Sweet goodbyes...

 

Goodbyes are never easy for me. I tend to stretch them out, never wanting that finality to arrive. But I'm thankful for all the emotions that have come these last few weeks of finishing well. I have deeply felt them all, and thanked God for them, even the hard emotions that are tied to leaving people and a community that is definitely my home.

 

It's been celebratory, with dinners and parties and fun times with my kids! And it's been tough too, saying goodbye and wondering when I will see these sweet faces again...but I'm thankful for the Holy Spirit that is alive in us! That connects us to one another in Christ's love. And although, I'm moving on for now from this city on a hill, my light and love for Rwanda keeps shining brightly...milele na milele... :)

 

Here's a few pics from these last few weeks!

 

 

Last day of school, we were all a bit teary-eyed. :(

 

My sweet 8th grade ladies. I taught them 5 years ago!

 

Precious and Hilarious Orla! She got a scholarship to attend boarding school in Utah this fall! So I'll be seeing her soon I know it! :)

Nancy and her girls at my surprise party! Nancy, from South Africa, has become a dear friend and confidante this year.

Laura and her sister Echo :) I taught Laura last year.

Inge and her mom, from Mozambique. This was right after the kids attacked me with water balloons! :)

 

Sweet Nyah :) Her mom, Vicky, planned my surprise party. They just moved to Malawi for 4 more years! She's been such a loyal friend to me here

The Nsenga family :) Love them!

Zanetta showin' off her hulahoop skills. :)

I enjoyed a lovely dinner with Orla and her family. Orla's mom has actually been to school at N.C. State to learn more about agriculture, as part of a Rwandan Scholars Program! Her dad is retired military and runs the local grocery store.

Singing worship songs on the porch. I'll miss this for sure!

Celebrations!

The last few weeks have been full of celebrations and delighting in my sweet students! The last day was Friday, and we spent time playing together, praying together, singing, worshiping, eating, and loving each other! These children have brought me so much joy this year, and I thank God that He chose each of them to enter my classroom. They are gifts to me! Here's a few celebratory pics from last week's Field Day, and more! More pics to come! This has been such a joyful, but busy last month in these beautiful thousand hills! I'm so thankful for each moment I have to spend here! More pics to come!

 

Dance party during Worship Time! :)

Enjoying Field Day, Rwanda-style!

Jae-Seok came to us in January, not speaking a single word of English! In 5 months, he's now become almost fluent! He's the funniest little fella' and loves Jesus! He's taught us many songs in Korean this semester!

 

June is so hard for expats and missionaries, because of all the goodbyes that you never get used to. Here, we were praying over Gabe, who left a week early to travel to Tennessee, his new home. Gabe is American, and 10 years old, yet he's only lived in the States for a year! He grew up in Togo, and then moved to Rwanda 3 years ago. It humbled me to hear the prayers of these children as they prayed over Gabe and blessed his journey and prayed for new friends for him and a wonderful school. Their prayers continually teach me how to pray.

 

 

Class pic at the end of a fun Field Day!

Operation Christmas Child

 

I grew up looking forward to stuffing full these bright red and green boxes every year at Christmas time! My home church, First Pres, has always participated in this amazing ministry for as long as I can remember. I remember helping sort the boxes with another church at the distribution center in Boone. And last year I was so elated to hear that boxes from First Pres were actually being sent to Rwanda!

 

When I was a young girl, helping create and sort these fun boxes, and bring them to church, I never imagined that I would have the privilege to give a box to a child someday. It was such a blessing last week to help OCC volunteers from all over the US, distribute these bright red and green tokens of love to special Rwandese children.

 

The group spent a week all over the countryside delivering these gifts wrapped in love. I was able to join them for one city distribution at one of my student's churches, where her Mom is the pastor. She had invited the children from the neighboring slums to come and receive a box.

 

They showed up in their very best Sunday dresses and slacks, with their parents also dressed in their very best. They prayed for us. They blessed us. They wanted to sing for us. They were the ones being a blessing. We were just giving them a box. They were the ones that gave us the blessing. Hearing the kids speak of how thankful they were to know that people cared and loved them all over the world was precious. Hearing their songs of joy and gratitude upon receiving their first Bible was priceless!

 

I wish I had more pics to share with you, but I was too busy helping the kids unwrap their boxes and sharing in their joy! It was fun to see their faces when they opened the boxes; some were elated, and others were too overwhelmed to know what to do! It was cute.

 

It was a gift!

 

Thank you for making Christmas come to Rwanda this May. Thank you all who continue packing these colorful boxes each year to send all over the world! It's way more than just a box. They bring encouragement and the love of Jesus to all the kids who receive one! 

 

New Years in Zambia!

 Ok, so I'm only 5 months late in posting these. That's not that bad, right? :) I still wanted to share with you the BEAUTY that is Africa, in all her splendor! After spending Christmas at home in Kigali, I enjoyed a wonderful solo-camping journey throughout Zambia, and just marveled at the greatness of Victoria Falls! And it wasn't even high season either! I can't imagine how vast the falls are during high season! I got to experience the falls from both the Zimbabwe and the Zambian sides...totally different views! I braved the hippos and crocs and rafted the class 5 Zambezi River...spectacular! And also spent a few nights camping out in the bush in Botswana, and Lake Kariba. I felt like I was in Swiss Family Robinson, with the zebras and impalas coming right up to me! I was completely in awe and reminded of the beauty the Lord has created for us to enjoy.to.the.fullest! We serve such an artful and creative Lord! I was so thankful for this time of rest and experiencing His creation while totally immersed in it!

 

 

My quiet breakfast and writing space overlooking Lake Kariba

I spent a few nights in this fun cabin at the lake...I could live here forever!

I think zebras show that God has a sense of humor!

My scariest "Beware of Crocs" face!

 

 

The zebras were never able to spike the volleyball back. Oh well! :)

 

A family of lions in the road in Chobe park, Botswana

Hungry, hungry hippo!

 

I loved waking up to the zebras right outside my tent!

This little fella' loved helping me make my soup in the afternoons, and then he loved licking the bowl even more!

Staff Retreat...I'm so late in posting these pics!

 

I wanted to share some pictures with you from our staff retreat a few months back....forgive my tardiness in posting! :)

 

We broke tradition for our staff retreat this year, and stayed around Kigali and surrounding areas, instead of venturing to Lake Kivu. But we enjoyed two days of visiting and learning more about some local ministry opportunities where we can serve, and also take our students for service learning opportunities. We visited the Africa Transformation Network's farm outside the city, and learned about "Farming God's Way." It's an interesting, yet successful way farming technique that has proven profitable here, and also is making disciples of many of the young farmers here. David Reeves, a dad of one of my students instructed us on the techniques. Really interesting, even though I have no clue about farming! You can read more about these techniques here:

 

http://www.farming-gods-way.org/

 

They actually just had a training at a farm in Marion, North Carolina a few months ago!

 

 

Next, we visited Roger and Faith Shaw's Lakeside Fish Farm and Children's Home in the surrounding village. Roger and Faith have a story that is so inspiring and a testimony to what your life can look like when you really surrender everything to Christ. They have taken in and adopted so many children, and Roger has taken risk after risk as an entrepreneur, to help provide for their growing family, and the entire community as well. But in hearing their story, of how they met, and what the Lord took them from, and how He built the family they have today...it is such a humbling and divine story, knit together by the Lord for sure!

 

Drop by their website  www.ishimwe.org  and read about their ministries in Rwanda.

 

Ishimwe means "Give thanks to God" in Kinyarwanda.

 

Faith with the twins they adopted, after they were born 3 months premature, and a young mother left them in her care. Today, the twins are almost 2 years old and healthy and thriving!

 

 

 

Finally, we visited the Cards From Africa training centre. I've been here many times before, and it's always a blessing to watch these skillful artists piece together the most beautiful holiday cards! They have grown so much just in the 5 years I've been here, and now they produce a wide range of greeting cards for many different occasion, and they can ship worldwide! I've sent many of their cards home for Christmas and birthdays before. They are stunningly beautiful and so creative! You can visit their website here to have a look and even purchase the cards.

 

www.cardsfromafrica.com

 

They begin by making the paper from hand, and hanging it to dry in the sun.

Rinsing the excess pulp.

 

Washing the paper again

 

Hanging it to dry

 

 

Creating and pasting the intricate designs and details for each unique card.

 

Visit www.cardsfromafrica.com to see and purchase the final products!