Annie is married

This past weekend, we celebrated the wedding of Annie and Luke. It was such a fun weekend. It is so funny how high school graduation was 8 years ago but when we are all together it seems like just yesterday.

We re-lived our nemerous pranks (which happen to be all on video), laughed about classes that they put us in together (sorry teachers if we made life a little difficult), re-lived the sports memories, and the nights where we would just dream up doing some of the craziest things.

The "Bat" girls haven't changed a bit...

Bree, is still the funny one. She will say anything whether it is appropriate or not. She has the ability to make an entire group of strangers laugh for hours. There is never a dull moment with her around. I think I laughed more than I have laughed in a long time.

Annie, is still the calm, innocent instigator. She will dream up anything under the sun and be able to convince Bree or Becky to do anything.

Becky, is still the one who laughs the loudest. She is always laughing and having a good time. She, just like Bree, will saying whatever is on her mind but she has a great filter in making it family appropriate.

And as they would put it, I am still the voice of reason. I am not sure what that means but I still tend to make sure we don't carry the pranks overboard, or take the joke one step too far. I would tend to instigate with Annie, and then the two of us would sit back and watch while Becky and Bree carried it out. I of course was the "mom" who would never let it get too far out of hand. Not sure if I am a big fan of that label...

The best part is that every single one of us are now working in the school system in one way or another. Who would have thought? Bree is a behavioral specialist- which she is amazing at. Becky is a high school counselor and Annie and I are teachers.

Annie, I couldn't be happier for you. You have an amazing husband, one who will love you through all chapters of life. Thank you for letting all of us be a part of your amazing day. Have fun on your honeymoon! 

Community like none other

This past weekend I was blessed with an opportunity to connect with a bunch of friends from college. Emily (the one in the tank top) is getting marriend in October and we had a chance to celebrate the upcoming event. Isn't funny how there are people in your life that you could be away from for more than a year, but as soon as you see them it feels like it was just yesterday that you all hung out? These girls are that to me. They are amazing women of God who are each doing incredible things for the kingdom. I am blessed to have them in my life! Congrats Emily on the upcoming wedding. I can't wait to all see you all there! 

Watch out I am turning 2

Tomorrow one of the greatest nephews in the world is ready to celebrate his 2nd birthday. It is amazing how quickly the time goes. Happy Birthday David 

 

We are home safe

I can’t believe the time has already come to say goodbye to Rwanda. If I am really honest, the trip was way too short. As I sit back at home and write on my own computer, I struggle with the fact that there was still so much to do when we left. I never once dreamed that my going to Rwanda would end the poverty crisis, but for some strange reason, I don’t feel like we were even able to put a drop in the bucket. The truth is that it is bigger than anything we could fix on our own.

Kirsten Strand, a member of the team, made this comment about our adventure. I think it is an amazing statement and I wanted to share it with you.

“It struck me one day as we drove past hundreds of people sitting along the rugged streets that they all have a tremendous physical burden, but that many of us in America also have a burden—and maybe an even harder one. We have the blessing of resources and the burden of choice. We must decide if we will use our blessings only to provide opportunities for ourselves, or if we will use them to help provide opportunities for those who don’t have choices.

It also struck me that there is one choice that we ALL have—the choice to love and rely on God. And that is where the poor can help us. It is easy to love God when we have all that we need. But would we love Him even if we didn’t have a roof over our head or water to drink or had lost our entire family in a genocide?”

I have still yet to process all that I experienced and all that I learned from this trip. It was an amazing two weeks. I look forward to writing more as I begin to unpack all the experiences God led us through.

This is how it is done!

Let's just say that using the bathroom while in the villiage was a little difficult. In case you ever find yourself having to use one, NEVER REMOVE YOUR SHOES...

Beth and Melody are modeling the proper technique when it comes to latrine use. If you like bathroom humor, remind me to tell you a story when I return. I won't write it because it may be little wierd for all ears to hear... 

Harvesting Sorgum (?)

We spent a day helping sponsored family perform daily chores. I harvested sorgum, sifted and beat beans, and a couple of brave souls made the 2 hour hike down the mountain for fetch water. I didn't go because we were warned it was very dangerous. One member ran into some trouble with the altitude change during the hike and needed to be helped back. I can't imagine having to do that hike several times a day just to get water. It really put into perspective the difficulty of obtaining the simple things. 

Team member catches us playing instead of working... oops!

Don't let Dave fool you into thinking that he is some inocent pastor. He is dangerous! Good times, good times...

What is work with no play? Dave and I have a little mud fight. I think I was a little more covered by the end but I am proud to say that I got the last throw of the mud! 

Building the orphan house. We learned out to mold bricks, lay them and we spent hours digging and moving dirt to make a flat surface. A lot of hard work but we had a good time with it. 

This picture was taken at the church service. There was a point that they wanted us to get up and dance with them. I was watching closely as this gentleman taught a white girl how to dance Rawandan style. 

I almost had it figured out. I wanted to learn to balance a basket on my head. I didn't get more than four steps without loosing it. 

This is one of my fav's. She is eating sugar cane as an afternoon treat. 

The baboon that chased me

 

building

Yesterday we spent the day building a orphans home. It is amazing how they use the all the resources they have to build. They use the land/mud for cement, grass for fiber, and all the tools we used are done by hand. It is incredible.

There is so much I can't wait to tell you. Rawanda is a very unique place. Aside from the devestation of the poverty, the joy that is in the lives of these people is huge. I have never seen life lived quite like this. In all my years along the Mexico border, I thought that I would have a good handle on what to expect here. What I have seen has been so much bigger than I even understand. What we did here was only a minor drop in a very small bucket. It is hard to know that we will walk away and there is still so much more to be done.

If you ever have the opportunity to be outside your box and journey to another culture I highly recommend it. Whether it is a community down the road, in another state, or outside the country, please don't pass up the oportunity to serve others. As far as Rawanda, Ben and Melody are amazing people to know. They have been incredible hosts and showed us things that we wouldn't see with all organizations. Please take time to visit globalfamilyrescue.org and see the things they are doing.

Until next time...

work days

So much to tell you over the past day. I am thankful that we are safe, but I should tell you more about that when we return. God is good...

We harvested sorgum and beat and sifted beans yesterday. We spent time with our sponsor families. Today we are off to help build an orphanage. I am a little nervous about seeing what an orphanage is like here. I imagine it will be very sad.

Please continue to pray for our safety.

Mozungo teaches in Rwanda

Yesterday we spent the day in the Rawandan schools. I was highly impressed with the amount of class managment that the teacher had. There were 66 kids in this classroom and they were sitting 4-5 to a desk. The room was about 1/4 the size of my health classroom back in the states and the ceiling was made of bannana bark which allowed some sunlight to come through. The mud walls made the room feel cooler than I thought it would be and there were two windows to bring in enough light that they could see what they were doing. I was highly impressed by the teacher. He instructed using hands on experiences and had the attention of every one of his students. The kids watched our every move when we first walked in but then they had complete attention to them. When we talked with the teachers, the biggest thing they believe they needed was uniforms, books, training, water, and a clean bathroom for the students. They talked about how hard it was to teach a kid who does not eat and does not have water to drink. They are tired and they are not able to retain information.

Leaving there my heart broke. The reality is, there is so much need and I feel like it is so much bigger than anything we could do. Bartlett high school has a partnership with this school and we were able to give money towards a few students supplies and uniforms and sponsor a few teachers. They were so greatful but the reality is, the need is so much higher. I guess I have to be content with baby steps. We pray for direction to know the things we can do.

I will download pictures when I return home. I am close to 500 photos and it takes forever to download and pasted on here. Team time is pretty important. I love you guys... I can't wait to share personal stories face to face when I return.

Another crazy night

It is fairly early in the morning and it has been a restless night. I don't know whether it is the malaria medication or just the fact of my mind filled with all these thoughts and emotions but I am having crazy dreams. They are the kind of dreams that wake you up at night and you don't want to go back to sleep. It is so wierd. I spent a lot of time journaling last night. It was good to get some thoughts on paper. This country is incredible but what is the most amazing is how people have been able to get up and move on. The more I listen to the families here, the more my heart breaks for what they have experienced. It was a huge contrast to begin the trip in Amsterdam visiting the Anne Frank house and now here in Rwanda hearing the stories of terror that people went through. This biggest question that plagues me is what was God thinking during those times? Was he angered at the killers? Was he crying for those that were getting killed? I believe that God, like any father, would be feeling extreme saddness for his children but what did he think about the others?

I read a great book before I came called "Left to Tell." There were parts where I found myself doubting that things like that could really happen to people. What I am finding from story after story is that the story speaks truth. A truth I imagine is important to know but sickening to grasp.

I hope you enjoyed your fourth of July! Please remember the amazing blessing of freedom that we have. Please remember how blessed we are to live where we live and let us never forget our neighbors and brothers and sisters that are living in these conditions. Let me never stop finding ways to serve them...

Some people asked, why Rwanda and not helping the hurricane victims. I believe that my neighbors and brothers and sisters are not defined by country borders. I beleive that serving my brothers and sisters in east Aurora is the same as serving my brothers and sisters in Africa. There is no difference... both are just as important.

Chased by a baboon!!!!

Happy 4th of July! Today marks the official end of the genocide in 1994.

The past two days has been a crazy ride. Let me first start out with yesterday. Yesterday we spent the day visiting the genocide memorial and then listening to some stories of the survivors. It was a pretty brutal museum. The part that was hardest to see was the children that were affected by the genocide. They were so innocent but yet their lives were taken. There were skulls that were cracked from machete and skulls that had huge holes in them from being beaten. They didn’t do a whole lot to soften the truth of what happened here. I guess in a way, we need to know and we need to see it. We can’t forget what happened and we must do all we can to prevent it from happening it again. Just writing this, my stomach begins to turn again from what was seen. Another part of the group visited another site that had actual bodies that were just laying the way they were found. Although I saw the pictures, I know that there is no way I could make it through that place. We also heard some stories of personal survival during the genocide. Sipi (A GFR employee) spent the genocide hiding and running. He found pipes to hide in, closets to cram in and whatever else would keep him safe. He was caught several times and for some reason or another, when the went to kill him they ended up letting him go. He lost everyone in his family and as he told this story, he wept. The beautiful thing about it is to hear him talk about the forgiveness he has finally been able to give to those people that did the killing.
It is interesting to me to hear that talking about the genocide is basically a taboo topic. People will share their personal stories but will not talk about anything political or their thoughts on it. Everyone is still so afraid of what might happen. I don’t think there is any sort of trust that it is done.

Today was a safari day. Honestly, I can’t wait to show pictures. I took over 200 shots and I saw giraffe’s, hippos, zebras, monkeys, warthogs, troupe, a cobra, gazelle’s and some beautiful birds. Oh, I could go on and on about our crazy adventures. It was real life safari and the animals were so close. Our van driver was amazing. He drove off the beaten path and into areas that got us as close as possible! My favorite experience was when I got a little too close to a baboon. This was a good size monkey and I was right there taking pictures as he just stood there and posed. (At this point, the tour guide was pretty generous at letting us get out of the vehicle and move close to the animals. I had been warned a couple times to stay closer to the vehicle because they could turn on you at any moment.) Needless to say, I was a little hesitant and a little more alert than normal, but it wasn’t enough to stop me from getting the shots I wanted. While this monkey started coming after me and I took off for the van only to run into the van, nail my shins and then fall flat on my back outside the van. I quickly got into the van (at this point, I scared the monkey away) and laughed like crazy. I have some great battle scars from that experience but I have some great shots and that makes it worth it!

After the safari, we spent some time together as a team and had the opportunity to baptize a brother and sister from Africa. Sipriane and his wife, Claudette were baptized. It was incredible to hear about his journey and what brought him to that decision.

Tomorrow we head off to the school to help the teachers and the students. I am excited to begin the evaluation process of the schools here in Rwanda. I can’t wait to see what the future might hold in partnering with them.

Check out globalfamilyrescue.blogspot.com

for some great photos of what is going on...

Boys hanging out under bannana trees 

I learn how to sift beans from Constance. She is an amazing woman who in in her 2nd year of sponsorship. She now has her own house, she increased her bean production from 40 kg to 250 kgs. She will finish this year of sponsorship and then be able to support herself and her 9 children. What a blessing! 

Constance's 1 month little girl. (Ben and Melody's sponsored family) 

Children in the villiage near the church 

My first photo in Rwanda 

Today was another amazing day. I wish that I could send pictures on here but I have been having some difficulty. The internet that is in the house just doesn't seem to be strong enough to get these pictures downloaded to a format that will work. I wish all of you were here with me because I feel like the words I can find to describe this place just won't do justice to what we are experiencing.

We started out the day by heading 2 hours to a church that is up in the village. It was a crazy drive and athough I feared my safety in flying over here, I have learned that I need to fear my life while riding in our van here. We have a volkswagon mini bus (otherwise known as a hippi bus) that takes us around. Basically we drive anywhere we want, honk the horn often and drive as close to the edges of cliffs as possible. It sounds terrifying but the reality is that we laugh more than anything. (sorry Mom, I don't mean to scare you). The scenery that we drive through looks like a National Park with people living around it. There are waterfalls along the side of the road and the scene from the montain tops is priceless.

Church was great. I have never felt so greeted and welcomed in all my life. A lot of children have never seen white skin before so they flock after us everywhere we go. We are like superstars out here. They love to touch our skin, and are fasinated by our hair. There is a lot of touchy feely greeting but so far it really hasn't bothered me. They made us sit in the front of the church facing the rest of the congregation. I don't know as that tactic would work so well at our church back home. The singing was great, I did a little dancing with some of the woman at the church. Not really something I would do in the states but they showed me some pretty good moves.

After church we went on pretty rough hike. The hills were pretty steep and I think I took a few tumbles. Honestly, once again, it didn't bother me. In fact, I loved every minute of it. The views were great and it was nice to walk among the village and see how they walk and the route they take to get water and other supplies. I couldn't walk with my own to feet and they walk with huge water jugs on their head.

I could write all day but the computer is on high demand. I hope I will figure out pictures soon. I love you guys.

We have arrived!!!!


We arrived in Rwanda early this morning. I am so tired. It was quite the adventure as far as traveling goes but it was a good trip. We left Thursday from O'hare and flew through the night to Amsterdam. When we arrived in Amsterdam it was 7 am local time. Since the airplane wasn't an easy place to sleep, most of the team ended up pulling an unwanted all nighter. We spent the day in Amsterdam on a canal tour, touring the Anne Frank house and just walking the streets of the city. It is such a pretty city and with a very unique feel to it. Not very many cars, but there are bikes, trains, and people walking everywhere. I didn't seem to figure out the rules of the road so we decided we were pretty lucky to get out without getting run over by anything :)

We got back on the plan late that night and flew through the night (another night that I think most of us got only an hour or two of sleep) until we arrived in Nairobi. We only were in Kenya for about an hour and then got on another plane and headed to Kigali. Needless to say, I am not going to download any pictures at the present time. I am going to try and catch a little nap, get cleaned up a bit and then I will spend some time writing more tomorrow.

The good news is we are safe and in an amazing place. Looking through the right lense, Rwanda is a beautiful country. In some ways, it reminds me of the times I have spent on the Mexico border but it is so much cleaner. The landscape is very hilly, there are flowers all over the place and there is little streams and lakes of water. Our housing arrangments are almost too nice but at the same time, I understand the safety precautions we have to take and our reasons for having to stay where we are.

Look forward to writing more later...