KICS

Kigali International Community School...Thank you to all of you who have contributed to Nani and Zoey's education. You have no idea how blesses we all are. Nani and Zoey both love school so much that they feel it to be unfair that they don't have school in the weekend. Zoey even feels that church should be cancelled so that school can happen at the same time....

Above; Zoey with Asaf, Peter-Ryan, Koen and Joshua.

Nani with her friends Rebecca, Caleb and Tylor.
We thought we had lost our girls, as they turned into little monsters in their prior school. Than having them home we saw positive chances in their behaviour, but as they were home for 6 months we all turned into mad people. Now that the girls are in a save place, a place that focuses on God, on proper self-worth and biblical values, we have received our girls back. Finally we recognize Nani and Zoey as the girls we raise. There is laughter in the house, attitudes are disappearing, obedience is on the rise again...
Thank you!! And a special thank you to Lauren Zumbrum, Nani and Zoey's teacher, who has been raisin gher own support to come for a 2 year commitment to Rwanda to teach at KICS. Thank you Lauren. The girls love you and so do we, you are awesome!

Bottom Blessing

834 diapers and 5760 wetwipes...
Bottom Blessing!!

When we received an email with the note; "let us know what we should bring for you in our container" the choice was easy. One hundred dollars worth of diapers and another one hundred for wetwipes. Though we use the cloth ones we received through an amazing missionary diaper grant, we use disposables for on the go and at night.
Some of you may have heard my complains of the scary prices of items in Rwanda. Diapers are part of them. The cheapest we can get dispsables for is

$12 for 34 diapers making this $0.35 per diaper and
$7.50 for 70 wetwipes making this $0.10 per wipe !!!

Today was the day to pick up our bottom blessings! Even the babies were stocked about them. They kept crawling to their room climbing up on the boxes.
Thank you Todd and Jessica for bringing us bottom blessings!

Joy, Joy and more Joy!!

Today was just a wonderful day.
Besides almost killing some motorbikers and almost being killed by other absolutely crazy drivers, the day was so productive and amazing!
Maybe you remember the story of Josepha. I blogged about this amazing woman back in July. Today I took some of our staff to visit her. Though she was out of town her husband was so excited to see us. He looked so healthy and also theur baby girl looked good. As usual I had cloths and other items to give away in the car. Simon was so happy when I gave him some cloths for this daughter and a blanket for her. What a joy.

We had two new families that received sponsorship. Today they received theor ver first bank account ever. This is a big deal! The people were just so happy. It is amazing. Believe me, the joy is contageous!

Now to top it all off, I got to do my very favorite thing above all; surprise people. My mother in law rocks! She has been sending us boxes and boxes full of nice cloths and new flip flops to give to the needy! So whenever we go somewhere, I bring the boxes along. Today I surprised some school kids with teddy bears, men with nice shirts and these woman with cloth for them and their babies. Now these women are something else, I tell you! I barely made it out of the car and they were on my neck, hugging me thanking me and grabbing me. I was a little surprised as I had missed the part where Cyprien had called them to come as I had something for them. "This is a good day to be by the main road" one of the women exclaimed! They both kept on laughing and shouting words of surprise and joy. All of us there could not stop laughing. Joy is contageous! I still laugh thinking of them. I love it, I just love this part of my adventerous life here in Rwanda. Thank you Lord! Jou is conatgeous! These beautiful girls were right beside me from the moment I stepped out of the car until I left after the photography training with our village staff. Aren't they just gorgeous.

These children were very surprised when they received their nice soft plush bears. Can you imagine what it must be like to only feel hard objects, sleep on the dirt floor, no mattresses , no soft cloths. I wonder if they will snuggle up to their new toys tonight and enoy the softness.I love today. I also got to pray with a sick girl. As a result of the connection with GFR the mother and father turned away from Islam and now follow Jesus. So to pray for with this family is just awesome. Thank you Lord for this wonderful life I may live, it's all for You and because of You. Thank You.

"Sharing the Blessing" 1

When we arrived at the location where we would meet al our GFR families, we noticed some ladies with drums and wedding outfits. Besides thinking it to be odd that there would be a wedding on Friday, as most are on Saturday or Sunday, I didn't give it any more thought. Until the ladies started singing and dancing welcoming us on this special day into their area. As they sang louder and the dru picked up some beat people started dancing the traditional Rwandan dance, and yes... we had to dance with them. Oh did we laugh!!! It seems so easy but it sooo is not. The people sheered and laughed so hard. We made a total fool out of ourselfs, I am convinced of this, but boy did we have a great time!

Many of our families were present as we tought them basic biblical principals such as truth and honesty and doing unto other as you want them to do to you.
I love speaking to the families as I have found that the simple things of everyday life make for the best illustrations. No fancy powerpoints or statistical breakdowns, just stories relating to cultivating, family interaction and child rearing. This simple life... I just love it.

"Sharing the Blessing" 2

Travis started the meeting with a Rwandese proverb. It really got the people's attention and they laughed in amazement that he knew not just part of thier language, but more; the way to their heart.

It was a very special day as 28 famlies brought a goat or sheap to give away to someone more poor than themselfs. They used to be the poorest of the poor, no clothing, no decent food nor shelter and here they are, able to give out of their plenty! What a testimony.

Image; You like bike riding and have two very nice bikes in your garage. But really you need only one, but to have the second as a reserve is nice, it has come in handy before.
You there are plenty of people who have to walk an hour to get to work, the public transport just doesn't get them in the right place or they cannot use it for the fees are to high. Now what if you would call this person and say: Meet me at my house tonight at 7, I have something for you." The person comes and you give that nice second bike you have. How excited this person would be, hwo blessed you would feel as you would see him enjoy his surprise...
This is exactly how it was in Mutete. I was proud of those giving and excited for those who received.
I belief strongholds of poverty and selfishness were shaking as these people performed biblical generousity. God, bless the givers and receivers!
This man was so excited with the blessing he received. Though giving in such a way is not culturalAt the end of the day we prayed with this Muchecheru.
It was a day where the best of SoZo and the best of GFR went hand in hand.
Thank you Lord for the life I may live here in Rwanda. What a satisfaction!

Oregon in Rwanda's Mountains!

I was so surprised to find this school boy wearing the University of Oregon sweater in the middle of nowhere in the Rwandan mountains!
To All Oregonians! I miss you!