I don’t have time in the internet cafe to update about today’s adventures but I have some things I have saved on my computer that I will paste below. It’s really dark out and I need to get back to our home—-there are no street lights. Enjoy!

July 26, 2008 – RWANDA

Today we finally went to visit the boys in Byimana. Many of them knew of my cousin, Lois, and asked many questions. They seemed to be really excited to finally meet one of her family members. The boys are just beautiful people and the location of the home is just gorgeous—surrounded by mountains and farmland. Although the area is super poor, but they are so happy and the village children get by easily. But today I learned that instead of letting them look at the photos on our digital cameras they enjoy taking photos with our cameras. The results are pretty funny, but they are overfilling my camera!

There are a lot of projects going on at the home. Two new buildings are being constructed. One is to house another set of 20 boys that includes bedrooms, prayer room, living room, bathrooms and a dining room. The other building will house a computer lab. It seems that Umuryango is doing really well and it has great vision. Jean Paul, director of Umuryango, has a great ministry and it is growing in so many ways.

I also talked to a girl named Francine who just finished her high school and really wants to go to the university. Although it is expensive for her and it is $1,000 US Dollars a year for her to go. I would really like to send her to the university, but I don’t know how to get that started. I know that God might work in someone to get her to the university; I really wish I had the money to send her there. It really sucks that I go to a $40,000 a year university and get amazing education… but she can’t even afford it. It really bites.

I am also adjusting to the whole mosquito net thing. At night I have dreams of millions of mosquitoes attacking me and leaving me to die. Ha, I know it sounds weird…but it’s true that I think of that while I am sleeping. They say that you get crazy dreams when you take malaria pills, but I haven’t gotten any. Except I did get a weird one when we stayed overnight in Ethiopia. I dreamt there was a weird guy in his late 30’s standing at the hotel room door watching me sleep. Creeeeepy!

I am really tired. The sun sets at 6:30 PM here and rises around 6 AM everyday. I try to get to sleep around 10pm so I am not too tired the next day. I’m not jet lagged anymore, so it makes the day easier…. but that’s all for now.

July 27, 2008 – RWANDA

So today we were going to head to church, but it didn’t work out because our translator wasn’t going to be there and we would have sat in a three hour worship service not knowing what in the world the Rwandans are saying. Instead we had our own worship service in the front yard. These past two days I’ve been leading the mission team in worship and it has been such a blessings to worship under the African sky. Today we sang the song “Freedom Reigns” …the words are “freedom reigns in this place, showers of mercy and grace…they are falling on every face, there is freedom”. How amazing it was to sing those words here in Africa. There really is freedom here, and Jesus really does reign in this place.

Afterwards we headed to the restaurant for lunch and ate a mixture of rice, beans, spinach, peas, and French fries (they like French fries here). Then later on we headed to the market place, but only 15% of the stores were open so we are going to hit up the market once again on Wednesday. Although I did buy some really beautiful fabric and I got to talk to a lady about making me a dress for 4000 pounds (which is eight bucks for a full dress! Woo hoo!).

About an hour ago we went outside and blew bubbles outside for the neighborhood children and we drew with chalk outside of our front gate. I guess it was the first time that some of them saw chalk, so they found the word pretty funny. I started to joke that we have to wait for rain to wash the chalk away—rain won’t come here until another 3 months. Ha!

Right now it is about 7pm and some of the ladies are working on VBS materials for Umuryango tomorrow. Tomorrow we will have a praise and worship day where the kids will create shakers and dance around the home. The children are also going create a quilt square about what they are thankful for—the mission trip team is also going to create a quilt square about what we are thankful for and then we will present the quilt on the last day that we are with them. Kay, our nurse, says that we are going to be basket cases and that we will need to bring a lot of tissues.

One cool thing that I noticed about Umuryango is that we just don’t bless the 20 boys that live in the home, but we involve all the neighborhood children. I forgot to mention about how when we first arrived I couldn’t tell who was part of the home and who wasn’t… that’s the community that the people in Byimana are in. It’s quite an amazing thing to see. It’s good to know that we aren’t treating these boys differently than the village children, but both get the same opportunities.

Keep us in prayer. There is a little bug going around on the team and people are starting to vomit. I HATE VOMIT!!! So pray that I don’t have to vomit. =) Also one of our team members received ringworm from one of the kids already. But it is a good thing that it is treatable… but please keep the rest of the team in prayer that we are in good health till the rest of the trip. Goodbye. =)

July 28, 2008 – RWANDA

So today was officially our first day at Umuryango. As we got there we played football (soccer for you Americans), danced in front of the video camera (and then played it back to us), numerous games of “Duck Duck Goose!” and then we played some songs. Today was the Praise and Worship day where we created musical instruments—egg shakers and bells. They got a big kick out of the song “Every Move I Make” that every five seconds some kid would start singing “na na na na na na!” and then they would all start chanting it. It’s quite hilarious. They were also very good listeners…when I sang softer and played quietly, they would join me…but then I would pick up the guitar and get louder that they would all start jumping. All the children in the village of Byimana are so precious. I am completely exhausted leading these kids in worship that sometimes I find myself out of breath.

I also started to bond with two of the kids from the home, David and Edison. They both speak English pretty well. The funny thing is that they both listen to Alicia Keys, 50 Cent…etc. I started cracking up when David started to sing to me “I can be your hero baby!” These kids are so hilarious and I enjoy each and one of them. Then David started to draw hearts on his hands for me. I think I have little admirers. But he isn’t the only one—haha so far I’ve been proposed to three times on this trip. I don’t know how I feel being traded for cows. Hopefully my parents will want me back in America. =)

One thing that Bruce, our mission team leader, and I were talking about in the taxi ride back to Gitarama (where our home is) was the fact about how thirsty we all were. We only brought one little bottle of water for each of our team members and remained thirsty for the whole day. We thought about how thirsty children here in Rwanda are. We played so many running games that surely they are thirsty. But they are teaching me so much, and I hope that I can teach them more about the glory and grace of God.

Right now I’m listening to a song called “God of Hope” by Charlie Hall that says that “Your hope is my anchor, God of hope fill me. …Though you slay me, I will hope. Your hope inspires my endurance.”  I love these words. I pray that God fills me, breaks me, and helps me to be strong.

It’s time for a shower. I haven’t had one in two days. Ha! But I’m loving it. Although, I am terrified of getting ringworm… something about the word “worm” just freaks me out to no end. I also lost my hat. I’m so bummed! I am in love with that hat! And now I have nothing to protect me from the African sun. Oh well, I’m Egyptian… I think I can handle the sun. I think. But the weather here is more gorgeous than you would ever think… it’s 80’s all the way, nice breeze, no humidity. Now you probably wish you weren’t in America.

Murhabayo!