Sunday Night Update

Get ready for a long-ish update - I have a lot to write about and a lot of pictures to post!!

On Friday, I took the day off school, as we were going shopping and our house really wasn't set up enough yet for me to get much done.  Mom & Dad went to the bank to get some US money, and then called our foreign exchange guy to come exchange it for us.  After he went, we went to 2 car dealerships with Bruno, to get an idea of availability and pricing.  We had been going in one direction, but then realised that for the same price, we could go in the direction we originally wanted, and feel better about, and I think that's the way we're going to go.  So, getting a car is definitely on the agenda for this week -- a prayer request for sure!

We picked up Caleb at noon as he had a half day, and then we picked up Kathleen and went to a restaurant for lunch -- believe it or not, all they had was fish & chicken brochette!!!  At 2:00, there was a house warming for Sam and Alice.  Sam is one of the staff at AEBR that we (the CBM team) works closely with.  He & Alice just had their first anniversary and getting their house. When that was done, we went back to one of the car dealerships for an appointment we had at 4:30 to test drive a RAV4.   We then came home, and Dad worked on getting our stove put together, and C played a game, and I watched a movie.  We were all so full from lunch and Sam's that we just each had our own supper whenever we were getting hungry.

Sam & Alice's house warming

Team Picture!

Saturday morning, Bruno & Kathleen picked us up at 9:00 to go to the Bagel place for breakfast.  It was yummy again as usual, and we were able to see some people we had already met, and some who are new to us.  When we were done there (late morning), we dropped Bruno off at the gym, and C & Dad went home, but K, Mom & I went to a furniture store, and ended up ordering our couch & 2 chairs.  It wasn't really what we were expecting on getting, but it seems to be a really good opportunity and price, and good for long-term use.  It took us quite a while to decide what material we were going to use, and then something funny happened.  We had started out with 2 gals, who helped us with the material, but then switched to a guy who was writing down our order, and cutting out little samples of the fabric to staple to the order.  So we're chugging right along, when he mentions that to design it and stuff will take 6 months...screeeech!  SIX months???  Really??  September, October, November, December, January, FEBRUARY before it is done??  Six months until we can finally settle into our living room, etc.  So, we reconsider, and try to think of other options, but long-term this still seems to be the best route to go.  We continue on with the ordering, and Kathleen asks if he thinks it we might be able to have it done before Christmas (as in 4 months) and he replies confidently that that is totally possible.  We continue on and right before he goes to get our receipt, he says that the 2 chairs can be done in 10 days.  So then I'm thinking, "What on earth do they do with the couch that takes it six months?"  [screeeech! again!]  The chairs can be done in 10 days?  Oh yeah, the whole set can be done in 10 days!  [insert rapid talking]  It turns out that he has been studying and designing couches there for 6 months, and he was talking about himself, not the furniture!  We all had a good laugh over that one!!  The rest of the afternoon, Dad worked on getting the newsletter out, Mom walked up to the convenience store, I followed F1 Qualifying on-line, and some other stuff on the computer.   We also moved my mattress and suitcase downstairs, and I slept in my room for the first time!  We also, after being packed up for a month, have been finally unlocking and unloading our suitcases!  Last night we unearthed our puzzles & games suitcase, and played a game of Tribond as a family.

The material we finally decided on for our couch and chairs.

This morning Bruno picked us up at 8:30 for us to attend our first Rwandan church service!  It was a very good experience, and we all really enjoyed it!  It started off with a worship team (of about 10-12 people) leading everybody in singing -- they sure have volume and are very enthusiastic!!.  Then came a sermon part that started out with some more singing and then reading the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and after she got several men to come up and act it out, and then she talked about it and applying it to life. There were some announcements, a couple of choirs--one of them was really good!--and then communion.  The next two weekends we are travelling with Pastor Andre M to Gisenyi and Butare to be introduced at some regional meetings.  We are also looking to these outings, and to seeing more of Rwanda then just Kigali.
 

The worship team, singing time.

During one song about going to the Promise Land, things got
very energetic and enthusiastic, and some of the people started
grabbing purses and dancing up and down the aisle.  This guy
grabbed that big flower pot and was dancing around with it!

Acting out the Bible story.  The little boy whose head is just
above the red cloth came up front to help his Dad, because
his Dad was playing one of the three who were getting tied up!
Very cute!

One of the choirs that sang.

The rest of today we spent at home, finally having some time to dedicate to unpacking and organising some things here at home.  After lunch, we played Scategories together and Mom washed a few clothes in the sink (our washer isn't in working order yet), and Caleb did some homework, and we played some Phase 10.  Mom made potatoes and carrots and cheese to have for supper and then she & Caleb walked up to a bakery to get bread, while Dad & I cleaned up and washed the dishes, and did a few other things.  Oh!  Another exciting thing this afternoon was----back note: We all really enjoy F1 racing, and I am quite fanatical about it!  So, this afternoon was when the first race was taking place that we would have to miss watching.  On both the F1 and BBC websites, however, they have a live ticker update thing that I followed very eagerly, combining the two and reading aloud to Mom & Dad what was happening.  Not quite as good as watching it, but still SO much better than nothing!  Anyways, we have never been able to find anywhere on line to either listen to it or watch it, but at the top of the BBC website, they had a link to a radio supposedly broadcasting it.  It wasn't coming through on that one, but that got me looking all over the Web to try to find one.  Finally, just over half way through the race, I found one that was not only providing audio, but video as well!!!  The video would pause every few moments and load some more, but that combined with the ticker update info, was amazing!!!  So we were all very pleased to discover that and find out that we don't have to give up F1 after all!! :-)

Tomorrow I'm starting back at school again, but Caleb only has a 3-day week.  We'll also be continuing to pursue a car, and some other things we still need for around the house!  Mom & Dad are done the LAMP course, so hopefully it won't be quite as crazy...hopefully!

Now that we're finally unpacking, we're discovering what made
the cut and Dad's wonderful packing techniques!! :-)

Have a great week!!