Football Mom!

Had a great time this afternoon watching Prince play football (soccer) with his school, WellSpring Academy against the KICS Kites.

It's been a LONG time since I could cheer someone I love on in sports! All those years of going to watch my brothers play hockey and cheering like a mad woman ... well it's like riding a bike... one never loses it I think. Great fun!

Ready to play

#31 playing on one of the best fields in town...
but still a mixture of dirt and grass. Oh well.

Still smiling after a 2-1 loss
Prince - second row, second last

Isabella with two of her best friends, Mugabo and Rania,
cheering on their brothers 

Roof!

Very exciting for us... the roof is on.

Serge and I spent some time today figuring out what money we have left and going through the quotes and making a list of everything we need to do to finish the house ... we've come so far and seems so far to go ...

An internship... the first!

Maddy is doing some incredible things with kids with special needs.

I think she is one of few, if not the only one, in Rwanda that is trained and has a deep passion to work with these kids. She is currently working with 15 students and their families from nursery to highschool age. Some have Downs Syndrome, other have varying degrees of autism, some with other learning disabilities. There is not program or resources here so she's developing each and every day!

Her vision... to see all kids with special needs integrated into society here in Rwanda.

A very cool thing has happened.

A local supermarket has agreed to employ one of her high school kids

Read about it in her blog!

Link to Maddy's Blog

May this internship be the first of many!

She loves on our kids too!!

Our CDN Rwanda Championship Team

Ron and Gloria Johnson, Paul and Marlene Atkinson,
Doug and Ruth Loveday, Dennis and Miriam Brubacher

This group of people love on us.

They come together regularly to see what they can be doing in Canada to further the ministry here in Rwanda.

We are blessed!

Daddy, why do you care about us so much?

That was the question that David, one of our former street kids, asked Serge today. 

Serge was meeting with all of our kids that are in high school. It was their last day of break before they head back to school on Monday. They have spent two of the three weeks in a holiday program, reviewing what they have learned this past term.

Some of them did very well their first term, others not so good.

Some do well but need an attitude adjustment.

Serge was giving them a little pep talk ... once again, challenging them and encouraging them to do their best.

In the midst of all the talking, one of David asked... 'Daddy, why do you continue to care about us so much? Why do you keep wanting us to do better?'

Good question.

All of the kids have come from various backgrounds but ALL come from situations where they have no one else to believe in them - no family and no friends.

They have all been in our lives for 4 years or more.

We consistantly try to be the people in their lives that DO believe in them. Believe for them and then that grows to with them  - that they have been created with purpose and have a place in this world. Their level of belief in themselves ebbs and flows... for some more than others.

Serge responded by asking, 'Why do you call us mom and dad?'

'Because you do for us what our parents never could do or have never done.'

'Then you are our kids and we have expectations and we expect you to do your absolute best in school. We have been blessed to give you this chance to go to school and learn. To become someone in life. But more than education, we want you to be men of character... '

We love each one of them dearly... and continue to hope beyond hope that they will have the courage to make the best choices in their life. We also pray that they will pursue God with their whole heart. Seems every day we hold our breath and pray for the best.

The future is still ahead... we take great comfort in those who have already finished high school and those who have found jobs and are living a productive life. There is hope ... we just need to keep remembering that in the trenches some days ...

God, may they do above and beyond what they think is possible this second term!

18 Years

I woke up this morning to quietness.

Was quite amazing actually. Most mornings, life is moving by 5:30am or earlier in the neighbourhood - roosters crowing, people on their way to work, kids on their way to school, car horns honking, etc.

Not this morning. It was quiet.

Even the roosters!!

Today starts the mourning period in remebrance of the genocide which started 18 years ago and ended 100 days later ... with about 1 million people killed during that time.

Today, life somehow stops.

Learning from our history to build a bright future.

That is the slogan for this year's memorial.

I think it's a great one.

Rwanda DOES continue to learn from it's past and the future DOES look bright in Rwanda.

What I thought was most interesting was at the end of the televised memorial at the stadium, the slogan was diplayed and the instrumental song that played was...

Hallelujah, Hallelujah,

For the Lord God Almighty reigns.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

For the Lord God Almighty reigns.

Hallelujah

Holy, Holy,

Are you Lord God Almighty

Worthy is the Lamb

Worthy is the Lamb

You are Holy

God does indeed reign.

I continue to believe that God continues to redeem this country. To bless it. To give people the hope to move forward in their future.

Happy Easter to you all.