The Giving Hope (ZOE) orphan families

Today was amazingly eventful as we toured the 3rd year of the Giving Hope Program.  We have been a part of this through ZOE ministry already supporting the program up to this point.  Our goal is to adopt 1,000 more orphans who will begin the first year and walk with them to the third year of independence, a journey from hunger, isolation, abuse, and hopelessness, to hope, independence, community, faith, and life.  We toured a cassava plantation and later a coffee plantation run by the orphan families, saw homes, animals, the orphans themselves adopting other children, and communities created that provided security, education, food, and so much more.  This photo is the last part of the day when many of the orphans and their created families met with us.  They danced for and with us, sang, did some dramas they use to teach the younger children about aids and possible abuse, and fellowshipped in a remarkable way.  The event ended as we held hands and prayed together in Jesus Name.  I am convinced that God is leading us to step up in Rwanda as we get to partner with Jesus in the amazing recovery of a nation that has been wracked by genocide, civil war, and disease.  These children were born the first time in a season of strife and despair, through Giving hope they are being born again to a life of hope because Churches like ours are listening to the voice of Jesus.

Church, 3 hours with Jesus in Butare, Rwanda

Sunday in Africa

One of the difficult things on a trip like this is the time change, but the good think about that is we wake up early and see the sun rise. We arrived in Butare last night so just a few minutes ago I could look out the window.and see what this part of Rwanda looks like.  You see in this photo what I see;  beautiful isn’t it.  Banana and palm trees and an African man just barley visible who is cooing breakfast on an open fire. I wish you could hear the birds. We are preparing to go to Church.  In my devotional I read the verse, “as the deer thirst for the water brook so does my heart thirst for you O Lord!”.  God is good, His presence and love is the same everywhere.  We will go to a small pentecostal church near where we are staying, one many of the orphans in the Giving Hope program attend.  So not only will we meet God in a worship service, but we will meet some of the kids for the first time.  We are excited, to be in Africa, to get ready for Church, to get started with the Giving Hope ministry our Church will support at the level of 250,000, for the next three years, and to connect with  God, in worship, in the beautiful creation that surrounds us, in the friendships and partnership we are building, and in the hearts of us all as we thirst for God and prepare to drink.  Prayers for you.

Butare

Saturday was an amazing day.  We made the long drive to Butare where we will work directly with the giving hope program but along the way eventful things happened.  The photo is where we stopped to tour the school we will dedicate on Tuesday, a school that a family in our Church made possible.  It will be a tremendous impact teaching more than 300 students a year who will become teachers themselves.  There are multiple classrooms, cafeteria, dorm rooms, a kitchen, bathrooms, and a visible presence in the community.  We were highly impressed.  The people milling around are part of our church team and  groups from several other churches traveling with us.  On this same day we visited the Rwanda Genocide museum, after this sobering experience of learning more about the almost one million Rwandas who were killed sixteen years ago it was a blessing to see this tangible school that will make such a difference.  But we have seen more, Rwanda is rebuilding, infrastructure, churches, schools, homes, business, and even more importantly hearts.  Rwandans have made a commitment to put the past behind and build a new Rwanda that has no divisions and hate.  Our guide said it well, there is no longer any Hutus, and Tutsis, there are just Rwandans.  You can feel hope in the air.  We hope God can use us to help just a little as well as bring back the Spirit, Faith, and hope that so pervades this country of ten million.  What seems to be the key, an amazing ability to strive for justice for the victims, but also to forgive.  I think we have something to learn.  In ways Rwanda is a miracle.  What should could have totally destroyed a nation has not.  It is being born again with the help of people all over the world, and a spirit of hope and toil that is tangible.  It is great to meet the people and experience the faith they have and adding a little of our own (we ate lunch just a few feet from a hand-full of secretary birds,  Google secretary bird and see an amazing creature).

Rwanda

Epiphany met us there and we headed into the capital city of Kigali.  We are spending the night at the Iris guest house lodge, will visit the Genocide Museum in the morning, and then head out to connect with the orphans that we will be working with in the Giving Hope program the next 3 years. Rwanda is tropical and beautiful, lush and green, and packed full of people.  Pray our Church together can make a difference in this amazing part of the world.  We are also looking forward to the Secondary School Dedication on Tuesday.  Pray for me, Teresa, Debbie, Donnie, Kathy, Amy, Barbara , Jan, and the children we hope to impact in the next few years.  God is good giving us this opportunity as we represent Christ and you in this special season of Hope.  (By the way, if you ever get a chance to eat papaya, don’t, the pineapple tasted good though.)

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