Christmas Party

I am honored to serve the children of our community at our annual Christ Church Christmas Party! It's something I've come to look forward to each year. Planning with Keli, coming up with games, crafts, and fun new ways to teach the Christmas story, and especially seeing all the bright smiling faces! It's such a JOY!

 

Santa's helpers...I love these girls!

Hearing the Christmas story....some for the very first time!

Listening so intently as the story is translated into Kinyarwanda

I love these beautiful smiles! The girls on the left are the Lindens sweet older ones, Evey and Sali.

Showing off their Christmas cards

Sweet Children of God

 

Christmas in Rwanda



I love Christmas in Africa. Especially in this small beautiful country that has become my home. Christmas is obviously special anywhere you spend it, and as much as I would love to spend it with family and to see my sweet nephew tearing open his gifts, and spend Christmas Eve taking in the smells and memories of Grandma's basement....I think Christmas in Rwanda is the next best thing. The one thing that makes it so special and unique here is the PEOPLE and the COMMUNITY. That's what this day is about. People and communities coming together to worship and spend time with one another and celebrate the birth of our Savior, our Savior who came for all of us, all tribes, all ethnicities, all people.

 

And this Christmas was another beautiful FULL one, packed with many visits and greetings and hand shakes and hugs and simple gifts and gatherings. I saw so many people I do life with here and love.

 

 We began the day worshiping at Christ Church Rwanda and witnessing beautiful baptisms as people are raised to new life. What a day to be baptized! I enjoyed a Christmas brunch at the Stevens house, complete with REAL bacon shipped in from Texas and REAL biscuits and gravy! :) (I delight in the simple things, as you can tell.) Then, I had the most enjoyable time talking with the soldiers and guards in my neighborhood and singing carols and eating sweets with them. They work so hard every day of the year and I loved seeing them enjoy cookies and sodas, which are such special treats!

 

You know, the longer I live here, the more special Christmas becomes to me here. I'm sure that's true in any place.

 

Then, I ventured out to Beatrice's village to spend time with her precious family, her husband Sylvester and daughter Karia. Beatrice takes such good care of us and spends her days washing and serving and loving us well at our homes, while we teach and love the students. I'm so thankful for her! Being with all of these people filled my heart full this Christmas, and reminded me just how much God has blessed me with an incredible community near and far!

 

After the village, I had Christmas dinner with one of my favorite families, the Lindens, and their sweet little girls. They hosted many people from church and we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and celebrated with dancing and impromptu karaoke by their little ones. :) What fun and joy! I spent the night opening cards from my church home in the U.S., and then Skyped with all my siblings and loved ones in my other home! What a blessing! I'm so thankful I get to share my life with these beautiful people in Rwanda, and also with my family far away. This Christmas was so rich and so good!

 

Thank you Jesus for coming to this world as a tiny baby, so that we can come to one another in rich community. Thank you for this life!

 

 

 

Reconciled

Hark the herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn king."

 

Peace on Earth and mercy mild, God and sinner reconciled.

 

Joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies

 

With angelic host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem

 

Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King.

 

 

We are reconciled to Him! All the time He is drawing us near, gently drawing and nudging us back to Him, to the cross and His great love for us. I sure can't explain it, I don't have the answers of how it all works, but I know it's true. I heard this song tonight, Hark the Herald, and those words just washed over me again and again. God and sinner reconciled. We don't need to go to bed with our sins tonight. He came to us, born of a virgin in such a crazy unbelievable, humble way...and He chose us. He chose me! He chose you! That's why He came. He loves us. God loves sinner. Yes, He was born a tiny baby in Bethlehem. But He was also born in me! Wow. Christ our Savior is born! Born to reconcile Emily. Born to reconcile the sins that are deep in me, deep in all of us, deep in the world...in Sudan, In Rwanda, in us all.

 

I don't normally think of Come Thou Fount as a Christmas hymn...but it's been in my heart and on my tongue this Advent season...especially this last verse.... 

 

O to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.

 

He sealed it when He came for us. to save us. To be Christ born IN US. wow. I don't understand at all. But thankfully, I don't need to. I just need to receive Him and welcome the Trinity tonight. The Trinity that came to Earth as a baby!

 

A baby conceived by the Holy Spirit!

 

So that I can be reconciled. and forgiven. set free and saved.

 

My chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother. And in his name all oppression shall cease.

 

This beautiful Holy Night

 

God Bless you!

 

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!