Hope

Even though they're record stands at an ugly 13-10, and their 2 big men are down, I have hope. Just this week, I received a package from home with this nice, new Carolina shirt. AND....at the market on Saturday, I stumbled upon this beautifully woven basket, with the PERFECT colors. I think it's a sign. I have hope! I'm even going to bed early tonight, so I can wake up at 4-5ish and catch some play-by-plays on a friend's laptop, granted the internet connection works. I wish my friend, Mr. Jay, could be here to watch it along with me. I miss chatting with him about the games. Yes, I have hope. It's happened before. They can do it! I'll be watching and cheering from Kigali! Go Heels! Beat Dook!

Random things...

Sorry I haven't posted much this week. Been busy with report cards, a new student, and I started a KICS girls' running club this week! Thanks Heather, for that inspiration. :-) You can be praying for the girls who are involved. This year at KICS, there are slim to none after school activities for students and kids in the community. I opened the club to middle and highschool girls, just to get to know them better, connect with them, and get some fun exercise time in! There's a chance I could get a group to train for the Peace Marathon races in May, but with these hills....that's a slim chance! :-) So far I've had about 9 girls come out, some Christian, some not. It's been interesting, the dynamics, and trying to empower the Rwandan girls to do things like this. It's something different for them, but a good way to bring everyone together.

We got a new student this week... Alex, from Bolivia, and most recently, the Dominican. So far it's been a tad awkward for him..he's got a big language barrier to deal with, and socially too. Alex was never raised in Christian home and no one in his family has ever owned a Bible. Pray that the Spirit will do awesome things in Alex's life, his sister Sophia, and their parents, during their time in Rwanda. I don't think it's by accident they are here with us now!

God has answered a specific prayer of mine lately, and I've been able to meet some really neat folks, outside the tight-knit "teacher" group. Rwandans, Americans, and others too. Last night, I found myself in a house where at least 20 different countries were represented! I'm just starting to see how diverse and international Kigali really is. I guess there's many, many opportunities here right now, as the country is still in it's developing stages. I see Japanese, Chinese, and Filipinos every day, just in my own neighborhood....and Rwandans too, of course. I love meeting new people from new places...it really helps the world feel much smaller to me...like we are all connected...and not spread out everywhere on different continents.

The world really felt small to me last week when I met a couple of Bridge 2 Rwanda volunteers from South Carolina, of all places. Immediately my southern accent became strong again, and I smiled, being able to talk to people who knew about Sundrop and Cheerwine, and Whataburger. Bridge 2 Rwanda is a great ministry, that links young, faith-driven business entreprenuers and teachers with ministries here in Rwanda where they can serve and let God's light shine. I've been blessed to meet these guys and gals who have a similar desire to see His face be glorified. In talking with one guy, we even discovered that my grandfather and his great aunt used to be good friends, (he's from Florence, SC). Such a small world. I also got to make a connection with a camping ministry that I may be getting involved with soon. It's in Musanze...near the volcanoes...and that's exactly where these guys and gals are based! Another great affirmation from above. I don't think anything happens by coincidence! I'll tell you more about that opportunity later.

To end the night last night...one of the South Carolinian's reaches in his laptop bag and pulls out a big ol' bag of freshly boiled peanuts he had boiled himself after he convinced the farmer to sell some to him raw. They were delicious, and a fun taste from down South! I quickly scooped up some in a cup, and threw them in my purse for the ride home. For a second there, it felt like home again. Then, how do I quickly realize I'm in Rwanda again? I look in my purse and beside the cup of boiled peanuts, also find a roll of duct tape, and toilet paper, two very much needed staples almost any night in Africa. Good things to keep handy. It was a fun night meeting some more of His servants! :-) Take care ya'll!

Cravings

This past week, I was riding to the orphanage in a matatu...(those are the 15 passenger Nissan mini-vans, that routinely hold around 25 or more here in Africa!) Even though matatus generally aren't the safest thing to ride in, I always enjoy my time in them, because I can look around at all the different people and picture what their lives are like. Most of them are already staring at me, the mzungu on board, so it's not too impolite if I stare back! :-) Or sometimes, I'll be able to read a chapter in my Bible or look out the window and just let my mind wander as I wonder. In Kenya, matatu time was always a good time to talk to your neighbor, but here in Rwanda, that's more difficult to do.

Anyway, this day as I was sitting crammed in the back, I look at the man sitting in front of me, and what do I see? He's wearing a Bojangles shirt, that reads, "Gotta, wanna, needa, getta, hava Bojangles!" Wow. It had been a looong time since I had thought about Bojangles and their made-from-scratch biscuits. But right then, when I saw that shirt I craved a nice juicy, greasy, Egg and Cheese biscuit, or their mashed potatoes and gravy, or their spicy greenbeans. Mmm....my mind was visualizing all these wonderful tasting foods, and I could even see myself going through the drive-thru on Cannon Blvd., and placing my order and eating the food even before I got home! I could taste it! I was CRAVING it so badly!

Of course, it made me laugh, to think that the man wearing the shirt had no idea what Bojangles was. To him, it could have been someone's name, or the name of a football team. That's probably why he bought it at the market, he thought it was "soccer related." He sure couldn't have liked the color!

As I made my journey to town and tasted hot biscuits all the way there, I started to think about cravings we have, and things we desire, and WHY we desire them. I had NOT ONCE thought about Bojangles since I had been here. (Whataburger, yes...Bojangles, no!) Honest! One thing I loved about living in Kenya was how healthy I ate, and how good my body felt. I ate nothing out of a can or box; everything fresh and freshly cooked, and my body could tell the difference! And it's pretty much the same here in Rwanda. I've gotten used to the diet of avocados, rice, chapati, fresh fruits, and the occasional meat. But now...when I saw the shirt, I was taken back...to Cannon Blvd, to that Egg and cheese biscuit that is sooooo bad for me!

And I started to think about cravings...much of the time what our bodies desire, what we are tempted with by our flesh (and I'm not just talking about food...) what our minds want to do, the initial craving we have to do something, eat something, say something....it's not from above! But from our sinful flesh, or of the world. Basically we could substitute anything in that phrase, for Bojangles..."Gotta, wanna, needa, getta, hava......whatever!" Whatever it is, we most likely don't really need it, but we just think we do. And we don't have enough self-control to overcome whatever temptation of the flesh we are dealing with. Alone, we are powerless. We are so gutless and spineless. It's only through His power, His Spirit that dwells in us, that we can overcome certain temptations of our flesh.

I also thought about the craving I had at that moment for Bojangles. And I thought about my "cravings" for the Word, for quiet time with my Father....did they add up? Do I totally desire that alone, totally focused time with God, just like I craved that biscuit? Do I spend so much time dwelling on Him and thanking him and thinking about being with Him...just like I spent about a good 20 minutes thinking about Bojangles the other day. Hmmm....something to think about. Do I crave and desire Him..being in His presence, bathing in His light! The book I'm reading now is called, "The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus," by Brennan Manning. So far, I give it an A+. He's my favorite author because he's so honest and real, and his humility shines through. As I was sunbathing this weekend on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi, I read a passage in the book that talked about how spending time with God is like sunbathing...people can see it, they notice you and say things like, "Wow, you must have gone to the beach, or you have a nice tan!" When we spend time basking in His light...or "Sonbathing," people will see a difference too! When we have that yearning, that desire to spend with Him, alone in prayer, talking to Him like He's right there in the chair beside us (cause he is!)....people can see that in us too just like they can see that I got severely sunburned this weekend! :-)

I'll have an egg and cheese biscuit when I get home to K-nap, a Whataburger, and probably Waffle House too, and definitely a Cookout banana milkshake. But I realize those are just cravings that pass by....I don't need that stuff...just cravings of the flesh. Just to wet my whistle and make me say, Mmmm for a few moments until I feel so full and sick! But I DO need to Sonbathe in His presence, always!

Concrete floors

Sometimes they really get on my nerves, and I just wish just for one day I could step on some nice, soft, cushy carpet. I know you're thinking I'm crazy...but that's one thing I miss about America....the carpet! :-) But at other times, the concrete floors aren't so bad. One great advantage to having concrete floors is......you can write on them! And clean it up later! My kids love scribbling things with chalk. Last week they had to trace their bodies and label all the parts of the skeletal and muscular systems that we had learned, and even the other systems for extra credit. They did a fantastic job!

Last of the Lamu pics! (they're in reverse order)

Walking on the deserted Manda Toto island. Beautiful! And great snorkeling too!


The guys on board caught some snapper for us and grilled it up for us right there on our dhow boat!

The "captains" wrestling with the sails in the wind. We took a lazy dhow boat ride out to the island.

It was a gorgeous day! Perfect for sailing!

Another dhow boat

More Lamu pics

We came across this giant lizard...it was about 2.5 ft. long. The fisherman had just stabbed and killed it because it was attacking one of their donkeys!


Chillin' with the donkeys :-)

A laughing donkey

Doing business in Lamu

The Lamu seafront

pics from Lamu

I decided to take a short trip upcoast to Lamu, the oldest town in East Africa to celebrate the New Year, and my birthday. I traveled with some Kenyan friends, and this was our bus. Even though Lamu is only roughly 180miles from Mombasa, it took our bus 8 hours to get there! The roads were that bad! But it made for an eventful journey, having our heads bump up and down on the ceiling of the bus! And once we got there, we boarded a tiny, rickety boat to shuttle us to the island. Many people who visit Lamu, say it was the highlight of their entire trip to Kenya, and I can see why. Residents of Lamu call their town, "Kiwa Ndeo", which means, "The Vain Island." And there was plenty for them to be vain about. Ridiculously yummy and cheap seafood, the white sand and the salt-kissed wind, no motorized vehicles...(it's only donkeys who roam the narrow alleyway streets,) traditional dhow sailboats on the water....there's just a lazy air about the place. It was wonderful.


A cute girl in front of us on the bus, holding her chicken in her lap....all the way to Lamu!

Our dinner the first night there....fresh crab! Seafood was enormous, delicious, and so cheap in Lamu!

A quaint Muslim house outside our hostel window, on the waterfront.

Lamu port

I'll post a couple more pics in a sec....these are the last pics that I needed to post from Christmas.