Letter

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

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

“.....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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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)

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)

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.