Beautiful Day in Rwanda

Today’s word – beautiful!  We ventured out to the countryside today about an hour away from Kigali. As we left the city and began winding our way on the curvy, mountainous roads, we were struck with the beauty of this land!  Lush, green, mountains with all sorts of crops grew on tiered layers along the mountainsides.  Obviously fertile soil, there were continuous rice field, sugar cane stands, banana groves, beautiful flowers, and towering eucalyptus trees.  Truly beautiful!

We arrived at the village town of Byumba, north of Kigali near the Ugandan border, to visit another ministry center where women are being trained to sew and weave baskets.  We are so thankful for the men who are teaching sewing at the project centers; they have hearts to teach and help women who have suffered so much hardship.  The class today was on measuring accurately for clothing.  You should see the “blackboard” the teacher is using.  The surface has been so used that there is barely any “black” left!  I could barely see his writing, but this is all they have to work with.  As in every location, the teachers, helpers, and women overflow with thankfulness for the sewing machines, supplies, and funds to even have such opportunities.  They are so truly grateful.

Next to the sewing area is an open area where they come together to worship as well as work.  The weavers were busily creating beautiful round baskets.  I think we are bringing most of them home with us!  They also weave mats that are used for bedding.  We had a sweet time of sharing, praising and praying with them before we left.

It is the rainy season here, but we have been so blessed with wonderful weather.  We had a good downpour last night, but it didn’t interfere with any of the travels.  Today it rained while we were at the center, but stopped by the time we needed to leave, leaving everything looking clean and fresh; more praises.

Ruth, the Rwandan director, invited us to her home tonight for a farewell dinner.  There is no better honor than being invited into someone’s home.  The ladies had prepared a delicious meal for us, and then the singing and sharing began.  These are truly beautiful women with beautiful hearts.  Several of the pastors joined us tonight as well, and it is so encouraging to see the unity and fellowship this group enjoys.

We had the joy of giving a guitar to Peter, Ruth’s son who has the beautiful voice.  He definitely has a musical gift, and was thrilled to have an instrument of his own!   Our friend, Tony, designed these guitars to be used and transported all over the world, and through generous donations, we have been able to share one on every team; it is such a blessing to those who receive them. 

An added honor and blessing we received tonight were gifts of traditional dress made by one of the ladies in the sewing center.  All five of us ladies were “dressed” by our sisters in elegant dresses; such graciousness!

There is no such thing as a short goodbye here, but as we exchanged hugs, prayers, thank yous, and words of encouragement, we returned to the hotel to pack our bags for Burundi.  It’s so hard to believe that our time in Rwanda has come to an end!  We have all been touched in a deeply personal way by the people here; we have grieved with them over all they have endured, we’re celebrated and shared joy together, and we have formed a bond that is truly “beautiful.”

They have asked us to ask all of you to please pray for them and their country, and they have promised to pray for us and our country.  Please join us in remembering them and doing what we can to support them and expand the ministry here.

Diane for the team