I would first like to refer back to the previous post about the sleeping situation on each plane. We could have crash landed and Brayden still would have been asleep, waking only when violently shaken. Unlike Tina’s fortunate accumulative hour of sleep, I may have gotten 22 minutes throughout the 24 hours of travel. Within that 22 minutes, Brayden managed to capture a photo, and in complete spite and revenge, I later captured an identical snapshot.
Returning to current time, we began our Sunday with church, attending the first service in English. After worship, we were slightly disappointed by the news that we would be hearing from a speaker from California. We had all been looking forward to experiencing an authentic African service so hearing from an American pastor was just not what we were imagining. We also met up with our translator, John. We were fortunate enough to stay through the worship portion of the Kinyrwandan service. Their voices ushered in the most humble presence of God I have ever felt. Their voices sounded as though they reached heaven and the demeanor in which they worshiped was with a pureness of heart I could never imagine to have.
We left the service and headed to the hotel where we would meet the sponsored children...we unloaded the van and met about 10 of the children who had already been there. In a short amount of time, 30 more showed up. Some of the boys joined a circle of soccer and most girls were looking on, waiting for something to happen. I began speaking to a girl named Sonia and asked her about her ambitions, she spoke of how she dreams of being a heart surgeon. Her favorite subject is Biology, she doesn’t like french class (only because she’s bad at it), has three sisters and loves to read mystery books. But what I took away from this conversation most was that she would not talk about herself unless asked, and she only asked questions about me and who I was and what I liked and that has to be one of the best traits a person can have. Total selflessness. Oh how I wish I could be like these people.
Gathering in the room to eat, we first introduced ourselves, identifying ourselves by our siblings, spouses and children. Then, all of them were asked to stand and share their name, their siblings, and most importantly their dreams. I have found that to these people, there is no small dream and no circumstances will hinder them. They have decided. And they will arrive. These dreams included being engineers, doctors, accountants, and business men and women. Also, scientists, humanitarians, politicians, surgeons, journalists and caregivers. And I must say that I believe every one of them and in every one of their dreams. We then ate lunch which was as amazing as expected, 100% carbohydrates. We decided before the trip that we would speak on the life of Joseph and the character traits that he portrayed throughout his life, so we each chose one and shared with them our thoughts on them. Patience, acceptance, blessing others, hard work and humility were among them. But let’s be honest, we can be almost certain that they excel us in every category. Then, we introduced a craft to them and after that, our Rwandan friend Harriet asked if anyone would like to share their hearts. Five people shared. Fina, Alloys, Joshua, Uwese and Sharron. They spoke of their life, their hardships and their undying appreciation for the sponsorship program. If you’re reading this right now and you sponsor a child, especially through Mugisha Ministries, I would encourage you by saying that your contribution is not money in the wind and the fact that someone chooses them every month is a constant reminder of the Fathers love for them. They have a true understanding of the importance of The Lord at the center of their lives and their ambitions are anything but far fetched. They have every intention of following through on their word. I recently heard from a fellow missionary we are staying with that it’s part of Rwandan culture that if you speak something, it gives way for the future, they are true believers in words having power. Sharron (who has recently graduated) said something that cut right to the heart- “On behalf of all of us, we love you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts....but for you there is no bottom”.
But really, what a blessing it is to be here. As I type, I’m looking at lights covering the hills below me that words and pictures will never convey. Can’t wait for what the Lord has for us this week. Waiting in anticipation. Wishing everyone the best and loving all of you from Africa.
With Great Love,
Juliet Locker
No comments:
Post a Comment