and in honor of Cinco de Mayo...

Here's one of my favorite quotes from my favorite author...


"When you get to heaven, Little Friend, Abba will not ask you how many prayers you said or how many souls you saved. No, he'll ask you, 'Did you enjoy the fajita, my friend?'

"He wants you to live with PASSION, live in the BEAUTY of the MOMENT, ACCEPTing and ENJOYing every one of HIS GIFTS!"

~quote from Brennan Manning, Patched Together

enjoy your "fajita" today....whatever it may look like! :)

We did it!

This week was a celebratory week for KICS and our entire community! After 3 hard years of striving for accreditation, and writing many reports and curriculum guides and policies, and much, much more...we were recommended for FULL accreditation by the visiting ACSI and MSA teams! ACSI stands for Association of Christian Schools International, and MSA stands for Middle States Association. This is a huge accomplishment for many reasons, but primarily it gives our school much more credibility in the eyes of parents, universities abroad, and supporters. Our kids can now have access to many more universities and support organizations.

The team visited us last week, and commended us for being a close-knit community that has a common goal and vision to see Christ glorified in the lives of these students. And I agree with them! It's remarkable to see what KICS has accomplished in the few years I have been here; especially since the first year was such a rebuilding year, and no one even knew if there would be a school in the summer of 2009, before we all arrived in the fall. Before they left, they blessed us with this verse from Zephaniah 3:17.

"The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love, He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing."

What a neat picture to imagine God rejoicing over us in song! Singing praises over us from heaven! Everything is for His pleasure and His glory! :)

Here are a few unrelated snapshots from this week! Enjoy! And thank you for all your prayers and kind words of support!

Reading to our sweet kids in the village

Joy, wearing her traditional mushanana Rwandan dress on Multicultural Day. :)

Sharing our love of reading!

The Korean Embassy invited us to their cultural center, and we met the ambassador and learned a lot about our friends in Korea. David, Lucas, and Jordan even showed off their Taekwondo skills for the ambassador!

Cycle Africa!

Last week, we hosted a team of special guests from the U.K. who are cycling all the way from England to Cape Town! Meet the Cycle Africa Team!

These guys (and gal) are doing this crazy adventure to help raise awareness and funds for street children all over Africa. They've been riding for 274 days, and have a little under 100 days to make it all the way to Cape Town! None of them had ever even cycled, or even owned a bike before embarking on this courageous journey! They aren't sponsored by any big-name corporation; they are just relying on donors to help them out, and at the end of their journey, all money raised will be split between their charities they've selected and visited throughout their time in Africa.

Check out their website here: www.cycleafrica.com

Read their blog here: http://www.cycleafrica.org/blog

Read their educational blog for children here: www.dinoandlion.wordpress.com

the apple of His eye!

and further reading brings me these wonderful words...


"I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.

Show me the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings..."

Psalm 17: 6-8

Joy in His presence!

Yesterday was a crummy day! It was a day where everything I tried to do or accomplish failed, and I felt bad, and defeated, and just felt like doing nothing... retreating to bed where I could hide and forget the day altogether! I'm sure you all can relate, cause everyone has had those days before, where it seems like the sun just won't come out for you, and you're seeing everything through gloomy lenses, no matter how hard you try to change that!

Well, I soon realized that I was doing just that...I was trying to change that! Just me and my own little power and strength. "Come on Emily, shake it off, get up! Get better! Get moving! I was trying to motivate myself like I've always done before and give myself pep talks to be better! Do better! Only one thing...it wasn't working!

So in defeat, I went to bed, still trying to get over everything by my determination and great stubbornness. :) But the morning came, and so did God's amazing grace! Today, I was absolutely flooded with His goodness all around me, and reminded of His faithfulness, and that I am the apple of His eye! (even when I don't feel like it!)

He showed me a beautiful verse, that I haven't read in a long while....Psalm 16:11...

"You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

JOY in His presence...what an amazing thought! Eternal pleasures! And today, I experienced those eternal pleasures of walking in His joyful presence again! I was vulnerable and felt the power of prayer of close friends. I took a walk and smelled the red clay dirt, and the smell of rain! I walked in His presence today again, literally! :) We walked and talked. I was FULL of Him. He showed me sooo many eternal pleasures today through old friends and new friends, and drinking Sprite with Beatrice and her sweet family. :) Hugs from sweet toddlers, and shouts of Ms. Griggs, I love you! :) The clouds were puffy and so bright today, shadowing the green lush hills. The sunset was a gorgeous pink and orange, with a hint of deep purple. The moon shone bright, and the stars were sparkling like double time tonight! Everything I saw today was a gift from God! Pleasures evermore! Kelly had a moto accident, but she was ok, after Dr. Miller stitched up her pinky toe. Sitting and laughing and telling stories with her on our front porch, to help keep her mind off the pain, was a joy. I saw so many smiles today, and gave many too. It was really just an ordinary day. But no day is ordinary when you experience the day through the eyes of Jesus, and know that everything is a gift! Big, small, it makes no difference! We are alive and He created this day for us, the apple of His eye. :) I left it all behind, and took a walk with Him, and now I am filled FULL with His pleasures evermore, and ready to face tomorrow with Him. (not just me!) :) Thanks for letting me be really honest tonight. I need to! I hope you enjoy the rest of this day that He made just for you! :) Rejoice and be glad in it!

"And all who thirst will thirst no more,
And all who search will find what their souls long for,
The world will try, but it can never fill,
So leave it all behind, and come to the well."

Casting Crowns, The Well

steeped with God

"I am often asked if I am not lonely on my solitary excursions. It seems so self-evident that one cannot be lonesome where everything is wild and beautiful and busy, and steeped with God." ~John Muir

When you live in God...

"When you live in God, your day begins when you open your eyes, though you have done nothing yourself to open them, and you take your first breath, though there is no reason

why this life-giving breeze should be given to you and not to some other. In the dark or

in the light, with a stone slab under your back, or a feather topper, your day begins

when you let God hold you because you do not have the slightest idea how to hold

yourself--when you let God raise you up, when you consent to rest to show you get the

point, since that is the last thing you would do if you were running the show yourself.

When you live in God, your day begins when you lose yourself long enough for God to find

you, and when God finds you, to lose yourself again in praise."

~Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World