2 posts in two days?? Crazy...
This is an update I wrote for our YWAM website, so thought i'd post it here too...
Greetings from Burundi!
We are a team of five people currently situated in Bujumbura, Burundi on the DTS outreach. We've had a busy time so far of being involved with a lot of different ministries including working ina hospital, an orphanage, running reconciliation seminars and courses and also playing football with streetkids! Things have been busy for us, but good.
As a team we have been so aware of God's hand of protection on us as we travel through the centre of Africa. We have been blessed by health (for the most part) incredible ministries to be involved in and some incredible contacts (now friends) who have welcomed us more warmly than we could have imagined or expected.
Rwanda and Burundi are beautiful countries that are blessed with natural resources and sunny climes, but that have also seen a history of conflict, hatred and division that has scarred the land and the people here over the last half century. As a team, our prayer is that we will be a group that brings Christ and his healing forgiveness and gift of reconciliation to these places. We know that there is nothing within US that can do this, rather, we are simply here trying to be willing vessels of his power, authority and grace to the people living here. We are blessed and privileged to be used in this way, and it is a gift to be here and see God choosing to work through and use us.
With four weeks left, we are heading to the middle of Burundi today to work with Youth for Christ at an orphanage they run. Our team was there last year and had an incredible time of ministry and getting to know the children and workers there. Please pray for us as we continue on our journey and seek God for us and for those we are meeting!
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Long time
It's been a while...
I think i might have blogged myself out in Rwanda! But, here i am again, three weeks on and i think it's about time to do another quick update.
We've had a great time here in Bujumbura, Burundi so far. It's been great catching up with people from last year and spending time at new ministries. The places that we've been working have been a bit hit and miss over the last few weeks, there's been a few places that we were expecting them to be very organised and have a lot for us to do, and when we arrived, they just didnt really have anything for us to do, so we had to try and find our own things. But, when it's been good, it's been amazing.
Last week we were working at this centre called Mont Sion, which is a Catholic outreach centre in the north of the city. We just got this incredible welcome from them, we're shown amazing hospitality, and kept busy and working for the whole time we were there. In the mornings we were working at this building site for a home they are building for boys who are living on the street. We were excavating land for a garden and when we got tired of wheelbarrowing (ingolofanoing: for those who have been following this blog...) we were sanding and varnishing wooden furniture.
Then in the afternoons we were running reconciliaiton and forgiveness seminars for young people in the area. These were well attended, and we had a great week of sharing our stories and hearing some of theirs. We also found ourselves featuring on Burundian TV because of this.... We never saw it ourselves but have met a few people who saw us on there!
Then on the sunday we shared at the mass of 5000 people, big experience, we shared stories and a song. We were just really thankful for the welcome we got and the obvious organisation that went into the week.
So, tomorrow we're heading to the middle of the country to a place called Gitega to work at an orphanage run by Youth for Christ. We were there last year, and i think i put a video up of our time there last year, so if you're interested you can skip back a few months through this blog for where i'll be and what i'll be doing... If i remember correctly there is a lot of playing and a lot of dancing... Good at the first one, not so sure about the second one...
Some highlights from our time in Bujumbura:
- Last night we ran a fellowship evening in Alison's house. I was leading worship, and at the end of one song, a Burundian lady called Nadine spontaneously took over and led us in the same song, but acapella and Africa style...incredible moment.
- Cake at Alison's house...
- Seeing hippos in the river outside the animal park, then paying 5000 francs to get into the animal park and seeing no animals...
- No mosquito bites!
I think i might have blogged myself out in Rwanda! But, here i am again, three weeks on and i think it's about time to do another quick update.
We've had a great time here in Bujumbura, Burundi so far. It's been great catching up with people from last year and spending time at new ministries. The places that we've been working have been a bit hit and miss over the last few weeks, there's been a few places that we were expecting them to be very organised and have a lot for us to do, and when we arrived, they just didnt really have anything for us to do, so we had to try and find our own things. But, when it's been good, it's been amazing.
Last week we were working at this centre called Mont Sion, which is a Catholic outreach centre in the north of the city. We just got this incredible welcome from them, we're shown amazing hospitality, and kept busy and working for the whole time we were there. In the mornings we were working at this building site for a home they are building for boys who are living on the street. We were excavating land for a garden and when we got tired of wheelbarrowing (ingolofanoing: for those who have been following this blog...) we were sanding and varnishing wooden furniture.
Then in the afternoons we were running reconciliaiton and forgiveness seminars for young people in the area. These were well attended, and we had a great week of sharing our stories and hearing some of theirs. We also found ourselves featuring on Burundian TV because of this.... We never saw it ourselves but have met a few people who saw us on there!
Then on the sunday we shared at the mass of 5000 people, big experience, we shared stories and a song. We were just really thankful for the welcome we got and the obvious organisation that went into the week.
So, tomorrow we're heading to the middle of the country to a place called Gitega to work at an orphanage run by Youth for Christ. We were there last year, and i think i put a video up of our time there last year, so if you're interested you can skip back a few months through this blog for where i'll be and what i'll be doing... If i remember correctly there is a lot of playing and a lot of dancing... Good at the first one, not so sure about the second one...
Some highlights from our time in Bujumbura:
- Last night we ran a fellowship evening in Alison's house. I was leading worship, and at the end of one song, a Burundian lady called Nadine spontaneously took over and led us in the same song, but acapella and Africa style...incredible moment.
- Cake at Alison's house...
- Seeing hippos in the river outside the animal park, then paying 5000 francs to get into the animal park and seeing no animals...
- No mosquito bites!
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Moving on..
So, three weeks down, seven to go! Tomorrow sees us packing up our bags, saying our farewells and hoping our taxi driver arrives at 5:40am to take us to the bus station.. if all of the above go as planned (mostly the taxi driver...) we will be leaving Kigali, Rwanda and moving on to Bujumbura, Burundi.
It's been a fantastic time here in Kigali, the team has been great, and we've met some incredible people and worked with some great ministries, but it does feel like time to move on to Burundi. I'm excited to see the people we worked with last year again, as well as work with a few new people, and to work with Alison and Meg again (two of the students from last years team who are working in Bujumbura now).
I'm trying to think of something in the last week that I should talk about here... We've been up to a lot, but probably the biggest thing was our adventure in Bukora last week. Certainly it was remote, and when the crooked taxi driver wouldn't come and get us when it was time to leave because he claimed we weren't giving him enough money (which we were... we were offering double what we should have paid in fact!) we had to walk for two hours through farmland (bags and all!) to get to the main road to catch a bus back to Kigali (this was also the start of one of the craziest journeys of my life.... but that's a story for another day... and now can you see why I'm worried about the taxi tomorrow morning?!)
While in Bukora we went to a health clinic, talked, prayed and spent time with some of the patients, and also went to a refugee camp. This was a difficult experience, to see the way these people are being forced to live. As we were meeting the people, seeing their homes and playing with the kids, I was so struck by the injustice of it all. The fact that these people's live are being forced on hold while they wait for the government to someday get around to building a house (the houses cost less than $1000 to buy land and build a house on) and while these people wait, they are forced to live in these “houses” which are literally nothing more than some sticks, a tarpaulin and some walls they've made out of cow dung. The injustice of the whole situation struck me hard, and I realised that this is not the kingdom of God at work. Not at all. This was my prayer as we walked around and spent time there, to realise that these are people with real lives that are just waiting for these lives to start again.
One thing I also learnt this week is that whenever I talked about Bukora to people, I said I was going to the “middle of nowhere”. After we got back, I was reading a book (Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell... not so great, but a fantastic last page!) and there was a line that struck me that said “Every nowhere is a somewhere for someone”. I realised the truth of this and was challenged by it. Bukora is a place where people live out their lives, where they are born, grow up, plant crops, marry, raise a family and die... What right do I have to call this place where these people “do life” NOWHERE? Would I like it for people to say that about where I live? I'm not so sure...
So, in conclusion, our time in Bukora was great. It was a challenge indeed... Especially our night time visitors the rats on the second evening... But we survived and live to meet another day!
Roll on Burundi...
A few short highlights from the last week:
-Kigali reunions... 5 out of the 8 members of last years team were reunited in Kigali! Along with this years team, we went to see a world cup qualifying match between Rwanda and Algeria...not the greatest football, but good atmosphere and craic made for a great afternoon!
-We were so close to the Tanzanian border in Bukora that we talked the guards into letting us run across the bridge and into Tanzania... there was a pretty incredible waterfall on the bridge too! Good pictures to follow...
-Last night we spent dinner at a restaurant to celebrate the first three weeks of outreach, and also to say farewell to Amalia who's heading back to Canada for her sister's wedding!
-Yesterday it was hatching day for the ants...the flying ants.... THOUSANDS upon thousands of flying ants were emerging from hills all over the base... the birds were having a field day!
-Lowlight: The final death of my mp3 player... Now I no longer even have “Oh Holy Night” to lull me to sleep at night...
It's been a fantastic time here in Kigali, the team has been great, and we've met some incredible people and worked with some great ministries, but it does feel like time to move on to Burundi. I'm excited to see the people we worked with last year again, as well as work with a few new people, and to work with Alison and Meg again (two of the students from last years team who are working in Bujumbura now).
I'm trying to think of something in the last week that I should talk about here... We've been up to a lot, but probably the biggest thing was our adventure in Bukora last week. Certainly it was remote, and when the crooked taxi driver wouldn't come and get us when it was time to leave because he claimed we weren't giving him enough money (which we were... we were offering double what we should have paid in fact!) we had to walk for two hours through farmland (bags and all!) to get to the main road to catch a bus back to Kigali (this was also the start of one of the craziest journeys of my life.... but that's a story for another day... and now can you see why I'm worried about the taxi tomorrow morning?!)
While in Bukora we went to a health clinic, talked, prayed and spent time with some of the patients, and also went to a refugee camp. This was a difficult experience, to see the way these people are being forced to live. As we were meeting the people, seeing their homes and playing with the kids, I was so struck by the injustice of it all. The fact that these people's live are being forced on hold while they wait for the government to someday get around to building a house (the houses cost less than $1000 to buy land and build a house on) and while these people wait, they are forced to live in these “houses” which are literally nothing more than some sticks, a tarpaulin and some walls they've made out of cow dung. The injustice of the whole situation struck me hard, and I realised that this is not the kingdom of God at work. Not at all. This was my prayer as we walked around and spent time there, to realise that these are people with real lives that are just waiting for these lives to start again.
One thing I also learnt this week is that whenever I talked about Bukora to people, I said I was going to the “middle of nowhere”. After we got back, I was reading a book (Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell... not so great, but a fantastic last page!) and there was a line that struck me that said “Every nowhere is a somewhere for someone”. I realised the truth of this and was challenged by it. Bukora is a place where people live out their lives, where they are born, grow up, plant crops, marry, raise a family and die... What right do I have to call this place where these people “do life” NOWHERE? Would I like it for people to say that about where I live? I'm not so sure...
So, in conclusion, our time in Bukora was great. It was a challenge indeed... Especially our night time visitors the rats on the second evening... But we survived and live to meet another day!
Roll on Burundi...
A few short highlights from the last week:
-Kigali reunions... 5 out of the 8 members of last years team were reunited in Kigali! Along with this years team, we went to see a world cup qualifying match between Rwanda and Algeria...not the greatest football, but good atmosphere and craic made for a great afternoon!
-We were so close to the Tanzanian border in Bukora that we talked the guards into letting us run across the bridge and into Tanzania... there was a pretty incredible waterfall on the bridge too! Good pictures to follow...
-Last night we spent dinner at a restaurant to celebrate the first three weeks of outreach, and also to say farewell to Amalia who's heading back to Canada for her sister's wedding!
-Yesterday it was hatching day for the ants...the flying ants.... THOUSANDS upon thousands of flying ants were emerging from hills all over the base... the birds were having a field day!
-Lowlight: The final death of my mp3 player... Now I no longer even have “Oh Holy Night” to lull me to sleep at night...
Monday, 23 March 2009
Coincidences..... or something else.
Forgot to mention this moment that happened earlier today!
So, i'm standing in the Burundian embassy here in Kigali, our Burundian visas are hopefully on their way, but we need to extend them when we get to Bujumbura (the capital city of Burundi) in the immigration department. There were a few questions that I needed to ask the woman in charge of the requests, and they were pretty big questions, but with my pigeon French and her not-so-great English, we were struggling to communicate.
In walks an English family, and the woman sees me struggling and offers to be the translator for us, so we get to the bottom of the questions, and then I start chatting to this family. It turns out that they are visiting Burundi at the same time as us, and not only that, they are staying with the family of the man who frequently hosts us for different events and ministries (those who follow this blog more closely may remember Simon Guillebaud from last year...) They are staying just a few minutes walk up the road from where we're staying there, and we'll probably get a chance to see them while we're there.
Moments like that are those that make me smile.
So, i'm standing in the Burundian embassy here in Kigali, our Burundian visas are hopefully on their way, but we need to extend them when we get to Bujumbura (the capital city of Burundi) in the immigration department. There were a few questions that I needed to ask the woman in charge of the requests, and they were pretty big questions, but with my pigeon French and her not-so-great English, we were struggling to communicate.
In walks an English family, and the woman sees me struggling and offers to be the translator for us, so we get to the bottom of the questions, and then I start chatting to this family. It turns out that they are visiting Burundi at the same time as us, and not only that, they are staying with the family of the man who frequently hosts us for different events and ministries (those who follow this blog more closely may remember Simon Guillebaud from last year...) They are staying just a few minutes walk up the road from where we're staying there, and we'll probably get a chance to see them while we're there.
Moments like that are those that make me smile.
YWAM Kigali
We've been working with some fantastic ministries here in Kigali over
the last few weeks, and now I've had a chance to see around them a bit,
I thought it time to share a bit about them.
The StreetKids:
Serieux is on staff here in YWAM Kigali, and he's been working with the
same group of boys over the last 8 years. These are kids who were maybe
orphaned by the genocide or just have no where to live, and have been
living on the streets. Part of the ministry that we've been working on
is the football, where they come together for 2 times a week for some
intense training (seriously..they are fit...and good) and then have a
little programme after with a talk and some prayer. You can really see
how much these boys respect Serieux and just how much he is dedicated to
them, incredible to see. Once they've been with the programme for a
while they have a chance to attend the Vocational Training School that
YWAM runs on the base, and train in carpentry, tailoring or a few
other trades. It's a great set up, and really making a difference in
these guys lives.
Aprecom:
This is a supportive ministry for those with or affected by HIV and
AIDS. The other day, I got on the back of a motorbike and travelled half
an hour into the countryside to visit one of these groups with a guy
called Amisse. We arrived there to find a group of around ten older
women meeting to support one another and to pray. One lady Veronique
wasn't there, so we went to see where she was. When we got to her house,
we found she had broken her leg. She was just sitting outside her tiny
house on the front garden. We prayed with her, and Amisse gave her a
small sum of money that was all she needed for some medicine, but she
didn't have it.
Harvesters:
Another Serieux initiative. Every Saturday afternoon, about 50 people
in their late teens and early 20's arrive at the YWAM base. They have
an hour of teaching and worship, and then split up into differnt groups,
modern dance, traditional dance, singing... and those are just the 3 I
saw. They practice, and then perform at different venues. It's a great
place for these guys to fellowship with other Christians, as well as
learn a new skill. One of the Harvesters now dances on the Rwanda
national team.
I feel like we've only touched the tip of the iceberg. YWAM here also
runs a pre-school, a primary school, has started a church, numerous
youth and kids programmes, HIV/AIDS ministries, widows ministries and
child sponsorship programmes.
This whole base seems committed to making a real tangible differnce to
the area around here. It is a base full of passionate, committed people
who are willing to go the extra mile to help the people around them.
I've really been struck by how special this group of people is. How
much of a privilege it is to be working alongside them for these few
weeks. We are a blessed team to be here.
Tomorrow, we're headed down to the Tanzanian border with Rwanda to a
place called Bukora where the YWAM ministry here wants to plant another
base. We are the first Western team to be allowed to go down to this project,
so it's a big privilege and a big challenge all at the same time! They have a
house there, but there is no running water or electricity... so it's going to be
a bit of an adventure, but as you've seen from this post,we have some good
hosts so we're in good hands!
the last few weeks, and now I've had a chance to see around them a bit,
I thought it time to share a bit about them.
The StreetKids:
Serieux is on staff here in YWAM Kigali, and he's been working with the
same group of boys over the last 8 years. These are kids who were maybe
orphaned by the genocide or just have no where to live, and have been
living on the streets. Part of the ministry that we've been working on
is the football, where they come together for 2 times a week for some
intense training (seriously..they are fit...and good) and then have a
little programme after with a talk and some prayer. You can really see
how much these boys respect Serieux and just how much he is dedicated to
them, incredible to see. Once they've been with the programme for a
while they have a chance to attend the Vocational Training School that
YWAM runs on the base, and train in carpentry, tailoring or a few
other trades. It's a great set up, and really making a difference in
these guys lives.
Aprecom:
This is a supportive ministry for those with or affected by HIV and
AIDS. The other day, I got on the back of a motorbike and travelled half
an hour into the countryside to visit one of these groups with a guy
called Amisse. We arrived there to find a group of around ten older
women meeting to support one another and to pray. One lady Veronique
wasn't there, so we went to see where she was. When we got to her house,
we found she had broken her leg. She was just sitting outside her tiny
house on the front garden. We prayed with her, and Amisse gave her a
small sum of money that was all she needed for some medicine, but she
didn't have it.
Harvesters:
Another Serieux initiative. Every Saturday afternoon, about 50 people
in their late teens and early 20's arrive at the YWAM base. They have
an hour of teaching and worship, and then split up into differnt groups,
modern dance, traditional dance, singing... and those are just the 3 I
saw. They practice, and then perform at different venues. It's a great
place for these guys to fellowship with other Christians, as well as
learn a new skill. One of the Harvesters now dances on the Rwanda
national team.
I feel like we've only touched the tip of the iceberg. YWAM here also
runs a pre-school, a primary school, has started a church, numerous
youth and kids programmes, HIV/AIDS ministries, widows ministries and
child sponsorship programmes.
This whole base seems committed to making a real tangible differnce to
the area around here. It is a base full of passionate, committed people
who are willing to go the extra mile to help the people around them.
I've really been struck by how special this group of people is. How
much of a privilege it is to be working alongside them for these few
weeks. We are a blessed team to be here.
Tomorrow, we're headed down to the Tanzanian border with Rwanda to a
place called Bukora where the YWAM ministry here wants to plant another
base. We are the first Western team to be allowed to go down to this project,
so it's a big privilege and a big challenge all at the same time! They have a
house there, but there is no running water or electricity... so it's going to be
a bit of an adventure, but as you've seen from this post,we have some good
hosts so we're in good hands!
Saturday, 21 March 2009
Lists
Things I love about being here:
- The people, friendly, hospitable and incredibly generous...smiles a-plenty.
- Every now and then as you walk around here, a shadow will pass over you, and you'll look up, and there'll be an eagle passing a few metres overhead. Incredible.
- The singing in church, a dining hall, the street....people bust it out anywhere...
- Rwandan television playing in the background here... There's a goverment announcement happening, and in the background, they are playing "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles.
Things I'm not loving about being here:
- My cheap MP3 player.. I bought it just before I came, and rue the day... I started out with 405 songs, but it's faulty, and so every time I turn it on, it deletes a few more... I'm currently down to 23 songs... 7 of which are Christmas songs which I'm still wondering why they were there in the first place.
- Equator sunshine. I am a lobster today. (Though, probably 5% sunshine's fault, 95% own fault through forgetting of suncream in morning routine..)
Not much more to say... Short and sweet today.
- The people, friendly, hospitable and incredibly generous...smiles a-plenty.
- Every now and then as you walk around here, a shadow will pass over you, and you'll look up, and there'll be an eagle passing a few metres overhead. Incredible.
- The singing in church, a dining hall, the street....people bust it out anywhere...
- Rwandan television playing in the background here... There's a goverment announcement happening, and in the background, they are playing "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles.
Things I'm not loving about being here:
- My cheap MP3 player.. I bought it just before I came, and rue the day... I started out with 405 songs, but it's faulty, and so every time I turn it on, it deletes a few more... I'm currently down to 23 songs... 7 of which are Christmas songs which I'm still wondering why they were there in the first place.
- Equator sunshine. I am a lobster today. (Though, probably 5% sunshine's fault, 95% own fault through forgetting of suncream in morning routine..)
Not much more to say... Short and sweet today.
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Ingolofane, Ukuguru, Etara
We've had a pretty busy week! Straight into the life of YWAM Rwanda here... And I can hardly believe we've already been here a week. In some ways the time has flown, but in others it feels like we've been here a long time, leaving the other half of the DTS in Belfast seems like an age ago!
It's been good being here though, lovely to see people I knew from last year, and catching up, as well as seeing more of Kigali and learning more of the history.
It has been hot though... For one used to the Belfast climate suddenly transplanting myself into an almost equatorial situation has been a bit of a shock to the system. I've felt a bit sapped for energy these past few days, and it's probably a mix of the heat, too much sleep (!) (there's not much else to do at nights...) and a drastic change in diet! So, that'd be great if you could keep the team and I in prayer as we continue to adjust.
Also, i've found the language barrier hard this year. I was so frustrated yesterday when I was standing outside a shop, and a 3 year old came up to me, and I had no idea what he was saying... It just seemed to emphasize the barrier, so I was praying for ways to overcome this communication block.
This week, we have worked a few times with a group of guys who used to be streetkids.. a lot of them in fact still are, but being over 18 it's hard to call them "kids"! YWAM runs a ministry and has done for the last 8 years or so, where they work with this group of guys, playing football with them, and then also trying to help them get into training courses, and different ways of helping them find their feet. When we first heard about the football, I imagined it would be fun... as many of you know, I'm not the biggest footballer, but I figured I could keep up with some kids... I neglected to recollect that these guys have been training for 8 years...and are coached by an ex-Rwandese national player... Needless to say, I have spent a lot of time on the sidelines...
Today there were lots of younger kids hanging around though, but after exhausting my 4 Kinya-Rwanda (the local language here) phrases, I found myself sitting looking at them blankly, not sure where to go from there. All I found in my pockets for my disposal were a pen and a passion fruit.
I pulled the pen out of my pocket, and started drawing a picture of a house on my hand that was in the distance. Some kids started looking, grabbing the pen and drawing on their own hands. So commenced an hour of us laughing, drawing on eachothers hands and learning eachothers languages. It was only after we finished that I realised this really had been an answer to prayer, and that even though we couldn't properly interact, we could still have some fun and share. Here's some of the words I learnt:
Dog: Imoga
Cat: Epussy
Steetlight: Etara
Motorbike: Egaru
Umbrella: Umutaka
Bus: Imodoca
Leg: Ukuguru
Wheelbarrow: Ingolofane
As we got on the crowded bus that takes us home, I saw the man in front of me stealing a glance at my pen covered hands and forearms (pictures to follow..). Looking at him, I smiled and said "Ingolofane!" and then turned away. I like imagining him telling his family at home tonight about the crazy Muzungu (white man) and his wheelbarrow on the bus...
It's been good being here though, lovely to see people I knew from last year, and catching up, as well as seeing more of Kigali and learning more of the history.
It has been hot though... For one used to the Belfast climate suddenly transplanting myself into an almost equatorial situation has been a bit of a shock to the system. I've felt a bit sapped for energy these past few days, and it's probably a mix of the heat, too much sleep (!) (there's not much else to do at nights...) and a drastic change in diet! So, that'd be great if you could keep the team and I in prayer as we continue to adjust.
Also, i've found the language barrier hard this year. I was so frustrated yesterday when I was standing outside a shop, and a 3 year old came up to me, and I had no idea what he was saying... It just seemed to emphasize the barrier, so I was praying for ways to overcome this communication block.
This week, we have worked a few times with a group of guys who used to be streetkids.. a lot of them in fact still are, but being over 18 it's hard to call them "kids"! YWAM runs a ministry and has done for the last 8 years or so, where they work with this group of guys, playing football with them, and then also trying to help them get into training courses, and different ways of helping them find their feet. When we first heard about the football, I imagined it would be fun... as many of you know, I'm not the biggest footballer, but I figured I could keep up with some kids... I neglected to recollect that these guys have been training for 8 years...and are coached by an ex-Rwandese national player... Needless to say, I have spent a lot of time on the sidelines...
Today there were lots of younger kids hanging around though, but after exhausting my 4 Kinya-Rwanda (the local language here) phrases, I found myself sitting looking at them blankly, not sure where to go from there. All I found in my pockets for my disposal were a pen and a passion fruit.
I pulled the pen out of my pocket, and started drawing a picture of a house on my hand that was in the distance. Some kids started looking, grabbing the pen and drawing on their own hands. So commenced an hour of us laughing, drawing on eachothers hands and learning eachothers languages. It was only after we finished that I realised this really had been an answer to prayer, and that even though we couldn't properly interact, we could still have some fun and share. Here's some of the words I learnt:
Dog: Imoga
Cat: Epussy
Steetlight: Etara
Motorbike: Egaru
Umbrella: Umutaka
Bus: Imodoca
Leg: Ukuguru
Wheelbarrow: Ingolofane
As we got on the crowded bus that takes us home, I saw the man in front of me stealing a glance at my pen covered hands and forearms (pictures to follow..). Looking at him, I smiled and said "Ingolofane!" and then turned away. I like imagining him telling his family at home tonight about the crazy Muzungu (white man) and his wheelbarrow on the bus...
Saturday, 14 March 2009
And so it begins...
Well, we made it safe and sound to Kigali town, and I have
to say that it is great to be back! Life definitely moves
at a different pace here, though, not a pace that I'm
necessarily opposed to...
We arrived here on Thursday lunchtime after a few too many
plane flights, and were immediately met with the heat of
an African day.
Since then, we're just been getting settled in the culture
and the base that we're staying in. Yesterday we went into
the city centre, introducing the students to the crush of
a Rwandan bus/taxi ride. It's amazing how a bench seat
meant for 3 people can suddenly fit 5!
There's been a few good moments, that have made me remember
Africa works pretty differently from back home.
Yesterday when we went to the city centre, we weren't sure
where the foreign exchange was, so I asked a police man
on the side of the street where we could find it. He beckoned
me to follow him, but little did I know he and his co-worker
had just arrested a man obviously for stealing handbags...
so off we all went for the 5 minute walk up the road,
the 6 of us, 2 police men, and one disgruntled thief in
handcuffs and about 5 handbags slung over his shoulder.
Then, last night after a great meal out with Rowan, one of
the students who I was out here with last year from Belfast,
we were out too late for the buses to take us back to the
YWAM base, so we took a motorbike taxi home. Normally, these
are grand, but as I got on this one particular evening, I
realised that his lights were less than reliable, and his
speedometer was less than working... At one point in time,
I found myself accelerating into the darkness on a back
road in Kigali, thinking "this is interesting..."
So, what do the next few weeks hold for us? We're going to
be here in Kigali for 3 weeks, before moving on to Burundi
for 6, so for the next 3 weeks, we're going to be involved
in a few different ministries on the YWAM base here. We'll
be helping out with some practical stuff on the base itself,
some painting and clean ups, and also working with a street
kids ministry, widows group, and leading devotions in some
schools. So, it's looking like it will be a busy few weeks,
but that's what we're here for!
The team in India also got there safely and are settling in
well!
Until next time...
tom
Sidenote:
Dear Mum,
The second story above (the motorbike one) was a lot less
dangerous than it sounded. After all, you know I tend to
exaggerate for drama's sake... I learnt that from you.
Love,
Your safety conscious son.
to say that it is great to be back! Life definitely moves
at a different pace here, though, not a pace that I'm
necessarily opposed to...
We arrived here on Thursday lunchtime after a few too many
plane flights, and were immediately met with the heat of
an African day.
Since then, we're just been getting settled in the culture
and the base that we're staying in. Yesterday we went into
the city centre, introducing the students to the crush of
a Rwandan bus/taxi ride. It's amazing how a bench seat
meant for 3 people can suddenly fit 5!
There's been a few good moments, that have made me remember
Africa works pretty differently from back home.
Yesterday when we went to the city centre, we weren't sure
where the foreign exchange was, so I asked a police man
on the side of the street where we could find it. He beckoned
me to follow him, but little did I know he and his co-worker
had just arrested a man obviously for stealing handbags...
so off we all went for the 5 minute walk up the road,
the 6 of us, 2 police men, and one disgruntled thief in
handcuffs and about 5 handbags slung over his shoulder.
Then, last night after a great meal out with Rowan, one of
the students who I was out here with last year from Belfast,
we were out too late for the buses to take us back to the
YWAM base, so we took a motorbike taxi home. Normally, these
are grand, but as I got on this one particular evening, I
realised that his lights were less than reliable, and his
speedometer was less than working... At one point in time,
I found myself accelerating into the darkness on a back
road in Kigali, thinking "this is interesting..."
So, what do the next few weeks hold for us? We're going to
be here in Kigali for 3 weeks, before moving on to Burundi
for 6, so for the next 3 weeks, we're going to be involved
in a few different ministries on the YWAM base here. We'll
be helping out with some practical stuff on the base itself,
some painting and clean ups, and also working with a street
kids ministry, widows group, and leading devotions in some
schools. So, it's looking like it will be a busy few weeks,
but that's what we're here for!
The team in India also got there safely and are settling in
well!
Until next time...
tom
Sidenote:
Dear Mum,
The second story above (the motorbike one) was a lot less
dangerous than it sounded. After all, you know I tend to
exaggerate for drama's sake... I learnt that from you.
Love,
Your safety conscious son.
Monday, 9 March 2009
A Grand Adventure...
Recently, there has been something about the Grand Canyon that has just intrigued me.
I've never been there before, nor have I really ever seen any good pictures of it, and anyways, I'm not sure a picture would be able to capture the vastness of it if I had seen many. The fascination all started when I read this book called "Through Painted Deserts" by Donald Miller. This is undoubtedly one of my favourite books, and I've read it many times, dipping into it countless more.
In this book, he describes a road trip he takes across the USA with a friend of his, stopping at different places along the way. It's not a book that sounds too deep, and in fact, it's not really, but there's something about it that speaks to my soul. So, I read it...
At about the half way section, him and his friend Paul go to the Grand Canyon, and hike down into its depths to camp for a night before coming up out again.
To be honest, I never really knew what the Grand Canyon was, I didn't get how deep it was.. It's a mile deep. A mile. That's about 4 times the height of the Empire State building.
We don't really think of a mile as that long a distance when we're measuring ALONG the ground, but how about down? That's pretty deep...
There's this thing called the "Sky Walk" which you can walk out on, and look down into the Grand Canyon. Looking into the depths. Standing on top of this walk way that is suspended a mile above the ground. As someone who used to have a fear of open stairs...this may not seem like the most ideal of ideas, yet there's something about it that both fills me with fear, and that thrill of adventure.
On Wednesday I am going to Rwanda. I am taking a team of five people out to Rwanda for 4 weeks, and then on to Burundi for 6 weeks. At the minute, I can feel a bit of that sense of fear. I feel like I'm standing at the top of this adventure, looking down. There is that fear, but also that great sense of adventure. These are 5 people that I've spent my last four months with, sharing our lives and walking with God, growing in our relationship and trying to be more like him.
But, just as the Grand Canyon is a long way down. Rwanda and Burundi seem so distant right now. I think I'm ready just to jump into it (Africa...not the Grand Canyon...)
Stay tuned here for more details of our journey. I'll hopefully be a better blogger while I'm away!
This is the team!
Back Row: Jack (Israel), Tom (me...)
Front Row: Nosipho (South Africa), Stephanie (USA), Amalia (Canada), Megan (USA/Japan)
I've never been there before, nor have I really ever seen any good pictures of it, and anyways, I'm not sure a picture would be able to capture the vastness of it if I had seen many. The fascination all started when I read this book called "Through Painted Deserts" by Donald Miller. This is undoubtedly one of my favourite books, and I've read it many times, dipping into it countless more.
In this book, he describes a road trip he takes across the USA with a friend of his, stopping at different places along the way. It's not a book that sounds too deep, and in fact, it's not really, but there's something about it that speaks to my soul. So, I read it...
At about the half way section, him and his friend Paul go to the Grand Canyon, and hike down into its depths to camp for a night before coming up out again.
To be honest, I never really knew what the Grand Canyon was, I didn't get how deep it was.. It's a mile deep. A mile. That's about 4 times the height of the Empire State building.
We don't really think of a mile as that long a distance when we're measuring ALONG the ground, but how about down? That's pretty deep...
There's this thing called the "Sky Walk" which you can walk out on, and look down into the Grand Canyon. Looking into the depths. Standing on top of this walk way that is suspended a mile above the ground. As someone who used to have a fear of open stairs...this may not seem like the most ideal of ideas, yet there's something about it that both fills me with fear, and that thrill of adventure.
On Wednesday I am going to Rwanda. I am taking a team of five people out to Rwanda for 4 weeks, and then on to Burundi for 6 weeks. At the minute, I can feel a bit of that sense of fear. I feel like I'm standing at the top of this adventure, looking down. There is that fear, but also that great sense of adventure. These are 5 people that I've spent my last four months with, sharing our lives and walking with God, growing in our relationship and trying to be more like him.
But, just as the Grand Canyon is a long way down. Rwanda and Burundi seem so distant right now. I think I'm ready just to jump into it (Africa...not the Grand Canyon...)
Stay tuned here for more details of our journey. I'll hopefully be a better blogger while I'm away!
This is the team!
Back Row: Jack (Israel), Tom (me...)
Front Row: Nosipho (South Africa), Stephanie (USA), Amalia (Canada), Megan (USA/Japan)
Friday, 23 January 2009
All alone...
A few weeks ago we spent the weekend in Bushmills on a DTS New Year Retreat. This weekend has become somewhat of a tradition over the last few years, and we share it with another group that YWAM has good and growing links with, the Sword of the Spirit, and their group of gap-year students.
This year it has been a particular joy to be involved with these groups, as the two communities have mixed well, an outsider might not recognise that there are two groups, so well have they integrated. That's a joy.
One of the things about my life that has become normal, but that every now and then I am reminded of, and remember that it's not normal, is that I am living a very international life. It's not unusual for me to be out with a group friends, and for each of us to be from a different country. I have slipped into this odd little international, multi-cultural world...just off the Lower Shankill. On the Friday of the retreat, I was leading some worship, and as I looked around the room, I realised that I was the only one from Northern Ireland. The 25 or more people gathered together in that room were from a variety of places, but we were all here, united in this place at this time for a common purpose. The worship of the God who brought us all together.
People from South Africa, England, America, Canada, Costa Rica, Greece, Egypt, Argentina, Lebanon, Israel and Japan surrounded me. It made this verse from Isaiah come alive to me:
"On this mountain, the Lord will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine - the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all nations; he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people's disgrace from all the earth" Isaiah 25 6-8
God is not the God of one nation. He is alive in the nations today, working in each of us, in every nation, tribe and tongue who calls this planet 'home'. This fact cannot be denied. We are called to live together here, to see our shared humanity and to recognise the spark of the divine in each of us. One day, EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, in EVERY nation.
This evening was a beautiful reminder of our unity. That no matter how many conflicts riddle the Earth, how many nations go to war against one another, there is a higher power that unites us. Jesus Christ.
Some of the two groups together in our DTS classroom a few months ago
Don't worry... I wasn't alone for long! A fellow Northern Ireland-er joined me the next morning... :)
This year it has been a particular joy to be involved with these groups, as the two communities have mixed well, an outsider might not recognise that there are two groups, so well have they integrated. That's a joy.
One of the things about my life that has become normal, but that every now and then I am reminded of, and remember that it's not normal, is that I am living a very international life. It's not unusual for me to be out with a group friends, and for each of us to be from a different country. I have slipped into this odd little international, multi-cultural world...just off the Lower Shankill. On the Friday of the retreat, I was leading some worship, and as I looked around the room, I realised that I was the only one from Northern Ireland. The 25 or more people gathered together in that room were from a variety of places, but we were all here, united in this place at this time for a common purpose. The worship of the God who brought us all together.
People from South Africa, England, America, Canada, Costa Rica, Greece, Egypt, Argentina, Lebanon, Israel and Japan surrounded me. It made this verse from Isaiah come alive to me:
"On this mountain, the Lord will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine - the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all nations; he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people's disgrace from all the earth" Isaiah 25 6-8
God is not the God of one nation. He is alive in the nations today, working in each of us, in every nation, tribe and tongue who calls this planet 'home'. This fact cannot be denied. We are called to live together here, to see our shared humanity and to recognise the spark of the divine in each of us. One day, EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, in EVERY nation.
This evening was a beautiful reminder of our unity. That no matter how many conflicts riddle the Earth, how many nations go to war against one another, there is a higher power that unites us. Jesus Christ.
Some of the two groups together in our DTS classroom a few months ago
Don't worry... I wasn't alone for long! A fellow Northern Ireland-er joined me the next morning... :)
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