Introduction of A Voice For Rwanda

Welcome back! I am welcoming myself back to blogging as I have set that aside for to long. I hope to be able to maintain two blogs. One for the work of A Voice for Rwanda and one of my more personal challenges as a cross cultural Mom of 9 Rwandan children and the journey living as a missionary and all it's challenges God is using to develop me as a person. The more personal blog is mamamutoscorner@blogspot.com. So for any of you who would like to follow these journeys please feel free to add yourself as a follower.

The last post I entered was when we had to go back to America. We have now been back in Rwanda since May of 2009. A Voice For Rwanda is a non profit organization( although we are still working on the 501C3 portion), we are registered in Rwanda as an official INGO though we are volunteer and are not paid by the organization. We are missionaries that raise our own support and program support. Foundation Bible School is now in it's second year with approximately 20 students, mostly pastors or leaders of local churches in the area. We have two Remember Me Homes, which are for older orphans. The girls home has 7 girls now, six have moved on to developing their lives. This is the purpose of the homes so though we are sad to see them leave we are also excited they are beginning to develop their own life. The boys home has 10. We now have nine Rwandan children as well in our own home. The Help program assists 13 families in the village of Akindege.

Since our mission statement is to minister the Father's love to the people of Rwanda physically, spiritually, emotionally and socially this means relationship. Though we have programs they are relational. It is so much easier to have programs and not care about relationship. Or you may care but knowing you are not involved personally is so much easier. Staying with those you minister to in a relationship can be draining, bang your head against a wall kind of ministry at times. It also means you minister to a smaller circle. Though smaller we pray the roots of where God is using us to reach will multiply for the Kingdom of Heavens Sake. Our heart deire is to make a difference in someone's eternity.

I will be posting separate posts to describe each of our ministry programs and then continue on with their development.

Time Marches On

It is hard to believe we have been back in America since September. Getting readyto returnto Rwanda has been an expierence. One where your heart is torn many times over. Missing everyone, yet trying to adapt to being in America while preparing to go back; tends to have many emotions clash into each other like a tidal wave on the beach.

Running the ministry from America has had it's challenges. We are thankful for our Rwandan brethern there in all their faithfulness and responsibilties they are carrying out. We could not have stayed in America so long if they were not there with us. So a big thank you to all of them.

We leave to go back to Rwanda May 29, 2009 in which we have begin the countdown, 106 more days until we disembark from our plane onto Rwandan soil. Until then, we still have much to do. Our web site is in the process of being worked on, www.avoiceforrwanda.com. It is still under construction at the moment.

We are planning some fundraisers to raise money for our Rememebr Me Homes these next few months. It is exciting planning future events and possibiities as well as the future work in Rwanda. My husband is going to begin doing a lot of teaching and developing ISOM (International School of Ministry) classes in some different areas.

Oral Exam Day

SCHOOL DAYS

School days, good old fashioned school days. What is an old fashion school day anyways? Looking back I can remember the excitement in the air of buying school supplies. Of course then report card time which could come bringing dread if you did not do well or a special treat if you did. Myself, never the best student. I never really knew how to study or maybe I did not care enough . I did like to learn, but did not appreciate the opportunity granted me in attending school. For sure, I loved the snow days ,summer vacation and the vacations in between.

In Rwanda, and probably other countries as well school means something totally different. To sum it up in one word-HOPE. Hope for a better future.Hope to possibly get a job. For parents if even one child in their family can become educated there is hope they will be taken care of in their old age.

Living in Rwanda for over two years we have seen many things first hand. Adjusting from our culture we began to hear, see and learn. Poverty is not just a lack of money, it is a lack of resources. One can have all the money in the world, yet if you were out in a desert some place with nothing around you, what good would it do you? Even once educated; jobs are slim. Especially in more rural areas. But one must first hurdle getting to school and staying in school .

The hearts cry of every parent and every child is school. Their dream, desire, reason to live is to attend school. When a parent cannot send their child to school they feel as if they failed. But what happens when a child cannot attend school?

The child needs supervision, yet if the mother and father have any type of small job it means the child stays home with other relatives or even other siblings not in school. Children running all over the roads, far away from their homes is not uncommon. Many children get hit by cars and can be prone to be used in sexual situations. Even if nothing "bad" happens, the child is lonely, alone with no one to care for them. Their day can consist of cleaning house, getting water, eating very little, fighting sickness and worst of all-no hope.

The videos and photos we show above are from our early learning program. A program we began to be a help for those who could not afford school fees. Thus the name "The Help Program". We have some funny stories of when we handed out registration forms since we could only have 25 students and how the Mamas cornered Les to get one. Just to register, knowing over 100 Mama's were there yet only 25 slots could be filled.

Our first year we were to start with 24 and had 55. The second year 15 graduated and are now attending a good private school. The government primary schools are less expensive but may have 80 children in one class. The second year of the program we felt we could replace the 15 graduates and had maybe 10 more, this the 25 openings. We ended up with 98 children.

One can not explain the need. Having mother's knock on your gate saying "Kwiega Mama Muto" over and over. Kwiega means to learn. Tears, sometimes anger, lying pushing. Anything to give their child a chance for hope. Some mothers disabled, raped and are young children themselves with children. How many times did my heart break. I have lost count. Yet knowing what you do is only a drop in the bucket compared to the need. Yet if everyone does their drop the bucket would eventually get filled. Although we could not continue this program when we moved to another area due to some technicalities we know for a short time these 98 children learned and receievd hope for a sorttime at least. Out of the first 55 students 33 of them now attend private primary schools in our child sponsorship program.

So, school days in Rwanda. Different than our childhood memories. What is your favorite memory? Did you ever look at going to school as a burning desire for -HOPE?

Children's Day

Children's Day started almost immediately. We arrived in Rwanda on March 29,2006. Our first month we lived with Pastor Ngondo's family. When we had visited Rwanda back in 2004 we stayed with him, his family and the orphans of the Mpore Pefa Orphanage. Our beloved Pastor went home to be with the Lord in October 2005. Just a few months shy of when we would arrive. We worked with Pefa as Elim Fellowship missionaries for our first two years. We now attend Celpar Church and have relocated to Kanombe in June 2008.

After a month the orphanage moved to it's new location and we rented the property the orphanage had now vacated. We lived there and began hosting mission teams and got to know our neighbors. Many of our neighbors happen to be 12 and under. Many of them stopping in at all hours of the day or following us home from church.

We had wonderful visits with the children. Singing songs, sharing tea, telling stories and just hanging out. We realized we could not continue this as many visits in a day and came up with the idea of Children's Day. We thought about calling it Bible Club, however we had many Muslim neighbors and those of traditional religion. We did not want any children to be left out, thus the name Children's Day.

Every Tuesday from 4:30 to 5:30, rain or shine children would come. First the children came from just our own village. But soon the word went out over the hills. "Kuwakabiri, saa kumi nigichi, biscuit at Mama Muto's." Translated as Tuesday, 4:30 at Mama Muto's and you get a biscuit. Of course a biscuit really is a plain milk cookie. Sort of like a bigger animal cracker in square form.

We would play soccer in the field below, sing songs, have a bible story and then of course each child received a biscuit on there way out. It became more difficult though as more children came. First there was 10, then 15, then 30. When the numbers reached over 30 we realized without a translator it could get a little dangerous. So we stopped the soccer and just went with singing, dancing, bible stories and of course our famous biscuit. At Christmas time we did gift bags. Thankfully God provided us with a translator, Eric who is now part of our family.

We saw God work miracles. After 30 children, the numbers grew every week as word carried through the hills. In the end we had on a regular basis 200 to 250 children. At Christmas 325.
There were many testimonies of children giving their lives to the Lord. You could hear the children sing the songs they learned every day, every where. You could see a difference in them the more weeks went by. Tuesday became a very special day for them. A time and a place just for them. A place to laugh, dance, sing and share. It was a safe place. Parents, thankful their child had at least one hour a week of "something special".

One of neighbors who is of Muslim faith told us all her children sing the Christian songs. They even changed the day at the mosque since all the children were at Children's Day.

We thank the Lord for all our special memories. When Children's Day came to a close since we moved and thought we were coming back to America on a more long term basis; sadness is all we saw and felt. In our hearts we pray somewhere, someone will begin a special day for these children. If not we know for over two years Tuesday became special for them. A day they will tell their own children someday.

As we live in Kanombe, Children's Day will be one of our first events to begin. We look forward to the day it will begin. It probably will not be on a Tuesday, but we know it will be special, for all the children, for us and more importantly for the Lord.

Back in 1994-Our Calling

Sometimes it is difficult to remember what one was doing in a certain year. Especially if we did not write things down. The interesting part is God can remind you at a unique point in your life.

My husband and I attended Bible School in New York in 2002. We prepared for over one year to earn the money to take the next step in our life. We had no idea of where God's leading would take us. For me, having worked in the insurance industry for over 25 years, making sure employment and employers were always a part of me; the road God began paving became difficult to accept.

We thought Les would go to school while I worked full time and then I would attend school after he graduated and began work. Pretty safe and long term. Well God's plans not being the same as ours, visions came and went quicker than we could have ever thought.

Prior to arriving in Bible School, we attended church with my sister in Manchester, Connecticut. A visiting missionary from Niger spoke of how many no longer desire to identify with a people group any more. Short term missions are great, however with the philosophy behind short term, it has alleviated the conviction in many cases to commit your life to a people.

After the service, both Les and I realized we never asked God if He wanted us to identify with a people group. Our prayer began in July of 2002 "God, do you want us to give our lives to a people group? If so we are willing." Little did we know how quick God would answer.

Moving to Lima, NY indeed is an experience in itself. Some call it cow country. As classes began for Les, I began working at an insurance agency near Rochester. Not one month later, Les attending chapel as required in which a guest missionary from Kenya spoke. As chapel finished, God continued. In chapel, Les stopped arguing with the Lord and said "I will go to Africa. But you have to tell my wife."

The very same night, we went for a drive. I began asking Les questions. "If you could do anything for God, not what you think you are good at, but whatever is in your heart, what would it be?" Les tends to be quiet and needs more prompting at times so I rephrased the question. "OK, forget what. Where would you go for God?" Of course I had no idea what God had already spoken to him in chapel. As I asked these questions, Les is saying to God" Lord I wanted you to tell her, not me." So, Les asks me the question without answering, 'Where would you want to go?" My answer: "Africa."

Almost driving off the road with the shock of my answer, he began to share with me what happened in chapel. We both then began praying about where. We originally thought Niger since the first missionary we heard had been ministering there. However soon we knew the answer to Niger was no.

In class one day, one of the professors spoke about coming from a meeting held in Kenya in which Rwandan pastors spoke. They asked "Why is no one coming to help us? It has been safe in Rwanda for years now. The church has become silent." When Les heard these words his heart responded saying, "I will go".

As we ate dinner, Les began to share with me what was said in class but not how he responded. As he shared the need my heart said I would go. However I said this out loud. When I did Les responded saying "I said the same thing". So we agreed in prayer and asked God to begin His work in us. To give us His love for the people of Rwanda and to unite our hearts and spirits with theirs.

After we began praying for God to give us continual confirmation of His Will. We knew we would need this as we would look back as problems would happen, we knew we had to be absolutely sure this is where God wanted us.

A few months went by and the Lord reminded both Les and myself of two different instances in our lives. The timing happened to be 1994. Les and I had not even met yet. In 1994 the Lord had spoken to Les about attending Bible School in His timing. For me, God told me as I watched the news of the genocide and the fighting to remember. Coming from a background of a very conservative church where woman are silent, I could not Imagine why God told me this.
I thought because it would help me pray for others who did not have what we had, or to appreciate what we had.

So in obedience I bought two Time magazines and posted them up on my bulletin board with all my photos of friends and family. It did not look pretty, but God told me to remember. In 1997 as I packed to move to a different location and I began to dissemble the bulletin board I thought, "Why on earth do you have these magazines up?" I thought I could remember without them. So I threw them away, or so I thought.

About ten months after God called us to Rwanda and God reminded us of what He told us in 1994, Les and I were going through our stuff in storage to begin the simplification of our life. My husband called me over to a box he had started to dissemble. My eyes drawn to where he pointed. One of the Time Magazines! A I held the magazine in my hand, a touch of heaven hit me. Back in 1994 God showed me this one piece. What I thought was one thing, He had a whole other plan. Approximately ten years to the day from when He told me to remember, Les and I visited Rwanda for the first time in preparation for spending the rest of our lives there.

LOOKING BACK

As we prepare for the future, one must always look back. Sometimes, this is difficult because of the sting of the past. Other times remembering is a joy. But nevertheless we must always "remember" for learning, loving and listening. God has used this as an instrumental tool in our work in Rwanda.

In 2001, Les and I worked with the youth of our church for over four years. Not having experience with youth other than teaching Sunday School although we always loved children. But youth...well I was a afraid of those teen age kind. You know the punk hair style, piercings in places it hurts to even think about. Some tougher and more difficult than chewing on a rubber tire. Thinking they could care less about anything not in their own realm, specifically adults. However this is where God placed us.

Remembering back, there is one thing God shared with us as a life learning lesson. "Do what I have called you to do and I will direct your paths and give you My Creativity. Just love them and depend on Me." So we did. Our prayers for His creativity, trust for Him to show up came with many times of banging our heads against a wall, much fear and misunderstandings. You see Les and I were never your dynamic duo of youth leaders. Looking at us, one would not say, "Wow they are great for the youth leader position." As a matter of fact, far more qualified people could have replaced us.

However, God began teaching us here. Through all the good and bad times we stayed focused on Him. In asking for His Creativity we did many different events. Cafe De Christo, Sunday Night Break Dancing, Talent Shows, Youth Dinners for the Church, Summer Youth Festivals and much more. I must add in accomplishing all of these things two things became evident. They came to pass only because we knew obedience was the key. Even if something seemed to fail, we knew God called us, we were obedient and He is responsible for the results. The only result we knew or really cared about was loving the youth. Seeing them come to their full potential in God. We recognized the importance in the youth knowing no matter what they looked like or how they lived, they knew we loved them.

Of course our desire in our hearts is to see them get saved and be on fire for God. However, reality is we need to love people and work with them without any expectation. To believe God can work it all out, to have the yearning of your heart for them to have a relationship with God, yet as you face daily life with them the two seem to be direct opposites. Our hearts had to remain pure in knowing God's call and what He had said to us, "Just love them".

Looking back, not on all our errors;which believe me there were plenty. We learned from those errors, however we look back in how God worked out everything. In the moments of unexplained pain and problems, of wanting to quit since we seemed to be misunderstood by parents and others. You see we were not dynamic enough for some. Or we were to strict for others. To many rules. Not cool enough. Other ministries or churchyouth groups are doing so much more.The list could go on, but our focus must be on "What has God said?"

You see there are times in our life, if we depend on others to affirm the work God is doing in us, then we will lose focus on the call He has given. We may not step out in something for fear of failure or what others may say. Or the worst thought as we planned events, "What if no one shows up". One lesson we learned quickly is the amount of people meant nothing. Easy to grasp in our heart, but not in our head. Because in these days how many people show up determines how successful an event is. How many salvation cards are completed, or how many "sinner's prayers" are said. Just a reminder there is no chapter and verse for thinking this way. Just another tactic of the enemy to keep us distracted.

Working with the youth, brought us many joys and relationships now, seven years later as we hear of how they are doing. Some in the Army or Airforce, others getting married and raising families, beginning jobs, some struggling with drugs and life in general while others just beginning their walk with Christ now.

Looking back we see how God used these relationships, this call of dependence on Him and expectant obedience with His command of "Just love them" as He then called us to "the people of Rwanda." Or I should say He gave us a new direction, the call really is the same no matter where we are in our life.

After serving with the youth, God changed directions and asked us to attend Bible College in New York. Little did we know where He would be taking us.