Road to Rwanda

Susan Hollern and I met on the Cherry Hills Community Church trip to Israel this past summer.  Although both of our middle children attended Denver Christian together (Chris and Ashley), we had never met.  One day, Ashley was wearing a t-shirt with Rwanda on it, and Susan asked her about it.  Ashley described her remarkable experience on her mission trip to Rwanda the past March with the Kanakuk Colorado group.  Ashley fell in love with the people of the country to such a degree that she is determined to live there after college!  Susan also had a passion for Rwanda after hearing several Rwandan speakers at various charity events in Denver, and she had read extensively about Rwanda.

Several weeks after we returned from Israel, Ashley received a message that Jonathan Nimrod was in town looking for people to support his efforts to start a Kanakuk-type Christian sporting camp in Rwanda called Kids Across Africa.  Ashley had met Jonathan in Rwanda and thought very highly of him.  Ashley urged me to contact Susan about Jonathan's visit, but I hesitated because it was going to be a last minute invitation as Jonathan was leaving the next day.  Putting aside my feelings of embarrassment, I called Susan and described Jonathan's mission to her.  She was not familiar with Kanakuk Kamps directly, but she is a supporter of K-Life, a ministry started by Kanakuk.  She graciously agreed to meet Jonathan, which was the start of our journey together.

For weeks after meeting, Susan encouraged me to come to Rwanda with her to see the ministries she already supports, and to see the location of the camp that Kids Across Africa wants to build.  Since I already support Opportunity International, it also represented a chance for me to see their work in action.  On the other hand, I was very nervous about traveling half way around the world, leaving my husband and children behind.  After a lot of reflection and prayer, I felt that God was really prompting me to go, so I took the first step by buying airline tickets (a very confusing and expensive process!).

Every step of the way, I have felt that God is calling me to Rwanda, but I have no real idea what to expect when I get there.  As I sit here in the Brussels airport waiting for the 9 hour plane ride to Kigali, I am feeling a great peace and calm about following God's lead, without having any idea what to expect.  Please join me on this adventure via this blog, and watch God's plan unfold!