Coming Home

It was sad leaving Rwanda on Monday. We had all received so many blessings on this trip and experienced so many emotions. We will never forget the friends we've made and the lives we've touched but most importantly, how our friends have blessed each of us.

Thank you to all who have followed us and we look forward to sharing our experience and the thousands (ok, we'll try keep it to hundreds) of pictures, videos, memories and the many moments of blessings, faith and connection with our Lord and the wonderful people of Rwanda.

God Bless

Visiting their sponsored Compassion International child

On Sunday Tim and Helena headed back to Kigali early so they could meet with their Compassion child. Their family has been sponsoring her for 7-8 years.

Yvonne has a twin sister also sponsored (Yvette). They live with their grandmother in a very small three room home with a dirt floor in Kigali.

Compassion works in 28 developing counties with high poverty rates around the world. In Rwanda they have about 250 offices across the country which each look after 230-300 children. They provide schooling, medical support, training and education as well as a community resource and a place for kids to gather on Saturdays. There are 63,000 Children in Rwanda that are part of the Compassion program but only 70% of them have a sponsor.

1. Tim, Yvonne, Helena and Yvette with the local compassion team behind
2. Yvette, Helena, Tim, Yvonne, Adeloe (their grandmother)
3&4. Giving and receiving gifts from Yvonne, Yvette and their grandmother.

One of the gifts we brought was a bible for both Yvonne and Yvette. Yvette had been praying for a bible for some time. God is good.

Faces of Kibogora hospital

Visiting Kibogora Hospital and Dr Tim Berg and Family

We met Dr Tim Berg and family who joined us at the service, ate lunch with us and took us on a tour of the hospital in Kibogora where we delivered medical supplies that were donated by a number of different doctors, nurses and individuals back home. Tim has been serving at the hospital since last July.

Looking sharp

Tim and Helena supported the local business in Cyangugu in order to have a nice Sunday outfit.

Pastor John delivering a prayer

Pictures from the congregation

Noah and Abraham

Pastor John and Kevin leading the children's message

Lindsay helped Noah and Abraham practice their lines

Sunday at the Kibogora Methodist Church

On our second Sunday, Pastor John preached at the Methodist church in Kibogora. He lead the church in a children's message through Noah and Abraham and delivered the sermon as well.

Photos
1&2. Church from outside and inside
3. Mark and Amy with Mark's good friends from the Congo

Visiting the Gisakura Methodist Church

After visiting the school in Gisakura, Kevin arranged for us to meet the Pastor and see their church that was ruined by high winds that took the roof off the building.

We have several projects now from Gisakura that we could help fund to support their community.

1. Church building that lost it's roof
2. View inside to the alter
3&4. The current temporary building

Donating glasses, crutches and other medical supplies

We received a number of generous donations of glasses and walking aids. We were able to give them out to recipients in the Congo, at the hospital in Kibogora and along the way like our friend Fossi in Musunze.

Making friends at the Gisakura school

Through Kevin and Kara's awesome leadership and example, we quickly made many friends and played many different games including 3 soccer games, their version of ring around the rosie, head shoulders knees and toes and left a number of supplies with the school.

Sharing The Word

On Tuesday, Kevin, Kara, Mark and Jeremiah went to a local bible vendor and purchased 3 boxes of bibles in Kinyarwandan (the local language) as well as a box of dictionaries. We bought them to share with the community in Gisakura and the Methodist church in Kibogora.

1. Buying the bibles
2. Kevin and Kara taking some to Gisakura community
3. Pastor John giving dictionaries to the chief of the village, Simon with brother Guilluame
4. The Methodist Church in Kibogora

Tracy Kelly with nurses at the hemophilia clinic

Marc Scharen with Tracy Kelly, NP and Dr Fabien

Tracy is an NP from Duke Medical and is helping Dr Fabien to start a hemophilia clinic at the University Central Hospital of Kigali.

Marc and Wendy Scharen visit to King Fiesel Hospital to Meet Dr Fabien Ntagana

Marc and Wendy met with Dr Fabien Ntagnana, Hematologist to discuss Rwanda's hemophilia population and treatment. Marc works with a non-profit organization - Save One Life (saveonelife.org) that provides support to developing countries for hemophilia patients and NGOs (Non-Government Organizations). Hemophilia is a genetic disorder that affects 1 in 20,000 males. This causes bleeding into the joints leading to joint damage at an early age and eventually will leave them disabled, which in a developing country is devastating. If untreated, many patients will die at an early age.

In Rwanda, a hemophilia program is just getting started by Dr Fabien where they have diagnosed only 20 patients in the country. They believe 5-600 patients currently reside in Rwanda but they do not have the resources to diagnose or treat those patients. Through Save One Life we hope to provide support in education, diagnosis, treatment and genetic counseling.

Posing at lunch outside the IBIS hotel

Helena, Kara, Kevin and Ryan

Visiting Gisakura School

Kevin and Kara visited the Gisakura school on their last trip and this was reconnecting with many friends and bringing some helpful supplies for them and offering ongoing support.

Canopy walk

We spent a few hours at the canopy walk in the Nyungwe Forest