Praise God for hot water!

Hallelujah! We finally have water pressure and heat! It has only been nearly 2 1/2 months! :) AND, when the landlord and plumber (and various other assistants) came to fix this problem, they also checked out the stove/oven and figured out why nasty smelling smoke poured out every time we turned it on... they found a rat's nest situated therein. Rwanda rocks.

1 Peter 1

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

God's love for me is great... but how much love do I really give in return? If our faith is worth more than gold, why is it that we place more energy and time into gaining "gold" (via our jobs, our love for money, our quest for success and academia) than we do in strengthening our faith? The goal of my faith should be the salvation of souls, not personal fulfillment or individual growth, but a care for the eternal....
God continues to teach me more and more about his desires for my life!

Joshua 1:8-9

"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

This was my students' memory verse this past week. A great one to learn! God is here with me in Kigali. And God is there with you wherever you are as well. What a comfort to know that his presence is constant, regardless of circumstances or location!

Inhale, nice and slow

Don't inhale while driving or walking around Kigali. The smell of exhaust is overwhelming at times with all of the motos and somewhat older cars lining the streets. Sometimes I wonder (and worry :) ) about how many brain cells are being destroyed each and every time I take a deep breath while walking or driving through the city streets... What a pleasant thought. :)

Housekeeper

We now have a new housekeeper. We had to let the other one go as she was not performing her duties well at all. Too bad. But our new girl seems to be hard-working so pray for that to continue. She doesn't speak any English at all though, so communication may be difficult.

It's so strange to even have a housekeeper at all. She works for us 3 days per week - cooking dinners, cleaning the house, going to the market, and doing our laundry. It is part of the culture here. Nearly everyone has a housekeeper - even, I am told, many poorer people, as it elevates their status a bit more. It also provides employment for local people. Plus, their presence at the home acts as a day guard so the house is protected. Nonetheless, I still struggle at times as I feel extremely privileged to have someone perform those duties for me on a daily basis... especially when I CAN do those things for myself.

Chapel Fun

The elementary division enjoys Chapel once per week. We had had only 1 so far, led by the Headmaster, but each grade is responsible for leading a chapel every 5 weeks. Of course, the other teachers "voted" Grade 5 to lead the first one and so I decided we'd take it for the team. This decision was made on Friday. Thus, we began to put together our Grade 5 chapel as of this past Monday. And did I forget to mention that the chapel takes place each Wednesday? Hah!

But, they truly are a remarkable class. They have such sincere hearts who can become so passionate - and especially when it comes to a focus on God! Together with my guidance, they managed to put together an excellent Chapel for Kindergarten to Grade 4 students - complete with singing, acting, praying, and Bible reading - in 2 days. Everyone participated and despite their extreme nervousness (near hyperventilating mere moments before starting... I found out none of them had ever performed "on a stage" before... yikes :) ), they performed beautifully.

But here's the funny part... All of the other students from K-4 loved it so very much that they erupted into loud cheering and clapping after every single Bible reading, prayer, or mini-skit. When returning to class, they were giving high-fives to the Grade 5 students and congratulating them on an awesome Chapel that they loved. And here's the cherry on top... after school, many of my Grade 5 students were bombarded by younger kids asking for AUTOGRAPHS! :) So cute! And they really did give out their autographs on little scraps of paper to anyone who asked...! Way to go, Grade 5! :)

Package!

I received my first package in the mail today! So exciting! It included ant traps and tostitos with salsa! What a thrill! (Seriously... I will never take these items for granted again...) :)