The Day that Wasn’t

June 19

I have known for some time that this day would not be what it was to be - kids writing their last exams at school while Serge and I are up before dawn scrambling to ensure life is sorted to hit an airport about 5pm for our home assignment in Canada. 

Today is part of my grieving and loss processing. 

There will be no Canada this year as a family. It will be the first time we haven’t been back every two years. Not sure what to make of it. I am most grateful that my immediate family came out late last year. What a gift that was... and it lessens this loss for sure but... 

Letting go is hard. 

I thought I had this sorted but alas I don’t as I sit here in tears writing this. Serge and I do live life with a healthy sense of ‘no control’ and believe wholeheartedly that Gods plans are best... and that we live in a broken world... but sometimes what is asked is on the verge of seemingly too much. Sigh

Not sure I like the indefinite of not seeing family and friends... gosh that's a hard thought. Not just for us to go to Canada but for visitors / teams to come here. 

What am I letting go of... 

The longest time we would have had in Canada to date - 9 full weeks! 

Hugging the necks of all my family and having crazy fun times 

Lovely long chats with dear friends 

An epic trip to Western Canada to see friends, supporters and sights

Eating a lot of ice cream 

BBQs on decks

Long summer nights

Going for peaceful walks where people don’t stare at me

Wild flowers beside the road 

Sweet corn - we can’t eat enough of it 

Strawberries, Black Cherries, Peaches, Raspberries, plums... eat some, or a lot, for me!

CHEESE - all the kinds!! 

Driving the back roads to see all everyday life

Flipping through sale flyers 

Drive thrus

Going shopping and finding a list of stuff in ONE store - and they actually have it all! 

Time at the lake - fishing, tubing, coffee in the dock 

Making so many family memories 

Not to mention we don’t know the next time we can buy 

maple syrup

Nuts- walnuts, pecans, almonds

Advil cold and sinus (Serge and I both suffer from sinus headaches), 

underwear, clothes, shoes

Christmas / birthday presents

books

Those few home decor pieces from HomeSense or The Mercantile

Duct tape 

Ziplock bags 

Chocolate chips 

Craisins 
Cream of tartar 
Strawberry jello 
Dry mustard 
Black pepper 
Frying pans 
Staples for the staple gun

And whatever other treats for the corners of the suitcases to be rationed for the next two years. 

I know this is all stuff... and we can survive without it all (but not the Advil - ARG!). 

This is my June 19, 2020. 

I need to get myself sorted. 

Beni is about done his online class. Serge left early this morning to drive a few hours north to say goodbye to a dying uncle and Isabella went with him to visit a friend there. It will the first time she’s seeing a friend since early March. I want to see if Beni can see a friend this weekend too. And my coffee is getting cold. 

I know this... God is good, faithful, patient and gracious. I trust in all that today through my sadness and tears. 

Tomorrow is another day and Gods mercies will be new again.

Evening Reflections ...

It's the evening of April 7th. 

It's been 24 hours since the plane was shot down and roadblocks were erected to start the end of the decades journey to a genocide - 26 years ago.

One million+ people would be killed in 100 days. 

It was the rainy season. 

This afternoon it rained and my mind wondered just how people survived. 

How does one hide in a swamp, up a tree, in tall grasses as it's raining out? 

It would be cold, muddy, slippery, isolating, terrifying... 

A week or so ago they found another mass grave. 

They say it could contain 30,000 people. 

Just how does one wrap their mind around that? 

It continues to be all a bit hard to imagine, though I've heard so many real life stories from real people who have survived. 

Today because of COVID-19, Rwanda could not gather together to remember, unite and renew physically but we were together in spirit. 

It was a quiet day. I'm not sure I heard the birds sing today. 

My mind and heart are heavy for all those who survived. 

Those who are alone. 

Those that don't have people to encourage, bring life, and just sit with them ... 

God have mercy. 

Rwandans are resilient people but the trauma is deep. 

Only God can put His hand on ones soul and heal. 

God, continue to heal this land.

White Privelege

So this morning as I scrolled through my Facebook, my eye caught a post that triggered some judgement inside of me. 

It was over calling for a truck of water. 

There have been many times that we have been out of water or have had very limited water. 

Out of water - meaning we have had to send people on a bicycle or by hand to carry 20 litre jerry cans full of water back to our house so we could wash dishes, flush a toilet, cook some food. 

Limited water - meaning we don't have any water to our upstairs, no laundry is being down and IF one must have shower it's with a bucket and applying the age old rule - 'If it's yellow, let it mellow and if it's brown, flush it down. 

Is the ability to call for a truck of water - about 60,000 rwf for 5000+ litres white privilege? 

Yes I know that I am the first to say that when one is living cross culture, you must know what your limits / breaking point is. What is too much to bear? 

And that some days it varies. 

Some days going without water is just fine and other days - well, it's going to do you in. 

But what about my neighbours who haul 20 litre jerry cans every day? 

They do not have a water line to their house or a well or a water storage tank for that matter. 

They do not have the financial resources to call the water truck 

White privilege... it is something to be reckoned with indeed. 

So accept my repentance of judgement ... maybe calling the truck was to bring life and some breathing space in their life this week. 

White privilege ... it's real.

If you're white, what do you recognize are your white privilege today?

Dreams...

This morning my FaceBook feed had a video that made me cry. 

A video of Tim Hortons bringing the only hockey team in Africa to Canada to play another team... because they had no one to play against on the African continent. 

It made me proud to be Canadian. 

It made me cry because I thought of my own son Beni. 

What he wouldn't do to play hockey. 

I'm still debating if I show him this or not as we might be moving to Kenya tomorrow! 

He's only been on skates once, and he thought he was amazing! 

(Still HUGE thanks to two teenage boys who skated / glided him endlessly around that rink one New Years Eve almost 4 years ago.) 

I've made sure we watch any hockey we can - I miss watching it ... - usually the winter Olympics when it's in 'our' time zones 

Some of his most prized possessions are his sticks... 

I think he was about 5 years and we were waiting to board the plane in Kigali to Canada and he burst out crying. The reason... he had forgot to pack his mini sticks. I assured him there were many more in Canada. 

There are no ice rinks in Rwanda so his chances of playing ice hockey are slim. 

He'll have to stick with his stick, ball and make shift goals. 

But it DOES remind me of all the things that I never dreamed possible for my kids ... they have had opportunities that I never dreamed possible 14 years ago. 

- playing in a school band 

- taking piano lessons 

- riding a horse

- being part of a Christmas musical production 

- taking swimming lessons 

All things that I am so blessed that they have been part of. 

So I guess... who knows really. 

Maybe Beni will realize his dream and play hockey someday. 

Liberation Day

Today is a very defining day in Rwandan history. 

24 years ago - when a line was drawn for Rwandans and the world that Rwanda would no longer be defined by colonization, segregation, and oppression.

Today we are defined by unity and a drive to have all Rwandans to be prosperous. 

Today we celebrate!

World Refugee Day

Today my mind goes back to the first time I connected with refugees. I was visiting some fellow International Team Missionaries in Straubing, Germany and was getting ready to host a short-term team along side them. 

What I remember so vividly to this day is how passionate and how 'doing life' alongside refugees was so 'natural'. I have SO many memories from my time there. 

(Thank you Gord, Sharon, Sarah, Richard)

As the years passed and I travelled more around the world connecting with various long term teams ministering alongside and to refugees, the term 'Refugee Highway' surfaced.

It made SO much sense. 

The essence ... People move. You can draw lines around the globe from where people are displaced or fleeing from persecution, violence, war, etc and see where they go - from this location to this location to this location. It's a fluid 'highway'. Locations change.

The Dream... Wouldn't it be amazing to have people who love Jesus at all the 'off ramps' and along the 'highway'?

I love that dream ... and still do.

I've been in Rwanda for 14 years now and have worked alongside the International Teams ministry in the Kiziba Refugee Camp for that entire length of time. We are well aware that we are their first 'off ramp' location. 

How do we live Jesus to each and every one that crosses our path that they want to know and seek Him as the Way, the Truth and the Life?

Today, IAFR - International Association for Refugees - offered a map to help explain the essence and the dream . The dream lives on in and through many people around the globe.

You can do to download your own map at the
IAFR Toolbox

The following is a snippet from the the March 2018 UNHCR - United Nations High Commission for Refugees - Operational Report for Rwanda. 

You can check out the whole thing here if you're interested in details and what is happening on the ground with refugees in Rwanda.

People are moving on the 'highway' EVERY. SINGLE. DAY

For all kinds of reasons that most of us who live in the west have no idea about.

Don't turn off the TV or turn a blind eye when you see or hear about people... made in the image of God, who are fleeing for their life.

Try to put yourself in their shoes and seek to understand and then seek God what your response might be.

Quote from the UNHCR 

We are now witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record. 

An unprecedented 68.5 million people around the world have been forced from home. 

Among them are nearly 25.4 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. 

There are also an estimated 19 million stateless people who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement. 

In a world where nearly 1 person is forcibly displaced every two seconds as a result of conflict or persecution... 

Remains 24 years later...

As I was scrolling through Twitter today... looking at the news, an entry from the New Times Rwanda caught my eye. 

Four Mass Graves of Genocide Victims in Gasabo Disctrict 

They have found the remains of 200 people and think there may be as many as 3000.

Gasabo is where we live. 

The period of mourning started on the eve of April 6th and the country will be actively remembering until July 4th, which is Liberation Day. 

I have lived in Rwanda over 14 years and it amazes me that they still find remains from the genocide. 

I then think of all the genocides that have happened since and continue to happen today around the world. 

Remains will continue to be found ... 

Such grief, such pain... When will it stop? 

Loving our Neighbour...

One week ago, the tragic bus accident involving the Humboldt Broncos occurred. To date 16 people have died and 10 are still in the hospital with varying levels of injury. 

As a small town girl from Canada... ok, I grew up on a farm! ... this hit close to home. Small town hockey teams were a part of my life and I spent many nights trying to keep warm 'in the barn.' My brothers played on multiple teams - mostly pick up and church hockey league and my youngest brother played Junior C and rode the bus all over southern Ontario. 

The local Junior B team was one many aspired to and as a family, we spent many a wintery Friday night listening to or going to watch the Kitchener Ranger Junior A team. 

Hockey is part of the fabric of Canadian life. 

Pondering all this while living in Rwanda and seeing the outpouring of Canadian compassion and pride ... my heart swells. This is where I come ...  hockey sticks put on the doorsteps, everyone sporting their favourite team jerseys and money being raised to help all in need. 

It's not lost on me that this happened on the eve of April 6th. 

Since 1994, on the eve of April 6th each year, the week of memorial starts in Rwanda - remembering 1 million people who were killed just because other people had been told by colonists that they were better than the others. It all happened in 100 days. 

This means that there were 625 Humboldt crashes EVERY DAY for 100 days in a row.

Now I know that some may argue that what happened in Rwanda was 'brewing' for decades and that is true and I won't go into all the history. I will argue that many innocent lives were taken and all was unnecessary. 

One story of many heroism stories I love, is the story of a girls school here where they came to kill and asked the classes to separate - Tutsi on one side and Hutu on the other ... and they refused to separate. 

All of them lost their lives that day. 

They make Rwanda proud to this day.

The day after the Humboldt crash, on April 7th, President Assad of Syria, ordered a chemical weapon to be used - the largest to date. Over 40 people were killed and 500+ needed medical attention.

I also know that Congo is in the worst state it has ever been and thousands are fleeing to safety.

Then there is Sudan, Central Africa Republic, most of Puerto Rico is still without power... and the list goes on... 

What I ponder is ...

'Do Canadians really see the rest of the world? 

Do they see the suffering? 

Do they understand that what goes on in the world is not 'over there' or 'they had it coming to them' or 'they are uneducated peoples' but that we do indeed live in a world where all is connected in one way or another? 

Do my fellow Canadian believers honestly seek out how God is calling them to be Jesus in response to what is happening around them - not just at home but to all people who are made in the image of God? 

How are we loving our neighbour? 

I know that from the response to Humboldt (which is overwhelming fantastic!), Canadians have it in them. 

Let's take what has happened in the Humboldt community as a point in time to reflect and evaluate personally our global knowledge and impact and our response to it. 

Loss in the J.Lynn's family...

Teddy and Grace

Last night we were watching Dolphin Tale (again!) when the phone rang. 

It was Teddy, our manager for J.Lynn's - beside herself sobbing on the other end of the phone. 

My mind raced with what tragic news she was going to tell me. 

Grace had died giving birth to her first child. 

My heart broke. 

Grace Uwimana had worked for us for a while at J.Lynn's. 

She then left us to finish her degree, move to Uganda and to get married. She married one year ago in January. 

I had been SO blessed that she had come by the shop to visit us when she was back in Rwanda. She was happy and adjusting to married life. 

She had dreams of owning her own business and I know that J.Lynn's had given her exposure and confidence in  her seeking this desire.

Grace, this world will miss your beautiful smile and easy going personality. 

She leaves behind her husband and baby. 

As I laid in bed this morning awake trying to process life, 

I commented to Serge that I didn't even want to know how she died as I'm 95% sure that what she died from was preventable. 

Oh the things that make ones mind go a bit crazy. 

Another day asking God for wisdom as the women at J.Lynn's mourn this loss. 

Question of The Evening

'Mom, how do you do a fundraiser?'

We had come home visiting someone and were just relaxing a bit before bedtime. 

I wondered where her mind was going. 

I told her that fundraising looks different for different things. 

'What would you want to fundraise for?' 

'Well mom, I was thinking of doing a lemonade stand and maybe selling some cookies at school. I think that we can raise money for food for the refugees at Kiziba.' 

My heart about got into my throat and I fought my tears back as she laid out her thoughts. 

They could sell lemonade and cookies - Beni suggested on Friday afternoons when other schools come to play sports and parents come too (Good thinking Beni!) 

As the head Primary Girl could they ask each child to bring an amount of money - maybe 500 rwf ($.060 USD)? 

They could do the fundraising for the month of March 

She would write down her plan and present it to the Primary Principal. 

Her concern was, 'Would the money be enough to get all the people food in the camp?' 

'No, honey it's not. But Dad and I can look for those who need it most and make sure they get the money or the food - whichever is easiest and most useful for them.' 

There are 17,251 refugees in Kiziba as of December 2017.

You see.... Isabella and Beni both know that the last week in the Kiziba Refugee Camp has not been good. 

They know that people have fled for their lives. 

They know that people have been killed. 

They know that their Great Auntie and cousin as safe in Kigali while other family are still in the camp, hiding in their homes. 

They know that the refugees do not have enough food and that the UNHCR / WFP cut their ration money by 25% last month ($0.20 / day).

They know that the WFP (World Food Program) may need to cut the ration amount yet again. 

On the way home, I had read the following out loud... 

(part of an article ... )

'... UNHCR is advocating with donors to address the gaps in humanitarian funding and urgent needs of refugees. To date, UNHCR's 2018 appeal for $98.8 million USD to support refugees in Rwanda is only 2 per cent funded. 

WFP warns about potential larger ration cuts if monthly requirements of $2.5 million are not met...'

This was her tipping point. Hearing this has demanded action from her.

I know she had her 'spiel' written to take to her principal today at school...not sure when she did that!

I look forward to seeing what God has in store for all of this ... 

Why Serge gets headaches...

Getting a car fixed here in Rwanda is probably one of the most nightmarish things to do. 

We have been so blessed with our current vehicle. We have had it since 2007 and we have barely done any work on it until the last year or so. It is a 1997 Land Crusier Prado... 20 years old and running on mostly original parts so... they're getting old and need to be replaced. 

The joke in Rwanda is that you go in the garage to get one thing fixed and come out with five new things that need fixing. 

Yes there is a Toyota Garage here ... but for most of us (about 75% of Rwanda drives a Toyota!) it is way out of our league. 

So Serge's headache today... getting a master cylinder fixed. 

We got the brakes fixed earlier in the week ... and they work! ... but there is still a noise. 

So, the Canadian guy who we have been going to, was not available but recommended a S.African guy who is pretty new here. Serge liked him well enough and believes what he's being told BUT now it's to get parts... 

Serge always likes to go and buy the parts so he knows he's getting an original part. 

And like everything... he has a guy.

So the garage says they can send for the part outside but it will cost 180,000 rwf ($212 USD)

We need to take a three hour drive tomorrow, so no time for that. 

Serge calls his guy - 250,000 ($295 USD) for the original or 40,000 rwf ($47 USD) for the fake!!

Serge calls another guy he knows... 220,000  ($260 USD) but maybe negotiate if you come and chat 

Cue the headache. 

Does he really need to go back to town and sort this? 

Is 'his guy', who claims he is a Christian buying from the second guy and pocketing money? 

Sometimes I tell Serge he over thinks... but I get it. 

He doesn't like spending money on the car .. and yet it's necessary 

Why can't people just be trust worthy? 

Cause is the 'original' actually an 'original'? 

Only God knows ... 

Choosing Real - Part two

The night we drove home from seeing our sister cousin alive for the last time, Serge and I had a very intense conversation full of frustration at the Rwandan church, helplessness in knowing that there was nothing we could say that would bring hope, in disbelief that those who love Jesus, who are leaders in churches and ministries here could not choose real - choose eternity. 

Trust me, we were around it all - multiple times!! Ha! 

As we arrived home, we knew that we could only pray and then be there to pick up the pieces after. I knew in my deepest part of me that it was only a matter of time. (Sometimes the gift of discernment isn't a great gift to have...)

I had tried to share what was on my heart about God being just as real, powerful, all knowing, present in this very difficult and challenging time, as he is on any mountaintop or miracle. They didn't buy it. They were 100% sure that God was going to heal.  

Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely believe that God heals but it's not for us to know when - this life or when we see him face to face.

And that is where Serge and I went off... health and wealth gospel, blessing is for here and now, have we ever heard a sermon on death, you wouldn't dare talk about death... sigh. 

Choosing real... we all will die one day. God tells us that before we are born our days are numbered.. that not one of us can add a day to our lives. 

I shared with Serge that saying we have in the N. America - 'The only two sure things in life are death and taxes.' He thought that was a good one. 

Why do we think that here and now is the best? 

Yes, it absolutely sucks to lose someone we love so dearly. Trust me I still cry sometimes when I think of my dad and he's been with Jesus almost 10 years. I miss him!

Loss and grief are real. 

But it doesn't make it wrong or evil. 

It's what we choose in the midst of it.... and how we choose to live our life as we journey onward.

This is all contrasted by my sister in law Sherri and brother Lyndon. In the incredible depth of everything (I don't even know what words would be accurate to use to embrace it all) they choose eternity and are doing their best to live in that every day - as hard as it is to live in the earthly unknown, they dig deep and choose to live in the real of eternity.  

Serge and I know that as the weeks and months pass, we have a challenge ahead of us, to bring up that conversation with his family and whoever else God brings across our path.
Let's commit to live real.

Choosing Real

A friend visiting Rwanda left me this book earlier this year. 

I picked it up mid July and finished it this morning. 

It had me from the intro... 

'...I was keenly aware that every circumstance, person, and feeling is an invitation to see God's genuine heart in the middle of it. 

Choosing Real is opting to see how present Jesus is in real-life circumstances. Choosing Real is not about putting on one's big girl panties. It's not about being strong, pep talking, or reciting the words, 'Let's do this.' Choosing Real trust God has a beautiful plan in the mess, in the scary, in the unknown, in the tears and in not feeling enough... 

Authentic... is a synonym for Jesus.' 

After reading that,  I promptly ordered one for a friend and told another friend she had to get herself to Amazon and get herself one... 

See, I knew that the three of us were on very different journeys and yet were so the same. 

We are all seeking God with our hearts to be real and authentic in the mess, the scary, the unknown of what was ... and is still happening in our lives. 

About a month before, our family had found out that our dear sister in law Sherri was diagnosed with cancer... the kind that only a miracle cures. 

Two weeks later, we find out that Serge's sister cousin also has cancer... again, the kind that only a miracle will cure.  August 8th, Kunda died leaving a husband and three young children.  

Serge was at a wedding meeting when they got the message. He came home to pick me up to go to the hospital. Prince left his friends good bye party to come home to be with Isabella and Beni. And the night unfolded from there ... bringing Kwizera, Kunda's husband, to our house for the night. (The kids were at an aunties' out of the city). The next night saw the three kids come to our house ... nothing like having a father tell his kids that their mommy was with Jesus ... or your kids embracing / comforting their cousins aged 8, 5 and 2. They stayed with us for a week. 

Did I mention we had a short-term team on the ground too...  

Lots of mess, lots of scary, lots of unknown, lots of tears .... 

But I KNOW that over the years I have leaned into being more real - living real. 

Reading this book during this season of my life has only given me the reassurance that I'm not crazy, that all the digging deep into why God has created me is for real ... in all the hardships, all the challenges, all the feelings of helplessness... is real. That life is not about getting 'out' of all the things that are hard to get to the mountain top.. that place where one breathes easier and feels that they can put their feet up for a bit and wonders when the next life altering event will happen. 

But it's about showing up every day to whatever is in the day and knowing and trusting that God is there ; working - for, in and through us. 

Even when you are crying out to God to show you how to help children sort out that mommy is with Jesus. 

Even when you're 6000 miles away from immediate family in the midst of a very difficult journey. 

What I own is that there is no there... there is only here. 

And here is where I choose real.... trusting God for all that comes. 

I'm moaning this morning...

So I wake up and turn on the shower... no water. 

Now you need to know that's the last thing I want to experience this morning. 

Are we out of water? 

Did our night guard turn the pump off? 

I grab my phone and call our guard... nope, we're out of electricity. 

Is it just our house or the entire area? 

It's just our house. 

Serge then rolls over and picks up his phone to see if he has mobile money so he can buy electricity (we live on a prepaid system here...) 

God does love me as Serge does have money and with in a few minutes he's given the 16 digit number to our guard via a text message (thank God for cell phones!). 

I wait... and I wait... why oh why is the electricity not coming on? 

I wait some more... Serge finally calls him and I quote, 'Boss, I keep messing up the numbers.' 

By this time I am laying back on the bed moaning that I didn't sign up for this life ... 

I could have taken two showers by now... and I'm still waiting. 

Serge is laughing at me ... doing his best to console me by trying to convince me how much I love him (it's not working!)... then it finally it comes... 

I do have a lovely shower but some days ... I just didn't sign up for all the stuff that comes in my life. 

But thinking we all have those days - it just looks different - depending on where you live! 

Liberation Day

As Serge and I were waking up this morning, I asked him what it was like on this morning 23 years ago.

'Well, it was a day like any other except there was a weight that was lifted. We knew that we still had much to do to secure the country and contain the trouble areas but we also knew that the enemy would never overpower us again.'

Today is Rwanda Liberation Day.
23 years ago was the official end to the 100 day genocide which saw 1,000,000 people killed.

Rwanda celebrates today.
We celebrate peace, unity and progressive development.
May God continue to be gracious.

Serge is just one of the faces of liberation ...

Time of Year

I really didn't understand what was going on in my life until a day or two ago. 

Life has been a little more busy then usual - house girl had a baby so no help at home, opening a new shop, cooking at a retreat for the Wellspring Academy graduates, visitors ... and all the rest of life. 

I also have this big monkey hanging on my back... getting out our newsletter or at least doing a prayer update. Just cannot get myself sorted and find enough creative energy to do it / them. 

They are still not done but it finally hit me what was up in my life. 

You see... it's that time of year. 

There is about a 6 - 8 week window in our lives each year that our life seems to be full of good-byes. Some days it feels like it's all we are doing. 

We say good- bye to people whom we have lived life with here for a year, two years... 10 years. 

Our kids say good-bye to their friends. 

They all leave for good things. 

Contracts are up. 

Projects are completed. 

Kids are moving on in school. 

Parents are ageing. 

Graduate school. 

So we wish them nothing but the best in life. 

We know that people are always in our life for a season - no matter where we are in the world. 

But it's still hard. 

This year again, it seems like it's too much. Not only my own grief of friends leaving but my kids as well. Sometimes my heart breaks with how many times my kids have had to say good-bye in life. 

So... somehow to find the energy and courage to write about what is happening in our life here - well, it's just not easy. 

However, with this recognition, I'm hoping and praying that I've turned a corner and you'll be hearing from us soon!!

Grace ...

Well.... Grace did NOT have diabetes. 

She did NOT have kidney failure and she did NOT have low blood pressure. 

Grace DID have typhoid AND a urinary track infection AND amoebas.

One of these is enough to deal with let alone all three at once!

No wonder she looked like she was about to die.

It has taken her a few weeks to regain her strength and rid herself of everything but as you can see... she's smiling, happy and enjoying life again. 

More than once during this time Serge and I would look at each other and say...
'This is why we do what we do.' 

If we were not in Grace's life ... there is a high probability that she would have died. 

The sad thing... Grace and her husband spent almost double going to the private 'natural' clinic than we did taking her to a proper clinic. AND they went into debt doing it.  Double ARG for us!!

Oh the life lessons and the unknown journeys we take each day. 

Today's Interruption

So along time ago, when I was still working in the office of International Teams Canada, I had a conversation with a teammate about life interruptions. We can set our day, plan it out... and then along come the 'interruptions'.

My daily 'interruptions' are people...most of the time. Sometimes it's just life in a developing country (always underestimating how much time something takes) ... but mostly people. People whom God has created - people who cross my path.

Today is no different.

Today was going to be the last blitz of getting all things sorted for the new shop. My day started with an all shop team meeting... a cake customer... then dear Grace showed up.

Grace is one of our women at J.Lynn's / Komeza. She is married and has one child and is usually full of shy smiles and works hard. 

The last 2.5 months have been a struggle for her - only working half the time. Today she finally came to the shop...

... barely able to stand up, shaking like a leaf, headache, stomach pain... it makes me so sad to see how bad she looks.

She told a familiar tale of using her health card to go to the local clinic. They check for the standard malaria but it's negative. They give her ibruprophen and amoxacillan. She does not get better so goes back - nothing they can do for her. So she and her husband decide to go to a private clinic. It's a 'natural' clinic. From the paperwork with all its formalities and stamps it looks legit... but then she hauls 4 bottles and some powder stuff out of her bag.... they told her she has diabetes, kidney failure, low blood pressure...

The 'medicine'...

I'm sitting at a clinic with her - Waiting for lab results.

Its my interruption for the day.

I have no idea how long I will get here but I'm determined to get to the bottom of this. She is wife, mom and our employee and deserves whatever we can sort for her. None of this... thats just the way it is...

Yes there is SO much stuff and SO many things to do.... but I've learned from that conversation so long ago... God knows it all and He will sort it all too! (Oh to have faith today... again!)

(Shout out to the Kigali Seven Day Adventist clinic and Dr. Tommy and all their staff! Again... going above and beyond!)

The Quietest Day of the Year

Today is April 7th 

I woke up this morning to complete quietness. 

No people are walking and talking their way to work before dawn. 

Kids are not out playing an early morning football game. 

The last community drunk isn't wandering home and singing a song. 

Even the multitude of birds were not chattering away. 

The neighbourhood house help was not banging pots and pans as they were being washed 

No cars are moving 

No construction noises - dump trucks, no cement mixers, no teams of workers calling out to each other 

Even our dog Lucy rests. 

It's 9:47 am and a lone bird tweets. 

Today Rwanda remembers. 

Today marks 23 years. 

Today we reflect on the past, mourn with those who mourn and embrace the hope we have in the future. 

Never Again 

And yet ... around the world it is happening. Even today. 

That adds to the sadness of Rwanda. 

The genocide that happened here, was it not enough? 

March 22: World Water Day

Quote from the UN Water Day website

'Water is the essential building block of life. But it is more than just essential to quench thirst or protect health; water is vital for creating jobs and supporting economic, social, and human development.

Today, there are over 663 million people living without a safe water supply close to home, spending countless hours queuing or trekking to distant sources, and coping with the health impacts of using contaminated water.

2017 Theme: Why Wastewater?'

Read the rest of the article on UN Water Day to gain a quick insight into the water situation in the world.

I am once again challenged about how I use water... and I live in a country where at any given time I need to haul jerry cans of it because we're out. Praying that I will be a better steward from this day forward.

This is Adele. She is one of our Komeza Women who works full-time at J.Lynn's.

Most every day she leaves the shop carrying a 3L bottle of filtered water on her head.

One could say she's stealing water... and that would be true.

But you know what? I don't care.

I know to stay as healthy as she can, she needs that water.

Adele is one of our women who is HIV. She is healthy and strong most of the time and her blood counts are good. When she is not strong, I know that she is not eating well enough or drinking enough.

Hence, I don't care of Adele 'steals' our clean water. She needs it.

She is also carrying home a bag of empty plastic water bottles after a busy day at the shop.

She will resell them for a small profit.

Recycling!