6 May 2010

I am at the house/office in Musanze with Tim and Gilles. I am slowly adjusting to the time. Up at odd hours and tired in the afternoons. But hitting the ground running helps keep me awake when I need to be. Another day and I will have adjusted to the time much better.

I arrived to find that the dog, Sozo, had recovered from her recent surgery, where she was spayed. The garden was in full bloom. It always seems to be full of vegetables. It's carrot season which makes for delicious additions to salads. Dama, gardner/day guard and Petti, home keeper, are both doing well. They tend to the house/office when we are away. They will make incredible additions to the KAAC~R staff when the camp is finished. I have been greeted by our friends who live near by and heard that I had arrived in town safely. It is good to be in my other home.

I am very encouraged to learn that the classes and ideas that we have been teaching to the staff of Ishema hotel about money management are producing fruit. They are working to escape the cycle of debt many find themselves and have collectively saved a very decent sum of money to help cover each other when an emergency happens. The Lord is working in ways that we never thought in the beginning.

I was in meetings at the house this morning and then headed up to Lake Kivu and the surrounding villages for the afternoon and evening. Friends, Rwanda is so beautiful. Each time I drive the roads, I am reminded of the creativity and love God has for each of us. My wife, Rebecca, is reading through Matthew 5 -7 each day that I am away and shares with me what God reveals to her. The reason I share that is because today as I looked at the terraced mountains I began to think about how incredible it must have been to be sitting on the mountainside in Galilee hearing the words, "Blessed are the..." out of the mouth of Jesus.

Can you even imagine?

I will leave you with a message I sent Rebecca, when she asked if there was anything I needed tweeted while I was away from my computer this afternoon. I did. This is what I sent. It's way over the 140 character limit. It fits better here. This is in reference to the meetings I had this morning. "We have been talking about starting a small challenge course in Kigali, training for youth leaders. More specifically where to start the training. The lack of discipline in staying in the work is bad, so how do we get them to see the importance of reading to grow and to lead the next generation. We talked about the challenges of getting US people to come help train and have activities that will be hands on for youth workers and youth themselves. So starting small and training well is critical to success. So the issues is how do we get them to see the critical issue, feel the emotional need to change and be motivated about changing the direction of their country."