Second Sunday

Well, the thing they always tell you is that when it comes to doing mission work, flexibility is the name of the game.  Fortunately, this year's detour is not near as extreme as last year's.  Last year Peggy Scudiere broke her leg and had to have surgery.  This year, the four bags that Christina and Shane did not arrive with them.  It took 48 hours to figure out they were stuck in Toronto.  Their itinerary called for them to fly to Toronto from Boston, and then onto to Amsterdam and Kigali.  Due to weather delays in Boston they were put on a direct flight from Boston to Amsterdam.  But their bags went on to Toronto anyways and apparently in Toronto you have to claim your bag, clear customs and then drop your bag for the next leg.  Obviously they were not there to do so, and things got stuck.  It is tough to go 48 hours without anyway knowing where the bag is.  Shane had to buy some clothes to wear, and Christina got her gift of a Rwandan gift early.  As of now the bags are not here, which also means that 5 solar panels and about half of the LED light sets are not here either.  We do pray they arrive Monday night as expected so the technical training can proceed. 

In a sign of the friendships we have built here, Christina has spent much of Sunday afternoon visiting with Angel, her translator from last year.  Angel was engaged to be married with the wedding just weeks away in 2016.  This year, she had her first child the day before Christina arrived, so she is getting to see the new baby two days after coming home from the hospital.  God does indeed have a big family! 

Shane preached out in Kabuga this morning.  Aimee is the pastor there.  The new road is approaching their building and they will have to relocate soon, which is a tremendous challenge.  Shane preached from John 11 on Trusting God in Troubled Times, an experience he can easily relate to as his youngest son Chase has been diagnosed with a rare brain issue that will present a life long challenge. 

I got to preach at the Zeraphath church, which is the base church from which we teach. Christina sang as well and did a little pitch for her meeting with the female church leaders on Monday.  She isn't the only one who sang, as four different choirs sang as well.  The one pictured below is the Kids Choir.   The other picture below is from there as well. The picture of the two trees are of the ones they planted in honor of my Mom and Dad with the church building in the background.( I couldn't get it to upload over the slow internet.  I will try later).  Every time I think there are trees growing in Rwanda in their memory, it brings tears to my eyes.  God indeed has a big family.