Project Update

City of Joy is a Mission Center and will one day include: School (nursery-secondary), University, Church, Medical Clinic, Community Center & Library, Sports Fields, Vocational Training Center & Missionary Training Center. Our first goal has been to obtain a nonprofit status for City of Joy in Rwanda. All the papers have been submitted and we are waiting. While we are waiting we have started a sewing class with 26 young women. We are training them in a 12 month program and have purchased a plot of land for a Vocational Training Center where they will be able to make a living sewing. Other community programs that we have started are: Goat Giveaway-146 goats at $30/goat have been donated; Rabbit Giveaway-49 rabbits @$3/rabbit; 1 cow has been donated ($300), an after school sports program has been started by Kids Play International that City of Joy is managing; Student Sponsorships-8 students ($52 secondary & $20 for primary students) have received money for help to go to school. Our sewing class has provided over 20 uniforms for other needy students.

City of Joy is negotiating with local land owners for school property. We hope to in the coming months purchase enough land so that we can start a nursery and kindergarten. Then as money is available we will expand our school. As with all things in Rwanda, it takes more time than expected. The cogs of government move slowly and we are patiently waiting. Electricity is one project that we have been waiting for word for almost 10 months. We hope to qualify for a Roll Out Program that would bring electricity to our neighborhood at a discount rate. The cost to bring electricity to City of Joy apart from the Roll Out Program is over $200,000!

Guesthouse Under Construction

Construction in underway for a four bedroom guesthouse. With all the guests that we have had in the past 2 months we have decided that a guesthouse would be important to have. The guesthouse will be four small rooms with beds and private bathrooms. We will need around $2,000 to complete the house. We hope to have it completed by January.

The guesthouse is located on the property next our house. It will have a porch overlooking the valley. Guests will be welcome to participate in a number of projects. This past summer we worked with the local schools teaching English by using Bible stories. Mission Teams are welcome any time of the year!

Hope 4 Kids International

Angie Simon from Hope 4 Kids International came and visited us for 4 days last week. She brought pillowcase dresses along and we went to a school and gave them to needy children. To see the girls eye's light up was such a good feeling. For many of them this was the first new dress they have ever worn!

Dress a Gril Around the World is part of Hope 4 Kids International. We are excited about our future relationship with this nonprofit. H4KI will return next year and will build a well in our neighborhood. We thank God for all that He is doing in Rwanda!

It Happened Again

Another horrific accident scene....As we approached I saw the plastic orange sandal in the middle of the road and skid marks. A crowd had gathered. Apparently a bicyclist carrying milk from local farmers hit a young boy as he crossed the road. The impact carried them both 100 feet down the road (at the bottom of a big hill) and off into the grass. The young boy lay motionless with the raw meat of his face exposed. His skin had some how been peeled back off half of his face. The milk man had less visible injuries but we suspected internal damage.

They loaded them into the back of our car. So many people had passed by before we stopped, they told us. We rushed them to the hospital 10 minutes away in Nyanza. While we traveled I prayed that God would heal these boys. I am not one that usually has a stomach for such things, but I thank God that we were there to help.

Sewing Center Land Bought

John and Emmy negotiated a plot of land (29x26 yards) for $343. We will use this land to build a Sewing Center for the sewing association. In December 33 women will graduate from our training and will need a building to develop careers. We will continue to manage the Sewing Center and it will have a profit sharing component. The new land is located directly across the street from our house.

The $343 included money for taxes as well as "beer money" for the witnesses. The contract is handwritten by the Land Development guy from the government.

Scape Goat

The Old Testament story of how the priests of the Israelites would "lay hands" on a goat symbolically transferring the sins of the people onto the animal. Then the goat was let out into the desert to carry the sins away from the community. Thus the term "scape goat" was born.

We give away donated goats in Rwanda. We have given 146 donated goats to needy families. A goat can change the life of a family here. A $30 goat would be like giving someone 1 months salary in the U.S. The goats first born will be given to another needy family ....so the gift continues to give. Every time we give away goats I am reminded of the scape goat from the Old Testament. I pray that as the Israelites experienced a kind of "new start" that our neighbors in Rwanda would also have a new start from a new heart through Jesus.

Team Visits City of Joy

A team from Bloomsburg Christian Church came and visited us today. They are looking for possible partnerships with our project City of Joy. We had a great time of food and fellowship. We shared our vision of a private Christian school. It was a delightful day!

Buddy our Dog

I have a new exercise partner. I four legged one. In America, Sabrina, our black lab mix would run with me out in the desert. I miss those days. But one day our dog Buddy (we have two dogs that we inherited when we moved to John's farm: Buddy a male and Topie a female) started running with me....then he even ran along with me on my bike ride. Now he waits at the front door for me every morning, anxiously wanting me to get going.

Dogs aren't well liked in Rwanda. Many of our neighbors are afraid of Buddy. This morning Buddy ran up on a pig. The poor pig didn't notice him until he was right in his grill! The pig let out with a squeal and high tailed it to his owners backyard. Buddy thought all of this was great entertainment and made sure the pig knew who was boss. I yelled at Buddy to stop..after all it was 5:45am and many people were still sleeping. Buddy wanted to chase the pig some more but I convinced him to stop. I think I need the dog whisperer's help!

Kids Play International

Ubushobozi Project in Ruhengeri was a fun stop for Kids Play International. There they learned now at risk young women are taught career skills and taught by qualified teachers. Kids Play International is a nonprofit that uses sports to teach children life skills. KPI was here for two weeks and started an after school sports program, donated uniforms, cleats, and other equipment to three local schools. We are so excited about the future with KPI. Next summer we hope KPI builds a basketball, volleyball and tennis court in our neighborhood! Thanks Tracy Evans and KPI!

Sharing God's Love

Teaching English by using Bible stories has been quite a hit in the local schools. Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Pam, Michele, Cortney, Bridget and Lesa would walk to school and be greeted by the children. They became so popular that teachers were dismissing their classes to join the classes that the women were teaching! The love of Jesus was incredible. One student when asked what he liked to do answered, "Honoring God". We hope we helped these children honor God and grow in their faith.

Time for a Lightning Rod

Two more people were killed by lightning. The week before a worker at the orphanage we use to work at was killed when an avocado tree was struck as he stood underneath it. He leaves a family behind. Uganda has had 35 deaths in the last round of storms. It is suppose to be the dry season! I have decided it may be smart to get a lightning rod and mount it on our house.