A Monday

Second Monday of Spring semester. It’s snowing, and for some reason I think that’s significant. Mondays are going to be pretty easy for me this semester (sorry to those of you who actually have normal schedules), but this morning was rather…stressful. For my Ethics of Development class today, we read an article on US aid (from USAID, of course)to Nepal for health/medical care in 2002 or so that focused on abortion—do the Nepalese agree to the terms nixing abortion (legally) to get the full $400k+ or disagree and take the $200k+ cut? While the answer was pretty straight forward to me in theory (i.e. on the Moodle discussion forum), in practice (class) I was shakin’ in my boots to say a word to an audience of nonbelievers, albeit “good” and intelligent people. But I did. Mostly because my professor asked me point blank to voice the opinions I had stated on the forum (which my classmates failed to read because of some sort of as-of-yet-unidentified computer/internet error), but still I spoke, and even though no one chastised me for my opinions, it was probably the single most terrifying thing I’ve done in a long time. That might surprise you, but I think it’s true.

So how does this relate? Well, as you might imagine, I felt extremely convicted. Why was it so hard to share in an environment that was genuinely not hostile? I had made most of it up in my head. I mean, the silence as I spoke was deafening (and awkward, for me at least), but it was civil. That’s when I realized that I can do this. That all the things I want and need to say will get said, but only if I take the initiative. In Rwanda, I think I learned this when I spoke in tongues for the first time (and may or may not have said “I want to speak” in two different languages that did not immediately register in my brain). I want to speak, I can speak, I should speak, I will speak. Rwanda changed me, and I know that greater things are yet to come, greater things are still to be done—on this campus, in this country, on this Earth.

As for me, I will serve the Lord.

God bless.

Home Again, Home Again

By Emily Ford

6 February 2012

So we are all back home, and most of us are getting back into the college life of classes and such. Getting off the last flight felt great especially after 24 hours of basically straight flight. So did seeing my family! It was fantastic to see my mom and my sister at the bag carousel (of course my sister had a hot cocoa waiting for me as well). Tears of joy were shed and home we went! After washing many now red colored socks and trying to stay awake, I surrendered to sleep and dreamed for many hours. The rest is history and now I am back at good ol’ Gustavus Adolphus College.

Jetlag has hopefully worn off for everyone and we’re now hopefully returning to a normal life. Wait, normal? Normal… nope, no such thing anymore, the new normal is abnormal. I must admit, it’s good to be back for me but I know that many things are different. I’m not sure if I can quite express in words the way that things have changed for me but I guess I’ll do my best since one of the most frequently asked question is, “So, how has this trip to Rwanda changed your life?” Well, hmmm I guess the easiest way to say it is that I just can’t look at people the same way anymore. I have spent an entire 22 days loving people in crazy ways, people that I know well and others that I never knew and may never see again. Now that I am back here I can’t just see a person and think nothing – now all I can think is how can I love them? How does God love them? How do/can I show this? It is hard, I must say, because with little kids I can pick them up and flip them over my shoulder and kiss them. Now, if I did that to some random person at school or on the street I think I might be arrested. So God is showing me different ways (thank goodness) to love. I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for us while we all begin a new journey in the states. The Lord is good and abundant in so many ways that I cannot even begin to imagine!

Thank you to everyone that has been following us through our blog and for praying for us you have truly blessed us all!

Your Will be Done

By Kelly

26 January 2012 

God always continues to exceed all of my expectations and my own plans. He forever keeps me on my toes and relying on Him for guidance and support. Monday, the whole team went to Pefa to do a deep cleaning. I thought I would spend my day washing clothes or possibly breaking out windows. However, God had other plans.

From the start God had his way. I was left to take the second vehicle to Pefa which gave our group time to pray about the day. We prayed that God’s will be done in every way. When we arrived at Pefa I began by teaching a few members of the City Hill Team how to wash clothes by hand. Then I was called away to go buy towels. This was an unexpected experience.

Immanuel (one of the guys that works in the garden) led Jackie (our translator) and I down the dirt road to a place where we could bargain for towels. We walked past the tin manufacturer and the house selling flip-flops. Many people would shout out, “Muzungu!” (White person!) Jackie and Immanuel would just laugh and mimic their actions. I was beginning to wish that I could speak the language even more, so that I could communicate with them. Once again, the Lord answered my silent prayers.

We saw Louise and Kitan (one of the Mamas and little girls) coming from the clinic. When they stopped to talk an old man came up to me. He wore olive green corduroy button-up shirt, tan pants, with worn black shoes like my Grandpa Okerman wears. (I think they were pretty much identical to his favorite pair.) Atop his head rested a floppy, dirt coated gray hat. His face is deeply ingrained in my mind. His skin was rough and wrinkled from many years of hard labor. He had curly black scruff on his face and hazel eyes that sparkled. He took my hand in a firm grip and said, “Mwaramutse” (Good morning). When I replied back, “Mwaramutse, amakuru?” (Good morning, how are you?), his face lit up. He clearly had not expected that I would understand him. He smiled, showing his slightly crooked yellowing teeth. He replied, “Ne meza inshuti! Ah murakoze cyane, murakoze cyane. Mwaramutse inshuti. Imana aguhe umugisha.” (Good my friend! Thank you very much, thank you very much! Good morning friend. God bless you.) Who knew two simple words could bring someone so much joy?!

A ways past the shoe store we turned onto a dirt path, just wide enough to walk in a single file line. The path tilted up steeply, and now I was not the only one being called to. Jackie stood out in her “city attire”. We walked through a school yard and onto a dirt road. Many of the people stared at me, apparently not too many muzungus travel in this part of town. We reached an open air market similar to ones that I have been to in Juarez, Mexico. If we had been looking for a chandelier, we would have found one. No luck with towels though. We continued walking. Suddenly the dirt turned into rock shear. Before me was a beautiful market unlike any that I have seen. The little shops and booths were set into the rock face. The smell of iron, veggies, and many people hung in the air. The path was slick with water and barely wide enough to squeeze by. There was a man without legs begging at the front. Still no luck with towels.

We moved on. After some time we came upon a paved road and there lay our golden ticket. We walked into a tiny warehouse supply store no bigger than 5 feet by 5 feet. Inside I bargained for towels, 1,000 francs each (about $2). On the way home we took the back way to avoid the main roads. Jackie asked me all about my home and thought it was crazy that I would go hiking for fun! She just kept saying, “I don’t understand you girl.” This gave me a good laugh, I like talking about my home. We went through alleyways behind homes, again very narrow and steep. The alleys were devoted with streams of drainage as this was their main gutter system. We did our best to bypass the slippery goop. I saw people playing checkers with Fanta caps, and children wrestling in the dirt. Behind each gated home you could hear the sounds of work and play. I distinctly remember behind a corrugated metal sheet fence the sound of singing. The smell was a mixture of sewage, wet dirt, metal, and wild tree flowers. In a way almost sweet.

When we arrived back at Pefa, the Lord surprised me still. Instead of washing clothes as I had expected, I worked on cleaning out the bug infested rooms. On my hands and knees I scrubbed floors, moved beds and mattresses. All the while I thought how great it will be to have the rooms clean for the kids. I am thankful that God was able to use me in this way. At the end of the day when the children were napping I was going to help teach the Mamas English. This is always a fun time to spend with them. However, Florence came and sat next to me and I taught her how to play matching. She caught on quickly and diligently practiced the English words for each animal while I tried out my Kinyrwandan. She giggled as I stumbled over the syllables of inyamaswa (animals). She would beam and give me a thumbs up when I actually got something right.

I am so thankful that God has the reins and things don’t go just as I have planed. Today, and every day is better in His hands. His will be done.

An Added Note for the Weary Soul

By Emily
24 January 2012

These days….
My clothes are running out
My energy is on low
My emotions are running wild
Cockroaches have found favour in our room
I am peed on daily
I don’t understand a word anyone says
But they still talk to me because they think that I am Rwandan
I sweat through 2 shirts in 1 church service
My shoes barely have any sole left
The lady keeps bringing me more food even though I am not hungry
Orphans beg me for money
Our electricity is scarce
And so is our hot water
And so is our water in general
When I go to bed at night, my body goes numb from the abuse it gets all day

All of these things may sound terrible to you, but for me personally I would never want to change any moment of it because…

Everyone here smells the same as I
God somehow gives me the strength to move on with my day
Eh, a few tears shed never killed someone
Cockroaches… well , a flip-flop and a bit of force works every time
I would get peed on all day if that meant that I could make a child happy and show them love
Actions speak louder than words
I like fitting in here
Church was rockin’, and as an entire church, I’m sure that we could have made Rwanda’s first great lake
Shoes come and go
Eh, even though my fruit stomach is full, I guess that my omelet one is not
Love is better than money
Candle lit dinners with the family is better than any 5 star restaurant
Cold showers are great for morning wake-ups
The Lord provides
My body may be tired but the Spirit within me is renewed every day.

We get to see miracles every day that we are here. This makes me wonder, “Do they happen this often when I am in the States?” Yes. You may not spend days with the orphaned or homeless or are building a house brick by brick, but God is so much bigger and more creative. Keep your eyes open and He will be more than happy to reveal His greatness to you.

While on your journey, check out Psalm 91 for extra encouragement.

Be blessed.

PEFA Unite!

By Emily
24 January 2012

On Monday, our entire team (both Gustavus and City Hill) spent the entire day at the PEFA orphanage. Basically, it was awesome! We cleaned and cleaned and cleaned until every corner was spotless… well maybe not spotless, but as close as you can get in Rwanda. When we got there some of us washed children and clothes while others played with the children. It was so great to see the kids being entertained at every moment! I smiled so big every time I heard giggles or saw the huge white smiles of the orphans. Even though none of the kids know enough English to tell you how much they appreciate you, their joyful response was more than enough to know. For the rest of the day we blasted though every room in the orphanage. Our team got through red dust, dirt and grime, along with about 100 bed bugs and 2 dead mice. As for me, I took out broken glass from many windows. That was quite an adventure, especially since my tools were one pocket knife, a pliers and some duct tape (but I must admit that any problem can be solved with the use of a little, or a lot, of duct tape). I’m not even sure that I can describe how the Lord has moved through this place! No, it is not spotless and yes there are still many bugs of sorts and broken glass, but the women who work there are learning how to keep things hygienic and the children are being taken care of in a healthier manner than we can ever remember. The buildings are becoming safer every time that we are there and that is a truth that cannot be hidden. Our mission when we first entered PEFA was to serve, and yesterday was a fantastic example. Also as an extra event added onto our day, Karen and Cindi took one of the mama’s to the bank in order to get health insurance. Their insurance here costs about 3000 RWF (which is less than 5 US dollars). However, none of the Mama’s could afford the small fee because 3000 RWF is a lot for them. Now that they have insurance, they can finally go into the doctor for an ordinary check up or for more serious ailments. Which also means that they will be able to take better care of the orphans because they will be able to be around more often and sick less often. That entire day was an account of many miracles in a very short amount of time. God is so big and has found favour on PEFA.

Blessings to all in the States!

I worked with bed bugs today.

By Anna
23 January 2012

The title might freak some of you out, considering I already had an experience with bed bugs a few months ago. But before you get too distracted, take a deep breath and read on.

Our whole team (all the City Hill women and all the Gustavus women) was at Pefa today to play with and love the children and do a deep clean of the buildings. My day was focused more on the latter.

At Pefa, one of the older girls “Sarah” has a billion bugs (that’s a rough estimate) living with her in her room. So today, Amanda and I carried Sarah’s bed-bug-and-ant-infested mattress and sheets to the garbage heap down the hill. We bagged the sheets and the men that work at the orphanage said they would burn them. I swept most of the rooms, including Sarah’s room. I could see at least a dozen bed bugs, some alive, some dead, in the pile of dirt. I picked them up with duct tape and sealed the dirt and bugs in a Ziploc bag that also went in the garbage heap. I scrubbed my arms and legs with Clorox wipes and joined the team for lunch, being sure to stand a few feet away so as to not touch anyone.

After our lunch break, I went back to Sarah’s room with a rag and bleach solution. I picked up at least another dozen bed bugs on the rag from a quick wipe down of the floor. I proceeded to remove the bugs from the rag with, you guessed it, duct tape. Overall today I have seen far too many bed bugs for my comfort level. But it’s ok because God’s strength comes in my weakness.

I would not have chosen this job today but I can see God’s hand in it. Before, whenever I was at Pefa, I would avoid Sarah’s room and hardly step foot in it. Today, I spent more time in her room than in any other room at Pefa. I am thankful that God gave me the opportunity to serve him by serving his daughter, and again I am reminded that God is so worthy of adoration in every moment: “Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.” Psalm 47:6.

P.S. I have taken all sorts of precautions so as not to infect anyone else with any contact I may have had with bed bugs today. Mom and Dad, this is my formal request for use of the dryer when I get home. Love you!

Lasting Change

By Alexa

22 January 2012 

I bathe two year old Rumgero. He takes it upon himself to scoop water on his head and scrub with a bar of soap. I hold him as he air dries and proceed to cover him in Vaseline. I dress him. He clings to me, one hand in his mouth, the other twisted in my hair. Cecile takes him from me, and I follow her. As we go about our tasks, she sounds out word after word in Kinyarwanda. I share the English equivalent. I remember very few words, but it doesn’t seem to matter. It’s the exchange, the effort, the care, that brings the smile I see on her face so often. As I sweep, bent down, like they do, Cecile gives me two thumbs up, saying, “murakoze, murakoze” (thank you, thank you). I don’t know that I’ve seen someone happier. Lunch comes. The children sit on a mat, offering to share their food. We teach them colors. The mothers sit attentively, eager to learn with the children. They love to crowd around as we read Franklin. Excitedly, they shout out “Futbol,” a recognizable word. My legs go numb. Seven year old Boyi sits in my lap. I’m convinced he’s thinking he’s still a little boy. The mothers sit, while the children nap, soaking in all the English phrases we introduce them to. Mostly, they enjoy browsing the Kinyarawanda/ English lists we gave them, occasionally asking for pronunciations. This is a typical day at PEFA.

We came to PEFA not only to play and clean, but to provide service that lasts long after we leave. The reality is, these children live in dirty, unhealthy conditions. There are many changes we see necessary to ensure the well being of the children. Frustration comes when we cannot meet all the needs. Today was a huge encouragement to our team. We have been preparing to provide training for the three mothers. Today was the day. We know they love the kids and have their best interest in mind. Sadly, they do not have the proper education to take necessary measures to ensure the well being of the children. We were able to help them in this area. We educated them on the existence of germs and how they can harm the body. As we demonstrated the hand washing process, I could sense the mothers were receiving the information well. That was confirmed when Annonciata recited everything we told her, almost word for word. Everything inside me was bursting with excitement. I could not believe it; every little detail was remembered. They listened. They soaked it in. They cared. As I looked around, my teammates were smiling, as well. That moment, I will not forget. This will have a lasting impact. In that, I have confidence. We can’t give everything we want to. We can’t fix everything we want to. But we can do some. We can do our part, and rest in the assurance that God has control.

Architecture 101 - Back to School?

Monday, some pretty cool things happened. Wasn't mentally/spiritually prepared to run in the morning (yes there are spiritual preparations for running for me, ask me about it when I get home if you want to know more), but I was ready to move. Unfortunately, I spent most of the day with my butt in a chair, either at the guest house or the FVA office, but after a full 9-hour work day (with an hour for lunch, of course--let's be real), Kelly and I had successfully designed and photocopied the plans for three schools (both primary and secondary) and an administrative/extracurricular building within a single plot of land for the Gisimba Memorial orphanage and Nyamirambo neighborhood, and laid out a solid written project proposal. Sure, probably more than half of the drawings are not completely to scale, and neither of us have any real architectural experience, but 24 hours later we'd had a meeting with our Gisimba correspondent, obtained the OK to hand the plans off to our friend Sandrali (the real architect) and received a promise of information-gathering from the Gisimba people to finish the written proposal, which we are hoping to have finished by this coming Monday. So--to my sister Erin, the architect...I'm doing what you could be doing, halfway around the world. How cool is that?
And now I'll let that work speak for itself :)

But that's hardly the end of the excitement! As some of you may know, my (possibly our?) good Alaskan friend Natalie has been working at the Kigali International Community School (KICS) as a fifth grade teacher for about six months now, and I hadn't seen her in probably over a year when she came to meet me at the airport when we first arrived in Kigali. That was a happy time in itself, but today was the best. I'd given her our team cell phone number on day three or something, but we hadn't really connected other than a few emails. Still, she gave me the name of the headmaster at KICS eventually, and this morning we (Kelly, Anna and I) were able to arrange a day "shadowing" Natalie. Kelly is the only one seriously planning on becoming a teacher, but we all had a reason to go.

Since we had to share a vehicle with the team going to PEFA, we ended up at KICS an hour early, but as it turned out, God had some additional plans for us--pray for the school. The headmaster informed us that they are currently going through an accreditation process with whoever it is in the U.S. that organizes that, as well as constructing a new science building/library which was supposed to be finished this past summer I think. The receptionist (or whatever you want to call her) also just found out that her adult son in the States is still sick with some unknown ailment, and worse. So we prayed. We walked and toured and prayed and it was so good. Then, just before we went in to see Natalie, a guy (parent, maybe?) who had come to talk to the headmaster informed us that he had heard of Gustavus, was from Minnesota and knew a second grade teacher at KICS from Anna's hometown.

Small world much?

So yeah. Talked to her, went to Natalie's class, had a blast singing what we call "campy-camp" Christian songs, listening to a Bible lesson, helping kids spell, eating lunch with the kids (which included a detailed description of a LOTR-style book allegedly being written by an art-obsessed ten-year-old named Trevor), reading Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and going to a chapel service run by kindergarteners.

Phew. Sorry, that was a long sentence. G'ahead and catch your breath. Okay, go.

Also, it was just fun to hang out with Natalie, and arrange a cribbage date for Sunday. Hoo-rah. Oh and we sat in on the second grade class too, where they had just been talking about MLKJ day, and a little girl named Abby explained to me how the American civil rights activist made a law that allowed her "brown" friend Georgia to play with her white friend Grace. Talk about awesome.

And then, y'know, we basically got hit on by a motorcycle taxi dude who really didn't speak any English but was able to teach us words for pretty much all of the body parts in Kinyarwanda as we waited an extra hour and fifteen minutes for our real ride. Nbd.

Also, City Hill team got here yesterday, so the guest house is now twice as full, but it's all good. I'm excited for what's in store for the rest of this trip :)

Mwaramutse inshuti!

By Anna
Gustavus Trip Participant

Mwaramutse inshuti! Bonjour mes amis! Hello friends!

I am currently writing from the Faith Victory Association office a few minutes from our home here in Rwanda.  My project here has been to develop a structure and protocol for FVA’s developing child sponsorship program. I spent a semester last year researching child sponsorship in conjunction with New Mercies Ministries, so it has been a blast for me to be able to put more of that knowledge to use. Thus far Karen and I have focused on creating guidelines for communication between FVA, sponsors, and sponsor children. We have yet to present our documents to the FVA staff (we have a meeting set for Wednesday), but it’s fun for me to think that our suggestions will be implemented to facilitate the improvement of their child sponsorship program.

Another element of this trip I have appreciated was church on Sunday. Yesterday I went to the French service with Kelly and loved every minute of it. I have been learning French for quite a while but have rarely gotten the chance to worship or hear the Word in French. I was able to learn some French worship songs and translate a little of the message for Kelly.

The most exciting part for me is to step out of the usual English, American Christianity. Hearing, understanding, and worshiping in another language reminds me of the greatness of God—that he isn’t limited by language or the inabilities of humans. I can so easily forget how big God is and this trip continues to remind me of God’s faithfulness and how his plans far exceed any of my expectations.

Murambi and Nyungwe

By Emily Ford
Gustavus Trip Participant

AKA the longest blog ever

The past few days have been busy as usual; we have been going about our business at the different areas that we have been placed and attempting to live the life of the Rwandans. We can see the Lord working in so many ways. Most of our daily American distractions have been taken away from us, so Jesus looks bigger and better every day, simply because our day is focused in Him.

All of our days here are begging to become comfortable in a reasonable sense. We all have our specific places where we volunteer and time flies by without our notice. For me, I work at PEFA everyday with Alexa and Amanda. I spend my mornings in the field with Innocence and Emmanuel. Even though neither of them speaks an ounce of English, the hard labour is always efficiently finished by 11 AM through me following them around and pointing to mounds of dirt to water, weed or hoe. After working in the African heat I am able to go inside the orphanage to help the others with the children. But before I can even get past the second door, one of the Mamas always finds me and giggles because my hands and shoes are always covered in red, muddy clay. They grab my arm and bring me to the spigot to give me a good washing. They motion me to wash off my arms in a bucket of water with the infamous bar of blue soap, and just when I think I am clean enough, a new bucket of water appears and they motion me to take off my shoes so that they can wash my feet and shoes. I can barely handle this happening every day because I feel like I should be serving them instead of the opposite. Then the Lord reminds me that this is their culture, this is how things are. But no matter how many times I am reminded this, I still wish that one day I could wash their feet and show them how much I appreciate them. I spend the rest of the time with the Mamas of PEFA and taking care of the little children with Alexa and Amanda. I love the way that their eyes light up when the three of us walk towards the gate and greet them. I am reminded everyday what it looks like to love like a child with and open heart and no judgment.

Yesterday (Saturday) we had a full day of adventure. The adventure began promptly at 5:30 AM… of course we all woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed and excited to ride for a total of about 9 hours. Our beginning 4 hour trip we were able to see amazing views of Rwanda’s hills and farmlands, along with an abandoned detached semi truck petrol tank on the side of the road… oops.

We started out at another memorial site called the Murambi Memorial. We viewed more pictures and read more stories of the history that cannot fully be understood. As I read more stories of horrific events, my brain begged me not to read any further and to just move on. However, I stayed and read and read and read. I want to know, I want to understand, I want to feel the fullness of the Rwandan Genocide. A lot more of this memorial became more real to me due to the fact I am now friends with people that survived and lost family in the mass slaughter. I am able to visit memorials every time I meet up with many people. I am able to hear the real stories and see the real scars. And yet, I will never be able to understand. As we moved on through the memorial, we were brought out to the old classrooms where many bodies were left after the genocide in 1994. Out there the rooms were presented with mummified bodies that were either left in the rooms or buried in the mass graves (yes, real bodies). As I went through, I saw, men, women, children and babies corpses that had been left after the war. There were about 12 rooms full of bodies. There was one room that I felt very sad in, also strangely connected to the bodies that were placed in the room and I knew that I did not want to leave. I examined over the bodies and our tour guide said “this room is very special, this room is women and children only.” After that I knew that many of these women were mothers and my heart shattered into many pieces. We moved on past the body filled rooms and continued the land to see where mass graves were and they kept an empty mass grave open that was about 36000 cubic feet.

The stories of these people will never be fully exhausted, but the past memorials that we have been to express a great deal of what happened; from horror stories to victory stories of survival. I encourage you to go to this website in order to learn more information about the most recent memorial that we visited. http://www.museum.gov.rw/2_museums/murambi/genocide_memorial/pages_html/page_intro.htm

On a lighter note:
We also visited the Nyungwe National Forest on Saturday. The weather was perfect and our view of the many mountains of Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo were even better. Our guide took us through the peaceful rain forest as he told us about different species of plants and birds. We were all amazed at how much he knew about everything! Many plants that are very well known in domestic gardens in the states (that one can buy from a greenhouse) grow prosperously and generously in the wet warm soil, such as the impatient plant and the orchid. We were able to see many species of trees, birds and the white and black monkey. Some of the slopes that we traveled on were quite slippery, but thankfully we made it through quite safely. We were all astounded by the Lords mighty creation! Who knew that there were so many shades of green and different types of everything?! The Lord is truly a great artist. Our day began to wind down as we made our way to a tea factory nearby to taste fresh tea leaf and ended with our 4 hour drive home and a 10:00 PM dinner.

Everyone is well as of this time. We love to hang out with each other as much as possible and chat, play card games or play music. We know that our time here is short, but God is moving in every direction possible. Our week ahead looks busy as usual, but that allows for even more fellowship and opening of our eyes to see the Lord do what He does best.

Be blessed.

Follow the Leader (Mama)



Alexa and Amanda with two "Mamas" from an orphanage we serve. Together, they perform a variety of daily tasks to care for around 20 children. The Mama at right lost her husband and eight of her nine children in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Later, her house fell down. She now works to earn money to rebuild.


By Amanda

When the sun has set, dinner has been served, and team conversations have diminished, next comes my bedtime routine. Bed net tucked under the mattress while leaving a small opening to jump into my bed. Check. Bottled water in hand to brush teeth while making sure not to use the faucet water. Check. Wet wipes to wash feet, legs, arms, and face. Check. Jump in bed and seal up the rest of the bug net. Check. Ear plugs in ears to cover the noise of Karen next door smashing cockroaches. Check. Now it’s time for some rest.

The morning comes quickly and before I know it I’m at Pefa (the rural orphanage) and bathing small Rwandan children with a bar of soap and a bucket. I watch 57 year old Mama Announciata, as she teaches me how to complete the daily orphanage tasks. There is little to no verbal communication between us because of the language barrier. I, however, enjoy the adventure of acting everything out for Mama to interpret. She laughs and smiles in return, so I conclude that she enjoys it too.

After washing two children from head to toe, I follow the leader, Mama, to a room and she sits me down on the bed. By this time I have an overflowing amount of joy. I get to love and serve these precious little African girls and work alongside these beautiful African mamas. After sitting down, Mama shows me how to dress the children (the Rwandan style). We take our time.

Mama then motions her hands for me to come with her. We find ourselves in the “kitchen,” which is a room with a bunch of colorful dishes on a large table and porridge smeared across the ground. Mama fills up a bucket of water (without soap) and hands it to me with a rag. Hoping we can use some soap to wash the floor, I point to the bar of soap sitting on the table next to the dishes. She shakes her head and points to the dishes, indicating to me that soap is only for the dishes and not the floor. Then she fills up another bucket and we begin to “wash” the floor.
Next Mama leads me past the water spigot where we bathed the children to a huge bucket that has a terrible stench. It reeks worse than a dead animal on the side of the road. Or okay maybe it has about the same stink intensity. There is leftover food, liquids, and garbage from potentially the past several days in this bucket. I watch as Mama continues to stick her hands in the bucket and pulls out large amounts of this mixture and puts it into another smaller bucket for me to carry. She proceeds to fill her bucket and walk towards the garden where we throw it down the hill. The smell makes me feel like I am going to lose my breakfast but I know it is my job to assist Mama. We continue to do this two or three more times and I notice my bucket was not as full as hers. She gives herself more because she is carrying her bucket on her head and I carry mine in my arms.

Thank the Lord that the next task is to help Mama wash the children’s clothes, which we begin to do after we scrub our hands really well with soap. Today (Wednesday) is day two of washing clothes so I am beginning to get the hang of it. Key word= beginning. From time to time, Mama takes my soap bar and the clothing that I am washing to demonstrate the “correct” way to properly clean the item. We wash a few loads of laundry by hand and Alexa and another mama rinse out the clothes. All four of us then hang the clothes up on the lines and barbed wire fence. Our morning tasks are now finished so the mamas lead us to a bench to sit down in the eating/activity room area. Alexa and I share with each other our love for the mamas. Although we don’t understand much of what they are saying we know their thankfulness and compassion for us is great. It is also very easy to observe their love for the Lord. In the middle of the conversation Mama Announciata comes out of her room with a book of songs and hymns in Kinyarwanda and she and the other mamas begin to sing loudly to us. I deeply treasure the mamas as they sing song after song to us and I record a few of the songs on my camera.  The day continues with lunch on the large floor mat, getting peed on twice, waiting an extra hour and forty-five minutes for our ride home and the day at Pefa is finished and I’m ready to begin my bedtime routine.

Simple Joys

By Kelly

The past two days our team has been working in several Kigali orphanages. Pefa is a small orphanage in the country and Gisimba is a larger orphanage towards the center of the city. During my time there I had mashed beans spread on my pants, snot wiped on my shirt, and sticky, sucked on fingers wound through my hair. Yet each of these moments is special. I feel so blessed to share joy with these children. Their laughter and giggles over the simplest things brings me great joy. Through this trip I am again reminded of the intricacies that God has created in the world, and I praise Him for this. I see joy in faces when I stumble over my Kinyrwandan words, yet the people are happy that I simple try. One of the Mamas I helped at Pefa looked so much more rested when I took over scrubbing the bathrooms. Safari, a manager at the guest house beamed when we ate all the food they had prepared for us. I thank God for giving me the opportunity to serve here, I am very blessed. I challenge each of you reading to notice the details of this life and to take joy! In the morning I sit and take in the sounds of the birds, the traffic, and the beat-up radio playing opera.

Are you a basket or a tree?

Today's sermon and worship service at the Evangelical Restoration Church in the Remera area of Kigali brought a few things to my mind in connection with our visit to the Kigali Memorial Centre on Friday. Although we spent probably two hours reading and watching videos about the genocide and observing mass graves on the grounds of the memorial, it was hard for me to glean much from the experience as far as new knowledge goes--I've watched two documentaries and the Hollywood Hotel Rwanda, read several books and publications,and discussed the genocide with my teammates in the months preceding this trip. Apart from the slight twinges of remorse or regret or sympathy I felt at seeing flowers placed on the actual graves or the bones and skulls in the glass cases (okay, I'd say I felt a bit more than a twinge at that one), and reading the blunt causes of death of children under 12, I found myself upsettingly unmoved by most of the memorial.

I expressed my frustration at this to the group (sufficiently, I hope) that night, and I wondered how, then, was I going to connect with the people here? I'm not so arrogant as to think that I know everything there is to know about the Rwandan genocide, or anything Rwandan for that matter--I don't. But I couldn't see how to gain that deeper understanding in such a way that I would be able to properly express the importance of that historic event to other people--friends and family especially--when I return home.

That's where the church service comes in. During worship, I found that where the spirit of God is, there also is the potential to transcend language and cultural barriers and truly become a universal body of Christ. Most of the time, I had no idea what was being sung, and everything was so loud that I didn't catch a lot from my translator either, but I didn't need to. Often we "feel" something before we understand it, I think, and today the same was true, but I felt so connected because I could just tell that we were all worshiping the same God and that is so good. But to see it from people who live in a country with such a dark past is so much more powerful.

And it gets better. One thing I did catch during the sermon (besides what passages we were referencing, Luke 2 and Luke 5:1-11)was a metaphor for "evangelizing": are you a basket, or a tree? Do you hold fruit, hiding it from everyone else, or do you bear it, share it? That idea that I might be keeping too much to myself--that I might too much resemble a basket--really convicted me, especially since these people are trying so hard to share, and they're not being heard. Most of the people I saw in the memorial were not tourists, were not white, and now I find that sad. It is my hope that whatever happens here, we will bring news of it back to the States, along with testimonies which will hopefully give our loved ones convictions of their own, so that we all may realize our role in reaching out, in coming when we are called, and in loving on one another.

Ni meza Yesu.
(Jesus is good.)

God bless.

We're Here!!!!!

By Alexa
Gustavus Trip Participant

It’s real. We’re here. In Rwanda. After months of preparing, we have finally arrived in Kigali, Rwanda! We are all so thrilled to be here. It wasn’t too long ago when I was sitting in frigid weather (not my weather of choice). Currently, I am sitting at a little table in the middle of the guest house we are staying at. There is no roof over head and the temperature is perfect! I expect it’s around 70 degrees.

Our flights went really well for the most part. We traveled from Minneapolis to Chicago to Brussels and then finally into Kigali, without any long layovers. It was wonderful. We were fed so much. It seemed as though every time I was about to fall asleep, some ice cream, pretzels, or some cheese would come, and of course I couldn’t pass up food, especially the cheese! The majority of us experienced a bit of motion sickness when we encountered extreme turbulence flying into Brussels. Meanwhile, Emily sat next to me staring out the window wide-eyed with the biggest grin across her face. Oh how I wish I could have enjoyed the landing as much as she did! On the flight from Brussels to Kigali, I had the pleasure of meeting a woman from Tanzania. I enjoyed teaching her how to make friendship bracelets for the orphans.

As if we didn’t get enough food on the plane, we were greeted with a huge meal at nine o clock last night. The food was delicious! Everyone here was so welcoming and helpful. I look forward to getting to know them all. As for now, I’m still trying to get names down. I think we were all pretty surprised with how nice of a house we are staying at. We’re eating well, sleeping well, and all around living well. We have bathrooms, including showers, in every room! Kelly and I were pretty excited to crawl into our bed, complete with canopy, or rather, mosquito netting.

We had our first adventure last night…a walk to get bottles of water! We are all eager to get out and explore more of Rwanda. I am so excited to see the Lord move in our hearts as well as the hearts of the Rwandans we encounter. I am learning to surrender the right to a plan and knowledge of what is going on at all times. I realize I will not always know what is to come, but I look forward to embracing every opportunity and living out God’s plan in the coming days.