As my time in Rwanda comes to close, I have been trying to take every opportunity I can to explore Rwanda and engage with the people here. I have been absolutely astounded by the beauty in this country. Here are some pictures of the last few weeks:
in Rwesero (pronounced Gwesero)
with some people from my church in Rwesero
The other night, got to eat at this hotel. If you've seen Hotel Rwanda, this is the hotel that movie is based off of.
Thanksgiving Day, I taught the teachers. I shared with them what Thanksgiving was all about, and we all shared what we are thankful for.
Got stuck in a downpour on a moto (motorcycle) right before my 3 hour bus ride to Musanze. The joys of rainy season.
this was the coolest thing. It was like a sign from God that He is still faithful. We can cling to His promises.
the active volcanoes in Musanze
with my new friend Ali... so thankful for her!
ha, someone was excited to ride a donkey...
these precious kids followed us the whole way back from the volcanoes.
beautiful Lake Kivu
Put my summer skills as a canoeing instructor to use!
the drive to Musanze was incredible. These greens have to compete with Ireland.
These pictures have captured the highlights of the last few
weeks, but quite honestly, this has been the hardest month of my life. The
doctors have not had good news about my dad (for more updates, here’s his
caring bridge site: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jeffahlm). In a matter of weeks, our lives have changed. All of the
future plans that we made crumbled with one prognosis. It reminds me of James
4:13-15: “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and
such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’-yet you do not
know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that
appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the
Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” I think all of us feel like we
have all the time in the world to make decisions about the Lord or choose to
live our lives fully for Him. But the truth is, our time here is so short and
we have no idea how our lives will change at any moment. The future isn’t
guaranteed to any of us. We have to choose to live wholeheartedly for Christ
each and every moment that God gives us.
It’s
been interesting going through grief here. One night, I was skyping with my mom
at a restaurant, and I just lost it. I’m usually not a huge crier... especially
not in front of people, but I was sobbing uncontrollably. In the past few
months, I’ve become friends with the waiter (ok, yes, confession: I eat out a
lot.) He came over and asked me what was wrong. I brokenly tried to explain,
and he just did not seem to get it. To many of the Africans, I am beyond blessed. I have never seen one of
my family members get killed before my eyes with a machete. I have grown up
with two incredible and loving parents. I have received a wonderful education.
I have a roof over my head, clothes in my closet, food in my refrigerator, and
accessible clean water. I am blessed. Don’t get me wrong, many Africans are
still extremely compassionate and kind, but their grief and pain has been far
beyond what I could imagine. Their coping strategy is to forget. Yet, sometimes
I just want it to be ok to hurt.
This
week, I’ll be flying back home, and I’ll be staying home to be with my family.
For everyone who has been alongside me in this journey… praying for me and
encouraging me, thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much it means to
me.
I'm not sure where to even start... and just a forewarning, this post may be very scattered because my thoughts are a bit of a jumbled mess right now. This past Tuesday, I found out that my dad is in stage 4 of Cancer of the Appendix. He's going to start chemo in a few weeks, after he heals from his surgery. My heart is breaking being away from my family right now. Let's just say, I've become a blubbering mess in front of the taxi driver, waitor, and innocent bystanders in the bathroom. Through it all though, the Lord has been drawing me into His loving arms of grace. He has been the One we can lean on, trust, and hope in. The other night, I was crying out to God for comfort, and His response was: "Go to my Word." So I opened my Bible, and was comforted by these verses:
"The Lord is s stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in You, for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you." -Psalm 9:9-10
"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall praise Him, my salvation and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you." -Psalm 42:5-6
"Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." -Psalm 62:8
"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in Him.' The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks him." -Lamentations 3:21-25
"Finally my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you." -Philippians 3:1
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice... do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:4, 6-7
"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in His spirit and greatly troubled... Jesus wept." -John 11:33,35
Even though I don't understand, I can still trust God because He is good. He is loving. He knows what is best. I've been seeing all throughout Scriptures that in our difficulties, our response is to praise, hope, rejoice, and remember Who He is... His characteristics and ALL the times He has showed Himself faithful in the past. And I love how Philippians says rejoicing is a safeguard for us... that it protects us from the Enemy defeating us. No matter what, I am so thankful that we have the hope that there is coming a day when we will be in the presence of God with no more sickness, pain, or tears. I cannot wait for that day. In the meantime, we can rejoice in the fact that Jesus is beside us in every moment and that He cares.
I've been listening to the song, How He Loves a lot lately. It was written by a man right after his best friend was killed in a car accident. I love the phrase, "all these afflictions are eclipsed by glory." There is great comfort and joy in knowing His love for us... and choosing to focus on His face instead of our difficulties.
Thank you so much for everyone who has been praying for my dad already. It means so much to our whole family, and we can feel the prayers surrounding us. Please continue praying for him!
And, I have to say happy birthday to my sister, Jennifer! She just turned 25 this past Thursday and has been a rock this past week. She is the best sister and friend a girl could ask for. I look up to her in so many ways. Happy birthday Jenn!
the kids at the orphanage wanted to help in saying happy birthday :)
Honestly, I didn't want to go to the orphanage this past Satuday. I just felt like I had nothing left to give. But God's power is made perfect in our weakness. I had such a good time with the kids... read them a Bible story, taught them the hokey-pokey, taught them some games, and they taught me some games (their games were way better too... these kids are so creative!)
reading the Jesus Bible Story book. Love their smiles!
I hope that you are all experiencing the love and comfort of the Savior this week!
This past week, I was blessed with the opportunity to go to South Africa for an Educator's conference in Johannesburg. The conference lasted four days, and then I went to Cape Town (fulfilling a life-long dream!) for the rest of the week. It was INCREDIBLE. I loved every minute I spent there and hope to return sometime in the future. I'll give you a little picture tour of my time spent in South Africa!
Ha, this is one of the most touristy/cheesy pictures ever. Note it says, "National Leographic" instead of "National Geographic". Clever, huh? But let's just say I was THRILLED to cuddle with a lion cub.
I was excited to feed the ostrich until I found out they are like the geese of Africa. They are so mean!
cage shark diving. The water was FREEZING. Thank goodness for wetsuits!
just one of the many Great Whites we saw!
We got to go whale watching! It's hard to see, but this is a Southern Right Whale.
the cable car we took up to Table Mountain. Incredible views!
On top of Table Mountain/on top of the world
penguins at Boulders Beach!
Met up with the girls from Iringa International where I student taught last year. A total God-thing! So good to reconnect with them!
Cape of Good Hope
"In your presence, there is FULLNESS of JOY." -Psalm 16:11
Ha, the VERY beginner board.
LOVED surfing! But let me tell you, it was exhausting!
Proud moment of my life!
the changing rooms on the beach at Muizenberg
Perfect way to spend the morning
"Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" -Ps. 8:9
"Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee. How great Thou art. How great Thou art!"
I wish these pictures captured more of the absolute beauty of this place, but at least it gives you a little idea. It was a wonderful week, and I'm SO thankful that God blessed me with the opportunity to go.
As I returned from South Africa, I found out that my dad has a tumor. He's having surgery tomorrow, and we will find out if it's cancerous or not. It kills me to be away from my family at this time. Please, please be praying for my dad!!
The other night, I was on a run, and this girl stopped me to ask if she could talk to me. She proceeded to ask me for a glass of water. I looked her over and quickly assessed that she had a healthy glow to her skin, was a healthy weight, and had clean clothes on. Determining that she didn't actually need the water, I told her that I was sorry, but I didn't have any money on me to buy water. She said, "Oh, then can I get water from your house?" Once again, I told her that I was sorry but that we had no filtered water in our house (which was true... minus a couple sips used for brushing my teeth... probably not what she would want.) I then ran off but instantly started thinking about that verse about entertaining angels and the passage in Matthew that talks about "Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for Me." Feeling like I really messed up, I told the Lord that I would invite her in and get some money to buy her water if I saw her again.
Sure enough, I saw her again, so I wentup to her and told her that I was sorry. I told her I was a Christian and that I know Jesus would give her water and wanted me to do the same. So I invited her into our house and gave her a banana and some chips. When I gave her the banana, she looked at me and asked, "Only one? And nothing to drink?" I apologized and told her once more we had nothing to drink in the house but that I would take her to the store and buy her some water. At the store, I brought enough money to buy a liter of water for her. Once again, she looked at me and asked, "That's all you brought?" At this point, I just wanted to be like, "Seriously?! Just take it and be grateful!!" (Clearly, the Lord is still at work within me!) It makes me wonder if I treat God that way sometimes... if I don't see all the blessings He's so clearly laid out in front of me, and I demand my "rights" instead of realizing the gifts He's given me. All I can say is, thank the Lord for His patience!
Anyway, this is only one example of this inner struggle I've had of how to really love like Christ here. Whenever I go to the market, there are these crippled men... some with no legs, sitting on the ground, moving around with their hands, begging. And then, there are the street children. The first thing they say to you is: "Give me money." I know that if I give them money, it really debilitates them from going to school, and probably does more harm then good. Yet my heart breaks for them, and I am constantly pressed with the question, "What would Jesus do?" I know He wouldn't just pass by them. So I've taken to the habit of buying them some water, something to eat, and praying over them. It never really feels like enough, but it's what I feel called to do for now. I want to embrace a Samaritan-like attitude where I am constantly choosing to bless the people God puts in my path, even if what I'm doing seems small and insignificant. And I want to do this wherever I am... whether in Africa, America, or elsewhere.
reading a Bible story to the kids at the orphanage
bought a soccer ball for the kids at the orphanage... best money I've spent yet!
after scoring a goal
playing on a slope... not the easiest thing, but these kids took it like champs!
Ran into these street boys as I was waiting for a ride. Always handy to have markers and paper on hand for moments like these!
The Rwandan teachers I have been teaching English to once a week. Such a privilege to work with these sweet people!
Bahati telling us about himself
with some of the teachers I've been working with.
Some exciting news: Next week at this time, I'll be in South Africa!!! So so excited for this. I will be in Johannesburg for a few days for an educator's conference and in Cape Town a few days fulfilling some dreams :) More updates and pictures to come...
