Our time in Rwanda has been wonderful. Today Bill Lemke and myself
finished the whiteboards that we started yesterday. We went to town on Tuesday to
buy supplies with Robert. We then glued the plywood and the white linoleum
together to create the whiteboards. This morning Bill and I finished the boards
by cutting them down to size. We then wrapped all the edges in Duct Tape (something
Rwanda has never experienced before), hopefully to prevent the linoleum from
cracking. We built four boards and hung three of them. When we hung one in the
pre-school classroom Anna told us what it would be used for: teaching the
teachers. She was going to begin a program to educate the teachers, up to an
associates level. We then heard about one man who was teaching here and hoped
to return to his native country of Burundi to begin a school there, with the
education that he would get from Anna (a long term missionary who oversees the
pre-school on base. It seems like such a simple thing: glue and hang four
simple whiteboards… But God will use those (and the education passed along
through them) to influence and touch a huge number of children.
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Thursday, June 28, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Auntie Fran!
Congratulations, Aunt Fran! Your mom wanted you to know that your first nephew was born today (Wednesday). What wonderful news!!
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
APRECOM Visit
Today I saw
God’s awesome and beautiful power and purpose. In the morning I had the
opportunity to go with APRECOM, a ministry here at YWAM Rwanda that
works with widows, and women with AIDs, on house visits. The house visits
consisted of teams of people going to encourage the women and see how they are
doing. The visits broke my heart and illustrated God’s great plan. Our first
visit was with a women named Florence. At the APRECOM conference on Friday, I
had washed Florence’s feet, prayed for her, and then later on gave her to Jesus
when I realized that I probably would never see her again. But out of 250 women
that we met Friday, God laid out an opportunity for me to spend and pray more
with Florence.
Later in the
afternoon I again saw how God works in mysterious and wonderful ways. We
visited the home of Method and Mary, the founders and base leaders of YWAM
Rwanda. Method and Mary were called to start Rwanda soon after the genocide,
even though there was much danger and so much work. Their stories of
encouraging, listening, and pioneering in a country that was ravaged by death
and suffering was amazing. 20 years later, YWAM Rwanda is a huge organization
that is changing lives all over Rwanda. And one of those lives is Laura, who
God led to marry the son of Method and Mary and then that would lead to our
team serving here in Rwanda. God knew from the beginning that He wanted to
change my heart, the summer of my senior year, in a little country called
Rwanda.
- Carin
How YWAM Rwanda Started
I've been in Rwanda for almost a week now I think, I can't be sure because
time passes strangely here. I'm surprised by how much I love it here. Obviously
it's very different from home, apart from showering with buckets and cold
water, or not having a real toilet, or the weather actually being warm, the
people here are completely different. It may just be because we are foreigners
but when we are walking down the street people will smile and say hello and go
out of their way to shake your hand. These people, who have suffered so much
and have so little, care more about blessing us and praying for us than fixing
their own problems and their selflessness takes my breath away. This morning we
walked a little bit down the road from the YWAM base to visit women who are
either widows or have been effected by HIV/AIDS through the APRICOM ministry.
What amazed me was how quickly you could go from stores and paved roads and
sidewalks to dirt "roads" that walking down was more like hiking. The
woman we were trying to visit ended up not being home but I got a real taste of
the Africa I was expecting. Later in the day we visited the couple who formed
YWAM Rwanda. It was amazing to learn their story, how they were called
seperately to come back to Rwanda after the genocide and how much they have
accomplished when all they had to start out with was $100. Over 15 years later
they have this amazing base with two schools and the ability to house dozens of
people. I was left speechless at their compassion and drive to make a change in
Rwanda. After having delicious local snacks and getting to meet an adorable
dog, we made our way back to base. At this point, if I am being honest, I just
wanted to go to sleep. I mean, mission trips really take it out of you and the
last thing I wanted to hear from Mike was "the next couple hours..."
but oh, how I am eating my own words. We started with some much needed alone
time, and for about 20 minutes we were left to ourselves to inwardly reflect on
struggles and other things that are keeping us from being truly present here.
That in itself was an amazing and difficult time. It's one thing to be able to
point at someone else and name their flaws but it is a whole 'nother ball game
to have to think about your own flaws with no distractions or excuses.
Afterwards we met back in Kayla, Raleigh, Jen and Karen's house for communion.
Except, to our surprise, we first had to give a confession, mainly concerning
the struggles you thought about during your alone time, with another person on
the team. Truthfully I had a couple moments of panic. I had never made myself
that vulnerable in front of another person but after a few deep breathes to
calm down I realized if I had to confess to anyone I would want it to be one of
the people in front of me, probably any of the people in front of me actually.
So Carin and I seperated ourselves from the group and we had the opportunity to
be completely honest with eachother. For the sake of confidentiality I won't
say much more about it other than how much, in that moment and all of the time
I guess, I love Carin. (Hopefully you'll read this Carin!) After we each
confessed to the other we met back with the group for communion and a little
impromtu singing. As I am writing I am sitting outside listening to my team
sing in the candlelight (the electricity here can be pretty spotty sometimes) I
can't help thinking how grateful I am to have the opportunity to be in such a
beautiful country with such beautiful people. Just a short week from now we
will all be on an airplane traveling back home, but until then I can't wait for
all of amazing experiences, whether it be washing the feet of widows, learning
to cook over a fire, or simply walking down the streets of Kigali, that we will
share.
Kyra
Monday, June 25, 2012
A Rwandan Church Experience
Sunday, June 24th
Francesca - Today, we had the opportunity to visit a local church in
Rwanda that some of the YWAM staff attend. The travel there was quite the
adventure! After two hours of switching busses and driving on bumpy dirt roads,
we arrived at a small building full of people excited to worship God
together. As the congregation was
singing, dancing, and praying, all I could do was stand in awe. I don’t think I
have ever seen something so beautiful. It showed me how church should be and
how passionate we should be when we pray and worship. I had the opportunity to
talk to the congregation about integrity. Speaking to a group of Rwandans in a
church was something totally out of my comfort zone, and I was far from excited
when I was given this task. It turned out to be one of the most fulfilling, impactful, and powerful moments in my life.
Hayden - Today I, along with Francesca, Mike, and Joel, attended a small
local church. Joel, Fran, and I all sat in the pastors section along with Mike
and all preached to the congregation. It was a breath taking experience. I was
so nervous that my testimony would go horribly wrong but it went the exact
opposite and turned into one of the most memorable experiences of my life. It
was amazing watching them worship because they do it with so much passion and
power. Every prayer and song is filled with a fire that you don’t always see
back home.
Jasper - I was excited to go with Kayla, Katlyn, Scott, Jordan, Bill,
and Isaac to a nearby church only accessible by a huge, muddy, cratered road.
While I had already been overwhelmed by the passion and intensity of worship
here, the service at church absolutely set me on fire. The congregation was
predominantly young people, and seeing guys my age moved to tears made me
realize how much bigger God is than my understanding. I think my favorite song
was the one called “Hosanna,” where the title was the only word sung and was
accompanied by mandatory jumping. In fact, if you didn’t start jumping, an
enthusiastic young man would come over and beckon with open arms, pantomiming
the jump-dance until you gave in. I have never seen an entire church leaping
and screaming, praising God not just with their words but with their whole
bodies. It makes you think about church back home. When was the last time any
of us left church dripping in sweat? Worship should be loud. Worship should be
sweaty. Worship should be shameless and real.
Best dancer award: Scott Mulhern. Best quote: Isaac Morse,
during his testimony- “boy, it sure is raining out there.” Best snack:
cornbread muffins that I snuck while the 4 hour service wound down. Mom and
Dad, if you are reading this, I remembered to take my malaria pills today, and
I haven’t gotten kidnapped yet.
A Land of a Thousand Hills
Saturday, June 23rd…
They are not kidding when
they refer to Rwanda as the Land of a Thousand Hills. The hills are everywhere, lush, green, and
beautiful. We drove about an hour out of
Kigali City to see more of the beautiful country of Rwanda and experienced just
a small portion of these hills. Our
destination was New Life Christian Academy.
This is a Christ-centered community that provides incredible opportunity
for orphans of Rwanda as well as an integration program that allows other
children to attend with payment of school fees.
The orphans are sponsored and for $60 a month they are provided with a
safe home, food, healthcare, clothing, and education. New Life Christian does this so well, in
fact, that the Rwandan government has partnered with them to help expand to
other communities to reach more of Rwanda.
The focus is on developing community by inspiring each student to pursue
excellence in character, academics, service to God and the nation.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Rwanda: Serving and Loving
Friday, June 22, 2012
Jordan: Today, we spent the morning helping out at a
conference for APRICOM on the YWAM base. APRICOM is an organization that aids
widowed women, many of whom are HIV positive. The goal of the conference was to
simply serve and love them. Throughout our time there, we washed their feet,
prayed with them, and had an awesome time of worship. My favorite part, was
when Mike got up and shared. He would speak and someone would translate and the
group of women would respond accordingly. They would say “Amen,” or cheer or nod in
agreement, and In that moment, something very special happened. We went from
being two separate groups from two separate cultures and two separate backgrounds
to being a family in Christ. In that moment, we saw how God meant for his
children to be: together.
Kayla: Early this morning we had a team meeting. At this
meeting, we were instructed to find a partner and pray for them. We did not
pray the usual “Dear Jesus, I thank you for ____. She is so wonderful” prayer,
we simply asked God for one word or phrase to pray. My lovely partner was
Jasper (: Jasper said that the words God prompted him with were “comfort zone”.
Both he and I found this rather strange because whoever knows me knows,
stepping out of my comfort zone is not very difficult because it is so big. We
laughed a little and then continued on with our day. Later on in the afternoon,
we were invited to serve at a banquet of sorts for widows (many infected with
HIV/Aids). I was promptly placed at the door to be a greeter. At that moment,
Jasper’s prayer began to become eminent. For starters, I greatly value personal
space and these beautiful Rwandan women do not. They do not merely shake hands,
they fully embrace you and touch their cheeks to yours. I greeted over 100
women just like this. It was beautiful once I let my guard down and allowed
myself to fully appreciate the moment. As I was thinking my “comfort zone
stepping” was over, I was prompted by the holy spirit to do one last daring
move. In African churches, they do not sit quietly and worship. Worship to them
is a full body experience with singing, praying and absolutely amazing dancing.
I am very white. I do not dance. Or at least, that is what I thought. Of late
though, I have realized that what I think doesn’t really matter. It’s all about
God. As I was contemplating this concept, I found myself in the center of the
dance floor surrounded by dancing and joyous people. They all looked at me for
a second as if I were crazy thinking, I’m sure, “crazy muzungu! (white person)”.
That second, to my relief, passed very quickly and I was welcomed into the
group of dancers. They counted me as a part of their family, even though we
have such different lives. It is amazing to me how they can allow us to serve
them with no apprehension. This concept is very difficult for me to grasp, for I
am very uncomfortable being served.
These women showed me so much about God and how he can be worshiped in
so many forms. The small town in footloose would have had a cow at this hectic
worshiping scene of Rwandans. Christianity is so amazing to me because of all
the different cultures it envelopes. God can hear praises from someone speaking
Kinrwandan, English, French, Chinese and it is all beautiful. Just as amazing,
Rwandans, Americans, Dutch… we can all feel the intense love of God through our
own expressions. The world of the spirit is incredible, it leaves me in sheer wonder.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Rwanda: Finding Ways to Serve
We just completed our second full day in Rwanda. The day was spent serving on the YWAM base in
a variety of different ways. The
students did everything from helping to prepare for a large conference on
Friday, time in classrooms, cooking meals, organizing keys, to cutting bible
stories out of felt.
Below are a few experiences as described by Katlyn, Madi,
and Isaac.
Katlyn: Today I had the privilege of helping the YWAM staff
prepare “The Hall” for tomorrow’s APRICOM conference. 250 widows, many of which
have HIV/AIDS, will gather here to pray, worship, hear God’s Word, and simply
be loved by the people here at base. We mopped (more like a squeegie on a
stick) the floor, washed the windows, and set up many chairs. We had fun
chatting with the base staff as we cleaned. I remain in awe at how welcoming,
genuinely nice, and extremely sincere everyone here is. We able to pray over
the area and for those who will be here tomorrow. I look forward to tomorrow and helping with
the conference. We will be dressing in traditional clothing, praying and
talking with them, humbling ourselves to wash the widows feet, and showing them
how significant they truly are. I hope we can show them at least a glimpse
of the great love God has for these
wonderful people.
Madi: Today I got to work with the preschoolers, ages 5 and
6. Ive never felt so welcome! Every child wanted to hold and hand and sit in my
lap. I met so many children and all had a kind and helpful personality. A boy
named Kevin laughed at me when I tried to say thank you in kinyarwandan. He
then proceeded to say it was okay, took my hand and told me how to sat in the
“real way.” I was introduced to the class as teacher madi, so the whole day the
children called me “teachah.” I learned that children of Rwanda are patient and
very very smart. They loved any form of affection, especially holding onto my
hands and arms. In the three hours I got to work with the class, they made me
feel like family. God has blessed me beyond belief on this trip. Glory to Him!
Isaac: Today I had the privilege of working in the kitchen
with the cook Emanuel, a very humble Rwandan on the YWAM base. Not only was the task fun but it really
enlightened me to how much preparation and hard work is put in to have meals
here. The meal consisted of rice,
squash, and a soup consisting of peas, carrots, and tomatoes. Haydn, my partner for lunch duty, and I had
to peel and cut every single piece of food eaten which was then boiled to
become edible. The rice was already taken care of by Emanuel. After that about 30min before lunch actually
started we poured the soup and all the other foods into more manageable containers
to serve the many people here on base.
After this whole task I really respect the people on this base for all
the hard work they do to barely scratch by and survive. They deserve more for how loving they
are. They are so selfless and caring
when they already have nothing. It helps show the beauty that is here in Rwanda
and it makes me feel bad for how well I have it at home. That’s all I have to say for now.
Rwanda: Tired, Excited, and Sad
After three flight and numerous in-flight games, laughter, movie watching,
and sleeping, we made it safely to Rwanda. We are starting our second full day
here and have been completely overwhelmed by the warm welcome we were given
when we arrived by the staff, the people or Rwanda, and Laura and Robert.
Our first day was spent at the Genocide Memorial in Kigali. Robert and
Laura led us to memorial in vans where we saw Rwanda for the first time (during
the day). So much to take in. All of our senses were on high alert as we passed
all there was to see. People everywhere, smells of fresh fruit and breads and
also of cars and other city smells. When we arrived at the memorial we had an
idea of what to expect, but nobody really knew how powerful it would actually
be and how it would affect each of us. We spent a few hours at the memorial and
when were debriefed about the experience later that evening, we had each
students write in their journals some reactions from what they had expreienced
and what they were feeling while at the Genocide Memorial. Here is are their
responses:
Keegan Amrine: The genocide memorial today.
First, I was struck by the images of rotting corpses strewn abou the
countryside. Then, on the second floor, there was a presentation on several
other genocides through history, including Bosnia, WWII, Cambodia, and Armenia.
I was filled with a righeous anger at the seeminly insurmountable weakness of
man that this continues to happen. I want insight into the healing process, but
even more, I desire for this to be totally taken from the world. How can I
reconcile such boundless evil with the knowledge that all men are created in
God's image?
Alec Cluff: One should never have to read an 8
year old's last words or cause of death. The memorial center sparked many
questions, I can't understand how friends can turn on eachother in an instant.
Raleigh Winchester: When walking through the
memorial, I mostly experienced anger. Anger that genocides keep happening and
nothing is being done and no one is learning. One question that is always asked
is if God is a loving God, how can He allow such suffering. My answer has
always been that we as humans have free will and we are allowed to make our own
decisions even if it is against Gods will, and its what God does with the
tragic event that matters. How he is able to rebuild and reunite a nation given
the fact that millions of people were murdered. But if he can make something
good out of this, why couldn't God prevent it? So my main question is what is
the point of these genocides and what is Gods role in all of this?
Isaac Morse: when walking through the memorial
the more i got through it the more diguisted i felt. I literally wanted to get
out of the museum I started feeling so aweful. I also felt so sorry for those
who had lost something or were affected by the genocide. The thought of how powerful sin can be also ran
through my head during this. But then so
did the thought of how unbelievably powerful God is. He uses things just like this to bring his
gospel, truth, and glorification of Himself into presence even more powerful
then it was before. It shows in the
beauty that I see here now. Every little
kid and person on this base i feel loves and are more selfless than me when
they already have nothing. Am I worthy
to even step in the museum when I come from a country who could of helped and
didnt, I come from people just as bad as those who killed in Rwanda.
Jordan: It was remarkable to me how little the
western world did. We were so able to help. We were so well equiped, and yet we
shut our eyes to Rwanda. How could we stand by and do nothing? How could we so
easily ignore the atrocities taking place?
Madison: I was challenged today. Every new
picture made me angier. Meeting all of the wonderful, kind, beautiful people of
Rwanda made going to the memorial heart breaking. I saw one coloful sweater,
the size of a 5-6 year old, had four slashes all over it. I was challenged by
God. Why Rwandans? Why these kind hearted people?
Francesca: Today, I experianced beautiful
pain...my heart was broken for what breaks God's heart. I saw things that I
could have never imagined before. Realizing that people lost their families,
that little innocent children had their lives taken and that human beings had
the ability to hurt other human beings so badly overwhlemed me with mixed
emotions. I was sad and angry yet I was joyful about how God has used the
genocide to further Rwanda. What I excperinced today, was beautiful.
Katlyn: Today I had my heart broken at the
genocide memorial. There was a room upstairs dedicated to the children that
were lost. The walls displayed pictures of children, and below them were listed
things such as their favorite food, sport, activities, etc. However, then it
came to cause of death. To see how the lives of these innocent children were
taken brought me to tears. I thought about the many times the Bible talks about
how Jesus loves the children. They are innocent and truly precious to Him. I
found myself angry. They were supposed to be living their childhoods, being
protected and watched over. Yet many of the people who were supposed to protect
them were the ones that ended their lives. I asked myself how could God allow
such a thing? I'm sure I will never truly understand. I am still caught in a wave of confusion and
sorrow for these children. It was a powerful experience that I will never
forget as I struggle with the questions over the next two weeks.
Joel: The room that really struck me was three
cases of human skulls. Each with a story, family, friends, and lives. The worst
part of this exhibit was that most of the skulls were broken and/or missing
sections. I can only imagine what happened to those people as they were dying
to leave such tramatic injuries. Two stood out to me; the first, everything
below the eye brown line was missing. All the nose, eye sockets, jaw,
everything, gone. The other was a full skull with a complete hole the size of a
lemon in the side. These impacted me the most.
Jasper: My question is how and why people could
simply stand by. It does not escape my notice that most of the violence of the
genocide took place within churches. It does not escape my notice that people
fled instinctively for protection in God's house, and were rewarded with pain.
Today, for the first time, the genocide provoked a reaction not of anger but of
shock and being overwhelmed in me.
Kayla: What shook me the most was not the pain
that the country experienced 18 years ago, but the intense and overlooked pain
the country is experienced today. It breaks my heart to hear about all the post
tramatic stress the victims and the persecutors are having to live with every
stinking day. It blows my mind that first of all, people were not willing to
help when it was dangerous. What is even more unreal though is that the country
is in peace, they are welcoming outsiders, and still nobody is willing to
sacrifice time to help. People are dying to tell their stories and to be
counceled through their pain but nobody is servicing their needs. It breaks my
heart that people are still suffering perfusely.
Haydn Wooster: Normally I am a very patriotic
person but looking at the memorial today I became angry at America. It is
amazing to me that the people of Rwanda are so friendly and carry out their
daily lives with a massive smile on their face(even with all the crazy
drivers.)
As you can see, the Lord is already challenging us to ask difficult
questions about the evil that took place in this country. It’s difficult to
figure “why” and there is always an opportunity to ask “what if,”. We are thankful that we have more time to
hear more stories and see what God has done and is continuing to do to redeem
and restore the people of Rwanda.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Summer Stuff!
We're switching gears and getting ready for our trips!
Important dates to remember:
Senior Rwanda Mission Trip leaves THIS MONDAY: 6/18-7/4
CHIC: 7/14-7/20
Oasis Summer Camp: 7/26-7/30
Helping with 45 Zone at VBS: 8/13-8/17
Rainier Game: 8/20
Important dates to remember:
Senior Rwanda Mission Trip leaves THIS MONDAY: 6/18-7/4
CHIC: 7/14-7/20
Oasis Summer Camp: 7/26-7/30
Helping with 45 Zone at VBS: 8/13-8/17
Rainier Game: 8/20
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