Bar Graph 1

The sister school partnership with Radio Park Elementary School included 4th grade classes exchanging graphs. Three classes each took different graphs to work on. A bar graph, pictograph and line graph. The two teachers in Rwanda decided to do 2 bar graphs and a line graph.

Here is Vieteur and his primary grade 3 class working on favorite animals bar graph. After they made the graph, head teacher Irene stopped by and had a short lesson about what the graph depicted and what they learned. This was a great exchange of learning tools.

Bar Graph 2

The math teachers loved the idea of making graphs. Teacher Emmanuel worked with one primary 2 class on a bar graph of favorite foods. The students had to narrowed down their choices to the top 5 then vote. It was fun watching them make one choice.

To brighten up the project that would travel with me back home they added pictures as well as listing the English and Kinyarwanda words for each food.

Palm Sunday 1

Matthew 21:8-11

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. the crowds at went ahead of him and this that followed shouted, Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!"

Today we waved palm branches and grass as we walked together to worship, singing, "Hosanna". Little hands clasped our hands and babies were carried in our arms. Everyone sang praises to God.

The past few nights at devotions we shared about the events leading up to Easter.That there will be a time of sadness then joy when Jesus returns.

Blessed are the children that praise God, through song and prayer.

*Children waving palm branches with Mama Arlene and Pastor Antoine.
*A little girl named "Hosanna" leaping with joy while wearing butterfly wings.
*Hosanna's wings

Palm Sunday 2

Matthew 2:14-16

The blind and the lame came to him at the temple. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the son of David," they were indignant. "Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, "from the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise?"

Coming to Rwanda is about the children....the laughter, shy smiles, pure joy, beautiful voices, innocence and a future.

Blessings on the Farm 2

Nzoza, Jovith, and Habimana have taught me so much- not only about how to gather eggs, milk a cow, clean the rabbit’s water bottles, or hand cut grass for the cows to eat, but about service and humility. They have been so gracious to me in teaching me how to do different things, since I came in as a learner who knew close to nothing about how to do their job.

At first it was hard because I felt like such a burden and as if I wasn’t really helping them- which I wasn’t. But that's what I'm learning. I am learning how to be the one who is learning, the one who has no idea what's going on, the one who doesn't know what is being talked about most of the time, the one who gets to sit and watch them do different jobs that are not appropriate for women here- I am learning that I don't always have to be the one serving someone else or the one in control of a situation. I am learning to soak up the opportunity of just being together.

I am learning to receive the blessing of being served, and in that I am learning about what humility truly looks like; both in their service to me and in my learning how to receive it. Whether it be scrubbing my hands for me if they think I haven’t washed them well enough after a cleaning job, sharing their breakfast with me, or giving me their jacket to sit on while I watch them do a job they say is a “bad” job for me to do- they have shown me great care and service.

I am so thankful to the Lord for these friendships, and for all the Lord has revealed to me about Himself and His kingdom through these young men. ~ Abby Harrelson

Blessings on the Farm 1

Abby is a junior Art and International Development student at Houghton College studying abroad in Rwanda this semester with Go-Ed Africa, and is working at Urukundo for the month of March. After hearing her share what her month working on the farm has meant to her I asked if she would write a blog entry. Here it is!

I came to Urukundo to work on the farm with no previous experience working with farm animals or in a farm setting- I just knew that I have loved working in gardens in the past and love manual labor, so why not learn more about farm life?! After all, it is so central to Rwandan culture and life. I work with the three farm hands who live and work on the farm taking care of the pigs, cows, goats, rabbits, and chickens; their names are Nzoza, Jovith, and Habimana. At first they were a little taken aback by the fact that I was a woman wanting to work on the farm- here it is not a woman’s job to care for the animals, but a man’s job (unless you are widowed).

There is no word in Kinyarwanda for “cowgirl”, only for “cowboy”, which is umushumba; meaning one who cares for the cows. They weren’t sure how to treat me and what jobs to let me do or not do, but through persistent hard work and intentional efforts to build relationships with them, I have been accepted and feel at home.

The language barrier was also hard at first with me knowing barely any Kinyarwanda and them knowing very little English. Now, this has become such a blessing and relationship builder as we teach each other words by pointing and acting and have gone from barely being able to communicate to knowing how to clearly communicate about farm chores in both languages! The many laughs and confused moments, willingness and patience to learn, and a genuine care of one another have led to many cultural and language differences being bridged to form friendships.

Wishing Beads 1

I first met fiber artist Judith Finkelstein when she donated fiber art for the Art For Rwanda event last October. A few weeks later we met for coffee and somehow the conversation turned to beads. I was interested in making beads with the kids in Rwanda but wasn't sure about the medium. Judith shared that she could show me how to make beads from sheep wool. So a time was set up for me to learn.

In January in her studio I learned the steps and actually made a bead. Then she surprised me with a gift of a huge pile of colorful wool for me to take. I was speechless as it was a lot of wool!!

Later while browsing the Barnes and Noble website for a book about beads, I came across the book "Emma and the African Wishing Bead". How perfect!! The project was ready for the school children in Rwanda.