Hope International

written by Doug McClay

My name is Doug McClay, and i am truly blessed to be part of the team. As a supporter of Hope International, Alan asked me to come to Rwanda to explore ways Hope can possibly introduce their successful savings models to the parishes Redeemer serves in Rwanda.

On Tuesday, May 20th, Libby Hase, Matt Moench, Nadia Moffett and I visited four savings and credit groups (SCA's) in Rwanda. The savings groups are made up of individuals, (most struggling their entire lives to pay for food and shelter), forming groups to pool their savings, so they will have the means for the first time to send their children to school and buy them needed medicine. Yes, it was exciting to see the group members helping one another, but the true beauty for us was seeing that they are growing in love with the Lord.

We asked group members if they would share with us how Hope's savings group has helped them. A memory I will forever cherish, is an older woman standing up, (more like bounced up), and with a smile that lit up the dark room, said she was a widow with ten children. Prior to joining the group three years ago she told us she was homeless, and without hope. Today she has a home, even has medical insurance, and can send her children to school. With a joy I will never forget, she told us that the savings group members are her husband!

Click here to learn more about Hope International and the work that they do. 

Good Family = Small Heaven (5/21)

written by Skylar Baker

Let me please start this post by saying, “God is sooooooo good!”

As I think about what I want this post to communicate to all of you family and friends, my mind is flooded with stories and memories from the trip thus far. The Lord is so good to us! From the very moment we met our Rwandan family here I have felt instant love, a pure love that will melt anyone and everyones heart. I will try to pick a few of my favorites from this trip, but again, this is hard to do considering that from the moment I stepped off of the plane I have fallen in love with this country. The way that God allows us to care for each other while being from completely different cultures never ceases to amaze me. Can you imagine falling in love with someone who cannot understand you and you cannot understand them, and yet there is an instant connection. That connection is Jesus Christ. The power of that connection brings people together, because of the Lord’s love for us and what He did for us. The tittle of this post is from our brother here in Rwanda whose name is Joseph, and I do not believe that I have ever witnessed someone worship God more than him. He is constantly singing joyfully with anyone that is near him, or when he is just sitting by himself. This man has been one of our translators for this trip, and I can’t imagine this trip without his smile. On the way to Karangazi the other day Joseph was talking about family, and said, “Good family is like small heaven." We all laughed, but that little saying has stayed with me every encounter of this trip. The overarching theme for me this trip has been plainly and simply FAMILY. Even though I look different than these people, talk different than these people, grew up much different from these people, and live in a completely opposite world than these people, I have felt like everyone I have met has been family. We are all brothers and sisters, and that is only through God, our father. Being with these people has reminded me of what the bible says about heaven, and that Joseph’s saying was absolutely true. This is what heaven is going to be like, people of all ethnicities will be one, and we will sing and dance with joy for the Lord. I don’t mean to put Joseph in the spotlight, but he also mentioned a verse that has described what I have seen on this trip, Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Christianity has reached almost all parts of the world, that the word is here in Rwanda with these wonderful people, and it is in the United States where we have come from.

Also you need to understand that I happen to absolutely LOVE kids, and these kids here have really been such a sweet part of the trip that I feel as though I could go on talking about this forever. Believe me when I say that there will be far too many pictures than you would probably like, to prove how much I have enjoyed the children, but I would love the chance to explain the house visits that we were gifted with. On Wednesday there was a number of us that got the chance to visit a village called Mbare, which is part of the parish in Karangazi. There is a lovely woman named Jennifer who has been the leader of this church in Mbare for quite some time. This woman lives in Karangazi and walks to Mbare at least four days a week (the distance to drive between the two villages is about 10 minutes). This means that Jennifer is beyond amazing and she is somewhere in her fifties. In Mbare Jennifer invited us into the church and we got to meet a bunch of the members - after this time we were split up into three groups. Each group left with an interpreter and a group of families from the church. As we split up and entered the homes of the members of the church in Mbare we were gifted with such hospitality. We were able to sit in the homes and learn about one another. It was such a beautiful picture, again I cannot think about this scene without reflecting on Joseph’s saying that as one good family we were sitting and witnessing a small piece of what heaven is going to be like. I am going to be selfish by describing my experience with group number three. We were able to walk to four different homes. The first house that we visited was the wonderful home of George and Phoebe who have 15 children! George is a farmer who was born into a non-Christian family. Once he and his wife got saved, they noticed a change in the way that they lived life. The advice that they gave us was that Jesus looks after their children as they grow up. Godfrey and Scovia’s house was the second home that we visited. They have 8 children together, and they farm as well. Godfrey was an impressive man, the same year (2000) he was saved, he helped establish the church in Mbare. His definition of a Christian was that it is not just word, but also action. The prayer request for this family was for their family to receive peace and grace from God, and to keep on growing in a spiritual way. The third property we visited was Christopher’s, who actually moved to Karangazi, but he still attends the church in Mbare. His wife Gertrude lives in Uganda with 8 of their children, while 7 of their children live in Karangazi with him. The reason I said property was because the house Christopher used to live in was locked up because he had moved to Karangazi, but still has land in Mbare. We were gifted with a mat to sit on and an avocado tree to sit underneath. He and his wife visit each other when they can, and his favorite time to visit is during Christmas. He helped Godfrey establish the church in Mbare, because he loves God so much—his words :). This family’s prayer request is to have a good family that loves God and keeps on loving God while growing spiritually. The final house we ventured to was the home Steven and Vanise, who have four children who are all older, and no longer live with them. The clouds were stirring as we walked to their home, and the moment we stepped into the house it started absolutely pouring. The rain hitting the tin roof made it really difficult to have a conversation with each other so we decided to sing hymns. We did manage to get their prayer requests which were to have peace in their family and all that they do. We not only got to know each other in homes, but also during the walks to the different homes. This was an extremely sweet day that the Lord blessed us with.

All in all God is so good. Thank you so much to all of those people who are praying for us, who supported us, and those of you that are interested with what we are doing here! You are all so incredible and I can only wish for you all to get a chance to visit this magical place.

P.S. This might be one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

P.P.S. Rwandan futbol is ten times more fun than American soccer!

PEACE and BLESSINGS

With lots of love,

Sky

Muraho! (5/20)

written by Molly Aldridge

Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight.

MURAHO! This Kinyarwandan greeting has become second nature to all of us over the past 6 days. One of my favorite things about Rwanda is the way that we are greeted by our brothers and sisters here. A normal greeting consists of a big smile, a handshake, a hug, and if you’re walking in the same direction…a sweet hand hold as you walk together. That being said, I can say that hands down my favorite part of this amazing country is being able to love on and be loved by the beautiful children here. I see God everyday here, but I see Him the most in the faces and hearts of His sweet little children. Upon arriving at church on Sunday, we were swarmed by children who wanted to hug us, tell us their names, and hold our hands. I have never felt such an immediate love before. After an amazing church service filled with lots of singing and dancing (which I was somehow able to join in on, although the children’s choir had dance moves that would show me up any day), we spent the rest of the day with our church family which included lots of singing, duck-duck-goose, dancing, ring-a-round-the-rosie, and any and all other simple activities that brought so much joy.

Tuesday was dedicated to spending time and organizing activities with the children at the Karangazi School. Being on the children’s team with Skylar and Emma, we were all really excited about this day and have been looking forward to it for months. We spent most of the morning with the Headmaster and other staff members discussing their vision for the school and their future plans. We were all inspired by the staff’s dedication to the school and the students. There is so much need at the school and I am thrilled for us to partner with them in brainstorming future plans, praying for the school, the children, and God’s guidance in it’s development. Not only are the students receiving an incredible education, but they are attending a school with Christ at it’s foundation and center…which far outweighs anything else they will learn. After the vision meeting, Kevin held 250 students’ attention as he brought an incredible message from Hebrews 12 explaining that we are all one through Christ and how we are able to call each other brothers and sisters…while having the best big brother in the world, Jesus Christ. And then it was pure chaos and joy as we began games of frisbee, soccer, coloring, bubbles, and more dancing and singing than I have ever done in my life. The highlight of this day may have been Ryan Kildoo jumping into the middle of the circle of 60 children and busting some suave dance moves out…and they LOVED it.

Today, the most amazing things happened. We were able to spend time with our sponsored Compassion children. Compassion International is an incredible program that provides sponsorships for children all over the world. Through the sponsorships provided from people all over the world, these children are able to have their basic needs of food, clothes, schooling, and various other needs met. Not only that, but the child sponsored and all of the children in their family are able to receive healthcare through this sponsorship. Shout out to Compassion, because it is an amazing program that I have fallen in love with. Between our group and Redeemer, 10 beautiful children arrived at Seeds of Peace (where we are staying) this morning. Many children, such as Dan and Ruth who are sponsored by Redeemer, have already met their sponsors and members of our group and this led to sweet reunions. There were also children, like Businge Hope who I have the privilege of sponsoring, who have never met their sponsors before today. I absolutely loved watching new friendships being formed, old friendships catching up, and having an entire morning dedicated to celebrating these wonderful children. The day started with Businge Hope running away from me to hide behind a Compassion employee’s legs and ended with her in my arms laughing and smiling…she absolutely captured my heart.

As these children steal my heart away every day, I am continuously reminded of Jesus’ love for children and their inspiring child-like faith. “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (Mark 10:14-16) I am inspired and awed by the pure, joyful, and humble faith of these children. Lastly, I am also reminded of Romans 8:16 (which is marked in my bible by a flower given to me by my new little friend Tiffany), which truthfully states, “The Spirit himself testifies with our sprint that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory”. This verse is a comforting and celebrated verse that reminds us that we are ALL God’s children and He calls us all to have this beautiful child-like faith that we are witnessing everyday. We have experienced such joy, happy tears, love, and laughs with God’s children here; our beautiful Rwandan brothers and sisters.

We are thrilled to be part of this wonderful family and part of what God is doing in this wonderful country!

We miss you all!! And we also miss ice cubes.

Love your Rwandan wanna-be,

Molly

But God Did (5/19)

written by Sarah Reid

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. - 2 Corinthians 12:9

You are Christ's letter... written... with the Spirit of the Living God. - 2 Corinthians 3:3

Today (Monday) was a day ordained by God, who is a faithful Father, generously giving His children more than they could ask for or imagine. It was a little less than a year ago that God began planting a seed of an idea in my heart to use the knowledge and skills that I have as a speech-language pathologist, specifically working with children with cleft palate, in this beautiful country of Rwanda.

Recently, Operation Smile, Smile Train, and the Rwandan Ministry of Health have formed a partnership to provide surgical intervention for all Rwandans with unrepaired cleft lip and cleft palate, a first-time initiative of its kind in a "third world" or two-thirds world country. As an SLP (speech-language pathologist) on a cleft palate team at Wake Forest Baptist Health in North Carolina, I am one of the few SLPs who have the opportunity to work on a daily basis with these special children and their families, and the combination of a unique skill set and a love for Rwanda was one I couldn't help but to pay attention to. After sharing the idea with one of my former professors, we have been dreaming the last few months of establishing a partnership between the University of North Carolina Greensboro and this organization to provide yearly, in-person speech camps and monthly follow-up communication with Rwandan teachers or nurses who are willing to commit to help children facing this challenge.

Across-the-globe communication can present some significant challenges, so this morning it was with a sense of gutsy hope that my friends Michelle, Nadia, and I, along with our translator and good friend Joseph hopped in a car to drive unannounced and without known connections to the Rwamagana hospital where some of these cleft palate surgeries are performed. We, by all launching-program standards, were a little less than set up for success.

But God,
after a sweet time of prayer on the hospital lawn, made a way for us to find ourselves sitting and speaking directly with the hospital director. He listened to the program proposal, conveyed his support, expressed his interest in prioritizing training of Rwandans as a priority (partnership was the first of four values upheld by the proposed program), and informed us that one of the cleft palate surgical teams was here at the hospital on one of their two annual surgical mission trips. He followed this, however, with the comment that they had likely finished for the day and we would unfortunately be unable to meet them.

But God,
in the same minute he spoke those words, ordained an opening of the hospital director's door, and two gentlemen entered the room.

The ones we would be "unable" to meet.

The ones who, after exchanging brief introductions, exclaimed, "Where have you been? You are what we need and what has been missing in this program!"

And for the last five years I have been wondering why, in the best moments of my graduate school classes, the question I would continually ask myself between the lecture lines was "how does this apply in two-thirds of the world?" while I am still living and working in a nice city in a country with abundant resources doing a job and living a life I truly enjoy.

But God,
today, brought tears to my eyes with His loving kindness. To give this daughter of His a glimpse of His faithfulness and the beauty in living a day and a life of days wanting to bring glory to Him, the One who knits together, the One who loves and saves, redeems and restores, sustains and provides, and invites us into Life with Him. A day ordained by a God who guides steps and works together His plan for the good of those who love Him. A day of meeting surgeons who are servants, meeting patients who are hopeful and thankful for the help given to them. It was a day that I, in my usual preparedness, could not plan or even conceive.

But God did.

And I am thankful to be His daughter, living as part of His family, because of the death and resurrection of His Son. I want to be part of this story that He is writing, of loving God and loving my neighbor, of making disciples and being continually transformed to be more like Christ, being willing to be a healing and compassionate touch to the hurting.

Father, we thank you for the gift of Your Son, for Jesus who is our brother and makes us family. Would You make our lives Christ's letter, written with the very Spirit of the Living God.

Greetings from Rwanda! (5/18)

written by Michelle Prillaman

Greetings from Rwanda!

For those of you who have not heard yet, we arrived in Kigali yesterday afternoon at about 3:30 PM Rwandan time, (we are six hours ahead of the states). Tired, and a little smelly, we immediately went to a local cafe to refuel, grab a bite to eat, and hit the market. We arrived in our final destination of “Seeds of Peace,” a center about an hour away from Kigali in the place of Gahini at 9:30 PM Saturday night. It was dark when we arrived, so our first look at the landscape of Rwanda had to be saved for this morning.

… and let me tell you, it was worth the wait! Rwanda might be the most beautiful place I have seen on earth. Green rolling hills, covered in trees and plants go as far as the eye can see. It almost reminds me of a fantastic view of the Blue Ridge Parkway, but larger. Our place of stay oversees a large lake, with hills behind it, over which we can watch the sunset. The days are warm, but the evenings are cool, and intermittent rain sprinkled throughout the day to cool us off. It was beyond anything I expected. I have had to be very careful to catch myself before I drink the local water or before I wander off to take a walk by myself to see the beautiful landscape. Rwanda feels comfortable and warm, and it is easy to forget that I am in a foreign place and culture.

Today we had the opportunity to go to Karangazi to experience worship with the sister church of the Church of the Redeemer. It was a sweet morning, full of singing and dancing, prayer and scripture, and a wonderful sermon on Philippians 1:3-11 by our very own Kildoo! Thankfully, the man next to me was bilingual, and was helpful in pointing out to me what was going on so that I could keep up. I was moved by the spirit of the people here in Rwanda. They clearly love the Lord. Their worship was so moving and enthusiastic- it was so cool to see their culture woven into the way that they worship. I heard familiar hymns set to African drums, and colorful dances that went along with it. The church resides next to a school run by Compassion International. Kids ran around everywhere, and their warmth and excitement to make friends was sweet to me. These kids boldly look past boundaries and just look for ways to openly connect with you. Seeing the Compassion school affirmed my affinity for their ministry- they are doing amazing work in the lives of these kids. I believe we might have met a couple kids who are sponsored by families that we know in Greensboro, which was also wonderful. We live in such a small world!

Moving further into the trip, I am excited to learn and see more of the people and the culture. I am so excited to know more about this beautiful place- all I had ever known about Rwanda was purely about the genocide. Today, we heard only a few small words spoken about the genocide. We want to be culturally sensitive to such a tragic event, so we are committed as a group to not bring up the conversation unless we are invited into it. Today, for a brief moment, during a presentation by Hope International, and already it made my heart sad. It is one thing to hear about a genocide in school; it is another thing completely to encounter survivors, for whom the past twenty years have not erased the pain of loss of family and friends. I am grateful to have been invited briefly into that conversation. The Lord has done amazing things in this place, especially in bringing forgiveness and reconciliation, and it is a truly powerful thing to see it in person. I really believe we have so much to learn from these people, and I am grateful to be here.

We will hopefully be posting once a day, so keep on checking the blog. Know that you all are in our prayers, and we appreciate the prayers that we know are going up for us from you :)

Cheers!

And We're Off!

We have now officially begun our journey! We should arrive in Rwanda tomorrow!

The Crew 2014

We are so excited to be heading out to Rwanda on Friday! Please be in prayer for us as we finish getting everything packed and make final arrangements. Here are all of the people that will be going on this year's trip:

Tripp Graziano

Ryan Kildoo

Nadia Moffett

Andrew Edscorn

Emily Dao

Emma Ball

Kevin Palcsak

Libby Hase

Matt Moench

Michelle Prillaman

Molly Aldridge

Skylar Baker

Alan Hawkins

Doug McClay

Jeff Whitworth

Sarah Reid

Not Pictured: Steve Randall, Meade Rudasill