The begining of the end...

As of tomorrow, we will refer to the days as the 'lasts'. For example, tomorrow will be our "last Tuesday". Crazy, eh?

This past week has flown by. (I feel like I say that every time I update this thing!)

As you know, last week was our last week in the school. Their holiday started last Friday. We gave each class bananas and played games. We were able to leave a lot of school supplies and recreation things with the school and they were very grateful.

We were scheduled to meet with the Dorcas project on Friday, but we found out that they were not meeting when we got there. "Maybe next week." Instead, we used our time to plan out our last days here and get some errands done.

We had our usual Bible study at the church in Remera on Saturday. It went very well. The women are much more comfortable with us now and ask some really good questions. These women are amazing. They have been through so much and their lives are so hard, yet they make time to fellowship and fall in love with others AND the Lord. THEY are the ones teaching us so much!

We woke up at 6 yesterday (Sunday) to leave at 7 for a village outside of Kibungo. It took a little over 3 hours to get there (the last hour was down a small trail through banana trees). I forget how much I enjoy going out into the villages- this country is so beautiful! We finally got to the church and they took us on a hike to visit some land that they hope to build a secondary school on. Right now, there is only a primary school in that area, so once children complete primary school, there is very little hope of further education. We went back to the church, where there were women (and of course, some children) from different areas meeting for a conference. Church lasted about 5 hours. We shared the gospel and gave 'a word' (encouragement). I love village people. They are so kind and welcoming. After church, they fed us a big African meal. After a long ride home, I fell asleep before 8:00.

We went to Remera this morning for the first day of the youth conference we're doing. We arrived at 9 and noticed that there were no people around. We found Vincent, the pastor who is translating for us, and he said that we would have to wait for the youth to arrive. He told us that since this is the first full week of their holiday, they were probably sleeping. (I found that very funny and told him we do that in America also!) We started around 10, with only 6 people (including our translator). As we were singing, Melissa and I decided to change our cirriculum a bit and teach a different lesson that seemed more suitable for the occasion. (TIA: this is Africa!) We ended up teaching about prayer and Christ's example and how we pray. It went well. By the time we finished, we had around 15 people. We changed the time for tomorrow and are going to start at 10 so that the youth can sleep in a little more!

Now that I can look in my planner and actually see the end of our trip coming, I cannot imagine leaving this place. (I get pretty emotional and try not to think about that too much!) This place has become my home this summer and these people have become my family and dear friends. It is so hard to realize that I don't know if (or when) I will come back to this place. However, GOD IS GOOD and gives comfort. I know that I will see my Rwandan brothers and sisters on the other side!

(However, I'm begining to miss my family, friends, and the familiarity of home A LOT! It will be hard to leave, but once I get on that plane, I'll be ready to see Houston!!)

Pray for the rest of our week, that God would use us to teach who HE wants.
Pray that when we are done with this week, we will feel that we have made the most of every opportunity and have no regrets.
Pray that we would listen to the Lord in the next few days as we will be making some big decisions about the finances we have left to leave here.
Also, as the end is drawing near and we are quite ready to see our families and friends, pray that we would soak up every minute of the amazing adventure the Lord has put us in!

Thank you all for your comments, emails, and PRAYERS! I miss you and love you all dearly!