Afton is 13!

Afton has matured so much over the last year.
When we told him we were moving to Africa,
he thought we were ruining his life forever.



Since then, he has grown to love his school, including teachers and friends.





For his birthday party, we decided to do a
7th grade SLEEP-OVER!  Oh my.

Whipping up some Nutella frosting for the cake.

 12 middle schoolers. Let the party begin!

Gaming...

 

more gaming, 

a Nerf gun fight  

and more squealing than you might guess with middle school boys.

Presents - mostly edible.

A presentation from little Presley... with high pitched sounds from young boys.

Bed time. Of course, this picture was taken much earlier, as it gets dark around 6:00 PM every night.

Day 2

A few wanted to climb up the water tank.

And some had time for Mind Flex. 

All in all, the boys had a great time.

We wished Afton could have celebrated with a few special friends from back home, as well.

We are so very thankful for the truly good friends God has put into Afton's life all over the world.

We're so very thankful for Afton and his tender spirit.

Happy Birthday, buddy!

Kibuye - KICS Staff Retreat

About a week after Kumbya, we headed west to another area of Lake Kivu - Kibuye.

One of our favorite things to do in Kibuye is boat out to Bat Island.

This year, we were greeted by cows. Those who didn't go on the hike were entertained by these cows.  

Apparently, one nearly slipped into the lake. 

The name BAT ISLAND is an accurate description.

These are NOT birds. 

Want to hear them?

Wyatt decided he was old enough 

to hike up this year...

And he was right!

He did a great job climbing.

Siblings.

Heading down.

Back to the boats.

Kumbya

the rope swing

There's an annual missionary retreat in Kumbya. 

We've heard a lot about it, but this was our first year to go. 

We got to be with missionaries from, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania, 

as well as a mission team from Australia.

We were encouraged through relationships, collective worship and water play.

Wyatt and Sheldon Davenport

Lizzy (Michal's good friend), Presley, Michal and Wyatt headed out in the boat.

Afton (on the right) and his buddy Drew.

Go back to Kumbya? Yes, please.

Mobile Community

One thing we did not anticipate in moving to Rwanda is how quickly we would develop new friendships and how many of those friends would leave us in our first year.

They say missionary years are like dog years...  In one year's time, it feels like seven have gone by. 

Or as another friend puts it, "the days go slow and the years go fast".

In our first year, we have said goodbye to dearly loved friends and family,
gotten reaquainted with old friends,
made new friends,
said goodbye to our recently re-aquainted old friends,
and said goodbye to new friends.

I guess the point is, this earth isn't our home.
Goodbye is just part of life, until that great day when
we meet Jesus face to face and the word "goodbye" is no longer needed.

Umucyo

This is Theophile. He's the one who started our Rwandan band.

 At the beginning of the school year, Theo saw me working with a student on guitar. He came to me and said, "I want you to teach me how to play Neil Diamond on the guitar."

First of all, I'm just learning to play guitar myself. 

Second of all, Neil Diamond??

So, we started playing guitar together. Our first song... Ten Thousand Reasons.

Theo's music lesson was noticed by Jeph, our PE teacher.
 

 "You are LUCKY" he said. 

So our band grew.

   

We added 

Jean Claude, Fils and Jean de Dieu

Consolee, Thomas and Dickson.

Our group includes teachers, para-educators, and maintenance staff from KICS.

 Before long, my little classroom was filled with exuberant sounds of Rwandese worship.

Our rehearsals and music lessons are interesting, as we speak in English, Kinyarwanda, and a little French. Most of our band members are new to their instrument and new to reading a chord chart, but we've learned how to communicate with each other well enough.



It took us a long time to name our band,
but we finally settled on
UMUCYO (oo-moo-chyo).

Umucyo means light. It fits well, because the band members have come through incredibly difficult times and shine brightly with the love of Jesus. Most of them were children during the genocide, and had their childhood stripped away from them, but they have risen.  I love looking around during our rehearsals and seeing their bright smiles as they sing with gusto about the work of God in their lives.

This is a clip of Umucyo doing 10,000 Reasons.

We're still rough around the edges, and don't always hit the right chords together, but we are learning and having fun in the process. I have to believe God is smiling too.


Since we started in November, we've gotten to lead our staff worship two different times.
And...
we performed at the school talent show.

Our hit song is the Beatles' Let It Be, rewritten to say
Numwami (He's the King).

 Sound check before the big show

 First public performance.
These guys rocked it and nearly took the house down!
I praise God for the opportunity to make music and lead worship with my Rwandese friends. 

Our First Rwandan Wedding

 We gathered at school where the ladies got help getting dressed in our
imishanana. 

 We didn't leave until the groom called to say we should head to the event, so there was time for photos.

Sweet Presley draws a crowd. One of the gals in our van told us that people were saying in Kinyarwanda, "Come and see a really cute kid." And they did.

Presley wasn't sure what to think of all that attention.

Waiting...

 Things are about to get started. This is the groom and our friend Jill. 

He calls her Mama Jill and asked her to stand in as one of his family members for the wedding.

Let the festivities begin!

This is the gusaba - the dowery ceremony.

 We were in the groom's tent.
Jeph (the groom) is the one holding the furry cane. 

The bride's tent is on the opposite side,
so that each group is facing the other.

Two guys with microphones did a lot of talking.

Somehow, we ended up in the front row for awhile. That meant we got soda.

Now it is time for negotiations.

  Instead of cows, the groom gave the bride's family an assortment of yard tools, a big orange tub, and a brand new large jerry can. It's yellow. Jerry cans are used here by people of all ages. You can see even the smallest children carrying water in them to take home to their families.  

Now a "herdsman" from each party goes out to inspect the "cows" together.

 The herdsmen come back and sing about how great the cows are.

There was a lot of joking and laughter, but there was also a moment of making the bride feel guilty for leaving her family. Traditionally, the Rwandese bride is not supposed to show emotion during the ceremony. Our bride was teary, just for a little bit.

The groom had a few tears too, especially during this song.
Have a listen. You might love it.

We made it through our first gusaba.

Congratulations Jeph and Esperance!

Sorwathe Tea Plantation

  SO (society), RWA (Rwanda), THE (tea) - SORWATHE
 

 We visited the tea plantation with friends and had a fabulous time!

People along the way.

Sorwathe Plantation grows somewhere around 668 acres of tea.
Sorwathe Factory produces 15-20% of the tea in Rwanda.

 

Almost there.

 

Welcoming decor on the beds.

Views from the guest house balcony.

















Next order of business... hiking through tea leaves

 

It was difficult to climb with kids on our backs.
Plus, we were a bit nervous about snakes... but we never saw one.

Tea Time.

Then, we went exploring the property...all kinds of beautiful flowers to enjoy.

 

 

Aloe Vera Plant

Dinner

Play Time

Bed Time

DAY 2

 

 Off to the factory tour

 

 Unloading tea leaves

 

Hats and lab coats to protect the tea

Aren't they dashing?

So stylish.

           Once the tour began, no cameras were allowed. 

We learned about different methods of producing tea - orthodox and non orthodox. We sampled green tea, black tea, white tea, silver tips... The factory was warm and odoriferous. 

Our kids were definitely ready to be done by the end of the tour.

The boiler that provides power for the factory.

Tea production chart by year. Notice how in 1994 (the year of the genocide) only 424 kilos were produced, compared with 1 and 2 thousand kilos on the years before and after. In Rwanda, we are constantly reminded of the dark history the people endured 20 years ago.

                            

 We purchased some tea and then it was time to go.

In his book Shake Hands With the Devil, Rome`o Dallaire shares that Sorwathe was a haven for him when he was in Rwanda during the genocide.

On the other hand, he remembers this river being full of bodies - an atrocious thought.

How different and beautiful it is in times of peace.

 May God continue to bless Rwanda as she rises.