#rwanderful: Day 9

Today was really good. I loved getting to know the team better through life stories, testimonies, and marriage proposal stories. We laughed so much today with all the silliness that my abs actually hurt from laughing so hard. Marriage proposal stories might be my favorite. We learned so much about each other.

We started off the day at the staff devotion with Africa New Life where we worship the Lord with amazing musicians and John Africa preached about the goodness of God. I have loved this morning so much every year because of the more intimate feeling with less people than church.

The team went to the Kagarama Secondary School just up the hill from the New Life campus. The school has more laptops than any school we have seen, but they need some help beginning to implement the use of them more effectively. I really enjoyed seeing the classroom of one of the teachers who attended the conference last weekend. He had group work going on and really only needed to tweak a few things to make it better. I've seen some really positive changes occurring in classrooms over the years we've been coming.

This afternoon, we had Amanda's home visit with her sponsor child, Teddy, and her mom's sponsor child, John Bosco. I love home visits more than anything else. Getting to spend the BEST 45 minutes with your child is life changing even though it doesn't seem like enough. We were sad because Teddy got on a 6 hour bus ride to come home for the short visit just to get on another bus tomorrow to go back to boarding school. JeJe said that the 45 minutes is worth all the extra travel. Most sponsored children don't ever get to meet their sponsor, so this is a huge encouragement to them and their families. Having his perspective as a former Child Development Officer (social worker who handles the sponsored children's files) was really helpful as we were processing that this afternoon.

bonus to all the cuteness: her name is Blessing

Rocking the Polaroid action

So sweet

The afternoon was restful after the home visit. I was able to read for awhile and then pass out for a few minutes before dinner. Sleep has been hit or miss. Some nights are good, but other nights not so much. You can be praying for the team's health and getting good rest as we finish out the trip.

Bunmi and I had zero fun today.

JeJe is our Burundi Prince model. Zach has more of the model poses. Hopefully those ended up on Facebook somewhere.

#rwanderful: Days 6, 7, & 8

Being in Rwanda is my favorite part of the year. I do a lot of fun things during the year, but this trip heals my heart in such a way that nothing else can. I love how serving others fills up your spirit with joy straight from God.

Yesterday, we went to church and worshipped in a way that my church doesn't. I miss singing, clapping, and dancing during music and not worrying about how others worship God. In Rwanda, I just get to sing and worship the way my heart desires to worship. We are going to ANLM devotion tomorrow, and we'll see how many tears fall down my cheeks when I listen to Rwandans worship our Savior unabashedly.

We also got to go shopping on Sunday. My. Love. Language. I love gift giving, and I love earrings. Enough said.

I also got some much needed rest last night, since the night before I fell asleep mid-sentence with my roommate, Amanda. Oops...#grandmaneedshersleep

Today was phenomenal. We got to go to the New Life Christian Academy in Kigali. It's a new school that they have started in Kigali that has most of the New Life staffs' children enrolled. The teachers are great and innovative, and they genuinely want to do the best job for their students. The kids are getting a great education, and I haven't seen a more fantastic school in Rwanda and possibly in the US as well. Amanda and I spent some time with the Headmistress demonstrating Google apps and Google Classroom and trying to give them an electronic gradebook option that doesn't cost a ton of money.

I gave my testimony at lunch today, which reminded me how faithful the Lord has been throughout my life through all the ups and downs. Some friends on the team also reminded me to look at my diabetes portion of my story as a way to bless others and not a "poor me" situation. It's been humbling and fun to share my story with people I met a week ago.

We shopped some more today... Please don't judge my life choices. :)

Love y'all. Hugs!

#rwanderful: Days 4 and 5

Day 4: Kageyo!

We went to Kageyo. This is the community that is far away and made up of Rwandan refugees who fled to Tanzania during the genocide. A few years ago Tanzania sent them back to Rwanda. They were forced to leave quickly, and when they arrived in Rwanda, they had nothing. This led the government to build Kageyo.

The majority of the students in the school in Kageyo are sponsored and doing well despite their circumstances. 

Getting to see Kageyo after last year's drought was wonderful. Driving into the town you must drive through the valley  through all the farming fields. People were working and harvesting because there were actually crops to harvest. Praise the Lord! I know this year has been such a gift for them.

Kageyo is also really special because you leave and take half the dirt with you. Every place on your body is covered. The shower after the special Kageyo skin treatment is lovely, and an interesting red color runs down the drain.

Also this... Amanda, who wasn't feeling well and didn't move much, "walked" almost 17,000 steps. False. The two peaks on her FitBit graph was the bumpy ride to Kageyo. We had a pretty good laugh in the room.

Overall, the time in the classrooms was fun, productive, and encouraging to the teachers. I saw many friends from earlier trips and made new friends. I taught an English lesson for 7th grade and continue to realize how much of a language barrier there is. It helps me to appreciate my classroom.

Day 5: First Day of the Teach Conference!

Early morning! On the bus at 5:45 to drive to Kayonza for the conference, which is an hour and a half away. We were all dragging and desiring to remain in bed. 

But, the Lord provides the strength that we need to serve His Rwandan teachers. 

Bob, Lucy, and Amanda presented this morning, and Bunmi, Janet and I presented after lunch. Presenting to people who do not speak your language is the most challenging part of the trip. Communication is difficult and worth it. We also had time built in to process the information in smaller groups. This worked really well and gave the teachers time to ask questions and plan lessons with us. 

My favorite part was sharing another taste of my TMC family with my Rwandan family. This year, I decided that Which one doesn't belong? needed to be shared. I chose the clock photo below and it blew. theirs. minds. that there didn't need to be a correct answer. 

wodb.ca please go check this out! Thanks Mary!!

Here is a 360 photo of the teachers picking their four corners. LOVE.

Another good highlight was getting my teacher voice out in a room full of disruptive teachers. Once you turn the teacher on, you can't turn it off. #sorrynotsorry

Then, my mind was blown when they gave me reasons for choosing the top left clock that included different types of angles and then they named them acute and obtuse. YES. BLESS IT.

I love my math nerd family for changing my life and allowing me to share and change teachers lives in Rwanda as well. It is truly humbling and a blessing to share so many wonderful things that I have learned from brilliant minds. Cannot wait to spend time with them in July.

I'm exhausted, so off to bed we go. Last day of the conference tomorrow, and with that the team's trip is half over. Thankfully, mine is only a third over, but still going so quickly.

Love this country and its people and you. Thanks for reading! 

#rwanderful: Day 3

Woohoo! I'm blogging before 10 pm. This post has a prayer of making sense.

We visited the New Life Christian Academy and High School in Kayonza today.

We started with a tour of the school and saw so many teacher friends. This week, the students are taking their midterm exams, so each of us were able to help proctor exams. I got to call roll, pass out, and collect their exams. I learned that my default is to pronounce names with a Spanish pronunciation. Sorry kids. I can't figure out which country I am in.

We also got to see the new computer lab that has computers AND wifi along with the BRAND NEW science labs. I am so excited to see how they will continue to grow and learn throughout the next year as they begin to use these facilities.

The computers are here!

Our 11th grade chemists

This is weird but I wanted the whole room in the picture. 

Lots of storage

Janet the chemist

I spent some time with Lauren's sweet David and the Munford family's delightful Rehema, and I loved hugging them and hearing about their lives since I saw them last. They are precious and loving and thankful for their sponsors.

Rehema

David

Tomorrow, we will go to Kageyo so we will leave at 5:30 am and return around 6:30 pm. We have also been preparing for the conference in our free evening time this week. We will work a little tomorrow evening, but the conference starts on Friday, so pray that each group is able to accomplish the necessary tasks for each of our presentations. Pray for good rest to take care of the exhaustion levels. We will rest on Sunday, and we are all ready for that day to come.

There may not be a blog for the next couple days with it being the busiest days, so don't worry. :)


Love y'all!

#rwanderful: Day 2

Day 2 was definitely a full day with the highest highs and the lowest lows. I'm going to start with the lows. Be prepared.

We started the day at the Nyamata Genocide Memorial in Bugesera. It is the most heartbreaking and redemptive place in Rwanda. You see things you can't unsee like bullet holes, decaying bones and corpses, and clothes from children who were murdered in 1994. But, you also see the redemption Jesus has brought to a country ripped apart by evil when you look around at the growth that has taken place in the last 23 years.

At this memorial, you can go into the mass grave holding the bones belonging to the 10,000 victims of this site. As you navigate the steep stairs down into the white tiled crypt you see rows upon rows of skulls and bones. Today the room was filled with large sturdy mahogany caskets. The bones are no longer lining the shelves, they are being cleaned to increase preservation and then carefully placed in the coffins. This was particularly more difficult to process as I witnessed the volunteers huddled together in groups of 3 or 4 cleaning those bones to be stored in the caskets. Did you hear that? People are volunteering to clean bones. The thought is horrifying and makes me sick to my stomach.

One thing someone mentioned was this country is full of people who were affected by the genocide in many ways. The people who are cleaning bones could be people who saw things happen and did nothing. This could be a way for them to give back. Another thought was this is a way for them to love their fellow Rwandese who were murdered and honor them in some small way. Either way, the commitment to healing their country and moving on from such terrible happenings is real and important to the people of Rwanda.

I see so many things I wish the US could learn Rwanda and the unity that has grown out of such tragedy.

TRANSITION on to the highs!

I had Eric's home visit today! (See I told you...roller coaster of emotions) And I got to hug Valentine for Kayla. LOVE!

Love and miss you Kayla!

Highlight of the day: I got to pray with Eric's parents and they prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their savior!

Choosing Jesus!

Could the day have ended any better? The answer is NO WAY!

They have just made the most important decision of their lives: to love Jesus more than anything else and to let his life be a guide to how they (we) should live every day.

Missing big sister, but glad to have mom back

framing

framing this too

That is all the words and brain power I have at the moment. Up early tomorrow and headed to Kayonza.

Demonstrating the importance of Jesus and prayer to my young friends