Wednesday 25 August 2010

Leaving church after meeting

Having just managed to manoeuvr the ruts in the dirt road to Muyange we arrived at church in the little Toyota Corolla which we have until we can find a more suitable vehicle for the back roads of Rwanda. The building which is about 7 by 6 meters was packed but still bright and airy as the 8 windows do not yet have glass.

Hakiza led worship with a guitar that Pat used to busk with more than 30 years ago in Holland in the bad old days. Worship was lively and a number of women danced despite the cramped conditions. Antoine spoke on the dangers of consulting self proclaimed prophets who have set up business delivering "messages from God". Unfortunately many people are being deceived into paying money to these "prophets" who behave more like fortune tellers than followers of Jesus, as they claim to be.

We were so blessed to see so many old faces and we were very warmly welcomed. It was great to see the result of all the hard work that has gone into the building and to see a healthy vibrant church praising God for his love and care. There remains much to do and we are trusting God to bless and grow his church

Thursday 19 August 2010

Good to be home

We arrived in Kigali to a very warm welcome from friends on August 16th. The Lord blessed us at Heathrow Airport when Pat left a laptop next to an elevator and did not notice for over 30 minutes. After much prayer and running around we got it just as they were putting it on a trolley to take to the Lost Property that did not open till the next morning. Praise God. Antoine and Florence had decorated our house with welcome home signs and friends helped with luggage. It feels good to be home.

Brendan started school on Tuesday morning and he is settling in nicely. There are 5 other MKs (missionary kids) in his class who are friends from when we lived here before.  They are having their first sleepover on Friday night.  

Joel too is connecting with some old MK friends, some who are also going to RVA in Kenya next Friday. We had a little panic when we could not find name tags for his clothes. After a number of calls to Kenya and England (the company who make them could not get them made in time) we prayed and within minutes we found a bag full of name tags that were surplus from his first time at RVA. It was really the proverbial needle in a haystack. God is good. We were also very blessed by a good friend in England who has agreed to cover the rest of the boy's school fees for the remainder of this year. Please keep next year's school fees in your prayers.

We are looking forward to meeting everyone at church on Sunday and we will post an update and some pictures next week. In the meantime it is back to unpacking suitcases and the boxes that were packed up last year. It will take a while to get settled again but to quote Simon and Garfunkel: "Gee but it's great to be back home".

Friday 6 August 2010

Visiting Brendan's birthplace of Cambridge

We are on our way home!!!

After a longer than planned furlough we are very grateful to be travelling back to Rwanda and getting back into a 'normal' routine again. Following 5 surgeries to fix the initial 'mistake', Val has been given the all clear. Joel's knee is healing well from his injury and 2 surgeries. Joel's unexpected second surgery caused him and Val to stay behind in Canada while Brendan and I travelled on to England. We are now all together again and enjoying the company of old friends in England.

This weekend we are in Scotland visiting with the folks at the Almond Vineyard in Edinburgh. We look forward to sharing with them about what God is doing in Rwanda with the help of Vineyard friends.

We will spend our final days in England with our friend Maggie at her house in Taunton where we hope to get some rest and relaxation before the trip to Kigali on August 15th. We have been so blessed during our furlough with God's wonderful provision through our church family in Sackville and elsewhere. We look forward to God's continued provision and to new supporters coming on board to help us continue His work among the poor. Blessings.

Patrick