The Most Important Question

Before I get into an update of this past week, I just want to share with you the view. Just as the US has vast variations of climate, foliage, and ecosystems within her, of course Africa does as well.  Rwanda is a beautiful country.
Our team is carrying both a deep sense of awe at the One who is our Hope along with a heavy burden of both darkness and light in the stories we have heard and seen.  Jesus beckons us to come to Him when we are burdened and heavy laden, He promises to give us rest in our souls.  And so we go to Him and we wait on Him.  Those are the stories not meant for the internet - but there still is plenty to share to give a picture of the week, it’s not every detail, but hopefully enough to draw you into the beauty of Rwanda and the work of Arise.

Chelsea and Mary, the artists on our team, have been hard at work.  In addition to leading the women in painting at the conference, they are also painting canvases for the Medical Center.  But the first thing they got to do was visit the Art Club at Kivu Hills Academy and teach the students about watercolor painting.  For those of us who don’t know,
       (I didn’t know before now, and for the record what follows is a layman's description
         - for a more accurate understanding ask Chelsea or Mary :0),
working with watercolor uses a different technique than working with Acrylics.  With acrylics or oil painting, you add layers.  With watercolor, it sounds more similar to a sculptor who chisels away for the form to come through - you have to think ahead and leave the white spaces because you can’t add them.  All that to say, these Art Club students were used to working with acrylics and so Chelsea and Mary provided them with supplies and instruction in a brand new medium. For some it was tempting to just dive into the paint and start painting, but as they waited and listened to the explanation on the proper technique they began to learn and paint as those who have been trained.

Beyond serving in the above mentioned ways, (The 'mission trip' portion of our time here) we transitioned into the 'vision trip' portion of our time by visiting and observing many of the programs Arise has going here in Boneza.

We visited a trust group (microfinance) of about 30 women (I think, I didn’t actually count).  I did take good notes on how the microfinance program works, but it would take too many words to try to explain it here.  I will say, the microfinance is setup to function specific to how things work in Rwanda and what is available to the women here - it is tailored for accountability, fellowship among the members, and the needs of the women.  We visited 3 shops and heard the stories of each owner and how their life has been impacted by the program. Many of our questions around the details of how it all worked, opened our eyes to how much we just don’t know.  Banks don’t work the same here and a woman in poverty has no access to any type of loan.  By forming these Trust groups, opportunities to build on what they have, with ownership and agency, are being given.

This medical center will serve the town of Boneza (30,000) the surrounding communities (120,000) along with providing referrals and testing to the surrounding disctricts (~3 milliion, including Gisenyi and even into the Congo.) When the Ministry of Health visits to inspect, they are overwhelmed by the quality and intend to send other builders of hospitals to learn from this one!  Arise has already held 2 medical clinics, before construction was even as far along as it is now, providing the basics (blood pressure, antibiotics, etc.)  The first clinic they served 500, the second about 700 people.  They will be hosting another clinic in a few months with doctors from New York and expect 1000 prople to come.  
I asked John his favorite story related to building this hospital and he shared about a time he was walking up to see the progress and met a man on the road named Wellaris.  Wellaris asked for a tour, so they walked on together.

This high school serves about 350 students and offers 3 areas of study: construction, networking (computer science) and tourism/hospitality.  They are hoping to add in a nursing program because of the medical center being built nearby.  The school's vision is not only to teach skills, but transform lives - the lives of the students, the student’s family and beyond into their community.

We also visited the computer lab and the Cultural Village on campus where students are taught ancient Rwandan history. We learned how a Rwandan King would live and how the people were governed.  In the ancient world, the King’s mother was very powerful, and you can see this influencing the government even today - where over 60% of parliament are women.  We closed the day with a performance by the students of a traditional Rwandan dance.

If you were to come to our (Jeremy and Mel) mountain land, I would have stories to tell and in the telling I would heal a little more and be reminded myself of all the ways God has been faithful and how He has carried me through the tragedies.

We all have stories to tell, it is a gift to find someone who will listen, with interest, to your stories, seek to understand what your needs are and respect what you say.

The theme woven through everything I've seen here is the answer to one question.  John Gasangwa, the president of Arise, has walked the path of the people here. His family was displaced by the genocides of the 50's and 60's. He is Rwandan and he understands what it is to be poor in this culture. So he doesn’t begin things just to begin things.  The story of how God brought him to Boneza is a long one but the story of how each program Arise has started began with one simple question; what is the need?

The pastor’s training and outreach started when John met with pastor’s in the area to ask them what they needed.  He thought he had the answer already (church buildings, money) but still asked the question first.  They told him they needed training.  They can build their own buildings, and raise their own money, but there isn’t any type of pastor’s training or seminary any where accessible to them here in Boneza.  So that is the program Arise is building.  

The story of the medical center, the high school, the microfinance, etc...- it all is the same.  What is the need?  And then one step is taken, and the next and the next. What we have witnessed these past few days are the results of those daily small steps. We are excited to see where today's steps lead, as contributions of hope, renewal, and restoration into the stories yet to be written in this beautiful land.