20181020 Newsletter

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings from Rwanda! I can’t believe KICS has just finished the first quarter of the teaching year. It seems just a few weeks ago I was in the USA.

Our small group of men and ladies have been growing together through the book of Philippians. We had a great discussion on what it means to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). The group is made up of professional mature Christians (they work for the UN, embassies, parliament, etc.) who also have children at KICS. Next week we will begin a 9-week series on faith. This will be a PowerPoint presentation I developed several years ago and have used in 2 other countries. I’m updating and personalizing it for Rwandans. I really enjoy teaching this group. I enjoy teaching!

Yash (my 11^th grade Hindu student from 2 years ago) came to me last week and told me he had an encounter with God. When I asked him which God, he couldn’t tell me. He did say he was on a mission to pursue God and find out who He is. I challenged him to talk to Jesus and say, “If you are God and you love me and have a plan for me, then reveal yourself to me”. I was so excited when he told me he would do just that and he thought it was a great idea. 

I’m learning that it is not the spectacular, miraculous acts of God (like I experienced in Uganda) that prove He is working in me and through me but rather the day to day interactions with students I have grown to love; the middle school identity crises, the need to be accepted by peers, the constant fear that a teacher or classmate doesn’t like them, the continual questions of why doesn’t God fix the world… My 12th grader continues to grapple with the whys and whens of life as he works through his anger at God. My 6ths graders are dealing with their fears of middle school, living in a new country (and in some cases parents who work in another country), wondering if they are smart enough to compete with native English students. We talk, discuss, and in the end, I pray that I am bringing them closer to true relationship with Jesus Christ.

The rains are here again. Green has replaced the brown everywhere I look outside. Daily very hard thunderstorms lasting about 30 minutes flood the streets and sometimes the schoolrooms and houses if a door is left open or there is a gap under a door. The temperature seldom strays from 80F during the day and 60F at night, year-round.

I am truly grateful for your love, prayers and financial support.