Christmas Day!

Christmas Day was the best! We had another wonderful service at church, complete with Rwandan traditional dancers on a very cool rendition of O Come All Ye Faithful, and Little Drummer Boy. We also had a Christmas choir for the first time this year, with beautiful sashes made by the "41" girls (I'll tell you more about them later!) We had two beautiful baptisms after church! What a great day to be baptized! 

 

After church, I enjoyed a nice brunch with some American teachers. They had a guest visiting from Texas, and she brought some REAL American bacon, and we had biscuits n' gravy, eggs, breakfast burritos, baked oatmeal, and ham biscuits! Delicious! Later, on my way down the hill, I visited with the soldiers who guard our neighborhood and shared some breakfast and treats with them, before we all got caught in a Christmas Day rain/hailstorm that soaked my African dress. :( No pictures of that! (or brunch, sorry!)

 

After brunch, I walked to Kagugu down the road, and feasted again with 125 Koreans who are serving all over Rwanda! The Lee family has Korean church services at their home each Sunday, and I have taught and tutored their son, Kang-Hee for 3 years now. They are a really special family, and I've learned a lot about Korea from them and enjoyed Mrs. Lee's cooking so much! Mr. Lee has answered soo many of my questions, especially about North Korean relations. (I'm fascinated!) After a wonderful Korean meal, (yes I ate again!), each Korean family/mission group performed a Christmas skit or song and dance for everyone! It was so neat taking part in this cultural experience. The oldest goes first, and they end with the children. It was all in Korean! I loved hearing favorite Christmas hymns sung in different languages. I think I sang Away in the Manger in four different languages this Christmas! How special! I took some videos of the children singing in Korean, and I'll post one when I figure out how to do that!

 

Then, I left there mid-afternoon and took a moto to Kinamba village, to visit my worker and dear friend, Beatrice, and her family. Beatrice's daughter, Karia, just had a successful surgery on her leg and is wearing corrective shoes now, in hopes that she will be able to walk very soon! She was in such good spirits and enjoyed the chocolate cupcakes so much! Beatrice got a new radio and some earrings for Christmas, and Karia some pretty pink dresses!

 

Finally, in the evening, I took a moto to the Nashes house. They are missionaries from Minnesota who taught at KICS last year, but now are with another organization. Jeana prepared a real honey baked ham, and it was glazed all over! Yum! And she had a special recipe for the cheese biscuits from Red Lobster, so that was a fun treat! They also invited my friend Jamies Boiles, who is working with 3 of the "41" girls, Passy, Amelie, and Diane. "41" girls are a special co-op that was formed from girls living in the Noel orphanage in Gisenyi. Now, these girls are in their twenties, and have earned enough money to live on their own, and are trying to "phase" out of life at Noel. Jamie is working with them and training them, and helping to market their products. They made me a special Rwandan Christmas stocking, and it is beautiful! After dinner, they did an impromptu Rwandan intore dance for us, complete with drumming! I'll post a video soon! Then we played this hilarious Sankaliwa Swahli "I spy" game!

 

Please visit the girls' website if you get a chance! It's awesome!

 

www.no41.org

 

or you can find them on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Number4one

 

I'll blog about them in detail soon!!

 

This Christmas is truly one I will never forget. I feel so blessed to be a part of this large, loving, cultural community, alive with the Holy Spirit. I missed being in North Carolina with family this Christmas, but God is good and He knows what we need. I had no idea how joyful and special this Christmas here would be!

 

The day after Christmas, I was exhausted, and spent a wonderful lazy day eating pancakes, being lazy, and worshiping God over coffee and caramel icecream! :)

 

I am blessed! Enjoy the pictures!

 

The Lee family performing Away in a Manger

 

Kang-Hee playing his trumpet for us!

Moses baptizing Amanda in our church fountain out front

Onawa is a worship leader from Washington State. She's lived in Montana too, AND Alaska! She has three of the cutest kids in Kigali, and I love her! She's a great Graphic Designer, and started "Body and Soul" aerobic classes at our church! Her husband, Rusty, is also a worship leader.

 

Amelie, Diane, and Passy....the 41 girls that train with my friend, Jamie!

 

 

Sweet Karia with her pretty pink dress!

 

Beatrice and her family

Diane doing a traditional dance for us on Christmas!

Amelie on the drums!

Diane made this special Christmas stocking for me!

 

What a wonderful way to celebrate the birth of Christ....being baptized!

Christmas Eve pictures

I celebrated such a wonderful Christmas here in Kigali! It was busy and joyful and full of love and children; just how Christmas is meant to be! I started celebrating on Christmas Eve with a beautiful candlelight service at our church. 70 kids from all over sang in our kids choir! Afterwards, my roommate and I hosted 20+ of her former kids from the African Children's Choir who are now in their 20's. They came with their families, from all over Rwanda, and we barbecued goat on our front porch, made some hot apple cider, and Janelle baked tons of Christmas goodies. One of her former kids, Joseph, dressed as Father Christmas and handed out cars and crayons to the children. We brought over the projector from school and watched Christmas movies on a white sheet and sang carols well past midnight! A few of her girls spent the night, and we busily played Santa and filled stockings for them! I missed celebrating Christmas Eve at my Grandma's house like last year, but this Christmas was also incredibly special for so many reasons. Here's some pictures of the festivities, and also some pics of our Christmas decorations!

 

Janelle found our fake tree at a yardsale of some missionaries who were leaving! Many handmade Rwandan ornaments (I love the carved birds from wood!), some ornaments from Kenya, and Janelle baked the oranges and hung them so nicely!

Joseph as Father Christmas!

This sweet boy, Kelly, has been in the hospital battling cancer for 4 out of his 6 years of life. But his cancer is now in remission for 5 months!

Christmas peace bowls, handmade by the ladies at the market!

This star was a gift to me by one of my students, Joshua. It's handmade with beads and rolled up recycled paper! Beautiful!

Rwandan angel on top!

My Rwandan Nativity scene made from Banana bark

wherever you are this Christmas...

Go tell it on the Mountain! (or the thousand hills, or the beach, or the valley, or your next door neighbor...)

 

Just tell it!

 

Share the Good news!

 

Jesus Christ is born!!!

He made me a watchman
Upon the city wall,
And if I am a Christian,
I am the least of all.
Go, Tell It On The Mountain,
Over the hills and everywhere;
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O Come O Come Emmanuel. Emmanuel, God with us. God within us. I have never understood this miraculous and majestic mystery of God within us, but I don't need to understand it to know it, and to embrace it. From the beginning, God is with us, even within us!?! His name of Emmanuel is very real to me right now. We are celebrating and awaiting his arrival 3 days from now; awaiting the coming of the Christ Child who has reedeemed this broken world. But the good news is we really don't have to wait 3 more days. Yes, Emmanuel came way back then, but he also came right this second too!  

He has come to be the LIGHT in the darkness. He has come to be a LIGHT in our darkness. He has come for Rwandans, for the Congolese. He has come for Americans, for the Syrians, the Palestinians. He has come for the nomadic tribes in North Sudan, and the Suburbians in North Chicago. He has come for the tired, and the weary, for the lost, and the grieving. For the rich and the poor. He has come for Kannapolis and Kigali and Newtown. He has come for me and for you. To redeem us in our human fragility and weakness.

"Every year Emmanuel means something different. Life peels back more layers and we’re left standing raw until they heal. But God coming down to this gritty, dusty, land of the dying makes every difference in our hope for living. He is with us. He is in us. He is here." ~Emily Freeman

 

Come Emmanuel. Come now! I have to be honest that at times this past week, I've wanted Jesus to come again right then and there and swoop us all up with him to a glorious, heavenly home, with a host of angels awaiting. I've felt the darkness and evilness of this world we live in, and it's made me long for Home. When our hearts grieve, for different reasons and different people, we all long for answers and reasons and steps for how to prevent it from happening again. But the Lord has used this past week, with it's confusions and tragedies and heartaches to remind me that this place is not our home! We are but mere strangers here, just passing through! This world is evil and He has reminded me this week of my true Home, with Him. What we are all longing for and anticipating! O Come Emmanuel! Come and give our souls worth.

Yet, even as we are still in this world, His Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness shall not overcome it. We are called to be His light! Children who live in His light and walk in His steps. His hands and feet. His flashlights for the darkness. His outstretched arms and abounding love! He is the LIGHT that shines admist all the darkness! You are the LIGHT of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Even in the midst of tragedy, when your hearts are full of grief and you have more questions than answers, He is LIGHT and His light can never be snuffed.

I've been reminded this week that our God can handle all of our grief, and knows that we love Him and we are thankful, even when our grief is what surfaces on any given day. He can handle all the questions and all the anxioius scenarios that play out in our minds because of this world we live in. He knows it's not our Home, and He's been telling me, "It's ok. I am coming for you! This is not how it is meant to be. But let my LIGHT shine in your darkness today....and tomorrow. Feel my light and my warmth and go outside and bathe in it until I consume you, and you're bathed in my rays again."

O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Thank you God, for meeting us where we are this Christmas. Today, tomorrow, and always. Thank you for showing us how real you are to our broken world, and our broken hearts. And thank you for shining your light within us and putting us back together again. You bring beauty from ashes, light out of darkness, and hope and love from what is evil. You want MORE! Thank you for protecting us, and for loving us and giving us your love WITHIN us to shine all over this crazy world! Help me to love you more this next week. And love who you love more. Help me to leave the justice up to you, Lord. Thank you for making me whole and for coming for me! O Come, O Come Emmanuel, and bring peace to this Earth, I pray.

 

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

 

on earth as it is in heaven

Walk for the cure!

 

In October, I had the privilege of taking part in the first ever Breast Cancer Awareness Walk in East Africa! Anne Rugege, a sweet lady from church, began the Awareness group and the walk for all of East Africa. Through working with Mrs. Rugege, I discovered that she and her husband, Geoffrey, had lived in Fayetteville, North Carolina, for a few years back in the 1980's when he was on scholarship to attend school at Fayetteville State! Small world! We enjoyed chatting about basketball; she was a Tarheel fan, and I never knew it! They even named their firstborn daughter, Caroline. :) She talked about Jimmy V. and "that Duke coach," and we had a good time talking about NC. She enjoyed her time in North Carolina, and loved the beach, but didn't care for Fayetteville much at all! The walk was a great success, and I enjoyed walking for my Grandma, millions of miles away. :)

walking for my amazingly wonderful Grandma! I love you Grandma!

Walking with Alexandra, a new friend here from Virginia

I love the hair pieces! :)

Making our way to Amaharo stadium

One of my former students, Naomi, walked with us!

lucky turkey!

Ok, I know it's been a while since I've written regularly, or posted new pics, so it's my goal this week to write frequently and fill you in on happenings...

 

this one is just to make you laugh! :)

 

We did have a turkey this Thanksgiving...which is rare in Rwanda! There's not many turkeys here at all, and usually they are really expensive. I know many ex-pat families who actually sneak a Butterball turkey on the plane with them when they come in August. (I'm serious!) There's other stories of people solicting friends to bring turkeys with them. And there's one story of a pretty wealthy guy who actually had a Butterball turkey shipped and flown out here directly for him! And of course many Americans make-do with just the tough chicken here and we are enormously thankful for it!! There's also your choice of brochettes (meat on a stick): goat, pork, tough chicken.

 

Last Thanksgiving, we went to the one turkey farm in Rwanda and picked out our own unsuspecting, unfortunate, if not scrawny bird. This year, the boys found and purchased a turkey in a village in Musanze, and brought it back to Anna's house for our feast. But as soon as they readied themselves to slaughter it, they realized it was just too cute and they put the machete down.

 

Instead, Clay and Dan decided to drape some pearls around our turkey's neck, name her, Pearl, and let her roam around the house. :) It was quite a sight and quite a night! Everyone enjoyed taking pictures with Pearl. She was a big hit for sure.

 

You might be wondering why I am decked out in Tarheel softball gear? Well, this year, lots of friends from Bridge to Rwanda were going to be gone during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some will be returning, and some won't be. It's always hard saying goodbyes here. :( So at the beginning of November, Anna decided to throw a "Hallow-Thanks-mas-Eve" party, and we all celebrated four holidays in one night.

 

So I decided to be a softball player for the Halloween portion of the night. We also had a huge Thanksgiving feast, danced to Christmas music and had a gift exchange. At midnight, we lit sparklers and sang Auld Lang Syne. Just so we could be together and make memories. :) (Remember, we have to create a lot of our own fun here.) :) And it was just that! I think even Pearl had a good time!

 

 

 

Don't take it for granted!

Sweet Karia, and her mom Beatrice are so dear to me. Beatrice works in our house and is a Godsend for us. Her daughter, Karia, is 3 years old, and so precious. Last weekend, on Thanksgiving, this sweet little girl's life was changed forever. Because of the generosity of YOU who have given to me, we were able to give this little one a life-changing surgery to correct bones in her legs, for a fraction of the cost it would have been in the United States. The surgery was successful at a private hospital in Gikondo, and on Monday she was fitted for some special "Forrest-Gump-like" shoes that will allow her to walk this next year. :) It's our hope and prayer that in time, she will be walking without the shoes!

 

It's something many of us take for granted. We obviously don't remember when we took our first steps. For most of us, it's something we don't even think about. But I know there are some of us who have endured illness and pain, and truly know the great gift it is to put one foot in front of the other one and move! May we all never take this great, yet simple gift for granted....or any gift from God who is so good and has blessed us so abundantly!

 

prayers of thanksgiving and peace

I hope all of you are enjoying a weekend of thanksgiving with loved ones! I missed being at home with family, but I spent a great Thanksgiving with my "family" here. We had school for half a day on Thursday, and then I feasted with many others at our preacher's house. It was a blessing to share a Thanksgiving meal with Americans, Rwandans, Ugandans, South Africans, and many other friends who had never experienced a Thanksgiving meal before! Everyone enjoyed the pumpkin pies, the Rwandan yam casserole, and even some "Southern" sweet tea! I wish I had pictures to share, but of course I forgot my camera.

There are just too many things I'm thankful for this year that I can't even begin to list them all.....but during this week, God has reminded me in His special way of all the things I have to be thankful for.

As I planned a short getaway at Lake Kivu in the northern province earlier this week, I anticipated a night of rest and peace by the lakeside, overlooking the volcanoes of the Congo just 5 minutes away. It's rare we have a day of school, and when we do, I like to enjoy the beauty of this spectacular country! But on Wednesday, the US Embassy held an emergency meeting and informed us that all travel to northern province was immediately restricted due to the M23 rebels in Congo actively fighting with the army, and gearing up to take over the border town of Goma in DRC. I visited Goma in 2010 when we climbed Mt. Nyiragongo, and couldn't imagine that now, the beautiful people of this town were enthroned in yet another war. There has been limited rebel activity in recent years in the DRC, but the last fighting was seen in 2003. Until now.

You can read more about the conflict in Congo here at CNN:

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/24/world/africa/congo-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

or here on BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20476677

It's easy to read about conflicts on the news...and feel so far away from them, and not know what or how to pray for them. But when it's in your backyard, it feels very different. While I am not in danger at all, and I have every reason to thank God for placing me in this peaceful country of Rwanda and away from harm...I know of others who are not as fortunate right now. We spent Thanksgiving lunch with missionaries and aid workers from DRC who fled the country to Kigali this week, and came with stories of chaos and unrest.

With conflicts brewing in Israel/Palestine, in Cairo, and DRC Congo, I can be thankful I am not there, but instead in Rwanda where peace is so present. But at the same time I feel so convicted to intercede for those in these conflicts. Prayer is such a POWERFUL weapon, and I think I'm just beginning to understand the wonderful mystery of it. I confess I don't pray often enough, and I'm learning every day what it means to be in continual prayer and continual conversation with my Creator, my Lord, my Daddy. :) I'm so thankful for His abounding Grace I soak up new each morning! He is Grace! He is Peace!

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." ~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

We are called to pray continually....wow! And give thanks in ALL circumstances! This verse is humbling to me, and a convicting call to action at the same time. Do I really give thanks in ALL circumstances? When I'm sick, when I'm lonely, when my students are driving me nuts, when I'm so exhausted I can't look at this computer screen any longer! Is my first reponse to thank God? Oh, the things He is teaching me! Every morning we wake up there is a world to thank Him for! Each new breath and moment of life! Each glass of clean water to drink, each smile we give and receive each day. All are opportunites to give thanks!   I just really feel like I have been given such a gift to live here in peace and comfort, and how will I respond to that gift? I ask myself this question a lot, and I want to listen to His voice calling, and be obedient each day.

Lately, I've been very convicted to continually pray for those who are less fortunate, pray for the weak, the widows, the orphans, those who are fleeing their homes right now and trekking across borders, those without clean water, food, shelter. What does it mean to continually pray? Maybe it means to talk to God with Him throughout our day. Maybe it means to be aware and open to all the opportunities he presents us with. Perhaps being in continual prayer means to continually be awakened to people and situations He brings to our hearts and our minds and lift them up in His name! Maybe it means to live a life where we love, give, and serve others before ourselves. Where we pray for a person right then and now, and not just safely and casually say, "I'm praying for you!" But do it then. Perhaps being in continual prayer means living our daily lives in response to God's call for us. How do we live out the gospel in our own neighborhoods? Be it in Kannapolis, DRC-Congo, Alaska, or Kigali? Maybe continual prayer doesn't just mean having the longest and quietest "quiet" times with God each morning over fresh coffee, but our prayer could mean what we do each day and how we respond to what God brings us each day.

Maybe I cannot meet all the physical needs of those in need, or go to the DRC-Congo right now or go to Palestine and give of my time and resources, but we can all pray and be awake to what He is calling us to do in our own neighborhoods. And we can all be intercessors and watchmen over these countries. I can also recognize that the things I take for granted so often....clean water, 3 or more meals a day, a warm bed, etc....these are things that many only hope for. Even in my community there are those in need of these simple items. I don't even have to look towards the conflict in the DRC. On this Thanksgiving weekend, I feel like God has challenged me to not just think about it, or dwell on these situations, or read all the CNN artitcles, but instead to fervently be an intercessor for these people. He is a BIG God and He answers all of our prayers! Prayer changes things!

Will you join and pray with me for these countries in conflict this week? And join with prayers of thanksgiving to Him that we are able to live in a peaceful nation where we aren't persecuted for our faith, ethnicity, or gender. We have so many blessings to count!

Gather me...

 

 

Oh God, gather me now to be with you as you are with me.

 

Soothe my tiredness;
quiet my fretfulness;
curb my aimlessness;
relieve my complusiveness;
let me be easy for a moment.

 

O Lord, release me
from the fears and guilts which grip me so tightly;
from the expectations and opinions which I so tightly grip,
that I may be open
to receiving what you give,
to risking something genuinely new,
to learning something refreshingly different.

 

Forgive me
for claiming so much for myself
that I leave no room for gratitude;
for confusing exercises in self-importance
with acceptance of self-worth;
for complaining so much of my burdens
that I become a burden;
for competing against others so insidiously
that I stifle celebrating them
and receiving your blessing through their gifts.

 

O God, gather me to be with you as you are with me.

 

Amen.

 

from Ted Loder, Guerillas of Grace

Community is rich!

 I live a rich life! I am so aware of this every time I wake up, and God has given me yet another day to live and to work and to be with this wonderful, diverse community in one of the most beautiful countries in the world. There is such a richness in diversity here that I adore. I know God delights in our differences because He created us so unique, each one of us! And we all make up the body of Christ!

Even when I crave solitude and need it desperately to be refreshed and restored, I'm thankful for a community that understands those needs. :) I guess this is my apology for not having blogged for so long too! :) I've realized that I've unintentionally let the world's chaos and busyness come find me here in Africa too! But now I'm intentionally trying (with a ton of grace) to be quiet right now...quiet inside..and to do more listening.  For no other reason, except I feel like I need to be quiet and LISTEN right now...time to find a quiet space.  (This was supposed to be a blog about community, but somehow solitude is a theme here as well! Ha! Anyhow, I'm so thankful for my communities near and far where I can rest and be filled!) 

The view at sunset from my neighborhood hill! I sometimes linger along this ridge after an evening run...breathtaking!

I love these sweet boys!

 

I love looking out at my students and seeing different faces and unique glimmers of Christ in each of them. There’s Inge from Portugal , Ineza from Rwanda, Christian from Hawaii, Gitau from Kenya, Haba from Uganda… ..and each face uniquely shines the light of Christ!

 

Walking home from school in the afternoons, I hear the traditional Rwandan drums echoing from our church, and I stop to listen and appreciate the dancers and drummers practicing for an upcoming dowry ceremony. 

Then it’s time for Fitness Club with my gorgeous array of young ladies, representing multi-faiths and nationalities. I love seeing them dance, run, and sweat, as we all use our bodies to honor and glorify God, and pray for each other as a family.

 

Afterwards, I run down the dirt path overlooking the green, lush Rwandan hills to Kagugu village to teach Kang-Hee. I enter and take off my shoes, and slip on the traditional Korean sandals, and I’m welcomed for tea and Korean soup as we sit on the floor mat and begin his studies.

Finally, I’m home to greet Beatrice, our lovely house helper, who tries so tirelessly to teach me Kinyarwanda, and we break out the French/English dictionary so we can communicate with each other and I can try to learn Kinyarwanda!  Three languages just to learn one! J  These are just a few of the ways each day I am so blessed by living here in such a diverse community of friends and fellow lovers of Jesus. I love that here I can experience so many different cultures and communities just by interacting with my neighbors. Christ is Lord over all of us. No matter where in this world we live, or what our skin looks like. He made us all so unique, yet made for each other! Made for community and relationships! We are created to worship and live and do life together. All of us. It’s really just a small world after all…

 

 

"There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace and ultimately no life without community." ~Brennan Manning