Great Saturday!

Today was so exciting! Lisa and I finished up our time teaching at Remera Nursery and Primary school on Friday and had a jammed packed day today! This morning we led a women's Bible study for the ladies in Remera on the characteristics of God. Afterward we went to AOH to hang with the kids again and have lunch. We then went back to Remera to work with the ladies during their craft time. It was pretty hilarious watching two Mzungus (white girls) make beads for necklaces! We did our best! The women sell them to help support their ministry. We prayed and sang together and had a great time. Lisa and I are so amazed at how God has opened up so many different opportunities for ministry here in Rwanda. We cannot wait to see what he does in this last full week. We plan on volunteering with AOH next week some and will be traveling all over the country visiting churches. We are pumped! Thank you again for your prayers.

:) Melissa

Muraho!

Murah0! (hello)
Goodness we are LOVING being here! God has been opening up so many doors for us to help serve and love on his people here in Kigali! We have loved teaching in the school in Ramera this week and have loved being able to spend time with the children and teachers there! Today we were able to take Theophile (our translator) to lunch and it was so good to just sit with him and talk with him! Theophile oversees the school in Ramera does an amazing job! We have loved being able to spend time with him this week!
This Saturday we will be doing a womens bible study with the women at Esron's church and then in the afternoon will go back to Anchor of Hope and spend time with the kids there, we are excited and so thankful we are able to spend so much time with them as well!
Thank you all for your prayers and emails! We love hearing from you all and you each are a blessing to us! Knowing we are being covered in prayer means the world to us!

Blessings,
Lisa

Good Times in Rwanda...

Hey Friends! Lisa and I have beeen in Kigali for many days now and have been super busy! Saturday we went to the Africa Anchor of Hope (non-profit org our friend Sarah founded for street children www.africaanchor.org) office to hang out with some of the kids there. It was a BLAST! We ate lunch, played games, visited with old friends and were the overall entertainment for the day. The kids loved hanging with the mzungu's (white peeps!). Sunday we went to our friend Pastor Esrons's church and were able to fellowship at his home with his wife and children afterward. Esron is a dear friend and is the president of all the CEER churches (or Evangelical Free Churches) in Rwanda. Monday Lisa and I were able to go back to AOH and spend more time with the boys and girls there. We were able to share the gospel and teach a short lesson and just get to know them more---we LOVE being there! Today we stared teaching at the Ramera Evangelical Free Church Nursery School. We had the nursery 1 class made up of 50 lively three and four year olds. We taught Bible, sang songs, shared the gospel through the wordless book and played games outside. We were also able to visit with Theophile the headmaster to assess some of the greatest needs in the school. Lisa, Wayne and I are having difficulty sleeping at night--please pray for us to get our sleep patterns right! :)

Lisa and I will continuwe to teach this week. We go to Ramera to work with some of the women at church and then to AOH again. Next week we plan on traveling to some of the 16 new CEER church plants areound Rwanda to check out needs there.

Thank you for keeping up with us--we hope to post more soon!
:) Melissa

We have arrived!

Lisa and I are here in Kigali! We have had our first cold shower, first sleepless night complete with buzzing mosquitoes and first Fanta and pizza at Sole Luna. It is official! Our dear friends Pastor Esron and his wife Kezia' met us at the airport and delivered us safely to the Ligue (guest house that will be our home for the next few weeks.) Unfortunately while they were picking us up, someone broke into their outdoor kitchen and stole every one of their cooking pots. Wayne and Lisa and I were able to replace them while we were at the market. It's just one of many ways we are trusting God to provide opportunities to serve while we are here. This afternoon Lisa and I will meet with Esron to discuss what our very short time will look like. We are hoping to set up our ladies Bible studies, time in the nursery school and talk about doing some traveling to churches around the country. Thank you for keeping up the prayers!

Specific prayer requests:
Lisa and I will get our days and nights straight--we did not sleep a wink last night!
God will provide opportunities to serve, maximizing our time in Rwanda
Safe travel and continued health

Da ga kunda! (We love you!)
Lisa and Melissa

Almost there....

Hello sweet friends and family! Just wanted to let you know that your prayers have covered us and we are just hours away from Kigali! We are exhausted and dirty but so excited to arrive. Lisa and I are actually looking forward to that cold shower and lumpy mattress at our beloved Ligue (compound where we are staying). We hope to update more tomorrow! Keep praying!
We love you!

Melissa

Today's the day!!!!

As I am sitting on my bedroom floor surrounded by luggage and stuff that clearly needs to still be packed :) , I can't believe this day is finally here!!! I remember the day that Melissa and I decided we were going to go back to Rwanda this summer and it seems like just yesterday! So much planning and preparing have gone into this trip, but it's been so amazing to see how God has provided more than we could have ever imagined!! Which only reassures us that this is what God has called us to do. I can't wait to see all God has in store for us while we are in Africa!

Our flight leaves this afternoon at 4:30 and we would love your prayers for our safety as we travel to Rwanda! We will arrive in Rwanda Wednesday, July 1, I think at midnight, Rwanda is 8 hours ahead of central time.

We are hoping to be able to update this blog as much as we can! Thank you to all of you who have supported us and are praying for us! Your prayers and support mean the world to us and we are truly blessed to be able to do this!

Blessings,
Lisa

Psalm 96:2-4
Sing to the Lord, praise his name, proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all people. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise!

It's About That Time...

Mel here:

Wow! I cannot believe we leave in less than a month. Lisa and I are so excited to say the least. We both have seen God working through people (of all sizes;)to make this trip possible. Matthew you are an inspiration my little friend! Thank you for following your heart, we love you! Thank you to everyone who has given time, lifted up prayers, donated money, clothing, or who have just listened to what we long to see God do in Rwanda this summer. You are eternally blessing everyone we will come in contact with!

Earlier Lisa wrote about her Sunday School students learning the story of Jesus feeding the multitude in Luke 9. That same Sunday, I went to Church Project and heard Jason talk on the very same passage. Coincidence? I think not! :) He made a point that has been stuck in my brain recently. After a long day of teaching the disciples saw that the people were in need of food. They asked Jesus to send the crowd away to look for something to eat in the surrounding villages. Jesus replied in verse 13, "You give them something to eat." Simple.

Why are God's people suffering in the world today? Always a hard thing for me to grasp, especially when it comes to children...but the point was made that it's not because God doesn't care about them. He does care, far more than I understand. People are suffering today because God's people aren't doing anything about it. I am the hands and feet of Jesus on earth and Lisa and I both feel that you are too. Thank you for being obedient to the call of Christ to reach out to His people in Rwanda and right where you live.

Specific prayers:
1. safe travel
2. tying up loose ends at home (shots, pills, supplies, etc.)
3. God's specific purposes for the trip to be revealed
4. That God would go before us and prepare the way

Da gu kunda! (Love you!)

Mel