Let the fundraising begin!

On Sunday we had our first training meeting for the team that will be heading to Rwanda with us. It was fun to get to know everyone and one of the coolest things about this team is that not all of them are physically GOING to Rwanda but they are so exctied to invest their time and energy to help the rest of us GO. What a blessing. These people want to come to all our meetings and hear all about what we plan to do, and where we plan to serve; they want to pray for us as we prepare for this journey and continue praying every day we are gone. They want to help us with fundraising. They are such an important part of our team and I am so grateful for their dedication to serve in this way. Kayla and I are ready to send out our fundraising letter to all family and friends...check your mailbox soon =0) And we have just launched our November fundraiser and will be selling holdiay wreaths.
So much to do ...so little time! God Bless...thanks for checking in!

A look back

I thought I would give you a taste of why I (Tina) am so excited to get back to Rwanda. In February of 2007 I was able to spend a week in this beautiful country ministering to some of the people and hanging out at the orphanage where JP ultimately came from! I was just looking at my journal I kept of that trip and thought I would share a little of my experience.
"We went to a little village of many orphans and widows. A message of hope was spoken to the children and one of the ladies began to sing, "Jesus loves the little children". It was sweet, but I did not have much of a role here...I just sat and smiled at the women and children. I did have my digital camera with me and the kids just loved seeing their faces on the screen. As we were about to leave, one girl begged us to come see her grandmother, so we followed her through this long, windy alley. It seemed the entire village was following us around. We finally reached her home, the tiniest living space I have ever seen. Their entire house couldn't be bigger than our small office at home. We asked the girl what her favorite food was and she said she would love to eat rice. This girl is so poor that all they can afford is corn flour mixed with a little water. This is all she eats ...EVERYDAY....only 2 times a day! As we were leaving her house and heading back to the car one girl told me that she loved me and a grandmother kept talking to me in Kinyarwanda. I finally found our translator and he told me that she was saying how grateful she was that we took the time to come visit them. I didn't even speak to this group of people, I literally just sat there and smiled at them and they couldn't stop thanking me and telling me how much they appreciated it. I am so humbled. It really is the little things that matter most."

It is hard to explain what that does to you, when you see poverty like that. In their eyes, you are "rich" and have far more than they could ever fathom, but yet they are so glad you came and just spent time with them. That was enough for them to be grateful. I need that perspective. I want to hear their stories and be changed and challenged by their faith, their hope and their trust in God. I can't wait to worship Rwandan style again, this time with Kayla by my side!