Hello Friends and Family,

I just wanted to send out a quick update followed by an update from one of my students, Aileen Galaz.

We are doing great! We are all in good spirits and we continue to see God at work every day. Our schedule has changed for our last few days of the trip. We have the opportunity to travel to Burundi on Thursday and stay there for one night. AMA has started another sponsorship program there and we will spend the day with some of the children. The poverty in Burundi is four times worse than it is in Rwanda, so we are excited that we get a chance to go and meet and love on these children. After we spend the night in Burundi, we will head to Butare to spend our last full day and night with the Asante Choir kids. Everyone on the team formed such a close bond with these kids and we could not be happier that we get to spend our last night with them! We will wake up very early Saturday morning to make our way back to Kigali to be at the airport by 2pm! I am not sure about the internet in Burundi but I hope to send out one last update once we arrive on Friday. Keep praying for us. God is definitely changing our hearts and doing great things! 

-Gabe-

From Aileen:

Our time in Rwanda has been amazing thus far. We were able to spend our mornings visiting families in their homes during our last couple days in Butare. With the help of our translators, we were able to hear the stories of these women and see a little bit of what their life is like. It was truly impactful to see that even though they have very little, they received all 10 of us with open arms, insisting that we all come in and make ourselves comfortable. As we were pulling up to one of the homes the children ambushed our van to greet us, which has not been uncommon, however what was uncommon were these twin girls yelling “Umuzungu!” (which means “white man”) as they reached out their arms and jumped with excitement. Their names are Jessica and Allison, and these 3yr. old twin girls were unlike many other 3 yr. olds we had seen. They talked up a storm and immediately infected us with their joy and laughter! Allison and I were immediately attached and for the next hour or so I was so touched by just how much joy she has. All of the children we have been fortunate enough to have encounters with have left us with a little more bliss, a little more gratefulness, a little more love. Though Butare had been good to us, it was time to travel back to Kigali, but not before an emotional goodbye and wonderful morning worship with ACC. 

That Sunday night we attended a church service where we had the privilege of ministering though song! After we lead the congregation in a couple songs of worship, their worship team continued and it was an amazing experience. Whether through worship or the word, we were all touched and had an amazing encounter with God. Debriefing on the church service that night and how it had rocked our world was a definite bonding experience.

This week has started completely different from our other days! For the past two days we have been helping in the start of building a home for a widow. What makes this project much more personal is that this woman is the mother of two of the children in ACC. Josianne and Augustin are two of the most joyful children in the choir with some of the biggest hearts. In fact one of the reasons this family was chosen for the home is because when asked what she most wanted, Josianne responded, a home for her mom. Fetching water, digging up dirt and mud, and making mud bricks is what our days have consisted of. It has been amazing to see how people around the village have come together to help, even older women who work so hard they put us to shame! I truly feel like I have been further inspired and blessed by everyone we’ve encountered and my prayer is that their joy and bliss for life, love for God, and happiness with the little they have is an attitude that I too can one day fully comprehend and have.

Aileen Galaz- Music Education and English Major

Greetings to all from Butare, Rwanda!

The trip is going so well! The students are learning so much and it is a true honor to watch them grow and change each and every day we are here. I wanted you to hear from a few of them as we continue our journey here so I have asked them to share their thoughts of the trip so far. Thank you again for your prayers! We love you all.

-Gabe-

The experience so far has been fun, amazing, but definitely a wake-up call for many of us. Since the last update we have traveled from Kigali to Butare. It is a more rural type village in Africa. We have had the privilege to go to the schools and spend time with children. From observation, their love language seems to be physical touch. They love hugs and holding your hand. It’s hard with only 8 of us to hold the hands of 400 kids! These kids have so little but are full of joy.  We have been spending every evening with the Asante Children’s Choir.  The first night they performed for us and even the toughest of us could not help but break down into tears. Their faith and love for Christ is so strong and truly an inspiration and reminder for us of how great our God is. Every night before they go to bed they spend time in worship and devotion together. Being a part of that and seeing how every child was so genuine was a moment that none of us could ever forget.

We visited another genocide memorial and I could not remember hearing a person say more than a word while there. At this memorial there are still corpses of victims of the genocide, which was somewhat of a challenge to see. It is a real life example of the evil that happened in Rwanda during the genocide.

We are spending our last few days in Butare with the Asante Choir and we are supposed to have a pool party and a movie night!

Jeanette Montenegro-

Sophomore, Music Education and Christian Studies Major