Yesterday began like most days: ice cold shower in the dark, porridge at the table with the family for breakfast, walk to the office and settle into my desk to study Kinyarwanda. Even the walk home for lunch was uneventful. Lunch was simple but delicious, potatoes and cabbage. A knock on the door after lunch was the event that brought the unexpected element into my day.
My brother, Olivier, came to the living room to inform me that Laurette and her grandmother were at the gate. Let me give you a brief background. Laurette is a precious little girl, age two and a half who was being raised by her grandmother. Her mother was raped and bore her at a very young age and is therefore unable to care for her. So the grandmother had taken on the responsibility of raising her but she is a widow herself and very very poor. Long story short, Les and Yvonne have agreed to take Laurette into our home and raise her as their own child at the request of the desperate grandmother. We had to have certain paperwork in place before this could happen so we thought that this process would take awhile.
Naturally, I thought that this day, they had probably just come for a visit and maybe to update us on the necessary paperwork. Imagine our surprise when I discovered that the grandmother’s intention was to leave Laurette with us the same day! I quickly called Yvonne who was still in the office to let her know what was happening at the house. So that settled it, we had a new little girl at our house! You just never know what the day will bring!
Of course, it was not that simple. Though Laurette is young, she is not too young to understand that she is not with her grandmother and is now surrounded by strangers. I held her tightly as she sobbed and cried for her “mama.” My heart broke as I watched this precious little one struggling to understand what was happening to her. How traumatized she must be.
To complicate things even more, we had to go to a conference in the evening so she could not even get used to the house. And she is absolutely terrified of our dogs too. The poor little thing is having such a rough time adjusting but we know that these things will take time. She clung to me and eventually fell asleep as we walked the forty five minute walk to the church where we were having the conference. It was a bit of a rough evening with lots of crying and calling for “mama.” But we made it through and today she is doing much better. The other kids (my brothers and sisters) have taken her under their wings and at this point that seems to be the only thing that helps. Though she clung to me yesterday she now seems rather terrified of us (being white) but we know that too will take some adjustment. Keep her in your prayers as she continues to adjust to life in our household. She is a precious addition to our already large family!
Right now my days are consumed with language study aside from the other daily activities of cooking and washing. I had thought I found the perfect language helper but unfortunately all that fell through and at the moment I am on my own. Actually, I am not really on my own at all because I am surrounded by people speaking Kinyarwanda all day long. So between help from my brothers and sisters and my own independent study of a Kinyarwanda lesson book, things are going pretty well. It is exciting to study hard and be able to see the results. I love when I can sit back and listen to my siblings laughing and telling stories and begin to recognize words and concepts. As tedious as it is, it is rewarding as well.
The language itself is quite challenging. It is a tonal language which means you can have a word that looks the same and sounds almost the same but means something completely unrelated. There are high toned words and low toned words and I cannot usually hear the difference. So I am spending much time just listening and trying to train my ear to hear the different sounds.
Turns out the other day, while trying to tell my brother’s little boy (my nephew) Charukhan to wash his hands, I instead told him to wash his banana tree! This is challenging but fun too!
Things here in Rwanda are going very well. It is hard for me to believe that I have been here for over a month now! In some ways it seems like I just arrived and in others like I have always been here. The adjustments are going well and I am grateful that at this point in time my daily schedule is pretty relaxed which allows me time to study language, build relationships, process the culture around me, and pray!
As I was praying yesterday I felt the Lord speaking to me about the ministry of identification. Let me explain. I believe that God has called me to come to Rwanda not just to be a missionary to Rwanda but to really live with and identify with the people. I know to you that may sound insignificant but here in Rwanda it is actually a rather profound testimony. Rwanda has received lots of outside help from various missions and organizations (Christian and not). But you don’t have to be here long to see that many people serving here do not really identify with the people. They drive around in cars supplied by their organization, live in huge houses, and don’t really even try to learn the language of the people. There is really an “us and them” mentality.
So God has been speaking to me about the power of identifying with the people. It happens in simple everyday ways. Learning the language is huge. When I am out in the village or town and I speak Kinyarwanda (limited though it may be) I can instantly see the difference on people’s faces. They love and respect the fact that you want to try to communicate with them in their heart language. It is a beautiful testimony. I think about the ministry of identification when I am sitting in the sun on my little stool scrubbing my clothing by hand. I think about it when I am cooking dinner for my family on our little charcoal fire. I think about it when I am traveling by public transportation. I think about it in the morning when the ice cold water hits my body as I wash up in our outdoor shower. I even think about it when I use the latrine!
You see the thing is, I could have a washer if I really wanted to. I could cook on a gas stove. I could get a hot water heater. All these things, I could have if I was willing to pay the outrageous prices for them. And in fact, here in Rwanda if you are white, you are almost expected to have these things. People look at me strange when I tell them I have to go home and cook on our amakara (charcoal). They think it is strange that I wash my own clothing. They would expect me to at least to pay someone else to do these things for me. But this is the ministry of identification. It is about becoming like the people, understanding their struggles, entering into their lives, experiencing their world. And this is what I have been called to do here in Rwanda.
Yes, I will be doing lots of other kinds of ministry eventually but I never want to forget the power of identifying with the people. God has called to be a different kind of missionary. I cannot just come and do a few good deeds and then go home thinking how I helped the people. My ministry is living in Rwanda. My ministry is having a Rwandan family and loving them just like I would my own flesh and blood. It is a long term thing; in fact it is a life time thing. It is a God thing that I can only do by His grace and power!
I have introduced you to many members of my family already but this picture is a more full picture of my Rwandan family. Les and Yvonne have begun two "group" homes and a child-led household which I want to introduce you to.
Many people have a heart to help orphans of which there are many in Rwanda but what happens to these orhpans when they grow up. Many times they are too old to continue living in an orphanage but where do they turn? The reality is that many of these will end up out on the streets or other tragic lifestyles as a form of survival. This is the "lost generation" of Rwanda.
Many of these young people have not yet finished school though they are over 18 years old. They have no jobs, no money, no food, no family, and no one to guide them in their future. Many feel they have no future and therefore, no hope.
The "Remember Me" Homes were started for these precious young people. Les and Yvonne saw the need and God gave them the tools to really make a difference! The Remember Me Boys' Home currently has 9 older boys, two house fathers, and a cook. There are two more boys who are in the process of transitioning into the home. The Remember Me Girls' home currently has 11 girls, one of which is the house mother. These are the young people that you see in this picture. I can not begin to tell you details about each one but they are all precious brothers and sisters!
I also mentioned child-led households. These homes help the oldest sibling in a family become productive "heads of households" and learn to care for their younger siblings. There are currently two child-led homes that we are supporting.
It is exciting to see how their lives have been totally transformed. They no longer have fear about what the future holds and that has given them so much hope! To God be the glory great things He has done!
So this is my little guy, Ntwari. He is so precious and so tricky! You can tell by the look on his face in the first picture! 
This is my fourteen years old brother, Olivier. Even saying his name brings a smile to my face. He is such a fun guy to be around. Olivier always has a crazy story to tell and we spent many nights at the table laughing all the way through dinner. 
This is my precious sister, Alice! Oh how I miss her. She is twenty years old but way beyond that in her wisdom. I will never forget some of our long conversations while cooking. She always had something wise to tell me. Her life has been anything but easy, but God has really heard her cry and I know that He is using her in a big way!
I miss cooking with her and washing the dishes when she would let me help her. She works so hard but she would kick me if she knew that I wrote that:) She is such a strong woman and I will always admire her! I love you Alice and can not wait to see your beautiful face again!!!
