...the refrain: Jesus Saves!

Life Zappers

2009-06-07T22:13:00.006-04:00

There has been this on-going dialogue between some friends and I about the pressure of expectation that this city so insistantly pushes onto its inhabitants. The pressure of success, achievement, power, prestige, glamour, luxury, running with the right crowd, and networking seem to be the life-blood and 395, 66, Constitution, and the Parkway are its veins. So many of us get wrapped up in the thought that we have to work, work, work now and someday, one day, we will get to a place where we can slow down and enjoy the benefits. Let's be honest though, the demands only get more steep and we find ourselves living in a culture where we have to plan dinner with a friend a month in advance.

Now don't get me wrong. I believe wholeheartedly in hard work, sacrifice, and discipline. There is tremendous value to these things and on a daily basis I have to submit to their necessity. However, there seems to be an issue with balance for most of us. Most of DC's 6 million dwellers are missing out of the simple pleasures of this city and their lives because they are so consumed with one form or another of success.

My weekend consisted of none of those things yet I would consider it an extremely successful. I spent an afternoon sitting on the stoop with an old friend. I spent time with the sweetest of all little girls and got to be the one who saw her smile as she woke up from her nap. I roamed the aisles of Wegman's, letting my imagination go wild. I drove fast with my windows down, sunroof open, and sang on the top of my lungs - all by myself. I had a conversation with a well-respected and Godly friend that challenged my thoughts on missions, outreach, community, and family. From DC's perspective, I achieved nothing. From my perspective, I achieved sanity and balance while experiencing simple joy.

I know that bills have to be paid, responsibilities fufilled, progress made. Oh trust me, I know this - this is all coming from a girl that is a high D (DISC) with her top two Strengths (StrengthFinder 2.0) being Achievement and Responsibility! But those things alone aren't healthy - at least for long periods of time. There has to be balance. If we're burned out, what good are we to what we have been called to do? God created a world full of amazing pleasures both big and small. Are you delighting in them or are you whizzing by so fast that you don't even realize they're there?

Worship

2009-03-16T20:56:00.002-04:00

When you hear a message over and over again it is probably something you should pay attention to, right? In the past 24 hours I have been confronted on three different occassions with the concept of worship being interwoven into every part of our lives. These three things?

Ryan's blog on Nehemiah being the best darn cup-bearer. Ever.
Hearing a potential Future Leader passionately talk about how worship is not confined to the first 30 minutes of a sermon
Finding (again) my black wristband that was given out at Frontline years ago with 1 Cor. 10:31 etched in white ink

"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything to the glory of God"

- I Cor. 10:31

www.giveministryaway.wordpress.com

Am I worshiping God with everything I am? Everything I have? What does worship look like?

Bloging on a Blog

2009-03-09T21:58:00.002-04:00

This week has been a week of finding old and favorite things - including a box of gifts, letters, and memories from my high school boyfriend! Wow, talk about being taken back in time!

Tonight was no different when someone reminded me of a blog that was posted on the Frontline website a little less than a year ago. This blog was in the form of Q&A and although it contained some silly information, I was struck that even though my life is completely different than it was then, there are still truths that are the same: I am still obsessed with peeps and Giada DeLaurentiis holds a special place in my heart.

More than that though, my passion for serving God with everything I am holds strong. I am passionate about knowing Him and being used by Him - even if some days that means that I'm placing stamps on 346,897 postcards (today's task). I want to know His character more and as a result love, trust, and glorify Him even more! OH! I just get excited thinking about it!

Here is the link: http://blogs.frontlinedc.com/search/label/Lauren%20Ellis There should be Part 1 and Part 2.

How would you answer the questions? Would they be the same a year from now? What if you were to look back on them 10 years from now?

Can't get enough

2009-02-16T19:43:00.005-05:00

Do you have something that you keep coming back to? Something that you just love and can't get enough of?

A couple of my things are...

Body Shop Cocoa Butter Body Butter
Blistex in the blue pot
Caprese salad
Basil
Lemons and lemon trees
Classic novels
Chanel Mademoiselle
Pony-tails
France
Lubriderm lotion with the pink top
Banana pancakes
RSVP extra fine pens
Sharpies
Brownstones in Boston
My black puffy winter coat
Skinny jeans

Oh goodness...this list could go on forever!

That's not the point. The point is my favorite website ever - http://www.101cookbooks.com/. I love every single thing about this sight - the pictures, the writing, Heidi. I love her approach to how she uses food - good, fresh, high-quality food and then making recipes that are healthy and feasible. It makes you want to try everything! I can get lost on that sight for hours at a time and come out feeling inspired and excited. Recently Heidi launched a recipe search engine called http://www.supernaturalrecipes.com/. On this search engine you can find natural, wholesome recipes by typing in any ingredient you want. Oh! I'm not doing justice to how much I love these sights!

Just thought I would share! Go, get lost, have fun.

Want more? Check out http://www.thestonesoup.com/, http://www.janespice.com/... Oh, the list could go on for these sights too!

In Practice

2009-02-11T08:21:00.003-05:00

I really spent a lot of time writing yesterday's blog. I don't normally analyze writing them as much as I did yesterday and, to be honest, I was getting a bit frustrated because I just wanted to be able to post it and be done. But, clearly God was using that as a tool to remind me of His goodness.

Because...

Today I have the awesome potential to be beyond stressed out. I blew a tire coming home last night and at some point have to get it fixed (spare tire = not cute and not capable of handling the high speeds in which I like to engage), I have not one, but two papers/projects due for grad school this evening, plus my every day work, work.

I will not be consumed. He knows my every need.

What rest and peace there is in that!

What are you letting Him have control of? What is it that you don't think He's big enough to take care of?

Original? Hardly.

2009-02-10T15:32:00.004-05:00

How many of you have ever doubted? Feared? Worried? Stressed?

Yeah, me too. Everyone has had that emotion and experiences it on one level or another.

I know that sounds completely elementary and you're probably thinking, "Lauren, that's the stupidest conclusion that you have come to thus far". But honestly, it's been a huge one for me.

For so long I felt like I was way out of line - that I worried, stressed and feared more than others and therefore a horrible, not trusting, faithless Christ-follower. Part of that was how others made me feel about my questions and part of that was me buying into the lies that the Enemy wanted so badly for me to believe. Psalm 139 - especially verses 23-24 have been on my mind a lot. They speak of God testing and knowing our anxious thoughts and leading us in the way everlasting. Even the Psalmist admitted that even though he knows God knows him intimately, he still had anxieties.

So what's a girl to do? I definitely don't want to take anything out of context so please forgive me if I'm way out of line but I have to defer to what my Bible says (that's not out of line - I'm speaking of taking the passage out of context). Even the Israelites, who saw with their own eyes the goodness and saving hand of God, needed a reminder that He had it under control. Isaiah 43:1-3 says, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flames scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior..."

There's nothing new under the sun.

Personally, this is a time of TONS of unknowns; unknowns that are there because there was some upheaval, weeding out, and refining in my life. All of my big plans were wiped away and all I have right now is a clean slate. I'll be honest, I don't really know if my bills are going to get paid this month.

Was I and am I sinning by worrying and robbing God of His power? Absolutely. However, today I was talking to my dear friend from Lebanon, Nic, and was reminded how one of the ways of being men and women after God's own heart means letting go of our control and our checklists as an act of worship before a God who is more than able. My surrender and repentance is my act of worship in this time and place and I believe that's what Psalm 139:24, at least in part, is talking about.

Although I'm doing everything within my human power, He is going to have to intervene. The waters and the flames are not going to overtake me - as long as I am pursuing righteousness and trusting completely that God has it under control, it will be taken care of. It may not be in my timing or in the way that I think it will be taken care of, but it will. I can't promise that I'm never going to not stress, worry, or fear again but instead of it being an hour-long freak-out, it may just be two or three minutes before I get snapped back to where I should be.

If God cares so much for the sparrows, how much more does He care for me? For you?

Ah! How can you not help but to rejoice in that?! How can you help but be filled with joy?!

Yes, there's a theme going on with my posts here - but it's the season I'm in and I would not change this amazing time of revelation for the world! Who doesn't want to be brought to a place as good as this?

Twitter-pated

2009-01-30T14:55:00.002-05:00

Like I honestly need another thing to distract me from what I really should be doing. I mean, I have a million things to do...work, school work, reading, blogging, serving, praying, checking facebook statuses...oh, and leading an actual face-to-face healthy social life! But I did it again. I got sucked into yet another social-networking site: Twitter. Basically it's like seeing every one's facebook status, Away Message, and gchat comment in one place. Users simply answer the question, "What are you doing?"

I can't resist it. It's like peanut butter M&Ms, garbage reality shows, and chicken nachos. I know that they aren't good for me but I just love them so much and keep coming back for more! And honestly, am I so narcissistic to think that people actually CARE about what I'm doing every single second of the day?! Apparently. Keeping checking, I'll be posting.

LKEllis. In case you wanted to know.

Nothing and Everything

2009-01-08T10:03:00.003-05:00

When I left for Rwanda, when I was there, and when I first came home I "knew" the direction of my life. I knew (or at least, had a pretty good idea) of where I would work, where I stood in my relationships, where I was going to live, and the things that I wanted to make a part of my day-to-day. It wasn't like I had the itty-bitty details worked out but I at least knew the direction in which I was moving. And I was excited about that! I mean, really, really excited. But here I am, almost three months later, and absolutely not one of those things has come to fruition and there is the very good chance (some with 100% certainty) that they will not happen. So what now?

It's funny, but my reminder of how good God is and how in control He is of everything came while I was balancing my checkbook the other day. Now, balancing my ledger was a miracle in and of itself (yay for keep resolutions!) but it was more because I was watching an episode of ER on my computer while doing it (I have to make it semi-appealing). Through the opening and closing segments Abby is quoting a piece of what sounds to be poetry. But to an ear that has heard it before it was quickly recognized as parts of the book of Job.

I have always been in love with Job 38-41 when God tells of His power, expanse, and reach. I LOVE IT! It is so humbling but so empowering at the same time. Who in the world am I to question Him? Who am I to determine my own steps? The God who knows when the mountain goats give birth or who know where the storehouses of snow are kept is the same God who knows my inmost being. How amazing is that?

So again, I ask, what now? I don't know. Trust me, I'm waiting in anxious anticipation but that does not mean that I am not trusting completely that God has something. He called me to be a teacher, He called me to the internship last year, He called me to Rwanda...and He has called me here.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T20:49:00.004-05:00

I usually have mixed feelings about New Year's. I feel like, because I'm in my 20s, I should do something big and exciting but all I really want to do is just be near people I really enjoy and just "be" with them. This year I had the wonderful opportunity to spend time with people who really mean a lot to me. It was a low-key event - dinner and watching the ball drop with Dick Clark, Ryan Seacrest, and the ever-so-talented Kelly Pickler. At one point in the night, when everyone was sitting around commenting on Katy Perry's wardrobe choices, I smiled to myself and thanked God for the blessed life I live. I am a fortunate girl. I love my life and am so thankful for what it is right here and right now. I am thankful for the people in my life, how I get to spend my days, the house I live in, the physical security that I possess, the possibilities for the future, and so much more. This is exactly where I want to be. I am content here. I am also so thankful for the events of 2008. I was able to be a part of some incredible things, learn good (and sometimes hard) lessons, laugh, love, and wrestle with who I am and what I have been called to do/be. I have felt this way for quite a while now but in that moment it came flooding over me.

The one thing I do not have mixed feelings about is New Year's Resolutions. I LOVE THEM. YAY for goals! I made a list of the goals I want to accomplish in 2009 in the little notebook I keep in my purse. This notebook is full of good quotes, lyrics, books to read, inspirations, and lists. Although it is not exhaustive, here are a few of the goals that I have jotted down for 2009. These are just little things and I specifically set them because I don't feel like they will get in the way of being open to whatever comes along.

Visit all Smithsonian Museums, Monuments, and the Botanical Gardens
Read 3 books in French
Finish a triathlon
Finish a ten-miler with a personal best record
Write at least 1 hand-written letter per month (I've done two so far this month and it's still the first!)
Keep a balanced ledger (this will be my toughest one)
Pay off my credit card (See above. The point is that I want to be free to do whatever God calls me to do and to be able to use my resources to bless and equip others for His glory)
Plant an herb garden
Be a published writer (I'm okay with just an article)
Get straight As at GWU
Learn more about and apply being a Locavore
Eat more naturally (no more surviving off of caramel-covered marshmellows like I have the past week)
Blog at least one time per week
Follow politics/economics more seriously
Do 100 push-ups in a row
Build in regular times of silence - including a 3 day retreat

More than anything though, I want to know my God more. I want to fall more and more in love. I want to be shaped, molded, broken, healed, and used. I want to dig into the Word more, have a more active prayer life, and boldly live out my faith. Why settle for paper plates when you can eat off of fine china?!

None of my resolutions or goals are too lofty. I firmly believe that they can be attained and I am so excited for them to come to fruition! I can't wait to see who and what will be a part of this year!

Noise

2008-12-28T16:16:00.005-05:00

"God wasn't in the wind. God wasn't in the earthquake. God wasn't in the fire. God was in the silence." I love that line and over and over again it has been playing in my heart and mind.

For the past two months I have been craving silence; time alone with God to just listen. Agendas, to-do lists, relationships, commitments, and every-day stresses have been keeping me away from taking this time away that I have so desperately needed. Not today though. Today I took a day to be silent and to just listen.

At first, I find silence to be a little bit difficult. I'm okay with no music, TV, or Internet. I'm even okay with not talking to others around me. But it is the voices in my head that keep going loud and strong, even when I have long-since stopped. Then, about an hour or two into it, I realize that I have been chatting to God about the same things over and over and I have been too busy making noise to listen! So I shut up. Only once in my life can I say that I have heard a clear, audible voice from God so I don't want to be misleading and say that's how God communicates with me. I wish He would sometimes! It's more that still silence that Rob talks about - within my heart - that I know is the Holy Spirit guiding and shaping me. Sometimes it's not a "yes" or "no" answer but just a peace knowing that He is right there and that He has everything in control. That's what today was.

Being silent before God was a discipline I learned a lot about and practiced quite often in Rwanda. Whether it was my morning runs, walks to and from work, or while doing my quiet time (there's probably a reason it's called that) on the back porch there were times throughout my daily life that allowed me to be still and silent before my Creator. My life now is so full of noise - both audio and visual - and as a part of the goals I want to accomplish in 2009, building in time for silence is near the very top of the list. I have a friend who went on a silent retreat for 5 days. 5 days! The longest I have ever gone is 3 and I thought that was never-ending! But how amazing!

How about you? Would you be willing to be silent and just listen? For how long? What would your expectations be? Would you be willing to let go of those expectations for what God wants to do instead?

*This video is a part of Rob Bell's Nooma series. The name of the video is Noise. This is not the entirety of the video and for more information on where you can purchase Noomas, visit Nooma.com

Hello?

2008-12-05T20:15:00.002-05:00

I don't know if anyone even checks this anymore... I didn't even check it for quite a while there!

But regardless, I want to resume my off-again, on-again relationship with my blog. If people read, great. If not, it's okay - it's simply my way of getting these oh-so-crowding thoughts out of my head.

I have been home from Rwanda for just over a month and half now and to say that it feels like a lifetime ago is an understatement. It truly has been only in the past couple of days that I have wanted to delve back into my memories, into the lessons that I learned, and fully live as the person that I was becoming while I was there. There will be more on this, I promise. As exciting as that is, there has also been some challenges - not necessarily bad, but challenges nonetheless. Things have not been what I have expected them to be since I have been home. I have had unmet expectations and exceeded expectations. I have laughed until my cheeks hurt and cried until I couldn't breathe (both of them today, actually). I don't know what God is doing. At all. I'm scared out of my mind and, at times, feel extremely lonely in this journey of putting all the pieces into their proper place. I have not the slightest doubt that He is working together something - just what, I'm not so sure!

Akagara National Park

2008-10-13T07:19:00.003-04:00

This weekend I had the AWESOME opportunity to travel up to Akagara National Park in order to see some of the wild-life that makes it home here in Rwanda. Myal was a great host and arranged the entire trip as a Goodbye and Thank-you gift (so completely generous - I was so humbled!) and we were joined by Mike (country director for Living Water) and Audrey.

We left on Friday afternoon and made the 2.5 hour drive up north. After we arrived we set up our campsite and got to work collecting firewood, building the fire, and making dinner. It was a perfect evening as we had delicous food, an amazing view, good music, and plenty of stories to keep us laughing. We didn't get much sleep (mine was because of the fear of the snorting that was taking place in the bushes behind us by some unknown animal!) but it wasn't hard to get out of bed the next morning when we saw the sunrise. Breakfast and clean-up were quick as we wanted to get out and see the animals as they were collecting water before the heat of day. The entire day was spent driving around different parts of the park and with the help of a guide we finally found the animals that we were looking for. I kept telling Myal that he would know how thankful I was by how much I squealed when we saw the animals. Finally, we had gotten to the giraffes, our last animals for the day, and there were still no squeals so he asked me about it. I was in too much awe to squeal - my silence and awe was saying so much more than a squeal ever could! Everything was so beautiful and peaceful - there is no way that my words can do it justice.

Here are some of the pictures that I took. Enjoy!

Akagara National Park

Possible Next Steps

2008-10-10T04:58:00.003-04:00

No, sorry, I don't have the pictures yet! I am actually waiting to get some from Myal and once I do, they will be up in a flash. Let's keep our fingers crossed for this weekend!

Anyway, that's not my point of this blog...

What I really wanted to write about and ask for your prayers for is my "next step". As most of you know, I will be coming home on the 19th (just over a week away!) and with that comes a lot of uncertainty about what I am going to do as far as a job, school, etc. I currently have my application in to George Washington University for their graduate program in International Education. Long story short, this masters is focused on development through education and I would be focusing on marginalized people groups. The minute I first heard about this program my heart leaped and I knew that this is where I wanted and needed to be. My application is currently in the Dean's office for final review and I should know shortly whether or not I have been accepted. I began my degree in Curriculum and Instruction at McDaniel College so I can transfer some credits and go to school part time, hopefully in the evenings.

Now, as if waiting for school acceptance isn't enough, I have to add looking for a job as well! Obviously I want to be involved in something that has to do with development and education but will also afford for me to go to school. I have about 7 applications out right now and have a few more that are ready to be sent. I have never really had to look or wait for a job before! This is a new adventure.

I know that, without a shadow of a doubt, that God is going to provide - I just have to wait to see what it is. As my grandma always says, "He's never early, Lauren, and He is certainly never late." I'm not really sure what direction my life is going in - what I have been called to do as the big picture and as much as that is a challenge for this Planner, I am so content in Today. I know that He is guiding me somewhere - that all of the gifts, talents, and experiences He has provided will be used for something. Then again, I'm learning that it's not all about Arriving...

Mars Hill Water Team

2008-10-05T09:30:00.003-04:00

Before I begin I want to give a huge SHOUTOUT to everyone who ran the Army Ten Miler this morning. Way to go! As I write this I realize that most of you have already crossed the finish line and I am so jealous! I have been praying that it wasn't so hot this year (could anything be worse than last year?) and that you broke some personal records! Can't wait to hear how you did!

Okay, now for the team...

For three weeks over the course of September World Relief Rwanda was blessed to have a team from Mars Hill Church come and serve alongside of the Child Development Program (CDP). The CDP, located in Masaka, about half-hour outside of Kigali, teaches young children sanitary and hygiene lessons and began realizing there was a gap in their program because they were emphasizing the importance of clean water but clean water was not at all accessible to the community. That is where Mars Hill came in. A team, led by Bob and Macky Johnson, came in to the Masaka area and helped install three rain water harvesting systems and seventeen biosand (slow) filters.

What are water harvesting systems? Well, basically speaking, they are gutter systems put on to large buildings (in this case, three churches - one in Masaka center, one in Rusheshe, and one in Imbebe) that funnel into a large tank (10,000 liters - I could basically live in the tank it's so big!) These tanks take only 3 days to fill once the rainy season comes!

And the biosand (slow) fiters? These are 150 liter tanks that have layers of rock, course sand, and fine sand in them that were placed in the three churches and at local schools. Water is poured through the top of the filter and out comes clean water! The way it works is that after about 3 weeks of use (5 gallons, twice a day) a bio-layer builds up in the sand and this good bacteria eats the bad bacteria in the water. It takes about 20 minutes for a jerrycan of water (40 liters - 5 gallons - about 40 pounds to carry!) to go through the filter and when it does, it is completely drinkable - even by Muzungus like myself. Just think of how this could help save the lives of children; no more treating dehydration due to diarrhea by the water that made you sick in the first place! And the best part is that this filters, once they are made, require very little maintenance and can be used for a lifetime.

The locals can buy the water from the big filters for half of what they would buy it for at the local pumps and then the use of the filters is free. The money collected from the sale of the water will go back to the interfaith committees and be used for various things such as building more filters (to put in the homes of the most vulnerable), paying the school fees for children, and much more. Each interfaith committee signed an agreement that help-held the financial and up-keep requirements of the filters.

Making these filters was no small task! Getting to Masaka alone each day was a challenge as the rainy season showed it's early signs and the narrow, deeply trenched roads, became extremely muddy at times. Many hands were also needed and we had a crew of about 30, including the team members from the States, four masons, six locals who were trained in how to construct the filters, CDP staff, WRR staff, drivers, runners, and the pastors of the churches. Each of the masons and the filter-makers were members of their local interfaith committees and were nominated by their peers to participate in this project. They were paid a salary for their work and were given certificates, recognized by the local government, stating that they were the "authorities" given the responsibility and resources to continue this project in the future. Lots of work was also ahead of time by Bob and Macky who were here a week before the team. They spent long days going throughout the city buying all of the supplies that were needed. I'll be honest, it would have been a lot easier if 1)the streets of Kigali had names and 2)companies had websites! It worked out though and by the end of the week we had filters, wood, rocks, sand, and more delivered to each of the work sites. Meals were also an adventure and I can not tell you how thankful I was for Novotel Hotel and their ham sandwiches (and to know me is to know that I can't stand ham and mayo - however, these tasted SO good).

It was a great time - lots of hard work - but a great team, great fellowship, and an amazing community. I was so blessed to be a part of their team.

I am going to try to post pictures tomorrow so you can see the actual project. If I don't get them tomorrow, definitely by the end of the week.

Let me know if you have any questions - sometimes I forget what I take for granted that everyone knows!

Yes, I'm still alive...

2008-10-05T05:27:00.006-04:00

Embarrassingly so, I would like to begin this blog like the last one that I posted...a month ago. I have absolutely horrible about posting and for that, I am very sorry! My goal is to post about every other day from here on out. It might be a bit tricky this week as I am at a workshop from Monday through Thursday morning but I will do my best!

So where was I over the course of September? Well, with teams. Non-stop. From September 1-19th we had a team from Mars Hill Church (Grand Rapids, Michigan) who were here to create water harvesting and filtration systems. This was an awesome project and hopefully I will be able to post more about that tomorrow. Then, from the 20th to the 30th we had a team here from McLean Bible Church who were conducting workshops with pastors focusing on mobilizing their congregations in order to take care of the most vulnerable in their communities. Although the month of September was incredibly busy, it was full of laughter, lessons, things to think about, and challenges. I hope to chronicle them little by little.

It is hard to believe that I only have 2 more weeks here in Rwanda. Each day seems like a year long but as I sit here writing right now it feels like it has flown by! It is a strange mix between time racing by and feeling like my commissioning was a lifetime ago. By no means am I wishing for this time to be over - I really do love it here - but I am excited too for what the future holds.

Oh, I could go on writing forever...but then there would be no other blogs to look forward to!

I miss you and think of you often.

Long Overdue

2008-08-29T03:28:00.002-04:00

My friends, I am so sorry that I have not been updating my blog! I could give you a million excuses - the unreliable Internet that we experienced for a while, being on the field, having work to get done, being lazy - but none of them truly excuse it. I apologize. Even though I have so much to share with you - lessons learned, questions, adventures - I thought this one would be a bit more lighthearted and focus on some of the highlight stories that I have experienced in the past two weeks.

Story #1 - The Nacumatt Experience
How many of you know what Nacumatt is? Carrefour? Anyone?

Think European SuperWalmart.

The first Nacumatt came to Kigali last weekend and of course we had to go see it. AWESOME. You can buy your electronics, toiletries, cereal, and furniture all in one stop. As you can imagine, this is a really big deal for all of the expats here. Not only are items such as lotion and familiar brands hard to find but they are expensive once you do find them (think $14 for lotion). Nacumatt has come to save the day. You can find so many products there (including Cadbury chocolate) and the prices aren't as bad as they are in other places. I'll be honest, we spent about 45 minutes just walking around the store and as we were leaving I thought, "Wow, with this here now, I could live here..."

Story #2 - Nobody puts Baby in the corner
Trivia Question: In "Dirty Dancing" what was Baby going to study when she went off to school?

Answer: Economics of Developing Countries - so she could join the PeaceCorp.

What an appropriate movie for us to watch! Last night we celebrated Sarah's (Director of Programs at WRR) birthday by eating chocolate ice cream (another reason to love Nacumatt) and watching "Dirty Dancing" projected on the wall. Sarah had never seen the movie before - she wasn't allowed as a little girl - and always wanted to see it for her birthday. It certainly proved that birthday wishes can come true! With 6 girls and 2 boys joining in on the celebration, we sang along, giggled, and were reminded why Sarah was probably not allowed to watch it (I wasn't either for a while...) It was sitting there last night that I was filled with so much joy that it brought a few tears to my eyes (to know me well is to know that isn't too big of a surprise). How often do we really stop and enjoy the simple pleasures? Do we really stop, rest, and recharge enough? I went to bed very content last night.

One of the best lines in the movie: "I have been thinking a lot about the Domino Effect lately. Do you think if Vietnam falls China will fall as well?" (remember, it was set in 1963)

Story #3 - I want one.
When Phil and Becca were out of town last week I had to come up with some means of transportation. Paying for a taxi all of the time gets a bit expensive so I decided that I was going to be adventurous and try one of the taxi motorcycles that I had seen zipping around town. I have been on the back of a bike before but this was different! The bikes are not that big (could they support both of us?), they dodge in and out of traffic like small gnats, and the road conditions here are less than favorable. I summed up the courage to finally get on one of the motos and... I LOVED IT. I rode them all day, all over town. Now, to be honest, during my first 3 minutes I told the driver to slow down about 86 times but once we got moving and I began to trust him, we really started moving and had such a good time. I am dead serious when I say that I want one and I look for opportunities now to ride. I get disappointed when a friend says they will give me a ride because it means that I won't be able to take my new favorite means of transportation.

Story #4 - Crisis Adverted
This actually comes from excerpts from a few emails that I sent out about a week ago.

I had been having this awful thumping in my ears and I was scared (thanks to WebMD) that I was 1)going deaf 2)had cancer or 3)had gotten a parasite - yes, in my ear, so I went to King Faisel Hospital, just down the road from World Relief. One of the receptionists there was very nice and she gave me all of my instructions in English. I filled out my paperwork and then went up to stand in line at the counter in order to check in. I was standing about 2 feet behind the person who was being helped and not 1, not 2, but 3! people cut in front of me. I have talked to some of my African friends here and there are varying opinions about it being just bad manners, I was not aggressive enough, people are not used to using the "queue"(not an original part of the culture), some think they are more important than others, etc. It didn't matter - I was not feeling well and I was going to be late - not a good combination. I FINALLY got up to the counter, put down my paperwork and smiled at the lady. She not only did not smile back, but proceeded to ignore me and do other work. I will admit, this is where I lost my culturally-savvy cool, grabbed my paper, mumbled "FINE" and went over to the other receptionist who was open. She got to see my smile and I was quickly processed for the small fee of $20 (yes, this is all my doctor's appointment cost - without insurance). I was then ushered to another receptionist in a different area and she took my paperwork and told me to have a seat. My appointment was at 3:40pm and it was now 3:45 (It was the unresponsive receptionist's fault - I was there at 3:15!). I sat there, and I sat there, and I sat there... 40 minutes after my appointment was supposed to have taken place I asked the previous receptionist, who was wearing a very pea-green blouse, when I could expect to be seen. I was extremely polite and non-confrontational. She responded, "After the person in front of you is finished." My bad. One hour and five minutes after my appointment was supposed to take place, I was seen by Dr. Jeffrey I-can't-pronounce-your-last-name, ENT. We hit it off famously! He checked my ears, nose, and throat and found nothing wrong. He said that it was probably just from all of the dust (darn dry season) and the irritation from being on the moto (trust me, this will not stop me from riding again). He prescribed some drops and said that I could use them if I felt like making sure my ears were totally cleaned out (I told him my mother would be proud to hear that I have dirty ears - although I don't, I clean them fanatically). He did check my throat to make sure that I did not have Thyroid Cancer as WebMD, as I said, had me convinced this was a valid option. He also took my blood pressure and he said that it was low. I asked him if I was dying to which he responded, no. PHEW. He did, however, say that women who are expecting can have a low blood pressure... I assured him this was not the case and, in fact, the words "Immaculate Conception" were used. He then sent me on my way and on my way I did go. I'll be honest, I still have no idea why my ears were bothering me. They are absolutely fine now. Maybe I just had to learn a new aspect about the culture - customer service and rights. Huge lesson.

That's it for stories (well, at least for now). We have a team coming from Mars Hill to do a Water Harvesting project starting on Monday. Please keep us all in your prayers. I promise, I will be more diligent and will write more soon.

Imana Ishweme!

A Few Of My Favorite Things

2008-08-14T06:08:00.002-04:00

It is hard to believe that I have been here for four weeks already! In many ways it feels like the time has gone by very, very quickly. In other ways, it feels like a lifetime ago that I was saying goodbye to my mom and brother at the airport. Regardless, I have come across many things that I love here in Rwanda and I thought I would share some of them with you:

Walking to work and then home again in evenings and being stared at by the schoolchildren. Most are brave and say, "Bonjour" and their smiles become a million miles wide when I start speaking French back to them.
Going for runs in the morning and seeing the sun rise over the hills of Kigali
Chapati - why I have to run in the first place
Clemence, my office mate, who makes me laugh more than anyone else here
The guards - whether it be at the office or at home - they are so cute and I just want to hug them all (no worries, I won't)
Song 146 in the green song book. I don't know what it says but I constantly have it stuck in my head
Spending time journaling. I don't do it nearly as much as I wish I did but when I do, I love it
Getting emails and facebook messages from home.
CitrusMint gum - my after lunch treat
The smiles of the pastors that we come in contact with and the huge hearts that they have for their congregations
The old women who always hug me and and grab my hands. I'm not sure what they are saying to me but I could "talk" to them all day
Walking home past the embassies and the Rwandan "White House" every day - kind of like DC...
The 75 degree weather every day

I'm sure there are a million more but these are the ones that come to mind immediately as I sit here. Life is good and I'm happy.

My New Home

2008-08-12T08:21:00.011-04:00

This weekend I said goodbye to Kayijuka and his family (well, goodbye in terms of living with them - I still work with Kayijuka every day!) and moved in with Phil and Becca. Phil is the country director for World Relief Rwanda and both he and Becca have been wonderful in welcoming me into their home. They have a beautiful home - complete with it's own African Crested Crane, Umasambe (which means "Crested Crane" in Kinyarwanda - it's like the people who name their cat, Cat.) The story goes that Umasambe was brought to the house while the previous country director and his family were living there. Apparently one of their little boys was nervous about people breaking into the house and so he was given Umasambe as a "guard bird". One of yesterday's adventures included Becca and Baptiste trying to clip Umasambe's wings. There was NO way I was going to be a part of that! Baptiste was able to catch and hold Umasambe while Becca clipped away and I watched from a safe, responsible distance. Umasambe has a "beautiful" call that sounds a whole lot like a bad bike horn and likes to eat bread (who doesn't?) If you aren't careful with the front door it is pretty possible that she will end up in the living room!

Pictures from Congo

2008-08-09T09:25:00.004-04:00

Congo

Back from Congo

2008-08-08T04:32:00.003-04:00

I figure that it is easier to update everyone on here rather than to send out 2395872359 emails!

Four summers ago (ohmygoodness, it has been that long?) I nannied for two great kids named David and Amanda. David had this CD that had a song that chanted "Nothing can go wrong-o, I'm in the Congo" (you have to love kid music). I would like to say that I was mature enough not to sing that constantly while we were there but then I would be lying. Thank you so much for all of your prayers while we were away. God really used this team from FMC in Indiana in amazing ways.

Our 12 days in Goma and Rutshuru, Congo (DRC) were spent doing various activities based on Servant Leadership. About a month ago FMC had sent a team to work with local pastors and train them on the concept of Servant Leadership and the Church taking care of the most vulnerable in their communities. The purpose of this trip was to do follow-up with these pastors, encourage them, and partner alongside of them in their outreach activities. Some of the activities included building houses for widows, cultivating a field that the Churches had rented to grow a crop that would support the needy in their communities, providing food to the prisons, and doing home visits to those who were sick or without a support system.

It was incredible to see the team and the pastors experience the true power of serving others. One team member had that "A-ha" moment one of our last days and he couldn't keep it in any more: "In serving others, those who are being served are then encouraged and impacted and then they want to serve others and then the whole system keeps expanding!" YES! He got it! While we were washing our hands before a meal one evening, I overheard two team members talking about how true service is giving in abundance out of what you have rather than waiting for an abundance in order to give. Amazing.

A beautiful example of these concepts was shown through one of the widows for which we had built a house. She and her three children had to flee their previous home, in the middle of the night, due to it being set on fire (probably the actions of military or rebel forces). Not only did she and her children join us as we were building the home but every day, at each new outreach activity, she was the first one there, ready to lend a helping hand. Her life had been impacted and now she was going to impact others. All along it was God and His love being manifested through us and the workers (including the widow) that was given the glory. What a wonderful picture of God reconciling hearts and lives back to Himself.

It was also really neat to see pastors from various denominations lay aside their differences for the greater purpose. They truly understood that those small things that divide us are not the things on which we should be focused. It is an incredible example that should be noted and followed. The pastors that we worked with are not about programs but people. People's lives and their hearts are what God cares about.

Personally, this trip was good and challenging for me. The things that I have just told you about were incredible to witness. It was also so good to be able to laugh with a team, try new foods, perfect my already impressive bucket bath skills, and play with a million children. In terms of being challenging, I saw another level of poverty (including IDP camps) than I have seen (or processed) before. I also had to wrestle with my own personal role in helping those with which we interacted and with my role in relation to the team. With all of that came questions of the purpose behind my time here in the Great Lakes region as well. I do know that God has me here for a purpose and there is no way that I want to cut my time here short (no matter how much I miss Dairy Queen). I want to wrestle with these challenges - journal about them, pray through them, talk to others - and live in every single moment.

I am going to work on getting a album of my pictures (including some stories) on here within the next day or so. Check back!

Kayijuka's Church Part II

2008-07-28T04:53:00.001-04:00

All last week Kayijuka kept asking me what I was going to preach on at his church on Sunday (a small, rural, Anglican church just outside of Kigali) and I seriously thought he was joking. Apparently not. On Saturday night he confirmed that I was to preach no less than 30 minutes and that Julienne would be interpreting for me. I was so exhausted Saturday night but it didn’t matter – I had a sermon to prepare! I gave a sermon on worship* and how worship can not only be our songs and prayers but our lifestyles/work an acts of service as well. At first I didn’t know what I was going to say or why I was preaching on that – their worship (singing, dancing, and drums) is absolutely amazing and there is no doubt in my mind that heaven is going to look like that. I told them that and they all cheered. My heart burst as I watched it all going on. That was probably my favorite moment so far.

Here is a picture of all the little children waving goodbye! LOVE THEM.

*Dear John McGowan, contrary to how it looks, I did not steal your message. I promise. I did the research and came up with the points on my own. :)

Off to Congo

2008-07-28T04:52:00.001-04:00

Well, I didn't get as many pictures posted as I would like but I promise I will do them when I get back...

Please be praying for Myal, Marcel, and I as we lead a team into the Congo (DRC) this week. We will be gone for two weeks. During our time there we will be helping build houses for widows or orphan-headed households, giving encouragement to local pastors, conducting compassion activities (visiting hospitals, helping till a field rented by some churches) and doing a special activity with WR Congo staff. Please pray for our safety and health, for those who we will be interacting with (that they may be encouraged) and for our lives to be changed and our view of God to be expanded.

*For a great read on the history of Congo, I would highly recommend King Leopold’s Ghost. I don’t really like historic books and I devoured this one.

Genocide Memorials

2008-07-28T04:03:00.016-04:00

It really is amazing to think of how much the genocide destroyed this country and still effects it today. Anywhere between 800,000 and a million people were killed in April, 1994. Brothers, neighbors, congregations, and friends turned against each other. For more information or insight into this tragic event, I highly recommend We Wish To Inform You That Today We Will Be Killed With Our Families.

I had the opportunity to go to the Genocide Memorial Museum in Kigali last week. Here are pictures of the museum, some of their gardens, and one of their 15 mass graves. I was struck with the contrast of these mass graves against the backdrop of the busy and very much alive, city. It was the stories of the young, innocent children who were killed for no reason that broke my heart.

I also went to one of the churches (Nyamata) where 10,000 people were killed. They had gone to the church for refuge and instead, were attacked there. Grenades were thrown through the windows and doors and no one survived. The church floors are covered, knee-high, in clothes from the victims. Behind the church are more mass graves. I had the opportunity to walk down into one of the mass graves to see many of the coffins and unidentified bones. It was probably the single most chilling experience of my life.

It is so easy to question how God can still be good after seeing this. I met a girl from Saddleback at the Memorial and we began talking about this. It is something that I’m not sure I can reconcile the “why” for. However, I know that it is the result of a sinful, fallen world and that maybe this helped open the doors for churches and organizations to come in and share the reconciling, restorative message of Christ.

What We Do

2008-07-28T04:00:00.001-04:00

By no means am I going to do World Relief justice but I am going to try to explain to you what they do here in Rwanda (at least from my understanding). For a better, more concise description, check out their website at www.wr.org.

Very basically, WRRwanda has 4 major development programs going on throughout the country. The first one is the Child Survival Program which focuses on teaching communities and mothers how to help their child survive past the age of 5 (1 in 4 children do not live to be 5 years old). This is a neat program because WRR goes into a community, teaches 10 women the basics of childcare and child health (such as what to do if the child has diarrhea – contrary to the popular belief, you do have to feed them and give them fluids). These 10 women then go and teach 10 more women and visit each of these women and their families once every 2 weeks. It’s a Trainers of Trainers (TOTs) program mentality. The second program is the Child Development Program which is much like the first but focuses on children ages 5-14. The third program is Mobilization for Life which is also a TOTs and peer education program that focuses on HIV/AIDS education (children ages 5-24 although we don’t know of any 24 year olds still in the program!) Obviously the curriculum is abstinence based but we do have a relationship with the Ministry of Health who talk about safe-sex practices (ignorance is not bliss in this instance). Our final program is our Microfinance. Going in, I though Microfinance was only small business loans – how wrong I was! Yes, that does happen but education about money and saving and group savings programs take place (for example, 10 people come together and each pay $5 into the pot each month. Then each month one of the ten people gets the $50 in the pot to pay for whatever it is they have identified as their goal). It’s a great system because these families may not have the means to save on their own to pay for a big item (maybe a wedding, maybe a cow… or a wedding where they present a cow – it happens) because society would put pressures on them to share with their extended families/neighbors if everyone knew that they had money to spare. There is also a program that WRR helped start, but is now independently run, called Ikirizi and it is an essential oils program. Basically, people are brought into a co-op and given land and materials to harvest geranium oil. This oil is then sold back to Ikirizi and they sell it to companies that use the oil in their products. WR’s goal in all that they do is sustainability and development. They want all of their programs to be self-sustaining if they were to ever leave the area. That’s where the local churches come in. The vehicle to getting these programs running at the grassroot level is the churches. The pastors and their congregations are the ones who volunteer, participate, and take ownership over these programs. WR is not evangelistic in nature but empowers the Church to be the Church and in that way share Christ.

My job, for the next three months, is to help out when church teams come over from the US to work with and see these programs going. Not only do these church partners support WR financially and in prayer but sometimes they have awesome skills that help out the programs as well such as IT, pastors’ training (for example, how to teach them how to recruit and train volunteers), encouragement and much more. I am also working on a special staff development project about cross-cultural communication and understanding.

Church

2008-07-24T05:44:00.011-04:00

On Sunday morning I had the opportunity to go to church with Kayijuka and his family. This was no ordinary service as they had a very special guest, the Archbishop of the Rwandan Anglican church. The church was beautifully decorated and many came who were not regular attenders of the church, including the governor of the district, village chiefs, and local officials.

During the service there was a time where members of the congregation brought forth the first fruits of their harvest as a means of tithing. The neat thing was that these items - bananas, papayas, cassava, etc. - were not simply left at the alter but after the service they were auctioned off and the monies went back to the church. It was a fun time as the auctioned took a turn and people started purposely raising the prices and people paid what they bid, regardless of whether they won or not.

My favorite part of the day though was getting to play with the children. When we first arrived we were greeted by many stares - who would be the first to say hello to the Muzungos? Slowly they came up to us and within a few minutes Diana had all of them singing and dancing. There were a million of them - all different ages, boys and girls, big and small. Some of the girls danced for us as well. I tried but I don't really think my body is suppossed to move that way! During the auction I made two friends, one named Estelle who was a bit disappointed that I did not have any candy to hand out and the other, Shadrach Meshach (yep, just like in Daniel) who was content sitting on my lap as we drank some Fanta (Citron for me) and Coke.

I loved the whole thing and the hours flew by. I still have song 146 (from the blue songbooks) stuck in my head.