just the beginning

Day three in Rwanda has come and gone and from the very minute that I stepped off the plane life has been different. Life is simple. It's a different routine than what I'm used to and I'm having to re-learn how and where to buy certain things, how to communicate, how to travel, how to get from work to home and from home to work, and even how to shower. But it's all simple. There aren't many distractions and I'm a huge fan of that. One thing I have noticed is that such a drastic change in lifestyle has really created a spirit of thankfulness and rejoicing. It's the littlest things that bring a smile to my face and it's by living here that I see how much of my daily life I have to be thankful about:

I rejoice because it rained today.
I rejoice because the baby that I can hear crying beneath my window has a roof over his head in the rain.
I rejoice because we have running water.
I rejoice that I was able to find wire and nails to hang a shower curtain. 
I rejoice because the radio that our neighbor likes to play at odd hours of the night beneath my window will play an occasional country song (it brings an even bigger smile to my face to hear Rwandans try to sing country music).
I rejoice because the boys at the Dream Center were able to put together their very own "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" book as a craft...and they just learned how to use scissors and glue.
I rejoice because the church in Rwanda is alive. 
I rejoice because God is the Great Provider every day for most of the people I see and meet.
I rejoice because God has allowed me to live in one of the greatest places on earth, despite what it might look like from the outside.

What I'm really excited about is the fact that this one year in Rwanda isn't just some short-term adventure that will come and fade away. This is just the beginning. God is just now moving into motion what He gave me a passion for four years ago: to make His name known and praised in Central Eastern Africa. I'm excited because He will work in ways I can't begin to imagine. I'm excited because I'm right where I'm supposed to be. My life isn't being put on pause for a year. For me, this is just the beginning of my life. This is but a taste of what is to come. Tonight, I go to bed with a smile on my face because I am living in Rwanda with the chance to love serve His people and those that have yet to know Him.

The view of Rwanda from my apartment

real life

I'll set the stage a little bit. As I'm thinking through and writing this post I've got the YouTube video of David After the Dentist running through my head. While it's not necessarily how I'm reacting, it's a good laugh. My friends and I reference this quite often.

So it's official. I will leave Washington DC on August 22nd at 5:49 in the evening and will land in Kigali on August 23rd at 6:45 in the evening. The ticket is bought, I have my seat, and my reservation shows up on the United Airlines website. I had sent an email a few weeks ago to the Africa New Life staff in Rwanda letting them know when I would arriving in Rwanda and after I hit the send button, it hit me all at once. I'm. Going. To. Rwanda. This is real life.

I've watched God bring everything together in ways that I didn't expect through the least likely of people. I've been humbled and reminded that none of this is in my own power. I've been put in so many circumstances that forces me remember that God is faithful and true and that not for one second does He ever leave me. I've learned that there is nothing that I can do to thwart God's sovereign plans and purposes. He will have His way whether I cooperate or not. Above all this, I've learned that He is all I need. Regardless of what else looks good or comfortable or even rational, He is all I need. I found a quote from John Bunyan that has been sticking with me:

"I was driven to such straits that I must of necessity go to Jesus; and if He

had met me with a drawn sword in His hand, I would sooner have thrown

myself on the edge of His sword than have gone away from Him; for I know

Him to be my last hope."

He is my last hope, depite whatever comes...and a lot is about to come. I'm excited, don't get me wrong, I can't wait to see how God will move and work. He has gone to such great lengths to get me here that I can only anticipate great and miraculous things. And I can anticipate that I will know Him in ways that I have never known Him before.

He is my last hope and He will do what He has promised. 

This is real life.

an unforgettable sound

The hymn "It is Well" has been playing over and over in my head since the beginning of June. At my CTEN orientation, we would start out mornings with worship. It was quite an experience and privilege to worship with 30 or so other missionaries. There is something so comforting and encouraging about being in fellowship with other missionaries; so many in the same place with the same core passion. Even though we are of all ages, going to serve in all the corners of the earth, come from different walks of life, and have various ministries, we have the same passion for God's name to be known across the world, in every tongue, tribe, and nation. And only God knows what lies ahead for each of us. Who knows, some of us might even die for our faith, but regardless the song on our hearts is this:

"When peace like a river attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll,

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say

It is well, it is well with my soul,

It is well with my soul."

I can't forget the sound of all of us singing this hymn. It's the sound of God's peace that surpasses any kind of understanding.