Meeting New Family Members

In June, 2010 EAFC had ONE Rwandan studying IN THE COUNTRY, Adeline Mugeni.   Addy will graduate from medical school in 2012 and is a good friend and volunteer for EAFC in her country.  Today EAFC has NINE students.  

Pastor Emmanuel from Kibagabaga Anglican Church in Kigali (yes, it DID take me a long time to be able to pronounce that one) sent us FIVE applications.  We’d never met this pastor but it was his applications that were the first ones that Sarah had ever reviewed.  Everyone who has ever volunteered to be on the EAFC selection committee will quickly tell you that these application grab your heart.  And to think that Sarah got to meet in person the 5 with whom she’d only been acquainted through paper and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

 (Pastor Emmanuel in picture on the left is on the right with new student, Gilbert)

Meeting, gift giving, enjoying sodas together. There were 2 Sarah's in the room. The other Sarah is in a red sweater.

October 27 we got to meet  those FIVE new students.   World of mouth in Nairobi had first introduced Pastor Emmanuel to EAFC, and then he pursued what he knew with Jean Paul, our Country Coordinator.   Our meeting that day was quite special; introductions, sodas together, explanations, questions, appreciations expressed, prayer, gifts given to us, a tour of their impressive new church being constructed, and even singing for us.  In one of the pictures in the previous post, you see me dancing with one of them inside the church that was getting darker by the minute as the sun went down on that cold and rainy day. I have never that I can remember spent a full day with cool weather and rain in Africa until that day, but this rain did nothing to dampen the sense of excitement I felt as I sensed movement taking place in the EAFC family in Rwanda.

The night before Geoffrey in Uganda told us he wants to be the first EAFC alumni to contribute financially to the ministry.  For years I have suggested to alumni that they do this,  but just as I gave up on that idea, one of them took the initiative.  That was encouraging to me.  Now, pray that their yes truly be yes.