I am finally settling into a grove this week. I kind of feel like I have gone back in time to the "Little House on the Prairie" days. Life is so simple and there is a struggle for the basics of existing. It was a humbling experience to preach on Sunday in our new Hope House. I feel so inadequate whenever I preach. And yet I feel like God has something to say and if I can just step out of the way and allow him to use me...that is always my prayer. It is difficult living in a dorm of boys and babies. I usually wake up to the sound of a dog barking followed by a baby screaming. It is getting me ready for fatherhood I guess! I am excited to get Andria over here so that we can start this adventure with Jesus together. We hope to start building a house after six months. It is amazing how much construction materials cost. Fuel is over $9/liter. So our house will be around $35,000. Labor is dirt cheap. $1.40/hour is a real good wage here. Attached are some pictures of the farm animals we have. I thought you would enjoy the pictures of the cows especially. They don't call the black and white one a holstein...I think maybe a freeshawn??? or something like that. i need to do a little more research. Our hired "farmer" is Kagaba. You see him with the animals keeping them grazing in the right places. He is an older gentleman and doesn't know any English but enjoys a game of charades as I try to communicate with him.
I am trying to learn the names of all the kids (36 of them) and the mama's (those woman hired to care for the children, cook and clean) and the hired men who are working on various projects. Some of the woman actually sleep here with the children and babies. Most go home to their families at night.
Yesterday at church the girl (Florentine) who gave a message quoted a Bible verse from Job and talked about how we must have faith in God to see us through life. I was so moved by her faith. She is probably 12 or 13 years old and spoke like a mature Christian. That is the way it is with all the children. They have such deep faith. It amazes me that they do because they have so little when it comes to material possessions. Many have very sad stories of abuse and neglect. Some have parents that have abandoned them. One girl was visited by her mother who she had not seen for years since being abandoned. Her mother made the visit to tell her daughter, Deborah, that she was pregnant and going to have another baby. Deborah was devastated. She felt the pain of rejection all over again as her mother walked out of her life.
I just met with Emmy. He is the business administrator. He is so excited that I am here at Urukundo. He has a business degree and is eager to develop a business plan for the orphanage. He has been trained in “strategic planning” and would like to talk about “the big picture” of where we are going. If you plan to hit nothing you will certainly hit it! Where is God taking Urukundo? What should be our next project? What will Urukundo look like in five years in ten years? Great stuff.
My sermon on Sunday was the story of David and Goliath. I enjoyed preaching although I found it nerve-racking. Preaching here means pausing and getting into a rhythm with my interpreter John. The rhythm means you need to use short sentences or phrases so John can keep in a flow with your story. I find myself even more animated here than at home. Whether that is true or not it may just be a figment of my imagination. I told the story and then asked them what they were afraid of? I asked them to rely on God to get them through their “giants”. I reminded them that Jesus is our rock (like the rock that David slung). Jesus will protect us and help us through our troubles.
The power just went out. I guess that happens from time to time. We are fortunate to even have power. 90% of Rwandese do not have electricity or running water. We have water from a city water system. During the dry months it runs out and we have to haul water daily. It gets to be very expensive. I am researching on building a well here. Apparently there is some government land below us that would be good for a well. The whole community around would benefit. I have one person, Bill, from New Covenant Lutheran Church that has committed $1,000 toward a well here. I have to find out how much it would cost. We also collect rain water in big black tanks. A number of buildings have tanks next to them for this reason. You should see them in the pictures. This water is used for everything from laundry to brushing your teeth.
I just got back from lunch. We eat in two shifts. The morning school kids aren’t back yet so the afternoon kids eat first. Public schools are so crowded that they can only go half days. The food was the familiar spaghetti noodles, beans and a interesting cooked dish of bananas. It was delicious! I am becoming a vegetarian by default. Meat is too expensive and we only have it occasionally.
Well I have rambled long enough. I thank everyone for their prayers. This is a big change for us but we sense this is exactly where God wants us to be. Change is always difficult but our faith will help us make the transition.
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