Rwanda: The day I fell in love with the schools

Let me preface this by saying I want to move to Rwanda and teach math. That's how my day went. :)

Today was a great day! It has just been so fun to see how the Lord is moving through Africa New Life and all the ministries it has started in Rwanda.

We spent the morning at New Life Christian Academy where we took a tour. We saw some of the dormitories where some of the children stay. We saw the 8-10 year old dorms where 17 girls or boys have one house mother who keeps them in line. Such a big job for those sweet ladies. Next, we saw some classrooms where the precious "Baby Angels" class sang us the songs they were learning. I definitely had some tears going on. Last, we were able to serve the children their lunch, which was a blast seeing how kids are the same everywhere no matter what country. Teenage boys tried to hide their plate under the table to get an extra one. Stuff I would totally see at work...made me laugh.

Cafeteria and meeting room for New Life Church - Kayonza

Precious Baby Angels Class

They have notebooks in Rwanda too. :)

New Life Christian High School can't wait to see it when I go back!

Kitchen and cafeteria

How they make rice and beans #legit

One of the dormitories

We also got to meet some of the teachers. One of the 3rd grade teachers is 24 years old like me and his name is Moses. It's always cool to meet people similar to yourself, but from very different backgrounds.

After our school tours, we went on a Hope Visit. A Hope Visit is for children who are not yet sponsored, but are on the waiting list. We bring them some food, soap and cooking oil, and sit down to chat with them for a little while. Grace, one of the high school seniors on the trip, decided to sponsor Rahema after meeting her and her parents.

Lura Jane (Grace's Mom), Grace, Rahema, Janet (Rahema's Mom), Wilson (Rahems's Dad)

This is why we're here. We want as many children getting an education as possible through sponsorship. Janet (Rahema's mom) said that she is so excited because Rahema has opportunities now that weren't available to her. It was so great to be a part of this today. Grace has a beautiful heart for Jesus and in turn a love and compassion for people.

Lastly, we went to the clinic in Kayonza, where the medical team served last week and a new team is serving this week. They had pediatric, gynecological, general, wound, and men's care. It was a well oiled machine, so they could see as many patients as possible. It has been really fun chatting with these people since Saturday.

The people waiting to see the medical team

We stopped by the New Life sewing center where the ladies make bags, jewelry, and clothing. Shopping here is supporting the ministries and these ladies livelihood, so of course I shopped...duh. :)

Overall, a pretty fabulous day. Grace Bible Church is going back in June to train the teachers in Kayonza, so I am seriously considering coming back. It's been 2 days, and my heart has been captured by the land of a thousand hills.

You might like Rwanda: Part 1.

Baby goats are everywhere in Rwanda

Rwanda: Part 1

I don’t even know where to begin. Maybe from the beginning…

We left Houston around noon on Friday, got on a 3.5 hour flight to Newark, sat for 1 hour, got on a 7.5 hour flight to Brussels, sat for 4 hours, got on our 8 hour flight to Kigali, and this is where we stopped. That’s 24 hours people. Woah.

Roommate Love!

And we're off!!!

GUYS...That's NYC. I LOVE window seats!

When in Belgium...Eat a waffle. There's icing INSIDE!

Amanda and Grace like waffles too.

This guy was CRAY. He would FALL into his seat which almost pushed the seat into my forehead EVERY SINGLE TIME. 8 hours of this guy + super tired = Lincee and I laughing A LOT!

They brought us ice cream. Best surprise EVER after traveling for 23 hours. Good job Brussels Air!

Needless to say we were majorly exhausted when arriving, and our internal clocks were very messed up.  *weirdest feeling ever* BUT we made it safe and sound with no delayed or canceled flights. Thank you Jesus!

We ate some delicious food and climbed into the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in (or maybe I was just tired…). BTW 8 full hours of uninterrupted sleep is magic.

This morning we went to the English service at New Life Bible Church. NLFB is pastored by Charles Mugisha who is the president and founder of Africa New Life. Unfortunately, he is elsewhere in Rwanda, so we didn’t have the privilege of meeting him yet. BUT his brother Pastor Fred brought the Word this morning about restoring the actions and attitudes we had when we first fell in love with Jesus.

Some great things from the day:

• The music was absolutely beautiful at the English service.
• Pastor Fred brought the kids up to the front and had them say their memory verse for the week. About 15 kids had memorized something, and it was so great to hear children quoting the Word of God.
• We stayed for the Kinyarwandan service, and we sang Bless the Lord. So moving.
• We had delicious brunch at a restaurant called Heaven, and I went shopping at the gift shop (surprise, surprise).
• We drove past the president’s house (that I’m not allowed to take a picture of…it’s against the LAW. Oh and you cant take pictures of the military either.), the US Embassy, lots of other embassies, and Hotel Des Mille Collines (the hotel from Hotel Rwanda).
• We met some of the Africa New Life staff.  Eugene Mogisha is the Programs Director, John is our driver, and Yvonne is the Missions Director.
• Eugene and his family told us about the different ministries that Africa New Life has started. I’m excited to see some of them this week!
• Yvonne is a special woman. She is a graduate of the Esther home. She was 1 of 15 chosen out of 100 applicants to receive a scholarship to go to college and live in the Esther Home. The Esther Home is their home while they are in college and there is a strict house mother who makes sure they are staying on top of their studies. Now Yvonne works for ANL and gets to hang with us all week.
• John also has a cool story. His family left to Uganda when he was young to get away from the genocide happening in Rwanda, and he returned to join the military when he was 14 years old. Brings some perspective to us in the US who have never been in such desperate times where they will let anyone willing to fight to restore your home country.

Loved worshipping together

Brunch!

Me, Amanda, Lura Jane, Ann, Yvonne, McKenzie
Grace, Lincee, Natalie and Jude

Hotel Rwanda, where many were saved during the genocide 20 years ago

The Egyptian Consulate

The Kigali Genocide Memorial was definitely the toughest activity of the day.  It was very important for us to see the history before we serve and interact with the people this week. Seeing the hatred, political corruption, and destructive propaganda that lead to horrible atrocities broke my spirit. Seeing the mass graves  (basically 8-10 giant concrete covers), that they continue to add to as they find more bodies, brought uncontrollable sobbing. One of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced. I don’t know how people cope with things like this if they don’t know the true healing and redemptive power found through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Even though this afternoon was tough, I’m excited to continue to see how the Lord has brought restoration to a country that had been destroyed.

Important and tough

To end a little happier… There are teams staying with us from Little Rock and Los Angeles that are doing medical missions in Kayonza. Natalie is our trip leader and she has an adopted son, Jude, who is one and gets to hang out with us while we are here too. PRECIOUS!!

PS. To those of you who care, my blood sugars have been good, and I carry snacks everywhere. Just in case.

Random fact of the day: $1 = 680 francs or $10 = 6,800 francs or $100 = 68,000 francs
We might be doing some math problems in class with this when I return. You know...for funzies. #mathteacherprobs

Seriously. This was the view at the guest house.

The countdown continues...36 hours

Trying not to freak here... but we are less than two days away from leaving for Africa.

I carry my to do list everywhere since nothing sticks in my brain for more than 10 seconds.
I am so excited, nervous, scared, happy and many more emotions that I just can't describe. I didn't know I could feel so many things at once.
Tonight we prayed over our trip at Star of Hope, where Lincee, Ann, and I serve once a month. Such a cool experience to know my church and other women in the community are praying over us as we travel.
I have more maxi pads than I know what to do with at my house to take to Rwanda for the girls, so they can continue to go to school when they are on their periods. The Lord is touching my heart in a way he's never touched it before. I'm realizing how different our lives are even though it is something that all women face every month.
I have all my diabetes stuff plus some extras. Thank you Jesus!
I HAVE 60% OF MY TRIP FUNDS RAISED! GOD IS SO GOOD! :)))

Ways you can be praying:

• Safe travels
• Ours hearts to be ready as we are preparing to go
• The people of Rwanda that we will come in contact with
• For the Lord to continue to bring true hope to the country
• For us to get everything done
• Good rest and fast adjustment to the time change
• For us to have fun and enjoy our time serving the Lord and his people together

Fundraising Info

Day 12 update

Africa Update

As you may know I'm headed to Rwanda in 12 days!! SO EXCITED, but really nervous too.

Some ways you can be praying for me over the next few days:

• I'm starting to freak out a little that I'm leaving the country with diabetes and there's so many things that could go wrong. Pray for me to rest in the Lord's peace and rely on Him that everything will work out.
• So far I have raised about 25% of the funds for me to go, but I still have a lot to raise. Pray for the Lord's faithfulness to provide everything that's needed. 
• As the to do list grows and the number of days decreases, pray that I will be diligent about getting things done. 
• Pray for the people of Rwanda.
• Pray for Africa New Life and the ministry that is happening in Rwanda.
• Pray for my team from Grace Bible Church: Ann, Lincee, Lura, Grace, and Amanda
• Pray for the Lord's will in all aspects of the trip, that my tiny brain can't even comprehend right now. 

In other news, I will have WiFi at the place where we are staying in Kigali, soooooooo I'll be able to blog while I am there. Be on the lookout March 14-23 for updates, pictures, and seeing all the wonderful things the Lord is doing in Rwanda.

If you would like to support me in my trip to Africa (and help that thermometer fill up ----->) send me an email and I'll give you the details. chaugneland@yahoo.com

TO AFRICA!!

Dear Friends and Family,

            As many of you know, I had the privilege of serving in El Salvador with Living Water International in May of 2010. The road the Lord took me down to get to El Salvador was a long and winding one that hasn’t really ended. Some have speculated that the illness I returned with triggered and caused my diabetes. You might think that because of that I would never want to go on a mission trip again. Thankfully, that is not the case.  The time I spent preparing for El Salvador and the week I spent there transformed my heart to consider missions more long-term. Once I was diagnosed with diabetes, that dream of mission work was placed on hold, and I soon realized that it will ultimately look very different than what I thought the Lord had called me to.

In April 2013, I started sponsoring a child through a ministry called Africa New Life. His name is Shema Eric, and I fell in love with him the moment I picked up his photograph. I had no idea I could love a child so much, especially since I’m not actually his parent.

The Lord has graciously presented and called me to a trip to Rwanda through Grace Bible Church over my school’s spring break, March 14 – 23. Each of us will have an opportunity to meet and spend time with our sponsored children.

Some of the other things we will be doing include:

• Visiting the four villages where Africa New Life serves
• Visiting the schools, street kids ministry, and seminary
• Encouraging the long term staff there
• Practice speaking English with kids

There are two ways you can support me as I continue my faithfulness to the Lord’s leading.
First, please pray. Some things to focus on include:

• Pray for God to spiritually prepare each member of my team and the people we will meet in Rwanda
• Pray for me as I prepare to leave the country for the first time with diabetes
• Pray that our team can raise the funds to in order to go ($3,200 per person for the trip and flights)
• Pray for Rwanda and the work Africa New Life is doing there

Second, you can support me financially. Please pray and ask God if he is leading you in this way. I understand that not everyone is called to do this, but know that I appreciate all of your time spent in prayer considering this.

If you feel lead to support me financially, you can mail me a check made out to Grace Bible Church, which will be tax deductible. Comment or email me (chaugneland at yahoo.com) if you would like to support me, and I'll give you more information.

I am so thankful and blessed that the Lord has called me out of the United States again. I had not realized how much my heart had been longing to serve internationally until this opportunity arose.  I pray the Lord uses this trip as a time of understanding His character more fully and encouraging those serving long-term with Africa New Life. Thank you for being a part of my walk with the Lord.

In Christ,

Connie Haugneland

Isn't he presh! Can't wait to meet this little guy!

He loves soccer and wants to be a teacher! #meltmyheart