(After some discussion about my gifts, calling, and testimony)
Fred: So, when can you come to Rwanda?
Me: August.
Fred: Alright then, start support raising. If you get the support, we'll see you in August. If you don't get it, then God really doesn't want you here.
There you have it. It's a roll-with-it kind of functioning. And boy, I really wish you could have witnessed that meeting. Rwandan meetings are, by far, one of the most amusing things to be a part of.
Anyway, you're not reading this post for me to tell you, "I don't know." It's also quite difficult to explain that on support letters, HOWEVER, I do have a plan and I hold all of it with an open hand. As of right now I intend to work with the street kids tutoring program at the Dream Center in Kigali. Let me back up a second to explain some background information about Africa New Life's work on the ground. There are four main locations where ANLM has programs running. There is the Dream Center in Kigali, which is where I spent a lot of my time during my trip, and it is the location of ANLM headquarters, New Life Bible Church (the main church), vocational training classes for men and women, the up and coming Bible college, the street kids feeding program (which was recently shut down by the Rwandan government), and some classrooms that are used for the street kids tutoring program. The other three locations are Bugesera, which has a school, Kayonza, which has a school, church, and girls and boys homes, and Kageyo, which has a school and church. Kageyo is the refugee village that I mentioned before in a previous post.
Back to the tutoring program. This program, started last August by the current intern/missionary, Marie, is the bridge between being on the street and being individually sponsored. Originally 50 boys, ages 6-14ish, were selected from the feeding program and for four months were taught the bare basics such as hygiene, appropriate behavior, social skills and basic math, English, and writing. It was during these four months that relationships were built as well. Thanks to a generous donation, this group of boys was able to be sponsored to start school in January (their school year runs from January to November) and then 50 more boys were added to the program. So every day after school, these 100 boys come back to the Dream Center to receive more tutoring and help with their homework. Everything that is taught is from a Christian character and the program is a wonderful avenue for teaching about the Bible and Jesus along with discipleship. The boys are split up into two groups based on academic level and Marie works with one group while a Rwandan staff member works with the other. There are a couple catches to this program. Number one, planning lessons ahead is nearly IMPOSSIBLE because every day is so different. Lessons are based on what the boys are struggling with and that varies from day to day and you never know what they need help with until they get to the Dream Center in the afternoons. Number two, the varying ages creates a challenging developmental dynamic from a psychological point of view. For example, you might have a thirteen year-old and a nine year-old and they are both in the third grade. Kids learn in different ways at different ages.
Overall, though, every day makes a difference in these kids lives. The point of this program is to help kids transition from a street kids mentality to being a godly, functional, and successful student and citizen of Rwanda. This program helps to enable these kids to have opportunities they otherwise wouldn't be able to have. I spent a few days with these boys helping to tutor them and answering their many many MANY questions (one eleven year-old even asked me to pray for a wife for him haha). It's hard to forget their faces and impossible to forget the sound of their voices saying, "Teacher! Teacher! Help me to read this!" They're thirsty to learn. It's also extremely hard to forget the boys that fell asleep on my lap because they are so tired by the time school is done; some of these boys wake up before sunrise so they can walk an hour to go get water for their families for the day, walk an hour to get to school, go to school, go to the Dream Center, walk the hour back home, and then walk to go fetch water again. Bottom line, every day is about loving those kids so that they know they are adored by their Father in Heaven. There are reasons why this is so, but I don't have enough space to really get into it.
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| Some of the younger boys in the tutoring program |
In addition, I talked with the headmaster of the school at Kayonza when we spent a day there and there is also the possibility of working with an English program in the school, which is why it was recommended for me to get TEFL/TESOL certified. When the headmaster learned that I have a degree in psychology, he was very excited about it; he is hoping that some sort of counseling program will be started there soon as well. It would be basic counseling for teachers, such as behavioral management (stuff I learned in my freshman year psych classes) and basic counseling in general (stuff I learned in my senior year psych classes). So, to everyone who thought that going to Africa would be wasting my psych degree, think again! It's actually extremely valuable because Rwanda doesn't have much access to that kind of information and training.
This is the plan I hold with an open hand, knowing that it will more than likely change. I go to be used at whatever expense is needed. By going to Rwanda, sticking to schedules, agendas, and to-do lists will be stripped from my life; it's not how things work in Africa. Things work because God makes them work and the people know that and live by that. God doing big things is a daily occurrence. This is Africa.
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