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
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