Delicacy

This announcement appeared in the KigaliLife newsletter today. It is legit. They eat these things! My curiosity wants me to pay the $4.50 for a packet of this scrumptious delicacy, but I think I'll pass. I can buy a whole lot with $4.50, ya know.

Hello,



Its the rainy season and indeed that time of year for the one and only delicacy that is: Nsenene! [Grasshoppers]. Already prepared, packed & yummy, yummy, yummy!! Ready for your immediate consumption at only 3000 rwf a packet.

Please call 0758888806

No thanks.

Intore Dancing

I forgot to blog about the Intore Dancers last month! We were treated to a wonderful Rwandan "Ballet" last month at an icecream social at the preacher's house. This was the third time I had seen the Intore Dancers performing, and it was by far, the best performance. It's such a neat cultural experience to see. Intore dancing is really an art form in Rwanda, and was started many centuries ago by the kings. But they perform it like a play, and there are 3 main parts to it. The Ballet (songs), the Intore (dance of the heroes), and the Ingoma (drums.)

The Dance of the Heroes is performed by men wearing grass wigs and carrying spears. This is supposed to depict warriors returning from battle and celebrating their victory. They move their arms from side to side, and make warrior cries. The warrior cries are individual to each dancer and represent how many they have "killed" in battle. Both the men and ladies wear bells on their feet, which creates a great rhythm. Their "battles" turn into a great artistic display of dancing, and jumping and drumming. The guys train so they can jump many meters off the ground! So neat to see! The ladies look so graceful and elegant, as they support their "warriors." Watching these Intore dancers was such a privilege!

Small world

At our big Thanksgiving feast, I noticed a new, but familiar mzungu face. After I got a closer look, I realized it was a fellow Merriewoode girl! Can you believe it!? Libby was a camper, about 13, when I first started as a counselor back in '01. Then she eventually became a counselor too. She's an Alabama girl, and just graduated from UVA and is here in Rwanda for 3 months volunteering. We laughed at the odds of us meeting up in Rwanda, of all places, and we had a good time talking "camp." And of course we definitely got a picture so we could make the Merriewoode newsletter. :-) Such a small world!

Great is His Faithfulness!

"Great is Thy faithfulness," O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

"Great is Thy faithfulness!" "Great is Thy faithfulness!"
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
"Great is Thy faithfulness," Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Give Thanks

I think I even like Thanksgiving better than Christmas! It has more of a "togetherness" feel for me, and not too much hustle and bustle that often surrounds Christmastime. And fall is just my favorite season...I love the sounds, sights, smells, weather. I miss watching American football too. There's plenty of football here, just not the American kind. This is going to be quick, because I have to hurry home and bake an apple pie and make deviled eggs! But I wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, and let you know I'm very thankful for your thoughts and prayers and your generosity in so many ways. I have so much to be thankful for this year! I am truly blessed!

I miss spending this holiday at home, with family and friends, and fun times. But we're celebrating here too! I'm headin' over to a friends house tonight, where 40 of us are gathering and enjoying a huge feast of foods from all over! To say I'm excited is an understatement. James has had 3 LIVE turkeys running around his compound all week. Ha! Not live anymore. My friend, Jennifer helped me make my very first apple pie from scratch last night. I never realized how time-consuming pies are! But lots of fun to make. We actually had school today, but just for a half day. My kids learned about William Bradford, the Pilgrims, the Mayflower, and Squanto. We planted corn and squash in our garden this week and wrote thank you letters to Jesus. We made thankful turkeys, and multiplied and divided with corn. And my kids LOVED learning to sing "Over the River and Through the Woods" and "Albuquerque Turkey" (to the tune of Clementine!) It was neat to share holiday traditions and history with my students from all over the world. (We also celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving, back in October, by the way! :-)

As I get excited about celebrating this holiday of thanksgiving, I can just look around me, as we all can, and see others that are not as blessed as we are. And we can see MANY reasons to give thanks, and many opportunities to give to others. Let's give thanks to God, our Creator today! Thank Him for ALL things. Thank Him for the clean water that runs out of your sink today that you can drink. Thank Him for your car today. Thank Him for your grocery stores. Thank Him for your health. If you're sick, STILL thank Him...thank Him for giving you the time to rest and be in His presence. Thank Him for medecine, and the money to buy it. Thank him for hot water that comes out of you shower. Thank him for supplying ALL of your needs! Even the ones you aren't even sure about right now! Let's thank Him for ALL things today! Have an attitutde of gratitude! :-)

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever!

I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart.
I will enter His courts with praise.
I will say this is the day that the Lord has made.
I will rejoice for He has made me glad!

Happy Thanksgiving ya'll!

Update on Kelly

Thanks for your prayers for my roommate, Kelly. She is still resting at home now, and finally has a healthy appetite back. She is still weak, and needs to gain A LOT of strength back before she can go back to being our enthusiastic P.E. teacher. But she is on her way! She goes back to the hospital on Thursday to get tests done on her liver to check her liver enzymes. So we're hoping for a good report. The jaundice is gone, and her cheeks are looking rosy again, so we don't refer to her as "Yellow Kelly" anymore! :-) Thanks for your prayers ya'll!

Prayer Request for Kelly

Thank you for your prayers! I finished my malaria meds last night, I'm back at school today, and I feel good. I sang "Fishers of Men" with my kids, led basketball practice, and just got back from Bible Study. I am just believing that the Coartem killed all the malaria, and it's now totally eradicated. Believe with me! I know that it can be pesky and come back, so I'm being cautious, and I'll take another blood test soon to make sure. But I am believing!

Now, I still need your prayers for my roommate and dear friend, Kelly. Kelly is from South Carolina and teaches P.E. here at KICS. She also contracted malaria....(we think we may have gotten it on our trip to Uganda?) Kelly became ill a few days after me, and because she initially thought it was a flu virus, she had malaria in her bloodstream for 3 days without taking any medication. Yesterday, just as I was feeling much better, Kelly took a turn for the worse and developed jaundice in a bad way, which means her liver is not functioning properly and cleaning her blood due to the malaria. She was taking the same meds as I was, and they usually kill the malaria 98% of the time, but not this time.

So now Kelly is resting at the Seventh Day Adventist medical hospital, and she is in good hands. They have her on a quinine I.V., and are giving her vitamins and glucose too. The doctor there is Dr. Tommy, from the Philippines, and he was an internist in California for many years, before coming to Rwanda in 2008. He has run many tests, and did an ultrasound on Kelly's liver today. She developed a bacterial infection yesterday as well. I just talked with her tonight, and she sounded the best she's sounded in a week. But she still has no appetite. Please pray with me that Kelly can get some rest tonight, and she can begin to eat again, and her body can fight this disease. We miss her, the students miss her, and I know she misses being with us and being healthy. If you will just pray with me that she can be comforted...because it's hard being sick so far away from home. We all know and believe in God's power to heal, and I know there is certainly power in the prayers of believers. Pray with me...