Silent Night, Holy Night

The Lord Appears to Elijah

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
¹⁰ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
¹¹ The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. (1 Kings 19: 9-13)

"He stilled the storm to a whisper: the waves of the sea were hushed. They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven."(Psalm 107: 29-30)

Tonight is indeed a silent night. The noise has passed. The flurry of activities that consume completely have ended. The plays, the ballets, the movies, and parties, Skype dates and visits to the orphanage, and cookies to be baked, and stockings to be hung...presents wrapped, and ornaments painted with glee! While all of these activities bring me such incredible joy at Christmas...they also bring noise and distractions and tired eyes and full and sometimes heavy hearts.

But tonight...there is no one to distract me. The service is finished, the candles are blown out, and the sky is bright and full of stars, on this beautiful silent night. My heart is full of joy and thankfulness that my Savior is born! It's 12:04am here in the green hills of Rwanda. Christ is born! He is alive
in us on this beautiful, silent night.

I can finally hear His voice on this silent, holy night. All is calm and all is bright. I hear His whispers. finally. I know He calls me all the time. But Christmas (and maybe this entire year!?) has been too full of noise. 2013 has been loud. But on this silent night, I can hear Him. He is born! Christ the Savior is born!

Noheri Nziza from Rwanda. Love to you all! I have a million pictures and more words to write to you soon...I know I've been even more quieter than usual. thank you for your love that abounds in me. I can feel it on this silent night. :) love you all!

emily

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ~John 1:14

prayers for Kenya

Please pray for Kenya right now and all who are there...the injured, the loved ones who have lost, the hurting, and the perpetrators of this cowardly attack. Like many of you in the States, we've been glued to the TV and computer here, eagerly and anxiously waiting to hear from other missionaries and people we know who live in Nairobi. It's surreal to picture the mall, to know the place, to have eaten there, shopped there, and know friends who live in the largely ex-patriate area of Westlands. The world is small. We are all connected, and it hurts when something like this happens. We cried and prayed with Kenyan friends who live here in Kigali. We mourn, we worship, we pray, we all hope together.

It's so easy to read the news and get bogged down and lost in the darkness. 75 killed in Pakistan, attacks in Kenya, floods in Colorado, Boston Marathon bombing, a civil war in beautiful Egypt. It can seem overwhelming. super overwhelming. and you feel small and helpless. And think, oh God, do you hear us? Often times I don't even know how to pray, what to pray for...it's too overwhelming. In this dark world, are my prayers for Kenya or for any other situation going to make a difference?

But I hear Him calling me to come to Him, to give Him all the burdens. And I know that when I pray to my Father in Heaven, He listens and He does hear! I pray for peace today. For peace for all. Surely the chaos would stop if the world knew Your peace Lord.

I pray for His kingdom to come, and His will to be done. Protect us Lord from the evil that surrounds us, from the darkness and confusion. Give us a quiet, safe dwelling place, a place to hide in your Kerith Ravine, and know You are Sovereign amidst all the chaos. Help us to pray for the hurting, to pray the enemies. And to love them as you do Lord. Help us pray for Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaeda. It's so hard, Lord, but I know it's what You desire from us. Help us. Teach us.

Remind us of the cross. Your story of redemption for the whole world. You have redeemed us. Given us grace in a fallen, sinful world. You have already paid the price. Help us to hold on and cling to your cross and know You are coming again. You never meant for this Earth to be our home; we are only passing through as weary travelers.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." ~John 16:33

Give us this day your daily bread. Feed us your manna, Lord, that we may be nourished from You and drink from your Living Water. Forgive us our sins and heal us and the brokenness in our hearts and in this world.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from all evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. And ever. And ever.

Amen

Blessings!

 

 

A dear friend shared this quote with me, and I've been carrying it around with me everywhere since! I've never thought about God's blessings in this way before...

 

"There's never a moment in all our lives, from the day we trusted Christ till the day we see Him, when God is not longing to bless us. At every moment, in every circumstance, God is doing us good. He never stops. It gives Him too much pleasure. God is not waiting to bless us after our troubles end. He is blessing us right now...in and through those troubles. At this exact moment, He is giving us what He thinks is good!" ~from Shattered Dreams by Larry Crabb 

Kibuye retreat...I'm so late in posting these pics!

 

Each year the entire KICS staff goes on a retreat to a small village, Kibuye, on the edge of Lake Kivu. I'm months late in posting these pics, but I wanted to share the beauty of this country and its people with you! On the way to Kibuye, we stopped at a waterfall to have recreation and worship time with the villagers there who are used to seeing us now!

 

Sorry the pics are kind of out of order!

 

Enjoying the falls! :)

 

One of my students, Miles, covered in mud. ;)

 

Kari and I on top of Bat Island, named for all the bats that fly overhead!

 

This was the neatest part of our time there. Our fearless and adventure-driven headmaster, Trevor, rigged up a makeshift zipline out of the rocks and rope he brought from home, and guided the kids across the ravine! They loved it and I loved watching their faces at this new experience!

 

Ty caught the kids before they hit the rock! We drapped a blanket across the rocks just in case!

 

Another beautiful African sunset!

 

Watching the zipline, thinking..."Do I really want to do this?"

 

Trevor's makeshift zipline!

 

Devotion and Ministry time with the community

 

Harnessing them up!

 

 

I loved seeing all their reactions at this new contraption! Pure joy! (and a little bit of fear!)

Singing "Awesome God" in their local language.

 

This is our annual Bat Island swim. The mountains you see in the background are in Congo!

 

Driving home. I always see the strangest things on the back of bikes. I've seen 20 mattresses before, a cow, chickens, a goat, 5 kids and a mom, but today it was a whole chest of drawers! Better steer clear!

Down on the Farm!

It's hard to believe this is what you see only 15 minutes outside the "city!" Rwanda is a beautiful country, and I've thought about moving out this way so many times! Our class took a trip to Mr. David's farm, the father of another one of my former students, Orla. He showed us around, and taught the kids all about the food chain, and what he grows on his farm. We learned how to grow avocados, eggplant, maize, beans, and macadamia! We got to hold baby chicks, baby rabbits and milk a cow! The highlight of the trip was when the kids started chasing the goat around the farm, and then the goat started chasing them back! It was a riot watching them try to unsuccessfully jump on the tire that the goat pulled around! One of my students pounced on the tire just as the goat took off running, so he fell back on the ground! Quite a scene! This was one of the best field trips we've ever had the opportunity to take!

 

Catching up...

Since we're on Spring Break now, I'm going to try and catch up on this blog and post about some field trips, experiences, and my time in Egypt. Better late than never, right! :)

 

 

Last month we took a field trip to the wonderful women's co-op, Gahaya Gifted Hands. I've blogged about this place before. Gahaya was co-founded by Auntie Janet and her sister, Joy, the mother of one of my former students. Janet and Joy grew up in a refugee camp in Uganda, and were able to secure sponsers to go to school in the States. After university, they both decided to return to their home country of Rwanda that had been devastated by the 1994 genocide. They started this basket weaving co-op underneath a tree with only a few women. Today, Gahaya Links has over 4,000 weavers in 52 different co-ops in Rwanda! They became the first co-op to export items to the U.S., and you can now find Rwandan Peace baskets in Macy's department stores! They call them Peace Baskets because the women have put aside their ethnic differences in order to work and weave together to build their communities and a country that was once so devastated. They also have a fashionable jewlery and handbag line as well! We were so grateful that Auntie Joy took time out of her busy schedule to teach us how to weave sisal and allow us the opportunity to visit with the women who work so hard!

 

Beautiful, hand-woven beads make beautiful necklaces!

Inge and Laura trying their hand at jewlery-making

Auntie Joy, displaying their new fashionable handmade dresses!

 

Hard at work, stitching the cloth handbags

Do you live near the Gem Theatre?

How surprised was I to be asked this question last Saturday at a brunch my roommate and I were hosting at our house! The brunch was to welcome back to Rwanda one of Janelle's older African Children's Choir members from more than a decade ago. After touring with the Choir, Alex, a double orphan, secured a sponsor to study in Minnesota, and he has been in the States ever since. He's now studying to become a pastor, and his goal is to eventually settle back in Rwanda and train pastors here.

A film crew from Samaritan's Purse, in Boone, came along with Alex to tour Rwanda and film his story. Alex hasn't been back "home" since before the genocide in 1994. This film crew heard of Alex in the States, and wanted to help tell his story to the world and promote forgiveness and healing. The week they were here, they visited the prison upcountry, where the killers of Alex's family are being held. They filmed as Alex did the unthinkable, and openly wept, embraced, and forgave the killers of his entire family. Then, he took them to visit the graves of his beloved family, and they got to meet his cousin, the only surviving member.

I have many friends here who have similar stories such as this. Each time I am with them, and realize how deeply they have suffered, but I see the hope they have now, I think, how can anyone not forgive? If these Rwandans, who have been through tragedy after tragedy can forgive, how can I not openly forgive when I am wronged in such a way that doesn't even compare? Sometimes I think I have such a self righteous attitude, as I want others to forgive me and give me grace, but am I always willing to give it back? I'm constantly challenged here with Jesus's call to love as He has loved us. And to forgive seventy times seven. If any country in the world can justify having the death penalty, it's Rwanda. However, they abolished it a long time ago in favor of a grassroots justice system that promotes honesty, forgiveness and healing. President Kagame has openly stated, "If we have the death penalty, it will be like a double-genocide; the killing will never end. We must forgive, heal, and move forward."

This Samaritan's Purse film crew came to brunch at our house too, and they were all from Boone, Asheville, and one camera man from Mooresville! He was just as excited to learn I was from Kannapolis, just down the road. We shared stories of highschool sports, the blue and white and the green and white. He said, oh yeah, I know Kannapolis, I have an uncle that lives off of West "C" Street. And then he asked if I lived near the Gem Theatre! Yes! And I worked there too! It sounds so silly, but it's such a neat thing when you make a connection with someone this far away from home. It really brings the world so much closer together, and makes it that much smaller. Another girl graduated from the Journalism school at UNC only a year after me. We all had a lot to share about. And just last night, I had dinner with a girl, who graduated from Elon a few years back, and is from Greensboro! Such a small world!

As soon as Alex's story has been written and shared by the crew from Samaritan's Purse, I will certainly share it with all of you!

Thanks for reading!