Auntie Fran!

Congratulations, Aunt Fran! Your mom wanted you to know that your first nephew was born today (Wednesday). What wonderful news!!

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 

A Rwandan Church Experience

Sunday, June 24^th

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 23^rd… 

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. 

Alec - Today I experienced the wide open country side of Rwanda. Driving through massive hills we got to see what I had always imagined Africa to be like. Banana trees, monkeys, and a variety of people carrying an assortment of fruits and vegetables on their heads. After our drive we arrived at the number one school in Rwanda. Here not only orphans but also the mayor of Kigali’s children attend to learn general education and the glory of God. At this school, I immediately found myself a buddy who latched on to me the second I sat down. Frank, 12, spoke great English and was an incredible goal keeper even for his short stature. Sadly I never got to say goodbye to Frank for he went to change his cloths after soccer and I was never able to meet up with him again. One day ill see him playing for the Rwandan national team. Also grandma if your reading this I still get to watch the EuroCup games, go Italy!