Kigali Kronicles...OR...Letters from Home

Report 5 ~ 4/30/07

2010-06-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

Hello Again!
Wow…what a busy week! As we prepare for the start of school next week, we have more and more last minute details to take care of, and its keeping all of us on our toes. We are now mostly settled in our classrooms and our biggest worry with them at the moment is trying to keep things up on the walls. This being Africa, the walls are all of concrete covered-cinder block, with a very dry paint on top, which means that tape doesn’t like to stick to it, that blue sticky-tack stuff isn’t always quite strong enough, and nails tend to bend going into the walls. But for the most part, we think we’ve figured out the right combination of materials to use to keep everything up…though of course as soon as I say that, I’ll go back up to the school and everything will be on the floor. 
The Becks and Jenny Conaway arrived safely last weekend, so thanks for all your prayers about that! They’re all settling in quite nicely. I’ve enjoyed getting the chance to catch up a bit with the Becks (we were friends at LCU), and Jenny C. and I are getting along great. We’ll be living together for the next year or so (or hopefully longer), so it’s been really nice having a chance to get to know her. Since she got here, she’s been staying with me at the guesthouse, and I’ve been showing her around and helping her get to know the area. She’s a fast learner and very level-headed, so we’re getting along famously. In fact, while we were waiting for our taxi Saturday afternoon, we were standing outside and were quickly surrounded by kids. A few of them spoke pretty decent English, and as soon as they figured out that we had cameras, they began posing for us and begging to have their pictures taken. We finally had to tell them that the camera’s were “finished” so we could put them away. “Finished” means that there is no more, but there really wasn’t any way to explain to them that we didn’t want to take any more pictures, and they don’t quite understand that digital cameras have way too much memory to use up that quickly. But we got some really great pictures.
If you’d like to see the pictures, along with lots of other pictures I’ve taken here, you can look at them on my blog. The address is at the bottom of my email. Check it out occasionally for new pics and short memos as to what’s going on here.
Church has been going well, and as we get farther and farther along in this process, things are beginning to smooth out and fit into more of a routine. People are beginning to anticipate what is expected and step up to help. As Dave says every Sunday morning in our pre-worship team prayer time, we lead by explaining and example. Our target group is those who will be more in positions of leadership in this country, both currently and in the future, and we are beginning to see an increase in stable attendance among those people, as well as many others who do not necessarily fit into that category. Praise God for His goodness! Everyone we are working with that has had any experience in church planting says that this is the most unusual church plant they have ever seen. After 8 weeks of meeting in this building, we have a membership that is holding steady at about 125-150 people every week, we have a building that will easily hold twice that number, and we have gotten many suggestions for things that can be done to improve membership and people who are willing to help. In fact, at the end of May, we are planning to start up at least 3 new ministries, focused on men, women, and singles, and we have people who have volunteered to help lead these small group efforts. None of us had anticipated being at this point for another 10 to 15 months at the earliest. We are all thrilled, and somewhat bewildered and in trepidation, at how fast God is working here. We are all feeling like He’s the only One working and we’re just hanging on for the ride. We are all very aware that the speed at which this has been happening will not last, but we are so thankful for what has happened so far!
Yesterday after church, I was blessed to be invited, along with the Jenkins and Emily Schaffer, one of the US Embassy Consular Officers, to Zac and Arin Nsinga’s house for lunch. Zac is the former Rwandan ambassador to the United States, and he and his family have been coming to church with us for the past 3 weeks. Zac told several members of our team that this is now his church, and during lunch, we learned from his conversation with us that he is eager to help us grow, and that he sees this work to be an important asset to the city of Kigali, and one that is desperately needed. He and Arin are both very sweet, as are their children, and they seem to be genuinely interested in helping us in any way they can. We were able to meet several members of their extended family, and hope to build a better relationship with them.
Amanda, Kyla and Lauren hosted an “Anne of Green Gables” marathon Sunday afternoon, and a bunch of the ladies and Jr. / High school girls went over there for about 6 hours, and the younger girls spent the night. We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed watching the movies. Several of the girls had never seen the movies or read the books, but I think we got everyone hooked on it. We had so much fun that we’re now looking for other marathon-worthy movies to enjoy. However, we may have to wait for a few more weeks before we do another late night like that.
Now for some prayer requests….
Praise that the church is growing and that we seem to be filling a great need here
That we will continue to be able to reintroduce the concept of church to those who have been so hurt by it in the past
That as our team travels to our retreat this weekend, that we will be safe and be able to grow closer to God and each other
That we will remain focused on God and remember that He is the One doing all the work, not us, and that we will give Him the glory due Him
For our health as we enter into a stressful time of year with the beginning of school
Bless you all for your love and support! It means more to me to know that you are there praying for me than I could ever express! It is a great encouragement to me! I love you all!
Amy

Report 4 ~ 4/21/07

2010-06-12T06:07:00.000-07:00

Hello again!
I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to write this time…things have been either really busy, or when I do have time to write, the internet is down. The last couple weeks have been going pretty well...several frustrations with days of not being able to get anything done, either b/c the internet was down or b/c this is Africa and things just move slower...but then again I know that, so the things that would frustrate me in America I just take in stride here. It’s just the way things are. But I am getting a few things done here and there. Last week I got the lesson plans for most of my English lessons done for next trimester, and the first few weeks of science done as well.
Everyone seems amazed that I'm not concerned when people are running late (and most of you know how punctual I like to be in America) or things aren't going as planned and we get set back a couple hours. I guess it's just part of knowing the rhythm and being able to become part of it. You know, you hear African missionaries say that Africa has a different rhythm, and it’s so true. Every country in the world has a rhythm to it...America's is very purpose driven (to borrow a phrase) and very fast...by comparison, the rhythm in most of Africa is very slow and relaxed and not at all driven by the clock. Sometimes it's hard when there are things that need to be done, but it’s just the way things are here. You either learn to adapt to it or it will make you miserable.
So most of my time here is pretty relaxing...sometimes even boring. For such a big city, there's almost nothing to do here. The only theater here is a small room with a white sheet hung on the wall, and a projector showing DVDs that are about 6 months behind, and usually not of the best quality. About the only normal weekly activities are team meetings Monday afternoons, tutoring every Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and going to the Novatel (one of the hotels) on Friday afternoons to hang out by the pool with the students and their families. But since last week was the week of remembrance for the victims of the genocide, almost all the hotel pools were shut down until Sunday or Monday. In fact, nearly the whole town was shut down, and everything was very quiet. That made having Easter Sunday services an interesting thing, because while we wanted to be respectful of the national attitude of mourning, we also wanted to be able to celebrate what many Christians believe to be the most important day of the Christian calendar. Fortunately, we have the advantage of having Rwandans working with us who are very culturally sensitive and who were able to help us blend a moment of silent respect and prayer seamlessly into our worship service.
This week, most of the teachers have spent one or more days up at the school, packing and getting ready to move. Monday afternoon, the church officially took possession of the new facilities, and so during the week, I’ve also spent a lot of time working on getting the keys to the new school sorted out, tagged (there are 3 keys for every lock), and organized by who needs or will have each key. I now have a color-coded diagram of the school with a complete key index that will be given to Jane, the head of our cleaning/maintenance staff, and Brian, our soon-to-arrive new principle. (Ok…so I know for a fact that there are a few of you rolling your eyes at my super-organized/overachieving system, but it will save time later. And Jim, you know you miss it!  ) The Jenkins have one of their elders and his wife here from Oklahoma, and Tom and Sue have been getting the keys to the office building and the church organized. They’ve done a really great job!
So Friday morning, we spent all day moving into the new school. Fortunately, we had a lot of hands helping, so things went pretty quickly. This was also really helpful as both Brenda and I have been fighting off colds (due mostly to the changes in weather….the assault of the rainy season…and general allergies). So now we have everything in the new school, the teachers have been given the keys to our rooms, and because the school is shaped in such a way that all the classrooms open up into an open-air courtyard, any of us can get into our classrooms at any time without having to have a key to the main door. All we have to do is get the guards to open the gate for us. And fortunately almost all of us were able to meet the guards today, so they now know our faces. We will have the whole week next week and one more before school starts to ready our classrooms for the term, and because we are now in a building that we own rather than a rented space, most of us have plans to paint and do some other fun decorating that wasn’t possible before. Mostly we are just super excited to be in big rooms that give us a chance to spread out a bit and feel like we’re in real classrooms! Some of the students got to come see where their new classrooms were going to be and even got to have some input on the new classroom décor. Everyone is really happy about the move!
This morning as I am writing this, I am sitting at the coffee shop having African tea (their name for it…not mine…due to the way it’s made) and listening to Whitney Houston on the radio. Ordinarily I would write from home, but we all had to vacate the guesthouse for the morning so they could spray for bugs. One of the joys of the rainy season is that the bugs like to come in and get out of the rain, and because the termites (big flying ones…not what you would see in America) have come out in full force, we always have termites or their wings all over the floors in the mornings, so we’re hoping to chase them off a bit. Melissa, the intern who’s in charge of the guesthouse was ok with most of the bugs until the ants and roaches invaded the kitchen, at which point she promptly called them to spray. So none of us can go back until this afternoon, but that’s ok. This gives me a chance to do what the internet at the guesthouse is too slow at the moment to do.
As for other news, Caleb and Jenny Beck come tonight to join the mission team here (they won’t be working with the school much), and we are all very excited about it! They are good friends of mine and the Beards, so there is probably going to be a big group caravanning out to the airport to meet them. At the beginning of next week, Lauren returns from the States, and she is bringing another teacher, Jenny Conway with her, so that will be another fun thing. Jenny Conway is going to be one of my new housemates when we move into our new house. Our other housemate, Linda Huang (not sure if I spelled her last name correctly), is coming at the end of May. Anyway, I think that’s about all my news from here at the moment.
Some prayer requests:
For our teammates who are traveling to arrive safely and with all their luggage
For the church as it continues to grow and mature
For our school as we try to get things ready for this new term
For our health
Thanks so much for all your love and support! We have a new address here, so if you ever want to send me snail mail, you can send it to:
Amy Brown
C/O Kigali International Community School
P O Box 6558
Kigali, Rwanda
EAST CENTRAL AFRICA
Bear in mind that if you do send something, even letters need to be send Air Mail or some sort. That will take about 3 weeks to get here, but if you send it surface mail, it will take about 6-8 months…sometimes as much as a year! Anyway, thanks to everyone who’s been emailing me! Love you lots!
Amy

Report 3 ~ 4/3/07

2010-06-12T03:42:00.000-07:00

Greetings!
I would use the Kinyarwanda greeting, but I’m not yet sure how to spell it…I’m having a hard enough time just pronouncing it! Kinyarwanda is a very guttural language, meaning that there are a lot of sounds that are very throaty and barely articulated, so it is a very difficult language to pick up. However, thanks to the staff at the guesthouse and school, as well as a few faithful friends at church, I am VERY slowly picking up a few words.
Last week was the last week of school before the break, so it was very eventful. I took over teaching everything on Monday, but because it was the last 3 days of school, the kids really didn’t have all that much to do. Most of it was just finishing up previous assignments, doing final observations on science experiments and the like. Wednesday afternoon was deemed movie time, so my class joined the 4th & 5th graders to watch Narnia. And yes, I was a mean teacher and gave homework for the break. My class of 4 is in 4 different places in their math books, which makes any kind of direct instruction almost impossible! The lady who has been teaching them has been letting them each work at their own pace, but because of the way the math books are structured, they give no instructions on how to do the problems, they just tell you to do them. This is hard enough for adults, but the kids are finding it virtually impossible to have any real understanding. When their parents try to help, they are just as lost as their kids. Just in the 4 days I taught math, I had to explain the same concepts over and over to each child, just at different times. So before the break, I had the two that were ahead of the rest of the class stop at a specific point, and over the break, I am making the 2 that are behind catch up to the same lesson, so that when we start the new trimester, everyone will be in the same spot and I will be able to teach them the concepts that they need to know in order to succeed. When I had the Parent/Teacher conferences on Thursday and explained that to each family, all the parents were thrilled! They have been just as confused as their kids!
After conferences on Thursday, some of us started taking our rooms apart so that when we have moving day things will be easier on everybody. My room, being not much more than a closet, was easily taken care of, so then I went to help Lauren with her room. She left Friday morning to go back to Baltimore for a few weeks, and she’s going to be bringing one of the new teachers back with her. We’re all really excited about that! By the time school starts back up again, we should have 3 more teachers in place. As some of you may remember, one of my goals was to be here before the start of the next term, but more and more I have realized what a good thing it was that I arrived when I did. I have the advantage of getting to know my students for two weeks before school let out, seeing what things they need, and then having a whole month to be able to prepare for them. This was also good because during the break, all three of the other girls are going to be out of the country (Lauren at home and Kyla and Amanda in South Africa), so when the new teachers arrive, I will have been here long enough to be thoroughly settled and will be able to help them settle in. That will also help take some of the pressure off the missionaries and school board.
I have spent the weekend and the past few days running around doing errands, getting to know some of the families here, and basically taking it easy. I have had so many questions asked about what life is like here, so I’ll give you a few glimpses into what kinds of things I get to do. Most people, when they think of missionaries, think of either a mud hut, way out in the bush, where no one speaks English, the food is deplorable, the mosquitoes ravenous, and wildlife constantly encroaching on your front yard, OR the thought is of people dressed all in white or khaki, with porters, guides and translators surrounding them, hunting big game in large safari vehicles and the like. Let me give you a more accurate picture. Kigali is a city of about 800,000 to 900,000 people (depending on how much of the outlying areas you count), the capital of the country, and one of the cleanest cities in East Africa. One of the things that people notice the most about this city is the lack of trash everywhere. Part of this is due to the fact that the last Saturday of every month (which just happens to have been last Saturday) is a national clean-up day, and no one is allowed to work except the police. Everyone else is required to spend the morning cleaning up their neighborhood or place of work. All last week, I saw people out trimming bushes, cutting grass, and doing general yard work to prepare for Saturday.
Yesterday was a day that is a perfect illustration for the way life is here. I spent the morning checking email and doing some things around the house, then about 11:00 went out to run errands. My first stop was at Novatel, a big hotel about a 25 minute walk from my place, where I changed some money. The Novatel is one of the most popular hangouts for the wazungu (white people) in town, because for a very reasonable price, you can buy a membership that will allow you to swim any time, use the workout facilities, and for members or nonmembers who wish to pay for it separately, you can get a massage (one hour for about the equivalent of $12), manicures and pedicures. So naturally before I left there, I walked around to see who was there that day. At that point, no one I knew had arrived, but it was still early. After that, I got a taxi (the language barriers are always fun when you’re trying to go somewhere!), and went to run the rest of my errands. I had him drop me off at the Union Trade Center, which is basically our mall. By American standards, it’s not much of a mall, and rather than being spread out on one level, the shops are stacked into about 3 stories of shopping attractions. The second story is the one most frequented by the people I know, mostly because of 2 places: City Market and the coffee shop. City Market is the biggest grocery store in town, but they can be a bit pricey on a few items, so, as with any place you live, it’s best to know who has the best prices on each thing you need. However, as it was convenient and I didn’t want to spend all day in taxis going all over town, I went ahead and got all my groceries there.
Since I was there anyway, I decided to have lunch at the coffee shop, which is Kigali’s equivalent of Starbucks. I ate my meat spring rolls and drank my tall Mango Breeze, while they piped Alabama, Dolly Parton, and other country music over the sound system. If I had had, my computer with me, I probably would have been writing this from there, as they also have free wireless internet. The coffee shop is one of the most popular places among the white-collar Rwandans, due to its centrality and up-town feel. White businessmen and missionaries like it because it is such a charming combination of American convenience and African ambiance. From the balcony, I can see both my house on the next hill over, and the church and new school on the hill behind that. Not exactly what you would expect from Africa, is it?
I got a taxi home and my taxi driver (who spoke wonderful English!) played Rwandan acappella music for me. It was by far the best music I’ve heard on any radio here thus far. I put my groceries away, then the Jenkins came and picked me up to go set up my bank account. That took the better part of an hour, due to the wonderful promptness of the African paperwork system (said with great sarcasm!). Dave took me to pick up my diplomas from the post office (yes, Mom, they’re here), then we all went back over to their house for our weekly team meeting. At these meetings, we generally discuss how services went Sunday, what things need to be done to improve them, and everyone’s schedules for the week. Then we all went home. Granted, we had hoped to get about three more things done yesterday, but that’s the way things are here…you plan for far more than you know you’re going to be able to accomplish, and if you get half of it done, you feel like you’re doing pretty well. There’s just a different rhythm here, one that is slower, more relaxed, less hurried. For most Americans who are used to living by the clock, that takes some getting used to. Fortunately, my time in Tanzania well prepared me for this, so when the other Americans start apologizing to me for things taking so long, I tell them that I don’t mind at all, because that’s just the way things are here.
I can’t promise you that my next couple of letters will be very exciting, due to the break, but hopefully I will be able to give you at least a small glimpse of what “suffering missionaries” go through. ;) (Please note…that is said entirely in jest…life here is far from difficult. Granted, there are some pretty major inconveniences at times, but nothing that would make me wish that life here was easier.) Just in the short time I have been here, I have already begun to love this place and the people.
Some prayer requests:
For my ears to be opened to the languages here and that I can find a reliable language teacher
For the church here as we find ways to celebrate the Easter season while being respectful of the national week of mourning for the genocide victims (which falls at the same time)
For the school as we take care of all the logistics that are involved as we prepare to move into the new building
For all the teachers; Amanda, Kyla and Lauren who are traveling, and for those who are preparing to come within the next few weeks.
For the people here to begin to trust us as we work among them and to be receptive to the message of the gospel
For my support to continue to come while I am here
Thanks so much to all of you who have been writing me and keeping me updated on the news from home! Your letters always seem to come at a time when they are most needed. God bless you all!

Report 2 ~ 3/16/07

2010-06-12T03:40:00.000-07:00

Bonjour!
Ok….so that’s about as far as my French will go so far, but the more I’m here the more I realize that I’m really going to have to work on my language skills! But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me back up and tell you about my first week here in Kigali.
Since last Friday, I have spent most of my time either at the school or finding my way around this beautiful city. Saturday morning, I (amazingly) woke up at 8, had breakfast, and did a little unpacking, then Lauren (one of the other teachers) picked me up and took me to lunch at the Chinese Restaurant and we got to spend some time getting to know each other, which was really nice. She’s from Baltimore and has been out here since about last May or June. She took me out to see the Genocide Memorial, and while it was a difficult place to be (as would any similar place), I am very glad I was given the opportunity to go. Unlike most memorials, the one here is not strictly dedicated to the 1994 genocide, but also includes a section dealing with similar genocides around the world. The belief of those who run the memorial is that only through knowledge and understanding can such atrocities be prevented in the future. I’ll spend a few minutes describing the memorial, but I will warn you, it is something of an emotional subject, so if you wish, I will not be hurt or offended if you choose to skip the next paragraph and go on to read the more pleasant news.
There is no charge to visit the memorial, but one of the workers is always there to show you around and explain things to you. Lauren and I started outside, and our first stop was down a short flight of stairs to a row of what looked like simple concrete platforms. Each section is about 20 feet long and about 15 feet wide, and there were about 6 sections per row. There are three of these long rows, set in tiers along the hillside. They looked at first glance to be areas set up to prepare for planters or other garden structures, but Oneray (our guide) told us that these were the mass graves of the bodies found after the genocide. It was staggering to think that all of those long rows were full of murdered Rwandans. There is a long black wall by the uppermost tier, and it is a remembering wall, with the names of those who have been identified. So far, there are about 1,500 names there, but we were told that there were close to 5,000 names waiting to be printed and put up. We were also able to see the place where they were digging the next set of graves. The hole they had dug so far was large enough to fit 3 busses in side by side. Inside, there was a self-guided tour through the history of the country leading up to the genocide and then through it to the present. There was one large, circular room with 5 large alcoves, the walls covered with strings holding pictures of the victims. Upstairs was an area dedicated to the children who were killed. I think that section was the hardest one for me. A Rwandan man was in there at the same time, and he noticed me turning the pictures on their strings so that not one face would be hidden. He reached over and very quietly turned the ones near him, seeming to appreciate the fact that I had done that. What shames me most is that the world had ample warning to stop it from happening, and instead we stood back, watched, and simply said “how tragic”. And now, few in America could even locate Rwanda on a map, much less tell you what happened here.
Tragedies happen all over the world, more frequently than we would like to admit, but thanks to our glorious press and the fickleness of the human spirit, we quickly turn our eyes to any story that is bigger, more spectacular, and we quickly forget the human element involved. We fail to put names and faces with the numbers, and so another story comes, and we forget what was before. I pray that my visit will help me to remember that behind every story, there is at least one heart and soul who is hurting, one who needs love, and one to whom I should be reaching out. Though I will not say that I enjoyed my visit to the memorial, I do very much appreciate it, and know that I will go again at least once before I leave this place, if for no other reason than to remind myself that these beautiful streets that I walk every day once ran with blood, and that the people with whom I work still count time by saying “before the war” or “after the war”. This is still a country very much in need of God’s healing power.
After we left there, Lauren dropped me off at church to meet with the singing group. Because this is a brand new church, almost no one knows any of the songs that we’ve grown up with and take for granted. So every Saturday evening, a group gets together to learn the songs that will be used the next day so that they can help teach the rest of the congregation. There were several Americans (the Jenkins’ and the Beards = the main two missionary families, Amanda, Kyla & I), and about 15 Rwandans, so we were able to learn songs in all three languages (English, Swahili and Kinyarwanda). The services are done all in English, but because people speak all three languages here, the church leadership feels that having songs in all three languages will make people more comfortable coming, and it also gives those of us who are non-nationals a chance to experience a bit of worship in a different way. One of my favorite songs that we sang was “Cha Kutumaini Sina”, which is essentially the song “My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less”, translated into Swahili. The words are slightly different, and the rhythm very much so, but it is still a lot of fun to sing. I was able to meet several of the Rwandans who I believe will soon become friends of mine. They have all been so gracious to me!
Church on Sunday was a new experience (as everything here seems to be ). There were about 135 in attendance, with 25 of those being people who were there for the first time. Because this is only the 3rd Sunday the church has met in this building, there is not any way to know what the usual attendance will be, but to have that many who have come just out of curiosity is very encouraging. Everyone seemed to catch on very quickly to the songs we were trying to teach, and there were many comments afterward that people had really enjoyed the service, so we are praying that those who were just visiting will choose to come back! I had lunch and spent the afternoon with Mary and her daughter Kate (her husband and son went to play tennis after lunch), and I got to go meet more of the ex-patriots who live in the area. It was a lot of fun.
My week has been very much routine. Starting Monday, Mary picked me up for school, and I began working with her and with Laura in the 3rd grade class. Over the course of the week, I have picked up more and more responsibility, and next week I will be teaching on my own. There are only 4 students in the 3rd grade at the moment, but when we move into the new school building next trimester, I think there will be a few more joining us. The classroom I teach in is very small, barely big enough for me to move around the 4 desks. The first picture I attached is a picture of what it looks like, and believe it or not, I was standing as far back into the corner as I could to take the picture. It really is as small as it looks! The girl in the blue (bottom right corner) and the boy in the top left with a blue notebook are brother and sister, and really don’t need to be sitting next to each other, but this is the farthest apart we can put them. We are all very anxious to be able to move into the new building, especially the high school class, which is currently meeting in the garage. When I have pictures of our new classroom in May, I will show you how different they are!
My afternoons have been spent grocery shopping, meeting new people, and learning my way around town. I think the hardest thing for me is that this place is so spread out and there are so many houses that it is almost impossible to walk in any kind of a straight line from one place to another. We have to drive or take taxis to get anywhere in any kind of a timely manner. It’s no wonder they call this the land of a thousand hills! Every major road sits on top of a hill and connects to a road on the top of another hill. Fortunately, beginning Tuesday afternoon, I started walking back and forth from school, a walk that is about a mile long, but usually only takes me about 20 minutes. Thank God for long legs! But I have been able to enjoy some absolutely beautiful scenery, and this second picture is one of my favorite views! Just outside the frame on the left is a high fence surrounding a private residence, and on the right there is a high brick wall, the end of which is not connected and so provides an opening to the dirt path that winds its way down into the valley below. What looks like mountains in the picture, the Rwandans would simply call normal sized hills. Either way, I think they’re beautiful!
Well, now that I have written far more than I intended, and probably more than most of you wanted to read, I’ll quit for now. I would like to be able to tell you that my letters will get shorter as I settle down into my routine, but I’m afraid I cannot promise that. I have moved to a land that inspires me to write more than I normally would, and so naturally I feel that you should be able to share in the joys of that inspiration. I really do believe that if this week has been any true indication, I will grow to love this land and people very quickly. Please pray that:
I will find language teachers who will help me learn what I need to know.
Those who have come to visit the church will find it a place that they wish to be.
God will use the church here to truly influence the hearts and minds of the Rwandan people.
We will be able to use the upcoming break as effectively as possible to move and prepare the school for the next trimester.
For the new teachers who will be arriving in the next few weeks, that they will have easy preparation and safe travel.
Thanks so much to all of you who have written me! It has been a huge encouragement to me! God bless!

Report 1 ~ From Amsterdam!

2010-06-12T03:17:00.000-07:00

Well, the time has finally come! I am on my way to Rwanda after many months of planning, praying, and raising support. Huge thank you’s to everyone who has been praying for me and helping me plan this trip! Though I have made many international trips in the past, this move has been far more taxing than anything I have previously experienced, but it is something that I have been looking forward to for a long time.
I left from Nashville on Wednesday afternoon, and after about a 10 minute stop in Detroit, arrived in Amsterdam after a mostly sleepless night, due to the little boy across the aisle who was having problems with his ears and cried almost the whole flight. So I am arriving not quite as well rested as I would like to be, but that’s alright. I will say that it is very nice to be surrounded by so many languages again! One of my favorite parts of international travel is seeing people from all around the globe and trying to identify their nationalities and languages. Amsterdam is one of the best places for doing something like that, because it is such a large international hub, and people from all over the world are here. Sitting at my gate to go to Nairobi, Kenya, I can see tourists, Kenyan nationals, and others whose purpose in traveling to Kenya is unknown…at least to me. The funny thing is that it is very easy to identify the tourists from the other white people that are traveling, because they generally have very large backpacks or other bags, have large or noticeable cameras, talk far too loudly to remain inconspicuous. People who are traveling on business or with a specific purpose in mind tend to be more reserved, keeping to themselves more and usually only speaking to other people who are behaving likewise.
The Kenyans sitting here waiting tend to groups themselves according to tribes or languages, and it is usually very apparent to them simply by the physical appearance of the others which language they will speak. At this very moment, I can hear Swahili, Luo, and at least2 other languages that I recognize as Kenyan but cannot identify.
The flight attendants have come to begin the pre-boarding process, so I’ll have to close for now, but I’ll write more when I get to Nairobi and send this as soon as I get the chance.
From Nairobi…
As I stepped off the plane, my senses were assaulted by the sights, sounds, and most noticeably, the smells of Africa. If you have never been to Africa, any part of Africa, it would be virtually impossible to adequately describe the rich, heady, intoxicating smells that are inherent to this fascinating continent. Anyone who has been here knows exactly what I am talking about, but for those of you who have not, I will attempt to express what words are too feeble to describe. Granted, I am still sitting in the airport, but even here, I can smell a combination of unwashed bodies, heavy colognes, a dusky, earthy smell that comes from a combination of diesel, burning trash, cattle, cigarette smoke and the incenses used to in worships and to try to mask the smell. From reading that, one would have a tendency to shudder, thinking that the smell alone would be intolerable, but it is so much a part of this place that smelling it again brings a smile to my face. To me, it smells like home.

Though I am not outside to smell all of this in its fullness, even the walls of this place cannot keep the scents from creeping in. All around me, I can see tourists, both European and American, businessmen and women, Muslims, Hindus, Catholics, and many others. I have heard more Swahili in the last hour than I have in the last 3 years, and have realized just how rusty mine is! However, I am making myself use it as much as possible so that I can begin to think in Swahili again, but just as soon as I think I am beginning to understand what someone around me is saying, I realize that it is not true Swahili that they are speaking, but often that it is Shang, a slang combination of Swahili, Luo, English, and whatever else they decide to throw in. Which of course makes it very difficult for me to practice!
It appears that I will not be able to send this from here, so it will have to wait until tomorrow when I get to Kigali. I realize that it will make for a very long first newsletter, and for that I apologize, but because I know that many of you have never had the good fortune to experience international travel, I wanted to give you a bit of insight into the images, sounds, and smells that you tend to find on a trip like this. For instance, at this very moment, sitting in the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, I am sitting next to a group of Asians (I believe they are Philippino, but I’m not sure), listening to announcements in English and Swahili, my dinner of samosas (a triangle shaped pastry filled with meat and veggies) and orange Fanta settling, watching the groups of Europeans and Americans filling up the area set aside for the little Indian café. I was wondering what I would do to keep myself occupied during this long, overnight layover, but as it appears the shops are not closing anytime soon, and flights are still coming and going, I will have plenty of window-shopping and people-watching time.

Well, I have arrived safely, if very tired, and was met at the airport by the team of teachers with whom I will be working, along with some of their children and a couple other friends. For now, I am staying at the Food for the Hungry International guest house with several of the volunteers who are here. Three of the other teachers (Amanda, Kyla, and Lauren) share a house about a block from the new school location, but since that house is full, I will be here until the other teachers arrive, which will be anywhere from the end of the month to the middle of next month, and I will then be moved into a townhouse with two of them. The place where I am staying is nice, though I have discovered that I will be getting plenty of exercise, as my room is on the top floor, and I have to go up 3 flights of stairs to get to it, and down one extra to get to the kitchen/living/dining rooms. It’s enough to make any step aerobics teacher jealous!
We dropped off my things at the guest house, and I spent the majority of the rest of the day looking around town, getting a new cell phone with local number (as I’ve been told it’s essential here), exchanging money, and generally doing everything I could not to go to sleep. I knew that if I did, my days and nights would be turned around for several days, and it would be much harder to get my body into this time zone. I am 7 hours ahead of central time, so while I am writing this last part, it is 2:15pm for most of you, but it is 9:15pm for me. But I am here and safe, and have a hunch that the next couple of days will be very busy.
Thank you so much for all your prayers, love and support!
Prayer Requests:
For the hearts of the people with whom I will be working to be receptive.
For my roommate(s) and I to be able to get along very well and to be able to communicate well with each other.
For the children whom I will be teaching, that these future leaders’ minds will eagerly accept the knowledge that we will be presenting to them, and that they will develop a love of learning that will serve them well far beyond the classroom.
That I will be perceptive enough to recognize the opportunities God presents to me to share His word, and that I will have the courage and the wisdom to do so in a manner that will bring others to Him.
That I will learn much of the languages, culture, customs, and fears of the Rwandan people so that I can better communicate with them and they with me.
That God will continue to provide the monthly support I will need to do what He has brought me here to do.

God bless all of you, and please write me whenever you get the chance. I can’t promise a speedy reply, but I would like to hear what all of you are doing!
Amy

My purpose

2010-05-11T20:46:00.000-07:00

I realized that in the 3 years I've been in Kigali, I've sent letters out almost every week. I don't really feel like calculating that right now, but I do know that's a lot of letters!!! I decided that if I want to be able to access all of them form anywhere, that a blog would be the best place to put them. It's also a good way to be able to look back in sequence and see what's been going on in my life here! So I know that many of you have received these letters already, but maybe you'll enjoy looking back at them as much as I have. Have fun!!!