Kigali is treating me well! I just finished my first day at church, and it was simply wonderful. It was SO good to be back in this church that I love so much. I truly do feel at home. During the morning service I stayed during the singing time, then I shared a few words with the church, and then I went into the children's service. There were almost 100 kids in one room of all different ages! So you can pray that we can figure out a way to be able to split up the kids into smaller groups according to their ages. My primary ministry will be in the children's ministry and I am VERY excited about that. They just started a Sunday school about 3 months ago (it is not that common in Rwanda), but they really believe in investing in it. So, it is a wonderful situation to step into! The morning service was about 3-4 hours long, so after coming back to the home to eat lunch, it was about time to go back for the evening service! Their evening service is in both English and Kinyarwanda. So I am really looking forward to being involved in the Sunday school in the mornings and then being able to go to church for myself in the evenings! God really has continued to confirm that this is where he wants me for this year. It is so wonderful to be able to tell people that I am not leaving in a few weeks, but that I am able to stay for a year! They always look shocked. Thank you all for your continued prayers and encouragement. It truly means a lot. I wrote an update on July 4th, but I wasn't able to post it...so I will post that below.
Friday July 4th
I arrived safely in Kigali!! Around 4:30pm on July 2nd, I arrived in Kigali and Pastor Joel picked me up at the airport. We went to his home (which is now also my home for these next few weeks!) and ate a meal with his family. His children (Daniella: age 3, Nathan: age 2, and Joella: 8 months) were very excited to see me and immediately began telling me all sorts of things in Kinyarwanda! Daniella and Nathan are always wanting to play, sit in my lap, play with my hair, look at my things, etc etc etc. They really are very cute and it is fun to feel so loved by them.
My room is very nice…with a very comfortable bed, and even mu own outlet to plug things into! I feel very blessed. For these first few days they want for me to just be able to rest and adjust to being in Rwanda. On Monday we will begin to move forward with my time here this year. I really do feel like they have made their home my home. Of course it can still be a little difficult to figure out how I fit into their family routine, but so far it really is going well.
Yesterday I went to the church with Queen (Joel’s sister-in-law who also lives in this house) for worship band practice. It was SO wonderful to just sit in the church and listen to them practice. I just love worshiping God in other countries!!
So…I am looking forward to continuing to get settled in and learn as much of the language as possible! Right now I have to use Joel’s computer any time I want to use the internet, so I am not sure when I will be able to post this…but I thought I could at least write it and then post it once I am able to get connected!
2 comments:
Thanks for posting, Alyssa! It is great to hear how you are doing. We are always praying for you. I am not surprised Pastor Joel's kids love you. The children's ministry is a great fit for you too! Love you, Jaime & Josh
4 hours in a church service? How much of that time do you spend sleeping? I think you should say "Look I love Jesus, and I know there's not much else to do, but this is ridiculous". You could also add, "Saddleback shoots for an hour..." If this doesn't work, try getting them to sing the second special song 45 minuets into the message, and if it's like Saddleback, half the people will get up and leave, thus giving you an out. Try it. See what happens.
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