Schools Everywhere

We have had the honor of traveling around to visit our neighborhood schools. What we have learned is that we have 5 schools within a five mile radius. So why do we need to build another school?

As we have talked with headmasters and teachers the same issues have been brought up again and again: lack of teacher training, low attendance in secondary schools and lack of funding for schools in general. As our City of Joy project starts those are our goals: to become a training center and resource center for our community!

Loving God and Loving Others

Our mission verse is the Great Commandment from Matthew 22 where Jesus basically tells us to "love God and to love others"! Today I am amazed and humbled as to how that is playing out at our mission project "City of Joy". The farm we are living on is bustling with activity.

Suzanne Evans and Susan Hearn are nurses from America. They have brought medicine and other donated items. They have been our guests for the past couple of weeks. Today they gave out donated bath and body items to our sewing group. The young woman's eyes were as large as saucers as they were given lotions and shampoo. They were so grateful. Now the ladies are out in the neighborhood giving items away.

I like what Francis of Assisi said "preach the Word of God every day, and if necessary use words". Today it is about the hands and feet of Jesus sharing his love through actions. Loving God and loving others.....

Vehicle Woes

We did everything we could to make sure we were getting a good vehicle. We brought it to a "certified" mechanic that we had used numerous times. He looked it over and said that it was in "good" shape. Since then we have replaced the water pump, fuel pump and filter and clutch. Now we are faced with an engine overhaul. I am not a "nuts and bolts" guy but apparently the diesel engine is blowing oil through into the air filter. A compression test done at the one and only garage that has such equipment, shows that we are at a "25" and the minimum range is a "27" so we are below the scale. So worst case scenario, replace the whole engine with a rebuilt engine. But this is risky because apparently you really don't know what you are getting with rebuilt engines OR....just start tearing apart the engine and replace whatever you find is wrong. Either way we are talking about a $4,000-$5,000 bill. We paid almost $12,000 for the 1994 Land Cruiser which is really a good price..so I have been hearing. I guess it isn't unusual to have this happen. The conditions of the roads and poor maintenance often lead to major repairs. The price of parts is what is so unbelievable. Rwanda is not an inexpensive place to live. Labor is VERY cheap but the cost of goods can take your breath away.

We will probably use Kabgayi Garage in Gitarama. Juvenile is the head mechanic there. He is young and seems to know what he is doing. The vehicle will get fixed in less than a week whereas the dealership garage in Kigali would need it for 2.5 weeks. We will have Juvenile take apart the engine and see what needs replacement...it could be that an engine replacement is the best option over piece-mealing it. Either way we will wait until our guests leave on Feb. 24th.

It has been a great utility truck. Hauling people, construction material and even goats. It is a long term investment that will need a few dollars to get it up to snuff.

Friends Come To Visit

We still enjoy keeping in contact with our friends from Gitarama. On Saturday they traveled by public van to Gatagara. They called and we came and picked them up at the highway. We brought them to the pottery place next to Gatagara Hospital. The pottery is made by the Twa (Pygmy) tribe. It is so beautiful! Everyone bought some pieces for themselves or for family and friends. We then took them back to see our farm. It was fun to have guests and to see them enjoy our "farm livin'". After a short visit we headed into Kigali dropping off all but two in Gitarama. Karen and Heather stayed with us as we went into the big city. We got rooms for the night in St. Paul's Hostel. The beds were uncomfortable but the price can't be beat.

Nurses Come to City of Joy

Suzanne Evans arrived on Wednesday and plans on doing some basic health outdoor clinics and also plans on going to the schools to help children learn about good health practices. Andria and I worked hard trying to get our house ready for guests. Susan Hearn, Suzanne's cousin, is also a nurse and will be arriving in a week. We spent time going to the District office yesterday to file the proper papers for permission for the outdoor clinics. We should hear back next week.
Here Suzanne reads to the neighbors. She loves to take walks through the neighborhoods and plays with the children. She took Emmanuel with her as a translator. The hills make it for a great workout too!

It is fun having guests. Suzanne made us French toast this morning. This weekend we will go into Kigali and spend the weekend running errands and enjoying the city. Suzanne's daughter, Tracy, has been our friend for a couple of years when we met at an orphanage in Gitarama. We saw her again this past summer as she was with her team from "Kids Play International". KPI is a nonprofit that introduces sports to disadvantaged children all over the world. They donated $1,000's to Rwanda last year and are planning a return trip this summer.

We hope to partner with Kids Play international as we develop our new Mission Center (City of Joy)- made up of a: church, school, community center and medical center.