Last night we had dinner with Peter’s family. It was our time to thank them for feeding us and driving us around. They go out of their way to make sure we have a safe trip. The last day! I can’t believe we are leaving already. These couple of weeks have flown by. This morning we ventured out and went to the market. The market is filled with everything you can possibly imagine. It is very similar to a flea market but the aisles are super small and everything is crowded together. You have about 10 different people trying to get you to visit their little stand. Then you have…

SUNDAY!!!! What a fantastic Sunday it was. We arrived at Jean Pierre’s home. Jean Pierre is a pastor of the Western Region. He also runs an orphanage. Their about 100 or so children in his orphanage. Jean Pierre and Peter (from Daniel’s House) are friends and work together to raise money for the orphanages. They have created a unique partnership. Jean Pierre is an excellent farmer. He has huge green houses for plants. He raised thousands of chickens to sell. I’m pretty sure Jean Pierre can grow anything. We walked into the church and there was music and dancing. Immediately the children surrounded us, and we all started clapping our…

We made this day for relaxation. The hotel we stayed at was Home Saint Jean that overlooked Lake Kivu. The sunrise greeted us right outside our doors. Whatever Jake and Zoe had caught up to me. I woke up with a scratchy throat and kind of stuffy nose. When we met for breakfast, I drank plenty of ginger tea to kill whatever was going on. We were set for a 3-hour boat ride at 9. As we were waiting for the boat, down the mountain, by the lake it started pouring down rain. We raced up the mountain to get out of the rain. Nothing like a leg workout at…

Wow this week has flown by! Today was the last day with the children. What a blessed day we had singing, playing and telling stories. The children requested Daniel and the Lions Den again. So, we ended the day with the story of brave Daniel following God and being saved from the lions. It was sad to say goodbye to the children. Their smiling faces are etched in my heart forever. After spending the morning with the children, we were off to the Western Region. It’s roughly a 3 to 3 ½ hour drive depending on the roads. The roads were bad! For a third of the drive we were…

Jake is sick! Jake was unable to visit the orphanage today. The children missed him very much! That left the 2 ladies to venture out on the streets of Rwanda. I’m sure it must look strange when they see two female Americans walking into the village. It was a little troublesome when we were surrounded by the village children at the top of the hill. I didn’t think we would make it out of there unscathed. But after we emptied a couple bags of candy, they let us continue our journey down the hill to the orphanage. Several follow us to see if they can sneak another piece of candy.…

Zoe is better! Jake looks like he should have stayed in bed. He roughed it to the orphanage though. Today was a busy morning! After lunch we set up three stations to paint nails! The girls all lined up and waited patiently for their turn. Some of the boys were sad that they couldn’t join in on the fun. Once Alfred brought out the soccer balls they soon forgot about their disappointment. We also taught the children a new song today; “I’m in the Lord’s army.” It will take a while for the children to catch on, but they all say, “YES SIR” at the end. They are so precious.…

Zoe was still sick today and unable to make it to the orphanage. Jake is sounding like he is also getting sick. Jake and I spent the morning feeding the children, playing and then telling them the story of David and Goliath, I Samuel 17. The children were so excited to learn of a little shepherd boy with such courage. After the story they answered questions and two little boys reenacted the story!   Today was so hot! They said it was only 86 degrees, with it feeling like 92. However, there was not a cloud in the sky and my Florida upbringing told me it was closer to 100.…

A start of a brand-new week! Bad news hit today when we woke up. Zoe has the flu. It’s a good thing it waited until after we got out of the airport otherwise, she would have been quarantined due to the Corona Virus. She was unable to make the trip to the orphanage today. We are praying for her quick recovery. Besides Zoe being sick, my stomach has not agreed with something! Jake says I have worms, but he is being like that annoying twin brother I never had. We made it to the orphanage just in time to help the children get ready for their lunch. The children at…

February 9, 2020 ~ Today we spent the day with more than 300 children! We went to the orphanage in the morning. When we arrived there were only a handful of children there. The word must have gotten out because before long there was over 300 children in the tiny space! The pastor opens up the orphanage once a week to feed any child in the village that is hungry. We sang, danced, told stories, and played all day long until the meal was ready to be served. The older children, those out of secondary school, started cooking soon after we arrived. It takes a long time to feed 300…

February 8, 2020 ~ We visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial Site. You cannot visit the memorial site and feel anything but sorrow and compassion. Quick Rwanda History Lesson The Rwanda Genocide occurred from April 1994 until July 1994. In that short 4 months an estimated 1,074,017 were brutally killed by the government, militia, friends, and neighbors. Many of the women that survived were purposely infected with AIDS/HIV to kill off future generations. As a result of the genocide there were approximately 400,000 orphans. Many of these children witnessed the killing of their parents and siblings. Nearly 85,000 of the orphans were forced into adulthood by having to provide for younger…