The Rwanda Team Shares a Lesson About Serving in Kimisagara
The team receives a warm welcome at the new Child Hope Center in Kimisagara.
Blog 4: Serving Jesus Comes in Many Forms
Written by: Tina Kelly
Young boy shares numerous bible verses he memorized with our team.
Today we were able to revisit the Kimisagara Child Hope Center where we attended church on our first full day in Kigali. After driving up the VERY steep hill and crossing the very questionable wooden "bridge", we arrived at our destination. This beautiful center overlooks the city and we were greeted by the gorgeous sound of the children singing. As we descended the stairs, there was a small room to our left where all of the "littlest ones" were being watched. They were so intrigued by us and incredibly cute! We sat down in the worship area where some of the older children sang for us. They totally impressed us by naming all the books in the Bible in order. (Must add memorization of Bible books to my to-do list...) Several of the students took center stage to recite the books solo, and one young man chose numerous bible verses to share with us from memory. We were so impressed!
Then, a group of young teens took center stage to sing for us and their enthusiasm was contagious. We couldn't help but get up to dance and worship with them.
Jen interacts with a group of children at the Child Hope Center.
Jen, Nate and Keith gave a lesson on serving to the students. They talked about how Jesus humbled Himself and served during his ministry, even washing the feet of his disciples. They demonstrated by Nate having his feet washed by Keith. (The kids really enjoyed that part!) Following the teaching, games were played by all. Jen, with the help of our interpreters, Angel and Mariam, taught the kids how to play, “Simon Says.” Who knew it would be such a hit??!! Everyone had a blast!
After games, we served the students lunch that was prepared by some of the adults. At one point, we ran out of plates so the ladies piled an enormous amount of food on a huge platter and stuck a pile of spoons along the perimeter. It was deposited on the floor in the middle of a circle of teens who were more than happy to share a plate together. I can't imagine that would be as accepted with the same age group back home.
After lunch, we loaded into our vans to make a trip to the marketplace. This experience is something I couldn't have imagined if someone had described it in detail. As you enter an opening to the building, you are greeted by MANY vendors who want to walk you over to their stall. This building is packed from floor to ceiling with merchandise to be sold and the walkways can only accommodate one person at a time. "Packed like sardines" comes to mind. Luckily we were on a mission and our fearless leader, Madame Bishop, (Bishop Theo's wife) brought us straight to her friend's fabric stall where we were able to choose from some beautiful fabric. Also, with the help of our new, Rwandan sisters in Christ, we picked out dress designs which will be sewn by the tailor. She measured us and will have our pieces ready by the weekend. We felt a bit guilty purchasing items for ourselves but we know that our purchases will help her business immensely. And one thing that really stuck out to me was how our new sisters were so patient with us and WANTED to help us purchase just what we wanted. Chaos was all around us but we experienced the fruits of peace, patience and kindness through these amazing women.
The selflessness of the Rwandan people is overwhelming and beautiful. Serving is their innate nature. They are the epitome of serving like Jesus.
