Life at the Speed of Light.....

Well… LORD HAVE MERCY… the last couple of months since my last post have been, how shall I put this – well… I don’t even KNOW how to put it!! I think in the interest of time and as not to write a book, although I am seriously considering that, you must know, just because WHO would really believe this is all real – I mean, REALLY!?! And I will warn you now that the amount of photos that are attached to this post are obscene, but how can one really describe things better than with pictures, so I have included a boat load!

Last I left you (sounds like a book already, now doesn’t it, although, granted, it does have a sort of soap opera-e sound to it!), we were anxiously awaiting both the Beaudin family and the container. Both arrived – the Beaudins on schedule, the container – not so much. I am happy to report that after two months on the ground, the Beaudins (along with their newly acquired Rwandan street puppy, Belle), have settled in quite nicely and have been SUCH a great addition to our MOC family! Diana is a rock star, considering the kids are twins, Mia and Aden (2 years old) and baby, Noah (1 year old)… just think about that for a skinny minute, and if you have to think about it longer than that, you are either a better person than I, or crazy, one of the two! All kidding aside, they are doing great, and we are all eating so well, it’s ridiculous! No African weight loss plans now!

The container was a completely different story. First they told us it was delayed because there was a strike in Tanzania (which there was not), and then it was because customs wouldn’t release it (which was partially true). TCBITW was, yet again, tenacious in his goal of getting that thing here and unloaded before our big groups started arriving! Did we ever make it by the hair of our chiny chin chin! As is always the case around here – when it rains, it pours, so the Beaudins arrived one night, the container didn’t arrive until the next day (and it had on it, the cribs, diapers, wipes, etc, which we didn’t completely locate until almost a week later). At least this one was on the truck facing the proper direction and we were able (since the concrete mixer and some very heavy commercial kitchen equipment was on board) to use the “loading dock” we had dug a year ago! We are always thankful for small miracles! We spent a couple of weeks putting together kitchen equipment and computer desks for the school, and unpacking all the new tools for our “Home Depot,” as we have dubbed our shop.

Within a few days, we had a group of 22 associated with Africa New Life stay just one night with us… a good practice run for our big FBC group arriving just three days later. In that group, were our friends (ok, family, really), the Clarks – Taylor, Gayle, Ryan and Cole from Austin. It was such a treat to spend some time with them and we were so honored to be a part of the dedication of the new girl’s dorm at the Africa New Life Academy over in the Eastern Provence town of Kayonza, in memory of their sweet little Riley Jane, who passed away just three months prior.  What a blessing her life was to all of us, and now, to the precious girls who call Africa New Life Academy home while in school there!

The FBC group arrived in full force just a few days later… and took the campus by storm. There were 25 of them (including fellow wolfpackers, Douglas and Camille Braswell and their boys Douglas and Luke, who were here more than three weeks), and boy oh boy, we were a bit concerned about what we were going to do with that many people for 10 days, but let me just tell you – THEY jumped right in and into action so fast it would have made your head spin! They made curtains for all the houses, organized everything from the kitchen to the laundry room, got “Home Depot” so organized, TCBITW can actually find whatever he is looking for, not to mention teaching, loving on, and mentoring the students, staff and residents of the MOC and beyond! A great BIG thank you to them all (the Braswells, Brogdons, Byrnes, Butlers, Jerome James, Jarvis’, Jones’, Millers, & Rameys)!! We were SOO SOO SOO sad to see them all go!! I personally think they just all need to move on over!! What we didn’t anticipate was the amount of extra laundry 25 people would add to the mix. Do this – go into your closet and drawers and take out EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF CLOTHING YOU OWN, oh, along with all your towels and sheets… divide it all into piles on your laundry room floor, and start washing and drying and do this EVERY SINGLE DAY! You might POSSIBLY get the idea of what we were up against! Needless to say, a commercial washer and dryer FLEW to the top of the “Must Have on the Next Container – GOD WILLING” list! If you happen to have a spare $25K lying around – well, we’ll take it off your hands for that exact purpose… just sayin!

During all of that, we said goodbye to Kim and Aaron Jacobi, who had been here for three months, and were such a valuable addition to the MOC family, that there was major depression around campus in the days after they left! We are PRAYING they will come back and stay longer… in our inability to think otherwise, we have just gone to living in our own little world around this issue, and are convinced that they will, in fact, be back! THE END!

About the same time, Jim and Barb Caldwell and their dear friend, Brittany Mathias arrived for two months. Jim is the head of the John Brown University School of Construction Management and started our university level courses with our construction management students. The students have thrived under his tutelage. Barb is a true Titus 2 woman, and Brittany, a 4th grade teacher, has been great picking up where Kim left off with our illiterate student initiative.

On the heels of the big FBC group leaving, were Robert & Sherard Lewis and Bill & Ann Parkinson coming! Robert and Bill were here to get a plan around our discipleship program. We met with all kinds of pastors and leaders in the communities. We now have a good, solid plan, which includes our first intensive next January. As always, it was so fun to be with these couples and great friends and after a week here, we headed off to South Africa to guide them to some of our favorite places down there. We did a short safari on a private game reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park, and then headed down to our fav, Cape Town, and spent 5 days there. It was a REALLY nice break for TCBITW and I, since we had taken to speaking only in cryptic messages and texts. Not exactly what marriage experts recommend! Just kidding – come on now… while it has been extremely CRAZY and we hadn’t had a date night in I don’t know how long – let’s not get the tongues wagging – all’s fine on the marriage in Rwanda front!

The night we arrived back in Rwanda was also the night the next group from FBC arrived… Brandon Barnard, the Browns, the Chapmans (fellow wolfpackers), Pam Ferguson and Dean Stanberry. They spent a week with us (except Dean, who will be here a month), and yet again, my heart was full from being around all these peeps!! In fact, I am terribly missing hearing Lori Chapman say “you up chiquita” every morning through my bedroom window! I have determined that they, too, just need to move on over!! While they were here we also started pouring the slab that will be our new outside patio. On the container was a very nice professional party tent, which we temporarily set up in the grass off to the side of the existing patio in anticipation of the pouring of the new slab. We poured the first of three parts of the slab while the second FBC group was here (utilizing the concrete mixer for the first time – woo hoo), and poured the second yesterday. The third, and last, will get poured on Saturday (God Willing), and the tent and outdoor kitchen in place by Monday – can I get an AMEN!?! In this process, we hired 40 extra workers, all villagers from villages that surround us! We love getting the community involved in what we are doing! They are seeing the tangible fruits of our (and their) labor!

Our students, as I said earlier, are thriving under Jim and Matt and thanks to Frances, they will all be ready to sit for the TOFEL exam (an English proficiency test that all international students must take to be accepted to any western university) in November. We also now have 100 teachers and district education officers taking English classes here at the MOC at nights and on weekends. What a difference that will make for the students in and around Musanze as their teachers become more proficient in English.

What I didn’t mention were the other people coming and going this summer – Katie Jo McGehee was back, and Kristin Scharkey, a journalism major at Northwestern is here until the end of the month. Tom Allen pops in when there is a bed available, and we always enjoy having him here! We never know who is going to show up for a tour or a meal (and this includes the Governor of the Northern Province, and the district/immigration folks)… to say that life at the MOC is akin to a goat ropin, I think would be fairly accurate!

Now TCBITW and I have to push through a busy, tough month of playing catch up with day to day things that simply fell by the wayside for two months while all the groups were here and get ready to leave the campus on a forward tract as we leave at the end of this month for the fall and holidays back stateside.  We are getting increasingly excited about Baby Cole’s birth in early October, since we are getting weekly photo updates from Brit. Not the same as being there, but she also sends us videos of Cole kicking! Priceless!!

Your thoughts and prayers are always appreciated!! Till next time - enjoy all the photos (and I want to give credit and a big thank you to Sherard Lewis and Ann Parkinson for the South Africa photos – some were taken by me, but I was a complete picture taking slacker on this trip, and many of the photos were taken by them)!! And I also want to say that these photos are in no particular order...the internet has been quite finicky today, and this represents my third try to get them uploaded - welcome to my world :-)

Kim and Frances

The honkin big - totally awesome FBC group

First run with the new cement mixer

#1 or 3 poured and beeaaauuttiiffulll......

The Bucket Brigade...

#2 of 3 gettin the finish up...

The Beaudin Famil - Matt, Diana, Mia, Aden & Noah

Newly decorated and remodeled cottage

Different View

And another....

Different View

The new tent...niiiccceee!!

TCBITW openin that container!!

Lots of STUFF!

Finally using that loading dock....

The cement mixer in the container...

The cement mixer getting moved off the container...

Workin that cement...

We shook every single villager's hand on their way out of the gate after they finished their job with us...

Finally saw a White Rhino - woo hoo!!

Dinner in South Africa with the Rwandan Ambassador to South Africa, Vincent Karega, and his wife, Netty

Discipleship Curriculum Development Meeting...

A Cheetah that looks like SOMETHING has her attention....

The gang on a game drive...

At Cape Point - the Southermost tip of Africa - can we say WINDY!!!

The Green Mamba - the most poisonous snake in the WORLD!! WAY TO CLOSE FOR THIS CHICKADEE!!!

Robert and Bill with three very respected pastors in Rwanda!

Sunday Worship at the MOC led by Robert Lewis - oh yeah!!

And pose....

Lazy afternoon....

Zorgvleit Winery at Sundown - STUNNING!!

The gang at the Cape of Good Hope!! Still WINDY!!

The guys at Rwanda Trading Company - best coffee EVER!!

Wine Tasting at Stark-Conde' - a little boutique winery!! LOVE!!

The guys at the lighthouse with the Cape of Good Hope behind them!

Lord Rainey - RR was so cold, he wore his fleece bathrobe on our morning game drive - he got kidded all morning, but the joke was on us - he stayed quite toasty!

Woo Pig Soooie!!

Hip Hip Horray!!

Thank you for visiting and ta ta for now!!

Containers, Construction, Profiles, Teaching...and LAUNDRY....

Well, back at it… life in Africa. I promised student profiles, and they are included at the bottom of this post. Our two newest students are missing, but I will add them in the next blog.

Life since I’ve been back has been, as usual, sheer craziness!! We never know what we are going to get when we wake up. Never know what each day is going to look like. I have spent the last five days in the laundry room… that’s right… 5 days, 40 loads, 2 washers, 2 dryers, none of which just “work.” If the power surges, one, two or all, cut off, so it takes sitting and watching them to keep them going. The power is so unreliable here, it causes many more problems that just whether you have lights or not! And, since it is still the rainy season… using the clotheslines outside is not really feasible! So, you sit, you watch, and you manage. Why, you ask, doesn’t some of the staff or students do this? Well, think about it. As westerners, we have spent our entire lives watching laundry being done, or DOING it ourselves. It’s not something you think about or analyze; you simply separate, treat (if necessary), wash, and then dry. Here, most Rwandans don’t even know that washers or dryers EXIST, and they surely haven’t seen or operated them. How would they know how to use them? Yes, we have a couple of our staff that can use them, but when it gets to a point that there is so much, it is very difficult to teach them the art of laundry management. Honestly, who would have thought there was an art to laundry management? Well… let me tell you, THERE IS!! Especially when you have SO many sets of sheets and towels, that in this humid climate takes FOREVER to dry!! We have just hired a girl that will do nothing but laundry! I will do my best to teach her, not only proper laundry techniques, but laundry management! We’ll see how it goes. Our experience is, when teaching here, you have to be very picky and VERY patient. We teach, re-teach, re-teach, re-teach, and pray that we are patient, loving and that at some point it sticks. Some things have… others are more of a challenge.

We also hosted our first English Teacher’s Conference. It was actually Musanze’s 15 Sector Education Officers, who will choose which of the district’s English teachers will come and study English here at the MOC. It was a great day. Frances Klink, our Head of English, put a lot of time and planning into this event… and if you remember, we had it scheduled back in the early spring, only to have to cancel because of issues with the district. BUT, she pulled it off yesterday, with the help of Kim Jacobi, and it was quite the success. We are hoping to have the “Head of English” from each of the district’s more than 150 schools studying here within a few weeks. This is the first step in making a larger difference in the community of English speakers! Training the trainers is our motto!!
We are also excitedly waiting for our new Executive Chef and his family to arrive on Wednesday. At this point, we are also still waiting on the container to arrive. It looks like they might arrive on the same day… OF COURSE they are! Honest to goodness, Russell Rainey has been Herculean in his efforts to get the container cleared and here. We are still waiting on clearance from customs (to say that they aren’t exactly the easiest to deal with is the understatement of the century), and then the container itself to reach Musanze. Needless to say, we have been on our knees about the whole situation for over a week now, and are just trying to be as faithful as we can in order to get that thing here and unloaded. Our group from Fellowship arrives on the 16th (YAY!!!), so we will have lots of hands and brains to help!! We just pray that it arrives next week!! If you have a second or two, please pray for that as well!!

The last few photos are of our students learning hands-on construction by remodeling our new Chef’s house here on campus. The great advantage they have is that they have NO experience in construction work so they are learning from scratch the best building skills and techniques in the world. We have proper tools for them to use, which you don’t really find here in Rwanda, and they are so smart so they’re getting really good, really fast! They’re doing a great job… but of course, Russell’s a great teacher. This is the environment in which he thrives! It is these moments that keep him going when dealing with all the government bureaucracy! He loves those kids, and he loves doing and teaching!

Enjoy the photos, and the student profiles!! Onward we go….

Teacher's Conference

Teacher's Conference

Lunch Table for the Teachers

Eric & Yusuf working on the bathroom

Patience working on the bedroom

Sharon working on the bedroom

Eric & Patience mixin it up!!

Issa “Yusuf” Duyandane

Yusuf is 28 years old, and we were impressed with him right from the start. Both of his parents passed away, leaving him to care for his two sisters, one older and one younger. He spent his primary school years in Rwanda, but went to Kenya to attend secondary school, which would explain his good English!

 He was actually admitted to the University of Nairobi, but deferred in order to care for his younger sister. He then had to defer a second time for the same reason. After that, he lost his scholarship, no longer giving him the chance to study at the university level. When he interviewed with us, he was working part time in a local business and part time in the tourism sector.

Yusuf is an old soul. He thinks before speaking, but when he does, what he says is usually quite profound. He is easy going and gets along very well with the other students. He is always one of the first to volunteer or notice something that needs to be done!

 He was raised in a Muslim home, and as Rwanda is a mosaic of cultures and religions, we think it quite fitting that one of our first MOC students is a Muslim boy named, Jesus (Issa is Arabic for Jesus). Yusuf always leans forward and listens intently, during our daily discussions about the life and character of Jesus.

When asked his hopes and dreams, Yusuf said, “My hopes and dreams are to create a tourism company and employ people who have the ability but less of the privilege. After getting the tourism company up and running, I hope to also build an eco-friendly hotel.” We have no doubt that with his hard work ethic, Yusuf will be one of the leaders of the class of 2019.

Sharon Mutoni

Sharon is 18 years old and is our fourth and final student from the Cornerstone Leadership Academy. She hails from Kigali and has one sister and two brothers. Both of her parents have passed away.

Sharon is outgoing and is one of the more active participants when in class! She is always willing to help wherever we need her, although, she too, likes being in the kitchen learning from the chef. She is confident when speaking, and has good insight.  She is usually one of the first to raise her hand in the classroom to answer a question.

When asked what her dream was, she said, “I hope to be the Minister of Tourism in Rwanda, and also a great entrepreneur in the country”.  What a dream that is!

When asked the one thing she would change INSTANTLY about Rwanda, she said that she wished people would stop becoming job seekers and start becoming job creators.

Patience Uwamurera

Patience is 20 years old and the third of our recent Cornerstone Leadership Academy picks. She also scored a perfect 55 on the Rwandan National Exam. She is from the Eastern Provence and her mother passed away when she was young. Her father re-married and she has 3 half brothers and 2 half sisters.

Patience is very smart, although sometimes lacks the confidence to speak up. Just in the last few days, though, she is speaking with more confidence and assertiveness. She has a beautiful singing voice and plays the guitar. We are looking forward to having her sing and play for us at our Sunday morning worship services here on campus.

When asked what her dream is, she said, “To be a self-employed business woman in Rwanda, while also developing my county”.

We are looking forward to seeing Patience come out of her shell and gaining the confidence to make her dreams come true!

Olivier Nsabimana

Olivier is from right down the road in Musanze. He is 22 years old, and was a graduate of one of the public schools in the Musanze district. While his mother passed away, he lived with his father, who is 70 years old and retired. He has one brother and one sister.

Olivier wasn’t an obvious choice for us, but there was a spark in him that was hard to miss. While his English skills are probably the weakest of all the students, he has a determination like none other. HE WANTS TO GET BETTER! He is working in his free time to improve by working on Rosetta Stone and reading the dictionary. He has a smile that lights up the room.

Olivier is a hard worker, and never ceases to amaze us with his willingness to help others and pitch in where necessary!

He told us that he LOVES his MOC uniform because it made him feel like “an important business person from America”!

When asked what his dreams are for his future, he said, “To further my undergraduate studies and eventually get enough skills and knowledge to develop my county and myself”. Others first, that is Olivier!

We are so please to have Olivier as part of our pioneer class of 2019!!

James Mugabo

James is 18 years old, and is a recent graduate of Cornerstone Leadership Academy. He scored a perfect 55 on his Rwandan National Exam, so clearly James is a bright young man. He is the fifth of nine children to his father and mother, both of whom are still alive and are farmers in the Eastern Provence. 

While James is very quiet, not overly loud or boisterous, you sense in him a very serious, persistent personality. He takes all that he is taught and sits on it. You can tell that he is processing EVERYTHING he hears. He is very observant of both people and things.

When asked what his dreams for the future are, he said this, “I dream of establishing a construction company that will help Rwanda and the world in general; to improve on construction methods. I hope to get the best entrepreneurial skills that will help me meet my dreams”.

When we asked him if he could snap his fingers and change any ONE thing about Rwanda instantly, he said that it would be how Rwandans view truth in work. He realizes the need for change in this area is important to run a company of integrity.

Jean “Barack” Habumugisha

Barack is 20 years old, and attended SonRise Secondary School in Musanze. He was voted class President by his classmates, with 86% of the vote. When we first met Barack, he told us he like to be called Barack because he was the class President and likened himself to President Obama. But after visiting with his mother, realized his Kinyarwanda name, which was also his father’s name, actually translates into “Barack”.

Barack certainly does not lack confidence. He is usually the first to raise his hand in class and even when speaking about something of which he is uncertain, he does so with a strong voice and presence! He stands out as a natural leader among the other students.

He is the youngest of five boys! He father passed away, but his mother is so very proud of him. Meeting us was the first time she had ever met a Muzungu (a white person)! She was also quite taken with our washing machines and dryers! Never imagining such things existed! It is clear after meeting his mom where Barack gets his bright smile! She lives in a traditional Rwandan mud home over near the border with the Congo, and is a subsistence farmer.

When asked his hopes and dreams, this is what he said, “My dream is to create jobs for my fellow Rwandans. I have a dream of studying Construction Management, which will help me develop my nation and provide a brighter future for my nation, as well as make it stronger. The MOC will help me make my dreams come true”.

Here, There and Everywhere....

So… I’m not even going to start into excuses on why I haven’t done a post since April 1^st… suffice it to say I/we have been here, there and everywhere, and frankly… I was enjoying being “in the moment.”

Last we left you, we were just about to leave for a much needed break, which we did on April 6^th. Off to France we flew, and after a few days in Paris, TCBITW decided we needed to dash over to the Champagne region, since he knows this is my drink of choice (I wonder if he had a clue of this when we married?). So, we hop on a train and off to Epernay we go. With our meeting in England pressing our time frame at this point, we were only able to spend one night there. My thought was, we head back to Paris and then take the Eurostar over to London through the Chunnel and hang out for a few days before we needed to be in Birmingham for our meeting. Well… TCBITW and his adventurous spirit decided we needed to make our way to Calais and take the ferry across the English Channel (because “I haven’t seen the White Cliffs of Dover and how COOL would THAT be??”). The last time I did that was 35 years ago, so, never one to put the kibosh on TCBITW and his grand plans, off we go to Calais, where we spend the night and take the ferry the next morning. I will say, this ferry was NOT the one of long ago, but like a cruise ship and we got smooth seas and clear skies for our crossing, hitting Dover just about the time the rain started again. From Dover, we did take the train to London, and spent one night (enjoying the show “Jersey Boys”), and then on to Birmingham where we also spent one night and a successful meeting! So, then, TCBITW decides that rather than “train” our way back to Paris, we would fly – great choice – took just 3 hours, and that includes airport time.

By this point, though, I was hitting the wall with being in a different place every night – I need, if nothing else, to nest, wherever in the world I am, and TCBITW, realizing this, found a very special little village in the Loire Valley about an hour and a half south of Paris called Amboise, where we spent three lovely days in a wonderful old manor house, turned hotel, that was build in 1107! We did nothing but relax and wonder around, except for one day when he decided we would rent a car in Tours, and took the train to do that, then a bus to the airport, where we had reserved a car. Now, you would think a bus would take you and drop you off AT the airport… well… in this case, you would be WRONG. Oh no, we were a good mile, mile and a half from the airport, so off we trek through industrial parks, luxury car dealerships, neighborhoods, and fields surrounded by barbwire… I have never WALKED to an airport before, until now! FINALLY make it to the airport for them to tell us that NO, they do not have our rental car for us and that’s that. Needless to say, a taxi was our mode of transport back to the train station!! Then it was back to Paris for RR to attend a trade show for a few days, while I nested in the apartment we rented to accommodate us and the Greenwoods, who arrived for our last week there! It was a great having an apartment… other than the weather, which was cold, windy and WET (this was the coldest, wettest winter/spring in Europe on record), the trip could not have been nicer! I love nothing more than showing friends, especially ones that have never been there before, my favorite city in the world! While our actual anniversary is on May 4^th (and we were, by that point, separated from each other), this was our anniversary gift to ourselves! Reconnecting and making memories!! On our anniversary, I posted this, on Facebook, about being married to TCBITW (for those of you who have read it, sorry, but I wanted to post it here as well for those that aren’t on FB):

27 reasons why being married to Russell Rainey for the last 27 years has been such a blessing…

1. You are THE cutest boy in the world.

2. Life has been (and still is) a GREAT BIG ADVENTURE!

3. While you were an awesome dad to our young kids, you have been an even better dad to our adult kids – how blessed they are to have YOU as their dad!

4. You think I’m the most beautiful woman in the world!

5. When times got tough – you changed to become a better husband, father and man!

6. You indulge my OCD and get me to the airport insanely early!

7. You want nothing more than to see my heart soar!

8. You follow God’s will and lead our family, no matter where that takes us!

9. You are one of the most patient people I know (and this is evident, since you are still married to ME)!

10. You watch romantic movies with me ANY TIME I ask!

11. You have a much softer heart than I do – you cry on a dime J

12. You respect and depend on my opinion – ALWAYS!

13. You understand my love language – quality time!

14. You will be the best Opa EVER!

15. We have made more memories in 27 years than most people make in a lifetime!

16. We have grown up together – but you are still a great big kid at heart!

17. You sit down when you go tee tee in the middle of the night as not to cause me to fall in when I do!

18. You think my older, “fluffy” body is sexier than my younger one!

19. You let me drive when we are together because you know you drive too slow for me!

20. You are FINALLY getting some gray hair – hubba hubba!!

21. You pray with me every night when we get in bed!

22. You encourage me to follow my dreams!

23. You spend time with me in Paris simply because I love it so much!

24. You don’t buy even a stick of gum without researching it first (actually, this DRIVES ME CRAZY, but I can at least appreciate it about you and realize it’s why things work so well around our house)!

25. You are a true romantic!

26. You love me and our kids well…

27. But you love God most!

And that, my friends, just about says it all – I am proud to be his wife!!

On April 28^th, RR flew back to Rwanda, while I flew to LR to spend a couple of weeks with my kids (yes, Josh flew in and was there as well), my family and close friends. I tried to stay as under the radar as possible to accomplish said goal, and it was wonderful. Brit and Kelly had their ultrasound to determine the sex (and check all systems) of Baby T, which Josh and I (with RR Skyped in) were able to sit in on!! No doubt about it… Baby T is DEFINITELY BABY BOY T!!! AND HEALTHY!! We had quite the celebration, and it was a special time for all of us!! We also spent quite a bit of time planning the baby’s nursery and just spending time together. When it all boils down – these are the things that mean the most to me/us… what we have, where we travel, what kind of house we live in, or what kind of car we drive mean nothing if you don’t have the love and support of family and friends!! Relationships are more important than ANYTHING! I am most thankful for all of you who I love and who love me!! For those of you who support us in this crazy adventure so that we can try to make a difference here in Rwanda. If I don’t say it enough, let me say it here, again - you mean the world to us!!

I just arrived back in Rwanda on Thursday night, and it was great to get back to TCBITW. Harder to leave LR this time than ever before, and I’m not sure if that was because I spent just a short time there or because I was leaving Brit, in her pregnant state, Kelly and Josh, not to mention family and the Wolfpack!! My body is still adjusting to the time change – actually, my body isn’t quite sure which time zone it is in! But, we are gearing up for the busiest summer yet!! We have so many who are coming to help the MOC and the surrounding area.

We have added two more students to our class of 2019. I am holding off on posting any of the profiles until I can do profiles of our newest students! We are done with the admissions process until next spring, when we will do it again for our next class! These students continue to work hard and amaze us with their determination. So much is happening over in the school – that’s a whole other blog!!

So… that should catch you up on our life in the last six weeks. I will get back to my regular blogs about life here in Africa next time! Till then – Sowa Sowa!!

Champagne in Champagne - Epernay, France

Caption needed....really???

Pont St. Michel - Paris

Getting Artsy in Paris....

THREE.RING.CIRCUS!!!

Well…just call us the THREE RING CIRCUS! Goodness gracious… just when you think it can’t get more interesting or crazy, well, let me just tell you... IT CAN!!!
We have been busy getting the new students into a routine… mornings, they are up at 6 for fitness, followed by quite time and breakfast, and then at 9, school is officially in session. Frances is doing a great job with them, and I have been spending mornings in the classroom with them as well. Not that I am, or claim to be, a teacher, but hey, I did raise two kids and am not completely unaccustomed to college papers and writing! Their written English is their biggest challenge, although they are working VERY hard to improve every day. Some are clearly ahead of others, but ALL of them are encouraging of each other. They have bonded quicker and better than we ever could have imagined.

With morning classes over, we have lunch and then afternoons are spent in “Hard Work University.” They work alongside our different staff teams… kitchen, housekeeping and gardening. Russell or I one also takes them for a couple of hours each day and spends time with them. He concentrates on the construction aspect of things… I spend time with them in the kitchen… and I also teach Philippe, our Rwandan chef as well. We have been concentrating on baking, but after our break, will expand into other delicacies!

Last weekend was quite the show here at the MOC. We knew we were going to have a half a dozen folks with one of the PAC (President’s Advisory Council) members for lunch here at the MOC (on Sunday). We spent Saturday baking my, if I must say so myself, best homemade chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream icing in Rwanda, and Saturday and Sunday prepping for lunch. Well, at around 10AM on Sunday morning, RR gets a text that the Prime Minister will be dropping in for a little look-see around 4PM… ok.. well… can we say pure bedlam?? I had previously met the Prime Minister last fall in Little Rock when he was the Minister of Education, and just a few weeks after that meeting, he became the Prime Minister. SO… lunch is going along swimmingly, as LOTS of military and secret service (or whatever they call them here in Rwanda) start showing up to do checks and bladda, bladda, bladda… when the entourage finally shows up, it includes not just the Prime Minister, but the Governor of the Northern Provence, the Mayor, and ALL their individual peeps, PLUS news crews, radio reporters, newspaper reporters… bladda, bladda, bladda… the scene is best described as HELL! Poor Russell was trying to give them the tour, but it was like herding cats – some were interviewing students, some were wandering around talking amongst themselves… the Governor was flirting like crazy with all us girls – me included. It was seriously surreal…

BUT, they did ask a lot of good questions, and we felt very good about the visit. But man oh man, were we worn SLAP OUT!

On Monday morning, we found that the radio reporting was fairly inaccurate, but the newspaper and TV reporting were, for the most part, accurate. We are no longer flying under the radar here at the MOC… we are now “on the map.”

Subsequently, it’s pretty amazing how just a couple of days later, what has taken us WELL OVER a year and more time and energy than we can count to get our INGO status, was granted to us – FINALLY! RR also sat down with the head of the Rwanda Workforce Development and the Minister of Education, and we got the green light to continue on our path of educating these wonderful kids!! WHEW!! Can I hear a GREAT BIG AMEN!!

I have included some photos of circus day… for your visual entertainment.

Kim and Aaron Jacobi, from Little Rock, arrived here at the MOC last night for three months. They will be teaching and helping with all kinds of things and we are grateful to have them here! They are going to fit in nicely!!

This coming Friday, TCBITW and I are FINALLY taking a MUCH NEEDED break. We will be heading to France and England. We have to be in England to watch the JBU paper that I mentioned in a previous post, presented to the Associated Schools of Construction’s 48th World Congress, and we have to be in Paris for a few days for RR to attend a construction equipment trade show that is in a different world city every year. This year just happens to be Paris - don’t you just HATE that??? Actually we will be in Paris for longer than that, and traveling around France for 4-5 days as well… we are looking forward to relaxing and reconnecting. We have taken to speaking in one (or at best, two) word sentences to each other, and have had exactly FOUR nights out alone since we got back to Rwanda in January. Needless to say – we need some time away! And we are SUPER excited to have our dear friends, Doug and Kelli Greenwood, flying over for our last week in Paris (they have never been) and I like NOTHING more than showing folks around my favorite city in the entire world!!  RR will be arriving back in Rwanda on April 28th, while I head to LR to spend a couple of weeks with family and friends. Josh will be flying down from Jackson Hole, so I will not only be with my mom, and mother-in-law, but both my kids (and Baby T) on Mother’s Day – it simply does not get better than that.

I will start the profile of our students on my next post....instead of doing them one at a time, I will do them all at once, so you can see how special they are!!

Till next time – Au revoir – gotta get a little French on :-)

A real Rwandan BBQ!! - Best Chickin in Rwanda!!

Scott Ford, a member of the PAC, graciously giving our staff and students a talk on Entrepreneurship!

Students meeting the Prime Minister!

Russell giving the Prime Minister and Govenor the tour!

Patience being interviewed by TV and Newspaper!

More of the tour!

Frances, Russell & I explaining the English School

Welcoming the Prime Minister!

Ready, Set.....GO!

Oh my gracious… at least it hasn’t been a month since my last post, but oh so much as happened… 

I wonder if I will EVER stop writing that statement…

In the last few weeks we have been busy continuing to test and interview prospective students. You can see from the photo the amount of CV’s (Curriculum Vitae or what we would call a resume) we have received. We have had to go through each one and determine if this particular person, based on just the CV alone, would get a call to then determine if their English was good enough for us to then move them on to the next round of testing (an English and critical thinking assessment test) and a three (me, RR and Frances) on one interview (the part of the program we now refer to as “Speed Dating”). Needless to say, this process has been most interesting. We went from testing onesie/twosie, to testing twelvsie/twenty-sixie… goodness!! 

So after they take their assessment, and during the interview portion of the program, we ask them what their hopes and dreams are. If money were no object… WHAT would be your dream career? Most are cautious around this question. Many times telling us what they think we want to hear vs. what they really want to do with their lives. But we had one guy, who actually scored 100% on his assessment and with whom we were quite impressed tell us he wanted to be an actor… okie dokie then… off ya go!! Another who told us getting a “certificate” was more important than starting a job creating business and yet another who told us all she wanted to be was a nurse, until we sent her on her way, and she then texted us back and told us she had changed her mind and now wanted to go into construction management.

I don’t mean to make light of these situations, but honestly, after #26, you just need some honesty… and we can smell suck-up so fast, they don’t stand a chance. Do we wish we could give every single one of the kids the opportunity to study here? Of course we do…but we can only take 12 students this year… 12 is the magic number. Thus far, we have 9 (Five more move in tomorrow to start classes). We are doing our final testing next week. If we hit the mark with twelve… that would be great. If we don’t and just have the 9 already admitted… we’re ok with that, too! The students we have chosen are smart, articulate, and, we think, stand the best chance of lasting the entire seven years of our program. Will we have some attrition… I’m sure we will. Some won’t want to work as hard as we are going to push them. Some will give up because they have never been taught to tough it out when things get hard! Some will shine! 

My goal over the next couple of weeks is to profile each of our new students so you will get to know them as we do. So you can follow their (and our) successes and failures. We just pray there are more successes than failures!! You can pray that, too!! At one point, Russell was talking to some prospective students’ families, and he said this, “We feel the weight of being responsible for your son or daughter changing this country.” If THAT wasn’t a big gulp moment! These great kids and their families are trusting us to teach them and mold them into the future leaders of a Rwanda… no pressure or anything!!!!! 

The new Rwandan chef started last week as well… he was an hour and a half late on his first day here… ummm, yeah, so ask just about anyone who has EVER had a meeting with us what happens when you are late… especially an hour and a half late… not such a great start, but he redeemed himself quickly and has been introducing some nice new dishes into our kitchen repertoire. Something we are going to work on next week is our, OK, HIS, baking skills (he may be a Rwandan chef, but he ain’t got nothin on this southern girl who was taught to bake by her mama and aunts!! Just sayin!!). We also have to go over the idea that if someone is a vegetarian it doesn’t necessarily mean they want to eat potatoes, white rice and a few veggies – and that’s IT! In fact… carb overload comes to mind! All and all, he does have some game… we’re just going to have to refine it a titch… I can take him to a certain point, but after that, it will be the Executive Chef’s job when they land in country around the 1^st of June! 

Oh… and speaking of the first of June… the container is officially getting packed and leaving Little Rock tomorrow (March 19^th) and they tell us it will be in Dar es Salam by May 4^th (Happy Anniversary to the Cutest Boy in the World on that day – would that be the best gift ever or what… the container actually hitting a date mark), which means it could be to us by June 1^st. And really, I can’t even tell you how much we NEED it to be here by June 1^st… I could go into all the reasons now… but just suffice it to say that if doesn’t get to us by June 1^st… it WILL NOT be pretty… on SO many levels… ooppp… another prayer!! 

And lastly… while those of you that are my FB friends already know this, and if you aren’t, you might have heard a scream from here a few weeks ago, when our daughter and son-in-law sent us the photo below… announcing to us that we are to be grandparents. After a visit to the doctor, and a first photo of Baby T, we now know to expect he or she on or around Oct. 10^th (and Brit was even able to video Skype us into her first appointment so that we could see and hear Baby T for ourselves – how cool is that from this far away???)… to say that we are excited doesn’t even BEGIN to describe it!! How does this affect our work here… in short, it doesn’t. Our schedule is already such that we spend the fall and through the holidays back stateside, and plan to continue with that schedule. And I already proclaimed last year after a full seven month absence, that, God willing, I would never do that again, so after a little break for TCBINW and I in France (and let me just tell you, do we ever need a break after the 24/7 go, go, go, non-stop world we are living in right now), I will fly to LR for just a couple of weeks at the beginning of May. We said all along that we are here because God called us here… grandbabies don’t change that… does it mean I may make an extra trip (or two) each year… probably. And do we FULLY INTEND to be the best CeCe (and Opa for TCBINW – which is German for Grandpa) in the ENTIRE world… you betcha!! We got this – or should I say… God has this and we trust that HE will work it all out!! But we do feel so blessed to be welcoming this new little Thornton/Chandler/Rainey baby into our family!! We can’t wait to spoil he/she with all the love in our hearts!! Oooppp… prayer #3… for a healthy mama and baby!! 

So, as you can see….we pray A LOT, and get through each of our days with faith and humor!! We would appreciate your prayers over the coming weeks and months as this campus turns into a full fledged University. There’s no turning back now!!

The stacks and stacks of CV's we have received!!

Students sitting for the English assessment test!

The email we got in, picture form, to make the big announcement to us!!

Baby T's first photo @ 8 weeks!! Already the cutest grandbaby in the world!! :-)