Birthday in Rwanda.

My birthday was yesterday, and it was absolutely wonderful. I felt very loved (and missed) by my family and friends back home, and received lots of Facebook posts and emails, as well as some phonecalls. It was somewhat difficult being away from home, especially from my family and my twin brother Chris, but I made the best of it here. Today is Theresa's birthday, my good friend who is living here too, so we had a joint birthday party last night. I went to Kigali and got a really tasty cake, which I brought back on the hour-long journey back on the public bus. We had a party at Le Grand Restaurant in Gitarama, which is Theresa's and my favorite place to eat in town. We were joined by some of our closest Rwandan friends - Jean Paul, Hadidja, Gatera, Jeremie, Gilbert, and Isaac, as well as our American friend Hadley. We had wonderful food - soup, beef and fish brouchette, chef salad, chapiatti, and bread. The conversation was flowing and we all had a fantastic time together.

Our birthday cake was quite large and we were able to put candles on the top of it. My mom had included birthday candles in the care packages she sent a couple of weeks ago. The restaurant became pretty crowded by the time we brought the cake out, and lots of patrons were interested in what we were doing. We made a bigger spectacle of ourselves when the lights were turned out for the cake lighting. After the cake we opened the presents that some of our guests had brought.

I was so thankful that having my birthday in Rwanda felt like I was celebrating it at home. The people I have come to love in Rwanda were there to make this happen, and I am so grateful that I have reached this point in my stay here.

Thank you to everyone, both in America and in Rwanda, who made me feel so loved.

Teaching English.

I have finished teaching English at the Primary School. The students have examinations for two weeks, then they take the national Secondary School Entrance Examination, and then the semester is over until January. Jean Claude, one of the boys at Umuryango, will be taking the exam. I am praying that he and many others do very well and get in to Secondary School.

Although I am done teaching English in this venue, I have started up with two other groups of people. When I was in Dubai I bought a book that is an English Dictionary for Beginners. I have been going through the book with the youngest boys at Umuryango, who are not in school yet. I pronounce each word to them and they repeat back. Some of the words are not very applicable, such as firecracker, ice skate, and snow. It is a joy to see how some of them are quite far along in their English speaking, which will advance them in school when they begin in January.

I have also been meeting with a friend of mine from Gitarama, who works at the internet cafe. His name is Jeremie and he is 23 years-old. Gilbert, another friend who also works at the cafe
hopes to start joining us as well. These are good guys, and it has been a pleasure getting to know them. To practice his English, Jeremie and I have been reading the book of John. I dictate and he writes down the words. He knows most of the words, but occasionally there is a word that he hasn't heard before. We discuss what it means and I have him write out three sentences using the word. Yesterday I was reminded that boys are boys, and they laugh at certain body parts, no matter the culture. We came across the word bosom, which he had never heard before. I sheepishly explained what it meant and he started giggling for a long time. When are finished with a section of John I have him explain to me what he has written down on his paper. I love that I can use the Bible to help him practice his English. It is such an educational tool to use because it helps us discuss our shared faith as well as Biblical history.

Legacy.

I spent the afternoon yesterday in the internet cafe. The power in town was out, so the cafe was empty since it was temporarily shut down. This afforded me the chance to hang out for almost two hours with Jeremie and Gilbert, who work at the cafe. It was one of my favorite times over the past few weeks, as we talked about a lot of things, from their backgrounds, to Global Capacity, to Umuryango. I showed them the Global Capacity website and they recognized pictures of some of the streetboys who came from Gitarama. When they spotted Siliac's picture in particular they began talking about his parents. (I already had known the deal with his parents, as Umuryango finds out about the child's family before he comes to the home.) Siliac's father had been killed by police while he was robbing a store and his mother is a prostitute in Gitarama. It really caught me off guard and surprised me that Jeremie and Gilbert knew this. I wondered how many more stories they knew about our boys and what type of legacy these boys' parents have built for them.

It made me think of how small a town Gitarama can seem, even though it is the second largest city in Rwanda. A person's name and character is so important in Rwanda, and everybody seems to know everyone's business. I noticed this when our house had been broken in to. Everyone seemed to know about it. In town people would ask us if our house really had been broken in to, and if we were OK. And even more odd is that everyone seems to know where we live. When we take scooters to our house, the drivers know where to go. So, I can imagine how quickly word spreads here, and unfortunately the negative can often travel quicker and farther than the positive. So, I am sure the tragic and unfortunate pasts of the boys and their families are well known throughout town. Siliac's parents for example, have left a miserable and undesirable legacy for him. What little boy wants his parents to be known for being a thief and a prostitute? I can't imagine the torment he would endured in years to come had he stayed on the streets of Gitarama.

This is why I am so thankful for homes like Umuryango, who rescue children from potential miseries like a rotten legacy, and give them a chance to redeem those miseries. Siliac has progressed so much since he has come to Umuryango just 5 months ago. If you could meet him you would not believe that he had come from such a terrible family. He is well-disciplined and natured and has a huge heart. The other boys share similar stories like Siliac's, where they had been seemingly destined to continue with a bad legacy in their lineage, but thankfully their destinies are being redeemed and rewritten.

It is such a pleasure to sit back and watch a boy be further transformed into the glory of God.

Hurricane.

I know I haven't posted anything in awhile, and it's for a good reason. Ever since I returned from Dubai I have been really overwhelmed and have probably had the toughest two weeks since I have been in Rwanda. There were a variety of things that combined to create the challenges, but the largest hardship was coming back to the poverty and the needs here. As I said in my previous post, Dubai is a very wealthy city with lavish architecture, expensive cars, and booming economic development. There weren't any people begging, no kids living on the streets, no obvious disease. It was one of the cleanest and prosperous cities I have ever been to. So to go from this mecca to Rwanda was a shock to say the least.

The day after I returned some of the streetkids came to our house to get some food and medical care. And I stood inside and just watched them and wept. I wept because I honestly do not see a solution to this problem of streetkids. There are so many of them. Sure, we brought five of them from Gitarama to live at Umuryango. But then some more showed up in town, ones whom we hadn't seen when the other five were on the streets. Sure, we can give them food and bandages today, but what about tomorrow? The same needs will be here - hunger, hurt, illness. Resources will eventually run out. We can only do so much.

I have been listening to a song by Jimmy Needham called Hurricane and it has hit me like a ton of bricks. I know that God does not want me to be comfortable. He wants to stretch me so I need to rely on Him for everything I do. Moving to Africa has definitely been one of the most challenging periods in my life.

Hurricane
I have built a city here / Half with pride and half with fear
Just wanted a safer place to hide / I don’t want to be safe tonight

CHORUS
I need You like a hurricane / Thunder crashing, wind and rain / To tear my walls down /
I’m only Yours now / I need you like a burning flame / A wild fire untamed /
To burn these walls down / I’m only Yours now / I’m only Yours now

I am Yours and You are mine / You know far better than I / And if destruction’s what I need /
Then I’ll receive it Lord from Thee / Yes, I’ll receive it Lord from Thee

(Chorus)

And it’s Your eye in the storm / Watching over me / And it’s Your eye in the storm /
Wanting only good for me / And if You are the war / Let me be the casualty /
‘Til I’m Yours alone / I am only Yours / I am Yours alone, Lord

(Chorus)

Come be my hurricane