each other out. Tomas is top 5 when it comes to the most servant hearted people I know here on earth. He taught me about serving with joy and out of an overflow of love. We got to cook together, wash dishes together, dance in the kitchen together, mop the floors (on heads and knees with rags) together, and mostly laugh together. Tomas stole the heart of every person on our team, and I think it’s safe to say we stole a little piece of his heart too.
Besides Tomas, two other people worked/lived at our Kigali home, Consette and Leonard. They also stole our hearts, big time. Leonard smiles more than anyone. He taught me so much about willingness. He is always willing to help and serve. Consette taught us so much about letting loose. When we first arrived Consette was a bit of a tough cookie! As she got to know us her walls came down. She started laughing with us (mainly at us) and even came up with a handshake with me! That’s when I knew I made it. (I even got her and Tomas to do that handshake together so now I’m thoroughly convinced that even while I’m gone they still do it :)) We got to do things “muzungos” (white people) don’t normally do with these three. Sometimes that meant serving them and sometimes that meant simply getting to know them. I don’t think they’ll forget that anytime soon.
And guys there were so many others! I wish I could keep y’alls attention long enough to tell you about them all!
But I know what you’re thinking, what exactly does all this have to do with Fusion 3? Let me tell ya. Fusion 3 is all about doing life as ministry and ministry as life. That means that ministry happens while buying airtime, at a coffee shop, down the street, and even at home. Fusion 3 isn’t pre-setup with specific mission-based organizations. Instead we meet the people the Lord puts right in front of our faces and we get to do ministry with them. And you know what I love most about that?!?! These are the people typically overlooked!
We are so quick to serve people a part of a certain mission-based organization (which I LOVE), but what about the girl who spends her morning at school and afternoon waitressing at the coffee shop? What about the people who spend their whole day selling airtime? What about the kids out on the mountainside who can’t get to an organization?
Today, you get to do ministry! Whether it is at work in Plano, TX, on spring break at a beach, studying abroad in Spain, or at a hostel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; at breakfast, lunch, or dinner; playing basketball, watching basketball, getting your nails done (I wish, am I right?), or walking around town. I don’t believe in coincidences. Who did the Lord strategically place in your path today?
