With love from Rwanda
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous hand. Isaiah 41:10
We often see young children near town or on the road. Sometimes they are fetching water or firewood. Sometimes they are asking for food or money. The injustice of it feels most striking when I (Rachel) am in the car driving to work after dropping Noella off at school, and I see another girl or boy her age who instead of going to school is walking alone, carrying a heavy load. And, it tugs at you, right? You can’t just accept it, but it’s hard to know how to help. Last month though, Emmanuel had the opportunity to act on that tug.
Kirambo Market is a nearby market where children from surrounding villages from less fortunate families come to ask others for food or money to take home to share with their siblings and parents. To serve these children, Emmanuel, in partnership with the local Youth for Christ chapter and the Kibogora Free Methodist Church, helped to organize an event where over 150 kids came and had a free meal and heard about God’s love for them.
Before lunch was served, Emmanuel shared his testimony and could relate to the kids because he had similar experiences to theirs when he was growing up in rural Rwanda. He shared the passage above with them, and told them what he found to be true while growing up, that they are always remembered and loved by God.
What we are praying for:
The hospital ER building project is progressing but is also looking for further funding to be completed. An old building that houses the current ER and the previous maternity department will need to be torn down and the ground will need to be developed and a path paved to provide safe and efficient access to the new ER building for staff, patients, and ambulances. Over 50% of the funds have already been committed. We are praying for the remaining balance to be provided soon so the project is not delayed.
A large group of medical students, interns, physicians, and surgeons arrived at Kibogora from Alabama at the beginning of February, with more coming this weekend. We are praying for their time here to be a blessing to patients and staff, and for them to be blessed as well. Also, we are praying for their safety as they travel to and from the US.
What we are thankful for:
We recently teamed up with Kibogora Polytechnic to hold a mobile clinic in Tyazo Market. Nursing students from Kibogora Polytechnic and medical students from the Alabama team joined us to complete health screenings focusing on blood pressure and blood glucose. People with abnormally high results were referred to the health center to be transferred to the hospital non-communicable disease department for further follow up. We had a high turnout, and all around it was a successful event that served people in the community and provided a good learning opportunity for local and international students. We are thankful it worked out so well, and we are working to organize a similar event that will be held at a different location in the coming weeks.
We are also very thankful that four pediatric patients have arrived safely in the US to receive treatment at Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. Each of the kids have undergone an amputation in the past and have outgrown their prosthetics. They will undergo physical therapy and be fitted for new prosthetics while in the US. Two of them will also require surgery. A nurse from the post-surgery department at Kibogora Hospital is traveling with the kids to serve as their guardian. This was a long, paperwork-filled process to obtain visas and approvals for the children to be able to travel to the US for this treatment. We’re thankful they made it, and we continue to pray for them throughout their stay.
Family Updates:
If you made it this far, we are excited to share some personal news with you! We’re pregnant! I’m about 22 weeks along, and baby girl or boy is expected to arrive mid-June. With our additional six-month commitment ending soon, and the impending delivery of our third child, we are planning to travel back to the US at the end of March. After spending five to six months in the US, we hope to come back to Rwanda for an additional year, as long as our family is healthy and we have the financial support we need.
Please pray for our family as we navigate this transition. There are many unknowns ahead and logistics to figure out. We are praying for God’s peace and provision.
Noella and Matayo are their happy, healthy selves. We have had a couple episodes of illness, but everyone is recovered. We talk often about how we have two homes. They are looking forward to coming back to their “other home” soon. Please pray for their young hearts and minds to adjust well, as we know it may be overwhelming to take an extended leave from a home they have grown to know and love. We are grateful to have such wonderful support from family and friends who love on our kids, no matter where we are.
Thank you for taking the time to read our update, to pray for us, to message us words of encouragement. We pray we have the opportunity to connect with many of you in person again or for the first time while we are in the US. We will send another update on Kibogora and our family before our travel date arrives. We appreciate your continued partnership that makes all of our work here possible.
