Sept 2010 GAMES, Birthdays, and Family Pictures

Where is my neck?

So much has happened since I last wrote that I am not sure how to sufficiently post an update, so today I will just stick with some old pictures I have been meaning to post and some recent events. The pictures are from September and you will find them in a separate post because I could not figure out how to add the whole album to this one, even though I know I have done it before. Oh well.

My class is going great, what awesome students. A couple weeks ago, Epa, the only boy, kept pulling at the collar of his shirt and looking down and around. I asked him, "Epa, what are you doing?" His reply, "I am trying to see my neck," so nonchalantly as if I was the silly one for asking that question. I told him that his neck was like his face, he can only see it in the mirror. "But if you look straight down with your eyes," I continued, "you can see your nose, can't you? That is how you know your face is still there." "Yes! And my cheeks!" he replied. Later I glanced over and saw him puffing out one of his cheeks and looking down at it. Sometimes it is all I can do not to laugh in the middle of class.

Three new girls arrived this week. They have been all smiles and laughter, and so has their new Rafiki Mama, Marie (pronounced Mary). Before they came the other children kept saying, "We are getting a baby!" All three girls are four years old and they had seen pictures of them, I guess they just associate "new" with "baby." Maybe we need to work a little more on their English vocab :-)

Have you ever played hand and foot? If not, you are truly missing out. That is the card game of choice here at the Rafiki Village Rwanda. The ROS usually indulge in a round whenever we are all together. Many of you know that I used to be EXTREMELY competitive in card and board games, but my never-ending losing streak in hand and foot has squelched my overzealous sense of competition. Still I hold out hope that one of these days I will win by a landslide. A girl can dream, anyway.

Finally, a story about the reason I am here.... Immaculee, another of my students, was playing during recess when she looked up and saw the moon was still out. She pointed it out to me and I commented that the moon isn't usually out during the day. She agreed but quickly added, "But it is on purpose! God did it, and he did it on purpose!" "Why do you think that he did that?" I asked. "So that we could know that he is powerful," she replied. I could do nothing but smile back at her. What a wonderful thing, for a child to see that all of creation proclaims the glory of the Lord. I hope you see the same purpose in creation as you look around today.

Four Months

I have lived in Africa for a little over four months. In that time, I have done many things I never imagined that I would. Here are just a few of those things:

• coexist peacefully with the geckos that live in my house
• teach kindergarten
• wear crocs regularly, sometimes with socks
• bargain over the price of a change purse
• bargain over the price of a drum (or even buy a drum)
• enjoy eating goat brochettes (goat kabobs)
• inherit a tall wooden giraffe named Harry
• pay almost $8 for a bottle of chocolate syrup

While these aren't things I could have seen myself doing, I am very happy to have done them. I love Rwanda; the people, the weather, the land, and most of all, the children here at Rafiki. If the Lord wills it, I hope I get to experience many more new and different things in the time to come.

Rain in August

Now September is officially here, and at some point during this month we should start to see some rain. August, however, did not leave us disappointed. After several very dry months, we got one heavy rain that really helped to settle the dust and freshen the air. On Sunday, when I saw what looked like a big rain cloud from my back patio, I went outside, prayed, and waited. (I was on duty this past weekend and so I had to stay at the Village.) Finally, the rain did come and it sounded so nice. Once it was coming down hard enough that it was making noise on the metal roof, I could hear cheers from nearby churches. I never thought rain would be so exciting! Here is a picture of a banana tree blowing in the wind as the storm approaches.

In ther news, the ground is being dug in order to begin laying the foundation for our new Primary School and the teachers and children are all very excited. I am getting to do fun things like choosing paint colors and considering furniture. There are men here every day working very hard to make this school a reality. There are no big machines to do all of that digging, so there are many men instead. All of the students stop by the new school site on the way down to assembly every morning and pray for the safety of all of the workers. Would you pray with us? This is the site of the new school.

Yay! Soft clothes!

I got a clothes dryer! For most of you, this may not be cause for much excitement, but I could not be more thrilled. This is the one and only dryer I have ever seen in Kigali, and it was the only one the store had in stock. I have been eyeing this particular dryer for several weeks and contemplating whether or not I should purchase it, and today I did. As soon as I got home and read the manual, I installed my new dryer and put some clothes in the wash. They are in the spin cycle right at this moment so I will be able to test it out very soon! I can't wait to shrink my t-shirts back down to their proper size and feel soft, straight-from-the-dryer towels again!

A Blessed Evening

So I know I have gone from writing once a month to twice in three days, but I had to share what I just experienced. I worked late at the school today helping our national teacher prepare for next week and explaining some of the arts and crafts projects. I was not excited about staying late when I first realized we were not going to finish quickly, but God soon showed me that he had some blessings in store.

I had a wonderful conversation with the teacher, Patrick, about what he would like to do in the future and how he has grown to love education. It is such a gift to hear that he loves these children and what he is doing and it is not just a paycheck. He does want to go to university in the future, but he hopes to be a teacher and maybe even come back to teach here in the Rafiki Village. Oh, how we could use good, qualified teachers once the primary school is up and running!

After we finished prepping, I went to get the medical box (I am on duty in case of emergencies this weekend) and go home. The evening was the perfect temperature, warm with a cool breeze, and still light enough to see well but not bright and sunny. As I walked up the hill towards the cottages where the children live, I saw that all of the mamas, aunties, and children were sitting out in one of the gazebos. They invited me to come in and sit with them for a while, so I did.

We talked for a bit and I got to love on the children and then some of the girls started dancing. Before long most of the children had made their way to the floor of the gazebo and they were all dancing a beginners' version of the Kinyarwanda dance. It was one of those moments when you just praise God that you get to witness what is before your eyes. These beautiful, sweet children were dancing with all of their hearts and smiling and laughing. I wish I had my video camera there so that I could show you, but you will just have to use your imagination.

As it got a little darker, the security lights began to turn on and the mamas all said, "It is time," which all the children promptly responded to by heading inside. I wished them a good night and the mamas wished me sweet dreams, and I headed the rest of the way up the hill to my home.

What a blessed evening to live in Rwanda.

Back to School

Well to be honest with you, I just remembered I had a blog so you can attribute my infrequent posts to my lapses in memory. Or, if you would like, you may attribute it to the altitude (which is about 4,500 ft. above sea level here in Nyamata). I seem to blame quite a few things on the altitude these days; my baking failures, the fact that I get out of breath trekking up the hill to my house, and anything else that doesn't go quite as planned :-)

I mentioned in my last post that we were having GAMES here for the children. We had six MiniMissionaries come to help and it was a blast. The students learned lots of new songs and games and we went on a couple of field trips; one to the farm and another down to a little shop to buy sweeties. You can see here that Valante is not afraid of chickens.

Since GAMES we had a week "off" for teacher In Service and last week had our first week back to school in Term 3. I am now teaching the Kindergarteners in the mornings and doing Education Director stuff in the afternoons.

We also have had a new team of ROS arrive, the Kochs who were in Zambia, and the Koepkes who moved from Kenya. It has been exciting to meet my new workmates and I feel certain we will all work well together. I will, however, miss the ROS who are moving from here to other Villages.

So that is the last month in a nutshell. Hopefully I will write again soon, but if it takes me a while, blame it on the altitude.

Until next time,

Erica

Many, Many Things

Much has happened here since my last post, or as the children here would say, many, many things. We finished up the school term and are now having GAMES (Games, Art, Music, Enrichment, Sports). The kids are having a great time with this and so are the teachers and Mini Missionaries!

I have also been on a little weekend trip to Akagera Park since I last wrote. It was absolutely amazing there! We (the Merrills, Kim, and I) drove through the Rwandan savannah and got to see lots of cool animals like giraffes, water buffalo, zebra, antelope, water buck, baboons, velvet monkeys, hippos, and lots of birds. The hotel that we stayed in was also really nice and it was good to get away for a couple of days to rest. The link to some pictures from Akagera is below.

Akagera National Park

On other news, I have learned that though I thought I was a poor cook before, with the new ingredients here I usually have to try dinner twice before I can make something good enough to swallow. I have found that taco salad is good everywhere and a hamburger is also a good plan b when dinner flops. There are yummy little pre-made pizzas at the grocery store in Kigali that I stock up on and freeze for those occasions when I don't have time to attempt cooking. Hopefully I will get the hang of this soon. I know that it is possible to make delicious meals here because I have had them everywhere except my own house :-)

Finally, I hope you all know how much I appreciate your support. I received several birthday cards yesterday in the mail which was very exciting! I am trying to catch up on correspondence, but in the mean time, thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the emails, letters, prayers, and financial support!

Until next time,

Erica

Beautiful Rwanda

I have been in Rwanda now for almost a week and I am just amazed at how beautiful it is. I am certain that my pictures will not do justice to the landscape or the people. When I arrived, it was already dark so I did not get any good pictures on the ride in to the Rafiki Village, but here is the turn in to the road that leads to the Village and the Village gate.

Since that first day, I have gotten to meet most of the children, including the pre-k and kindergarten classes, which I will be teaching. The children are all learning English very well and are very bright. I have not gotten any good shots of school yet so as to not interrupt class, but those are forthcoming.

Annie, the Education Director who I will be taking the place of here, has shown me around Nyamata, the nearest town, and Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda. There are many modern conveniences in Kigali, even a 24 hour store where you can find anything from food to patio furniture (the Rwandan version of Wal-Mart). Last night (Saturday) we had dinner at a restaurant in the city named Shokola and it was delicious! This is Kim, a mini-missionary here for the summer, and I enjoying our mango juice at dinner.

We also got to do a bit of shopping yesterday while driving around Kigali and looked at many hand-crafted items. I will have to make this trip again after I move into my new home to find some things to put on the walls. I will be able to move into my home from the guest house on the first of June, a Tuesday. At that point I will be teaching and running the school so there will be much to be done!

Until next time,

Erica

A More Appropriate Title

In a couple of days I will be in Rwanda, making the title of this blog quite a bit more fitting. There is still some final packing to be done but I am mostly ready. It is hard to believe that it is almost here; the time since I found out that I was fully funded has flown even more quickly than expected.

Once I arrive, I will be staying in the guest house in the village for a couple weeks until my new home is vacant. Check out the picture below...

Honestly, I don't think it would bother me to stay in the guest house for a couple of months!

The ROS who are there now have been making preparations for me and have already made me feel welcome. There is much work to be done and the workers are few so I am ready to get in and get about the work of educating the children in the Village about the Lord and his creation.

Please be in prayer! I will be flying out on May 17th at 6:15 am from Roanoke and arriving in Rwanda in the evening of the 18th. Pray that the flight goes smoothly and uninterrupted by volcanic ash. Pray also for an extraordinary amount of retention as I learn about the school and my role in the Village.

God is in the business of working through his people, so allow him to work through your prayers to do great things in Rwanda!

The Journey Begins

"We have been given enough money to get you off! When can you go? tomorrow?

Also, we would like to reassign you to Rwanda to work with the school there which is just beginning."

Wow! What an email! I received this message on Monday, April 19th and since then have been taking it all in. My support went from 50% to 100% in a matter of weeks, just showing that when God's time for you to follow him comes, he makes it happen. Now I have a lot of reading to do to learn about Rwanda and prepare myself for the many changes to come. I will be helping with the school in Rwanda for two years, and maybe longer if God calls me to another term.

I hope that you will pray for me during this transition. There will be a lot of paper work to do in order to get everything in order for me to live in a new country. The more smoothly this goes, the quicker I can get there.

My goal with this blog is to record the process of going to the field and my life once I am there. I hope to be able to share lots of pictures with you and even some videos of my future students.

If you would like to keep up with me on this journey you can subscribe to my blog and also, if you have not already been receiving my emails, send me your email address. Getting on my email list will give you access to all of my prayer requests and my newsletters. My email address is eleigh@vt.edu.

Thank you for reading and praying.