Cheryl Rainey: Homeward Bound.....

Well, this will be my last blog post from Rwanda for a while – we leave on Wednesday (the 29th), and aren’t back until January 12, 2013. I must say I am anxious to get home to my kids, family and friends, but leaving here always come with some sorrow. We will miss those that we are leaving here – staff, students and friends! As I’ve said before, I truly wish I could just split myself in two and be in both places at the same time, but since I can’t, we continue to try to find the best balance we can between here and the States!

We are continuing to make huge progress here at the MOC. Dean Stanberry was invaluable in his 5 weeks on the ground here – he just left this last Thursday and well…we miss him so much! We sure hope he comes back soon and brings Linda with him next time!! I think he left a little of his heart here in Rwanda and at the MOC – hard to be here and not do that! Kristin Scharkey is also leaving us today. She too, has been such treat to have around. She goes back to her senior year at Northwestern – yep, she’s a smart cookie, that one!! Mia, Aden and Noah will especially miss her!! Her smile and laugh are contagious. I don’t know, in the two months that she has been here, if I have seen her anything other than happy and smiling!! A lesson from which we could all learn!

I have included a photo of the new bamboo fence we are putting up around the entire campus. This fence was the cause of many discussions – from yes, to no (we don’t want the locals to think we are shutting them out, the campus will feel closed in, etc.….), but in the end, the campus is taking on more of a “resort” feel, and since we are striving for the best hotel and restaurant school and services in Rwanda – it DOES look better than chain link fencing with barbwire – you know – the prison look – doesn’t exactly exude relaxation. And there were some that said the wooded area behind the MOC property was just so pretty – it was a shame to erect anything that would keep you from seeing that view – WELL, three days ago, they started clear cutting that land (with LOUD chain saws, might I add) – so now it is a hollow, barren field – not so pretty anymore!! Score one for the pros of the fence! Also included are photos of the new outdoor kitchen. We got the roof up and all the equipment moved so that it all no longer sits on the back porch of cottage #4….it is going to be so nice when it is completely finished – something that will happen after we leave, but you can get the idea! Matt has promised to send photos when they are done, and I will pass them along – promise.

We also have a very specific prayer request right now. Last week, our student, Olivier, whom we truly do love like a son, came to us and informed us that his father, Mathias, who has been ill on and off for the last couple of months or so, was diagnosed with cancer, which as metastasized throughout his body, and there is nothing more to be done. He is home and in no pain, since he has good pain medication, but please keep Olivier, Mathias, and Olivier’s 18 year old sister, Adelphine, in your prayers. Olivier’s mom passed away nine years ago, so these three only have each other. When Russell and I asked what we could do to help, all Olivier asked was that we go with him to visit his dad. We did that yesterday. We have arranged for food to be sent every day (food that is easy for him to eat), and we also took him one of our Musanze Opportunity Center fleece jackets, worn by our staff and students. He was so proud to get that jacket!! Many of my photos are of our time with them, which I am using with permission from Olivier, and I will make sure that they get copies of all the photos I took…..what a precious family they are!

As much hassle as we can get sometimes from the local government, and those that seemingly want to undermine our work here, mostly because, I think, we are getting so much done in such in such a short amount of time, it simply intimidates some. When we have days like yesterday…days that are about our students, their families, and THEIR success (not ours), then it makes all the battles we fight here worth it! We are here to help the Rwandans change their own futures. Not to do it for them, not to give it to them, but to walk along side, to teach and help them be the solutions to their own problems. Sometimes they will be successful, sometimes not, but it’s usually your failures that teach you more than your successes ever will. The key is whether you get up after those failures and try again. Our prayer is that our students not only hear us say it, but see us DO it, and from that, will gain the confidence to do it as well!

So…homeward we shall go, back to driving on roads without people, bikes, goats, chickens, and motos. (I relate driving in Rwanda to the game Frogger - if you are driving, you pray someone or something doesn’t jump out in front of you….if you are crossing the street, you become the frog, and that’s NEVER good.) Back to having “in person” conversations instead of those over Skype or phones, that go something like this “can you hear me, are you there, hellllooooo…..” and time spent with those we miss so much when we are here, as well as each other. I am looking forward to a few more date nights with TCBITW, Monday night community group, getting hugs from my kids, lunches with my mom, time spent with my dad, Friday night CHS football, Tuesdays at the Rainey's and getting baby Cole here, happy and healthy….and ok, ok…real live hair “didin” and mani/pedis!!

But, we will miss and leave behind family and friends here – I mean who, really, can say they feel at home in two totally different places on completely opposite sides of the world?? We can, and for that we are grateful!!

I will keep you updated as to the progress around here even though we are not personally here! Matt and Diana (and Mia, Aden and Noah), Dan and Frances, and Andy will hold down the fort while we are gone, and will keep us in the loop with photos!

Till next time….US of A, here we come!!