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!