Back in Kigali!

I'm back in the Land of a Thousand Hills! I arrived on Tuesday, and it's been crazy ever since! (good and bad!) I'm just starting to come down off my "high" of being back...and I am exhausted! So I will write later on in the weekend and give you all an update on the election (Kagame won!), the post-election grenade attack (we are safe), and everything new with school and new house and new roommates. But tonight I need sleep in a BIG way. I'll catch you up soon! Just wanted to let ya'll know I arrived safely. Thanks for your prayers! Love you!

Time article

Here's a great Q&A with President Kagame from the Time magazine website. It's a very interesting and colorful account of how Kagame sees things....(and an easy read!)

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2007054,00.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

old people make me laugh!

I have to share this hilarious story with everyone...so yesterday I woke up feeling good and decided to run to my friend's house which is out West C, almost to Enochville. I was running along, already past the Y, and this car pulls up alongside of me as I run and it just stops. I turn and look, and in the driver's seat was the cutest old grandpaw ever. He had his worn-in demin overalls on, with his tattered John Deere hat, and cute glasses, chompin on his tobacco. This grandpaw was OLD. And he looked at me and smiled. So I stopped running, thinking maybe he needed directions cause he was lost or something. Then he just smiled a big ol' grin, and said in a grizzly grandpaw sort of way, "Honey, I had to pull you over cuz you were speedin.' I need to give you a ticket!" Then he laughed and gave me a great big two-teeth grin and told me to have a good day. haha! I laughed. This old man had stopped just to smile and give me a laugh. He didn't even care about the cars piling up behind him. haha. It sure did make me laugh and gave me a little boost of energy to keep on running. That's what it's all about ya'll. :-)

He's home!!!

I just got to talk to my brother, Ethan, for the first time in FOREVER! His ship is home from deployment, and he gets to come home to K-nap this Saturday! We'll get to spend one week together before I depart again. I can't wait to see him in approx 140 hours! Yay!

Interesting quote...

Just read an update in the New Statesman about happenings in Rwanda, and found this rather interesting quote from the foreign minister....

"We certainly might not be a model government for a lot of people, but we're not a stupid government," Rwanda's foreign minister, Louise Mushikiwabo, told journalists. "And we will not try to kill three people in a row right before election."

Hmmm...not sure what to think about this one.

Frolickin' in the falls!

Those of you who know me, know that waterfalls are my favorite thing on this planet! Even more so than icecream! There's something about them that are so calming, and so natural to me. I think it's incredible to see how God designed something so pure and life-giving, and then delicately and creatively placed it in between some carefully positioned rocks so that the end result is a beautifully orchestrated flow of wetness that rushes past you, (or on top of you!), and is amazing to the ear and the eye. How cool is He! I stumbled upon 4 really awesome waterfalls this week while camping and hiking at Hanging Rock State Park in Danbury, NC. I had been here before, but never knew these waterfalls existed until now! And to think, this park is a mere 90 minutes away from K-nap. What wonder there is to be found in waterfalls! I could look at them all day. All I need is a quiet place in nature, with the sound of the falls, and maybe a good book, and I would be at peace. I wish I could see the waterfall at MerrieWoode before I go back. Maybe I'll try to squeeze in a trip this week. Thank you God for creating waterfalls!

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" ~John 7:38

If you'd like to help...

Many of you have asked about things I would need to take back with me, and I probably should have put the word out as soon as I got home, but I'm so bad about doing things like this!

Anyway, I am collecting some items to take back to the kids in Rwanda. It's sooo much cheaper to just carry things back with me in my luggage....and fortunately I have a lot of extra room this time! I can still receive packages when I'm over there, but they can be VERY expensive to send, and who knows when I'll get it!

If you would like to donate any of these items, I would be more than happy to come by your house and pick them up!.....

*new or used soccer balls, soccer cleats, anything relating to soccer!

*other sports equipment that is small enough to carry in suitcase: frisbee, jumpropes, etc.

*new or used baby clothes and baby items

*new or used kids clothes/toys/books

*school supplies: DRY ERASE MARKERS, paper clips (they dont have these there!), masking tape, duct tape, colored pencils, markers, stickers

Thank you for asking! Let me know how I can assist you! I can come pick up items! I leave in 3 weeks!

Peace!