Ken & Bev - Still serving Him

2011-09-14T07:22:00.002+02:00

Sobering facts about the men and women on the Vietnam Wall"Carved on these walls is the story of America , of a continuing quest to preserve both democracy and decency, and to protect a national treasure that we call the American dream."Something to think about: Most of the surviving parents of the dead are now deceased themselves.There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010.    The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.    The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth , Mass. , listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965.There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall. 39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.    The largest age group, 8,283 were just 19 years old 33,103 were 18 years old.    12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old. 5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.    One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.    997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam .    1,448 soldiers were killed on their last scheduled day in Vietnam .    31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.    Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.    54 soldiers on the Wall attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia ....wonder why so many from one school?    8 Women are on the Wall -- nursing the wounded.    244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall.    Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.   West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation.  There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.    The Marines of Morenci - They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed  roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest . And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci's mining families, the nine  graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps.  Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.    The Buddies of Midvale - LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few  yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam . In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.    The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 -- 245 deaths.    The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 -- 2,415 casualties were incurred.    For many Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those of us who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the  pain that these numbers created. We are, until we too pass away, haunted with these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters.    There are no noble wars, just noble warriors...    "That we never forget"  

Getting Smarter

2011-08-31T06:38:00.002+02:00

A Bike Ride with God

2011-07-30T18:49:00.005+02:00

A Bike Ride with God - Author Unknown

At first I saw God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there, sort of like the president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I really didn't know him. But later on when I met Christ, it seemed as though life were rather like a bike ride, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal.

I don't know just when it was that He suggested that we change places, but life has not been the same since. When I had control, I knew the way. It was rather boring but predictable ... It was the shortest distance between two points. But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places at breakneck speeds, and it was all I could do to hang on! Even though it looked like madness, He said, "Pedal." I worried and was anxious and asked, "Where are You taking me?" He laughed and didn't answer, and I started to learn to trust. I forgot my boring life and entered into the adventure. And when I say, "I'm scared," He'd lean back and touch my hand. He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance, and joy. They gave me gifts to take on my journey, my Lord's and mine. And we're off again. He said, "Give the gifts away, they're extra baggage, too much weight." So I did, to the people we met, and I found that in giving I received, and still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him at first, to be in control of my life, I thought He would wreck it; But He knows bike secrets, knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners, knows how to jump to clear high rocks, knows how to fly to shorten scary passages. I'm learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places, and I'm beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face with my delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ. And when I'm sure I just can't do anymore, He smiles and says ... "Pedal."

Our updated info

2010-11-01T20:05:00.001+02:00

Hello from our new home in Vancouver, Washington.

We have a new home phone number:
360 750-8800.

Our new address is:
5416 NE 54th Ave
Vancouver, WA 98661

Bev's cell phone:
404 791-3624

Ken's cell phone:
404 791-3584

We received our things from our storage unit in Maine so Bev has the house looking more like a home. Now we are waiting on our shipment from Africa with most of our dishes, kitchen pots and pans, my tools and some clothes.

This seems to be a very nice neighborhood and have already met some of the folks living around us. Last night was Halloween we had many, many trick or treaters. I wish we had kept a count, there must have been close to a hundred. Had a large bucket of candy, that I thought we would never get rid of, so I was giving out a hand fulls to all the first little ghosts, goblins and fairy princesses. When that got down low we went to giving one piece each, then dug into the pantry for the little boxes of juice drinks, fiber bars, boxes of rasins and ended up in the fruit dish, which was not a big hit, (had a few "no thank you") and ("that was weird") as they walked away.

It is very nice to be close to family again. Our granddaughter Audrey is, of course an absolute delight.

We would love to see you if your ever in the Portland, OR / Vancouver, WA area. The coffee pot is always on and we'll leave the light on for ya.

We thank you all for your prayers and support over the past 4 years. You may never know the blessing you were to us and to the children of Rwanda until you reach your reward in Heaven. May the Lord truly bless each one of you and may you joy in the knowledge of His salvation and love.

God bless,
Ken & Bev

Zambia info

2010-08-02T16:51:00.001+02:00

ZAMBIA INFO

Seasons

There are two main seasons, the rainy season (November to April) corresponding to summer, and the dry season (May to October/November), corresponding to winter. The dry season is subdivided into the cool dry season (May to August), and the hot dry season (September to October/November). The modifying influence of altitude gives the country pleasant subtropical weather rather than tropical conditions for most of the year.

Rainy season

Rainfall varies over a range of 500 to 1,400 mm (19.7 to 55.1 in) per year (most areas fall into the range 700 to 1,200 mm/27.6 to 47.2 in). The distinction between rainy and dry seasons is marked, with no rain at all falling in June, July and August. Much of the economic, cultural and social life of the country is dominated by the onset and end of the rainy season, and the amount of rain it brings. Failure of the rains causes famine from time to time.

The rains are brought by the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and are characterised by thunderstorms, occasionally severe, with much lightning and sometimes hail. The ITCZ is located north of Zambia in the dry season. It moves southwards in the second half of the year, and northwards in the first half of the year. In some years, it moves south of Zambia, leading to a "little dry season" in the north of the country for three or four weeks in December.

The highest rainfall is in the north, especially the north-west and the north-east, decreasing towards the south; the driest areas are in the far south west and the Luangwa River and middle Zambezi River valleys, parts of which are considered semi-arid. None of the country is considered arid or to be desert.

Flooding is an annual event on floodplains, to which people and wildlife are adapted. Flash floods after unusually heavy rain cause damage when they occur in places that do not experience annual floods. Erosion and the washing out of roads and bridges are common. Crops are frequently damaged by flooding and hail. Too much rain when the maize crop is flowering, or late in the season when it should be drying off prior to harvest can be very damaging and promotes rotting of stored grain.

Dry season

Plant and animal adaptations

Deciduous trees which lose leaves in the dry season to conserve water predominate over evergreens which have waxy leaf cuticles for the same purpose. The deciduous trees usually produce fresh green or reddish leaves just before the rainy season. Grasses and some other herbaceous plants dry up above ground but regenerate quickly with the onset of rains from roots and tubers, etc.

Except for those living in areas of permanent freshwater, animals are adapted to the long dry season, as seen in migration and breeding patterns.

Bushfires

In the middle to late dry season, bushfires are prevalent, and smoke is noticeable by smell and as a haze. The fires are ignited by villagers hunting, burning crop residue, and preparing chitemene gardens; or by lightning in the early rainy season. Because such fires happen annually, there is no great build up of dry fuel in the bush, and so the fires are not usually devastating. They may kill animals, and damage crops if the rains end early and fires happen before harvest. The presence of fire-adapted plants and palaeoecological studies indicate that such fires have happened for millennia.

Water sources in the dry season

Most rivers, lakes and swamps, except in the far south and south-west, are permanent. In addition, dambos (grasslands which become marshy in the rainy season) are prevalent in most of the country and water is usually available in them from springs or shallow wells. Dambos also release groundwater to streams and rivers towards the end of the dry season, keeping them flowing permanently. Small earth dams are often constructed in dambos as a source of water and as fishponds.

For the human population, the location of rural settlements is determined by access to water in the dry season (though boreholes are now commonly used to augment supplies). Traditionally, people have also migrated in the drier areas where rivers dambos are not prevalent. In Barotseland, people move with their livestock, grazing them on the Barotse Floodplain in the dry season and moving to higher ground at the margins during the rainy season.

The ability to grow enough food in the rainy season to last the long dry season is also a factor in population distribution. Traditionally some communities have divided the year into farming in the rainy season, and fishing and hunting in the dry season, when herbivores can be found more easily as they visit sources of water, and fires can be set to expose them or drive them into traps.

Temperature

The elevation of the great plateau on which Zambia is located, typically between 1,000 and 1,300 metres (3,281 and 4,265 ft), modifies temperatures, which are lower than for coastal areas at the same latitude, and pleasant for much of the year. On the plateau (covering about 80% of the country) temperature ranges, depending on location are:

▪ June (cool dry season): 6–12 °C (42.8–53.6 °F) (mean daily minimum) to 21–26 °C (69.8–78.8 °F) (mean daily maximum)

▪ October (hot dry season): 17–22 °C (62.6–71.6 °F) (mean daily minimum) to 28–35 °C (82.4–95 °F) (mean daily maximum)

▪ February (rainy season): 14–19 °C (57.2–66.2 °F) (mean daily minimum) to 25–30 °C (77–86 °F) (mean daily maximum)

Most of the country is frost-free but in some years ground frost occurs. This is restricted to the highest exposed hills, or more widely in the lower humidity areas of the southernmost parts of the country.

Temperatures are higher at lower elevations, such as the Luapula-Mweru and Mweru Wantipa/Tanganyika valleys in the north, and highest in the lower Luangwa and Zambezi valleys in the south, typically experiencing 40 °C (104 °F) in October, with rising humidity making for uncomfortable conditions.

During the rainy season months of November to April or May some days may be humid, but daily maximum temperatures are usually a little lower than in the hot dry season. The rain can be cooling, unlike in the humid tropics.

Wind

Prevailing winds in the dry season are generally moderate but occasionally more severe and may bring cool dust-laden air from distant arid regions. Whirlwinds are very common but not usually destructive; waterspouts can be seen over lakes.

In the rainy season, winds are localised with thunderstorms and may be destructive but usually confined to small areas, such as blowing roofs off buildings. The country does not suffer tornadoes or cyclones of widespread destructive force.

Languages of Zambia

The official language of Zambia is English, which is used to conduct official business and is the medium of instruction in schools. The main local language, especially in Lusaka, is Nyanja. However, Bemba and Nyanja are spoken in the urban areas in addition to other indigenous languages which are commonly spoken in Zambia. These are: Ambo, Aushi, Bisa, Chikunda, Cishinga, Cokwe, Gova, Ila, Inamwanga, Iwa, Kabende, Kaonde, Kosa, Kunda, Kwandi, Kwandu, Kwangwa, Lala, Lamba, Lenje, Leya, Lima, Liyuwa, Lozi, Luano, Lucazi, Lumbu, Lunda, Lundwe, Lungu, Luunda, Luvale, Makoma, Mambwe, Mashasha, Mashi, Mbowe, Mbukushu, Mbumi, Mbunda, Mbwela, Mukulu, Mulonga, Ndembu, Ng'umbo, Nkoya, Nsenga, Nyengo, Nyiha, Sala, Seba, Senga, Shanjo, Shila, Simaa, Soli, Subiya, Swaka, Tabwa, Tambo, Toka, Tonga, Totela, Tumbuka, Twa, Unga, Wandya and Yombe. Estimates of the total number of languages spoken in Zambia add up to 72,[20] thirteen (13) dialects are counted as languages in their own right which brings this number to 85.

2010-07-21T21:22:00.007+02:00

Dear Family and Friends,

As the beautiful Rwandan sun sets on our time at Rafiki Village Rwanda we look back and praise God for the privilege and blessings the Lord has given us in knowing and loving these wonderful Rwandan people. We will miss many dear friends as well as our dear mama's and precious children here at Rafiki Village Rwanda.

As difficult as it is to leave Rwanda we so look forward to a new village, new friends and new children in Zambia. Those we are leaving and those we will soon meet will ever be in our prayers. It does not matter so much the physical place we are located as long as we are where the Lord desires us to be...."not my will but thine O Lord." We know God works all things for good to those who love him.

We thank God for each of you who have partnered with us here in Rwanda. You are vital to this ministry, our support team and to us and we pray you will make the transition to Zambia with us. We trust God that our hearts are big enough to love another village full of wonderful mama's, children and ROS teammates.

We ask for your continued prayers as we travel to Zambia and adjust to life there. May we continue to witness the wonders of the Lord's love, His work and His provision as He equips us to serve with joy unspeakable. Also please pray with us for the new team in Rwanda as they settle in to a new village, new language and learning many new things. And for these children as God continues to work great things in their lives.

Here are some photos from the past couple months here in Rwanda.

Ken & Bev with all the Rafiki Rwanda children, Mama’s, Aunties and the New Team members.

Kitchen staff that Ken has been working with.

Mufasha and Bebito, they are siblings and two of our newest children.

Bev with Juliet and Jen. Juliet was our house helper and is now working as a teacher’s aid in the school. Jen is Juliet’s sister.

Sam is the assistant to the village director and nearly like a son to us.

Thank you for your continued support and may God bless you. Much love,

Ken & Bev

May Newsletter

2010-05-24T16:46:00.004+02:00

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:19)

Dear Family and Friends,

What a delight to see how God’s children have developed over the past year. It hardly seems possible that it was nearly a year ago when our first children came to call Rafiki Village Rwanda home. We are so blessed to have the privilege of being a small part of their lives.

Bev’s teaching of the eleven children in the Three Year Old Class and the Kindergarteners has been the delight of her heart. In our last newsletter the Three’s Class were learning to use binoculars. The Kindergarten lesson in April included memorizing the poem “Grandmother’s Glasses” for an In-School Recitation held on April 28th. It was simply amazing how much better you can see to read when wearing spectacles!

Ken and Sam have made many trips to the villages in Bugesera District doing background inquiries on possible new children coming to Rafiki. After weeks of interviews, paperwork and medical exams nine children will be coming to live at Rafiki on May 10^th. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

As part of personnel restructuring Ken has taken on the kitchen oversight duties. Only God knew that Ken’s Culinary Arts training back in the 60’s would come into use 40 years later. New equipment has been added to the kitchen, thanks to a generous donor, which will make life a little easier for the kitchen staff to be able to put out more meals in less time.

Special thanks for the generous donations for playground equipment. Very soon the children were having an absolute wonderful time learning to slide and swing for the very first time. Also we thank the donors for funding earmarked for the drilling of a well for the village.

One last news item is we are being transferred from Rwanda to Rafiki Village Zambia. We are sad to leave these dear children and the friends we have made in Rwanda, but as we pack for this move we are looking forward to the new challenges God has for us in Zambia. If God has touched your heart with a burden for these Rafiki orphans and you would like to help keep us on the field please contact the Rafiki Home Office with your donation or pledge. Our name and ROS # 176 has to be on the paperwork for pledges and donations to be appropriately credited to our account. We are ever grateful to God for your love, prayers and support, which undergird as we serve the Lord with Rafiki.

Pray for-

· Mama’s and children as they adjust to a new team of ROS.

· Sam, Ken’s Assistant, as he encourages the new village director and team.

· Nationals to continue to work well, mindful of safety and with integrity of heart.

· Each ROS transitioning, those who leave and those who come to Rwanda.

· As we prepare to hand-off our responsibilities here in Rwanda.

· As we adjust to a new village and new responsibilities in Zambia.

·
All who are preparing to come to Rwanda will be excited and blessed of God.

Praise God for-

· The time for overlap of ROS to afford a smooth transition

· He is the Blessed Controller of all things, His will and His ways are perfect.

· Our time in Rwanda, the privilege to know and love these precious children and people.

· The opportunity He has given us to serve here.

· You who uphold, encourage and support these children, this work and us as we serve in the name of Jesus.

Lovingly in Christ,

Ken & Bev

The Journey continues

2010-04-30T15:55:00.002+02:00

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NIV

Dear Family and Friends,

There have been many changes come about the past two weeks. Our minds have been in a stir, as have our hearts. We have gone thru all the stages of grief as these changes have affected us deeply. However, as we have sought the Lord in prayer, we see that God’s will is often not our own. Though we may not understand we see this as coming from His hand at this time. Our hearts are deeply rooted in this village and with these dear children and Mama’s. We have come to love the nationals in Rwanda and have developed deep friendships here with them, not just those in the village but also those in the surrounding communities. We assumed the Lord would keep us in Rwanda until He decided to take us home, either to the states or to Heaven. However, that is not His plan.

The restructuring of Rafiki personnel is necessary due to the need of placing training people in specific key areas in Africa. These people will facilitate godly training with the implementation of Rafiki Biblical School Curriculum for use in national, Christian and private schools. This has tremendous possibilities to reach literally millions of people with the Word of God. Praise be to God.

We have been advised that we will be moving to Rafiki Village Zambia. We have not been given a definite time for this move but have been assured it will occur within the next three months.
Our current team members will also be experiencing changes with Cricket Meyer moving to Uganda, Tim & Patty Yoss to Kenya and Annemarie Kelly has chosen to return to Texas.

Please be in prayer for the Mama’s and children as they adjust to an entirely new team of ROS (Rafiki Overseas Staff).

Please pray the nationals with whom we work and know will continue to work well, mindful of safety and with integrity of heart.

Praise the Lord, as there will be time allotted with overlap of ROS to afford a smooth transition of duties and responsibilities.

Please be praying for ASSIMWE Sam, Ken’s Assistant, as he bears a heavy load as he encourages the new village director and team to life in Rwanda with cultural adjustments, language barriers and the management of the village after we leave Rwanda.

May transition be smooth for each ROS, those who leave and those who come, as they adjust to new surroundings, countries, language, co-workers and team mates. And please uphold us in prayer as we prepare to hand-off our responsibilities here to those coming after us being transferred from other Rafiki Villages.

May all who are preparing to come here be well advised, excited and blessed of God. Realizing they too leave a piece of their heart in the village they are leaving.

Prayer for us as we adjust to a new village and new jobs.

We Praise the Lord that He is the Blessed Controller of ALL things and His will and His ways are perfect.

Praise the Lord for our time in Rwanda and the privilege to know and love these precious children, Mama’s and nationals and for the opportunity He has given to serve here.

We Praise the Lord for you who uphold, encourage and support these children, this work and us in so many ways exhibiting the love of Christ Jesus.

Witnesses for Him,
Ken and Bev

February Praise and Prayer Requests

2010-02-14T10:01:00.005+02:00

RAFIKI VILLAGE RWANDA

Village

Updates

PTL we have our new additions to the water storage tanks and now have over 80,000 L on hand

when they are full. This helps us with our short-term goals of having adequate water supply.

Construction is continuing on Ephesians and Philippians (Cottages 5 & 6); refurbi

shing Philip (Guest House) from temporary kitchen and dining hall back to a Guest House.

Preparing a playground area and equipment for the children.

Will be moving the school from Galatians (Cottage 4) to the second half of Dining Hall (Elijah).

Praises:

· Continuing construction on cottages 4-5-6, (Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians)

· Completing construction on the second side of Elijah, the Dining Hall. Which will serve as temporary classroom area.

· For the donations to complete the playground equipment for the children.

· Donations that provided for the addition of 2 new 10,000L water tanks. This helps with the short term solution to our village water issues

· For the funds to refurbish Philip, the Guest House

· We are thankful for all those who support Rafiki through prayer and giving. We ask the Lord to mightily bless those who give sacrificially.

Prayer Requests:

Please pray for:

· Unity, health and safety for village team, national workers, teachers, mothers, assistants and ROS, All working together for the glory of God.

· Funding for new primary school and a duplex for additional ROS.

· Funding to drill a borehole for water on our village .

· That we would find an adequate supply of water with a borehole on the village

· The Lord to send two additional ROS to Rafiki Village Rwanda; Specifically, a teacher and construction manager.

· That the Ministry of Finance will approve Tax-free status for Rafiki Village Rwanda

· The Widows Program will become operational in Rwanda.

· Our workers to maintain a high standard of work performance and loyalty to Rafiki’s goals.

ChildCare/Medical Program:

Updates:

Praises:

· The children are growing physically, spiritually and in their understanding and ability to use English.

· Money for playground equipment was donated. The children are imagining what it will be like to play on slides and swings that up until now they’ve only seen in picture books. Having watched builders and maintenance men climb ladders, the children are eager to have a ladder of their own to climb up the slide.

· God blessed the children with another month of good health.

· Pediatrician, Dr. Elaine Tan, will be here for annual check ups March 1-3.

Prayer requests:

Please pray for:

· The Rafiki children to come to know Jesus as their Savior

· English speaking applicants for additional Rafiki mothers, substitute mothers, mothers’ assistants and kitchen/laundry staff who love the Lord and have hearts for serving Him and His children

· MiniMissionaries to share in the work and the blessings

· Good discipline resulting in joyful obedience

· God’s guidance in choosing the next children to become part of the Rafiki family from the many orphans in Rwanda

· Health, strength and safety for the Rafiki children and staff

· God to be glorified through His Word at Work at Rafiki Village Rwanda

Education Program

Updates

Praises:

· A national teachers’ aide

· Provision of a temporary school

· Our children

· Uniforms for all the children

Requests:

Please pray for:

· That our students will have a clear understanding of the gospel and accept Christ as their Savior

· For wisdom in training our newest national staff member, Patrick

· That Patrick will assimilate quickly and well

· For the means to build a permanent facility for our school

· For wisdom to teach and shepherd our children

· That our children will continue to grow in their understanding and use of English

· That our newest children will learn English quickly

Feb 2010 Newsletter

2010-02-05T21:33:00.007+02:00

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you….”John 13:34 (NIV)

Dear Family and Friends,

Here it is the staring of a new year in Rwanda. The year 2010 hardly seems possible, it even sounds strange to say it. We are so blessed to be starting it here in Rwanda, serving the Lord with the Rafiki Foundation.

This New Year has started with a surprising burst of activity. The first half of our new Dining Hall is finished and operating. We serve three meals and a snack each day to twenty four precious gifts from God, along with their Rafiki Mothers and Aunties. As you may remember we have had six children’s cottages started but only three of those finished and operating. Praise the Lord we have received funding to finish the next three cottages, to complete the second half of the dining hall, to outfit our guest house and to build a playground for the children.

Bev is teaching eleven children in our class of three year old Pre-K’s. She is also team teaching the afternoon Kindergarten class with our Education Director, Anne Kelly. The children continue to increase in their knowledge and use of English. We are amazed how fast they learn. Bev is able to acquaint them with many new and wonderful things. Many that we simply take for granted, like the use of binoculars. While out on a nature walk the boys were fascinated that they could see a red bird in a tree far up the hill with their (paper) binoculars. Upon closer visual exam after “adjusting” their binoculars realized it was a man in a red shirt trimming the tree branches. Much discussion ensued. On another such outing little Marie, the youngest, excitedly exclaimed, “Auntie Bev, I found a weef ! I found a weef!” (leaf)

Ken has had many days of chasing paperwork for with the New Year comes the renewing of VISA’s, Work Permits, NGO registrations and Green cards. As always, leading the daily national Bible study is the highlight of his day.

There was also time to take the Kindergarten class for a field trip to the farm. Everyone had a grand time, including Ken.

We have heard God’s call to serve for the next two years in Rwanda with the Rafiki Foundation and we ask for your prayers. We are short of our needed support and are now at 67% of our total for two years. If God has touched your heart with a burden for these Rwandan orphans and you would like to help keep us on the field in Rwanda, please contact the Rafiki Home Office with your donation or pledge. Our ROS # 176 has to be on the paperwork for pledges and donations to be appropriately credited to our account. We are ever grateful to God for your love and prayers which are such encouragement as we serve in Rwanda.

Lovingly in Christ, Ken and Bev

Back in Rwanda

2010-01-01T12:58:00.001+02:00

We are in Rwanda and so loving being back "home". Had a scramble this morning and it was not our eggs!! haha Sitting around in Kenya eating breakfast and talking around 9 :30 AM and Ken gets a call from SOS and they tell us we have a flight to Rwanda that leaves at 12:30. YIKES !!! He told them we were not sure we could make it as we were over an hour from the airport and would have to get a driver from Nairobi to come out to get us at the Rafiki Village and take us to the airport but assured them we would try. Fortunately we only had a back pack each and Ken had a carry on with his computer. He was still on the phone with SOS and I went to the bedroom and started throwing stuff in my bag. Ken was trying to print out our tickets on the antique computer and never did get them printed. Edward, our driver that we used the most of the time while in Kenya, came and he made a dash for the airport. I sat in the back and prayed as buses came at us from both sides, cars careening around us (and us them), pot holes in the road and forging through huge mud puddles and Edward driving in and out and around traffic like a professional race car driver. He was very good and has remarkable defensive driving skills. Not to mention courage and nerves of steel. SOS called us when we were about 15 minutes out from the airport and said they would call again in half an hour or so to see if we made the flight. The Lord was surely making our way as we weaved thru city traffic, got stopped by the road police upon entrance to the airport, then were waved on when saw we only had bags in the trunk. We had no idea where to go to check in but Edward was alert and took us to the right entrance, found a parking place and helped carry the bags to the entrance. What a delightful young man and a Christian. We were so late arriving that there was not a line as we checked in at the desk, went thru security as no line and at customs we just walked right up to the agent, found the gate upstairs and we had 10 minutes to spare, went to the gate and sat for awhile and then off we went. It was just so amazing. God definitely went before us !!! Felt so bad as we were getting into our seats on the plane and the folks from the Rafiki Village called us...we left in such a hurry that did not have time to hunt anyone down to say goodbye but Ken did call the village director to say we were leaving as we left the village. Such dear folks!!! So had a nice flight form Nairobi to Burundi and then on to Kigali. Tim picked us up at the airport and we were home by 3:30PM.

Was so cute as the kids were out playing and all of them were waving and hollering as we drove up the road. Soon after we arrived Ken & Tim went to Nyamata and I scooted to the cottages to say hello to the Mama's and children. They were so excited to see me..oh how my heart was so blessed. So many smiles and big hugs and full of questions. One little girl screamed to the other children as I approached the gazebo "LOOK EVERYONE, AUNTIE BEV IS COMING!!!" All the kids rushed over to greet. Little Emmanuel who is three years old said "Auntie Bev, I prayed for you. Are you OK now?" He was so sweet and I assured him I am now OK. (OK as I'll ever be.)

Letter

2009-11-27T17:05:00.000+02:00

Earlier today I received a message from a Christian organization listing all the stores that do not wish to say MERRY CHRISTMAS or use the word CHRISTMAS in their promotions... and I was getting very upset and ready to complain to those stores... THEN... I received this message... which reminded me of the real SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS... This is a beautiful letter about Christmas and whoever wrote it is absolutely right! Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Letter from Jesus about Christmas --    

It has come to my attention that many of you are upset because some folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival.

However, I do appreciate being remembered anytime.    

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own.

I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth,just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.  

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.    

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 - 8.    

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list.

Choose something from it:    

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.    

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.    

3. Instead of writing to the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up.

It will be nice hearing from you again.    

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here.

Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.    

5 Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.    

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless? Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile;

it could make the difference.    

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families    

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.    

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.    

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence.

Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

   Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court.

And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love

and remember ...

 I LOVE YOU,   JESUS

2009-11-06T20:33:00.002+02:00

“.....for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)

Dear Family and Friends,

We are thankful and blessed of God to be back in Rwanda at our Rafiki village. Our hearts are filled with joy to see our children, our ROS teammates, and our village national workers. And WOW, the new Dining Hall is nearly finished!

Bev is teaching our three year old Pre-K Class. We continue to be amazed with their increase in learning and use of English. Just recently they have begun to respond to a question in class using a complete sentence. Bev points and asks Olivier “What is this?” He responds, “That is a red triangle.” Correct use of articles and adjectives in English is wonderful progress....not to mention a correct answer........she is estatic!

Ken is catching up with the paperwork and construction projects. He continues to enjoy leading the nationals Bible study each morning.

We arrived in Rwanda on a Thursday and had duty that weekend. The children welcomed us back with a program on Sunday afternoon. What joy filled our hearts to hear these precious children singing hymns and reciting God’s Word.

One week after we returned school break began. We held GAMES (Games, Art, Music, Enrichment and Sports). This included walking to Mama Ronald’s shop to buy a “sweetie” (small candy), marching in our parade, a water race and sidewalk chalk body tracing.

And last, but not least, was shaving cream art!

We have heard God’s call to serve for the next two years in Rwanda with the Rafiki Foundation and we ask for your prayers as we are short of our needed support. We are now at 40% of our total for two years. If God has touched your heart with a burden for these Rwandan orphans and you would like to help keep us on the field in Rwanda, please contact the Rafiki Home Office with your pledge. Our ROS # 176 has to be on the paperwork in order for pledges to be appropriately credited to our account. Thank you for your encouragement as we serve here in Rwanda.

http://www.rafiki-foundation.org/ros/merrill/merrill.html

May the joy of the LORD be your strength.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Joyfully in Christ,

Ken & Bev

Back in Rwanda

2009-10-03T07:59:00.010+02:00

Whew, it is so great to be back at the Rafiki Village in Rwanda. What a busy past three months. It was great to visit so many friends and family and meeting new friends along the way, but it was also very busy. We visited 9 States, spread out over the Southeast, Northwest and Northeast. Gave over 35 Rafiki presentations, slept in over 20 different beds and drove & flew thousands of miles. Of course we ate some of the greatest food, and that cost us a few extra pounds we brought back with us. As much as I like and enjoy the food in Rwanda and other places we have been blessed to visit. There is nothing like the diversity of food and unique flavors you can get in the United States.

We just can not thank everyone enough for everything you did for us while we were with you. Sharing your homes with us, setting up meetings with friends and church presentations, taking us to a beautiful Florida beach, rearranging your schedules to spend time with us. Providing a vehicle for us the whole time we were in Maine. Your hospitality was a true blessing to

us and will be long remembered and appreiciated. Even though schedules were hectic at times and we had no idea how the next event would take place, our very good friends' advice of "fun first", is great advice for all of us. "Fun first" is not an activity but an attitude of gratitude in what ever situation you find yourself. So thanks Jewel, for advice with the wisdom of Solomon behind it.

We were blessed to stay in some of the most beautiful settings that you can imagine. We never stop being amazed at God' creation and the goodness of His people.

We have been back in Rwanda for about a week now and it is a joy to be back with the children and our Rafiki team-mates. We arrived just in time to say good-bye to Cricket as she flew off to South Africa for some R & R with friends and family. And this week Annie flew out to spend a couple weeks with her family in Texas. We pray they both will get some much needed rest and return to us fresh and uplifted.

Rafiki Village Rwanda got it's first big rain last night, the past four months have been very dry. For the past couple of weeks we have received a few small showers of 1/8" to 1/4", but last night it rained for four or five hours and dropped a good 2". Even the small showers were helping to turn our village from brown to green, but last nights' rain will soak in and really make things grow. Bev and I are looking forward to having a garden this season and enjoying the fruits of our labor at the dinner table, thanks to those who generously gave us vegetable seeds to bring back with us. Of course with the rain come the bugs. Our porch and entryway was littered with flying insect wings and ants this morning. Thank the Lord for our screens and fairly tight doors, they do a marvelous job of keeping most of the critters outside.

The construction on our dining hall is coming along very well. We are praying we can occupy it by the first week of November. That will free up our Guest House for MiniMissionaries to come to Rafiki Village Rwanda. We would love to see you and have you visit us here, to work and play with the children and just enjoy the country of Rwanda. If you are thinking you might like to come to Rwanda please contact our Rafiki Home Office in the Orlando Florida area at 352-483-9131 or visit the web site at www.rafiki-foundation.org and click on the "Get Involved" link. You can also read our past newsletters from the web site, click on the "Where We Are" link and then Rwanda.

Thanks again to all of you for all your help, prayers and support.

Family Time

2009-07-29T19:00:00.005+02:00

We are in Portland Oregon with all the kids and having a wonderful time with them all. Was able to spend a few days at the coast in Lincoln City. It was chilly and foggy most of the time, but we had a very nice place to stay and had a great time just hanging out and walking on the beach. Portland was in the mid to upper 90's and at the coast it was in the 50's and 60's with a strong wind most of the time. It was hard to believe there was that much of a temperature change in that distance.

On Sunday we were able to drive down to Salem and attend church with Hokie. We were able to share a little about Rafiki and their work in Africa with h

is Sunday School class. It was a wonderful time of worship with the fellowship at Salem First Baptist. In the afternoon we met with Josh and Heather Dunn, who are leaving soon for missionary training in North Carolina. It was wonderful to see their excitement and how the Lord is leading in their lives.

This week has been even hotter in Portland. It seems strange to come from Africa and be hotter here than there. We are blessed to serve in Rwanda. Where the days will be in the upper 80's and the in the sun it is hot, but if you can get into some shade with a little breeze, it is comfortable. And it will cool off during the nights to the low 60's by morning. We were so hot that we got a hotel room for a couple days so we can all enjoy the pool. It is like another mini vacation and fun to watch Audrey in the pool.

We have so enjoyed our time with all the kids and of course Audrey is such a delight.

Here we are

2009-06-25T18:08:00.002+02:00

Bev and I are back on USA soil. In Florida at Rafiki's home office for meetings all next week. It is a long flight from Rwanda to Florida, but we praise the Lord we made it with all our bags and are not having hardly any problem with the jet lag. Although it is great to be in the US again, I can not help but think of what we left behind. Not that, our leaving will stop any of the work, our more than capable team is carrying on and will do a great job. I just miss Rwanda, the people and especially the children. Of course, we are sitting in a hotel room 3000 miles away from the family we want to see.

We have much to do while we are here on furlough for the next 3 months. Traveling to three corners of the USA, raising support in order to return to Rwanda for another two years. God has blessed us with the oppotunity to help orphans in Rwanda to a new life, to a wonderful Christian education, to become productive members of their country and most importantly to learn and trust in the Word of God.

Our Rafiki Village Rwanda now has 16 children and will soon be receiving 3 more. They are all precious gifts of God. I wish you could all see come see them, how God is teaching them and how they are teaching us. If you would like to have a life changing experience, contact the Rafiki Home Office in Eustis Fl, ask about a MiniMissions trip, at 352 483-9131 or go to the web site
http://www.rafiki-foundation.org/ros/merrill/merrill.html
If you can not come to Rwanda Africa yourself but would like to help with a monetary gift, again call or go to the web site and ask about helping support Ken and Bev Merrill, ROS 176. Another way to help is supporting a child at the village or helping with a construction project. There are many ways to help, even if you can not physically come to Rwanda.

The Grand BBQ

2009-06-09T16:37:00.004+02:00

We have wanted to do something for all our workers for sometime and just could not think of what that might be. Well, last week we put together a BBQ Rwandan style. Goat brochettte and roasted green bananas and Fanta. Fanta is a generic name for all soft drinks. There is a very limited selection of soft drinks in Rwanda, all Coke products. We have Coke, Sprite, Fanta Orange and Fanta Citris. They all come in 30 cl bottles, in a few of the up scale stores you can now get Coke light in a can, but it is expensive.

First I had to buy two goats, which we promptly named "Medium" and "Rare". This , of course was a real big hit with the ladies at the village -not. In fact, some decided not to eat after they saw them tied up enjoying their last meal. After the meat was taken care of I purchased two large stocks of green bananas and a couple cases of mixed "Fantas." OK, we had the fix'ins now we needed the butcher, the mason to build the grill, the fire starter (which is an art in itself with local charcoal), and of course the cook. As it came to pass (I borrowed that line), God provided Janvier, our gardener. Who, as it turns out, seems to be able to do just about everything. The rest of the boys and I pitched in, but Janvier was the hero of the BBQ.

We built the grill out of some left over cement building blocks, roofing metal and rat wire screening. Janvier and crew went off to prepare the goats, while we continued to put finishing touches on the grill. This grill was a masterpiece, a three tier affair. The meat cooking grill was on the top, with the charcoal fire under that and could be feed from the opening in the back side. On this view side the mid section was for roasting the bananas under the fire pit and the very bottom was a warming oven. I take no credit for the design, it was purely Rwandan and worked great.

Since I have been in Rwanda I have eaten in many places and eaten many things that I would have never even imagined I would eat before coming here. I have even eaten their "special" Brochette, once. But let me tell you there is no waste with these guys. I will spare you the pictures but they clean and boil the intestines and about everything else that comes out of that critter. Then they somehow tie all those loose parts together and put them on a skewer to roast. AS I said I had already tried those once, and did not think I needed another round. The regular goat brochette was very good I do not know all the stuff they rubbed and socked into them but they were very tasty. As expected some parts were a little chewier than others, but it was very good. They also had some sauce they brush onto the bananas, with an old paint brush I think, that was very good also.

But the coup-de-gras was when they drank the liquid from the boiling pot. I drew my line in the sand on that one. No thank you very much.

The Mother's and children came up to enjoy it, I was surprised how the children went for those brochette. We feed nearly 70 people counting the children. What a great day and what great people to share it with.

When I was growing up in Maine one of the highlights every year was going to deer camp in the fall. Dad, Gramps and usually a couple other families all gathered at this small cabin up on the mountain behind our farm. There was a log book there that everyone wrote in everytime we went. The end of nearly everyones entry was, "and a good time was had by all." God bless, go out and have a great time with folks you enjoy being with.

Good day - even got some exercise.

2009-06-02T17:35:00.002+02:00

This has been a great day in that we have our NGO paperwork renewal finalized, signed stamped and delivered. Annie's car paperwork has been approved by everyone with enough signatures and stamps on it to pass for a UN treaty. She is purchasing her insurance today and should pick up the car tomorrow. The crew was here today installing our satellite internet dish. Waiting now for the cement to dry for the support pole and they will set the dish tomorrow. I am praying for the service to be up and running tomorrow night. We are down to our last few children to do intitial interviews on for this first round, they will be completed before we leave on furlough. PTL.... All of our paperwork has been approved and the childrens lists will be completed.

Then this morning Sam and I went to one of the sectors to drop off blank forms for children interviews. It was quite a ways out and had to be back at the village to meet with the internet guys. Things were clicking right along, submitted our payroll to the bank paid the water bill and employee taxes then drove out to the Mwogo Sector office. God must have thought that these two guys have been eating to many brochettes lately and need a little exrecise. As we got out of the vehicle at the Sector office we could hear the sound of rushing air and the wind was calm. Right rear tire was going flat very quickly, oh well, we will change it after we give the papers to the social affairs officer. The spare tire is locked on to the rear carrier to prevent theft, great idea, except the key was a remake and was made of plastic i think. Luckily we stopped before breaking it off in the lock. Then we looked for the jack and wrench, no jack and the none of the ends of the 4-way would fit. So we started walking , it's about 10.5 km, but I was steam propelled by this time. Called Bev to see if someone could come out to get us, and everyone was busy and our car had a dead battery. Bev borrowed a car and met us on the road. We got about 3 km of exercise, which, as it turned out, was just enough to cool me down. Back to the village and picked up a jack and lug wrench, a good metel key, plus one of the guys to come along to help. Bev had to take care of things at the kitchen. Back to the truck and changed the tire with no problems, then back to the village to pick up Bev as none of our guys have drivers licenses and back to the truck. The local folks must have thought these muzugos had gone mad. They hardly ever see a white person out there and then to have them drive and walk back and forth a half dozen times in about 3 hours must have been the talk of the town. As it worked out, the satellite installers were also running late so we all got to the village at the same time.

Lunch in Juru

2009-06-01T17:38:00.006+02:00

Friday, 29 May, I was privileged to have another culinary first on our children interview trip to Juru Sector in Bugesera District, Rwanda. This sector is a ways off the main road and the the road getting there is not very well maintained. As such it is on the poor side of the economy even though there are many small coffee groves. We had four children to see in the morning and was making great progress, in fact we were done earlier than we expected. The Sector Social Affairs officer, Gertrude, with us suggested we have lunch before returning to Nyamata, which sounded good to me. She called ahead so they could start the brochette. When we got back to the village center the bananas and brochette were on the fire and it smelled fantastic. We sat and had a warm coke (no electricity = no refridgeration) while we waited. Most Rwandans preferr their drinks warm anyway, probably because that is the they have traditional been. I have seen many people in a nice resturant in Kigali order a drink and they will send it back if it is cold and ask for a warm one.
It takes a long time to cook green bananas and goat brochette, but the wait is usually worth it. When they came I thought a couple of them looked pecular, so I avoided them the first time around. Then I was informed that those were "Special" brochettes reserved for honored guests, in this case it was me. So I went in where a lesser man may have feared to tread. Now I was pretty sure what this "special" brochette was but was trying not to think to much about it while I was eating it, but good old Sam would have none of that. He piped right up and told me it was intestines, cleaned, washed, boiled, rolled and put on the skewer to roast. I was certainly praying they had been cleaned and washed, and was hoping they had been boiled, I could see they were rolled and roasted. I must say the taste was OK and they were soft and chewy, but my brain just wouldn't settle down to say that I was really enjoying it. I ate it and smiled while eating but I can't say I would go back and ordered them again.
We were finished and ready to leave so Sam asked the man for the bill, of course this was all in Kinyarwanda so I was not understanding what was being said. But Sam and Gertrude started laughing at whatever the guy had replied. I asked what was going on, when Sam had asked for the bill the guy said couldn't I just tell you what you owe. They do not have receipts and bills out in the village. But in a minute he came back with a itemized written bill on a piece of paper, with his official stamp on it.
So as I look back on the experience I would say they tasted OK, but would not go so far as to say, "Them guts are good".

Waste not - Want not

2009-05-19T17:32:00.006+02:00

I'm sure you have all heard stories about starving missionaries in foreign lands, not having any of the comforts of the good ole USA. How they can not get items they desperately need and have to make do or improvise to accomplish even the some basic tasks. Well, Bev and I do miss many things that we used to take for granted. Not that we can not live without them but once in a while a good dish of ice cream would be nice. We can get ice cream here but the very few times I have had it it was not all that great and at $40 to $60 a gallon we simply choose to pass. As we are doing a great deal of construction here on the village I would especially like to wake up some morning to see a Home Depot or Lowes in town. There are so many things in the construction trade here that is so different and foreign to me, not that it is all bad but much of it is very different and takes some getting used to. But getting back to making do and not being able to get basic items here. I want you all to take a look at the photo's. I'm sure these would make the top 10 best ever uses of duct take, they may even put Red Green to shame.

Sayings

2009-04-25T10:45:00.004+02:00

I wish I had written down all the different sayings I have heard since being here in Rwanda. It is fun to listen to the people as they explain something or are just in conversation with you and the different terms that are used. We have to remember that English is not their first language, in fact usually it is down the list around fourth or fifth. Which makes most of us single language Americans look pretty foolish. So I am in no way ridiculing or making fun of the people here, it is just interesting to see how they have adapted English using their own ways of saying things.

We were driving through Nyamata last week and I saw a gentleman that looked familiar, so I asked Sam if we knew him. Sam knows about everyone in Nyamata and hardly ever forgets someone we have met anywhere in our travels. Sam said, "No, we don't know him, he is not familiar to my face."

Another is, if we are teasing each other about someone and I say something about Sam you ought to do this or that, or say this or that to them. He might say, No, I can not do that they can easily abuse me."

There have been many more tht I have failed to write down. I have good intentions but if I do not take the time to do right then it's gone for good.

Busy

2009-04-17T19:16:00.003+02:00

The past couple of weeks have been on the hectic side, last week more for Bev and this week for me. Last week it was fairly quite for me, it was Genocide Remembrance week and we had 3 Holidays during that time so many of our workers were not here. But for Bev it was rough as she had one cook out for a weeks vacation, another one needed much time off as she has a very sick young baby, another one was out a couple days with malaria. That makes it very difficult with 3 of your four cooks not working and trying to run a kitchen and laundry from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm. Thank the Lord for our house keeper, Lillian. She worked in the kitchen for about 9 straight days and a couple of those were very long days. Not sure what Bev would have done if it were not for Lillian.

This week is about back to normal in the kitchen which is very good, but week has been very busy. All our workers and contractors are back at work and they all did to have materials ordered right now. I am dealing with 3 different government Ministries, trying to get paperwork work signed. It took 6 weeks to get it through the Mayors office, two weeks to get through our Ministry of Genders office, finally got it to Immigrations and they told me they had changed our deadline date from April 15 to March 31, with out any notification. Finally accepted the fact that we did not know about the deadline change and then said we had the wrong forms as they had also changed those this year. So it is back to the drawing board to file out all the new forms and resubmit them.

Our team-mates, Tim and Patty left on furlough to the US this week, so we have picked up a few extra duties, among which is the keeping of the budget. Scary for a guy who could never balanced his checkbook. Bev has the medical and childcare program to look after along with the kitchen/laundry and dining hall. It seems like we just get to a point where we are keeping our heads above water and someone puts another flash board on the dam.
But if Peter could walk on water maybe we can at least tread water for the next three months. I think we may have it easier than Tim and Patty as they have to come back and jump into this with both feet after being in the States for three months while we come back on furlough.

We have cleared maybe 10 acres of property were our buildings are located. So if you take out for the buildings, sidewalks and roads, we have maybe 6 acres that we have to keep mowed. Which seems like a never ending task during the rainy season. We have a 36" cut SCAG mower, which is a very nice unit. A chink in it's armor are the inflatable rear tires. We have killer thrones and they penetrate those tires like a balloon, My brothers have sent me tubeless tire repair kits and our tires have more rubber in plugs than in tire tread. But today the guys cut a side wall which makes it pretty much unrepairable with my small kit. So I dropped about half the balls I was juggling this afternoon and drove into town only to find out the tire shop could not fix it and did not have a replacement. I was about ready to go buy 15 or 20 goats, when I got an email and a friend is flying to Rwanda on Monday and is willing to bring our needed tire with him. God is good and faithful even when I forget to go to Him as my first resort.

Rwanda Genocide, 15 years or 50

2009-04-08T11:19:00.004+02:00

This week in April marks the 15th anniversary of the death of the President of Rwanda and President of Burundi when their plane was shot down on it's approach to Kigali. That incident triggered the slaughter of between 800,000 and one million Rwandans, many of them women, children and infants. The streets lay littered with corpses, the rivers ran red with their blood and their souls cried out to the world for justice. The 7th of April commemorates the start of one of the deadliest and most brutal 100 days in world history, as the world sat back and said it is just African tribes fighting as usual. What a sad legacy for the rest of the worlds powers to bear, with the greatest burden to be on the shoulders of the UN. Our world peace keeping force that was here and not only stood by but packed up and left the country.

Was this something that just happened in the blink of an eye or the shooting down of one aircraft? No, this had been going on since the late 1950's with prison camps or death camps situated in areas' of Rwanda that were known for Malaria, drought and tetis flies. The world knew of these atrocities and still did nothing, the UN was here and still did nothing. The evidence was there that something was going to happen, the stock piling of thousands of machetes, (for a future sugar cane production), the hate speech and denial of basic human rights.

Now, in 2009 the world is here to look back and say how sad, to give aid in order to help rebuild, to voice the opinion it could never happen again. I pray it does not. Not in Rwanda or any where else in the world. God, not history will be the final judge.

2009-04-01T17:54:00.003+02:00

I truly love the people out in the villages of Rwanda. They are honest, hard working people, most are very poor and that is hard to see. It can be overwhelming to look upon all that poverty and feel so helpless. But once in while the Holy Spirit prompts your heart to help one little starfish back to the sea.
I would like to to meet Erick. What a great attitude from this little guy. Don't look at his clothes or the mud hut he lives in, look at that smile. Does he touch your heart? If your reading this then you must be alive and breathing. Of course there are thousands in like situations, but there is only one Erick.
Erick and others like him are the reason Beverly and I listened to Gods call for our lives to come to Rwanda. Please go to the Rafiki web site (www.rafiki-foundation.org) and look at those precious children. They looked like Erick before the Lord bought them to Rafiki where they are finding a place to live, grow and learn. We have children here at our village that need sponors, will you answer Gods call?

Saturday Mid-March

2009-03-15T14:31:00.004+02:00

This has been a busy day but also a fun day. Bev and I have the duty at the village this weekend, which means we stay here to watch over the children and the village so the other ROS can have some time off.

After being lazy for a while this morning I got out and walked the fence line just to check the security and get a little exercise. As I was going past the EPR church school, which backs up to our lower fence, there were many children around and I could smell something cooking at the Compassion office. I went out to say Hi and found they were serving breakfast, porridge and bread, to 230 compassion children. Most of the the adults working there are from the church so I knew most of them. I asked if there was anything I could do to help and they put me to work helping to serve the kids. They were lined up in rows, apparently by age or class, and were very well behaved and quiet. Amazing for that many children. I was handing out the pieces of bread, like a corn muffin, and others were giving them mugs of hot porridge. It did not take very long to serve all of them and they were all sitting around enjoying their breakfast before going to classes.
It was a joy to help them and meet all those children, most of who had been in the Sunday school class Bev and I taught last year. I was gettign rteady to leave when the leader asked me to stay and eat with them. I have been in Rwanda for 14 months now and had managed to avoid drinking any of their breakfast porridge, but I was caught this time. I really do not know how it is made or what is in it. I know it is boiled and is the consistancy of loose Cream of Wheat but it is brown in color. As it cools off it gets thicker so the bottom of the mug is pretty thick. But all in all it was not bad and I get to chalk up another first.

The rest of the day was busy with contractors working and having to adjust their work here and there, going to the market to pick up the kitchen ladies with the vegetables, going again to get 50Kg of potato's and 10Kg of beans, also had a couple of maintenance issues to work on.

Sam and I had some time for him to teach me to make Posho. We cooked some local beef in a tomato sauce in the pressure cooker, which he had never used before. But it is about the only way to cook this local beef so you can chew it. Then we cooked the Posho, which is not stirred, it is 'mingled', now before you laugh, like I did, you should read the instructions on the bag of maze. It states very clearly that you 'mingle' the flour in the water. Two firsts in one day.

During the afternoon I had time to go play with our Rafiki children as we took a walk down to our main gate then raced back up the hill to the cottages. That about did me in, but Epa, our oldest boy, wanted to play soccer, which is not my best game. But as long as I chase the ball and kick it back to the kids they are happy and think I am 'Pele'.

So it was a very good day and I praise God for it.

Art of Aging

2009-03-13T20:20:00.001+02:00

Today was probably not the best day I have had. So while I was having a very good time at my own "pity party" I came across this bit of classic information and instruction. My day instantly became better as I put things into their proper perspective. I hope you enjoy this and pray you have a great day in the Lord.

The Art of Aging

When I'm feeling down, I like to whistle. It makes the neighbor's dog run to the end of his chain and gag himself.

The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then you body and your fat have gotten to be really good friends.

If you think there id some thing good in everybody, you obviously haven't met 'everybody'.

There's always a lot to be thankful for if you take the time to look for it. For example, I am sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt.

Aging: Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

Some people try to turn back their life's odometers. Not me, I want people to know "why' I look this way. I've traveled a long, long way and some of the roads weren't paved.

You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young.

Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

First you forget names, then you forget faces. Then you forget to pull up your zipper. It's even worse when you get to the point that you forget to pull it down.

Lord, keep your am around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth...AMEN!!!

A Monday

2009-03-09T19:49:00.002+02:00

This was one of those days that start out with you being behind and just never seem able to catch up. I was up early enough, the alarm went off at the usual 4:30, I did lay there for another 10 minutes, but was still through the shower and dressed by 5:20 or so. I have a Bible study to teach every week day at 7:00 am so try to get an hour of prep time and prayer in before that, not this morning.

To back up a little bit. This past weekend was busy, I usually have time to read through the whole weeks Bible study and answer some of the questions, that gives me a pretty good leg up on the up coming week. This weekend, as I said, was pretty busy and I did not take the time to do my study time. So I am already behind the 8 ball, so to speak.

My normal routine is to start the coffee as soon as I finish getting dressed and turn on my computer. Which in hind sight was not the best choice this morning. Our internet service is over a cell phone type modem so is very slow, but in the early morning it is the best. The trouble is I get caught up with reading and answering email and forget about the time. I can usually fight that urge and get back to my study time, but this morning there were more than the normal amount of emails and I was helping Bev set up some files. So I got behind and barely finished the lesson prep before I was to teach. Thanks to the Lord I made it through the lesson OK and was on to other things by 7:30.

I had some scheduling to finish and also had an employee issue to deal with, which is out of the ordinary for around here. Most days this place runs like clockwork, since we have excellent ROS and National staff, praise the Lord. We had village guests this past week and they were leaving today so had to get to the airport, but not until mid-morning. so that gave me some time to deliver thank you notes to the District government and local people who did such a great job helping us with the village dedication. Each one of those stops take a little more time than I had allotted, so now I was getting pushed to get a couple letters written that needed to be delivered today while I was in town getting our guests back to the airport.

Tim offered to take our guests to the airport as he had to go into town for another construction matter. That should have put me back on schedule, but there are always a few little items that pop up that you can never see coming, but have to deal with when they come.

The village truck was at the garage, I use that term loosely, so we had to take another driver with us to get all the vehicles back to the village. Bev rode in and was going to bring the truck back while I stayed in town to finish my errands. We even called ahead to make sure the truck was ready, which was a good idea even if the truck was supposed to have been completed on Sunday. The mechanic said it was nearly finished, which only a half hour remaining. It is 45 minutes to an hour getting to town and over to his shop so off we went.

As we pulled into the repair yard, (no building), the truck was still up on the ramps, they were still pulling the clutch back together. Oh Well, this is Africa, so we went to lunch. At lunch we decided that Bev should take our car back, Sam and I would take the truck to finish our business in town. As it turned out that was a great decision. Now nearly two hours later we got back to the shop and the hood was still up, but it was down off the ramps. Bev left and we waited while they finished. As we drove out I noticed that the fuel gauge was below empty and after only a kilometer or so the engine became very rough and stalled a couple times. I was able to take a route to the nearest gas station that was mostly down hill and coasted in. Thinking our problems were over we headed for the next stop, only to have the engine buck and cough worst than before. As soon as we finished our appointment, back to the shop we went. Which was no easy feat as the engined stalled every half a kilometer or so.

Driving into the yard with the engine coughing and hacking, we did not have to say very much to the mechanic, which was a good thing as they only speak Kinyarwanda. We were there all the rest of the afternoon. I was so thankful that Bev had decided to take our vehicle and not the truck (Land Cruiser).

So that was my day. Bev and I were able to get a few more items taken care of this evening, but I still have quite a list left over from today to start off with tomorrow.

Good night, I'm going to bed.

Village Dedication (pt2)

2009-03-07T18:40:00.002+02:00

Part 2

There were well over 1000 people on the village for the dedication. Everyone was having a great time listening to the choir and watching the Maranyundo Girls dance and sing. Then the rains came and the people filled the food tent, the gazebo and porches of the cottages, anywhere they could get out of the rain.

As we made our way back to the speakers tent the rain became more intense and the girls from the Maranyundo Girls School, who were doing a traditional dance for the First Lady and other guests were getting very wet. But they never skipped a beat as they danced, sang and played the drums. Everyone fully enjoyed their presentation. Our children were next on the program to sing a song for the First Lady in English. They have done so well in learning songs in English and only having been at the village for a month. It was raining so hard that the First Lady asked that they do not sing as they would have gotten very wet, she also had the Maranyundo Girls cancel their second dance for the same reason. The girls were very disappointed, they had practiced for many hours to perform for the First Lady, but it was her call and only looking out for their welfare.

As I started with the introductions and Pastor Dorothee, from the EPR Church here in Nyamata, gave the invocation, the rain was pounding on the tents so hard you could not hear, even with the sound system. Of course we could not use the podium, so the speakers stood in under the tents with someone holding the wireless mike and at times someone else holding an umbrella.

The rain actually helped keep everyone on schedule which is a hard thing to do at these types of functions in Africa. The big draw back was there was no time for conversation or photos after the ceremony. Most of the dignitaries left as soon as the speakers and Benediction was finished.

Rosemary and the First Lady both gave wonderful speeches. They explained Rafiki's plan for the orphans in Rwanda that would come to live with us. They were both encouraging and challenging.

We had planned food for 150 and again the rain helped us. If everyone had stayed to eat we would have run out of food, but praise the Lord. we were able to feed everyone that stayed after the ceremony.

We were blessed to have our first 12 children at the village for our dedication. Some villages have had their dedications prior to having children. Sometimes that is just the way schedules work out and the Lord will bless them for that. But it was great to have the children with us and see the First Lady and other dignitaries see these children so happy in their new home. Only one month since being in their villages in very poor conditions.

Village Dedication (pt1)

2009-03-01T10:57:00.010+02:00

The past week has been very busy with all the planning and arrangements leading up to the Village Dedication on 25 February. We thought we had things pretty well planned out then the different government officials started coming by and most of our program was changed by one or another of them. There were many protocol issues that had to be addressed as the First Lady of Rwanda was to be our Honored Guest Speaker. We wanted to be very sensitive to the wishes of the Rwanda government and protocol. The poor lady who put up the tents had to move them four times as different officials wanted things set up in a special way.

We had planned a closed event with about 150 invited guests.

But could not do that because when the First Lady or the President speaks they need to be speaking to the people of the area and not just to a select few. Of course we readily agreed and opened the ceremony to all. It was market day so there were many people going past our Rafiki Village and most of them stopped for the opportunity to see and hear their First Lady. There were many bicycles loaded with goods for the market, from live chickens and goats to woven grass mats and vegetables. We estimated well over 1000 people came through the gate in addition to the 200 invited guests.

It was a foggy overcast morning, which is not typical here in Rwanda. We may have fog in the mornings but it usually burns off by 8:00 am and the sun comes out. But that was not to be the case this day. Most of the guests arrived prior to 9:15 and the First Lady arrived about 9:30 to cut the ribbon and unveil the dedication plaque. The rain started just about the same time that the First Lady arrived. At first it was just a drizzle but as the ceremony continued so did the intensity of the rain.

After the ribbon cutting and the unveiling of the plaque, the First Lady went to meet and greet the children and toured one of the cottage's with the Minister of Gender, the Governor of the Eastern Province and the Mayor of Bugesera District, plus the press and Aids de Camp. During the time of the VIP tour, the choir from our partner church here in Nyamata was singing for the people. As the First Lady and other VIP's made they way back to the tents the girls from the Maryundo Girls school performed a traditional dance.I will continue with the events of the Rafiki Village Dedication in the next post.

Stones of Remembrance

2009-02-22T09:47:00.009+02:00

We are doing our Bible study on Joshua and I was thinking about "Stones of Remembrance" in our lives. I saw from the last posted item some got a kick out of the pictures of the boys when we were all younger and living in Alaska. I have been looking at some old pictures that I had scanned and brought with me to Rwanda and thought I might add a few to this page. I want you to know that although all the boys are now living in large cities and working in office buildings, there was a time when we did outdoor activities. As you can see Curt was the "Great White Hunter" and fisherman.

Mike was well on his way to being the next Jacques Christo.

And I am not sure if Gene or Mike was going to be the next 10 round champ.

Or maybe strike it rich panning for gold in the cold clear waters in the streams of Alaska.

I guess that is enough for this time.

What are your "Stones of Remembrance", take time today to think back on the things and times that really matter. I'm sure it will not be that report that just has to be completed this weekend for the Monday morning meeting.

Time

2009-02-15T20:24:00.002+02:00

Time in Africa is very different than anywhere else we have ever been and is something you just have to adjust to. Some people say it will change with the passage of time and with more"Wazungu" influence throughout the business world. That may be true in Kigali but I have my doubts about it changing in the rural villages. I'm not of the opinion that it needs to change, their life style has worked for them for centuries why should they change now. There in a saying here, "Wazungu" have watches, Rwandans have time. There is much more truth than fiction to that statement.
You may have a meeting set for 9:00 am, at 9:15 no one has arrived and 9:30 you call and ask where they are. You may hear something like, "I am seeing you" or "I am there", niether are quite true in your mind, as you do not see anyone. Actually he means he is coming and probably on his way, that could be another 1/2 hour away. The only thing that getting upset does is raise your blood pressure. They have no idea why you are upset with them. If you had other things to do you should not have scheduled this meeting with them.
Nothing starts on time and everyone knows that, when you say we will start at 9:00 it may start by 10:00. In some instances a written invitation may say, "come at 9:00 for 9:30", which means your welcome to come at 9:00 but we will not start until 9:30.
We have been here over a year now and I admit I still get frustrated at times, but I try not to show it like I used to. Sam has been a big help in helping me keep my cool and hold my tongue. I try to always have something with me to read or work on while I wait. I am trying to learn that this is what God has for me to do today, and I am a slow learner as He keeps bringing back to the same lesson.
As an example, I have been working on receiving a tax exemption for our Rafiki vehicles. I started nearly a year ago, working on some aspect of it nearly every week, last week I thought I was really close. I had all the paperwork inorder and they called me in to have the vehicle inspected by the tax authority. When I got there they said you have taken to long the paperwork is expired and you have to get new ones. I could only laugh and went back to get the first paperwork again.

"Who Are Those Guys?"

2009-02-14T16:54:00.009+02:00

Since starting this blog I feel like Butch & Sundance, as some have asked, who we are. Did not know it would be a question as we had started this mainly for friends and family. Here goes, hopefully the short version.
We are Ken and Bev Merrill. We both grew up in rural western Maine. Have know each other since Jr. High and dated throughout High School. This year will mark 36 years of married bliss. God blessed us with three wonderful sons who were all born and raised in Alaska, we moved there in 1975 where I worked driving truck during the building of the Alaska Pipeline. Bev was an RN when we moved to Alaska and she worked at the hospital and private Doctors office in Fairbanks. In 1977 I joined the State Troopers with Fish and Wildlife Protection (Game Warden). When we moved to bush Alaska at Coldfoot in the Brooks Range Bev stopped nursing and started a Emergency Medical unit where she trained many people as EMT's, worked with the Army MAST unit medivacing seriously sick and injured to the hospital in Fairbanks, as well as home school our three boys. Coldfoot is 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle on the Prudhoe Bay Haul Road, 275 miles north of Fairbanks all dirt road, except for the first 28 miles. No stores, no churches, no post office, (mail was flown in twice a month, if the weather was good), no schools, no TV, no phones, we could get one radio station at night and there was a truck stop to where we could get gas and a $7.00 hamburger. While stationed there for nearly 5 years it snowed every month, now it did not stay and there was some very nice warm days in the summer, but the summers were short. The winters were long and cold, 60 degrees below zero was not uncommon. The northern lights would be so bright as to light up the entire sky and dance from mountain top to mountain top. The sun went down about Thanksgiving and did not get above the horizon until the first of February. We went to Fairbanks every six weeks or so to stock up on groceries and catch up on the latest news.
From Coldfoot we were transferred to Soldotna on the Kenai Peninsula, home of the largest King Salmon in the world. Fishing both sport and commerical was a large part of the economic make up of the area, as sush it was a busy place for a Game Warden. We were blessed to join a wonderful church family at the Soldotna Bible Chapel, where we had wonderful fellowship and great Biblical teaching. That is where we both came to really consider missions and felt that the Lord was teaching and leading us in that direction.
Later we transferred again to Sitka, AK where I worked as Deputy Commander of the training Academy. And again we were blessed to have the Lord lead us to a wonderful church family. The job at teh Academy demanded long hours and much travel so Bev kept the home fires burning while I was gone much of the time.
Beginning of 1998 brought us to another turning point with retirement from the Troopers. We were able to travel and see many old friends and make many new ones. As we looked for a place to settle down we arrived back in Maine and a new church family at Hope Baptist in Manchester. Bev and I were able to join BSF and through that we learned about the Rafiki Foundation and their mission to the orphans of Africa. That brings us to where we are now, serving in Rwanda. We have a great team to serve with and God has blessed the village with 12 new children this year. Please pray for our team, the Rafiki Home Office, and the children that will call Rafiki their home.

Back at the Village

2009-01-31T12:55:00.003+02:00

We are back in Rwanda at Rafiki Village. It is just impossible to tell you how great it is to see the children on the village. Everyone here has a renewed spirit. How12 little children, that are not your own flesh and blood, can affect your heart is certainly a gift from God. Rafiki Village Rwanda has suddenly and drastically changed from just a construction zone to an operational village. Which brings with it another set of duties, workloads and even a few problems, but there is a different new attitude view. As one of our ROS said "exhausting and exhilarating". Three of the four ROS teams here at Rafiki will have newsletters out in February, please check the Rafiki Foundations Web site later in February for all the recent details and photos. If anyone is interested in helping support one of these orphaned children at Rafiki Village Rwanda please contact the home office in Florida at (407) 557-2850 for more details.

There are so many things that are great about being here in Rwanda, as if having 12 beautiful new children were not enough. One is being assured we are exactly where God wants us at this time in our lives, doing what He has ordained for us. Another is that we have Christmas several times a year. This week we were blessed to have 6 packages arrive from friends in the States, loaded with Christmas goodies; a hand made Christmas wreath (well, I guess there are really no natural Christmas wreaths), ornaments, spicy almonds, cookies, drink mixes, Christmas stockings with espresso candy and a Swahili language program.
We are blessed to have such wonderful friends and family, not because of the packages, which are great, but because of the love and prayers that come with them. We could get by without the packages, but your support and prayers are what really sustains us and Rafiki.

Merry Christmas "in January" and God bless.

Paris walk

2009-01-22T11:24:00.004+02:00

We all went out for a walk and city bus ride. We were out all afternoon and did a very long walk, about 5 to 6 hours and it was cold by the time we headed home on the bus about dark. Got off the bus at the Louvre and walked to Notre Dame, had lunch then walked to the Eiffel tower. Not sure why we did not go through the Louvre while we were right there but thought we would come back to it. Have to do that another day. We have a bus stop very close to our apartment so even if it is a little rainy we can still get around fairly easily. There are a couple large grocery stores near us and many small shops to buy lots of very good and fattening things to eat. We have had roasted chicken twice already as it is very good and such a change from the very expensive and very tough birds we get in Rwanda, not even sure you would call them chickens. Thanks to Tara, we have our official translator with with.
So today is rainy and the forecast does not give much hope for improvement for the rest of the week but we have umbrellas so will just go fight the elements like the native Parisians. The espresso shops may get lots of our business this week, maybe a pastry to go with it, thank you.
We received the word that the first children have arrived at Rafiki Village Rwanda. Thanks to God in his timing and provision for this day. It will be great to go back to a village with the voices of children in the air. Everyone has waited many months for this event to take place.

Sacre Coeur

2009-01-20T11:16:00.000+02:00

We all had a great walk to the Sacre Coeur cathedral. It was a great view over the city but was pretty cold and windy up there. Then went for expresso and sweet crepes at Chez Eugene. Audrey was showing us the menu. On the walk back to the apartment it started to rain and then a down-pour. Tried to get a taxi and the guy would not give us a ride because it was to close. I guess he was waiting for larger fare.
Gene and I went shopping while everyone else went into the apartment to dry out. We had to walk all over the neighborhood to find a roasted chicken, but finial scored with some vegie's and salad. thought we had it all covered but when the girls started to cook they could not find the potatoes. We had put potatoes in a bag at the store but have no idea if we paid for them or even picked them up from the produce department. So Mike and Gene had to make another quick trip. Ended up with a great meal. Will surely need to do more walking or will be putting on all the weight we have lost.
Oh, we also saw this great looking cell phone tower.

Surprise

2009-01-19T10:54:00.000+02:00

What a great surprise Bev and I had last night. We were about ready to go to bed when the phone rang in the apartment, Gene answered it and said there was a problem in the lobby and he had to check with someone down there. Soon he returned and said that this guy says he has the apartment and someone started to come in behind him. I was about ready to find a club or something to take this guy out with if something happened, when I finally recognized Mike. What a shocker. He got a cheap ticket to Germany and visited a friend of his there then got the train to Paris for the week. So it is a little crowded for sleeping space in the apartment but a great Christmas present for Mom and Dad, just missing Curt. Glad we were able to see him in October when he came to Rwanda. We have great kids.

Paris - day one

2009-01-18T19:21:00.000+02:00

Well, here we are in Paris just enjoying and loving on our (SBG) Sweet Baby Girl. It is pretty cold here for a couple of people that have not seen a temperature below about 65 in the past 14 months. There is a brisk wind and the temp is in the mid to low 40's. But seeing Audrey is warming to the heart. Picture is view from our apartment window. We had a real cultural first meal in Paris, "Chinese take-out". We actually went out to buy groceries but the larger markets were closed so we picked up a few things at a local deli and brought home take-out for dinner. Audrey is more precious than we had even expected, we are thanking the Lord for this very special time.
We had a good trip from Rwanda to Paris, all the flights were on time and the luggage all made it with us. Is a long flight and it is not easy to sleep in those small seats. We got to the airport in Kigali at 6:00 pm and waited until about 9:00 to board. Flew to Entebbe, Uganda to pick up more passengers and take on fuel, left there around 11:00 pm and flew to Brussels arriving at 6:00 am. Waited nearly 4 hours and flew to Paris. So it was a long night. So now we have a good 8 days to rest up and spoil SBG until flying back to Rwanda. That will be a day flight so should not be as tiring.

Children are coming

2009-01-16T13:26:00.001+02:00

We are very excited that we have permission to bring in our first 12 children to the village. There is some final paperwork yet to be completed which Patty and Sam will be working on while Bev and I are in Paris. So we are hoping for children by the first of February. We have all been praying that children would be on the village before the dedication on Feb 25. After all the miles, work and home visits it will be so great to see these children coming to the village where they will have plenty of clothes, food, housing, medical attention and most of all love. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers over this past year. If anyone is interested in sponsoring a child at Rafiki Village Rwanda please contact our Home Office in Eustis, FL at (407) 557-2850 or visit the web site (do not forget the dash (-) between Rafiki and foundation) for more information www.rafiki-foundation.org
So we are doubly excited as we will be spending a week in Paris with Audrey and her parents, Gene and Tara. It is amazing how God works out all the details if we will just give him a chance to work in our lives.
The last few weeks have been hectic and we are looking forward to some time to be with family and just rest. Please pray for good travel connections for all of us.

Rwandan English

2009-01-14T19:12:00.000+02:00

I really love Rwandan English, I really like Kinyarwanda also but still can not speak it. Rwandan's transpose R's and L's in speaking and also many times in writing. The word 'English' is sometimes pronounced and spelled with an L the next time you hear it it is with an R. This makes it very interesting around election time (think about it). Now that we have been in Rwanda for a year dealing with and speaking with Rwandans on a daily basis we have got so we can figure out most English words they are speaking, although on occasion we still have to ask a few times for them to repeat it. In addition to the R and L issue is the use of some words. Sometimes it just makes me laugh. As most of you know I have a great assistant, Asiimwe Sam. (What we would call a last name they put first). We work very well together and have much fun. He tries very hard to teach me words in Kinyarwanda, but my brain is old and fuzzy. And I have taught him to drink strong black coffee. Sam speaks very good English and has been invaluble to me in dealing with government officials and his translating skills have made a huge difference in the amount of time it has taken to start receiving children at the village. But he really makes me laugh at some of the words he uses. Last week we were in the villages picking up people to transport into Nyamata, there was one family that was not ready, which is not at all unusal. There is a saying that "Umuzungus (whites) have watches, Rwandans have time". Sam thought they were taking to long and said, "I will go up to the house to 'pressurize' them". I had not heard him say that before and I just had to laugh. Thank the Lord he is very good natured. Another word is 'clothes', but they pronounce the 'es' at the end. Milk is 'millick'. There are many other that I can not remember right now, as I said the brain is old and fuzzy. I will try to jot them down and add them a a latter time.

Catching our breath

2009-01-13T19:31:00.000+02:00

We all made it through the last couple of weeks, even if there were some early mornings coupled with some late nights. All in all we had a great time with all the children during their screening. For the most part they all seemed to have a good time also. We hated to see them go at the end of the day. Hopefully, by God's grace, we will be seeing them again soon. Bev, I and the rest of the team are clearing up loose ends this week and finishing up all the paperwork.

Bev and I will be flying to Paris on Saturday night to spend a week with Gene, Tara and Audrey. It has been about a year and a half since we last saw them. I'm sure we will need to get used to the winter weather in Paris this time of year after spending the last 13 months in Rwanda and perfect summer weather all most every day. But seeing the kids will make us forget about the cold outside.

This is short tonight but we are beat and are going to try and get a good long nights rest.

Contrast

2009-01-09T19:12:00.000+02:00

Our work days the past couple of weeks have seen one extreme of lifestyles to another. As we have traveled to remote villages (Umudugudu's) and seen the poorest of the poor, wearing dirty rags as the only set of clothes they have, sleeping in a dirt floor hut on a straw mat, rats biting them during the night, eating one meal a day of cassava root or maybe potato and getting water from mud puddles. Then going into Kigali to meet with government workers, who are driving Land Crusiers and Lexis, eating at huge buffets with plates piled high enough to be an art form, and living in houses that look like they belong on the French Riviera. It's almost to much for your senses to take in and process. It begs to ask the question, Why? With millions of dollars coming into the country, why should there be such poverty? Such a drastic difference in life styles just boggles the mind.
But tomorrow, althrough it is going to be another long day, should be very rewarding as we bring 20 children and their caregivers into the hospital at Nyamata for their checkups and physicals. We have hired a taxi, an 18 passenger van, to pick up a load from two Sectors, Ken will be making two trips bringing people in with the village land crusier and Tim will be gathering a load in their vehicle. Hopefully all will arrive before noon and some should be in as earliy as 7:30. Then we will do the whole process in reverse. So it will be a lot of work for a lot of people but at the end of the day we should have the children about ready to come to the village. It is just finishing all the paperwork after tomorrow.

Not In Vain
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
Emily Dickinson

Village visits

2009-01-07T20:14:00.000+02:00

We have had a marathon last couple of days finishing up our children interview/home visit/background information. Visited 25 children in 3 Sectors, put on over 250 km, over some very rough back roads and goat trails. Just my cup of tea. We have seen some of the most beautiful and dearest children you could ever hope to see. I regret that we can not bring them all to the village but some just do not meet the requirements. I think the picture might tell you more about our trip than anything I can say about the needs of these children and families.
Since we have been in Rwanda we both have many "wishes", one of them is that every one of you could have the opportunity to see these children for yourselves. To see the needs and feel the helplessness of not being able to do "something", "anything".
One little family we saw consists of 4 children, that's all, just the 4 children. The oldest is a beautiful girl of 13 taking care of her 3 young bothers and sister. Both parents died last year of HIV and she is left with raising a family of three child and she is only a child herself. They have no money, but that is not uncommon out in the bush. She is trying to make something grow in a garden that is dry and dusty. The house they live in is a very small round mud hut that is about to fall in. There is not one of us that would keep our animals in such a place. We were hoping to be able to possibly bring the youngest to the village, at least that would be one less mouth to feed and would give the child a fighting chance to get and education and good medical care but it was not to be. The child was a year older than our cut off limit and we had to walk away. Every family and home we have visited over the last few weeks have been in direr need of the most basic items; fresh water, enough food for at least one meal a day, a blanket to sleep on (while laying on a dirt floor), one set of clothes that was not in taters, or even the very basic of health care. But this little girl and her siblings, who was all smiles, was the hardest to walk away from.
God's blessings to you all.

Rain

2009-01-04T14:19:00.000+02:00

We got home from church about 1:00 pm and it was just starting to rain. Rain in January in Rwanda, what a great way to start the new year. It has been raining for about 1 hour and we have 3/4". I'm sure it would be better for the crops here in Bugesera if it would slow down a little so as to soak into the ground better. But it is rain in January so we will praise the Lord for it.
Tomorrow will start the first real work week of the new year and everyone here on the Rafiki Village Rwanda will be back a crazy pace. We are thrilled that the children interviews are going so well and it looks like everything is on track for the medical screening to be done on January 10th. It will be great to have the first 12 children on the village by the end of January.
We did a little grocery shopping after church in Kigali. I thought the bill was a little high when we checked out but we have come to find out that almost everything is high in Rwanda. As we were putting away the canned goods I saw a small (like tuna fish can size) can of Red Salmon. We spent many years in Alaska and had access to about all the Fresh Red Salmon we could eat. This can of salmon 213g or 7.5oz was 5460 Rwandan francs which converts to $10.00 USD. This had better be the best salmon we have ever had, maybe it's really caviar.

New Pic's

2009-01-03T13:47:00.000+02:00

I have loaded some new pictures onto our Flickr site
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58111894@N00/
I hope you can access them from the web address above. I have also been adding some to our Facebook page but will mainly be using Flickr as it takes to long to put them in both places with our very slow internet connection.
The new pictures are of our new home here on the Rafiki Village in Nyamata, Rwanda. As you will be able to tell we are a long way from being completely settled in but we are very comfortable and praise the Lord for letting us get in before Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, I pray you all had a great Christmas season and you all need to thank God for the friends and family you were able to share it with. We were on the village by ourselves this year, as our team-mates went to a lodge on a lake for a few days of R&R. It was the first time either of us had spent a Christmas with no other friends or family around. It was a very low-key day for us, as we thought about all the past years of taking for granted the joy it is to share a Holiday with people you love.
There are also a set of pictures from the Compassion and Sunday School end of year program at the little EPR church just out side our fence. The children looked "very smart" in their new uniforms. This is the group of children we were teaching Sunday School to for the last quarter of the year. It is a great bunch of children and it was a joy to work with them even though we are not sure how much they retained as we were teaching in English and they know very little English. Thanks to a couple from another church who let us borrow a complete Flannel graph set up, we are hoping that some of the Bible stories got through.
The last set is of a girls orphanage Sam and I visited in Rilima Sector. This is an orphanage run by a group of Nuns and they do a great job with these girls. It was a pleasure to visit them (and I promised to bring them some sweeties (candies) on our next trip to thier village).

New Years Day

2009-01-01T21:13:00.000+02:00

Well, here it is the first day of 2009 (Happy Birthday Tara) and it has been in the high 80's all day. It is now 9:00 pm and still in the 70's outside. One of the many things to get used to here is living in a house that has no heat source. We were sure we would want to have some kind of heat for those cool nights. Well, we have been here a year and there may have been a couple times when it would have been nice to have a fire to warm up with in the mornings, but that's about it. I was wondering if I would miss not having a change of seasons and I really haven't. I enjoy the spring and fall in Alaska and the Northeast but haven't missed the winter cold and snow.
There are a few things we miss, like a good steak, but there is nothing I can think of offhand that we really crave. We certainly miss family and friends and are looking forward to seeing most of you this summer while we are back in the USA.
We are all working hard to get our first children to the village. We are hoping that will happen by the end of this month. We are in the child interview and selection process, and are putting on lots of miles (or kilometers) traveling to the remote villages to visit these orphans. There are such great needs here it is hard at times to stay focused on our selection criteria. Sam and Ken make a first trip to visit the homes and get basic information and try to narrow the orphans submitted to alien with our intake policies. Then Ken, Sam, Bev and Patty do a follow-up visit to confirm the first information and do a basic health overview. Sam, Ken's village assistant, is the key to making this all work due to the language barrier. I hope you all have a chance to view the pictures on our Flickr site, I think they will touch your heart.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T07:07:00.000+02:00

Bev and I wish you all a very Happy New Year for 2009. May our Lord bless each one of you during this new year.
We have now been in Rwanda Africa one full year and what a year it has been. We will try to use this space to bring everyone up to date and record some of what has happened over the past year as well as what is going on at the present.
We give God all the glory and praise for what has been accomplished here in Nyamata, Rwanda while working with Rafiki. The following poem was written by Bev many years ago but it captures our feelings as we start our second year in Rwanda.

Praise

Hearts overflowing with joyful love,
spills out through us from above.
Thank you Lord Jesus for love unending,
and Holy Spirit for comfort you're sending.
Thank you God for all you do,
may we live today to glorify you.