Overview

I didn’t expect to be posting so soon, but I had a meeting today in Nygatare and was able to stop and briefly use the internet. I am feeling much better. Thank you all for your prayers, I feel almost 100% at this point and it is amazing how quickly I recovered. I am also acclimating quickly to the environment. I have been able to start connecting with some of the people here which has been good. Also, God has been continuing to challenge me, but providing comfort in little ways along the way, but of course, comfort that is rooted in Him. That has sustained me.

Projects

I have been very busy meeting with people so far. Paul, the Rwandan FH officer who is hosting me, has been incredibly gracious and vital in setting up these meetings. The goal has been to gather as much information as possible about the cell of Gacundezi, Sector of Rwimiyaga, and District of Nyagatare. I’m trying to learn about government, education, business, ngo’s, and the church. This information will be used by the FH/Highlands partnership to establish our steps in moving forward.

So far I have met with a representative from the head of the primary school, the head of the council of local churches, the head of the sector, and today the vice mayor of the Nyagatare District which totals about 300,000 people. I also met with the managers of a new dairy plant that is under way and newly developed and toured the facility, it may be a potential project we work with. All and all my fears of not being able to gather enough data have now dissipated as I am trying to keep up with the different channels of information and as the best possible questions.

God

God has been so faithful during this process. I mentioned that He had taken me out of my comfort zone, this is certainly true. He has pushed me and made me seek Him more so than I have in the past, but in that he has provided so much. In the past few days I have been thinking about the following things. One a quote from the N.T. Wright book that I previously mentioned; the other a passage from Romans that a friend left me in a comment.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

“In the absence of real hope, all that is left is feelings.” (N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope, p81)

This time has been a process of God breaking the patterns in which I was conforming to the world around me. I have been forced to let go of those comforts and to cling to Him. As the following quote suggests, outside of true hope, the hope found in the cross, all that is left is feelings. If I was without that kind of hope while here I would be lost. I would be completely out of my league, rendered useless and overwhelmed. But it is firmly anchored in that hope that I have found the ability to push through the “feelings,” that I have been so challenged by and instead I have proved able, by His strength, to see something more. Something in this experience that without hope would be lost.

God is so good.

Side notes:

I don’t have much more time to type but I wanted to mention a couple things. One, as I said I am feeling much better. Thank you to everyone for your continued prayer and support, it has been so encouraging.

I have posted two pictures below. One is me with the kids at a football game I went to at the school. I went to watch the game and about 100 kids went to watch me. It was nuts. The teachers literally had to push kids to the side because they were backed onto the field. Not many white folk up here! They also absolutely flipped out when I would shake my head. They thought it was the funniest thing in the world. They would run up to touch my hair then go crazy and run back.

The second picture is of me with the plant manager at the dairy plant. He is in the process of explaining the equipment to me.

Be well. Be encouraged. Be steadfast in your faith. In love and faith, through submission may you find your self resting in Him!

There is a part of missions that is very attractive. You travel, you meet people, you help people. It leaves you satisfied and wanting to do more. Then there is a part of missions that is different. I don’t want to say the sole contributor to the distinction I’m making is the time of the trip, but it is definitely a huge factor along with things like where you are, where you stay etc. This part of missions is something else. It is challenging. There aren’t immediate fruits. It can be trying.

I say all that because I’m beginning to experience something a bit different. Something that, to say the least will be stretching. I arrived in Gacundezi yesterday after a 3 hour bus ride, switching to a rented truck, picking up a bed and table from an FH office, then driving another hour. The town is small and it is rural. Unfortunately yesterday I started coming down with something. I think it’s just a cold, but it has been a small thorn in the side in the midst of my travels. When I arrived in Gacundezi I was shown where I would be staying. It is a small building on the main street (don’t think U.S. Main St. think the alley ways that separate houses in Phoenix)…it’s just a little road. The building has two rooms with a partial wall separating them. It is cement floors and cement walls with some yellow paint. There is no power, no water, no plumbing. In fact as far as plumbing goes there really isn’t a toilet. In the back there is a, well I’m not sure what to call it, maybe an incomplete outhouse. It is a small wood shed with a cement slab and a “squat hole” in the middle. That doesn’t bug me so much but there are probably a hundred spiders in there, so that makes it tricky (mostly daddy-long legs but that doesn’t make them any less distracting). In my room there are air vents at the top of the walls to the outside, but they have no screens. So, I bought some bug spray and fumigated my place and when I sleep I tuck my mosquito net into the mattress so that I am completely screened. This seemed to work well last night; unfortunately I didn’t sleep very well due to this head cold and the fact that it was pretty warm.

All that said, I know this will be challenging. I am being pushed outside of my comfort level. I should say that I have another option right now. There is a sector called Nyagitare that is about 20km away. If I wanted I could stay there in the Blue Sky Motel, this is where the Highlands Team will be staying. It isn’t a Marriott by any standards but it does have basic amenities. I already paid for the first 2 weeks of my room right now (which was 15,000 Rwandan Franks, or $30 U.S.) so I could switch to the Blue Sky for my second two weeks if need be. I don’t think I’m going to stay there though. Before this trip I wanted to allow myself to be stretched by God, it’s funny how so often that means taking us away from the things that bring us comfort. For me the previous two weeks I’ve had comfort from listening to music, or watching a movie on my computer, or going online and touching base with people. These things allowed me to stay connected to the things that I’m away from. But here, I will not be able to do that. I asked for this, but I know it will be challenging.

So you may be wondering how I’m online right now. Well, I rode to Nyagitare with Paul (the FH member I’m working with right now, on the back of his moto. I’m hoping to come over hear at least once a week. There is an internet cafe, that’s where I am now.

Now that I have briefed you on that, here are a few things I’ve noticed since being here so far:

·     No power means no lights at night, which means the sky is exploding with stars…awesome!

·     Not many white people make it out here, I’ve literally had people just stop what they are doing and stare as I go by.

·     Kids either smile, wave and run towards me…or get scared and hide in mom’s dress!

·     I miss American food.

·     Using lanterns at night make me feel like I live in the old west.

·     God is good!

As I said in my previous post I’ll be meeting with various people each day trying to better establish the best way for us to help with development out here. In two weeks, around the 7th or the 8th of May, I will return to Kigali for a few days to meet with Dwight. After that, as far as I know, I will be returning to the East to continue preparing for the Highlands crew which comes the 31st of May.

Thank you all for your prayers and comments. It makes this equally  more difficult/easier. Difficult because I’m reminded of all the amazing people I miss, but easier in knowing how much support I have. Your prayers are felt and heard.

May you each be blessed, as you continue to go out everyday, and shine the light of Christ on the world around!

This Past Weekend

The past couple days have been pretty relaxed. I spent them  back in Kigali and stayed with Dwight Jackson and his wife Brenda. They treated me to a local pizza place for dinner Friday night, which was AMAZING after a week of the same meals in Gitarama. I also managed to take a walk around town and get in some relaxation before my next step. On Saturday morning I woke up at 6 in the morning to skype with Cody, Matt, Shelley and Nicole who were all over at Matt’s new house painting (I’ll be moving in with Matt and Cody when I return to Phoenix). It was nice to see some familiar faces. Yesterday I read a little and watched a few episodes of the Office that Nate gave to me. All in all it hasn’t been a very eventful weekend.

What’s Next

I am now waiting to be picked up by Paul and taken out to the Rwamagana Sector. This is in Eastern Rwanda and where we will be doing all of the projects with Highlands. I had a productive conversation with Dwight and Paul yesterday. Dwight is going to be in Uganda the next two weeks, while he is gone Paul and I will begin meeting with Mayors and Governors of the Districts and Sectors. We will also try to meet with church leaders and business owners. The goal is to talk to people of influence and measure the current state and opportunities of the area, specifically those related to business/economic development.

While in the east I’ll be staying in Gacundezi, a small rural area. I don’t have all the details on what to expect. I do know I won’t have water, power or internet (since internet is a standard utility these days at the house. There is a regional office for FH near by that has internet. I’ll try to make it over there with some consistency but as I understand it the internet is pretty bad there as well. So, if you don’t here from me for a bit you know why.