March 2013 Update!

Wow!  March has been a busy month!  Here's some of what's gone on.

•  Karen McCullough, a teacher from Canada who leads professional development seminars, was here in Rwanda for 3 weeks.  During her last week here we were able to have her over for supper.  Here's Mom & Karen.

• On Friday, March 8th, we were able to attend a performance by the Injyana Orchestra Rwanda.  It included instruments ranging from a bassoon to a harp and there were over 400 people in attendance!  It was amazing!

Three members of the orchestra who are in Grade 9 at KICS
and are also all on Caleb's JV football team.

• March 8th was also a special day because my cousin, Cody, got married to Victoria in Tennessee!  While we weren't able to be there in person, we were able to have a couple of Skype calls (to get in on some of the craziness!).  Cody's sister, Skye, also frequently posted pictures on Facebook which helped us keep up with what was going on.  And, finally, they were able to live stream the actual wedding, so we got up at 2:30 AM to watch it!  It was fun to be able to still feel like we were apart of the weekend.

Up at 2:30 AM for the 3 AM start time---totally worth it!!!

• Then, later on that day, Mom & Dad attended our first Rwandan wedding.  Quite a cultural experience, and definitely not as quick as Cody & Victoria's!

• Some of the sites of the KICS JV football games are pretty incredible and have amazing views!

 

• On Sunday the 10th, Dad preached at our AEBR church for the first time at a regular Sunday morning service.  His message was about God's unique love.

• Then, on Sunday afternoon, we were able to have Gato, his wife Anne Marie, and his 2 youngest girls, Ruth and Laurena, over for a visit and supper.  We had a nice time getting to know them better!

• Caleb with a "double banana."

• On the 13th, we were finally able to have the development team over for a "Canadian meal"--and provide them all with chairs!

• On Sunday the 17th, we were able to attend a performance by the Young Kigali Musicians, a group of eight musicians from 3 families, and including three violinists, a cellist/pianist, two clarinetists, a French hornist, and a piano accompanist.

• This past Saturday we had quite an adventure!  Rainy season has begun, and we woke up Saturday morning to steady, heavy rain.  Normally, this would have been no problem.  However, Caleb's JV football game was scheduled for 10 o'clock that morning!  The solution?  Bring towels & umbrellas!  We joined several other loyal KICS fans in cheering our team from a 3-0 deficit to a 4-3 victory!!!  It was an amazing game to watch, made even more incredible by the condition of the pitch.  I'm stealing my friend Grace's line from her blog:  "The dirt field was fully transformed into a mud pond and the clean and professional team was transformed into a wild and dirty mess."  But they sure were a happy dirty mess! :-)

 

• We had the Miller's over for a light supper & a game of CatchPhrase on Saturday evening.  We had lots of fun!

An impromptu guitar/ukulele duet before supper, to show what
a uke sounds like.

• Jose da Silva, a CBM consultant, has been here for a week and a half and we've been able to connect with him several times during his stay.

Finishing off a delicious meal at New Cactus.

So, that gives you some of the highlights of our month!  In the midst of all this was normal school work, projects & tests for C & I, and normal language study schedule for Mom & Dad.  Dad has had a couple of opportunities this past week to take part in a Bible-study follow-up session with some literacy groups, which has been exciting!  The Soucy's leave tomorrow for a few months in Canada.  We also have an upcoming visit to the AEBR Bible School in Cyimbiri and an opportunity to meet a couple of CBCA pastors in Gisenyi.

Have a blessed week leading up to Easter!