After a lively morning church service at the Sonrise School, God really wanted to test our attention span. We trekked over to St. John’s Cathedral for the late morning service and hold your breath….it was three hours long and hold your breath again…..it was completely in Kinya-rwanda. So, thank goodness for the translators that dispersed among us abazungu (white folks). In all seriousness, it was really cool to see two very different Anglican services in Rwanda. Despite the language barrier there were some striking similarities to our church services at The Falls Church, yet there were some amazingly different pieces as well. One of the things most of us recognized was the opening song It is Well With my Soul. One neat cultural difference was the offering portion of the service. There weren’t any ushers…the Rwandans, so humbly and peacefully, brought up their offerings to a large peace basket held by Pastor Frank’s wife, Peace.
After the service ended we walked back to the guesthouse blowing bubbles for the children as we went and then headed off to the Sonrise School.
First stop-The Primary School:
We met the children in the chapel and handed out gifts from their sponsors in the United States. The kids were so excited as they received dictionaries, letters and various gifts from their sponsors. If you are interested in learning more about sponsoring a child, email Stacey. She knows all about it because she’s the proud Mom of 18 Sonrise students in both the Primary and Secondary schools. She looks darn good for having so many kids! Caitlin and Diane stayed behind at the Primary school to play with their kids who turn out to be siblings. They taught them how to blow bubbles, jump rope, sing songs like “Jesus is the Rock” and play games.
Second Stop – Secondary School
The rest of the group headed over to the Secondary School to distribute gifts and letters from their sponsors. While it was great to visit with the kids and answer all their questions about our lives in America, it was also incredible to listen to their stories about their families and life at Sonrise. The children’s appreciation for our love and sponsorship was best expressed by a student named Charles who said, “I have no words to describe how thankful I am for you.” We later found out that all of his family was killed in the genocide. Amy asked if he was sad about his situation. His answer echoed his remarkable faith. He simply replied, “No, God has a plan for me.” Needless to say, we were all speechless. Not only can these kids learn from us, but we also have so much to learn from them.
Busy day ahead of us……. We’ll be in touch soon!
After the service ended we walked back to the guesthouse blowing bubbles for the children as we went and then headed off to the Sonrise School.
First stop-The Primary School:
We met the children in the chapel and handed out gifts from their sponsors in the United States. The kids were so excited as they received dictionaries, letters and various gifts from their sponsors. If you are interested in learning more about sponsoring a child, email Stacey. She knows all about it because she’s the proud Mom of 18 Sonrise students in both the Primary and Secondary schools. She looks darn good for having so many kids! Caitlin and Diane stayed behind at the Primary school to play with their kids who turn out to be siblings. They taught them how to blow bubbles, jump rope, sing songs like “Jesus is the Rock” and play games.
Second Stop – Secondary School
The rest of the group headed over to the Secondary School to distribute gifts and letters from their sponsors. While it was great to visit with the kids and answer all their questions about our lives in America, it was also incredible to listen to their stories about their families and life at Sonrise. The children’s appreciation for our love and sponsorship was best expressed by a student named Charles who said, “I have no words to describe how thankful I am for you.” We later found out that all of his family was killed in the genocide. Amy asked if he was sad about his situation. His answer echoed his remarkable faith. He simply replied, “No, God has a plan for me.” Needless to say, we were all speechless. Not only can these kids learn from us, but we also have so much to learn from them.
Busy day ahead of us……. We’ll be in touch soon!
2 comments:
Stacey,
I was so sorry I missed your call this morning...I was outside with the girls. I hope you had a more peaceful elephant adventure this year! I was sending you all of my good elephant whisperer vibes! Can't wait to read about the trip.
Love,
W
Amy and/or Michelle - do you need/want to get picked up from the airport on Sunday? I can't promise I'll have any hot, single men with me ...
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