I can see the floor!

Wow! Our house has floors again! You would not believe how much space 28 people can fill! Even our cupboards seem empty. The showers are a lot cleaner too!!! I would say it is quieter… but Hope was screaming today after she got stung by a bee, so I will just say the house is a lot roomier. But there is not as much laughter either, which is the biggest difference that has left its mark on me.

The good news is that Rick and Desiree Guzman took up residence here last night, so there are two other familiar faces here. We also have Kendra and Aaron Jessen staying on as well as Kendra (a.k.a. “Kenya”) Larson. I am so glad they are still here. Aaron is an amazing videographer… we could never be here without him. Kendra J is one of the sweetest and most merciful women I have ever met. And Kenya is keeping Amber company… Amber is so relational. She is a Godsend.

I really had a great talk with Rick and Desiree today. I haven’t had any one on one time alone with someone outside of the house since I got here. Ben and I took them on a ride around the city. I was driving and trying to find my way around because Ben is going on a World Relief tour next week for four days and I will be on my own. But we stopped at a little restaurant and had an opportunity to just talk couple to couple and IT FELT SO GOOD! I didn’t have any kids to keep an eye on… and I love their company. They have such an easy manner. I felt renewed by the time I returned back home at 2:30.

We also had an opportunity to meet with some team members of “Hope Rwanda” tonight. They were curious about our ministry and we shared our story and videos with them. People on the team are from the U.K., Australia, Toronto and Scotland too! It was our first International meeting! There were several that mentioned having us speak at their churches. I can’t believe it. It is amazing to think back to the days when I was wondering if we could ever sponsor 50 families! Now we are at 228! Amazing.

I was also excited to hear from Travis and Astrid about how the authorities are getting excited about our progress in the villages. There is a lot of community development happening because of our associations which includes building homes and sharing the burden of the sick, etc. It was very reaffirming.

Tomorrow is a big day because we have another family interview day in Bunyana (our farthest village). We will need the kids to be with us to help because we have a MUCH smaller team.