Old Man River

"WE know that American pity African," he told me. "But sometimes I think African pity Americans."
"How so?" I asked him.
"Americans seem to expect that everything will be provided for them. For us," he said,"this ear of corn is a gift from God. This evening's rain is a gift of mercy upon us. This healthy breath is life-giving. And, maybe tomorrow we will not have such things, but our hearts are so full of God's provision."

There is something incredible about African skies. It's as if God said, "I have so much beauty to give to My world. And I'm going to shower it on this place because...I can."

Babies, friends, kids and more!

Teammates: I love these people!

Children

Poop

I pooped in this African bathroom! It was truly amazing and a little difficult but I made it!

Angel

She is more likely to die from AIDs than survive. She is more likely to become a commercial sex worker than go to school. She is more likely to feel the world has abandoned her than believe that someone values her life.

She is one of many kids in Africa who just need love! She stole my heart and I don't even know her name!

Week # 4 = stress and mind food

This week has been an interesting one and proved a little more difficult than previous weeks. It was a pretty busy week with a full schedule and things to get accomplished before we start traveling more in just a few short days.

Monday: Day off (These days are much needed because of the stress and busyness of the rest of the week. These days are reserved for shopping and internet cafe! So it was a pretty good day!

Tuesday: English Classes/ Ghanaga Church
This was by far my favorite church so far since we have been here and it was such a good day to spend with the church members. When we showed up at the church our team had no idea what we would be doing but this is my favorite type of arrival because it leaves room for surprises...surprised I was. Brian, Stacie and I were able to help the church by doing some yard work, along with hoeing a rode. Yes that is right, Stacie and I hoed a rode to remove the grass on top to make a walk way. Let's just say I was the smelly kid that night because it was HOT and we sweat A LOT! :)
They were so grateful and I really felt like family there at this church. The people welcomed us in with open arms and showered love on us! It was really sad walking away from this church!

Wednesday: English Class/"Hotel Rwanda"
Our group had the opportunity to go to where over 2,000 people were saved by a hotel manager during the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda. It was a really nice hotel and it was amazing to walk through such a place of history. However, the most exciting part happened before we got into the hotel.
There is a conference going on in Rwanda this past week for all of the Eastern African countries, including Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda and Congo. As we were walking to the hotel...ALL of the Presidents from these countries drove by us. I stood in awe as so much political authority drove by us to enter into meetings. I seriously almost wet myself! It was so special and I was so glad to be a part of it!!!!!

Thursday: English Class/ Genocide Memorial
This was a tough day for me because we visited a memorial site where almost 300,000 Rwandans are buried. It really hit me hard and I did not know what to do! Not only did all of the information hit me hard but being around so many white people also hit me really hard. It was so strange because normally I would be happy to see so many white people but I was not happy at all! They actually made me mad! So that was a weird emotion as well! But one I got through.
I am still processing all that I saw at the memorial and I honestly don't know how long that will take me to process but when I finally come to some conclusion I will post more about that experience but for now that is all I have!

Friday: Last day of English Class/Moving Bricks
Our last day of English Class was really sad because we had been working with these students for 4 weeks and built really strong relationships with them. It was so nice to see the success/progress each of them were making. SO we threw a little party for all of them to celebrate the finish of a good class. We played games and had snacks!
Then we went to the local church near our compound and moved bricks! It was a really interesting job and one I enjoyed because it gave me time to process the things that went on during the week. But they do not like us girls working too hard and would always make us slow down or stop so we could rest. This did not make me happy at all! But it all turned out well! I got over it!

Saturday: National Clean UP DAY IN RWANDA!
This was a new day for a lot of things to happen...The whole country of Rwanda on the last saturday of each month is supposed to stop and clean from the hours of 8am to 12pm. So we were supposed to go to the local church at Remera and clean! Everything was going great for the first 2 hours until the governor showed up and killed the clean-up party. It was so weird because HE was mad that we weren't cleaning more of the community property rather than the church.
Since the very beginning of the build of this church, they have had problems with the government and it has been a really difficult journey for the church. They could not get the government to approve a building permit to finish the church for over a year. So we the governor showed up, us white people peaced out because we did not want to get caught up in the conflict. Milly tried to explain more about what happened but it did not make much sense. it was really dumb the whole entire time...so we just chilled for the rest of the afternoon. It was nice but we wish we could have done more on the church.

Sunday: Day of CHURCH
It was such a blessing to be able to go back to Ghanaga Church for morning service, it was a blessing and a half. I felt at home and could have stayed with them all day long! Stacie preached and I gave my testimony, while the rest of the group and us taught them "I have decided to follow Jesus" as well. Our group also told the story of Peter and Andrew and the Good Samaritan. It was such a special service.
Then we went to the pastor's house for lunch, which was delightful! No variation in the food choices but it was still pleasant! The pastor and his family were so nice and welcomed us as family! One of their members in the church has a project they work on with different Arts and Crafts, so he brought them for us to see. Once he was done telling us about the work, he gave us one of his hand crafted items. I got this beautiful little giraffe craving, which they said reminded them of me. It was a special gift and one I will always look at and remember the special church.
After we left the pastor's house at about 2pm, we got back to our compound to drop off our stuff and go to another service. This service left me speechless and I really do not know if I have words to describe what went on for the whole 4 hours we were there. BUT I WILL TRY...

Imagine an ant hill on speed that got shaken by a naughty little boy who thought it was funny! Then the little boy screamed into a microphone at the top of his lungs while the mic was already turned way too high. Then there was some more screaming and howling and dancing and jumping and running and mixed other forms of human bodily expression!

This is only a brief summary of everything that truly went on during the 4 hours of my life...It was so nerve raking that I left and screamed at the top of my lungs when we got out...our whole entire group had to leave early because we were going crazy. I seriously was going crazy! It was the most bazarre and random thing I have ever seen! It was a good time too worship and I really didn't mind it until the last 20 minutes of time I was there.

The week was a good one and one that showed our team a lot! God is truly trying to stretch each of us in different way while teaching us many things! Every experience holds such unique and different opportunities for God to further his direction in each of our lives.

Week 3

It is wonderful to be here in Rwanda and experience something new and exciting each and every day!

This week was jam pack full of stuff like English classes, Orphanage visits, Children's home, construction at a local church, VBS, card projects and sickness!

So where to begin....English classes will be finished this week and then we begin traveling to different areas here in Africa! It should be loads of fun! Every day for English class we have a fun time trying to explain the different words that individuals come up with or that we try and teach them. At times it can be very slow going but always rewarding when you see the recognition on their faces...it is so wonderful!

Children's Home
The children homes here in Rwanda are different than in the states because hundreds of kids can be in an out in a matter of months. Each child is more than likely an orphan due to AIDs or the genocide. Everyone here has a family member or several family members who lost their lives in the genocide. While we were at the children's home we just loved on kids and played games with them...we brought a parachute from YIM and the kids LOVED it! I never saw so many kids, so very happy to see a parachute and the games they could come up with were amazing!

Kicukiro Church
This was our first construction project at a local church. Most of the time we travel to rural churches for projects but this week we staying in the area where we worked in the city. The church wanted to build a school/orphanage for the local children but they had HUGE holes in the back near the church so we filled the holes for them! It was hard going cause the tools weren't the greatest but we got the job done!

VBS @ Remera
This is the local church near our compound! It is actually right in our back yard! So we held a VBS for about 20 kids on Saturday in the afternoon! Kids are so wonderful! They all made me smile! Our team told the story of Zacheous...I know my spelling is off, so I will blame the keyboard! :)

My favorite story from the whole week came at such an unexpected time...We are hitting the half way point and I am getting hit with many terrors! It happens every time I travel but it was really hitting me hard yesterday! To the point where I almost had a panic attack...There were so many thoughts going through my head....so i will try to describe all of the things i was going through...

My heart has always been drawn to international work and yet at times...I am very unsure of what God really wants me to do! Always though I have felt comfortable in foreign countries and with the people...I always seem to fall in love with the people and culture of wherever I may be! This time it was really hitting me hard though...I never felt anxiety or depression by being here...although several thoughts kept coming in about the future and things in my life...It terrifies me to think that I will be a senior this next year and the idea of having to make a decision about what I will do in my life scares me.

I want so very much to live out of a backpack and travel the world serving God's people! But to do that I need money and right now I also need to graduate from college! Also, I have an amazing boyfriend whom I care about deeply! He is wonderful! So the devil was really hitting me hard with worries about home and things here as well! There is such a need for the people of Rwanda and yet, I can't do anything for any of them! I can only pray but it seems so small and little in my mind!

This all happened Sunday, I was trying to ask God to give me some sign in my being here and the things I am doing! But nothing came...we left for church and i was still really unsettled by everything that was going on in my mind...but i could do nothing about it. I was just really uneasy about a lot of things...

then during the service a little girl was sitting in front of me and i wanted to so badly to get her to smile because she had the saddest look on her face...I love kids and my heart is so open to kids and when they hurt, I hurt as well...it did not seem to be going anywhere with this little girl but all of a sudden she looked back at me with the biggest smile on her face...it melted my heart....I was so excited that she had actually smiled at me! Then our group had to go up and introduce ourselves to the whole congregation at the church...it is pretty standard for us now! When I was going back to my seat the little girl was waiting for me at my row...she wanted to come and sit with me...it made me want to cry and I had this overwhelming sense of calm when I saw her...she came to sit on my lap and our interpreter who was sitting next to me asked what the little girls name was and she said...Peace. Once I heard her name...I knew GOD had given me a sign...he sent me a little angel in the form of a little African girl. He knows exactly what I needed and I was so calm after that moment that I am reassured of what God is doing in my life!

So I may not know what the future holds but I know who holds the future and that is ALL that matters!

Photos

Photos

The gentleman who is standing in the middle is a Pastor from Burundi, a neigboring country of Rwanda, and his name was John Claude. He received one of the English Bibles I brought from the states. He told me that this was the first English Bible Burundi has ever gotten. So I felt blessed to have been able to give it to him...

Sickness

so not fun but sickness seems to be hitting me today. last night we had some new food and it did not set well with my stomach.

this week has been interesting and only going to get more so but I will have to write more later because our time here is almost up.

I miss a lot of people in the states and yet I am falling in LOVE with Africa more and more every day! It is amazing here and the people are all wonderful! Something I do not know how to describe!

Week # 2

so 2 weeks down in the BEAUTIFUL country of Rwanda! It is an amazing country and one i hope to return to at some point!

This week we began teaching English for a class of students. Every morning we begin teaching at 10:30 and have a varied lesson from day to day. The class lasts for about 2 hours. Every student has a varying range of English knowledge and so it proves difficult to make a lesson plan for all of the students but it is a lot of fun. Something of a challenge. I do enjoy it though. Seems like I am the lead teacher. Thanks to my mom's ability to teach ESL for her ministry in New Jersey.

in the afternoons our team has the opportunity to travel to orphanages and play with all the little kiddos or visit different NGO's within the city. There is such a need here for people to just love other people and it is always a joy to hold/hug a child. these visits can sometimes we a little frustrating because people do not always receive us well but God is working in mighty ways here in Rwanda.

On the weekends we have the opportunity to travel to a rural church out side of the city and visit the people/kids. The past weekend we went to Gagatara church, which is a brand new little church starting in a small little village about 2 hours outside of Kigali! When we arrived, we had to walk to the church. People here love to walk and so we walk A LOT! As we got closer to the church we saw a massive rush of children running toward us....not even gonna lie...about 200 kids ran down this hill straight for us...it was the most heart warming sight you have ever seen. God knows exactly what we all needed after a tough week of things not working out.

African are not the best at telling you what you will doing before you actually need to do it. so when we arrived at the church they told us we were in charge of all of the kids and to put on a VBS. Our first thought was WOW...that is a lot of kids to handle. So we busted out bubbles and cameras to keep the kids entertained for like an hour. Then we had a lesson and taught them "Jesus, Loves Me". It was an awesome time. That night we were supposed to be showing the Jesus Film, so we took our stuff and went to drop it off at the hostel we were staying at before returning to watch the film.

At the film, I had about 20-30 kids around me at all times. They were all so adorable and I wanted to take each and every one of them home with me but obviously I could not. A little boy climbed into my lap and fell asleep within minutes. Many of these children just need someone to love them! So I am here to love all of them that I can! I just wish I could do more for them at times! God is going to take care of them when I can't!

After the film we headed to the Pastor's house for a home cooked meal! Mind you it was like 10 at night, we hadn't eaten in about 12 hours! Although, we get into the house and sit down...right across from me is a HUGE spider and it freaked me out! First of all there was no electricity in the town, which meant that I had to view it by candle light. It was HUGE and we were in the house for about 2 hours! They really like taking a long time to prepare the food! Once the food came, it was in a bowl heaped FULL of food. Let's just say the food won that night and I could not finish my meal! The meals here consist of a small piece of meat, potatos, cabbage, beans, rice and some other things I can't pronounce...at least these are the main food items you can see...although in small doses.

Once the meal was finished we sang songs and prayed then departed for our hostel. We went to bed quickly because it was late and we had been up for several hours already! ONLY TO BE AWOKEN IN THE EARLY MORNING BY A HOWLING CAT! It was so loud...it sounded like someone was killing it! It was not a pleasant noise to wake up to at all! That night though...I heard things running around the halls of the outdoor hostel...not altogether settling cause we did not know what lived in the area.

It was a pleasant church service and about 3 and 1/2 hours long again! Once again I had 20-30 kids sitting around me at all times! It was amazing, my heart was so very happy by all the kids!

Our ride back was difficult because the man next to me was actually sweating on me! I moved my arm away at one time and there were droplets of sweat on my arm! It was not a good feeling! The buses here are packed full to the hilt and then some! So it was a pretty tough ride back! I got sick on the bus and could not wait to get back to our compound!

This update does not give our experiences any justice but it is nice to at least let all of you know what is going on in Rwanda! Can't wait until I can tell you stories in person...hope all of you are well!

Singleness

so here everyone is obsessed with singleness...it is the most commonly asked question i have received almost anywhere I go. at first we were hanging out with individuals who were from the church and they were youth, so i thought it was just common for the youth to talk about it but no not true.

since we have been here i have been asked by 4 guys to marry them on separate occasions and they are all serious too...this freaks me out a little bit cause they all know i have a boyfriend.

the most recent story actually happened at a studio recording we went to. a gentleman singled me out of all the girls on the team and asked my name. I thought this was the end of the conversation because there is an extreme language barrier, but not the convo did continue with him asking me if i was single. i said no that i had a boyfriend and he said well i am single. mind you at this time there was probably 30 people standing around us...here is how the convo went...

Guy: "Are you married?"
Me: "No."
Guy: "WELL, I am single and you are single...SO....."
Girl in the background: "SO....question mark...?"
Guy: "So what do you say?"
Me: "I have a boyfriend!"
Girl: "A boyfriend or a boy lover?"
Me: "Ummm...boyfriend...?"
Sarah: "What do you mean boy lover?"
Girl: "Someone more than a friend cause Brian could be your boyfriend!"
Me: "Then I have a boy lover!"

These are always really awkward conversations and people seem to want to get us married here! It is a common theme and not one I enjoy at all! So I am content to say that I am glad to have an American BOY FRIEND!

Church/Rural Jesus film

What a church service we had yesterday!

We woke up extremely early in the morning...aka 5am to leave at 6am to go to a bus stop to travel for about 2(+) hours to a church. Once the bus dropped us off we had a 30(+) minute hike to go to the church. It was a long morning.

One we got there I had to go to the bathroom SO BAD! So I asked Agnus where the bathroom was and she pointed to a fence of grass about 4 feet wide and 6 feet long in the middle of this very flat...very open field not too far away from the church. I thought FUN! When I got over there it was sticks over a square hole in the ground. Let me tell you...Going number 2 in an African bathroom is a little difficult AND in a skirt! But I made it!

The service had just started when we got there and it lasted for 4 and 1/2 hours! It was amazing to see all of these people worshiping our God! They truly blessed me in ways I can't even imagine yet cause God is still showing me all of what he has for me here!

I spoke at the service and used Romans 12, which is one of my favorite chapters in Romans. We also tried to sing for them but we FAILED in comparison to their amazing voices!

After the service we had lunch in a prayer hut, which was really fun because it was small and cozy! The food was really good! It is pretty simple but good nonetheless.

We then had a 45 minute walk and a 15 minute bus ride to where we would be showing the Jesus Film that night. It was another amazing worship service and then film.

It was such a blessing because a little girl named Naomi sat on my lap the whole entire time. She would not leave my side the whole entire time we were at the church. Naomi actually hit a girl who came uup and tired to take her away to leave. God knew exactly what I needed! There was a call to accept Jesus and our group went up to pray with about 30 individuals who accepted the Lord. It was such a great night!

We then went to our hostel, where we were staying at had dinner at 11pm. It was so good though!

A lot happened yesterday and this is a poor discription of it but hopefully you know God is doing great things here in the lives of the people of Rwanda!

Caribou! (Welcome in Swahili!)

So this marks week one day and five more to go for Rwanda team! It has been an amazing week here in the city of Kigali! This was our first true experience with African culture because we did a lot of things the African way.

Firsts....
- washing clothes by hand in Africa with a little bucket
- going WITHOUT a shower for 4 days because we did not have water :)
- power went off for several hours
- POOP in 5 days!
- AFRICAN BATHROOM...we would probably call it a deep ditch with a long drop with a couple of stitchs around it! In the middle of everything!
- SARAH MARIE PENCE peeded in the bush! I was so proud of her!
- motion sickness on the bus
- church service, which lasted 4 and 1/2 hours (AMAZING)
- hostel stay with spiders

so those are a few firsts for me but it was all worth it!

The week has been amazing and gone by quickly looking back on it now but it went a little slow to begin with!

Muraja

We made it safe and sound to RWANDA! The flight into the city was so beautiful! They call Rwanda the "Land of Many Hills" and they are not lying!

Our team had a long 2 and a 1/2 days of travel to get to our final destination of Kigali, Rwanda but it was so worth it!

Here is a small break down of our flights to Rwanda...

El Paso to Dallas (1 hour and 40 minutes) with a 4 and 1/2 hour lay over
Dallas to Atlanta (3 hours and 25 minutes) with a 2 and 1/2 hour lay over
Atlanta to Amsterdam (8 hours and 55 minutes) with a 2 and 1/2 hour lay over
Amsterdam to Nairobi (8 hours ish) with an over night stay of 10 hours
Nairobi to Kigali (3 hours and 45 minutes)

When we were in Kenya we stayed at ANU, which is Africa Nazarene University for a night! It was a new and first experience for me in Africa. At night the campus uses 43 dogs and 20 male security guards to protect the campus! It is really frigthening being awoken in the night by dogs barking right next to your window at something foreign! The night proved less restful than we had hoped!

It was a long couple of days but the trip was so worth it! I got stopped twice at security check points to have my bag searched and questioned. It took me over a half hour to get through security for our Nairobi to Kigali flight! It was all due to a pair of eyelash curlers that they thougth looked like scissors!

Then once we arrived in Kigali I had to be taken behind the closed doors to have my checked baggage searched by a security guard. It was a little scary because I did not know all of what they were saying and they kept asking me a lot of questions! So it got a little freaky! BUT they finally let me go through and just smiled at me!

We got to the home we would be staying at and it had cement walls with a guard and there is a British couple staying next door to us! Our site cordinator and his family are amazing! Although, they do like to talk A LOT!

Our team has been really tired trying to recover from jetlag and a new time zone! The plans for this summer are not final but we will be doing A LOT of traveling and church visits. The travel will not only be in Rwanda but also other countries as well! It will be so worth it! The time seems to be going a little more slow but we have not started our ministry yet and once things pick up we will be really really really busy! Hopefully we will have email at least once a week!

Right now we are preparing for a church on Sunday and I am trying to learn Swahili which is proving to be a little difficult! ALRIGHT...A LOT difficult!

Leaving in a few minutes

Please pray for our team as we travel today and for the next few days....

El Paso to Dallas

Dallas to Atlanta

Atlanta to Amsterdam

Amsterdam to Nairobi, Kenya (over night stay) 

Nairobi, Kenya to Kigali, Rwanda

All the people will depart today and at various times!