Dear Family and Friends,  

After a long flight, we arrived safely in Kigali, Rwanda and were greeted by some of our friends from the prior trip. Their welcoming smiles made us forget how tired and unclean we felt after 30 hours of traveling. This was our third visit to Rwanda, however, we were awestruck by the beauty of the vibrant green of the countless rolling hills. It was hard to take our eyes off the scenery as we headed to Kimironko, our new home. We would be staying with Pastor Francis Mutabazi and his family for the first week while finishing touches were being made on the house we would be renting.

The warm greetings we received from the Mutabazi Family (Dorothy, Bernice, Bethia, Bella and Benjamin) made us feel right at home. We quickly settled in and readjusted to the simpler lifestyle of bucket bathing and no running hot water. Our welcome was complete when Dorothy served us her famous African tea.

The past week has been full of a mixture of busyness and resting. After recuperating from jetlag, we headed into the city on Saturday with Pastor Francis to run a few errands. Sunday we spent the first part of the day at Christ Gospel Fellowship Church of Rwanda. We were greeted by so many familiar faces after the service and on the walk back to Pastor Francis’ house! It made us feel right at home, as though we had not been away for several months. We then ended the day teaching Yahtzee to a few of our friends, Claude, Simon, and Joseph. What an interesting evening that turned out to be!  Simon’s comment summed it up: “Don’t you have an easier game?”

Monday we headed back into the city, this time on our own, to get wireless internet set up so we can communicate from home. As we headed back to the taxi park to find a ride home, we were caught in a downpour of rain. Needless to say, by the time we reached home, we were drenched and muddy but still smiling. We ended the day figuring out how to work the internet in anticipation of being able to have live web chats with friends and family back home.

Tuesday we traveled to a nearby town with Pastor Francis to the YWAM’s (Youth with a Mission) discipleship training center where Pastor Francis was teaching for the week. We traveled the muddy roads on the back of motorbikes but arrived safely.  The morning was spent with missionaries-in-training from Rwanda, Holland, and the United States.  After lunch we visited one of our ABC children who attends a YWAM-operated school and then headed home.  Pastor Francis decided to make one more stop and took us to check on the progress of our beds, which are being made by a local carpenter.  They should be delivered to our new home on Wednesday afternoon!

Wednesday morning found us at the church for technology training.  Pastor Francis had hired a man to install a finance management program on the church computer and train the office staff on how to use it effectively.  Karalyn was in her element and had a lot of practical suggestions!  Melissa tried to look interested, but finally gave up and resorted to being the photographer.

Prayer Requests:

*A member of Francis’ church has an 8-month old baby whose head has filled with fluid and doubled in size.  He will be undergoing surgery on Thursday, January 25 for this life-threatening condition.  Please pray that the mother will follow all pre-surgery requirements, that surgery would be successful, and the baby would recover quickly.

*The church is planning to purchase the adjacent property, which is where two of our ABC children currently live.  Please pray that these boys would quickly find new housing nearby.

*Our wireless internet connection is up and running, but it moves very slowly and we are unable to communicate via webcam as we’d hoped.  Please pray that the Lord would speed up our connection!

*We will be moving into our own house on Friday.  Please pray for us as we learn to provide for ourselves African-style (cooking, cleaning, etc.).

*Please pray that the Lord would direct us in establishing a weekly routine.

Praises:

*Safe travel and no lost luggage!

*Warm welcomes!

*Wireless internet that allows us to e-mail from home.

*A home of our own to rent in a beautiful country.

“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you

not only the Gospel of God but our lives as well,

because you had become so dear to us.”

 1 Thessalonians 2:8

                                                                          In the precious name of Jesus,

Karalyn & Melissa

kmeeh@verizon.net

mminnix@dusd.net