sarazehn-blog

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New Blog!

I started using a new blog site. Go to the url below for the newest updates!

sarazehn.wordpress.com

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Every day, I would make sure that I saw the sun rise and set, even if it was just for a moment. The kids thought I was crazy, but I see it as a reminder of God's presence and power. The sun will always rise and set, no matter what has occurred during that day. It also reminds me of the importance to anchor each day. I was once told a parable about a violin string. The string by itself is wild and free, but only when it is anchored on both sides does it provide a beautiful song. Just like the sun with each day and the string on the violin, anchoring every day with Jesus will allow Him to create a beautiful masterpiece and music in my life.

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Tuzabonana 👋🏼

As I sit in the airport in Rwanda, I feel numb with emotion. It feels like I just got here but also like I have been here forever. I don't know if it feels like a dream or home. It's hard to explain but God has done something big in my life through this country and kids. I don't exactly know what that is but I can feel it something changing. It may just be the experience as a whole or something more, but I can feel it in my soul. Being in Rwanda by myself, I was scared that I may feel lonely without my friends or family. Since all of the days were spent with the kids, I feared that loneliness and exhaustion would take over and I wouldn't be able to give my all each day. But of course, God proved me wrong. He provided the perfect amount of encouragement through the people around me and also created amazing friendships as a bonus. My heart has found another home. Although this makes it hard to leave, it helps me realize that my true home is wherever God is and he will lead me where to go. In processing these strong emotions, I've been praying for God to be really tangible in my life. I want to feel him leading me and hear his voice. I had been praying for things that "I" thought I needed in order to follow his plans and truly discover why I was in Rwanda. But as always, He knows better. On Sunday, I walked up to my room to quickly change clothes. The guest house was very quiet, so I started to take an unplanned nap. As I started to fall asleep, something suddenly woke me up. It was like a deep, loud voice. I don't know what it said or what it was but fear shot through my bones. Then it hit me. "Was that God?" The fear increased so I forced my eyes shut to fall asleep. As I started to wake up, I thought about that voice and the fear that came from it. It wasn't a 'scary' fear, but a fear of a big presence and feeling very small and vulnerable. I know crazy and it probably wasn't God, but what if it was? I have prayed so many prayers to audibly hear Gods voice, thinking that was the easiest way to follow his plan. But, I didn't realize what I was really asking for. I wanted the creator of the universe to talk to me, as if it would be no big deal. This is God we are talking about! Why do I think I am strong enough to handle that power? No wonder He uses things like the Bible and other signs to speak and lead me. Maybe all the times I thought he was teaching me patience, he was really just preparing me for when I was ready to have an answer. I think of all the times when God spoke to people in the Bible, and they all collapsed with fear; real, powerful, crippling fear. And yet, my big bad self thought I could handle it. Thank goodness God is awesome and is always looking out for those who love him. We ask for something huge, He chuckles (finding entertainment in our lofty asks), then provides what we really need. Plus, it's always something so much better than we could ever ask for or imagine. During this week, I was also blessed with the beautiful gift of bed bugs. Remember when I kept asking for prayer about the bugs? I didn't want to say it then (fear that the bugs may hear me and attack again), but it was bed bugs. And in classic Sara fashion, the bites swelled, bruised, and one cluster even got infected. I want to make it clear that although these little devils weren't my favorite, I don't want to sound like I'm complaining or they ruined my trip. But I did have one moment of, "Can I handle x more of days of this?" so I made the decision to take the high road and pray about it. And this is what my awesome God told me: "There is no beauty without trials." Just like that, He turned an itchy situation into a lesson. God showed me that although a "perfect" situation is enjoyable, it doesn't allow you to really dig in and realize what is being experienced. Can I get a Hallelujah? Amena! (Thats how you respond at the Rwandan church when something really good is revealed). This might sound dramatic, but it felt like these bugs were my spiritual warfare. The bug prayer cycle: pray for the itch to stop, itching stops, stop praying, more bug bites would appear. If I let my spiritual guard down and stopped praying, the little devils would get me! (Bed bug facts: You can't feel them biting you and some people don't even react to the bites. If you do react, it won't show up until the next day. It's like magically appearing clusters of red welts that itch like the dickens.) But in all seriousness, it showed me the importance of relying on God in all circumstances. This is such a teeny, tiny situation in the spectrum of life, but I need to use it as preparation for things to come and learn how to truly put my trust in Him. After the prayers, I opened my Bible. I've been reading through the gospels, but I thought I would try the "open up and see what's inside" trick. You know...where you take your bible, place a hand on the front and back cover, then flop it open. It almost never works, but it did that day. I "flopped" to Psalm 121:1-2: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” For those of you who don't know, Rwanda is known as the land of a thousand hills. Reread that first verse, "I lift up my eyes to the HILLS." Some translations say mountains, but not mine! I have ESV translation; temporarily called the Rwanda translation for the awesome, God-created connection. 😊 What I'm trying to say is that God is SO cool. No matter how big or small a situation is, He is always there. This is something that I need to keep in mind as I travel back to the states. I fear that I have put Rwanda on such a pedestal that my faith will not translate across countries. So that's my next prayer, how can I make everyday like a Rwandan day? This transition is not going to be easy, but I know it's possible. He has orchestrated every day of my life, so if this is where He wants me then that is where I will be. God is in every single country on this earth, and He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. If I keep my eyes on Him, I've got nothing to worry about. 💛

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Interwoven

As I sit on the balcony of the guest house looking over the city of Kigali, my breath is taken away by the silence and peace surrounding me. Today is “Umuganda.” One of Rwanda’s tools for reconciliation is dedicating the last Saturday of every month for community service. At least one person from each household is required to help and no cars can be used until 12pm. Umuganda means, ‘Coming together in common purpose to achieve an outcome.’ I wish I could share this feeling that I have experienced this morning. The peacefulness is like nothing I have ever experienced. The roads are empty, leaving the city in a complete silence. The stillness that covers the land is something that can only been experienced, not described. It makes me think of Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” What an amazing reminder of the presence of God?

I don’t know why but I feel like I hear God more clearly in this country. Maybe it’s the slower pace of life, the people I’m surrounded by, or the amount of time I read the Bible and pray, but it’s like I can feel Jesus walking beside me. This is my holy place. The place that God shows me his power, and the place that teaches me how I should be walking every single day. No matter the location. This is something that I need to work on each and every day...

The title of this post is Interwoven. It is a word that God revealed to me a few days ago and keeps popping into my head. I have been parallel reading the gospels in order to dive into Jesus’s walk on this earth. Through these readings, I started thinking, hypothetically. What if God is writing another book (Bible #2)? Would I be in it? Is my life worthy of being interwoven into the story of God’s ultimate plan? Thinking about these questions really dug into my heart and made me rethink how I live my life. Do I live with the boldness of Ester or faithfulness of Mary? I want to live each day with the idea of being interwoven into God’s plan, because regardless of another book, He’s already watching every step I take. At the end of this short life, I want to run into God’s arms and have confidence in knowing that I gave Him all that I had. Worthy of being interwoven.

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Just a few updates for y'all! Morning dance parties, campaign cheering, and dinner!

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Reflections

This time in Rwanda has been so many things. Tonight I've had some time to really sit and reflect on the things that I have personally, physically, and spiritually experienced. When I came to Rwanda last year, it changed me in so many ways. The culture, people, ministry, and kids. Everything was so new and God used that to start revealing His plan for my life. New passions were shown to me that I never knew I had and He created a permanent Rwanda-shaped hole in my heart. So, when I planned to come back the next year, excitement filled every part of my soul. Arriving with the team on July 7th was all so familiar and it felt like home. Being reunited with the kids was incredible and I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Then when everyone left, newness shook my world. Being alone was much more different than I expected. I was left with a checklist of things to do but no schedule or group of people to do them with. This part is what I'll refer to as my personal reflection. If you didn't know, I'm a BIG people person. I love to be social and never need alone time. So although I was constantly with people, it just felt different. I started to take control and think "well I love this place, but I could only do this long term if I was married (built-in buddy)." Tonight, God is very clearly showing me that He is in control and the plan tends to be very different than what I think is best. I'm not saying that He told me to move here (don't freak out mom & dad), but He did ask..."If I told you to move here tomorrow, would I be enough?" And my answer(s): Before the trip, "Well, duh!" Middle of the trip: "Maybe, if I had a buddy." Now: "Only with You would it be possible." Not sure if my mediocre writing skills are presenting this well, but I'm trying to say that I can't do this alone. This can only be done with Jesus, because I am not enough but HE is. Colossians 1 it says "in him all things hold together" and this is true in every aspect of life, especially in this place. The physical part of my reflection has been my bug bites. Sounds silly, I know, but they are all over my body and itch like there's no tomorrow. Plus, I got a wonderful, swollen infection on my arm from the bites. I felt ridiculous asking for prayers about them, considering there are much bigger things in this world, but it showed how easily my weakness can take over. I started to count days of when I was leaving the bugs and it started to cloud my mind from God's mission here. Now that the itching and infection are over (hopefully 😊), it has really humbled me and shown me that I am definitely not strong without Jesus. Like seriously? Bug bites? I seriously need Jesus every single second of this life, regardless of my bug status. This moves me into my spiritual reflection. After all of these thoughts swarming in my head, I came to the realization that I only have 8 days left in this amazing country. Time has flown by! Yes, I know that there is plenty of time for Jesus to show up and do wondrous things, but I'm starting to miss this place even though I'm still here. Live in the moment, I know, but there is something unexplainable here. It's like I can feel Jesus walking beside me and the angels flying around me. I don't know what all this means, but I do know that anything God has planned is exactly where I want to be. Basically, this whole thing is Jesus. Every single part of it. If you haven't noticed from my reflections, things go wrong when I try to take control. Our lives were created to be led by Jesus, so why do we even try to compete with the creator of the universe? He is always there and always knows what is best. Simple as that. "In him all things hold together" 💛 Colossians 1:17

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Library, Lunch, & Learn

Today was so much fun! The past two trip, we have taught the older kids the importance of school, networking, and internships. They are so interested in hearing our advice, so I wanted to take it a step further and really show them how to do the things we kept discussing. So, all 30 of us piled into a bus and drove tour de Kigali, education style. The first stop was the library. The plan was to take a quick tour and move on. As soon as they saw all of the books, they all grabbed one and started reading! It was teacher’s dream and ended up spending an hour and a half there! Next, we had lunch at a business/shopping center. Fiona, James, and I talked about the importance of networking and it starts by just saying “hello” to someone. We did an example for them by talking to the waiters at the restaurant and the kids were hooked. After lunch, we let them venture around the area to network with jobs that seemed interested. Diane received a number for a potential job, Florence has a potential internship, and Isaac discussed the best education path to become a business manager. Seriously, these kids!! It was so encouraging to see the hunger these kids have for success. Honestly, I was scared that this whole day was going to be a bust but it was the opposite! Just adding to the list of why these kids are absolutely amazing. I tell ya, God is doing big things.

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Connecting, Cooking, & Swimming 💛

I’ve been staying up the road from the Sparrow’s Nest at a missionary guest house provided by Africa New Life, and it has been so encouraging to be surrounded by other missionaries. Before I walk down to the kids: I wake up, go to the balcony, spend time the word, work on the blog, then hear the stories from my fellow house mates. It’s such a sweet time to be revitalized and restored every morning. One group is about 6-8 of black women from the U.S. encouraging Rwandan women to be strong in their faith, successful, and loved. I love the heart behind their mission because unfortunately white skin is hard to disguise here and it often comes with a specific reputation. Another group is with Noonday Collection. Noonday is an organization that partners with Artisan Businesses around the world and sells their jewelry and accessories for them. It is a fair trade business that helps support and sustain jobs for the people who need it. On this trip, these four women traveled to Uganda and now Rwanda to visit, support, and love on the women making the jewelry. It is creating opportunities for the Artisans that would not be possible in their villages and towns. Stay tuned on this organization because it might have been a divine relationship to become an “ambassador”….tbd. :)

Yesterday was a big day. I made the kids an “American” lunch. Nakomatt (think African Walmart) was limited on their food selection so it was actually Italian. With Jane and Isaac’s help, we cooked bow tie pasta with marinara sauce and garlic toast. Open fire and all! The kids have been showing me how they cook, so it was fun to flip the roles. And, drum roll please, they loved it! Especially the garlic toast (what kids doesn’t?!). After lunch, we all went to the pool down the road. Only half of the kids had been to the pool so it was so fun to see their reaction to their first swimming experience. Truth be told, I was super nervous about having to life guard but they all did great!  Then we walked back, played games, saw TWO cockroaches & almost died, ate dinner, then went to bed!

Now I sit on the balcony waiting for my ride to church. Note to America, we need more dancing in church. We’ve got nothing on this church.

I leave you with the closing prayer that the kids say after every bible study (in Kinyarwanda of course):

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.” 2 Corinthians 13:14

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Zaninka

"Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. The Lord has made everything for its purpose..." Proverbs 16:3-4 

Doing life in Rwanda has been awesome. As each day passes, I find something new that I love about this place. These kids teach me so much each day. It's so true when they say, "You don't change the place, the place changes you." My favorite part about the kids is their faith. Every night we have bible study together. This includes worship, prayer, teaching, testimony/thanks, then closing in prayer and it is completely led by the kids (by kids I mean teenagers around 16-18 years old). They are so passionate about their faith and freely worship Jesus without holding back. It is so encouraging for me to see and to realize the importance that God has in every part of life. 

On Tuesday, Fiona (the new business manager) and I met for a working lunch. We went to this beautiful coffee house above the Kigali library. It was the type of place that let me dream, “If I lived here this would be one of my getaway spots” (God-willing of course). Fiona is 28 years old and just an incredible person. She is the new employee for Imana Kids that I am helping and training into her position (she is brilliant so ‘training’ is a loose term). We hit it off as soon as we met, so it is so wonderful to have a new friend. We began to life swap stories and she opened up that she is a genocide survivor. Chills covered my body as she told the story of watching her parents being killed as a child, then being saved by a family friend walking miles and miles to safety. The success and redemption of who she is now is such an incredible testament. I instantly started replaying what I had shared about my life and wanted to take back any complaining or “struggle” that I may have described. I am SO blessed to have her here with me during this time in Kigali. God knew what he was doing when he placed us together.

Wednesday (wen-nes-day as the kids say) was birthday! Apparently dumping a bucket of water on your head is a traditional in the house, so I started my 27th year soaking wet at midnight. 😊 It was a great day and loved spending birthday #2 here.

Yesterday, I spent the day at Hope Haven Rwanda (HHR). It’s the ministry that reached out to Go Be Love for a group of teachers to visit right before I did my leadership training. I knew God was orchestrating something through this, but I was nervous to leave the kids for another place. My control began to creep up and try to tell me that I can only focus on one mission in Rwanda. As I toured the facility, I realized that this is a completed different mission that Imana Kids. It is not something that would compete for my heart, but add to it. It was incredible to see the help that this school was providing for the rural community of Murindi (30 minutes outside of Kigali). When HHR started, the founders went to the community and asked what their need was. Their response: school, road, and water. So that’s what they did. Built an incredible school, paved the road, and in the process of providing water. It was amazing to see what God was doing in this place. Now to pray about leading a group of teachers there next summer. My thought is to go to HHR in June, then stay until the Imana Kids trip in July...we will have to pray and see what God’s thoughts are. 

As for the Sparrow’s Nest, here’s a quick update: 

English for dinner is going great! The kids love to give out push ups.

Walks are letting stories be told 🙌🏼 

English classes/tutoring starting next week (after exams are over & school break starts). We now have a "English Word of the Day" poster that I update each night! 

Attempting to make the kids dinner tonight. Wish me luck! 

Schedule is slowly being implemented and kids are starting to stay out of their dark rooms. 

Keep praying for the bugs to stop biting me. My arms are supporting the latest fashion: swollen, red dots 😊 

Zehnacker in Kinyarwanda is "Zaninka" (pronounced Za-ning-ha) so that's my name in the house. It means "bring the cows" for a dowry 🐮

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Akagera = R&R

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Finally got wifi to upload pictures! Enjoy 😊

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Schedules, Newly Weds, & Food

Yesterday was my first full day at Sparrows Nest without the group. These kids are so gracious and caring. I literally can't do anything. They wash my clothes, clean my room, feed me, and always include me in everything they are doing. It is taking every bone in my body to allow them to help so much, because I know it is their way of showing respect. They won't even eat at the same time I am eating, but that is one thing that I'm trying to switch. So far I've got them to eat dinner with me and I'll take it! The life these kids live is very, very slow. I think the kids thought I was crazy because I kept asking them what was their plan for the day. Rwanda is at a much slower pace than home, but even with that considered, these kids never had someone to plan out their days. So how would they know how to plan it out themselves? These kids have been through so much and a routine can really help some of the trauma-related issues. It's not that they don't want to do anything, it's just what they are used to and content with that. Little things like going for a walk or playing games gets them super excited! The planner in me is starting to come up with a "suggested" schedule for them: English tutoring, walk, arts & crafts, games. Very simple but prevents them from sitting around. I'll let you know how it goes. 😊 Tonight we went to see the newly weds home! It was so awesome to see them established and on their own. The best part of it was hearing Isaac, 16 year old, dreaming about what he wanted when he was married. Just a few short years ago, these kids future thoughts only went as far as their next meal or a place to sleep...now it's marriage and family?! God is working BIG miracles in these kids lives. Then back at the Sparrows Nest, we started "English for Dinner." Since dinner is the only meal that they will eat with me, they have to speak in English and if they accidentally speak in Kinyarwanda...10 push-ups! They tried to tell me that I need to be speaking Kinyarwanda since I already know English; that's going to be an ongoing conversation. Oh and Jane, my hostess with the mostest, informed me this morning that she will "not let me lose any weight while in Rwanda." So she feeds me massive amounts of food and watches me eat...breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I love the food, but I going to need to figure out a way to not feel this full. (Note to self: add more exercise and fitness to the schedule) Ps: Ask God to kill all of the bugs in Rwanda for the next 3 weeks.

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Rwanda Part 2

Reflecting on these past few days, I am brought to tears with all of the love that I have experienced. I was talking to some of the first timers in the group and told them how nothing will ever beat that first experience with the kids. Last year changed my life and I will forever cherish the things I experienced. But then I started thinking about this trip (second time). The reactions of the kids when they first saw that I had returned filled me with an indescribable joy. I realized that I was know longer a visitor but family. Last year God revealed a love for this place, but this time He revealed that this love is going to be for the rest of my life. The Imana Kids are not just orphans that need a sponsorship, they are real, loving, God-fearing people that need a supporting family. I know I’ve said it before, but sponsoring an Imana Kid is not just a check, it’s an invitation into your life and family. The promise that you will support a beautiful child and lead them into a prosperous future.

Our theme of the week was fruit of the spirit and we focused on faithfulness, self-control, and joy. Each day we provided skits, lessons, and activities to teach the kids about each fruit. My favorite day was Wednesday. We threw a huge, crazy birthday party for the kids. As orphans, many of them do not know their birthday, so their ages are approximated. This makes a birthday hard to celebrate. Although Imana Kids has started to change this, many birthdays have been lost in the past years so what better way than to throw a gigantic celebration for all of them! They also received their sponsor letters and gifts at this time so it was really special. Each one of these kids deserves to be celebrated so I was honored to be apart of it (even if it was nuts).

Yesterday, we got some R&R and went to Akagera National Park. It was so awesome to see all of the animals! Elephants, impalas, zebras, water buffaloes, giraffes, hippos, and more. It was amazing!! It was also a good time to hang out with the group and talk about the week.

Today I said my good byes to the group as they went to the airport. I’m officially by myself in Rwanda! It feels kind of liberating. I get to pretend that I live here for the next three weeks and it’s all so exciting! During this time I will be working alongside Fiona, the new business manager for Imana Kids. I’m super excited to just do life with her and help the Imana Kids in every way possible. I feel like I’m seeing a whole new Rwanda! 💛 After running errands with Fiona, I got back to the Sparrows Nest & it was so awesome to see the kids reactions that I was staying. I had told them all week but I’m not sure if they didn’t understand or believe me, so the surprise almost brought me to tears (again, I’m a crier with these kids).

So onto adventure number 2! #saratakesrwanda

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Indescribable

Sunday morning we set a record long church service at New Covenant Church. Although it was 4 hours, it was a time completely focused on the love of Jesus. The focus isn’t on a schedule or carefully planned service, it was lots of worship, dancing, people joining the choir whenever, and spontaneous testimonies. There is usually a basic outline of the service (worship, message, worship) but there is an element of openness that makes room for Jesus. It’s what I picture heaven to be like…just pure joy and excitement completely focused on God. I know I said it last time but it’s as if God is apart of their survival: food, water, & God. How amazing would life be if we lived every day like this? As if we wouldn’t survive the day without God. The sad thing is, we can’t. He is the creator of universe and yet we struggle with giving him a few minutes or hours of our day.

Then we headed to the Kigali Genocide Museum. Although it was my second time, it was just as impactful as the first. The healing and forgiveness that this country has done is unbelievable. Reading the history of it all is the most heartbreaking. Rwanda was a normal peaceful country until people colonized them and split them into “groups” according to the number of cows they owned, nothing to do with physical appearance or cultural background. But this separation evolved into a twisted thinking of who is better than who which lead to the genocide (1,000,000 people were killed in 100 days). Then to think that after hundreds of years of fighting, only 23 years after the genocide, Rwanda is now the 5th safest country in the world. This country is truly amazing.

Today, we started our lesson/activity days with the kids. We go from the preschool to primary to secondary kids. The kids are just so stinkin’ cute and the joy that they exude is contagious. A lot of the kids recognize me from last year, so it is so priceless to see their excitement to see a familiar face. God has done incredible things through this ministry and just to see the happiness of these kids is evidence.

The feeling that I get in this country is indescribable. Each one of the kids has forever markedly heart. I am so thankful that God has intertwined Rwanda into my life and SO blessed to be apart of it all.

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The Wedding

Where do I begin? Today was amazing. It was the first Imana Kid wedding and I felt so privileged to be able to experience it, all 12 hours of it. :) Rwandan weddings usually last a week but since we are only here for a limited time, they squeezed it into one day.

The day began at Sparrow’s Nest where the kids dressed the women in traditional Rwandan dresses. The dresses are so beautiful and it was pretty great to see a bunch of Muzungos (Rwanda nickname for white people) dressed like everyone else at the wedding festivities.  From there, we went to the dowry ceremony. This is where the elders of the groom ask the elders of the bride for her hand in marriage. They argue, discuss, and offer gifts (Fanta for everyone) until the brides family finally accepts. This took about 3 hours and finished with lunch. Then we drove to the actual wedding at the church. It included worship, a short message, and vows. Next, we drove to the place where the Rwanda president’s plane was shot down (the start of the genocide). Although this sounds odd, it was the old president’s house and was very beautiful and historical. Gosh if those walls could talk. Finally, we went to the reception! It was beautifully decorated with twinkle lights and flowers. There was a little more banter from the old guys (bride and groom families), speeches, presentation of gifts, and dancing…the BEST dancing. We got back to the hotel around 11:45pm. Yes, it was a long day but it was so interesting, detail-oriented, and fun.

Reflecting on the day, my favorite part was spending every hour with the kids. I have missed them so much, so it was great to finally catch up with all of the on all of the bus rides. These kids are just amazing. Queen, my sponsor child, just showed up at the dowry with another 6 year old, Fanny. As she stuck with me for the rest of the day, my heart strings started to pull.  Then at the end of the reception, she fell asleep on my lap and I knew what was bothering me. I finally started to grasp her situation. Although she is apart of the amazing Imana Kids family that provides a home, food, schooling, and love, she still doesn’t have the mother and father to keep an eye on her, love on her, or to carry her to bed when she falls asleep in their lap. Yes, I know that God has carefully planned out each person’s path and that the “American lifestyle” is not always the best life style, but it these thoughts really lit a fire in my heart. This fire finally understand the impact my sponsorship and trips to Rwanda. Even if there is no radical, ‘God strikes me with a lightning bolt’ purpose during this trip…I spent actual face-to-face time with Queen and the rest of the Imana Kids, loving them with God’s love. And that, ladies and gentlemen, will always be enough.

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Leaving for Rwanda, I was filled with a lot more anxious thoughts that expected. My mind swarmed with thoughts about my purpose, plan, and reason for going back. I knew all of these were lies it was hard to make it stop. I was trying to pray them out, and then God showed me Proverbs 143 (my Rwanda bookmark just “happened” to be in that spot in my Bible). What caught me eye was verse 8: “Make me know the way I should go.” Just what I needed. The verse is bluntly asking to just “make me” do what I’m supposed to do. Something that my controlling self needed to hear. It was perfect and a verse that will be circling in my mind throughout the trip. 

But logistically, we made it! The group survived the 3-day travel excursion and got everything squared away. We are staying in a condo-style hotel that is about 20 minutes away from the kids. After getting settled in, we went straight to Sparrow’s Nest to see the kids. I honestly don’t know how to put my feelings in words, but my heart is SO full being in that house. Seeing their beautiful faces made every anxious thought disappear into thin air. I am so incredibly thankful to be here. God has made me fall in love with Rwanda all over again.