Rwanda: 8/4/12 & 8/5/12

Some journal excerpts and reflections from the first Saturday and Sunday we were in Rwanda....

8/4/12
So this is what it feels like to come home?! I am exhausted, but so excited. On the flight from D.C. to Ethiopia, I ran into Mindy from the Health Academy. I haven't seen her since high school and we ran into each other on a flight to Africa....crazy. We got a man to switch seats with us so we spent the 13 hour flight catching up. It was really nice to have someone to fly with. I felt like it was just one more thing pointing to the fact that God's hand was all over this trip and a reminder of how faithful He is. Gosh, He is incredibly faithful. On my other side was Claude. Claude is from the Congo, but currently lives in NY. He was going back to the Congo to visit his parents. He was very sweet and fun to get to know. At the end of the flight, I felt like I was saying goodbye to an old friend.

We met the whole team in Ethiopia. Everyone seems really sweet and we all get along well. I am looking forward to getting to know everyone better as the trip progresses. We arrived in Kigali, Rwanda at noon today and waited for the luggage for awhile. Half the team did not get their luggage, but thankfully I got mine. I was even more thankful for this the next day- you'll understand once I share how Sunday started out. Later on, once we were settled in a bit, we went to the boys home- the Home of Innocence and met the boys. We played soccer and hung out for a little bit with them. I'm looking forward to spending more time with them. They are very sweet. Driving through the country can be a rough ride at times, but it is full of unmistakable beauty. Oh, that could preach. I need to sleep so I'm ready for tomorrow. I am so thankful to be tucked under this mosquito net, writing by flashlight. So unbelievably, unmistakably thankful. I can't believe I get to do this. What a privilege..

I mentioned in my journal that I was looking forward to getting to know the team more and I must say that I am so thankful for the team that was put together to go on this trip. To say that I enjoyed getting to know the team and watching them serve would be an understatement. I met some world changers over those ten days and it was such a privilege to hear and watch them share their hearts. I couldn't have picked a better team to share the experience with. God has this way of customizing things perfectly- this team was no exception.

8/5/12- This journal post was exceptionally long so I'm just going to give you some of the highlights from the day. Although, the entire day was a highlight. I wish that I could have taped the whole experience so that I could give more justice to it. Better yet, I wish that everyone I know could have been there to experience it for themselves. Next time, I'm just going to have to pack y'all in my suitcase. Anyway, here we go....

So remember that time I fainted and peed my pants in the van on the way to church? I wish I could say me neither. :) I don't feel embarrassed at all, but I do feel a bit like an inconvenience. They had to bring me home and Derek had to stay with me, which was very generous of him, plus the car seats were peed on. I woke up and had no idea where I was and the team told me everything. I am sad about missing church, but somehow have this strange peace about it. It's like God is showing me that I work so hard not to be an inconvenience to people who know me and love me, but He is reminding me that people are never inconveniences. These people don't know me hardly at all, but they stopped to take care of me. How much more would my friends and family? How much more would God? Sometimes maybe were supposed to "inconvenience" others, not for any other reason, but to realize that with love, it's not really inconveniencing. People matter more and friends like to help friends out. They don't see the inconvenience, they see the friend. And all of that applies even when I'm the friend and not the helper. I love so much to serve, but struggle with being served. It's crazy that on a missions trip to Africa, I end up having to be served in this way. God has a funny sense of humor, but what's the craziest part of all this not so fun memory- I feel as though God is smiling at me and saying " Hey, you're worth all of this." Holy Moly.

Thank you Jesus that the remainder of the day I did not get sick again. The team was so sweet to me when they got back. Michelle hugged me and I felt very loved. We headed to lunch and then the genocide memorial. The memorial was so heartbreaking, but there is so much beauty in the brokenness. This is the most beautiful place on earth. Seriously, I want everyone to come here.

Tonight, as we were sorting donations, the power went out and someone asked "Does anyone need to use my light to find their lights?" And I loved the imagery of that, because sometimes when we are in the dark, it's the light of others that helps us begin to see again. I loved that. I love that. I know, for me, there have been times where I've relied on the light of others to point me back when I've gotten on track. That's what ministry is- directing people to the light using the light in you.

Tonight I was wandering the kitchen looking for a garbage and Feas, the house keeper, helped me. He speaks little English and tried to teach me to say goodnight in Kinyarwandan. I couldn't do it. I can barely say big words in English, so to try to pronounce words in another language, for me, is proving to me nearly impossible. He was giggling a lot at me. I was giggling a lot at me. There was a whole lot of giggling going on. I could have laughed with him all night, over not being able to say goodnight. I love how this place is reminding me of joy in the simple things. Did I mention I love it here? Cause I really, really do.

Here are a few pictures of the guest house we stayed at in Kigali:

 

 

 

Rwanda: 8/3/2012

It's impossible to find the words adequate enough to describe my time in Rwanda. In fact, I've already written 4 different introductions, just to delete them all because they didn't capture what I wanted them to capture and the reality is, they won't. My words will never measure up when it comes to describing the people I met. There aren't words sweet enough.

But to not even try would be a shame, so I have decided for the next few Write-It-Wednesdays that I am going to write about my days spent there. Consider this your all access pass, because most of the posts are going to come straight from my journal- which I did not write in nearly enough.

August 3rd, 2012-

I can't believe that I just finished my first flight of three to Rwanda. I can't believe that I get to go back. My heart is literally bursting with excitement and overwhelmed by the faithfulness of God and how He has provided my every need of my journey to get here. I'm an emotional mess. I cried watching a teenage boy say goodbye to his mom before boarding. I cried when the sun started to rise over the clouds during the flight. And I cried when I read the sweetest letter sent with me by my sweet buddy. Love has already been stamped over this entire trip. I have been filled with it and I can't wait to pour it all out. I am so thankful. I'm sitting in the Washington D.C. airport and I've already been changed by the experience. I've already had to stop and catch my breath over the fact that I am actually getting to do this and I've already had to pause more than once to offer up praise and worship to the King of Kings because I have been overwhelmed by His presence. I am so expectant for the trip and so ready to be used in whatever capacity God asks me to be. Ask me, I am listening.

And that was just on the plane...I can't wait to share with you the days that I was actually in Rwanda and how my heart was spoken to while there. As I read back on this first day, one thing that sticks out to me is that I was so expectant and I had, whether I knew it at the time or not, preconceived expectations of how I thought the experience was going to be. While all my expectations were of a great trip, none of them were met. They were exceeded. Sometimes I forget that God's plans are higher than mine. This trip was a tangible example. I'll say it again....I am so thankful.

Rwanda: I wanna dance with my Father

This Friday, I leave for the most beautiful place I have ever been and when I actually grasp the reality of that I have to stop and catch my breath. I'm going back to Rwanda and it feels like a part of me is finally going home after being away for too long. I am going with an organization called All God's Children International and we will be working predominately with a few different orphanages.

I can't wait. I can't wait. I can't wait. I can't say it enough. My heart is so expectant and excited for what this trip is going to entail. I recently read a blog and it talked about how our society is so great at being "over" and "under" people, but so often we fail at just being alongside one another. On this trip, what I am looking forward to most, is being alongside the people at Rwanda. To love on them. To listen to them. To honor them. To learn from them. To just be with them.

When I had the opportunity to go in 2008, the moment I remember most is when we were teaching English in the high schools. Since the high schoolers were very into music, we decided to use worship songs to teach them English. We played the songs, passed out the lyrics, and went over the vocabulary. After all the questions were answered, we then played the songs again and sang them together. And I've yet to hear anything more beautiful. To hear these beautiful boys and girls singing with their broken English and Rwandan accents, adding drum beats and harmonies, and with all the emotion in the world about the God of every nation was breathtaking. Our differences didn't matter in that moment because the only thing that mattered was the fact that we had the same Father.

My sole hope for this trip is that my team and I can be vessels of the greatest Love there's ever been. That we can speak life into brokenness and be the instruments that Jesus uses to bring people into a deeper revelation of just how much He loves them. That He would be our guide and we would be unafraid following His lead...After all, He orchestrates the most beautiful dances.

I wanna dance with my Father. Bring on the ballroom.