Back at the Village

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.