New Home

Below I have posted a couple of pics of the home we expect to sign a contract on this evening. Kristin is trying to get the same pictures up on Facebook but her pictures were larger. I shrunk them down to a smaller pixel size and posted them here. She should have her Facebook pics up soon with better descriptions. We are blessed to be able to find it. It is about 5 min from the Koonces and less than 10 from the Crowsons. If you notice some of the roads that lead from the Koonces to our house you will understand why I can say it is faster to walk than to drive. Probably safer.

This step has gone a long way in encouraging our children. They are all doing well and view this step as a good step towards making a stable life here in Rwanda. We are fortunate in that this house is actually new but is cheaper than the houses that our other team members live in. God has been so good to us.

We have rested and transitioned. Today Grace, Aaron and I walked to the nearest little store in the neighborhood to buy some soda and gum. We met a few people on the way and had a chance to use our small Rwandan vocabulary that consists of hello, how are you and I want to buy...(whatever english word you want to stick in). They like to hear us use their language but I honestly think at this point it's because they want to something to laugh at.

Our next step is getting a car and language. Please pray that we can get a reliable car from an honest dealer. It is not like the US. you cannot go down to the used car lot and pick one. You have a person who is a "finder" or "dealer" that looks around town and has contacts that let him know when they see a used car. From there it is the same. You can trust them to be honest as far as you can throw them (Same as some US dealers) but just like the US there are those who are known to be honest. We are working with a Rwandan that works for ATN. He is the one that found our house for us as well.

Formal language starts after Sept 1. The kids start school Sept 1 at the private school here in Kigali. This will allow us to take language every morning. We will also try to get the kids language lessons on weekends. Please pray for the kids transition into school and pray specifically for our brains to become wired for new language. God created our brains and we believe that even though we are older than most new missionaries he can make us open to language.

A new day dawning

And I mean that literally.  With the intense jet lag I have witnessed the sun coming up for the last two days.  Just waking up here is so different and surreal.  The rooster crowing outside the walls remind me my growing up but the sounds of at least 5 different exotic birds (of which I have yet to learn the names of) squawking back and forth make the most pleasant alarm clock ever.  

Overall our trip here was more than tolerable.  We made it to London without much trouble.  The layover in Chicago was short and so we didn't have much time to ponder our changing lives.  After a 7 hour flight (in which Grace never slept) we made it safely to London.  We were happy to get there early because we had reserved a hotel (named Yotel) in the airport.  However, no one in the terminal where we landed had heard of it.  After finally finding the reservation on my computer we discovered we needed to be in Terminal 4.  When we arrived at the terminal we were told we had to leave the secure area in order to get to the Yotel.  This meant going through customs and immigration.  Just as we were leaving Kristin realized that we had left our camera bag on the plane.  We decided that I would take the kids through customs and to Yotel alone while she went to look for the camera.  It took her over 2 hours.  Yes they speak english in England but they don't do "american".  The kids did all go to sleep which was a great blessing.  We thought our flight was at 9pm so we got up and showered and left the hotel at 6.  We decided to check in for our flight first since we had to back through security but when we arrived at the ticketing agent we discovered that our flight was at 740 pm.  We had to skip supper in order to make it on the plane.  If we had stopped for supper before checking in we would have missed our flight.

The flight to Nairobi, Kenya was a little over 8 hours and 3 of the kids slept most of the way.  However, Grace watched videos most of the way and did not sleep.  

When we arrived in Kenya our flight to Kigali, Rwanda was cancelled due to a strike by the flight attendants.  We were told to come back to the desk for re-ticketing at 730 am.  This is not an American airport.  There was only one line, one attendant and no one in a hurry.  (sounds like an American airport)  After we were given new tickets for a 1230 pm flight and were told to wait in the transit lounge until the gate was assigned and called.  We waited until 1pm before we started asking questions.  By the time we were called to the gate it was after 230 pm.  We were told every 30 min that our plane would be boarding in 30 minutes.  At 4 pm they announced that our flight would be combined with another flight to a different city.  We would stop in Kigali and let some passangers off and then the plane would continue on to another country.  By 5 pm we were still seated in the gate area.  We were finally asked to board the plane and when they announced the gate everyone ran towards the door at the far end of the terminal but just about the time we were able to wake our kids up and move our baggage they announced that the plane would board from a door at the end we were on.  We found ourselves at the front of the line.  Amazing.  Even better than that, we had three men take pity on us and ask to carry our bags.  By this time the kids were so wiped out we could not get them awake enough to carry their bags.  We had one carry on per kid and four back packs/computer bags and we needed each kid awake to carry a bag or we could not move.  These men were awesome.  One of them was a man who was coming to Rwanda for the church planting workshop and was a church member in Togo that had been started by the Koonces.  God is awesome.

When you fly into Africa you have to deboard on the tarmac without a "jetway".  You have to carry your bags down the steps from the jumbo jet and then back up the steps into the airport.  So getting back on we had to go down the steps from the gate, to a bus, drive to the plane, walk across the tarmac and then up the steps to the plane.  When we got on board the attendant announced that it was open seating since two flights were combined.  She said that she expected every in coach to sit in coach and not to go into business class seats.  Ha!  It was a mad house.  people running all over that plane to get good seats.  We sat on board for almost 2 hours because their head count did not match the number of boarding passes give out during the day.

We finally arrived to a warm welcome in Kigali.  After getting our 12 trunks and 6 bags loaded we headed for the Koonces.  

The day we arrived Aaron came down with a fever and over the next day became worse with sore throat.  He has strep throat and already had to go on antibiotics. 

We have been here 2 and a half days now and the kids just love it.  Madelyn (who cried a lot before we left) said it was not what she expected and she feeling better.  They have had such a great time with the Koonce and Crowson boys.  

Today is our first Sunday and we are looking forward to church with many of the other American missionaries at NTCC (New Testament Church of Christ).

Thanks and Goodbyes

The count down is almost complete. The days and hours are ticking away. We will leave for Rwanda on August 12 at roughly 4pm. To say we are excited would be an understatement. To say we are not afraid would be a lie. To say that we trust in God would be true!

We would not be in this place today if not for the great will and workings of God. We began our journey 18 months ago and I can say our fear today does not come close to matching that of December 2007 when we fully gave ourselves over to God's calling. In the last 18 months he has brought peace and willingness to our spirits and we are anxious to see what amazing things he will do with us from this day forward.

We were singing in the car yesterday with Samuel. He loves to sing and is such an auditory learner that he memorizes songs after just one or two rounds. Anyway, we were singing "Hymns of the Month" from chapel at Grace. Singing the old songs made me remember "Count Your Blessings". After finishing the song we took the opportunity to think of all the wonderful people and blessings God has put in our lives over the last chapter in our lives that we feel brought us to this day.

I cannot start this expression of gratitude without naming one person first and foremost.

Sylvia!

She probably kicks herself just at the mention of the fact that if it were not for her generosity we would not be leaving for Rwanda. I know this is bittersweet for her but I also know she seeks and serves the Lord and would not have us do anything other than what we feel God has called us to do. In addition to all her generosity in regard to our fundraising, she actually went out and helped us raise funds from our peers at work. After all that, she allowed us to use her Bullard farm house for almost 3 months. Thank you so much Sylvia, we love you.

I want to thank the mission's committee and elders at Glenwood who have shown their faith in God by showing exceptional faith in us. The support they have pledged has been a great a leap as our own decision to go! Praise God for each of them. I also lift up the congregation at Glenwood for their support and love. We have felt so thankful for their heartfelt concern for our family.

We have had many people at church, work and other organizations who have offered us the use of cars, washing machines, dryers, internet access, and so much more. We could not have made it through the summer without these wonderful people. When our van broke down in Houston we didn't have to go a single day without or spend even a penny on a replacement vehicle. My partners at work provided a long term car when the van broke down and then a short term car when I had to give up my truck last weekend. We love each of you so much.

We want to thank all of the individual donors and churches who have committed both short startup funds and long term support even when times have been tough. The congregations at Rt. 230, Lakeside, New Hope, Park Plaza, and East Grand have shown such great faith in their offerings. I cannot even begin to name all of the individual donors across the US that are giving faithfully to see God succeed in Rwanda.

I want to thank Murphy Crowson, my wonderful teammate who has been with me (via internet) the whole way. He has provided us with so much information about how to get things done and who to contact for help. I know that his leading will make our transition into Africa so much smoother and I know I could not have done it without his help.

I give thanks for the Koonces. I know that Marty's two trips back to the US this past year were not for good reasons but each time he came he was able to visit with us and encourage us. He came to us during hard times in our lives and was able to just fill us up with joy and remind us of the reason we committed to this work.

Our journey to Rwanda began with a burden to become debt free. I firmly believe that we were brought to Trinity Clinic just for this reason. I am so grateful for Greg Stovall and the other leaders, my partners and my patients for their faith in me. It takes a great amount of faith and risk to hire a new doctor and to go to a new young doctor (who looked 15 when he started) and I am thankful for all of my patients who have stuck with me and encouraged me in this journey. The Lord has blessed us at TC and because of this our loans were paid off early and he has made his perfect time for his perfect will known once again.

I finally want to give praise to God for making Kristin and I part of the "Gathering" ministry at Karing Kitchen in downtown Tyler. I would never have guessed when we started this work that we would be leaving it for Africa. It was hard to go every Sunday when our kids were so small. I was just tired of mopping red drink off the floor every week. However I also would not have guessed how much it was preparing us for a cross-cultural ministry. God knew 3 years ago that we would be going to Rwanda and I have no doubt that these wonderful people were an integral part of our training. I have to give honor to Carl Wells who attended faithfully from the beginning despite his own ailing health. He has become a great person in Samuel's life and we will miss him greatly. I pray God's comfort on him these last days.

Finally, again, I must give thanks to God. Without his faithfulness and blessings this day would not have come. We cannot know what he has in store for us in Rwanda but as I have told so many of my patients, "I just know God is going to do something great, I just pray I will be there to see it".