Lost in Translation

We've completed our first day with readers in Kigali, Rwanda. Our day starts as a driver comes to pick us up from the missionaries' home which is about 15 min. from our work site. On Sunday and car came to the gate and honked, so like the good workers we are we followed directions and got in the car with the driver assuming he would take us to the church for worship. He did not. Instead, he took us to the Hixson's house located near the church. Unfortunately, in our jet-lagged state neither Chuck nor I knew where to go or how to communicate with our driver that we were in the wrong place. Did I mention I left the cell phone at the house (classic Emily style)? Just then, Bryan Hixson (missionary) drove around the corner to our rescue. When he saw the driver that we assumed he had hired Bryan exclaimed, "Who's that guy?" Apparently the original driver had to leave the country and had this other fellow drive in his place. It was all very humorous.

This morning we almost made it to the church as scheduled. I had noticed our driver was driving VERY SLOW. Other cars were whipping around us honking to inform us that our speed was inadequate. I was suspicious at this point. As we drove up the hill to the church the driver randomly came to a stop and then looked at us as if to say "ok, get out now." We pointed up the hill, so he put the car (which had died) in reverse...rolled backwards...turned a bit and then stopped. He turned around once more and very sheepishly said, "Problem", as he pointed to the hood of the car. I was impressed as that was the only English word he had said thus far. Thank God for the blessing of legs and feet. We walked the final 2 blocks up to the church and "randomly" happened to run into a fellow worker form North Richland Hills Church of Christ. God seems to be taking great care of us while making many allowances for laughter in the mean time.

We started out our morning with Psalm 121, and good meditation and prayer verse. It is a huge blessing to remember the Creator of the Universe is protecting us while we are so far from familiar things.

Our reading sessions went well. The readers seem to be very motivated to learn and discuss the bible. Many of them are young men. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will work powerfully through us in each of our reading sessions. The sessions start at 8am and end at 7pm. We have a 30 minute lunch break at which time we walk across the street to a school where a meal is prepared for us and other volunteers and church workers.

Bryan and Holly Hixson have told us many stories of how the genocide in Rwanda has altered so many lives. Many of our readers lost family members, and some lost their entire family. If you are interested in reading about the genocide, I'd suggest "Left to Tell" by Immaculee Ilibagiza. I know Katie is reading the book, and Bryan Hixson offered me his copy to read.

We are very blessed to be here!

-Emily

p.s. - I tried to upload a photo of Chuck and his reader without any luck. : ( I'll try again later.

Chuck and Emily arrive in one piece...

This is going to be short, and sweet... because I am both. The flight was great (considering the trip was 18 hrs start to finish). We didn't lose any luggage or have any flight complications. I'm glad we're here and give God thanks for watching over us. We will be attending church a 10 a.m. tomorrow morning, while those of you who live in Texas will be sound asleep as we are 7 hours ahead of Texas time.

Please continue to pray for us. I'm already looking forward to the rest of our team's arrival!

-Emily

This is a test as well, since I am definitely an amateur blogger!

 

The 1st leg of the Prestoncrest 3 team leaves for DC tonight and for Rwanda in the morning. Safe travels and God's blessings to Chuck & Emily! - Nathan

Meet the Team

Here's our Let's Start Talking Team:  Nathan, Emily, Katie, Chuck.

Keep us in your prayers!

Rwanda 2008

We will be serving on a Lets Start Talking (LST) campaign to Kigali , Rwanda from Jun 27 – July 20. LST is a Christian organization based outside of Fort Worth, TX aimed in using English conversation classes as a Bible study method in non-English speaking countries. LST has been training and sending teams all over the world for twenty-five years in more than fifty countries.

In Rwanda , we will work with local missionaries Bryan and Holly Hixson in teaming up with selected individuals who would like to improve their English conversational skills through reading the Bible. Every day we will meet with these people and help them practice their English, while using the Gospel of Luke as the textbook so that they will also read about Jesus. I understand many of these readers have a very basic understanding of God and His son Jesus and are anxious to learn much more.

Rwanda is a tiny, landlocked country in central Africa nestled between Uganda , Tanzania , Burundi , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . You might be familiar with the ethnic genocide that occurred in Rwanda in 1994, when almost one million Rwandese were slaughtered. This occurred as the sons and daughters of the formerly-exiled Tutsi group rebelled against the dominant ethnic group Hutus and formed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). The killing finally ended as the Hutu regime was overthrown in July 1994. This period of violence has long ended and Rwanda is a much safer country today, but the natives of this country have experienced much pain and suffering that is still evident today.

We are sure to interact with many that were affected by that dark period. We believe God’s peace and healing power is the only ultimate remedy for the families and survivors of this violence, and we look forward to hearing their personal stories and sharing God’s love and saving grace. In addition, I believe our team will be providing a great service to the Rwandans who would like to improve their English-speaking skills to excel in today’s global environment.

We sincerely covet your thoughts and prayers as our team prepares for this trip, and for our safety and success. Please pray for the Rwandan Christians and adults I will be reading with even before I have met them, as I know God is already working on their heart and mine. Our trip will be successful only with God’s blessings. We expect the trip to be challenging but extremely rewarding and that our faith will be strengthened. More importantly, we hope to be helpful to our new Rwandan friends by helping them learn English and studying God’s word.