It is Sunday evening here in Rwanda & it has not been the usual Mother’s Day for me. KaLia did not feel well this morning (it ended up being she was just tired & was fine later) but because of this we (me & the kids) were not able to go with the group to Kayonza. The team went to Kayonza (where the ANLM school is, Faith Home, and 4 other orphan homes) and shared in church with them again. There was a really good message preached about service- how each one is given a service to do, whether you are poor or rich, there is no excuse, each one has a service to do.
After church they went to the boarding school to visit Christine (one of our girls from the Faith Home- the school in Kayonza is only for primary grades, so when they move up to secondary school they have to go somewhere else). They took Esther and Amiable with them (two children from the Faith Home). Christine was so happy to see them, and via cell phone KaLia and I were able to talk with her a little bit too (KaLia & Christine have been special sisters ever since 2006 when KaLia first went to Rwanda). I was sad not to be with my kids in Kayonza on Mother’s Day, but at least I know that we will have other opportunities to see them, since we will be staying here longer.
Myself, Nate, and KaLia went with the Mission House hosts, on public transport, to the local ANLM church. First time riding public transport in Rwanda for me! They even celebrated Mother’s Day at this church and gave all the mothers each a rose, so I did get a flower today (plus Nate later picked me a flower from the Mission House garden- so sweet)!
On Friday we planted 16 (young/little) fruit trees on the Acres of Hope. There is a man who has a house on the property right now (he just lives there- is not an owner), and we are giving him an opportunity to get some extra money by making sure the trees are watered and taken care of. We will see how he does the first month and go from there. In the evening we went to the Kanombe Home. They have a big yard there so we introduced them to the games “Red Rover”, “Red Light, Green Light”, and “Four Corners”. Everyone was laughing and had a great time. One of the workers told us how special it is when someone comes and teaches them new games, because they will take these games to school and teach their friends, plus they do not get many opportunities to play like this. They are up at 5am, do chores, get ready, walk to school so they are there by 7am (although school starts at 8am). They have a two hour break in the middle of the day because they walk home for lunch & then walk back. They then are in school until 4:30 or 5, and then make the final walk home. Most of them are about 25 minutes from school, some closer to an hour (older kids). When visitors come they are able to set aside their evening chores and just have a good time.
Saturday we also were in Kayonza– all the kids who live there, plus the sponsored children in the surrounding area, come to the school for “Center Day”. We shared in different classrooms, talking about Jesus, teaching them songs, and giving out little gifts. In one classroom 6 children asked to pray to accept Jesus into their heart. In another classroom we were talking about our Heavenly Father and how we are brought into his family when we accept Christ. A girl asked me to explain how she could be African and I could be American yet we can have the same father. Another boy, John, took me aside after class and asked me to pray for him. He is in his last year of primary school. In this year they take a test, passing it decides whether or not they can go into secondary school. He asked me to pray for him to pass this test, and I promised I would.
Sorry it’s been a few days since I’ve been on here & so this is a long update to catch you up. Tomorrow we will work with the feeding of the street children again. Please pray for us to be able to show these kids just how much God loves them. Let our hearts be pulled with the compassion of our Heavenly Father for his kids, and let us be able to bring blessing and spiritual nourishment to them as they receive physical nourishment as well. We appreciate your prayers for God to provide for the Acres of Hope and the Home of Innocence. It will be some of these very same kids from the feeding program who are the first ones to come into the Home of Innocence. Mike has told them about it & they are very excited for it. We pray that the Home could be started quickly, before any more of these little ones are lost. God is near to those who are broken and poor, and his power is just as available to them as it is to us.
Everyone on the team is doing well, but we appreciate your prayers for us (as well as our family) and the work that God would have us to do while we are here. God is good, and able to do immeasurably beyond what we can ask or think!
God Bless You,
Lisa