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| Patrick was injured playing soccer, but is feeling better! |
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| VBS with the kids was awesome!!! |
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| A beautiful smile from Joseline :) |
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| Delphine and Kristen smiling pretty |
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| Kristen tickling Dodea |
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| Henry trying to get his hoverball out of the cup |
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| Liliane is so sweet :) |
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| Heading to the genocide memorial in Kigali |
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| Mass graves at the Kigali Memorial |
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| Kevin giving his personal testimony at the Victory church in Kigali |
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| Dr. Ed and Kevin. Kevin fell asleep on Ed's lap for the whole service after this pic was taken. |
Well, I have never talked to a
man sitting atop a 15 foot high truck traveling down the road while talking on
his cell phone, but Ed Keller has! We were driving back home from Kigali
tonight after having attended church, and Isaac decided to pass this truck. We
saw the man sitting on top, and as we passed, Ed rolled down his window and
began speaking Kinyarwandan to the man, and the man responded! Mind you, we
were going about 50 MPH. It was crazy! But, before I get ahead of myself, let’s
start at the beginning.
Today, we awoke as usual to
the smell of freshly brewed coffee and Serena baking banana zucchini bread. We
had some bread and coffee and left for the village market around 7:45 AM. I
love going to farmer’s markets, so I was quite excited to experience one in
Rwanda. Men and women had large tarps on the ground with all their produce and
goods. Then towards the front of the market, all kinds of fabrics, blankets,
sheets, and clothing were being sold. Serena bought some produce, and the team
bought some beautiful baskets.
From 9:30-11:30, we led two
VBS sessions with the children. This was so much fun! It amazes me how “on
fire” these kids are for God. We studied the healing of the centurion’s servant
and also the raising of Lazarus from the dead. We had some fun object lessons
for the children to enjoy as well.
We ate lunch around 12:30
which consisted of macaroni and cheese made with Velveeta and sambusas which
are meat filled pockets that are deep fried-YUMMY!
We left the house a little
after 1:30 to head into Kigali (the capital) to go to the genocide memorial.
This was a very somber time for the team as we read about the genocide of 1994
and listened to recorded interviews with survivors. I am not fully able to
understand how Satan had control of so many people during that horrific time.
The most difficult part for me was reading about the stories from children. I
look around Rwanda today, and it’s hard to believe those atrocities happened right
here. Praise the Lord for His continued restoration in Rwanda!
In the evening, we attended a
Wednesday night service at the Victory church in Kigali. This was a wonderful
time of worship and testimonies! The band and praise team did a wonderful job
even though we couldn’t understand everything they were saying. Kevin and Ed
shared personal testimonies which were so encouraging to everyone listening!
For dinner, we went to a
buffet in Kigali. It was so tasty! One dish was cooked plantains with onions
and some spices in a light sauce. It was delicious. Isaac challenged me to eat
a plateful of them since I said I liked them so much. So, he walked up to the
line and brought back a plate full, and I did not disappoint! I finished all of
them. After enjoying each other’s company for awhile, we decided to head back
to the orphanage.
It is now 11:15, so I am
signing off for tonight. I’m sending out a BIG THANK YOU from the team to all
of you who have been praying for us and posting encouraging thoughts on the
blog. We love you all!!
Alisa :-)
Oh how I LOVE waking up and reading your words and seeing your pictures each day! I love seeing the faces of the beautiful children,love hearing about the activities of the day, and especially LOVE hearing of the worship of the people of Rwanda..their excitement and enthusiasm for Jesus!!! What encouragement it is to me!
ReplyDeleteIt seems unfair for me to soak in your words and thots each day without trying to encourage you in return! I dont know most of you...in fact I only know Chris and Ed and I'm not sure that Ed has figured out who I am yet!(We went to school together Ed....played in the band side by side for many years!) So let me share something God has been teaching me and may it be encouragement as you finish up your time there!
I have been studying the passage in Luke about Mary and Martha..."As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
It got me thinking about those words.."only one thing is needed" What does God really desire of us???..if I had to boil it down to "one thing", what would that one thing be??? so I started looking at some of my favorite scriptures and asking what does God desire of me??? I found He wants me to trust Him, love Him, believe in Him,follow Him,share Him with others, be comforted by Him ,take refuge in Him, worship Him, etc etc. How can I summarize in "one thing" what God desires of me??? What do ALL these things have in common???....What God desires most is an intimate relationship with me! I cant do ANY of the above effectively if I dont have a close walk with Him..I cant trust Him or love Him or worship Him or share Him with others effectively unless I have really spent time with Him and really know Him at a very personal level!
So that is my challenge to you today! Do you REALLY have an intimate relationship with God? What He desires MOST from you out of this trip is not that you had a great time and came away with a love for the people and feel blessed by the experience, what He desires MOST is that it draws you into a deeper relationship with Him! That you will come to know Him and love Him and interact with Him in a much more personal way because of the things He has shown you!
Blessings for your day! I pray that your eyes would be wide open to see the "one thing" God desires most of you today!!!
...yea... what Joyce said!!
ReplyDeleteEd,
ReplyDeleteHad b'fast with Leslie this AM, she mentioned blog and that rang the bell so here I am...I am so sorry that haven't posted yet, however, you must know that daily you and the team are in my prayers, I know the wonders of Rwanda and how spiritually fulfilling a trip there can be.. HE is watching over you all, yes little road blocks - fx ankle - contact problem - lets see :) will come your way but God will take you through them all and use you to his purpose. God Bless you all and THANK YOU for making the sacrifice of going abroad and spreading the word. You will forever be thankful and Blessed that you did.
I will try to comment every day now, I know how a lack of comments can cause some sadness :) But be joyful, God is guiding and commenting on your actions EVERY day...
God is good...ALWAYS! Filled every night reading your blogs and searching for as many pictures as we could find. Thank you for sharing what an amazing journey this has been. It has been an honor to share it with you.
ReplyDeletePraying for your safe return. Jewel