A Little Fragmented II

Before I begin here are a couple personal messages to some of our loved ones:

Cindy – Mike 143
Craig – Megan 4569 and kids
Li – Jordan 123 <3 Li
Brad – Niki I love you
Lulu – Hink pink
Denise – ily-jjdfb and apd
Maggie and Scott – Next destination, Red Robin!
Karen – 789-wool and lambs

Don’t worry, I will be putting more up in the next post.

So if you haven’t read Lynn’s previous post, the last few days have been rather difficult to document in one solid piece. We have split into a couple different groups and luckily your two bloggers have been able to document what each part of the team is doing. This post covers my (Tim’s) perspective from Saturday-Monday. Lynn’s version is just below it and is an awesome read.

Saturday, Dec. 1st

After a great beginning, the Men’s Conference continued throughout the day today. It began with a sermon from our very own Scott Modrall, who has been renamed “Pastor Scott.” He told the story of Saul/Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark. He used it to show how important both mentoring and being mentored to is. From here, the breakout sessions began. My role in the conference was official photographer, time keeper, and messenger. What this actually means is a lot of running down stairs and riding elevators, specifically during the breakouts. But, because of a combination of this and a lack of Taco Bell, hopefully I’ve lost a few pounds on this trip. While I ran around each of the leaders delivered a different, but important message. Brad focused on modernity and how it will affect Rwanda. His intense passion for the subject was absolutely palpable. Scott continued his message about mentoring and provided some specific advice on ways to go about it. What I personally enjoyed about his session was his focus on honesty with ourselves and one another. Tony focused on the idea of “Vision,” and had the men write a eulogy for themselves. This exercise forced them to focus on what was most important to them and what they were doing to build God’s kingdom. Craig spoke on purity, using examples of his testimony from the night before. Like last night, his sessions had an interesting response due to the subject matter he was discussing. But, in time, each group began to feel more comfortable and open and fully recognized the importance of pure thoughts and actions. According to Craig, “We dealt Satan a mighty blow today. If they put into practice even a tenth of what they learned, there will be a major change.” It was an incredibly successful and well-received conference that will undoubtedly have an impact on those who participated in it.

Also, the last members of our team finally arrived this evening! Though they got here a week after the rest of us Lisa and Gloria will be a huge contribution to the rest of the trip. Unfortunately, we did have our first lost bag as Lisa’s personal luggage didn’t make it. But being that today is Tuesday I’m happy to announce that they did eventually arrive, where it’s been this whole time, we’ll never know…

Sunday, Dec. 2nd

Today we went on some home visits for our sponsored kids in Kigali. What’s interesting about these visits is the contrast between the different homes and families. Karen’s little girl sang a song for us while the rest of the neighborhood kids played and posed for pictures outside. It was impossible to not have a smile on your face and we all came away very happy that we could bring that much joy to a family. The visit to my sponsor child, Patrick, had a much different feel. His poor mother takes care of him and his four brothers and sisters all day in a tiny house that could best be described as a sauna. He sleeps on a thin piece of foam on an incredibly small bed with all of his siblings in the same room as their bucket toilet. In the midst of the heat his baby sister rarely stopped screaming. Needless to say it was an overwhelming experience. For me, it was very sobering and helped me to realize why Africa New Life exists and why we’re here. The reason for this trip is to bring joy to kids that truly need it. Everything else is a bonus.

Speaking of bonuses, we were given the opportunity to attend the women of the family center’s graduation from the program. Throughout the year they learn a trade like hairdressing or sewing that will enable them to get a job to support themselves. Lisa had the privilege of delivering the keynote address as well as passing out their certificates. What a way to spend your first day in Rwanda!

Monday, Dec. 3rd

As Lynn talked about, the Kigali Sponsored Children’s event was amazing. The most touching moment for me had to be when I met my mother’s new sponsor child, Eric. I set up this sponsorship for her only a few days ago so it was an amazing treat to be able to introduce myself as the son of his brand new sponsor. What made this even better was that my child, Patick, was there as well. Upon meeting each other my translator, who is also the guy who watches over Eric, explained to them that they are now brothers because they are connected through their sponsors. This means that they must look out for each other. They ended up hanging out the rest of the day. It’s hard to explain just how cool this was for me. I went there expecting to hang out with my two sponsor kids. Instead, I ended up with two brothers.

From here we split up all over the place. I will tell those stories on the next posting but here are some previews: $5 dinner rolls, angry silverback gorillas, and an intense rooftop chase. Stay tuned…TLS