Rwanda // part 1

In just a few days L squad will be leaving Rwanda and the African continent to begin our last two months of the race in Europe (sad!!). I’ve loved my time in Rwanda a ton – I think I say that about every month, but Rwanda has been different. We got the opportunity to spend two ministry months here instead of one and the entire time I’ve been continually thanking God for this kindness. It’s always hard for me to sum up what’s taken place each month, and honestly sometimes it feels a bit like a chore to find something to share with the world (but please don’t mistake that as me not being grateful for you reading this and standing with me as I go through this journey!!). It’s never for lack of a story or testimony to share, God has been fiercely on the move and meeting me in amazing ways in every place I go. It’s more of a difficulty in finding what to say, in boiling down all the amazing pieces of what God’s done in ministry, in relationships, and in me that can sometimes make it feel like a bit of a chore to type up a blog. That’s simply a poor heart posture. It’s honestly selfish and snobby of me to complain that finding one thing to share is too hard because God has done too much for me each month. I should just write more blogs and testify to God’s goodness on this platform more often. I repent! Abba, I’m sorry! Let me never tire of receiving Your goodness and shouting it from every place I can!  

Thanks for going through that external processing with me, I’ll get back to point now. The point is God is good, and I so deeply love Rwanda because His goodness has been so so so evident to me everyday in this country. I’ve seen His intentionality and compassion in our ministry partners and the way Hopethiopia/Rwanda so deeply cares to bring restoration and new life to the people they get to work with. I’ve seen His faithfulness to redeem and restore in the faith and hope of the men and women we got the opportunity to work with even though their lives have held so much pain and hardship. I’ve seen His kindness and generosity in the provision of a sweet home my team and I got to live in during our time here. I’ve experienced His grace, mercy, and pursuit of me as I’ve sat with Him in hard questions about the world and if He really is who He says He is. He has shown me favor by allowing me to be part of a ministry that works in ways I have studied and wanted to participate in for years. He has opened my eyes to parts of these forms of ministry that I hadn’t considered and taught me of new ways of ministry I hadn’t known. As I write this I’ve decided I will write a second blog about this month – the remainder of this one solely focused on ministry. There’s just too much to share about and I want to glorify God for all He’s done in ministry this month and in all He’s done just within me properly. Thanks again for continuing to read through my thought processes as I write:).

This past month my team was partnered with Hopethiopia/Rwanda. As the name suggests, Hope has a ministry site in both Ethiopia and Rwanda which each focus on the needs of the community in each country. Here in Rwanda, Hope has a handful of different programs. My team predominately worked in their women’s ministry which is a 10-month tailoring school. The women in the program have all lived some pretty hard and impoverished lives; this program creates a space for healing, discipleship, community, and as a bonus teaches them how to make and tailor clothes so they can financially support themselves. The front room of the house we lived in is the sewing classroom, so most days we got to spend the morning in devotional with the ladies and then hang out with them while they worked if we weren’t doing an event that day. During our time with them we got to do a fashion show, a 3-day women’s retreat, they taught us to sew, and we shared a lot of laughs together. They are incredibly kind and caring and opened their hearts to us in some amazing ways. We got to share our hearts and stories, and encourage and pray with them as they shared some of their own stories. We also got the opportunity to visit a few of the women who had graduated from the program a few years ago and pray over their families, continued growth and blessing, and just to remind them how loved they are. It was sweet:).

Hope Rwanda also has a men’s program that we got the opportunity to work with a few times. This program functions as a bit of a halfway house – the men have all come out of a year-long government rehab center (thats on an actual island) that they were sent to/went to because of drug and alcohol addictions. In Hope’s program they spend an extra 6-months preparing to return to their lives, reflecting and healing from past experiences that led them to addiction, and working to serve the community to rebuild their confidence and break down stereotypes of ex-addicts. These guys are SO FUN. With the guys our team put on a team building day where we just did a ton of games, a talent show where they got to show off their many talents, and an afternoon of worship together. There were a few times we shared pieces of our stories with them, encouraged them, prayed over them – we even got to be present and pray with two guys as they gave their lives to Christ!! –  but the focus of our time with the guys really was on living in the joy of God. These guys have been through a lot, done a lot, worked hard to turn their lives around – they deserve to just let loose and be kids and have fun every once and a while. As sons of God they deserve to enjoy the life He’s given and to rejoice and celebrate all He’s done in them! 

The last program Hope Rwanda is currently engaged in comes out of the two before – its the Hope kids program:). A lot of them men and women that have gone through Hope in the past or currently have kids – and Hope supports the education of each of these kids by paying for school fees until they graduate. IT’S AMAZING. During our time in Rwanda my team got to spend just a little bit of time with these kids. One day we organized a field day of sorts where we just put on a bunch of games for the kids, and another day we worked with teenage girls in the program where we did a training on menstruation/women’s health and how to use the period kit that we gave to them. Time with the kids was so fun, and with the teenage girls it was so sweet to get to end the training talking with them about how deeply God cares for women. At our training day we also got to pray with two of the girls who wanted to give their lives to Christ!! God is so good and His harvest is ready:). 

That concludes my breakdown of what we did this month – there’s probably a lot more I could say but this at least gives a picture of what our time has consisted of with Hope. The last piece I wanna share is about the leadership team that runs Hope Rwanda. I love them, period. Hope’s Dream Team is so kind, so wise, so talented, so passionate about all the people they work with. In my time here I learned a lot from each of them and had the best time getting to know and laugh with them. Our team was spoiled in this ministry placement and in the relationships we got to have here. Abba, thank you for loving us so well and blessing our time in Rwanda so abundantly!!! 

Stay tuned for part 2 of my Rwanda blog:)

If you’re at all interested in learning more about this ministry or partnering with them in their work by donating here’s a link to their website! https://www.hopethiopia-rwanda.com/