Back Home

It has been two weeks since we returned form Rwanda. While it is good to be home as we missed our family and friends (not to mention a properly working blow dryer!), there are many things we miss about Rwanda and the people there - the beautiful green hills, the passion of Rwandan believers for sharing Christ,their exuberant worship, their capacity to trust God for great things,and thier open hearts and easy hospitality. And all of us miss the many new friends we made in Rwanda. In particular, we miss Goreth or as we know her, Gogo. Gogo was our guide and interpreter and was with us every day all day long. She handled logistics for us as well as interpreted whenever needed, whether with a woman at the Dream Center or when one of us was speaking to a group. She is amazing in many ways and we learned much from our time with her. She trusts God unreservedly and has enormous compassion for others. Personally, of all I miss in Rwanda, I miss my time with my new Rwandan sister and friend, Gogo, the most.

After the holidays, our team would like to invite you to join us on Saturday, January 14 for A Taste of Rwanda. We will share pictures and stories from our trip as well as some tea and coffee that we brought back with us. To find out more, visit the Immanuel Website at www.immanuelbible.net.

Thank you for the many prayers and all the support.

Bethany

It's Thursday morning and our days have been so full and exciting. Yesterday when we did the hand treatment for the ladies, it was so wonderful to see the excitement on their faces and the love for us. We were so blessed to be able to take their hands and massage them and pray for them. These ladies work very hard with their hands and sew very beautiful things. They study hard at their trade and also are taught the Bible.

After we met with the ladies, we had a party for our sponsored children. I haven't sponsored a child yet, but I had the very great privilege of bring gift to other people's sponsored children. They were so happy and excited and very grateful. We were so blessed that we could do just a small service for them that they received as something huge.

Today we will be visiting the school that Immanuel Christian School partners with. It is a very beautiful day and we are all energized. Someone will write a message about the school tonight.

Linda Parker

Hand in Hand

This afternoon we had the privilege of doing Mary Kay Satin Hands with the women in ANLM's sewing program. There are 73 women in this program. The aim of which is to provide these women with a marketable trade.
Our goal today was to pray over their hands, the tools of their trade. We pampered them with the Satin Hands treatment, praying over them and their hands while massaging in the lotion. After doing the Satin Hands, we presented them with homemade tote bags (stitched by members of the team and a few others) stuffed with gifts for them.

Smiles were in abundance, hands were softened, and hearts were warmed.

An Amazing Day in Africa

We are at the end of a long day but it has been an amazing one. Yesterday after picking up Beverly and Enid in Kayonza, we traveled another 2 hours to Akagera Game Park and spent the night at the game lodge there. We woke early to head out on safari at 6am. We saw plenty of African animals - giraffe, zebra, bamboons, monkeys, warthogs (or as we liked to call them, Pumba), antelope, and even a hippo. But what was really amazing was the breath-taking scenery. It is hard to describe the beauty of the African countryside. The beauty of God's creation was everywhere.

After a hearty breakfast, we headed to Kageyo, the refugee city about an hour from the game park. We were greeted by the pastor of the African New Life Bible church there, Pastor Francis. FIrst we met with sponsored children we had brought gifts for and then visited with more of the children there. Then we met and worshipped with the women of Kageyo and three of our women, Enid, Linda and Lisa, shared their stories of how thy came to Christ and the difference He has made in their lives. As they shared, it was somewhat surprising but encouraging to see how the women there identified with so much of our stories. Our lives may be different, but we all have problems and struggles some of which are universal.

The women of Kageyo were so grateful and happy to have us share with them and worship with them. We were all touched and blessed and wished we could have had more time with them. But with a hard 3-hour bus ride back to Kigali, we had to leave sooner than we wanted.

Tonight as we reflected on the last day and had devotions, we looked at 2 Corinthians 5:7 - For we walk by faith, not by sight. Our devotion encouraged us to follow God one step at a time, walking by faith not sight, trusting God to open up the way before us. This has certainly been true of our trip and especially the trip out to Kageyo. We have been walking one step at a time and God has been faithful every step.

Bethany

Visiting Sifa's Grandmother

Yesterday Enid and I (Beverly) had the amazing privilege of meeting Sifa's grandmother. There really are not words to express the range of emotion that we shared. There was incredible joy as we embraced and met for the first time. There were many tears and hugs as the three women whose hearts had been bonded across two continents through their love and compassion for a little girl met for the very first time. "JaJa" was so excited to know everything about her Sifa. As we shared stories, greetings, photos and video of Sifa the excitement and joy expressed needed no interpreter; however in the midst of her joy, she still longs to see her Sifa again.

It is so hard to put into words what a special honor it was to meet this precious woman who has done her best to care for Sifa so sacrificially. :) ( I will post photos when we return)

Dream Children

Yesterday we had the opportunity to spend part of the morning with the Dream Children (street children). Every Monday and Thursday Africa New Life feeds the boys a breakfast of porridge, they have devotions and they play games. We were able to help pass out the porridge to the boys, their faces lit up when we gave them the mugs. After breakfast was over devotions began with singing, the boys filled the room with music praising God. We then introduced ourselves to the boys and shared a bible story, testimonies and songs on the ukelele (compliments of Kirsten). We had a time of sharing with them asking us questions about ourselves and our lives. They in turn shared some songs and testimonies with us. It was wonderful to be able to share in the lives of the Dream Children.

Ariel

Rocking the Runway in Rwanda

Here is the post "from tomorrow" as promised by Kirsten...

We had a wonderful Sabbath today. We started our day with an early breakfast and a drive through the beautiful countryside to Kayonza. We worshipped at New Life Bible Church in Kayonza. What a treat it was to fellowship with other believers and to witness their joy as they praised God. Deshua and Lynn W. shared their testimonies with the congregation and Enid encouraged all of us as she shared from the story of the demon possessed man from Luke 8.

This evening was the final night of the women's conference. It was an exciting evening praising God and being reminded of the value we have as women. Bethany, Kirsten, Ariel, and I rocked the runway as we participated in the fashion show at the conference. Hopefully we'll get some pictures up soon - I haven't seen them yet, but I've been told they exist. The general consensus is that this was the best night of the conference.

To top the night off some of us received dance lessons with traditional Rwandan baskets on our heads. Once again, I haven't seen pictures, but I'm sure we looked graceful and talented.

Thanks for your prayers. Please continue to pray for us. Tomorrow we will spend the morning at the Dream Center with the Dream Children (street boys) and drive to Akagera in the afternoon. On Tuesday we will spend time in Kageyo. Please pray for our travel through the country tomorrow and our time with those we will interact with. I'm not sure we'll have the ability to blog tomorrow evening so you might not hear from us until Tuesday evening.

-Kara

TIA..

We tried to post last night, but the internets were down... as they say: TIA (This Is Africa).

Post from tomorrow is coming soon.

Umuganda in Rwanda

Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there was a national clean up day. This magical day is called "Umuganda." "Umuganda, you say? What does that mean?" Umuganda is the power of different people coming together to achieve a common goal. In this case, that common goal is cleaning up the nation. This wondrous day happens but once a month, between the hours of 8 and 11 in the morning. If you miss the 8 AM deadline, you may turn back into a pumpkin. (Not actually, of course) If you are caught in transit after 8, the police will, in fact, stop your vehicle and force you to start cleaning whatever, where ever, you are.

Your heroes rushed through the almost empty streets of Kigali to the Kingdom Dream Center, anxious of arriving on time. For the first time since the beginning of their adventure, they were actually early! Upon arrival, they were met by Prince Joshua, his father King Jonathan, and following a short while behind was Princess Shalom. After introducing themselves to the royal court, the team set to work weeding and picking up rocks. Reinforcements arrived shortly after the work began, and your heroes were able to work alongside the women of the neighboring kingdom of Kageyo. Despite the language barriers, all the women worked diligently together.

The clock chimed 11:00 and the women knew their official time of Umuganda had come to an end. Though the rules of Umuganda may have said the time of working together was over, the sentiment of working side by side with others to build up the Kingdom of Heaven knows no time constraints. Your heroes leave the Kingdom Dream Center with full hearts, tired backs, and mud-caked hands. After washing the dirt away back at their temporary castle, the team's hands matched their spirits: renewed and refreshed.

Princess Shalom

Photos from departure

The team gathering at the airport.

Pastor Michael Connor and Pastor Tom Joyce pray over the team before departure.

The whole team with the plane in the background!

Dancing in church

We are at the end of our first full day in Rwanda. We all got a great night's sleep last night - thanks to all who prayed for that! This morning we visited the women in the training program at the ANLM Dream Center. We will be spending a day with them later next week but it was great to meet some of them this morning. We were able to purchase some of the items they make and some of us are having dresses or skirts made. (Yes, Dave, even in Rwanda I still found a place to shop!) We also met and played with the Dream children. These are the street kids that the Dream Center ministers to. It was a blessing to see firsthand how God is working through ANLM.

This evening was the first night of the Women's conference back at the Dream Center. We arrived to the sounds of 500 Rwandan women praising God in song and dance. Although we could not understand the words, it was a joy to join them in worship. Enid was the first to speak and her message was full of grace, truth and wisdom, which perfectly characterizes Enid. The theme of the conference is "Woman, you are valuable", and both Enid's message as well as that of the other speaker, Grace from the UK, communicated how God loves each of us and we are all valuable in His eyes.

Dance is a big part of the worship experience in Rwanda. One of the highlights of the evening was some of the women from the training program singing and dancing for everyone. Seeing the joy of Christ on their faces was amazing. Another highlight was a demonstration of a traditional Rwandan dance as they sang praise songs. Many of the women attending the conference joined in and I even saw our own Enid dancing with our Rwandan sisters!

We ended our day together as a team sharing and praying. We are thankful for and humbled by the prayers of so many.

Bethany

Here!

We made it!

And we are already buzzing about with things to do. It is midday here, so we are about to have a group meal and then head out to see more of Kigali.

More to come.

It's almost wheels up.

We are at our gate at Dulles International Airport, waiting for our plane to be called. Everyone made it through security easily and we had no issues with our bags. The airline didn't even weigh our checked bags, praise the Lord! (After we had scrambled to rearrange and readjust, weighing our bags on our to make sure they are under 50 lbs) Everyone is wandering around the terminal, getting breakfast, coffee, and the like. We are all so excited about the adventure that lies ahead!

Here comes our flight crew, so it's just about time to pack up.

Please continue to pray for a safe journey and traveling mercies.

-Kirsten

Paths and Crossroads

Paths and crossroads are places on our journey. Paths are the streets and roadways we travel on our Journey and crossroads represent points of decision. Sometimes we get confused and don’t know which way to go - should I go left or right or maybe keep straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us direction for our Journey. It says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” NASB

The New Living translation says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do and He will show you which path to take.

As the women’s mission team prepares to go to Rwanda our desire is to trust in the Lord and not ourselves. We want to serve the women and children in Kayonza, Kageyo and Kigali as God’s representatives. It can be a bit scary traveling to another country so far away from our own and culture so different from our own. But we are encouraged that as we trust God and seek His will in our service He will show us which path to take, how to serve and communicate God’s love.

We have examples of others in scripture who God called to a specific mission and they responded by trusting in the Lord. Moses trusted God to lead the people out of Egypt, Joshua followed Moses and led the people to the Promised Land, Gideon trusted the Lord in battle and Paul trusted the Lord on his missionary journeys.

The women on our team are trusting God to use us to encourage women and children in Rwanda to “Trust in the Lord with all their heart” too.

Enid

T minus 15 days

This is my first time updating the blog without a specific request to do so, but I've been thinking a lot about the trip lately and felt the need to make a short post.

I just entered the date and departure time for our flight from Dulles to Addis Ababa, Ethopia (the first leg of the journey to Kigali) into the first countdown timer I could find via Google: 14 days, 22 hours, 40 mins until our plane takes off. I am so full of nervous excitement, hopes, and fears.

Right now the whole team is busy getting things ready, making sure we all have our shots taken care of, support raised, planning what to pack, the list goes on and on. Despite all these typical worries, there are more things that nag at the back of my mind. This will be my first transatlantic flight in almost 11 years. Flying transatlantic used to occur in my life at least once every 2 years, if not more frequent. But since my dad retired from the military, we've been stateside for nearly a decade. The idea of flying to a different country, without my family in the same plane, is completely foreign to me.

I tell myself I've done this so many times, but really I haven't.

Never before have I gone somewhere without having a home base come with me. Whenever I went abroad for a new posting with my dad, the whole family came, as did all of our things. We were making a new home. I knew there would be an American community for me to belong to. This time is completely different.

This time, I have no idea what to expect. I'm worried about having to be vulnerable, love on strangers and then leave them, traveling with a passport that doesn't have the word "diplomatic" across the front. As someone who prides herself in being a well-seasoned traveler, ready for any challenge, able to adjust easily to any situation, these concerns are unexpected. But this trip is so unlike any other I've been on previously. Before I was going where I was told, following my family. This time, I'm going on my own initiative, because I feel called to be Christ's hands and feet. I'm not going with the safety net of my family or other military brats to fall back on.

When I lived on base, or on a compound, we the country surrounding us outside the base was called "the economy" or "off-base." Us kids talked about going out into the economy like it was a big deal, a special occasion. It wasn't necessarily something you did everyday. You only went off-base for something specific. The base was our home, our shelter, our piece of America in a foreign land. We only had to immerse ourselves in a foreign culture if we chose to leave that. I don't get that choice in Rwanda. I will be surrounded by a foreign culture nearly 24/7, completely out of my league the whole time. I will be challenged, stretched, tested in ways previously I never have been.

But I relish the opportunity to grow. Grow without my parents holding my hand. Grow without a familiar community to hide behind. Grow as an adult. Grow in Christ. Grow with an amazing group of ladies supporting, encouraging, and growing right along side me.

14 days, 22 hours, 19 minutes.

-kirsten

Fuddruckers Fundraiser!

Print out this flier and take it to Fuddruckers in Annandale on Sunday, October 16 to help raise support for the Rwanda trip!

(clicking on the image opens it in a new page to print)

Meet the team!

Our Fearless Leader:

Bethany Drum is excited to go on her first-ever mission trip. After 19 years of staying at home with her three great kids, Nathan, Seth, and Dara, God called Bethany into ministry as the Women's Ministry Director here at IBC. She is passionate about encouraging women and seeing them grow in Christ. Bethany is married to her best friend and amazing husband, Dave, who is an Elder at IBC. In her free time, Bethany enjoys reading, cooking, running, and drinking sweet tea.

Assistant Team Leader:

Kara Walker is on staff at Immanuel as the Student Ministry Program Director. This will be her second trip to Rwanda. She is excited to be a small part of the big things that God is doing in Rwanda!

Team Encourager:

Enid Walker is a mother of five wonderful children (three of which are accompanying her on this trip). She is on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ, serving women through a ministry called Significant Women. She is passionate about encouraging women to understand their value to God and to pursue a personal relationship with Him. This will ber her first trip to Rwanda. Enid is excited for the opportunity to serve the Rwandan people.

Prayer Warrior!

Linda Parker calls the Washington, DC area home, although she has lived in Panama, France, and Texas. Traveling has been a great pleasure and an amazing privilege for her family. Linda has three adult children and six grandchildren. Her favorite pass time is grandmothering along with memoir writing, going to the beach, and watching the Nationals play baseball. Linda has attended IBC since 2003 and became a member in 2010. Her interests at the church are Prayer, Missions, Women's Ministries, and the Care and Counseling Ministries including widows ministries and GriefShare. This fall, she will be working with ESL. This is Linda's first trip to Africa and she is very excited to be on the team!

School Coordinator:

Beverly Atkinson is married to Bill and they have 2 grown children; Nikki who is married to Ian and lives in Virginia Beach and Justin who is a 2nd Lt. stationed in Italy. Beverly is the Character-In-Action Program Director for Immanuel Christian School. This will be her 2nd trip to Rwanda. She is excited to take school supplies from ICS students to the students in Kayonza and Kageyo and build our relationship between the two schools. She also looks forward to meeting Sifa's grandmother.

Women's Program Coordinator:

Deshua Joyce

Street Kid's Ministry Coordinator:

Ariel Walker is an undercover Disney princess. She graduated from Christopher Newport University with a BA in history and minor in religious studies. However, her real passion is working with children. This will be her first international missions trip, though she has previously traveled abroad. She is super excited about going to Rwanda and looks forward to how God will use her in the lives of the children she will encounter there.

Finance Coordinator:

Lynn Tanner has been married to Ron Tanner for 38 years. She has three daughters, and eight grandchildren. Lynn moved to Virginia 4 years ago with Ron's company, after living most of their married lives in Omaha, NE. They are BIG Husker fans. Lynn and Ron found IBC the same time they found their house, and they praise God they found a church home so quickly! Lynn is in choir and Highest Praise. She is very excited, and humbled, to be able to take part in this missions trip, and "I would love prayers that I would feel God's presence and follow His leading while in Rwanda."

Safety/First Aid Coordinator:

Lynn Wingerd and her husband, David, have attended IBC since 2002. She is a mother of 4, grandmother of 3 and a Doctor of Physical Therapy. Lynn accepted Jesus as her Savior at an early age and has been active in evangelical churches all her life. She has been involved in many home mission projects over the years, and in 2009, she and David joined the IBC Venture team on a trip to Nicaragua with Living Waters International. She has been supporting women in the Africa New Life training program for the past two years, and is excited about going with the Women's ministry team to Rwanda this October 26! Lynn is currently seeking God's guidance preparing for this journey, looking forward to sharing His love, and serving others in Rwanda. We ask for your prayers as we prepare, travel and serve where He has called.

Snack/Water Manager:

Elisa Paigo is blessed to be part of such a spirit filled and faithful team. She has wanted to go on a mission for a long time and she knows God has placed her here. Elisa has three children and seven grandchildren, with one more on the way. She works in Retail Management, so she is a good fit as snack manager. Elisa is excited and looking forward to the wonderful things God has in store for the group!

Team Photographer:

Kris Tompkins is from Wisconsin originally and was raised on a dairy farm. She became a Christian in college through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. After obtaining a Master's degree, she found a job in Florida. Kris met her husband at a church there and were married over 26 years ago. Shortly after Paul and Kris were married they moved to Northern VA. They have been at Immanuel for 25 years and have raised their children, Meghan and Andrew here. She is looking forward to ministering in Rwanda in what ever capacity she can be useful.

Team Mascot/Baggage Counter/Fashion Consultant/All-Around-Awesome-One:

Zoe Walker is the youngest, but most vital member of the team.

Blog Manager:

Kirsten Hughes is as native to the DC area as a military brat can be. Though she has moved more times than she can count with her shoes on, this will be her first missions trip. She is passionate about social justice issues and worked with multiple organizations while attending Houghton College that focused on issues in Africa. As a result, she has felt called to visit Africa for many years and is beyond excited at this opportunity. Kirsten majored in Elementary Education at Houghton and loves working with children, especially those with special needs. In her downtime, she can often be found with a camera glued to her face, editing her pictures, or freelance design work.

Welcome!

This is the blog of IBC's mission team to Rwanda. The team is currently in the early prep stages, preparing for our journey to Rwanda in late October. We will be updating the blog periodically prior to leaving and regularly during the trip.

Check back for more updates, and please use the link on the right for any online contributions (be sure to select the women's trip to Rwanda when giving).

Blessings!

Kirsten
(blog manager)