A Penny in my Pocket

Some of you might know the Jana Alayra song, “A Penny in my Pocket.”

A penny in my pocket; a dollar in my shoe

When I give them all to Jesus; there’s nothing he can’t do

To feed a hungry neighbor; Give shelter from the cold

Take a wounded heart; And make it whole

Oh, we are one family; Oh, in the Son of God you see

Yes, he’s calling us to be; His arms of love, His arms of love

We are his arms of love; We are his arms of love

Well, these children from all around the world that have become one family, shot up their hands as soon as the song was over and had MUCH to share. Here are some of the things they said:

“Every year, when the year is beginning again, we invite a lot of kids who have no mommy or daddy to come into our house and I get to serve them food and drink and we had someone who did funny things come and make us laugh.”

“I saw a boy the other day and I told my dad to give him food but he didn’t want to, so I told him to give him money, but he didn’t want to.”

“We have visitors that are sleeping in our house right now!”

“The other day, my dad’s friend came over to our house, and she had two kids with her who had no mommy or daddy and no food. And that’s what she does. She takes care of and feeds all the kids who need it.”

“The other day I saw a boy and he asked me for money and I said, “sorry, I don’t have any money.” And my mom was up in the salon. But my brother was by me and I talked to him for a long time and he was so kind because he gave me money to give to the boy.”

“In the genocide, my dad is a doctor, and he just went around and helped people and saved their lives.”

And they continued…It was a bit different than singing it at Saddleback in Orange County! These aren’t just words to these children; this is normal everyday life that they experience.

Later in the day, one of my students asked “why did God not give Rwanda money?” Now, I have to admit it wasn’t quite that articulate. Partly because it can be hard to understand her with her accent. And partly because she was trying to explain what she had seen in her country and couldn’t understand why Rwanda was different. About half the class resonated well and also understood the heart of her question immediately. Another student immediately asked, “yah, why did God choose to give money to only some countries, to only a very few?”

So, yes, I was attempting to facilitate a discussion about the different economies of the world and the role God plays in that with my Kindergarten class!!

Yesterday

I need to blog more often about my normal days because sometimes things happen that are not so normal and I forget. And other times it might be helpful to just read about a normal day! So…yesterday. Yesterday was umuganda (the last Saturday morning of every month all shops are closed and no one can be driving, so that everyone can do community work) so I woke up to the sound of the man walking around with a microphone or bullhorn or something telling me that I should wake up and go to Umuganda! Well, many people have different theories about whether or not muzungus should go to umuganda (they shouldn’t—it’s distracting to the other workers, they should—it builds community, it doesn’t matter); but, I didn’t go. So I woke up and just had a slow morning…cleaning my room, washing a few things, playing with the kids…then I went and bought a few things so that I could bake with our new toaster oven from my mom! After baking banana bread and banana chocolate chip (thanks for sending the chocolate chips!!) muffins, I hung out with the kids some because Annie was out shopping. I then enjoyed having the time to warm plenty of hot water to bathe with, dry my hair, iron my clothes…and get everything ready for church the next morning! Right after that, Andrew (who was at our house enjoying the freshly baked things and a movie) told me that someone in our church was very sick and needed to be taken to the hospital. So, I threw on some clothes and we hopped in the car to go pick up this guy. He was very sick (unable to walk, moaning in the back of my car, bad stomach pains…) so his brother and a member of the worship team were also in the back of my car helping him while andrew was in the front explaining the health insurance in Rwanda that costs 2 dollars a year and gives the benefit of paying only 10 percent of whatever your hospital bill is (as long as it is a government hospital, which of course is not the highest quality hospital in Rwanda). When we arrived at the hospital, Andrew was dealing with all the paperwork, so I was talking in broken English and a little Kinyarwanda with the member of the worship team. I see him pretty much every day, but I really knew very little about his life. He was telling me about how his father died during the genocide, and his mother died a year later. He grew up living on the streets, from about age 7-14. From then on, I am not sure all the different places he has been living. I just know now he lives with a few other people in a small room the church owns. It was a reminder that even though life feels very normal here, the people I am friends with and am sharing in life with have had very different experiences than me. Around 11:30pm or so we were on our way home and Andrew and I talked about the end of the world…He was telling me about an article he read that talked about the uniting of nations and people wanting to insert chips into our foreheads and certain barcodes that had 666 ingrained in them…and I explained how I thought you had to be careful when you read things about end times because there are so many different opinions. Then, we all went home and went to bed so we could be up for church the next morning! I have to step back sometimes to take in the things that are so radically different than how I have grown up. Living here makes those things seem more “normal”--sometimes I miss even noticing them.

"Papa Wanjye"

Last night on my way home from school, Andrew called me and asked me if I could help drive someone to the hospital. This is not that unusual of a request, and often that might just mean they need to go to a local clinic. When I arrived at church I discovered that Jacquline, one of the genocide orphans that the church helps support, was in a very traumatic state. She saw her father being killed during the genocide, when she was about five years old. Every once in awhile, usually during April in the time of mourning, she relives what she saw. It was a pretty sobering experience to go to her home, watch Andrew pick her up and carry her to my car, and drive her to a counseling place. As we drive to the place, Jaquline was wailing in the back seat of my car,”My father, My father, they are killing him, they are killing him, they are cutting him, they will throw him into the river, My father, My father.” I can’t understand any of those words in Kinyarwanda except for “Papa Wanjye(My Father).” Hearing her sob “Papa Wanjye” over and over again will always be something I remember. Her sister, Gloriose, (not a sister by blood, but she is also an orphan who has grown up with her) also witnessed her parents being killed in the genocide, so it is of course very difficult for her to watch. It starts an ugly cycle of each of them reliving the trauma they have been through. This morning Andrew called me and they are borrowing my car to take them back to a medical counseling center as they are both in a bad place again. People all over the world experience from trauma and the post-effects of that. And we should always be praying for them. But today, for me, and hopefully for you, it becomes more personal. Please be praying specifically for Jacquline and Gloriose today.

MORE PICTURES!

Ok, the formatting was taking a VERY long time...so this may not turn out quite as nice, but here are a bunch more pictures! Don't forget to look at the post below as well as I just split the pictures into a few posts! ENJOY!!

AND...now I am adding pictures from Lydia's wedding and dowry ceremony!


Daniella and Nathan and I--all in cultural dress!



















The Wheelers and I at Lydia's introduction!















Other KICS teachers and I at Lydia's introduction (dowry ceremony).







Queen and I, getting ready to serve the table of old men negotiating for Lydia!












I am trying to help the kids to go in the right places, which is funny since it is a cultural ceremony!!













Joella and I at Lydia's Wedding.

















Lydia giving Queen the final instructions before she left for the States!




















The cultural drummers at the dowry ceremony.





















Lydia and her husband on the day of the dowry ceremony.
















Nathan riding his bike! (Yes, he rides his bike in the sitting room! That is where the flat ground is I guess...)










Andrew, Joel, and Annie in the church office.















Nathan's second birthday! (Joel, Annie, Daniella, Nathan, and Joella)















Joella and I enjoying the afternoon!


























New Years is a big deal in Rwanda!! We had an overnight service at church (I was surprisingly awake for being in a church service from 8:00pm until 6:00am that was in a language I couldn't understand!) To the left is the church packed, and below is outside--we projected what was happening inside to a group sitting outside under tents!

















Christmas in Rwanda! Starting from top 1. Christmas lights! Yes, one night as I was driving home with Mushi and Andrew I stopped again and again to try to capture the Christmas spirit in Rwanda. 2. The children huddled around to watch the Jesus Film for Children in Kinyarwanda on Christmas. 3. LOOK! The Church is decorated for Christmas! It made me SO happy. 4. The Children's Ministry on Christmas...being taught the Christmas Story by Queen.




















































My Car broke down (again) on Christmas Eve. I was quite frustrated, but luckily the guys dealt with it for me (picture to the left!) and Queen and I just happily went shopping for the children's ministry (picture below!)
































Baptism!!






















This is me with one of DDC's small groups. They were having a party for someone who had just been baptized!







Joel and I in the office. I love the church office. For real...it is just a wonderful place to be.

















Cows on a Basketball Court!!















My family!! (Everyone except Joel)















The tailoring class at our church. They have two women to one machine, trying to give them a skill to improve their lives. Our church does some awesome things!!

PICTURES!!

The Worship Team at DDC(our church)!











I took Daniella and Nathan to the "fall festival" at KICS (the school I teach at). It was so fun to watch them enjoy the bounce house, food from all different countries and classic carnival games!




The school name surrounded by many of the flags of the nationalities represented at our school.











Family Visit! Luke, Daddy and I walking into KICS.




Here is a picture of my classroom! You can see most of it in this picture. The picture is taken from the door and my desk is in the back to the left in this picture. Momma is showing Shannon (my friend and the first grade teacher) and I the things they brought for the Kindergarteners!








Here is me getting my class in the morning just like I do everyday!










Lori (Wheeler) leads worship for chapel every Wednesday and I am her faithful assistant! These weekly times of leading the students in praising God with her will always be a special memory.







Ok, yes...this is a picture of the little ones napping. But I would like for you to look extra close to see a VERY large "Kindergartener" in the middle of all of them!! Luke was pretty tired after traveling!!!






The next few pictures are all in Mutara (the Eastern Province) where our church (DDC) has planted a new church. We were doing a crusade there while my family was visiting and we all went. (And Daddy preached because Joel had just had his appendix taken out!) This picture is of Queen and I...I hadn't seen anyone from church in about 5 days (which felt liek SO long!)because they had started the crusade while I had to keep working so I was SO happy to see all of them!






My "brothers" and me! From the left: Sunday, Mushi, Me, Andrew, and Tom. God seriosuly has blessed me with an amazing friendships here in Rwanda!!






Yay! Daddy, Momma, and Luke came to visit me!! It really was so neat to be able to show them life here. Thanks again for coming!





The Worship Team praising God in the countryside of Rwanda!












The family enjoying milk inside Peter's (one of DDC's "staff members") mom's home. I simply love this home! I feel SO at peace in this place. I try to visit as often as I can even though it is 3 hours away!

Queen, Tom and I outside Peter's mom's home.

Luke teaching Sunday School! I stayed in the main service this day to watch Daddy and help him find the right verses in Kinyarwanda...so I put Luke in Sunday School!!








Daddy, Luke, and Andrew doing DriveTime Devotions in Rwanda!












Uh-oh! Something happened to my car! But no worries...Daddy will teach me all I need to know!

Time

So today I overheard someone on the phone saying, "But, yes, you are meeting with an American so you must be on time! Please rush."

It made me laugh. True...haha...but it made me laugh. That's the interesting thing when you have meetings with people from all different cultures. I think I am becoming mostly Rwandan in my sense of time though :-)

Other than that today has been a fairly normal day. School happened, we had a meeting about accreditation instead of Kinyarwanda Lessons after school (so that was a little sad), and then I got to talk to my good friend Ashleyne (so that was a highlight!)

I am at the church office now, which is always wonderful and I will soon go home to see if Queen is trying to bake something with our new toaster oven that my mom sent us (thanks again!!).

Basketball Game!!

I just got home from my watching my very first international professional basketball game! It was SO much fun!! It was the Rwandan national team against the Kenyan national team and RWANDA won!! Woohoo! Anyway, it was quite the experience getting into the game as the soccer game was just getting out...so crazy crowds were all around my car that was stuck in traffic that could only go one way because the President's wife was coming to the basketball game! Once I finally got in I had to push my way through a crowd to get in, get a ticket and meet the Wheeler family at the seats down on the floor (which costs 10 dollars, by the way :-). It was so fun to cheer on Rwanda and to just be at a basketball game!!