This week in Bible, my kids were learning about all the "omni" characteristics of God. He is omniscient! Omnipresent! Omnipotent! We knows us, He is everywhere with us, and He is all powerful! They wrote sweet journals reflecting about these words and how they know God is all these things. I pray, as you read these reflections, that you know and feel God's omni-powerful presence today! :)
God knows everything in our brains. Even what we're about to say to him right now. Nikki
I know God was all powerful because He created the earth and everything in it with no difficulty. Except then when Adam and Eve sinned, that's when the difficult part came. :) Joy
I know God is omnipotent because who else could have parted the Red Sea or sent fire from heaven? Isaac
God always responds to our prayers all the time. He's there for me when I'm happy, sad, or even reading. He never takes a nap. He's even everywhere in the Bible. He can hear everyone in the world when they are in trouble. He is always our shield. Tyrone
I know that God is omnipotent because He saved my parents from an earthquake. Joel
God is all powerful because He parted the sea for the Israelites to escape from Pharoah. He also walked on water. And he fed 5,000 people with just some bread and tiny fish. He even made beautiful flowers for us to admire! Alandra
I know God is omnipotent because He helps countries when they are in trouble. Like when Rwanda was in trouble, He helped us get freedom and become a safe country. I know He will help Libya and Syria and all the other countries too. Jemima
If someone is hurt, God is with that person. If there is a car accident, He is with that person. If I am scared, God is with me. He is even with me when I do dangerous things. He is everywhere cause He is God and King! Luacs
I think it's cool that God even loves and helps people who don't love Him back. He waits for them and still loves them and helps them. Look at how He changed Saul's life. God cares for you no matter what. David
God is omnipotent because He saved Shadrach, Mescah, and Abednego from the fiery furnace. He saved me when I fell from the balcony in India. He helped Joshua in the battle of Jericho. He helped David kill Goliath. He can do all things! Marc
God knows what we're going to be in our future. He knows everything in our brains and hearts.Iness
God is omnipotent because He didn't let Daniel get eaten in the lion's den. He protected him. Jordan
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
oops!
We're still in the middle of rainy season, but the rains seemed to have lessened lately. It's not raining everyday now. But last week, we were in for a surprise. I was tutoring Kang-Hee at my house, and the biggest, most powerful, coolest thunderstorm I've seen in a long time came roaring through. Our house is at the end of the street, with nothing on the right side, protecting it. A powerful wind came through and tore our gate from the concrete pillar! The next morning, we left for school, gently pushed our gate open, and it fell flat in the road! Of course, then every moto driver and worker on our street came crowding around and looking at the mzungu spectacle and asking for a job to repair it. Mr. Maxwell was able to help us find a welder to fix it that very day!
house pictures
Many of you have asked about my home in Kigali, so here's some pics! I've lived "on the hill" in Gaculiro community ever since coming to Rwanda. But each school year, I've had to move houses for different reasons. Many of the houses are similar, kind of cookie-cutter like. This "Vision 2020" Estates is President Kagame's "vision" for many neighborhoods in Rwanda; a church, school, small shops, grassy park to play football, and community homes, all in one neighborhood. He chose our hill to build the first estates on, as they were many, many deaths on this hill during 1994. While our neighborhood lacks a lot of character and charm of other older areas in Kigali, it's just so convenient to school and church....only a 5 minute walk away! So theres's really no other option as good as this one for me. And I love the diversity here. We have neighbors represented from all over: United States, Canada, Korea, Rwanda, Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, England, Sweden, and many more. I think I liked my hosues the first year the best. I had a much better view of the valley, and a cute straw gate, and back yard. Last year, I also had a great, big bedroom, but a view of the road. This year, I was rather unlucky, and ended up with a tiny, tiny room (which I don't so much mind,) but the view is the worst possible view I think I will ever have in my whole life! (I sure hope it doesn't get any worse than this!) :) I love looking out at nature. But I get to look out at an old, beat up generator this year. :) ha! But our front "yard" has two basketball goals, so that's been a fun way to relax! The Nash family gave us their straw porch furniture, so this has been the first house I can grade and chill outside. All in all, it's not bad! We are blessed!
View from the front
View from the front
Our kitchen. We have a gas stove, fridge, and water filter.
Our living room. We've since added many more Rwandan baskets to decorate our walls!
My tiny bedroom. Now, I have a gorgeous quilt made from African fabric on my bed. It's MUCH better and added sooo much mroe color to my room! :) And I've put up some pictures too, so it doesn't look so bare now.
Our "store." In America, we would call it the pantry. Our fridge is in here too. And cleaning supplies.
It took the workers over a month to finally figure out our water situation this year and get us hot running water. Our side of the house used to be offices, so there was no water. So they dug up our "backyard" and ran some pipes through it, and fixed our pump too.
Our water tank. Most houses have one, some have more than one! It's for when there's no water coming from the city, which happens frequently!
Our new place used to be an office, so there's this old generator in the workshed. This is what I see when I look out my window....four feet away. ugh
The workshed. And behind the shed are our backyard neighbors. I can hear their workers singing African songs very loudly at almost all hours of the day and night. Earplugs have been the best thing ever this year! :)
chapel
My sweet kids, performing a Bible skit in chapel, based on 2 Timothy 3:16.
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God's people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
Friday, November 4, 2011
Beauty of Rwanda
"God saw all that He had made, and it was very good." ~Genesis 1:31
Napoleon's Bat Island, Kibuye
The view from the Presbyterian Guesthouse, Kibuye
The peaks of the Kigali hills, as we climbed upward into Virunga Forest
wildflowers in Virunga National Park
Lake Kivu, Kibuye
Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda
Hello again!
Hello again! I first must apologize to all of you for my lack of blogging! I really intended to blog as soon as I was healthy again, (those dang amoebas had me down for a good while!) and then when I was healthy again, life just keeps coming, and I never seem to be able to make enough time for all the wonderful things like writing, and processing and story-telling; the things that I love to do and that help me reflect. I apologize. I am healthy now, and will do my best at writing on here, because I know many of you enjoy hearing stories from Rwanda. :) I'm working on uploading some pictures as well!
School was out last week, and it was a nice break from the usual, even though I really missed my students! I enjoyed sleeping in a bit, going to the market for colorful fabric and interesting finds, spending more time with my sweet babies at the orphanage, and even going to the dentist! No cavities, yay! The parents of one of my students are missionaries from the Philippines, and they head up the Adventist Dental Clinic here in Kigali. They are super gentle, kind, educated, and awesome dentists! It was such a blessing to have a wonderful dental experience so far from "home," where they have all the same, modern equipment, and it was about a fifth of the cost in the U.S.
I've been busy at school with teaching my lovely students, after school Science Club, and a Girls after-school fitness club for middle school students. It's been a great way to get to know these girls, and help empower some of the Rwandan girls to lead a physically active lifestyle. I've been blessed to lead these girls and pray with them, as we strive to be "fit" in every way. I'm still learning, myself, how important it is to create sacred time and space every day to be with God, because being spiritually and emotionally fit is fitness too! :)
We're all super busy at school now writing accreditation reports for ACSI, which have been necessary, but very time-consuming. You can pray with us next week, as we host an ACSI visitor on our campus who will examine us and offer suggestions on the timeline of how to proceed with accreditation. Our goal is to become fully accredited by next April. This process is laborious, but really helps give our school credibility in the eyes of parents. By the way, ACSI stands for: Association of Christian Schools International. We are also striving to achieve accreditation with Middle States of America (MSA) as well. KICS is growing and God's provisions are real! We now have the resources to begin building a Science laboratory and a library, which is a first for a school in Rwanda.
My evenings are spent tutoring my sweet Kang-Hee, the Korean boy who was in my class last year, and also tutoring a young Rwandan girl who doesn't go to our school, but is the daughter of our community "Umudugudu." This is probably my most favorite kinyarwanda word to say. U-mu-du-gu-du. And what is an "umudugudu" you ask? An umududugu is a "village chief" or "community leader." Our community leader is Marguerite, a wonderful lady, who runs a preschool in the basement of our church. It's been a joy working with her daughter, Nicole, and cultivating in her, a love for reading!
My sweet little ladies at the orphanage, Genina, Josephina, and others, bring me so much joy on the weekends. These girls are growing so fast and are so strong! It's just incredible seeing them now, and remembering the young, tiny babies they were two years ago. It's been such an answer to prayer to see the kids thriving at the Home of Hope under new leadership and management that allows them to have physical fitness and not be cramped up in dark rooms. Visitors and volunteers are readily welcomed now, and they are acceptive of donations and ideas. A wonderful answer to prayer! Adoptions are still closed in Rwanda, as of late last year, because they are trying to update their policies and become aligned with the policies of the Hague Convention. There are still many families who have dossiers at the Ministry, and are eagerly awaiting for Rwandan adoptions to reopen. It's our prayer that it will happen soon!
My Sundays are spent worshipping at CCR (not the band!) :) Christ Church Rwanda is a non-denominational community with a rich, diverse congregation, from many, many countries. I love worshipping alongside my students, parents and neighbors. We're a real community! Right now, CCR is looking for a new lead preacher, as Dave Jenkins and his family are heading back to the U.S. to be closer to family there. Teaching Sunday School to 50 young, eager kids who speak many different languages, with a translator, is both challenging and a tremendous joy! An afternoon usually consists of quiet time and lunch at home, or a group of friends hitting up the new "Mr. Chips" hole-in-the-wall concrete establishment owned by a Canadian man, who actually serves a pretty remarkable Pork BBQ sandwich! It rocks! Then I hurry to Home of Hope before the afternoon rains come, and spend the afternoon jumping rope, making beds, folding clothes, feeding children with disbilities, singing, singing, singing, and loving the sweet children.
I've enjoyed having my dear friend, Anna, back in the country recently, after the death of her dad in Arkansas this summer. She's here until Thanksgiving, but hopefully returning soon! We've enjoyed some fun weekend adventures lately, visiting our friend Frances in the mountains of Musanze, and exploring the Musanze cave, where many Rwandans were killed during the events of 1994. I had the neatest experience ever with our friend, Betsy, being able to trek into the Virunga mountain range and visit with the mountain gorillas, only five feet away! I'll be sure to post some gorilla pics soon! It was amazing seeing the similarities we have with the gorillas. crazy!
Life is rich and full here! His blessings are real and evident! Thank you all for your prayers, emails, encouragement and support! I miss you all there, and hope you are doing well!
Love from Kigali,
Emily
School was out last week, and it was a nice break from the usual, even though I really missed my students! I enjoyed sleeping in a bit, going to the market for colorful fabric and interesting finds, spending more time with my sweet babies at the orphanage, and even going to the dentist! No cavities, yay! The parents of one of my students are missionaries from the Philippines, and they head up the Adventist Dental Clinic here in Kigali. They are super gentle, kind, educated, and awesome dentists! It was such a blessing to have a wonderful dental experience so far from "home," where they have all the same, modern equipment, and it was about a fifth of the cost in the U.S.
I've been busy at school with teaching my lovely students, after school Science Club, and a Girls after-school fitness club for middle school students. It's been a great way to get to know these girls, and help empower some of the Rwandan girls to lead a physically active lifestyle. I've been blessed to lead these girls and pray with them, as we strive to be "fit" in every way. I'm still learning, myself, how important it is to create sacred time and space every day to be with God, because being spiritually and emotionally fit is fitness too! :)
We're all super busy at school now writing accreditation reports for ACSI, which have been necessary, but very time-consuming. You can pray with us next week, as we host an ACSI visitor on our campus who will examine us and offer suggestions on the timeline of how to proceed with accreditation. Our goal is to become fully accredited by next April. This process is laborious, but really helps give our school credibility in the eyes of parents. By the way, ACSI stands for: Association of Christian Schools International. We are also striving to achieve accreditation with Middle States of America (MSA) as well. KICS is growing and God's provisions are real! We now have the resources to begin building a Science laboratory and a library, which is a first for a school in Rwanda.
My evenings are spent tutoring my sweet Kang-Hee, the Korean boy who was in my class last year, and also tutoring a young Rwandan girl who doesn't go to our school, but is the daughter of our community "Umudugudu." This is probably my most favorite kinyarwanda word to say. U-mu-du-gu-du. And what is an "umudugudu" you ask? An umududugu is a "village chief" or "community leader." Our community leader is Marguerite, a wonderful lady, who runs a preschool in the basement of our church. It's been a joy working with her daughter, Nicole, and cultivating in her, a love for reading!
My sweet little ladies at the orphanage, Genina, Josephina, and others, bring me so much joy on the weekends. These girls are growing so fast and are so strong! It's just incredible seeing them now, and remembering the young, tiny babies they were two years ago. It's been such an answer to prayer to see the kids thriving at the Home of Hope under new leadership and management that allows them to have physical fitness and not be cramped up in dark rooms. Visitors and volunteers are readily welcomed now, and they are acceptive of donations and ideas. A wonderful answer to prayer! Adoptions are still closed in Rwanda, as of late last year, because they are trying to update their policies and become aligned with the policies of the Hague Convention. There are still many families who have dossiers at the Ministry, and are eagerly awaiting for Rwandan adoptions to reopen. It's our prayer that it will happen soon!
My Sundays are spent worshipping at CCR (not the band!) :) Christ Church Rwanda is a non-denominational community with a rich, diverse congregation, from many, many countries. I love worshipping alongside my students, parents and neighbors. We're a real community! Right now, CCR is looking for a new lead preacher, as Dave Jenkins and his family are heading back to the U.S. to be closer to family there. Teaching Sunday School to 50 young, eager kids who speak many different languages, with a translator, is both challenging and a tremendous joy! An afternoon usually consists of quiet time and lunch at home, or a group of friends hitting up the new "Mr. Chips" hole-in-the-wall concrete establishment owned by a Canadian man, who actually serves a pretty remarkable Pork BBQ sandwich! It rocks! Then I hurry to Home of Hope before the afternoon rains come, and spend the afternoon jumping rope, making beds, folding clothes, feeding children with disbilities, singing, singing, singing, and loving the sweet children.
I've enjoyed having my dear friend, Anna, back in the country recently, after the death of her dad in Arkansas this summer. She's here until Thanksgiving, but hopefully returning soon! We've enjoyed some fun weekend adventures lately, visiting our friend Frances in the mountains of Musanze, and exploring the Musanze cave, where many Rwandans were killed during the events of 1994. I had the neatest experience ever with our friend, Betsy, being able to trek into the Virunga mountain range and visit with the mountain gorillas, only five feet away! I'll be sure to post some gorilla pics soon! It was amazing seeing the similarities we have with the gorillas. crazy!
Life is rich and full here! His blessings are real and evident! Thank you all for your prayers, emails, encouragement and support! I miss you all there, and hope you are doing well!
Love from Kigali,
Emily
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