1 week down...

We finished up our first week at the school yesterday. It was great. They memorized Genesis 1:1 in English and Kinyarwandan. Precious! We had a really good time with them.

Monday and Tuesday afternoons were pretty slow. Wednesday we stayed at the church after school and had lunch with Esron's family. It was a typical Rwandan meal: goat, peas, carrots, cauliflower, rice, chips, red sauce, and bananas for desert. We got to visit with Esron and his family until 3. It was good to spend some time with Esron as he has been very busy for most of our trip. We got to see baby Gladys (who will be two this month) and that was fun! At 3, we went to the church to meet with the women's small group. There were 6 women there (plus Melissa and I). We felt a little intimidated, as these women are all older than us and wives of pastors and leaders in the church, however, it was really great. It was humbling that THEY want to learn from US. We are learning so much from them! We all shared our testimonies and spent most of the time getting to know each other. I talked a little about Jesus' temptation in the desert from Matthew 4 and how when He was tempted, He found strength in scripture. We told them that is what we want this study to look like. We want to talk about real issues and find out what the Bible says, because, although we will only be here for a few weeks, God's word is eternal. Esron told us later that they could not stop talking about how excited they were to have us spending this time with them.

Yesterday, we finished at the school and then went back to the Ligue for a few hours. My mom called while we were resting. It was so great to hear from her and dad. Around 5, we went with Mary (a woman who works at the Ligue) to do a Bible study with some women she knows. We met at the house of another woman who works at the Ligue and lives nearby. We walked through a maze of tiny, crowded homes until we came to the one we would be meeting at. I was holding back tears the whole time. These looked like the homes you see on tv. On all my trips, I have never seen houses like these in Africa. I knew they were here, but we've never really seen them. These people are living next to piles and piles of garbage. The dirt and smells... I could not believe it. It was humbling, once again. We met in a small room (maybe 4 ft by 10 ft) that had a small window, 8 chairs, and a bamboo rug on the floor. The women came shortly after we got there. I think about 8 women (and 5-8 small children) came. We filled up the chairs, plus there were some people on the floor. We shared our first lesson (gospel presentation) and they were all so happy we were there. We shared prayer requests at the end. In both groups we have met with, the requests have been the same:
1- that their children would not be hungry and would have the funds to go to school
2- salvation for their families
3- that they would follow the Lord faithfully
wow. I am so selfish. I'm tired of granola bars, and they are praying that their children would have food to eat. At the begining of summer, I was starting to doubt my major and why I had chosen nutrition. God has used this trip to show me that really is where He is leading me and that He is going to use my studies throughout my life.

After that, we went to eat with Sarah and Sylvain again. While we were eating, Kahler called and I got to talk to him for about 5 minutes, but it was still good.

We slept in this morning until about 9. We were supposed to have a Bible study with the Dorcas ladies this morning, but there was some miscommunication and they aren't even meeting today. Hopefully that will get worked out before next week. So, we've been resting and organizing things at the Ligue and just walked to the internet. We'll probably get as much done here as we can and then we'll walk home and get ready to go to dinner around 6.

Thank you all for praying. Again, I love reading the comments and wish we could get to the internet more often! LOVE YOU ALL! :)

"Good morning, teacher"

We went to church in Remera (at Esron's church) on Sunday. It hit me that I was in Rwanda when all the little ones ran over to us with wide open arms for hugs and then wanted to sit in our laps, touch our skin and hair... Needless to say, I was fighting back tears there for a minute. Church lasted 4 hours, lots of singing and dancing, and a little preaching. Nobody in Africa is too young to dance. When we got back to the Ligue, we took a nap (didn't get much sleep the night before), and then woke up and planned our lessons for this week. We took quite a hike and went to eat at a different pizza place with Sarah and Sylvan.

We started teaching in the school today (8:30-12). I think it went as well as it could have. This week (Mon- Thurs) we are teaching the youngest class. We taught days 1 and 2 of creation, a memory verse, and some english words. At 10, they have snacktime and recess until 11. Recess is madness- dirt, sweat, and tears... and then they do excercises before they go back in. After recess, we went outside and played a game with the class and reviewed the things we taught this morning. There are 5 classes at the school and we'll spend each week in a different class.

When we got here, we realized we were going to have to be very pro-active in organizing the Bible studies. This has been a challenge, but God has really worked out some neat things!
We talked to Mary (a women who works at the Ligue) this afternoon about doing a Bible study at the Ligue. She was very excited and was going to get a group of widows to meet on Thursdays.

So this is our typical schedule for each week:
Sunday: church (usually in Remera, with Esron, but we may go visit some others)
Mon-Thurs, 8:30-12: teaching at the school
Wednesday, 3-5: leading a women's small group on 'Christian maturity'
Thursday, 5:30-7: leading a women's Bible study at the Ligue (basic Bible doctrines)
Friday, 9-2: working with Dorcas project and leading Bible study there
Saturday, 9-1: leading women's Bible study in Remera (basic Bible doctrines)

On the afternoons that we have off, we will be following up with children who are currently part of the One27 scholarship program and looking for new ministry opportunities.

Again, thanks for your emails, comments, and PRAYERS!! Keep praying. Love you all.
-katy

we're here!!

actually, we've been here since wednesday. sorry it has taken so long to update this. it is harder to get to the internet over here when you dont have a personal driver to take you everywhere. (we've been taking a taxi everywhere, but it gets expensive)

we arrived safely on wednesday, however, our bags did not. we have now rested and are excited to get things started over here.

here's a short summary of our trip so far:
WEDNESDAY:
arrived around 2:00, went and bought water, went to the Ligue to 'take a nap' (and woke up at 10 the next morning)
THURSDAY:
we went back to the airport to look for our bags- no luck. went to La Gallette to buy some snacks. had dinner at Sole Luna (the pizzaria) with our friends, Sarah and Sylvan.
FRIDAY:
visited the Dorcas Proj. to talk to someone about doing a Bible study there. The possibility looks good. Went back to the airport and GOT OUR BAGS! went home, showered, put on CLEAN CLOTHES (for the first time in 5 days!), unpacked and organized everything... we went to bed pretty early because there is not much to do after dark. kahler was able to call around 9... i gladly woke up! :)

i dont think its really hit me yet that im even here (or how long i'll be staying)! i had goosebumps as our plane landed. i dont think i'll have a problem staying here for 2 months. (dont worry mom, im already missing yall!)

africa does not feel like a 'new place' to me anymore, but like another home. i feel like i belong here. the people, the smells, the sounds... its wonderful.

continue to pray for us. we're working out the details of how our women's Bible study will work. we're trying to figure out the small when and where details before next week.

also continue to pray for my family, that God will give them peace while I'm here.

we had a hard time sleeping at first. maybe jet lag, maybe the malaria pills. it seems to be getting better today. (we woke up around noon today... oops!) pray that we continue to rest.

thank you all SO much for your emails and blog comments. i wish i had time to reply to each one, but we dont (so consider this your personal thank you!).

love you and miss you all! :)

next stop: Kigali!!

We have arrived safely in Nairobi, Kenya. When we got off of the plane, it was about 70 degrees (of course, I could be totally wrong with that, but it felt GREAT!) I hope it is the same in Rwanda.

Internet time is cheaper here, so I will update more: The flights have been good. We have actually gotten to sleep some, which has been a blessing! On our flight to London, we somehow got 1sy row Economy Plus seats (which means bigger seats and endless leg room). It was fabulous! We weren't so lucky with our flight to Nairobi. I have nothing to complain about though- I'm finally in AFRICA!! :)

I have no idea what time it is in TX. It's about 8am here. Our plane for Kigali, Rwanda leaves in about 2 hours.

Ways you can pray:
We will get over jet lag quickly.
Pray for one safe, final flight.
Also, that all our bags make it there!
That God would prepare us and those we will come in contact with for this trip.

Next time I blog, I'll be there.
Love you all dearly!

safe in London

We made it safely to Washington DC last night around 9 (TX time) and then we got to London at about 5am (again, TX time).

Now we are waiting for our flight to Nairobi, Kenya, but we don't leave for another 7 or so hours.

Thank you all for your prayers. Continue to pray.
Love you all.

Counting down the days...

6 days from today I will physically begin this adventure. (It has already begun spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.) I cannot wait. I have faith that God is going to do great things through this trip.

We have completed the curriculum that we will be using for our women’s Bible study. It is similar to the “Essentials” Bible study that I led through Grace Bible Church this past year. The study we have written is 6 lessons that focus on different Bible doctrines that are key to our faith.

I cannot say THANK YOU enough for your prayers, encouragement, and donations. All of my funds have come in and people still continue to make donations daily for Bibles and other needs we will see. I am blown away by the generosity I have encountered.

I have thought a lot about I Corinthians 12 this week. God has given us all different gifts so that we can all be a part of His perfect plan. He has called each of us to pray, send and go. Right now, I am going and you are sending (and we are all praying!). I can honestly say that all of you are as much a part of this trip as I am.

Speaking of prayer, I want to challenge you (and myself). Many of you, especially former team members, will remember this from past trips. Whenever you see the oh-so-familiar Starbucks symbol, let that be a reminder for you to pray for our trip.

More specifically,
-Pray for the last minute preparations during the next 6 days
-Pray for peace for our families and friends who we are leaving
-Pray for safety in our travels (for us and our luggage!) and throughout our trip
-Pray that God would begin His work now, preparing the fields that we will be working in
-Pray that while we are there, our time would be used effectively and we would make the most of every opportunity
-Pray that we will give God ALL the glory of this trip

(again, I cannot say thank you enough.) I love you all dearly.

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body.
I Corinthians 12:12

ALL to Him I owe

I will admit, I am procrastinating. I woke up at 5 this morning to study a little more for a final I had at 8 and now I SHOULD be studying for another final at 3. (and then I have two more on Monday.)
Pray for me. I'm a little overwhelmed right now.

No turning back now: the tickets have been bought! Again, I want to thank you all for your faithfulness in giving. The financial aspect of the trip is huge and God is really using it to teach me. I want to share something that happened a few weeks ago regarding this. I was on campus one evening, about to go to class, when my mom called. We started talking about the funds for my trip and the fact that the tickets were to be purchased that week. At this point, I really started to panic. The money I personally had saved plus the money I had raised at that point wasn't nearly enough. I remember sitting on a bench in front of the library and praying "Lord, you've shown your faithfulness in my life time and time again. Don't allow me to doubt you or your perfect will. If this is your plan for me, I know you will provide." (and then I had to go to class) Well, I was sitting in my management class and I noticed my phone light up. I received a text message from Mr. Stone saying that I had received enough money that day to cover the remaining part of my ticket. PRAISE THE LORD! He is so faithful and I still do not understand why trusting Him can be such a challenge. I cannot say it enough, THANK YOU.

Growing up, I took hymns for granted. I have realized in the last 2 years that I LOVE them. A few weeks ago at church we sang "Jesus Paid It All". I have always liked this song, but that Sunday God used it to teach me. "Jesus paid it all, ALL TO HIM I OWE." wow. I am such a selfish creature. ALL to Him I owe. That wiped out any doubt and all fear I've had about this trip. It doesn't get any clearer than that. Since then, I get that wonderful song stuck in my head weekly.

So, I can't actually take credit for this, although I wish I could. I found this on the internet a while back and wanted to share.
"AFRICA is amazing. Africa is a million and one things. It is a land of contradictions, and a land of great controversy. Africa is more diverse than any other place on the planet. It has experienced the greatest combination of foreign thievery and foreign goodwill. It is plagued with individuals who are hurting, dirty and dying. It is plagued with rich leaders. It is strong, joyful and resilient. Africa is filled to the brim with song, dance and soccer. It fills your lungs with life with every burnt breath. It fills your eyes with tears with every sight. The sun blazes, the rain pours. It has more sky than your eyes could possibly take in. Africa is humbling. Africa rips the heart out of your chest and buries it in the rich red soil, knowing that you will someday return, to see the growth. And there is no doubt it will grow. Africa is dangerous, welcoming and addictive. It is prosperous. It is poor. It is all too overwhelming. Africa knows the value of friendship. Time is not money in Africa. And money goes a long way. Africa holds a mirror up to your soul - letting you see all your selfish desires, and not letting go, until you're completely broken."

It's true: Africa 'ripped out my heart and buried it in that rich red soil' and now I'm returning. and I can't wait. I love you all dearly.

(now back to the books...)