Days 14, 15, & 16

It's our last night in Rwanda and we are filled with mixed emotions.  On one hand we are going to enjoy seeing everyone at home, eating American food, and sleeping in our own beds, especially since we have both managed to get the colds the children all seem to have.  But we are so sad to leave the people here.  The children are so special to each of us.  We love watching them sing, dance, and enjoy life.  We love to listen to their questions and give them answers in English.  They love to learn and soak up all the information.  We spent some time in Kigali on Saturday and Sunday and found ourselves wanting to return to the Rafiki Village quickly.  The village is filled with love and happiness.

On Saturday we went to the Genocide Memorial in Kigali.  We learned that the various tribes lived peacefully in Rwanda until the period of colonization when the Germans and Belgians began to differentiate the tribes based on their theories of genetic superiority.  The Tutsi's were deemed more intelligent than the Hutu's and given superior jobs and opportunities.  Gradually this was eliminated, but the bad feelings remained, and in summary, some in the Hutu community began to use media to spread a message of hate towards the Tutsi's.  The killing that took place in 1994 was brutal and  horrific.  To top off our experience, we watched "Hotel Rwanda" last night.  To be honest, it is a good thing I didn't know all of this before we came.  To think that all of this happened only 17 years ago, and that many of the people we are meeting were alive and involved in some way is frightening.

 The Kigali Genocide Memorial

GAMES continues this week so we have been busy with that, trying to complete all of our work in the Library and with Sponsor cards.  We also have been trying to take pictures with the children and Mama's so we can remember these special people.

The boys at play time!

 The mamas taught the children to dance Rwandan style!

The older kids play soccer during GAMES!

The new Eric playing the Rwandan relay!

We have a long trip ahead of us tomorrow- Kigali to Entebbe,  then to Brussels and a 4 hour wait to board a plane to Newark.  Customs in Newark and on to Houston.  I will be 18 when we land in Houston! Although a majority of my birthday is spent on the plane, my birthday is 31 hours long!

Thank you for praying for us and we hope to be able to share more with those of you who are interested when we return home.  

Mom and Valante!

Olivier and Bebito!!

The boys! We will miss them so much!

Days 11, 12, and 13

We've been so busy with GAMES and other activities that we haven't had time to write.  Wednesday and Thursday we continued with GAMES and finished cataloguing the books in the Library. We also started working with each individual child on thank you letters to their sponsors.  The money from child sponsors essentially funds all the programs for the children, including their food and schooling.  I have decided to sponsor Bebeto and my mom has decided to sponsor Divine.  We hope to get lots of our friends interested in sponsoring children now that we know the kids first hand.

This morning we woke up and attended devotional. At 9:00, we started GAMES by singing and memorizing Jeremiah 32:17! Juliet and I did a water balloon toss outside with all the kids because the theme of the day was the parting of the Red Sea! It was so funny to watch the 4 year olds toss the water balloons to their partners who were a foot away and somehow manage to get soaked! Overall, the morning was so fun!

After Games, all the mini-missionaries, Mama Valentine, Carolyn, and Sam made our way to the car where we began our hike to pick up three new kids for the Rafiki Village!!!! It was about an hour to get to the first stop where we picked up Eric. We started off on a real street but by the end we were traveling across a rickety wooden bridge and down a street as narrow as a sidewalk!

The bridge we had to cross in order to get to Eric's house. 

 A rice field we passed on our way to pick up Eric.

We picked up Eric, then Hope, and finished at the hospital with Emmanuel. Mama Valentine is starting a whole new cottage of boys and the first two are Eric and Emmanuel. Hope is joining Mama Marie's cottage because it only has six girls right now. It was truly eye-opening to see where each of these children was coming from. Being in the Rafiki village, where they are all treated so well, makes you forget where the kids come from, and seeing the towns in the Rwandan country side helped me remember what a beautiful thing Rafiki is doing for each of these children by giving the kids such great opportunities! We actually got to walk into Eric's home.  It was a mud hut surrounded by a little fence, with a cow in the yard.  They were burning their trash, cooking on an open fire, and water bottles were lying around their yard.  Eric cried for about 20 minutes, but then his new Mama, Mama Valentine, comforted him and by dinner time he was sitting at a table in the Dining Hall eating Matoki- cooked bananas and beans.

Eric's home

Emmanuel, Eric, and Hope are welcomed to Rafiki!

Keep us in your prayers!  We only have a few days left, and we want to make sure to do so many things for these children before we leave.

Days 9 & 10

On Monday we woke up late and headed over to Mike and Vicky's house to have a GAMES meeting. GAMES is a morning program we are putting on while the children are out of school. It is a time for enrichment where the kids learn how wonderful God is. I found out that I would be in charge of outdoor games with the new missionary, Juliet, and my mom would be working in crafts with Carolyn.  We started to set up our areas for Tuesday's events and headed to lunch with our new cottages. I am now with Mama Odette and 8 wonderful boys, and my mom is with Mama Beatrice and her 9 boys. After lunch, we catalogued more books and we were greeted by the new missionaries: Juliet, Ashley, and Janice. We all went down to the dining hall and then played outside with the children before their baths.

Mama Alphonsine beating all the boys in soccer!!

Once baths and dinner were over, we each went to our new cottage's devotional. Mama Odette's cottage read about Hannah and Samuel and sang "Father Abraham" and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" to close off the night.

This morning we woke up early and went to the devotional that Carolyn and Doug put on for the staff here at Rafiki. We sang in Kenyarwandan and English, and we read verses about God leading us down the right path. We then met at the school to pray and began GAMES in the gazebo outside the girls' cottages. The morning went beautifully! Each group (bees, raccoons, frogs, and turtles) made their way through music, enrichment, outdoor games, and crafts! The theme of GAMES is "nothing is impossible for God" and today's theme was God's creation.

We ended GAMES and played outside with the kids until lunch. In the afternoon, I catalogued books while my mom made play dough! Then we met up with the kids for outdoor play time before they had their baths.

Fiyete Grace

Olivier! 

Bebeto and Dadi!

Then came dinner and, lucky for us, Mama Odette and Mama Beatrice allowed us to stay in their cottages for devotional! It was a great day!

Keep us in your prayers!

Jeanne and Immaculee!! 

Olivier and Adam!! 

Emmanuel!!!

Days 7 & 8

Yesterday (Saturday) we woke up and headed into Kigali. We first stopped at a little bagel shop called ABC. The shop was initially created by ex-pats to teach Rwandans how to prepare food that Americans would want to purchase. It sold doughnuts, bagels, pizza, and even tortilla chips!! We then drove to a little market where my mom and I bought some souvenirs and stocked up on groceries. We came back to Rafiki in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day playing outside on the playground. We finished up with dinner and then heard "All to Jesus I Surrender" a few more times.

Kigali!

Today we woke up early and headed to the Presbyterian church in Nyamata for the English service. There are very few people in Nyamata who speak English, but the Rafiki people have convinced a pastor at this church to add an early morning service every other Sunday.  There were probably 50 Rafiki people and 10 others at the service in a small church (sorry I forgot the camera!)  The church is very close to the village so all the children and Mamas walked down to enjoy a sermon given by one of the Rafiki directors, Doug. He gave a great sermon on angels, how Satan works, and the armor of God. We finished with a few songs (one which the children led) and my mom finished off with a prayer. We headed back up to the village and I ended up reading The Rainbow Fish and Harriet Dancing to all 26 of the girls.  Mama Judith then quizzed them on what they heard at church- which scripture, what the sermon was about, etc.  In the afternoon I was able to play soccer with my cottage and Mama Marie while my mom snapped photos of her cottage.  Today was the last day for us to be with our girl cottages- tomorrow we switch to the boys and we are a little sad about leaving these girls. Tonight we went to dinner at Carolyn and Doug's house because Mike and Vicky (the Directors of the Village) arrived back from the states. We had a great "American" meal and finished with some "Oh Heck" card game where mom got last place!

We are looking forward to the next week! We're starting Games this week where the village splits up the morning into crafts, music, enrichment, and outdoor games.  The three other Mini Missionaries arrive tomorrow so our Guest House will be full and active.  Please continue to pray for us, our safety, and the children we are serving!!

Mama Judith's cottage!

Mama Marie's cottage! 

Our cottage!

Day 6

Today started out with sleeping in which felt great.  It is a holiday here so we did not have devotional time with the staff this morning.  We had a pretty routine day, reading and playing with the children.  I spent the morning teaching my cottage about animals through books and puppets.  Mom, somehow, ended up leading a game where she had 2 cottages of girls dancing like different animals.  We did hopscotch and soccer in the afternoon, and had a wonderful time after dinner helping them learn the song "All for Jesus, I Surrender" so that they can sing it at the English service at church on Sunday.  Imagine teaching 43, 2-7 year olds a song in a language they are just learning!  All sitting under a little pavilion at dusk.  And they all listened and learned. By the end, the arms were waving and the voices were strong.

Diana and Jeanne racing their scooters! 

  Some girls hopscotching in the afternoon!

As we sit here talking about our day, we both agree that we are becoming so attached to these children- each one of them has such a loving and giving personality.  They feel so blessed to be where they are; with 3 changes of clothes and 2 changes of pajamas, 3 meals a day that consist basically of a starch and a little protein, a bed to sleep in, a bathroom to share with 4 or 5 others, a Mama who gives them strict discipline but loves them dearly, and a school house with desks, some books, and good teachers.  They do their chores, play outside, read, eat 3 meals a day with their family, and have devotionals before bed.  They thank their Mama's and Auntie's for everything, and they rarely argue with each other.  They are truly happy and don't worry about the things that we do. This experience so far has really opened our eyes to how true joy comes from the simple things- having people to love and love us, and our faith.  

Naome and Immaculee walking back from dinner!! 

Adeline, Clementine, and Claire at lunch!

The Dining Hall!!

BEBETO!!!!!

Mama Judith's cottage (Joshua cottage- Mom's) lining up for dinner!

Day 5

Another great day of weather in Rwanda and it was time to take some of the children into the medical clinic in Nyamata for some immunizations.  Our Childcare Coordinator Missionary told us that most Rwandan children get vaccinated as babies, and even if they don't have all the required shots, most people do not think about immunizations for them once they are a toddler.  But she had reviewed all the records of the children here and realized they needed several more sets.  So we took about 20 of the children to a clinic filled with mama's and their newborns.  Our children, even 2 year old Clementine, were so good- they colored and read for about an hour and then they took their turns getting two or three shots and a polio dose.  

Donata, Jeanne, and Florence waiting for their shots! 

The medical clinic where the children got their immunizations.

We had to make two trips in the imdodoka (the car) to get us all there and back.  The children were all so excited to ride in the car! It is hard to describe how pure and wonderful they are.  As we were driving into the clinic they just spontaneously started singing about Jesus with no adult prompting.  And when the second batch had to wait at the clinic to leave, they decided to sing again for all the mama's in the waiting room.  And these are 2-7 year olds!  

The car filled with children!

We were able to play some soccer and jumprope in the afternoon, and had more blessed time reading and singing with them this evening.  We thought we might get to go pick up some new children, but it turns out we won't be getting any new children this week because tomorrow and Monday are holidays here.  Monday is their Independence Day as well!  

 Girls jumping rope!

The cottages for the boys! 

Little Emmanuel after he got his shots! 

Days 3 & 4

It rained all day Tuesday, so we spent all day inside reading books, doing puzzles, and getting to know our children even better!

The rain finally stopped today, and we were able to enjoy playing outside! We started off our day with a devotional that included all the workers here at Rafiki. We read verses and talked about what we were thankful for. Many of them only speak Kenyarwandan and we sing hymns in that language.  Then we came back to the cottage, ate breakfast, and left to play with the children. Mom's cottage all got haircuts this morning and it took her awhile to recognize them.  We spent 2 hours playing memory, teaching them the names of animals, and running around outside.   One of our goals is to speak as much English as possible to all of the children and Mama's.  Most of the Mama's English is very basic and they tend to speak Kenyarwandan to the children.  So much of our time with them is trying to interpret what instructions they are giving to the children and making sure we are not doing the opposite!   The children get English in school, so by the time they are 7 or so they have very good English skills and are very bilingual.  

After lunch, Mom and I went to the school's library and put new curriculum in binders. Then we went back to the gazebo and sat with the 2-4 year olds that aren't able to run around and play and made our way down to dinner. 

Keza, Fiyete, Mom, Claire, and Clementine!!

Lastly, my mom and I both went to our cottage's devotional. The kids were amazing!! I read them the story of Jonah and Mom read them the story of Adam and Eve. When Mama Marie asked the kids why they loved Jesus, Jeanne (the 6 year old) said, "Because he died on the cross because I sin." How amazing!! Every child here is so in love with Jesus and is so willing to praise God! Once we had prayed, the kids all started to sing. They were all waving their hands up towards the sky (even the 2 year old) singing, "Goodnight God! Let your will be done in our lives!" My mom and I both feel so blessed to be able to be a part of this community and learn what child-like faith looks like!

Clementine!! 

the school and dining hall!!

Claire!!

 Ruth cottage walking back from dinner!! (my cottage!)

Claire, Clementine, and Enid!