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Tuesday July 26 - Thursday, July 28
Tuesday we visited Remera Hospital, a Presbyterian Hospital north of Kigali. It is the only hospital for over 300,000 people, yet has only 160 beds. We visited the maternity ward, labs, recovery rooms and pharmacy. There are a great many challenges here that need to be addressed, but slowly and surely they are making progress.
We finished our visits with a reception and dinner at Kanombe with some of the church members, Pastor Julius, and Emmanuel. They even had a surprise birthday party and cake for Madding on her 17th birthday.
We leave on Wednesday for a safari, returning Thursday to board the plane for home at 8 in the evening. We have had a great trip with lots of stories to tell you when we return!
Yours in Christ,
The Rwanda Mission Team
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Monday, July 25
Dear friends and family,
Today we toured a Hannah Ministries project at a nearby school run by Josphine, Ebralie's longtime friend and the wife of the Anglican Archbishop of the area. This is a very poor area and over 600 kids attend school here. We brought them several new pairs of shoes, uniforms, playground balls, and notebooks. After lunch, several of us toured the Kigali Genocide Memorial where nearly 300,000 people are buried. It is difficult to take in, but it is essential to know where this country and these people were 17 years ago, in order to appreciate where they are now and where they are heading.
Yours in Christ,
The Rwanda Mission Team
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Friday, July 22 - Sunday, July 24
Friday we again worked at Kanombe, getting everything ready for the baptisms on Saturday and the dedication on Sunday. Friday evening, Ebrailie threw a surprise early 30th wedding anniversary party for she and William. Many of their family members and long-time friends came to wish them well.
Saturday, Kanombe baptized 28 youth (by immersion) in the new font/pool at the front of the church and added nine new members to the congregation. We were treated not only to the local choirs, but also a fabulous choir from Dar Al Salaam in Tanzania. Saturday evening we were treated to a “cultural soiree” at a member’s house, over looking a large expanse of Kigali. It was a wonderful evening with lots of singing, traditional dances and dinner.
Sunday, of course, was the big dedication celebration. It was a wonderful event and Stuart Gordon delivered a great sermon, receiving several rounds of applause for reading Psalm 100 in kinyrwandan (evidently, he was very good!). Ebralie provided traditional Rwandan dresses which are very colorful for all the women in our visiting group.
The church was packed with approximately 1100 people in attendance. The new church replaced an older building with a seating capacity of only 200.
Following the dedication we had a great Rwandese meal while listening to choirs.
We are thinking of you all. Please continue to pray for us as we wrap up our visit here.
Yours in Christ,
The Rwanda Mission Team
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Thursday, July 21
Dear friends,
Today we worked at Busanza church digging footers for a new sanctuary. Th old sanctuary is a small, dark mud brick building, with dirt floors. We dug footers the old fashioned way - with shovels and pick axes, with the members of Kanombe and Busanza working along with us. Busanza is a seed church, or an outreach of the Kanombe church. After coming back to the guest house to clean up and rest, we went out for a lovely dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant. Tomorrow we will head back to Kanombe as there is still much work to do to get that church ready for dedication on Sunday.
Yours in Christ,
The Rwanda Mission Team
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Wednesday, July 20
The group parted ways today with some accompanying Stuart Gordon to visit the local IJM offices, and some journeying to see the mountain gorillas. IJM has been working in recent years to help those families whose land was confiscated during the genocide. This has been a very arduous task, but those claimants are starting to dwindle. Today they work to stem the tide of trafficking and sex crimes against young women and girls. Groups of American and Rwandan lawyers, legal aid, police officers and investigators spend countless hours tracking and prosecuting the perpetrators of the crimes. Counseling is also available for the victims.
Several of the group accompanied Stu Ross for a trek deep into the rugged mountain area of Volcanoes National Park to spend an hour observing and photographing some of the last mountain gorillas on the planet. We had to leave at 4 am, drive a couple of hours and then hike up the side of a volcano for a couple of hours, but it was worth it to see these animals.
We miss you all, but we are really enjoying Rwanda!
Yours in Christ,
The Rwanda Mission Team
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Tuesday, July 19
Hello again,
We spent a hard day working at Kanombe again today. We left the guest house at around 8 am and worked until 1:30 pm. Most of the work today was outside as the ladies of the church were cleaning the floors getting ready to paint it. We painted the large cement planters, the mortar between the rocks on the outside wall, and the trim around the outside, as well as toughing up the interior.Several of the young men of the church worked with us and it was fun and interesting getting to know them. Most are studying at a trade school or in college.
Pastor Julius hosted us again for lunch and then we headed back home for the rest of the afternoon. After cleaning up, we walked to the Nakumatt (the African style Walmart) and the local coffee shop (Bourbon Street). Tomorrow we split up with some of the group heading for the mountains for the gorilla trek, and others going to visit the local IJM office here in Kigali.
Yours in Christ,
Your Rwanda Mission Team
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Monday, July 18
Dear friends and family,
Today we spent the morning and afternoon working at Kanombe EPR (Presbyterian Church of Rwanda). The sanctuary is simply beautiful! We painted the inside of the main structure, working on the walls and trim. We walked to Pastor Julius' home nearby for lunch, which the ladies of the church provided for us. While we accomplished quite a bit today, we still have another full day of work ahead of us tomorrow. This evening we walked a couple of blocks from the guest house to the Iris restaurant for a lovely meal out. We are truly enjoying our relationship building experience with the Rwandan Presbyterian Church!
Yours in Christ,
The Rwanda Mission Team
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Sunday, July 17
Hello FPC friends!
Today we spent the day in rural Rwanda at a very special church service. We left the guest house at 7:30 this morning after a quick breakfast, then headed out of Kilgali and up into the highlands. After about an hour and half we pulled into a large community on the top of a beautiful hill, with the grand landscape of the Rwandan countryside all around us.
We were privileged and honored to be special guests at an interdenominational and international service celebrating the ordination of several new Presbyterian pastors. Local dignitaries, ministers and leaders from other denominations as well as Presbyterian ministers from Belgium, South Korea and the Netherlands all joined the celebration. As with all African church services, there were several different choirs, live music, and lots of dancing, in addition to the ordination ceremony. Afterwards (4.5 hours later!) we were treated to lunch.
We returned home around 5 pm for a little rest and relaxation before getting to work tomorrow.
In Christ,
The Rwanda Mission Team
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Saturday, July 16
Dear Friends & Family,
Today we visited with the kids at CPAJ, a center for street youth in Kigali and an outreach directly supported by our church. We traveled with the kids to a rural area to visit one of the genocide museums. A docent of the museum recounted the horrible events of April 1994. There, in the small church, hundreds of Tutsis hid from the Hutu mobs. Sadly, they were found. Over 5,000 people were murdered in this small section of Rwanda. The museum displays the victims' clothing, shoes, personal items and the food they had brought with them into hiding. There is a chilling display of some of their remains as well, rows and rows of skulls, over half of which were so small it was obvious they were children. Bob LaGrone and Stuart Gordon laid flowers at the memorial. The purpose of this museum, and several others scattered throughout the country, is to make sure that the atrocities are never forgotten.
After touring the museum, we drove a short distance to a small park and had a picnic lunch with the kids. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the toys, balls, bubbles, and frisbees graciously provided by the Hartley family. The afternoon culminated with an impromptu skins versus shirts soccer game, which William refereed.
This evening, Kanombe church members hosted a dinner for us at one member's beautiful home. It was a delightful day and we are looking forward to service tomorrow!
In Christ,
The Rwanda Mission Team
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We've Arrived
Greetings from Kigali!
We have all arrived safely, as has all of our luggage (30 checked bags plus our carry-ons)! We left Nashville at 12:30 pm Wednesday, July 13 and arrived in Kigali around 8:00 pm on Thursday, July 14. Pastor Julius and the elders of Kanombe Parish met us at the airport and transferred all of our luggage for us and provided transportation to the EPR Guest House here in Kigali. At dinner, the session moderator formally welcomed us.
Today (Friday) is a rest and recuperation day after so much hard traveling. The LaGrones, the Hartleys, and the Fitzgeralds went up to Remera Hospital to visit with the doctors and staff briefly before the whole group visits next week. The rest of us walked down to the Naukumatt (an African style Walmart) to pick up any necessary or forgotten items. The rest of the afternoon we are simply resting, unpacking, and getting familiar with our surroundings.
The weather here is better than in Nashville, with low humidity and highs around 80 degrees. Tomorrow will be a day of touring and visiting the genocide museum.
Yours in Christ,
The Rwanda Mission Team
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Barbara Arrants
Christopher Arrants
Cindy Bozman
Ian Fitzgerald
Jean Fitzgerald
Stuart Gordon
Alyssa Hartley
Andrea Hartley
Darla Hartley
Nathan Hartley
Randy Hartley
Bob LaGrone
Elise LaGrone
Ed McFadden
Madding McFadden
Pat McFadden
Wren McFadden
David Mwizerwa
Ebralie Mwizerwa
Tim Mwizerwa
William Mwizerwa
Linda Ross
Stu Ross |
Fifteen eager mission trip participants meet at the Nashville International Airport on the morning of Wednesday, July 13 to begin their 24-hour journey to Kigali, Rwanda. Upon their arrival in Rwanda, they will meet up with fellow church member Ebralie Mwizerwa who left earlier to attend a mission conference in Kenya. Also meeting the team in Kigali will be Stu and Linda Ross, East Africa Coordinators for The Outreach Foundation, and the Hartely family, friends of the Mwizerwas.
While in-country, the team will represent First Presbyterian Church at a pastoral ordination ceremony and a new church building dedication. Both events mark significant strides in the growth and revitalization of the Presbyterian Church in Rwanda (EPR). The new church building dedication celebrates a multi-year construction partnership between First Presbyterian Church Nashville and the Kanombe Parish in Kigali.
The mission team will spend time visiting other mission projects with which First Presbyterian Church has partnerships including Hannah Ministries, CPAJ, and International Justice Mission. Additionally, the team will deliver numerous medical supplies to Remara Hospital, a facility owned and operated by the EPR serving a very large population on a near shoe string budget. The hospital was the recent recipient of funds from First Presbyterian Church and friends enabling it to finally purchase a commercial grade washer and dryer to help reduce the spread of infections among patients that happened more easily by way of hand washed linens.
It is hoped the team will be able to send regular updates and pictures during their time in Rwanda that will be posted here as they are received. We ask you to join us in praying for the mission team and those in Rwanda as together they grow in faith and fellowhip by serving one another in the name of our loving God.
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