Celebrating Life!

This is sweet Gloria Ishimwe. Ishimwe means "Give thanks to God" in the kinyarwanda language. And this child's life does exactly that! She glorifies God with her life! All who meet this child thank God for her, and the joy she brings to each of us.

 

This is a picture of Gloria one year ago, last week, right after being rescued from being abandoned in a field nearby our church and school. She was found late at night by the security guards in our neighborhood. They were alerted by the barks of the dogs that had surrounded her. We think Gloria was in the field for the first full 2 days of her life. God protected her and she was found on Day 3.

 

Our Umudugudu at the time, Margeurite, contacted local chiefs and officials, and they began looking for any family members or information about Gloria. Meanwhile, our pastor's family took her in and began caring for her and loving her as their own. Through our church's Spoken For Ministry, babies have been found and placed into foster or adoptive homes. Gloria was the first!

 

We praise God that she was healthy from the beginning, and only a little malnourished. The Shreck family soon begin loving sweet Gloria, and she has countless "aunties" who love her as well!

 

Fast forward one year to today. On January 25, 2013 Gloria Ishimwe celebrated her first birthday! Take a look at this precious, chunky, super-healthy, mischevious beautiful girl today!! Each Sunday after the first service, I steal her away from her sisters and have some special Gloria time. :) She is hilarious! She's just started to walk, (or teeter-totter in her case!) We laugh at her and her cute, chunky thighs! I take her into the 2nd service, and we worship together, and often times she'll fall asleep in my arms. It's the best way to spend my Sunday afternoons!

Have you ever seen a child this cute!!? Look at that smirk on her precious face! :) In everything she does, she brings glory to our Father!

This is Gloria with her big brother, Benjamin. Even her "pout" face is adorable! The Shrecks adopted Benjamin and Nicholas from Home of Hope, Sisters of Charity orphanage when they were infants. (The first orphanage outside of India that Mother Theresa started.)

 

Here's all the Shreck children. Natalie, holding Gloria, was my student 3 years ago. Nicholas and Benjamin are in the middle. And then big sister Kassidy (10th grade) is holding the newest member of the Shreck family, Baby Moses. They are fostering Moses right now, and looking for a Rwandan family to permenently adopt him. Moses was abandoned at an upcountry hospital when he was born. He was extremely small and malnourished and doctors didn't give him much hope to live. Faith and Roger took him in to their large family for a few days and gave him much needed love and care. Later Brett and Keli Shreck fostered him because Keli used to be a physical therapist in Oklahoma, and Moses was in dire need of therapy. Some doctors have prematurely diagnosed Moses with cerebral palsy, but others have said it's too soon to make that diagnosis. Keli, and my friend, Julie, who started the first chiropractic clinic here, have been fervently working with Moses every day to improve his flexibility and motor skills and strength. He is now almost 6 months old, and is now on the charts for the very first time! He has gained sooo much weight, it's incredible, and his little muscles aren't so rigid now. They are still tough, but you can tell a huge difference when you feel them now! He's stretching and moving around a lot, and smiling so much! Especially at his big sister, Gloria. Seeing those two play together is seeing Jesus for me! :) I give God ALL the glory for rescuing these two babies and I know He has AMAZING plans for their lives! I look at Gloria and imagine what she will be like at 16 years old....spunky, adorable, athletic, smart as a whip. God has ordained this child's life. He has spoken for her, and I give Him all the glory! 

 

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy-dwelling. God sets the lonely in families." Psalm 68:5

 

"Our God is a God who saves." Psalm 68:20

Jack update

Thanks to all of your prayers...my friend, Jack, is finally and fully recovering from his mysterious illness! We think he is totally out of the woods now, and he is almost feeling 100% better! Jack's dad flew in from Tennessee to Nairobi, where Jack was in the hospital. While awaiting news from the insurance company on which doctor in Kenya would have to treat Jack, they found a wonderful Jewish doctor, Dr. Silverstein, on their own. A few days later, the insurance company approved this doctor, so that was a huge answer to prayer! After many more tests, he took Jack off of all the other meds previous doctors had him on, and placed him on only one antibiotic. It was determined that Jack had a viral infection that had gotten too close to his brain. Jack was able to fly back to Rwanda this week with his dad, and he is doing marvelously! Thanks for all of your prayers for my friend!

Prayers for Jack

A great friend of mine, Jack Beach, needs lots of prayers right now! Would you join me in praying for him? I met Jack in 2009 when he was a P.E. teacher here at KICS. After that first year, he came back to Rwanda, as an engineer with Living Water organization. Jack is a wonderful, Spirit-filled, Tennessean from Nashville. Ethan got to meet him this summer when he was in the States. He is a wonderful friend! 

 

Jack needs prayers right now for a serious, mysterious illness that has plagued him since mid-December and has gotten progressively worse. He went from a super-healthy, fit guy to fighting for his life in a matter of a few days. He's been in hospitals in Israel, Rwanda, and now in Nairobi, Kenya since Christmas time. He's been through many, many tests...a spinal tap, and various other forms of treatment. They've now ruled out malaria, typhoid, and meningitis, but aren't really sure what's going on.

 

From day to day, his condition will improve, he'll be coherent, and then he'll decline again. The evenings are the worst with horrible headaches and chills. He's in a great hospital in Kenya right now, and doctors are trying to stabilize him, and make decisions about further treatment options in the States. I talked to him yesterday and he was alert and hopeful, and said he's trying to rest and pray. But he appreciates many, many prayers right now during this uncertain health time. It's frustrating to Jack that they aren't sure what is affecting him. Please, if you think about it, could you commit to praying for Jack each day this next week. Thank you! Here's a couple pictures of him, so you can put a face to the name.

 

 

Jack is beside me, on the far right. Rafting the Nile, Thanksgiving 2009

This one is from a Thanksgiving/Christmas party in 2012, right before he got sick. Jack's costume was an overweight cyclist. :) He's got a wonderful sense of humor!

 

Thanks for praying for my dear friend!

Christmas Day!

Christmas Day was the best! We had another wonderful service at church, complete with Rwandan traditional dancers on a very cool rendition of O Come All Ye Faithful, and Little Drummer Boy. We also had a Christmas choir for the first time this year, with beautiful sashes made by the "41" girls (I'll tell you more about them later!) We had two beautiful baptisms after church! What a great day to be baptized! 

 

After church, I enjoyed a nice brunch with some American teachers. They had a guest visiting from Texas, and she brought some REAL American bacon, and we had biscuits n' gravy, eggs, breakfast burritos, baked oatmeal, and ham biscuits! Delicious! Later, on my way down the hill, I visited with the soldiers who guard our neighborhood and shared some breakfast and treats with them, before we all got caught in a Christmas Day rain/hailstorm that soaked my African dress. :( No pictures of that! (or brunch, sorry!)

 

After brunch, I walked to Kagugu down the road, and feasted again with 125 Koreans who are serving all over Rwanda! The Lee family has Korean church services at their home each Sunday, and I have taught and tutored their son, Kang-Hee for 3 years now. They are a really special family, and I've learned a lot about Korea from them and enjoyed Mrs. Lee's cooking so much! Mr. Lee has answered soo many of my questions, especially about North Korean relations. (I'm fascinated!) After a wonderful Korean meal, (yes I ate again!), each Korean family/mission group performed a Christmas skit or song and dance for everyone! It was so neat taking part in this cultural experience. The oldest goes first, and they end with the children. It was all in Korean! I loved hearing favorite Christmas hymns sung in different languages. I think I sang Away in the Manger in four different languages this Christmas! How special! I took some videos of the children singing in Korean, and I'll post one when I figure out how to do that!

 

Then, I left there mid-afternoon and took a moto to Kinamba village, to visit my worker and dear friend, Beatrice, and her family. Beatrice's daughter, Karia, just had a successful surgery on her leg and is wearing corrective shoes now, in hopes that she will be able to walk very soon! She was in such good spirits and enjoyed the chocolate cupcakes so much! Beatrice got a new radio and some earrings for Christmas, and Karia some pretty pink dresses!

 

Finally, in the evening, I took a moto to the Nashes house. They are missionaries from Minnesota who taught at KICS last year, but now are with another organization. Jeana prepared a real honey baked ham, and it was glazed all over! Yum! And she had a special recipe for the cheese biscuits from Red Lobster, so that was a fun treat! They also invited my friend Jamies Boiles, who is working with 3 of the "41" girls, Passy, Amelie, and Diane. "41" girls are a special co-op that was formed from girls living in the Noel orphanage in Gisenyi. Now, these girls are in their twenties, and have earned enough money to live on their own, and are trying to "phase" out of life at Noel. Jamie is working with them and training them, and helping to market their products. They made me a special Rwandan Christmas stocking, and it is beautiful! After dinner, they did an impromptu Rwandan intore dance for us, complete with drumming! I'll post a video soon! Then we played this hilarious Sankaliwa Swahli "I spy" game!

 

Please visit the girls' website if you get a chance! It's awesome!

 

www.no41.org

 

or you can find them on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Number4one

 

I'll blog about them in detail soon!!

 

This Christmas is truly one I will never forget. I feel so blessed to be a part of this large, loving, cultural community, alive with the Holy Spirit. I missed being in North Carolina with family this Christmas, but God is good and He knows what we need. I had no idea how joyful and special this Christmas here would be!

 

The day after Christmas, I was exhausted, and spent a wonderful lazy day eating pancakes, being lazy, and worshiping God over coffee and caramel icecream! :)

 

I am blessed! Enjoy the pictures!

 

The Lee family performing Away in a Manger

 

Kang-Hee playing his trumpet for us!

Moses baptizing Amanda in our church fountain out front

Onawa is a worship leader from Washington State. She's lived in Montana too, AND Alaska! She has three of the cutest kids in Kigali, and I love her! She's a great Graphic Designer, and started "Body and Soul" aerobic classes at our church! Her husband, Rusty, is also a worship leader.

 

Amelie, Diane, and Passy....the 41 girls that train with my friend, Jamie!

 

 

Sweet Karia with her pretty pink dress!

 

Beatrice and her family

Diane doing a traditional dance for us on Christmas!

Amelie on the drums!

Diane made this special Christmas stocking for me!

 

What a wonderful way to celebrate the birth of Christ....being baptized!

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.